Successful woman always know to set high goals, to celebrate all their achievements, and to stretch towards those goals every day.

When I say stretch every day, I mean literally and physically stretch yourself, and also emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually stretch yourself.

When you start the day off by stretching out, your muscles get warmed up and you remain flexible and limber. Your body gets stronger and more vibrant as you stretch and shake off sleep. Stretch out in bed, and then move to the floor or to a mat or cloth you’ve set out. Incorporate 15 minutes of stretching into your day and you’ll immediately feel better (and your posture will improve).

By emotionally stretching yourself, I encourage you to use the Buddhist exercise of wishing well upon a friend or loved one, then wishing well upon someone you may not be too happy with, then wishing well upon an adversary or someone about whom you have very strong feelings. Stretch out your feeling towards this person and release yourself from limited thinking. As you do so, you’ll gain a wider perspective on the world.

Stretch yourself intellectually by reading, listening, and learning from other teachers. Assemble a toolkit of links or resources that you use to stretch your mind and to increase your brain power. Do a crossword puzzle or a memory game to keep yourself sharp, and keep on learning about different subjects which interest you. Stretch your limitations of your knowledge.

Spiritually, when I say stretch, I mean stretch out your understanding of your purpose in the world and how you are manifesting what you were born to do. Stretch out your soul and strive to touch more people with your passion, to help more people with your products, and to assist more of your community through your work.

Reach out and stretch your “soul muscles” so you have greater understanding and appreciation of our human nature and the beauty with which each of us lives our life. I’ve incorporated an hour of power into my day: with 20 minutes of reading, 20 minutes of meditation, and 20 minutes of prayer.

Keep stretching yourself every day and you’ll find that your entire outlook expands. You’ll appreciate this enhanced perspective.

Where will you stretch yourself in the next few days?

There are so many of us who are parents or who want to become parents. My husband and I work together and we have a young son who currently is in elementary school.

If you are trying to conceive, if you are currently pregnant, or if you have recently given birth, congratulations! Your most important work is contributing to the next generation, and you are blessed with the opportunity to care for a new life. Your nutrition, your health, your overall wellness, and your work plan are all important factors at this time.

If you are trying to conceive (TTC), good luck and keep it up!
Charting, keeping track of ovulation, and being on top of your most fertile moments may be stressful. I encourage you to keep a healthy schedule and maintain a consistent amount of sleep. Also make sure to make time for leisure: this reduces stress and gives you something to look forward to.

Your health and happiness are so important (and a great by-product will be when you conceive). Remember to take your folic acid, continue to have a healthy diet, reduce or quit smoking, monitor your alcohol intake, and create more healthful and happier moments in your life. This may mean letting go of stressful situations like clutter, a bad roommate situation, or anything that makes you unhappy. You may also consider changing your job if it is not conducive to you getting pregnant.

If you are currently expecting, congratulations!
Now is a great time for you and your employer to come up with a plan for your workplace and how you will integrate your upcoming birth with your existing work. With an empathetic boss, you’ll be able to telecommute, share hours, and possibly work from home in order to maintain your job and be a contributing member of your team.

If you are able, find an ergonomic chair, keyboard, or work station, If you are standing for long periods of time, ask if you may be seated, or find a footrest or stool so you may put up one leg at a time.

If you work with toxic chemicals, consider getting a transfer or reducing your exposure as much as possible.

It will be best for you to be completely aware of anything potentially harmful to you that comes in through your air, your food, or especially your water. Read the labels on packaged food, this has always helped me (I avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils). I recommend choosing organic produce when you are able to. Choose healthy options whenever possible: your body and your baby will thank you!

If you have miscarried, I am so sorry.
I have had a miscarriage, too, and it is such a devastating feeling. Take care of yourself and let your body, mind, and spirit return to a state of happiness and health. Conception happens again! Take your time and take care of yourself by grieving, creating a memory book or journal, and saving some special remembrances of your pregnancy. I kept the pregnancy test in a little drawer with the date. It’s a special bond you have with your child, even if they were not able to be born into the world.

If you have just given birth, congratulations!
The first few weeks after the birth, most women need to spend as much time with their baby as possible. New mothers also need rest, and a great rule is to “sleep when the baby sleeps.”

Keep a full jug of water by the bed at all times, and remember to eat healthy foods like fruit, oatmeal, rice, apples, and other bland foods. Follow your body’s natural instinct and make sure to focus on your own health and recovery: everyone else’s health depends on yours, so take care of yourself. Other folks may do the laundry, wash the dishes, and keep the house in order. Your main focus is to heal and to be with your baby.

Take care of yourself and demand care from others. If you’re out and about, park close to your destination and bring a sling or a stroller. If you’re on public transportation, ask for the handicapped or special needs area. If you’re breastfeeding, ask for privacy and a lactation room. If you need to sleep, build in frequent naps into your day: your sanity depends on it. Because those post-baby weeks have so many new activities going on, remember to take time for yourself and to center yourself by meditating, praying, or even taking time out to breathe deeply.

If you have decided on a back-to-work plan, find ways to make the transition easier on yourself and your new family member: this might mean looking at creative options to make sure the work gets done and to also take care of your new responsibilities. You may find yourself doing independent contracting, doing freelance work, or even striking out on your own as a work-at-home mom. With so many options available, I know you will find ways to make your work fit into your life.

Because the childbearing years are so special and because so many women in this age group are in the workforce, let’s all work together to make sure that our workplace offers supportive policies.

Ten Tips:

1) Take time to assess your situation: Introspection is good. Take a look at your current status and see if there are ways to make more proactive, positive changes to help you and your family. If you find that a relationship, job, or location needs changing, give yourself a timeline and start working on that change or move.
2) Share: Join a support group like a mother’s group or parent’s group. You’ll find others who share your interests and activities and you’ll make new friends.
3) Sleep: Your resting periods become even more important as demands on you rise. Go for 8 hours of sleep a night and if you don’t get it, build in catnaps during the day to recharge.
4) Breathe deeply: For five minutes of every hour, spend some time breathing in and out, centering yourself, and feeling your body.
5) Exercise: If it’s as simple as going for a brief walk after dinner, or adding some walk time to your commute, exercising helps with mood swings, circulation, and overall health. While you’re at it, do some stretching to keep your circulation moving and your muscles limber, too!
6) Healthy Food: Yummy food is something to look forward to. Check labels and choose healthier options like whole grains, dark green vegetables, and fruits.
7) Water, water, water: Keep hydrated and drink water every day. Choose water over sugary sodas or caffeine-heavy options.
8) Eat breakfast: A good morning ritual helps center your day and a nice breakfast starts you off with energy. Choose easy options and get up ten minutes earlier so you may savor a hearty first meal of the day.
9) Communicate: Ask for help from partners, parents, in-laws, relatives, friends, and work associates. All of us working together get to bond with the babies and young children in our lives: reach out and ask people to help you, they will appreciate being a valued part of your children’s early years.
10) Take care of yourself: The most important thing you will do for your family is participating fully by being well-rested, well-nourished, and well in spirit. Do this by honestly assessing where you stand and taking steps to honor your body, tend the garden that is your soul, and do the things you feel called to do.

Do you ever feel “blah” for no reason? Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Do you ever feel like you’re not living up to your full potential?

Here’s the thing: when we’re not creating, we’re just consuming. When we’re only consuming, we get tired out, sated, and glutted.

We have free spirits, free imaginations, and free ideas. We are born to create! We are born to produce! When we consume more than we produce, we feel a subtle drying-up of our creative energy. If we are creative and we produce more than we consume, we will feel energetic and lively: it’s in our nature. Successful people know this, and they make time in their lives to take advantage of creative moments.

Your “blah” times as an indicator that something new is coming up in your life. A “blah” time is a good signal that you could find something interesting to puruse or investigate. As human beings, we are constantly seeking new experiences. Part of being a producer means understanding, researching, and absorbing new information from new sources, and then converting that into something even more interesting, helpful, and valuable.

What new ideas, new realities, new items or valuable products or services are you producing?

Are you producing so many new ideas in your head that you have more ideas than you can think of? The world is limitlessly overflowing with opportunities, ideas, methods, and ways. There are even more and more people being born every minute: these are people who are potentially interested in your idea, too!

There are three kinds of ideas: ideas might be old ideas with a new twist, or they might be completely new and futuristic ideas about things that might not even exist, or they might be current ideas that you are tinkering with to make them better, right now, today.

Do you believe that it’s possible to have ten new ideas in one day?
How about fifty new ideas? A hundred? A thousand?

You may be asking, how do people come up with new ideas? When children draw pictures or color paintings, they think about an idea, and then they create an image of that idea on their paper or canvas. When artists do art, when musicians compose music, and when novelists write novels, they all have ideas and they create a way for that idea to become a reality.

How do you do this in your own life? Produce something! Create something. Make something. Bake something! Grow something! Imagine something. Be something new!

When we innovate and come up with ideas, and when we provide ways for other people to benefit from our ideas, we become true producers.

For example, you might create a new invention, gadget, software package, technical tool, or product. Or, you might come up with a new service that fits an existing need. Or, you might develop a new recipe that is tasty and nutritious. Or, you might make a creative piece that brings joy to others.

When you bring your idea “to market” and find buyers (people who want to “consume” your new idea because it’s so excellent), you go into production. Producing is a true joy and it’s a healthy habit when you make it a part of your lifestyle. Producing is rewarding. Being mostly a producer (instead of mostly a consumer) brings financial rewards when you produce something valuable that others buy. Many successful women have found this secret and they are finding ways to convert their unique ideas, personalities, skills and talents into a profitable business or organization.

Here are the next steps to take: As women in business, it’s up to us to come up with ideas that help our customers and clients. If we’re in a less-than-stellar job, it’s up to us to find ways that make our work meaningful and for us to contribute to the bottom line.

• Let’s convert our ideas into products and services that we sell, or into methods and means that make our lives easier and better.
• Let’s sell our products and services over and over again, and let’s create systems to support our sales.
• Let’s bring our ideas to a wider group of people.
• Let’s create value out of our own ideas.
• Let’s bring value to more and more organizations, companies, and countries around the world.

Don’t take my word for it! Try it out. I encourage you to reflect on ways you are already a producer.

Where in your life do you produce things?
With your family?
In your relationships?
At your job?
In your home?
As a parent?
As a child?
As a sibling?
In your community?
At your school?
Through your volunteer committments?
In your neighborhood?
With your extra-curricular group?
On your team?

There are many different circles of influence in which all of us act: and we may find out that we are producers, in some way, in many of those different circles. When we consider all the ways in which we are able to impact other people’s lives, we get a head start on the knowledge and responsibility that comes with being a producer.

I encourage you to create more ways to invite Production-related energy (instead of manufactured Consumer-related energy) into your life.

Producer vs. Consumer
1) Write a book vs. Read a book
2) Design a graphic vs. Looking at a graphic
3) Growing vegetables vs. Buying vegetables
4) Cooking a recipe vs. Eating out at a restaurant
5) Creating new music vs. Listening to someone else’s music
6) Sewing clothes vs. Purchasing clothes
7) Imagining vs. Watching TV
8) Being on the field vs. Watching from the Stands
9) Passionate vs. Don’t Care
10) Sell vs. Buy

Some words to encourage your imagination:

Arrange
Bring into existence
Imagine
Grow
Produce
Act
Move
Imagine
Pretend
Brand
Induce
Bring in
Realize
Build
Construct
Reach
Give
Attain
Cook
Fix
Prepare
Modify
Alter
Publish
Modify
Add
Develop
Consider
View
Perform
Make Believe