The one thing you need to do right now (and it ain’t goal setting)

Holy 2017.

What a year of light and dark and everything in-between.

This time of year creates the biggest tension between where you are and where you want to be. Today, I’d like to share the one thing you need to do before you do anything else in your business to release some of that tension.

But first, let’s connect to what’s really going on right now.

Right now you’re doing the end of year dance between your heart and your head. I get it because it’s happening to me right now. I want to do all the things and also do nothing at the same dang time. So confusing our minds can be.

Your body is urging you to slow down and be present with your loved ones. HEART.

Your ambitious intellect is saying, “Go, go, go! This is your time to catch up while everyone is stopping and indulging.” HEAD.

Feast or famine? Ride or die? Hustle or halt?

If you’re like me, you’re signing up for all the newsletters, buying all the 2018 planners, and joining all the courses that will help you have your BEST year ever.

What if there was a sweet spot…
…between your head and heart
…between speed and slow down?

They both have wisdom. We are a walking paradox. Much like this year –– full of light and dark. And I believe there is a middle ground. That space that allows you to honor your inner and outer world at a pace that feels true to you.

I have found the best thing to do at this time of year is to Pause and Celebrate. It’s a consistent practice I lead my clients through. It allows you to slow down, reflect, and gain confidence and clarity for what you’re moving towards without ignoring what you’ve already done.

Last year, I paused to celebrate in this post here. Today, I’ll share my top 11 moments and lessons from this year.

Celebrating My Top 11 Moments of 2017

1. Spoke at several events around the topic of Building Your Community –– One thing I really enjoy is using my voice to share my message on stages around the world. This year I spoke at Jonathan Field’s The 108 in Austin, Texas; Jasyon Gaignard’s Mastermind Talks in Carmel, California; Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia. I shared the stage with amazing people like Pat Flynn, Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, Clay Hebert, and Charlie Gilkey.

2. Spent time vacationing with friends at a Hot Springs in Calistoga; watched 4th of July fireworks on the beach for our annual tradition in Santa Barbara; traveled to Disney’s Aulani on Oahu. I absolutely love, love, love traveling with friends. I believe it's one of the best ways to spend quality time with people you care about (quality time happens to be my love language).

3. Celebrated and cheered my family on during some big milestone moments: Zoe’s 10th Birthday –– nothing like hitting double digits with the famous Kitchen Sink Ice Cream Sundae; Marched in the Women’s March in my neighborhood; ran a Thanksgiving 5k Turkey Trot as a family; watched my husband cross the 26.2 mile finish line for the Honolulu Marathon.

4. Led two Visionary Retreats for my private 1 on 1 Mentorship Lab clients in Sausalito, California and Tulum, Mexico. I love helping women create space to think and dream, so they can make a plan that aligns their vision with how they want to serve in the world. My clients are growing their businesses while having fun in their personal lives. One client doubled her rates, working less time and working with more meaningful clients while still growing her multiple six figure revenue. Another client owned her worth and booked a $45k consulting contract when she used to do this type of work pro bono.

5. Cut my dreads of seven years. I thought I would cut my dreads when I turned 30, and I wasn't quite ready. Coco Chanel says, “A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” 2017 was a big transition year for me, and I couldn't agree more. After I cut my hair, I felt so light and free –– just the way I want to feel every day.

6. Traveled for pure play-cation (no work) to some pretty cool places around the world: My husband and I flew to Cuba kid-free –– this place is like a time capsule of culture; we treated my husband's parents to join us for a family trip to China visiting The Great Wall and Shanghai Disney; My mom, George and Zoe watched me speak at ProBlogger in Australia, then we flew over to relax in Bali; we ended our year visiting Oahu + Kauai to celebrate the holidays.

7. Masterminded with my business soul sisters in inspiring locations like Ojai and Sausalito, California. I even gathered with a co-ed mastermind in San Francisco where we kick started our meet-up watching a Forty Niners game in the front row. I can say that being part of these masterminds is one of the most important pieces to my business and personal growth.

8. Hosted a Women’s Business Circle workshop at Bloom Retreat with 20+ women. It was so beautiful to connect face to face, heart to heart with entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm really proud of myself for having this last minute idea to bring a group of women together to share their dreams out loud. I gave myself 10 days to get the word out, and I didn't know if anyone would come. It's an important reminder to put your work out there even when you think no one will show up because you truly don't know unless you try.

9. Attended 3 concerts with my husband (we also celebrated 12 years of marriage this year!) As I said, my love language is quality time, and concert dates are one of my absolute favorite ways to spend time with my husband. We dress up, drink, and dance the night away. A few concerts we saw this year… Maggie Rogers, Boyz II Men + Paula Abdul + New Kids on The Block, and reggae band Catchafire.

10. Welcomed the founding group of my signature 12-month mastermind –– Love Over Metrics. This has been a 3+ year vision of mine to bring a group of women running their own businesses to meet face to face every quarter to work on their business plan. Stepping away from the day to day of my business and life to get clarity on my next steps is how I've been able to grow, and I wanted to create the same momentum and magic for others. We're only 4 months in, and this is the most amazing group of creative, supportive women who truly care about making a difference in the world.

11. Lived out my dream to speak on a TEDx stage. I flew to The Dominican Republic in November to share my message of leading with love in business and life. This was one of the most challenging talks I've ever done. All of my inner critics and self-doubt came to the party. I hired Jill Wesley as my speaking coach to help me, and we dove deep into what it is I truly want to share with the world. I'm very clear on my message in 2018, and I can't wait to share more.

A few of my lessons and insight from this year…

• Challenge your assumptions. When I exited and sold my half of the company I co-founded with my friend Jen, a big fear I had was no one would invite me to speak at their events anymore because I was no longer associated with Simple Green Smoothies. That assumption was completely false. Every event I spoke at this year, I was personally invited, and the people in the audience still resonate with what I have to share about building a community online and leading with love in business and life.

What assumptions are you making that are
stopping you from taking action?

• It’s okay to separate work and play. I realized over the past couple of years, I had a desire to integrate my work life with my personal life when traveling. I would piggy back my work trips with play trips. For example, this year I spoke at an event in Australia, followed by a play trip in Bali with my family. I don’t mind doing that sometimes, but I truly enjoy getting on a plane knowing once I reach my destination, I won’t have to be “on” for a few days before I get to play. So this year, I was very intentional about planning vacations that had nothing to do with working, speaking, learning, masterminding.

Are you scheduling enough play time in your life?

• Schedule time and space to dream. Yesterday, I got home from a 2-day vision and planning retreat with a few of my soul sisters. When I share my dreams out loud with people I trust, it gives me a different level of clarity and feedback that is priceless. Stepping away from your day to day responsibilities is the best and most inspiring way to connect to how you really want to live and serve in the world.

When is the last time you took time to connect to
what it is you really want and share it with others?

• You don’t need a lot of time to test an idea. I was going back and forth about if should I host an in-person workshop. I didn't have a lot of time to promote it, so I was hesitant about booking a space. I only had 10 days to promote and gave myself a goal of 25 women. I sold 24 tickets! Sometimes when inspiration hits, it's important to execute on the idea quickly before you talk yourself out of all the reasons why it won't work.

Is there an idea you’ve been thinking about doing
and you know it’s time to take action on it now?

How to celebrate your top moments of 2017 and reflect on your year

1. Review your calendar and your photos in your phone to remind you of the fun events and moments of your year

2. Think of what you want to keep, do more of, less of, add, or remove in your business and life moving forward

3. Identify the lessons you’ve learned to help you make even better decisions the following year

4. Ask yourself this question, “who was the person I had to be to create these moments?”

Now that you’ve slowed down enough to pause and celebrate yourself, it’s time to start identifying what’s that next level vision and steps you need to take to make it happen.

If you’d like a mentor in your corner who has experience with selling products online, publishing a book with a traditional publisher, keynote speaking around the world, building a personal brand, and running a brick & mortar business –– I’m your girl!

I am only working with 6 private one-on-one clients in 2018, and two spots are already taken. If you want clarity on a solid business plan, plus next steps to get you there next year, I’d love to hop on a call, and see if we can make magic together.

All you have to do is click over here to learn more and submit an online application to see if I can support you and your business growth.

I want to thank you for being a part of my world this year. Your heart and attention means the world to me. To more magic and service in 2018…Happy New Year!

Warm hugs,