It’s my birthday on Tuesday, a time to reflect (not dwell) on life’s past and cherish the moments I’ve set out to create.
[You don’t have the right to complain about your life, if you’re not willing to change anything.]
Words I’ve come to live by. Change is the constant in my life. If you know me at all, then you’ve come to realize I’m always up to something – whether adopting a new pet, maintaining the home, traveling, entertaining, trying new career tactics, etc…
In fact, many have told me (and Sal) that I exhaust them by conquering everything set out on the daily to do list. Yes, I relax – there are days when I just veg in front of the TV, but I feel better when I’m on the move making a difference, educating or trying something new.
As a Gemini, I’m my biggest critic, motivator and self-sabotager. The fact that I know this makes me ambitious and impatient– two dirty words that make life ever changing and even more challenging.
Did you ever think you’d be where you are today?
For me that answer is no, but I’m content with where I am. Tomorrow I turn 38 years young (and before I head down the OMG I’m almost 40 mid-life crisis rant) it’s time to reflect.
I’m grateful for all the ups and downs in my life, each experience leading me to a lesson and a further understanding to appreciate my surroundings. Of course my loving husband, Sal, who tirelessly puts up with my demands, slight OCD and outlandish ideas. We’ve built a resilient relationship over the past nineteen years that continues to grow stronger.
Sal and I wedding in Ravello, Italy 2014
After losing two cats, Remi & Cheeks, last year I cherish the time I have left with my animals. I love taking the dogs on long walks and cuddling up with all of them close by on the couch or in bed. I never understood how someone could turn their back on defenseless animals like these.
Our two beloved cats, Remi & Cheeks
Between our cats untimely deaths and Sal’s scary health issues, a hemorrhagic stroke in 2014 and seizures, I’ve come to realize life is short and you truly don’t know how much time you have together, so I’m grateful for our health – it’s definitely worrisome and I need to be more compassionate to people who are sick or dealing with terminal illnesses in the coming year versus shying away from this uncomfortable topic. (Ok, moving on…)
My career – of course, I always choose a path that’s challenging whether it was TV reporting, becoming an entrepreneur or Youtube/blogger influencer I seem to be attracted to hard work, criticism and positions that not only test my capabilities to perform, but my loyalty to the choices I make. (These careers are not for the faint hearted.) I need to stop more to reflect on successes and actually maybe pinpoint more in the coming year what success actually means to me?
This path has led me to some amazing opportunities and people and to YOU! So, thank you to all for taking the time to be apart of my world it means so much to me when I can share my experiences, expertise and give to others.
What are your top three goals for the coming year?
While there are so many goals to choose from, I wanted to share my top three with you to help keep me accountable. Since my life revolves around work these goals are more career focused.
The Rise of Membership
It’s imperative that I tweak and heavily market The Stage 2 Sell Strategy, my online home staging video course for home sellers, to have 100 people inside the course by June 2018. Why? Well, I spent a lot of time building out the course, but it’s a way for me to help educate more people at once, build community and it’s the way of the future. Not to mention an income generator. Help me spread the word, click here.
Bi-Weekly Household Meetings
It’s been on my radar since last year, but for some reason it’s never came to fruition. I want to hold bi-weekly meetings with my husband (you can even try this with your entire household) to stay on track when it comes to setting relationship goals and accomplishing important “adult-stuff” like creating wills, opening up a life insurance policy, showing him how to access the blog and what to do with my company (if I ever go before him). It would be a time to assess finances, talk about what we’d like to accomplish in the future and how we’ll do that. For instance, I’d like a second home in a warmer climate by the time I reach 40 — how can we conquer that goal and become snowbirds? That will be discussed in these meetings. I think overall, it sets up a way to build a closer bond with your partner, especially if you have kids.
Another Book Endeavor
After the success of Feel at Home: Home Staging Secrets for a Quick & Easy Sell I got an idea to create a new book! This book will help homeowners keep track of home maintenance projects and is a guide to keep up with home repairs. While I have the book idea, as of writing this post I don’t have any piece of the book put together yet and the publishing deadline is November 2017. (Yikes!) Needless to say, I need to start working on this goal immediately.
Bonus, Journaling
This is another goal, I’ve been telling myself to turn into a habit that’s fell to the waist side. For years now, I’ve been trying to set aside time to write about my daily thoughts, happenings and what not –but I’ll do it for a couple weeks then stop. I used to do this as a kid, I had diaries and would even draw or write short poems in my teenage years. It’s a form of self-expression of course, however more importantly it allows you to reflect and remember the smaller details that happen throughout your life which I tend to forget. If I write it down, it will jog my memory which I feel is important as I get older, I forget so much. Here is a great app to get started, although I may want to write these entries out, hmmm…
Are you celebrating a birthday soon? Let me know in the comment section below what your top three goals are and if you’re happy in the life you’ve created. I hope this inspires you to take action and feel free to hold me accountable by checking-in often.
Happy Living,
