A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend Ali Brown’s Shine conference at the Venetian/Palazzo hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. What a great time! While the weekend itself had me feeling an enormous roller coaster of emotions, they were all very real and important feelings. I took time on Saturday evening after the conference was over to work through some of them with my dear friend that I went with. Here are some of the nuggets of information I was able to pull together.

• Do a core value check – So often we get caught up doing what we are technically good at, we don’t take the time to see if it is in line with what we truly hold near and dear to our hearts.
• Be honest with yourself about what your core values are - It’s okay…some things that you may feel obligated to be on there, may not really be part of your core values.
• Limit yourself to your top 5 core values – Start with 10 and narrow down to your top 5. See how you feel once you have them out there.
• Build your life and your career around those values – If you are feeling totally out of balance, this may be your problem. If you are not holding true to your core values, start to take steps to move your life in that direction. It is amazing the difference you will feel.

There was so much more than that, but those are the heart of the experience. Now, based on that, this is how I have decided to change my life since I returned.

• Focus on me and my business – While I always thought I was taking my business seriously, the Universe certainly did not think so. Hence, I have changed my office hours to reflect how serious I am.
• Make my business my top priority – I will do this by stopping the distractions, prioritizing tasks and focusing my time accordingly. I also had a very serious heart to heart with my husband and each of my boys individually letting them know what is going on and how things would be changing.
• Step up and do what it takes, even if (especially if) it makes me uncomfortable
• Talk to my husband about “mommy guilt” - I know that may seem strange, but as a mom, I have to deal with it. But in order for me to be able to take care of my children the way I want to, I have to put my business at the top of my priority list right now.
• Feed my soul – This is an enormous work in progress for me. I have finally broken down and admitted I just do not know how to do it. I will keep you posted on what I discover.

There are many more steps, but I think you get the idea. Once you build your core values, you too can take the steps necessary to change your life.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Luckily, I do. Trust me I have not always been that way. I have certainly had my share of feeling like I was a victim. But, as I have mentioned in the past, I have been going through this enormous shift over the last year. One of the shifts I have been making has been moving from victim to warrior.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I still have my pity party moments. I think everyone needs those now and again to stay sane. The difference is, when I am feeling that way, I stop and analyze what I am feeling and why. Let me share a little bit of my story with you. MORE

While I was at the eWomenNetwork “Think Big” Business Summit in Roseville, California on Tuesday, I received a wealth of information from the speakers. They were wonderful and had a lot of fantastic information to share.

The problem that I find I run into when I go to events like this is that I get completely overwhelmed. I figure I cannot be alone in this feeling. I have to admit, I get a little frustrated too. Is it bad that I am admitting that? I get frustrated because sometimes the presenters almost make “it” look easy, when we all know “it” is not.

What is “it”? Success…

I don’t know about you, but I have been busting my butt for the last fifteen years. And while, yes, relatively speaking I have done very well for myself, it has been a very long and hard road. Not only that, I find I always want more. And, being the overachiever that I am, I want it now (and I think we would all like it to be easy).

My latest shift began just over a year ago. I was doing very well with my tax practice. However, I wanted more. I really wanted to change people’s lives. Although taxes are “fun” and all, I really do not feel like I am “changing people’s lives”.

So, I have decided to add different lines of service that I feel can really make a change. But, it seems like I keep running into obstacles everywhere I go with these new ventures. Everywhere I turn, someone or something seems to knock me on my proverbial butt.

So, what is the difference between success and failure? I really hate to be cliché, but…NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! Trust me, there are times I feel like the whole world is against me. Sometimes I feel like there are things out of this world that are against me. I feel like someone or something is constantly giving me gut checks when it comes to my life and my business. But, you know what? I consider myself a huge success. Do you want to know why? Because no matter how hard I get hit, I shake my head, stand up, dust myself off and keep on keeping on.

As my mother used to say when I was a child, “Watch out world, Kristi is coming through!” Well, now I am saying it…loud and clear. When I look into the eyes of my husband, my children, my parents, my employee, and especially when I look into the mirror I know how much they are relying on me to pick myself up and keep going. That is what gives me the strength I need.

So, why am I sharing this with you? Because I am not alone. And while some people may not want to share their struggles, I know I am not the only one. People need to know there are more people out there in the same boat.

Go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you are a huge success because you have and never will give up. You already are a huge success!

I know that may seem like a silly question, however, I remember a time when I was living like a robot. I would get up every morning, take my shower, drive to work, work all day, drive home, blah, blah, blah. Not so coincidentally, I would also get the Sunday night dreads at that time. Do you know what those are? You know, when Sunday evening rolls around you get that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach. You almost cannot bear the thought of working another week where you are at.

I am here to tell you that is no way to live! Ask yourself these questions: Is it really worth

• The money?
• The health benefits?
• The retirement?
• Your health?
• Your relationships?
• Your family?

So many people go through life living like a robot because they hate what they are doing. They stay there because of:

• The economy.
• I can’t get a better job.
• Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t.
• The pay is good.
• The benefits are good.
• We just can’t afford a change right now.

But let me ask you this: Is this really how you want to live your life? Is it really worth sacrificing your happiness for money?

Maybe you need to make some modifications to your life. Think about sitting down with your spouse and seeing what changes can be made so you can be happy again. If you are unhappy, it affects more than just you. Who knows, maybe you can make a couple of adjustments to the budget and you can find a new line of work where you may make less money, but you will be happy. It is more important to be happy and conscious in your life, than to have a bunch of money and toys. This may be a harder choice, but if it makes you happy, isn’t it all worth it?

Remember, it is not always about the money! Your happiness is priceless…

Marcia Brixey is putting on a conference in Sacramento, California on Saturday, September 26^th. This conference is called The Money Wi$e Women Conference – A Safe Place to Learn about Money. I went to this conference last year at Sacramento State University and it was wonderful. I highly recommend it to any women (or men) interested in gaining some financial clarity on their life. 

I am starting today with introducing you to Marcia and telling you a little bit about her story and how she got started. Marcia worked for the Social Security Administration for 20 years. She was in charge of women’s issues and had to attend many women’s conferences due to her position.  Marcia loved her job, but noticed something enormous was missing from all the conferences she attended. They never seemed to have information regarding investing, wills and estates or even how to get started. This was an enormous hole the Marcia really wanted to fill.

So, seven years ago she decided to take early retirement from the Social Security Administration and she founded Money Wise Women Education Services. Marcia is not just about educating women, she is all about empowering women and helping them to start taking those steps. Marcia is also the author of “The Money Therapist: A Woman’s Guide to Creating A Healthy Financial Life”.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some wonderful advice Marcia shared with me during my interview with her. Again, I highly recommend her conference, so if you are interested, click on the link above and you will be taken to her web site for more information.

I see it all the time, not just with myself, but with my family, friends and clients as well. I really don’t want to admit it, but I will. I procrastinate. There, I said it. I procrastinate. Phew! I think I actually feel better. I am not a big fan of procrastination, but I do catch myself doing it now and again. What bothers me the most is when other people do it and it effects me. Have you ever thought about it that way?

In my practice, procrastination has an enormous impact on my life. Mainly when other people have decided procrastination is the direction they should go. For example, when tax season rolls around and clients wait until April 10^th to get everything to me and then they do not want to file an extension. Is that really fair to me or my family? No!  That is why I have put procedures in place to stop that from happening.

Stop and think about how procrastination has affected your life? Do you procrastinate? When? Who does it affect? Do you wait until the last minute to pay your bills? Who does that hurt? What about your spouse, your children, your accountant, your babysitter? Does your procrastination affect them? Is that really fair?

Stop procrastinating! When you start to feel the urge, recognize it and stop the process. Why put off until tomorrow when you can do it today?

Are you thankful for what you have right now?  You may automatically say yes and not think twice about it.  I always feel I am thankful for all the wonderful things I have in my life.  However, I have also caught myself longing for more.  Wanting the bigger house, the nicer car, clothes that are a little more chic or even for the kids to get just a little older so we can…

I know you are probably saying to yourself I am thankful for what I have, but then you find yourself doing the same thing.  Stop for a minute and think about what you are thankful for right now.  Is it:

• The fact you were able to pay all your bills and not take any money out of the savings account or put anything on the credit card this month?
• Your car started this morning and got you where you needed to be on time?
• Your little one said their first word?
• Your spouse kissed you goodbye before they left for the day?
• You have a job?
• The fact you are an entrepreneur for one more day?

I am not telling you to stop thinking big.  I feel you should absolutely “think big”.  However, be thankful for what you currently have.  Someday you will have all the finer things in life if you put your mind to it, but don’t lose yourself in it.

I went to the eWomenNetwork International Conference and Business Expo this last weekend.  While I was inspired by all the wonderful speakers and brilliant women I was surrounded by, I also found myself overwhelmed with the thought of what I needed to accomplish.  This is when I had my “aha” moment and realized if I slowed down and was thankful for what I have right now, everything else will magically start to fall into place.

Many of you are probably saying, “Oh, yes, it is!”  Don’t get me wrong, I love money.  It’s great! 

Let’s give a mention to all the fantastic things you can do with money:

• It makes you feel good when you have lots of it.
• You can buy lots of cool stuff with it.
• People respect you more if you have it.
• You feel successful if you have plenty of it around.
• It gives you the ultimate freedom.

Who wouldn’t want lots of money around with all those great benefits?  So, let me just make it abundantly clear here, I am not saying money is bad in any way.  I want people to stop running their lives with it.  MORE

When you look at how you make money, did you ever look at it like you were just solving a problem?  Stop and think about it for a minute…what problem do you solve?  If you are a child care provider, people need somewhere for their kids to go while they are at work.  You just solved their problem!  If you are a dog walker, someone might need to pay to have you walk their dog while they are at work because they do not have the time.  You just solved their problem! 

If you are finding you are struggling with money, take a look at what problems you are solving.  Is it a problem you enjoy solving?  When you think about solving these problems do you get excited or do you get an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach?  Are there other problems you would prefer to solve?  Are you passionate about solving the problems you do solve, or do you just do it because they are there?    

There are a couple of things I can recommend if you would like to get paid more for your problem solving.

1. Solve problems you are passionate about.  Trust me I used to solve problems I really did not care about.  But, now I am extremely passionate about what I am doing.  The best part is, people can tell and they are naturally drawn in.  When you love what you do, everything else just seems to fall into place.
2. 2.    Solve bigger problems.  The bigger the problems you solve, the more money you will get paid.  If you are willing to take on the bigger tasks, you will be rewarded financially.  It just might put you first in line for that promotion you were hoping for or add a few percentage points to that raise you were up for. 
3. 3.    Solve more problems.  If you are the go to guy or gal for problem solving, you will soon build a reputation.  This reputation will end up in the right hands at the right time.  Whether you end up with more clients or bigger and more lucrative projects, the end result looks good.
4. 4.    Be selective about the problems you choose to take on.  Boundaries are very important.  Only take on the problems you want to take on.  You know who I am talking about, you do not want to be a yes man or woman to just anyone.  There are ways to be strategic about what you take on.  Do what feels right.  Do not let yourself get overwhelmed. 

If you have proper boundaries in place and you are passionate about the problems you solve, my guess is you are a very happy person.  Keeping a good balance is imperative. 

Take a look and see where you can make some changes, who knows what might come of it.

Does this seem like a strange question?  I used to think it was.  That is until I decided to really dig deep and see why my business was not doing as well as I wanted it to.  The good news is this doesn’t just apply to entrepreneurs, this can easily explain why you do not have the level of income you would like. 

Take a minute and reflect…How were you raised?  Did your parents teach you that it was not appropriate to ask for things?  That it is better to give than to receive?  Money is the root of all evil?  If that is the case, then, my guess is, you are probably not a very good receiver in many ways.

Don’t get me wrong, your parents had the absolute best of intentions.  They were at least partially right.  There are definitely times when it is not appropriate to ask for things.  However, when you own your own business, it is appropriate to ask for payment from a client.  If you are an employee, there are situations when it is okay to ask for a raise.  And, yes, it is generally better to give than it is to receive.  But, again, when you are trying to make a living, receiving is a necessity…why not be good at it? 

I remember when I started my practice a few years ago.  It was really awkward for me to ask my clients for payment.  I would go so far as letting them leave and then billing them later.  Unfortunately, not everyone is as honest as I am and I did not always receive payment.  (Don’t worry, I have gotten over that now).  As far as money being the root of all evil, it is the person behind the money that can create evil.  Look at people like Oprah or Bill Gates who give millions of dollars to charity every year.  I do not see evil there.

Sometimes it just takes a shift in your mindset with regard to money and attracting it.  Money is good!  Money is great!  Just because you desire more money does not mean you are greedy.  I would like to make a whole lot of money!  Not for the material things I can buy (although, that is an added bonus), but for the freedom I will have.  Not to mention the charities I plan on donating to.  How great will it be when I know I can help out a charity in need and don’t have to consult my checkbook first. 

Practice being a good receiver.  When someone gives you a compliment, just say thank you.  When you get a stellar review at work with a raise and promotion, just say thank you.  Remember, you deserve it.  You would not have received it if you did not.  When you land that fantastic client, just say thank you for giving you the opportunity to be of service to them.