Lessons in Success: #1 Take Stock and Organize
Now’s the time to take a brief look at your living space, your work area, your desk, or your kitchen and take out ten items that you no longer use.
Put them into a paper bag and leave them by the front door: you are ready to take these unused, unloved, un-energized items *out* of your life, in preparation for something more vibrant and more exciting to you.
Take stock, and this means really taking a good look at the items in your environment. Some questions from personal organizers help you identify items you wish to keep:
1) Do you love it? If so, keep it. (make sure you ABSOLUTELY love it)
2) Do you use it frequently? If so, keep it. (make sure that you’ve used this item in the last month… anything less and you can probably do without)
3) Is it beautiful? If so, keep it. (make sure it’s truly beautiful to you)
When our surroundings are beautiful, we feel better about ourselves. When we have beautiful on the outside, we feel beautiful on the inside.
So take out 10 items right now! Take those items out of your house and out of your life: those items are cluttering up your ability to focus and hone your life energy towards fulfilling your life purpose, so move away from the clutter and towards a more vibrant, exciting environment.
Repeat the above step of taking things out as often as necessary. As you reduce your clutter, you'll find more and more lovely, useful, and beautiful things come into your life.
Visionboard #10: Trust the Universe
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 2:26am | by monicadearOne of my favorite meditations is the idea that each of us are simply manifestations of the Universe, and so every experience that we go through, no matter how difficult and terrifying, is still a way for us to learn, expand, grow, and increase our self-knowledge.
This visionboard item is one of my ways to remind myself to place my trust that everything is part of a greater plan, or at least, I can put everything into place and know that there is unity and harmony within all the different chaotic strings and threads of experience and activity.
7 Tips to Prevent Bullying
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 1:30am | by monicadearIf you're a mom, mentor, or involved in the classroom, you know the importance of maintaining a decent, respectful, positive, safe, and supportive environment for all students. Bullying can happen to children, teens, and young adults who do not get along well with others, who are "less popular", or who have few to no friends in the school. Also at risk for being bullied are youths with depression or anxiety, and those who have low self esteem. Those especially at risk are LGBT and questioning youth: in one study by Laura Sessions Stepp, "four out of five gay and lesbian students say they don't know one supportive adult at school."
Don't Just Settle - Make it Meaningful, Happy, and Deeply Satisfying
Wed, 01/18/2012 - 2:18pm | by monicadearI am always a proponent of upgrading your lifestyle in as many ways as possible. I believe that for the sake of mental health, sanity, and security, we each deserve to follow our intuition, treat ourselves well, and look after our own best interests. If we focus on continuous improvement and do this naturally every day, with the mindset of being grateful and expressing deep respect for the gift of life, we can incrementally change our living situation.
7 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for the Woman Business Owner in your Life
Sun, 01/15/2012 - 2:48pm | by monicadear
1) Pay for her website domain and hosting
Most small business owners don't think of this precious detail, and if your special lady is in business, this is one of a myriad of other details. Do her a favor and prepay for the next 2-3 years of domain and hosting. You'll get a chance to reassess her existing website details (username and password) and inventory the current situation.
2) Get her Quickbooks Online
Evaluating your Savings Needs
Thu, 01/12/2012 - 7:17pm | by monicadearWith the low interest rates available and the challenge of many women to manage their family finances, their business finances, and the changing needs of family - from children going to college to elderly parents needing care, we're finding a great need for education and self-awareness about personal finance options.
A great place to get started learning about finances is Investopedia. You can also learn about personal journeys through blogs like I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Millionaire Mommy Next Door, or Get Rich Slowly.
The beginning of the year is a great time to get organized and review (or start) your savings plan.
Four Totally "Out-of-the-Box" Predictions
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 4:44pm | by monicadearI pride myself on being fairly well-educated and tolerant of diversity.
Here are four completely out-of-the-ordinary ideas I've recently been exposed to. I've had a hard time wrapping my head around each of these, but I think that each is a very early indication of different trends in our modern world, and in terms of a business approach, it would be wise to consider ways to integrate these ideas into your existing business model or your marketable job skills: natural remedies, open source mentality, overall collaboration, and green extreme.
Beyond Natural Remedies

Wedding Day Planning: Four Steps to Make it Fabulous
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 8:00pm | by monicadearThe wedding service and vows, your attire, the location of the service and reception, and decorations: if your big day is coming up, start planning for these four items at the very beginning. This will help reduce the stress because, like most brides, you're probably planning a wedding on top of dealing with a full-time job, interacting with family and in-laws, organizing travel arrangements, anticipating special needs for seniors or children, finding ethical rings, deciding on vendors, and fitting everything into your budget.














