3 B's of Back To School

Relationships Matter Now wishes students of all ages a great back-to-school season.  We also have a few pieces of advice as you go back to school.

Be Confident

You have all you need to conquer this new school year inside. Be confident in what you've learned to date knowing it has prepared you for the new things you will learn this year. Remember, the way you start is the way you finish. Go in full of confidence that you will have a great year and that is what you will have. Leave fear and apprehension at the door. Be confident that all you need to be successful in this new school year is within you.

Be Relaxed

All the activity to get back into the school routine can mess with your nerves. Relax. Really. Relax in the confidence we just spoke about. Make sure you get enough sleep; that may mean getting to bed earlier than normal in the early days due to the anxiety. Nothing makes us more relaxed than a full tank of energy and you only get that from getting the proper amount of rest. You have a clean slate. Now relax and enjoy it.

Be You

Without question, the most important thing to remember for the new year is to be you. Go into this new school year being fully who you are. Embrace yourself and all the quirky qualities you bring to the party. You are the only "you" there is and the world needs you, your perspective and your style. It is tempting to blend in to "fit in," but that is a recipe for disaster. Now more than ever, it is critical to just "do you" and let those who appreciate you into your life while repelling those who don't.

This new year is going to be great. Take the time to be confident, be relaxed and be yourself as you start. We are all cheering for you!

Thank You Series: Awakening True Womanly Confidence - Part One

The next three weeks, I'll be giving a shout out to three individuals who have impacted my life in tremendous ways with seemingly minor comments and/or actions toward me that changed my life from the moment they delivered them.

This week, I salute Paul Johnson, the man who in the summer of 1997 awoke my true womanly confidence by approaching me and declaring what he knew to be true about me.

Now, this is not your ordinary flirting pick-up line scenario.

Paul had observed me in action as I juggled two dates in one night while playing co-host to an awesome summer party in Atlanta.  I did not know he was observing but he was. And he noticed a few things about me that I'd not quite noticed about myself at the time.

My smile is magnetic. Lights up a room and hearts of many with little effort. I am very generous with my smile - always have been. Paul simply asked me to share my smile with him up close. He wanted to know the source of my joy and he knew it was not either of the dates I'd attended to that night, nor was it my job at the time.

We spoke for I-don't-know-how-many-minutes that night on that porch in Atlanta but what I do know is when we stopped speaking - I was changed. He finished our talk with telling me what a beautiful and confident woman I was and how any man is blessed to have time with me.

Until that point, no one had ever called me beautiful based on spending time with me. There were the hecklers who wanted to bed me down who commented on my "physical beauty" and "sexiness" but never before Paul had anyone taken time to appreciate the richness that is me. My full personality.

Of course, I ended up dating him for a short time before we both left Atlanta that fall - he for LA and I for Chicago. But nothing compares to that initial meeting on the porch where he awakened a solid confidence in me that has never slept again. That led directly to my next thank you which goes out to a billionaire who gave me a different kind of gift that propelled me in my career.

Tune in next week for Part Two!

In the meantime - who do you need to thank? Reflect on people/situations that have changed the course of your life. Write about them. Leave me a comment. Open up and recognize goodness in your past.

From Here To Your Life's Work: Step 5 - Make A Bold Move

Fifth and final step toward your life's work

We've come to the place in the journey where the rubber meets to road.

Do you really believe you've found your life's work?

Are you ready to take a gamble on yourself?

Will you make a move that scares you?

Regardless your answers to those questions, you at this point and you need to answer them honestly.

Over the last few weeks, we've journeyed through the main topics of my book, From Here to There: 5 Steps To Doing Your Life's Work Every Day. The final step in the journey comes easy for some.

After spending the time to find your voice, build the tribe, start something and committing to using your best talents daily - the final step just presents itself and many will grab the opportunity. Or it could take time practically pass you by like it happened for me.

While I was starting stuff and using my talents daily, the "bold move" took more than a full year to manifest itself for me. I contend that this step is actually a series of small bold moves that allow you to take comfort in your direction.

Had I not started making small bold moves before the fall of 2011, I am pretty sure I would not have recognized the bold, bold move when it appeared.  One of my small bold moves was making an identity for the my business and making business cards in the summer of 2010. Engaging a design group to create a logo and mark for Relationships Matter Now was one of the first moves I made to bring the ideas and thoughts on my life's work to life.

Stepping out, spending money and engaging outsiders in that vision way back then was really a bold move albeit small in my eyes. There were a series of these small bold moves for the 15 months until I made what I now point to as THE bold move that changed the course of the business and subsequently my life. Without question, the small steps made me ready for the big one when it appeared. It is the simple law of momentum. Once an object is set into motion in a direction, lots of forces support the move and only a huge counter effort can stop it.

We must not waver. Once you start the journey to your life's work - you must complete it. There is no time frame but you have to take advantage of any momentum you generate and you have to make bold moves. Often.


Be ready when your bold move presents itself.