I recently keynoted a women’s leadership conference for a financial planning company. For an hour and 15 minutes I poured my heart out, I gave them the very best information I have on how to Show UP, Be BOLD and Play BIG so you can live a FULL OUT life. It was really powerful stuff! The group responded with a rousing standing ovation. The feedback was 5 star. I sold every book and bracelet I brought with me (which was in the 100s) and I left with 2 pages of orders to ship. To make it even better, after the lines had cleared, they handed me a prickly pear margarita. It was the perfect event. Basking in the glow of this successful talk and the lives I’d touched and the friends I’d made, I headed back to my room. As I reached the elevator there was a group of women who’d been in the seminar talking. They saw me coming and one woman said, “I want to tell you the biggest thing I took away from your talk.” I responded, “I’d love to hear it.” She said, “That you take one week every year to yourself. That’s incredible. I’m going to start with a weekend. Thanks so much for sharing that.” I did the smile and nod and headed to my room.
WHAT????? REALLY?
I was expected something far more profound. I gave 75 minutes of jam packed tips and techniques for living a better life and the biggest thing she walked away with was a random comment about a week I spend alone on the lake every year? I was FLABERGASTED!
But when I got back to my room it hit me. We all hear what we NEED to hear. She needed to be given permission to take time for herself. Balancing work and life and time for myse
lf is something I value. It’s something I make sure I do it. I realized that I no longer needed someone to give me permission to take care of myself and create alone time.
So this month’s note is about giving permission. Giving permission to yourself to give you what you need so you can LIVE LIFE FULL OUT! No one knows what that is except you! So let’s explorehow you can give yourself permission to do what you need to do, to be the very best YOU!
Whoop! Whoop!
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
The first time I got the hair brained idea that I was going to spend a week on the lake, all by myself, the odds of it happening seemed as likely as winning the LOTTO. I had 4 kids at home, the youngest was 7. With a husband who was a crazy-busy dentist, older kids with summer jobs and a 2nd grader – it felt impossible. As I tried to work out the logistics, I thought, this will never happen.
But then, I had this thought…..
I thought, if my mom got really sick and needed me (which she had already twice in my life – once when she had an emergency hysterectomy and once when she was knocked down in the hallway by a student and broke her hip) I would be there. I would move heaven and earth, and do whatever it took to go and be by my mom’s side.
So why didn’t I make myself just as important?
Wasn’t my mental sanity, and what I wanted and NEEDED in my life as important as driving carpool, making enchiladas on a Tuesday, or flying across the country when my Mom needed me?
So I decided to treat my week alone on the lake with the same urgency.
I swapped childcare with friends. I signed one kid up for a camp she’d wanted to go to for years. I enrolled friends to help with sports practices and weekend travel matches. I printed out a 3 page agenda for my hubby, complete with meal plans and casoroles all frozen and labeled in the deep freeze.
Was it easy? NO.
Was it comfortable? NO.
(Vulnerable share here: Every year I spend the first day in the middle of the channel on the lake where I get cell service sending texts, checking email and following up with those I’ve left in charge. I know, not pretty, but I’m working on it!)
Was it necessary? No, not really. I would have survived without it.
Was it worth it? Absolutely.
In some intrinsic way, it was a total, complete game changer in life for me. It was when my business flourished. It was when my spirituality deepend. It was when my marriage became better. It was when I got stronger.
For me, once I did it, I knew I could stand on the platform and say to a group of successful, amazing women – LISTEN TO ME. I didn’t feel that way after I built a million dollar business. (although I knew that was cool too….) It was once I really took charge of my life and said, I’m going to make ME matter.
So what is the ‘thing’ you want to do for you the most right now?
What’s the thing that will be your game changer and let you know that you’re in control of your own life? What’s it going to take for you to have a FULL OUT life?
Now, take a deep breath and make it happen!
