Shownotes
Living A More Enriched & Peaceful Life
- What is the REALIFE Process®?
- 4 components of the process and what they mean.
- Identifying the things that truly matter to you and how to focus on them.
- Integrating your true values into your daily activities.
- The importance of rest and what that really means.
- Making sure the important things get the attention they need without burning you out.
- A simple challenge to get you started!
- Finding extraordinary moments in ordinary days.
- And so many more insights on how to live a more peaceful and enriched life!
Tune in now to discover how you can enjoy more peace and live a more enriched life in the coming year!
Resources Mentioned
- 247 - Learn Something New About Yourself
- Do What Matters book by Teresa McCloy
Sue's Favorite Holiday-Themed Episodes
- 350 - Another Holiday Story from Simon & Schuster Author Heidi Swain
- Tips & Talk 42 - A Holiday Poem "... When All Through the Store ..."
- 297 - A Holiday Story and Peek into the Life of Bestselling Author Heidi Swain
- 246 - Do You Know the Origin of Our Christmas Traditions? Some Will Surprise You!
- 142 - The Best Holiday Gift of All
Teresa's Contact Links
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedInJoin Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
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You're listening to Gift Biz Unwrapped guest,
Speaker:episode number 402.
Speaker:I wanna live out my life from who I'm being,
Speaker:not what I'm doing.
Speaker:Attention Gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is Gift Biz Unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host Gift Biz gal Sue Moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and I am so happy that you're here with
Speaker:me on this Christmas Eve day.
Speaker:If you're listening right as this is released,
Speaker:that is I always like to give you something extra special
Speaker:for the holidays in the years past,
Speaker:we've had some Christmas stories from author Heidi Swain,
Speaker:an explanation of holiday traditions that might surprise you.
Speaker:A popular Christmas poem revised by yours truly to reflect small
Speaker:handmade business and some other fun spins for the holidays as
Speaker:well. I'll put the links to my favorites in the show
Speaker:notes if you'd like to go back and take a listen
Speaker:for this year.
Speaker:I decided to do something still entertaining,
Speaker:but with the spin of providing you with hope for a
Speaker:new way of living in the upcoming year.
Speaker:Whoa, that sounds big,
Speaker:doesn't it?
Speaker:A new way of living yet.
Speaker:That's exactly what you'll hear about right now and this may
Speaker:be one of the best gifts you could ever give yourself
Speaker:to enrich everything that you do in the days to come.
Speaker:Teresa, I am so excited that you agreed to come on
Speaker:this show for this special Christmas Eve episode.
Speaker:Well it is so great to be back and the invitation
Speaker:just felt so good when you said let's do a Christmas
Speaker:Eve episode.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:absolutely. Let's do this.
Speaker:I'm excited.
Speaker:Zoom. Yeah,
Speaker:me too.
Speaker:The last time you were on the podcast was way back
Speaker:in 2019.
Speaker:That was a New Year's show.
Speaker:You're getting like my primo spot here.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:I didn't remember it being the New Year's show,
Speaker:so that's awesome.
Speaker:Yeah, it was the New Year's show cuz we were kind
Speaker:of like setting the stage for the new year and that
Speaker:was all about the Enneagram,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and really diving into that and anyone who's listening who isn't
Speaker:familiar with the Enneagram,
Speaker:go back and listen to that episode.
Speaker:It's number 2 47,
Speaker:but so much has happened since then.
Speaker:It has.
Speaker:You did have the real life process branded at that point.
Speaker:I was just starting it.
Speaker:Yes. It was being implemented.
Speaker:I was using it with private clients,
Speaker:which is a life process that we take people through of
Speaker:kind of learning to live from Rust,
Speaker:not rush.
Speaker:And how does that look different in a framework to do
Speaker:that with.
Speaker:And the Enneagram is still from a personality profile that we
Speaker:use, it's still a part of it.
Speaker:And so the Enneagram is similar to like Colby,
Speaker:a lot of people are familiar with like Colby and Disk
Speaker:and some of those things and it's just the tool that
Speaker:we use.
Speaker:But we were just developing out kind of in the background,
Speaker:our framework for the real life process.
Speaker:So from 2019 to almost 2023,
Speaker:we have done that and launched a book this year with
Speaker:the whole framework in it.
Speaker:And I appreciate the invitation to just be on this episode
Speaker:with you.
Speaker:Well it's such a special concept and we were talking a
Speaker:little bit about it before we press the record button.
Speaker:But as you go through life and especially I'm gonna talk
Speaker:to everyone who's listening here as handmade creators,
Speaker:starting your own business,
Speaker:putting something out in the world that's so personal to you,
Speaker:you do it for a lifestyle business,
Speaker:but we all know it's way more than that.
Speaker:And then you get this business creep,
Speaker:I'll call it,
Speaker:where it takes over your life.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you constantly are thinking about it.
Speaker:It's like another baby actually when you're starting a business.
Speaker:But very quickly,
Speaker:and I've seen this happen to me,
Speaker:it still happens to me.
Speaker:My business takes over my life instead of being part of
Speaker:my life.
Speaker:And what I see with what you are doing is it
Speaker:really helps you reground yourself.
Speaker:I Love hearing your insights from it because it's so fun
Speaker:for me to just hear how it resonated with you.
Speaker:Your listenership,
Speaker:your audience is probably as close to like my ideal reader
Speaker:or ideal client as anyone because it is those people that
Speaker:say I'm gifted to do this and I know I'm supposed
Speaker:to do this and this is my offering to the world.
Speaker:But then,
Speaker:right, it becomes the end all.
Speaker:And that's my life story in so many ways.
Speaker:Like it becomes the end all whatever we're doing.
Speaker:And so yeah,
Speaker:let's kind of flesh it out.
Speaker:I'd love to hear how that played out for you This
Speaker:time of year.
Speaker:We're always trying to put some of our business aside if
Speaker:we can and reconnect with family.
Speaker:Recognize what's really important to us.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:whether it's religion,
Speaker:family, being with friends,
Speaker:the more personal side starts to get to come up to
Speaker:the top again.
Speaker:But the thing that I love about the real life process
Speaker:that's really resonating with me is the fact that it's making
Speaker:you look inside yourself about what's really,
Speaker:really important for you,
Speaker:but the result of it,
Speaker:there's one sentence in your book and when I got to
Speaker:it and I'm like this,
Speaker:I have to read on the podcast because this brings it
Speaker:all together.
Speaker:Okay, so we've got our personal life,
Speaker:we've got all the things we do for work,
Speaker:all the roles we play,
Speaker:mom, educator,
Speaker:volunteers, businesswoman,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:But all of that has to integrate somewhere in your life,
Speaker:right? And so here's the sentence that really brought it together
Speaker:for me on page 144,
Speaker:anyone who has or will be getting the book and it
Speaker:says, I'm now present to who I am being first before
Speaker:doing so who I am as a person first before all
Speaker:this activity that I fit into my days.
Speaker:I still pursue lots of things,
Speaker:but it comes from a different place,
Speaker:a truer,
Speaker:more authentic place that dwells deep within my soul.
Speaker:When I read that,
Speaker:I'm like man,
Speaker:like we don't want our days just passing us by without
Speaker:them being rich and fulfilling and intentional,
Speaker:which is a lot of what we don't do.
Speaker:There's no intention to our days.
Speaker:We just run through the minutes and the hours rushing from
Speaker:one thing to another.
Speaker:And that one sentence to me of the whole book is
Speaker:like, that's what real life is all about.
Speaker:The whole process incorporating it and starting to follow it is
Speaker:that Thank you friend for just pulling out that one quote
Speaker:because if you are watching me on video right now,
Speaker:I always point to my belly.
Speaker:I don't know why,
Speaker:but it's when we're living our life from an internal place,
Speaker:not an external.
Speaker:So external feels like this is happening to me and I'm
Speaker:not choosing what's happening to me,
Speaker:it's just happening.
Speaker:I refer to the book often.
Speaker:I say you're living with your hair on fire.
Speaker:Like you're just moving to putting out the next fire to
Speaker:the next fire,
Speaker:to the next fire.
Speaker:And entrepreneurs and business owners especially live in that.
Speaker:And we become so used to it that we don't ever
Speaker:get up on the balcony of our life and just pause
Speaker:and say,
Speaker:gosh, have I spent the last year or 90 days doing
Speaker:what I would say matters to me?
Speaker:Title of the book,
Speaker:do what matters,
Speaker:live from rest,
Speaker:not rush.
Speaker:And we know rest doesn't mean I'm gonna go take a
Speaker:nap every day.
Speaker:Rest is an internal place that feels good that go,
Speaker:wow, everything I did today revolved around these areas in my
Speaker:life that I say matter.
Speaker:Business being one of them but not the only one.
Speaker:So does every day,
Speaker:or at least every week,
Speaker:I kind of look at the weekly calendar,
Speaker:have parts of it that relate to the things that matter
Speaker:to me,
Speaker:the people that matter to me.
Speaker:Many times when I go to a workshop for a bunch
Speaker:of business owners,
Speaker:whether they're brick and mortar or whether they're creative entrepreneurs like
Speaker:your audience and I say,
Speaker:Hey, let's look at your calendar and then you know,
Speaker:just pull it up on your phone,
Speaker:pull it up on your iPad,
Speaker:your laptop,
Speaker:whatever. And I'll say what matters to you?
Speaker:Almost 90% of people would say,
Speaker:my family,
Speaker:my friends,
Speaker:my inner circle,
Speaker:my team,
Speaker:almost all of them would say relational.
Speaker:Very few people are saying,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm really,
Speaker:it matters to me what the next product is I create.
Speaker:And then when I ask the deeper question,
Speaker:right, like so show me where those things are at on
Speaker:your calendar.
Speaker:Then it's like,
Speaker:well crap,
Speaker:They're not on My calendar.
Speaker:Like the aha moment is like they're not there because we
Speaker:try to fit those things in the nooks and the crannies
Speaker:and the leftovers.
Speaker:I don't even like leftovers out of the fridge,
Speaker:I'll be honest,
Speaker:like and yet I'm trying to fit the things I say
Speaker:matter the most to me in the leftover time at nine
Speaker:o'clock at night after you finally got done doing whatever and
Speaker:you're like,
Speaker:now I'll sit down and watch the TV show with my
Speaker:significant other or whatever.
Speaker:It's in the cracks.
Speaker:And I know you and I had talked at this time
Speaker:of year especially,
Speaker:could we create a fresh start around that?
Speaker:I call them people blocks.
Speaker:So we'll get to that in a minute.
Speaker:We're gonna get to that and everybody stay tuned cuz we're
Speaker:gonna have a challenge for you.
Speaker:Oh yes,
Speaker:we're, I had asked Teresa if this was appropriate and she
Speaker:lit up and thought yes.
Speaker:So stay tuned to hear about that.
Speaker:But that has to fit in with some more conversation.
Speaker:But to your point about the calendar,
Speaker:I think unintentionally and I,
Speaker:there's that word again,
Speaker:but what happens is we feel like the business things have
Speaker:to take priority cuz they're always on deadline and a lot
Speaker:of our personal things aren't or can be switched.
Speaker:Yes. And then what happens is they keep getting backed up
Speaker:and then they either never happen or they're rushed through or
Speaker:we're not even really getting the richness out of the moment
Speaker:because we're thinking about,
Speaker:dang I'm having coffee with a friend,
Speaker:but I have all this other work stuff that I have
Speaker:to do.
Speaker:So I think the value of the moments also goes down
Speaker:when you're spending the time there,
Speaker:gosh, you might as well be getting everything out of it,
Speaker:but it all goes to how are you planning on living
Speaker:your life and how does it work,
Speaker:Right? It comes to,
Speaker:we call 'em components.
Speaker:We have four components that we talk about in the book
Speaker:and in that first component,
Speaker:the internal work that you were talking about,
Speaker:the deep down gut,
Speaker:kind of what matters to me,
Speaker:questions, once you've decided those five to seven kind of big
Speaker:rocks areas of focus that you have in your life,
Speaker:again, I think this is some myth that we've been taught
Speaker:that all of that can be done at the same time.
Speaker:Like I have five to seven areas that matter to me
Speaker:and I should be giving attention to every single one of
Speaker:them all the time.
Speaker:Now you and I are in a season of life and
Speaker:many people are where other things come,
Speaker:right? We have parents we need to care for,
Speaker:we have adult children that still need our attention.
Speaker:We have things that are going on that shift in our
Speaker:life and so that needs our attention.
Speaker:And so it's okay to say right now maybe,
Speaker:and a lot of people would disagree with me,
Speaker:but maybe my health is not,
Speaker:I'm not gonna start a new exercise program right now because
Speaker:the capacity for me to do that right now and also
Speaker:care for an aging parent or take care of someone or
Speaker:give attention to my business is not the exact time to
Speaker:do this.
Speaker:Doesn't mean my health,
Speaker:my self care,
Speaker:my soul care doesn't matter.
Speaker:It's just not the project that I'm working on in this
Speaker:90 days.
Speaker:Because to start a new exercise program or sign up for
Speaker:yoga takes a commitment of time and energy.
Speaker:Eventually it might become just a part of your routine.
Speaker:And I think that's the misnomer we've been sold is that
Speaker:we can take all those areas of life and we can
Speaker:do something big in all of them all the time.
Speaker:How about we give it some harmony and break it down
Speaker:into smaller incremental areas and say this 90 days,
Speaker:these two or three things matter.
Speaker:And in 90 days I'll look at my areas again and
Speaker:decide which ones business is always gonna be in there,
Speaker:but it can't be the only one that we're focusing on
Speaker:all the time Or it may be a different level of
Speaker:business at the time.
Speaker:Exactly. I said this in an episode a little while ago
Speaker:that I was at a trade show recently and someone came
Speaker:up to the booth,
Speaker:we were talking about different things and she's like,
Speaker:I don't know that I wanna go to the next level.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:well then don't,
Speaker:Yeah, that's fine.
Speaker:And she's like,
Speaker:what? And I'm like,
Speaker:I'm giving you permission.
Speaker:Like if you are happy where you are,
Speaker:you're making money,
Speaker:it's fulfilling your needs and you're are having a life.
Speaker:You don't have to grow your business any bigger.
Speaker:At least now you could always decide too later.
Speaker:And her response was so funny because she's like,
Speaker:I can.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:yes, and you are just as successful.
Speaker:It's a conscious decision you're making,
Speaker:But you gave her permission,
Speaker:right? To say for this next year in that area of
Speaker:focus, I'm content,
Speaker:what would it feel like to be content?
Speaker:We're sold sometimes this bill of goods and it always has
Speaker:to be the next thing and then the next thing.
Speaker:And if you don't have four team members and you're not
Speaker:doing all this business or taking it to double and triple
Speaker:figures and six figures or whatever,
Speaker:that it's really sitting down and saying,
Speaker:what do I want this area of my life to be
Speaker:about? And writing out even a statement around that area of
Speaker:life. Like right now,
Speaker:my extended family matters to me.
Speaker:They're one of my areas of focus.
Speaker:So it is seeing my parents once a month in person
Speaker:talking to them on the phone two to three times a
Speaker:week. I'm that specific with what it looks like for this
Speaker:area of my life to matter.
Speaker:Then I break that down into how's that gonna happen?
Speaker:Well I'm probably gonna have to put it on my calendar.
Speaker:I'm gonna have to think out what days can I get
Speaker:there that's not gonna affect my business if I plan ahead
Speaker:of time and now I've got a plan for the next
Speaker:three to four months of how that's all gonna work.
Speaker:Does it always come out perfectly?
Speaker:No. But if it gets to 80%,
Speaker:we've made progress,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:If it gets to that,
Speaker:we've made progress.
Speaker:So that means I'm saying no to some other things.
Speaker:Cuz every time we say yes to something means we are
Speaker:saying no to something else.
Speaker:And the result then is a life that looks different because
Speaker:you've got your things planned out that are really important to
Speaker:you. You've identified certain,
Speaker:are they called values then?
Speaker:Needs? Values?
Speaker:I'm not sure.
Speaker:Yeah, the values and needs work that you had mentioned even
Speaker:before we started.
Speaker:It's one of the exercises I have in the book.
Speaker:It's an assessment that we have and we have a sample
Speaker:of that in the book that can really get you started
Speaker:and once you say these are the values.
Speaker:And so how do I live those values out?
Speaker:Like I have a value of impact making an impact.
Speaker:So how do I live that value of impact out not
Speaker:only in my business but in the relationships?
Speaker:How do I impact in my family?
Speaker:How do I impact in my friendships cuz impact is different
Speaker:things in different places.
Speaker:So I can live out that value of impact.
Speaker:I have a value of empathy and I have a very
Speaker:dear friend walking through stage four cancer right now.
Speaker:And so how do I live out that value of empathy
Speaker:there? How do I allow time and space on my calendar
Speaker:to say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:things matter but this matters a lot and this value gets
Speaker:lived out.
Speaker:When I say yes to the area of focus of deep
Speaker:friendships, that's one of my areas that matters in my life
Speaker:is three to four deep friendships.
Speaker:I can't be deep friends with 25 people,
Speaker:but I know that I can pour in and they would
Speaker:pour back into me.
Speaker:So that's how the values piece ties to the next level,
Speaker:which is the areas of focus.
Speaker:So we just kind of build up in layers to help
Speaker:you discover who do I wanna be?
Speaker:Going back to the sentence you read from the book,
Speaker:I wanna live out my life from who I'm being,
Speaker:not what I'm doing.
Speaker:Like that's just a title.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I'm not gonna do that forever,
Speaker:but I'm gonna be who I am forever.
Speaker:And so the whole idea of then the real life process
Speaker:is taking that who you really are and what's important to
Speaker:you and integrating it into your days so that you're actually
Speaker:living the things that are most important to you.
Speaker:And also getting things done and having them actually happen versus
Speaker:just giving it lip service,
Speaker:if you will.
Speaker:Yes. And so I'm not only getting things done around my
Speaker:business, people that are falling this process,
Speaker:it's like a life map.
Speaker:It's a place to say I have written down and I
Speaker:have declared and I have stated these things matter to me
Speaker:and when I need to check myself.
Speaker:In our last component we talk about a weekly review.
Speaker:And so when I need to check myself once a week
Speaker:for 20 or 30 minutes,
Speaker:I go,
Speaker:let me pull out my little life map here that I've
Speaker:written out and let me say,
Speaker:oh gosh,
Speaker:I did so well here.
Speaker:Like I was leaning into that this week,
Speaker:but you know this area,
Speaker:even though it's not my focus for the next 90 days,
Speaker:I don't wanna let it slide so far off.
Speaker:So you always have kind of these stakes in the ground
Speaker:and then you don't have to go start a new program
Speaker:every six months and go,
Speaker:oh this is probably the best book I'll ever read on
Speaker:time management and things.
Speaker:And then I'll start another one and another one in another
Speaker:one. And we're looking for the answers out there somewhere when
Speaker:I know you work with coaching too,
Speaker:the answers are in us.
Speaker:We'll just slow down long enough and do a little bit
Speaker:of deeper introspective work and then go back out in the
Speaker:world and do the work that we're supposed to do to
Speaker:build for our families and those that we love and do
Speaker:all the things,
Speaker:but we gotta do the deep little bit of work internally
Speaker:to live it out Externally.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:So the idea here is to enrich your life and your
Speaker:days with things that are the most important to you.
Speaker:So the process includes four,
Speaker:you call them components.
Speaker:Can you quickly review What those are for us?
Speaker:Sure, I can.
Speaker:So the first component,
Speaker:and these don't have to be done in any order,
Speaker:that's why we call 'em components,
Speaker:not steps because we want you to meet where you are.
Speaker:So you mentioned like I've read through the whole book,
Speaker:but now I'm gonna go back and read it again.
Speaker:We want it to be like a reference of components in
Speaker:some ways.
Speaker:And that's the way our facilitators and myself as a coach
Speaker:and our coaches work with people.
Speaker:So the first component is real life being that's getting down
Speaker:into the internal self,
Speaker:right? What are your needs?
Speaker:What are your values?
Speaker:Do you have a life mission statement?
Speaker:Do you know what you're good at?
Speaker:Like what assessments have you taken,
Speaker:Enneagram, Colby,
Speaker:whatever. Let's capture all of those and say this is who
Speaker:I am,
Speaker:this is a part of my being.
Speaker:And then what are the big rocks,
Speaker:the areas of focus that matter in your life.
Speaker:Family, business,
Speaker:self-care, soul care,
Speaker:friendships, financial recreation.
Speaker:The thing about the relay process is you get to name
Speaker:those sue and you get to give them language.
Speaker:Cuz my language would be different than yours,
Speaker:right? I can give you suggestions,
Speaker:but you may call your business your profession or you may
Speaker:call it you know something else.
Speaker:So it's really living into your real life.
Speaker:So it's yours.
Speaker:So that's the first step.
Speaker:Second step is how do I take those areas of focus
Speaker:and say in the next 90 days,
Speaker:this is what I need to focus on.
Speaker:And we do that through some mind mapping tools.
Speaker:We have some ways and we share in the book of
Speaker:how you can break that down and discover like,
Speaker:okay, in my business in the next 90 days I'm gonna
Speaker:need to do this,
Speaker:this, this and this.
Speaker:Which one of those really is the most important?
Speaker:Cuz I can't do all of those.
Speaker:So there's a little discernment,
Speaker:a little exercise that you can figure out.
Speaker:Or in my life,
Speaker:like in the season that we're in right now,
Speaker:a lot of you have just spent a lot of time
Speaker:preparing for Christmas and getting ready.
Speaker:That actually is a project and we kind of forget.
Speaker:It's really a personal thing that takes up some time and
Speaker:space for us.
Speaker:And so how do I identify that this is going on?
Speaker:That's component number two.
Speaker:We call that real life action.
Speaker:How do I decide what I need to focus on and
Speaker:give it actionable steps?
Speaker:Then this third component is real life time.
Speaker:Now this is the one that a lot of people will
Speaker:show up at our doorstep for.
Speaker:Help me figure out what to do in my week and
Speaker:how to do it and let's put out a little bit
Speaker:of that fire.
Speaker:So real lifetime we talk about how to block time that
Speaker:matters through four different little identities that we give your time.
Speaker:A lot of this you're already doing,
Speaker:you just haven't given it language.
Speaker:So a present block on your calendar where you do some
Speaker:self-care, soul care,
Speaker:take care of you,
Speaker:personal development,
Speaker:exercise, a people block,
Speaker:which we can dive into a little bit.
Speaker:Who are the people that matter to you and are they
Speaker:on your calendar?
Speaker:A project block?
Speaker:Going back to those things that you decided in this 90
Speaker:days you need to work on.
Speaker:We have to set aside some time to do do those.
Speaker:So we have to have some blocks of project time.
Speaker:And then the last one we call a prep block.
Speaker:A prep block is where a lot of people spend all
Speaker:their time.
Speaker:You know it's answering emails,
Speaker:putting out fires,
Speaker:managing their calendar,
Speaker:running all their errands.
Speaker:If we let all of that eat up all our time,
Speaker:we don't get to the other three.
Speaker:And a lot of entrepreneurs spend all their time in prep
Speaker:blocks. So a lot of our time management learning is how
Speaker:to narrow down two to three small prep blocks a day
Speaker:to allow time for the bigger projects and for the relationships
Speaker:and for the self care.
Speaker:So narrowing down,
Speaker:prep blocks,
Speaker:expanding the others is a large part of that third component.
Speaker:And then the last component is component number four.
Speaker:And I call it the three Rs.
Speaker:Do you know how to rest?
Speaker:This is another big one for entrepreneurs.
Speaker:Do you know how to take a day off like a
Speaker:complete day off?
Speaker:No, most of us don't.
Speaker:Nor did I.
Speaker:And what I mean by a day off is a day
Speaker:that's lived at a slower different pace.
Speaker:No appointments on your calendar.
Speaker:We were designed to have a day off.
Speaker:Our bodies need it,
Speaker:our minds need it,
Speaker:our emotions need it.
Speaker:That doesn't mean you're laying in bed all day,
Speaker:although that's an option if you need it,
Speaker:that's an option.
Speaker:That's good self-care,
Speaker:I just need to sleep all day,
Speaker:that's okay.
Speaker:But what does rest look like?
Speaker:What does renew look like?
Speaker:And that's a different kind of block of time.
Speaker:Renew is what do you enjoy doing?
Speaker:So I'd ask you,
Speaker:Sue, do you even have a hobby besides,
Speaker:I mean you may have even started your business,
Speaker:many of your creators,
Speaker:right, started their business as a hobby and now the thing
Speaker:they love the most that was renewing to them is a
Speaker:business and it's taken over their life,
Speaker:right? So they need to find something different to do.
Speaker:And I always say it's best if it's not on screens
Speaker:or it's not doing what you've been doing all day.
Speaker:So is it riding a bike?
Speaker:Is it learning to create something different?
Speaker:Doing sculpting or painting or something like that?
Speaker:Is it something you wanna do with a significant other or
Speaker:a spouse like learn to play golf or whatever it is.
Speaker:Like something that you could do for six to seven hours
Speaker:that's renewing Six to seven hours And look at she's right
Speaker:now her eyes got really bad,
Speaker:like stepping away.
Speaker:So what does it feel like to not be in technology
Speaker:to really renew for most people?
Speaker:We find that that's some type of outdoor activity because we're
Speaker:inside a lot.
Speaker:So what would it feel like to get sunshine,
Speaker:to walk on the beach,
Speaker:to walk and go hiking and maybe you start with three
Speaker:to four hours,
Speaker:but we wanna expand that so rest,
Speaker:renew, and then review.
Speaker:How do I set aside 30 minutes a week to just
Speaker:review what's my week look like going forward?
Speaker:What did I need to remember from this week that didn't
Speaker:go exactly the way I kind of mapped it out?
Speaker:And what's the learning and takeaways?
Speaker:That doesn't have to be a long exercise,
Speaker:but it's important.
Speaker:And most people find that either a Friday evening,
Speaker:a Saturday morning over coffee,
Speaker:I personally do my weekly review on Sunday evening after my
Speaker:day of rest on Sunday evening,
Speaker:about five o'clock I sit down my calendar.
Speaker:Sometimes it's a conversation with my husband,
Speaker:what's your week look like?
Speaker:What do you got going on?
Speaker:Because again,
Speaker:he matters.
Speaker:Even my adult daughter,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I wanna make sure I'm getting together with them if I
Speaker:can once a week cuz they live close by.
Speaker:So I'm plugging in things for the next couple of weeks.
Speaker:I'm reviewing my calendar,
Speaker:reviewing my projects.
Speaker:And once you live in this lifestyle for three to six
Speaker:months, it just becomes natural that you think,
Speaker:how would I not do a weekly review?
Speaker:And probably most of your listeners are doing that in some
Speaker:way, shape,
Speaker:or form.
Speaker:It's just tweaking a little bit of these things in their
Speaker:calendar and going,
Speaker:oh, I never thought that that was a project block.
Speaker:I just say to myself all the time,
Speaker:I can't get things done.
Speaker:Yeah. So sometimes what we're saying in our head is not
Speaker:really the reality.
Speaker:When I look at some of my client's calendars,
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:you're doing all these things,
Speaker:let's just name them and let's get let go of a
Speaker:false belief that you're not living a great life cuz you're
Speaker:living a great life.
Speaker:Let's just tweak a few things.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:So That's kinda the process in a nutshell and some great
Speaker:work. Yeah.
Speaker:A couple of observations and some questions.
Speaker:Yeah, let's do It.
Speaker:The review stage,
Speaker:I feel is also a place for you to show grace
Speaker:to yourself.
Speaker:Yes. Because maybe you didn't do what you had thought you
Speaker:would be able to accomplish.
Speaker:That's okay.
Speaker:It's in the process and that's what you do at the
Speaker:end. Maybe you tweak what that task was.
Speaker:Yep. So that it will work.
Speaker:Or maybe it's not even relevant.
Speaker:Something dramatically changed in your week where it dropped to the
Speaker:bottom. So I see review as a great place just to
Speaker:look, monitor,
Speaker:adjust, stay on course,
Speaker:and have grace.
Speaker:Yes. Yes.
Speaker:Grace is a huge part of that step because say you
Speaker:got a phone call that something drastic happened with someone you
Speaker:love, well that you just automatically rescheduled three days.
Speaker:And so you're gonna give grace or say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:one of your projects did need more attention than you thought.
Speaker:You do the adjustment you give yourself grace.
Speaker:And I think that's an important part,
Speaker:Sue, because if we don't,
Speaker:it's still ruminating in our head for three or four more
Speaker:weeks, right?
Speaker:And now all of a sudden it's throwing off a bunch
Speaker:of other things because you're still stuck on,
Speaker:I just didn't have a great week three weeks ago and
Speaker:now everything's instead of just giving the pause of grace.
Speaker:So that's a great observation.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Okay, so still in the living of the component,
Speaker:we're gonna go backwards a little bit here,
Speaker:Right? That's fine.
Speaker:In the living when you're saying rest,
Speaker:which is a lot of self-care.
Speaker:So I go out and I like to take my walks
Speaker:and yeah,
Speaker:I listen to podcasts or audiobook sometimes during my walks,
Speaker:but that's my choice.
Speaker:I don't have to if I didn't want to.
Speaker:Does that go into rest or does that go into renew?
Speaker:Isn't this a fascinating conversation?
Speaker:Perhaps it's sparking some ideas for you on how you can
Speaker:live your life into next year in a different,
Speaker:more enriched and authentic way.
Speaker:You're gonna hear more conversation about this right after a quick
Speaker:break. I wanted to pause this discussion for a second to
Speaker:let you know that I recognize you may be feeling overwhelmed
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I bring on great guests who are specialists in their fields
Speaker:and we get into fabulous conversations that you know can help
Speaker:grow your business.
Speaker:So after the show you have the full intention of grabbing
Speaker:a download,
Speaker:making an adjustment on your website or any number of other
Speaker:ideas that arise as a result of this podcast.
Speaker:But what happens,
Speaker:you get back to your other activities and the momentum you
Speaker:once had gets lost.
Speaker:What you've planned to do is forgotten,
Speaker:then you feel bad because your business is going on as
Speaker:usual without implementing anything that you know would help grow your
Speaker:business. We're just too busy doing all the things like a
Speaker:robot moving from one thing to another without thinking because we
Speaker:have to.
Speaker:I get it,
Speaker:I've been there.
Speaker:But guess what?
Speaker:There is another way.
Speaker:Since I recognized this exact behavior in my own business,
Speaker:I set out to do something about it.
Speaker:And now what works for me,
Speaker:I'm sharing with you.
Speaker:I formalized the process and it's called the inspired daily planner,
Speaker:made specifically for gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers.
Speaker:But it's not your ordinary planner.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy.
Speaker:Plus it's not dated.
Speaker:So you can start using your planner the second it arrives
Speaker:at your doorstep.
Speaker:And that's not all included for each day is a motivational
Speaker:message or business building tip and plenty of space to capture
Speaker:and book in time for to-dos,
Speaker:schedule appointments and all those other ideas that are now getting
Speaker:lost. Think of it as a book and a planner all
Speaker:in one,
Speaker:yet compact enough to carry with you and resource as necessary.
Speaker:It's the perfect solution to truly act and move your business
Speaker:forward. Go to gift biz unwrap.com/inspired
Speaker:to get your hard copy planner along with my power of
Speaker:purpose video that will set you on the path for true
Speaker:business growth.
Speaker:This makes a great gift too.
Speaker:So if you have a bis bestie,
Speaker:pick up a planner for them too.
Speaker:That link again is gift biz unwrapped.com/inspired.
Speaker:Okay, let's get back to the show.
Speaker:Well that to me actually falls in that present block time
Speaker:that you're doing every day.
Speaker:So we kind of work with our clients to have a
Speaker:present block on a daily basis,
Speaker:right? So that would be your walks and your personal development.
Speaker:So you're combining exercise and personal development cuz you're listening to
Speaker:a podcast or an audiobook while you're walking.
Speaker:So that's all part of having a block of time every
Speaker:day that you're present to your own self-care.
Speaker:Rest, to me,
Speaker:in the real life living piece is actually a day where
Speaker:you're kind of stepping back from work or again,
Speaker:and your eyes are gonna get big.
Speaker:When I say this six to seven hours and saying,
Speaker:I'm gonna rest today,
Speaker:I'm gonna,
Speaker:maybe if I love to cook,
Speaker:I'm gonna cook a great meal.
Speaker:I might have some friends over,
Speaker:we're just gonna relax together.
Speaker:I'm gonna watch a movie,
Speaker:I'm gonna go out to dinner,
Speaker:I'm just gonna take a day off.
Speaker:And that is something that is so renewing because many times
Speaker:in that day off you'll have a great idea because you've
Speaker:stepped away from being in the weeds.
Speaker:That is so true.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:sometimes on my day of rest I go out and work
Speaker:in my yard and I work in my flower beds and
Speaker:I love to just weed out the,
Speaker:now I'm still being productive,
Speaker:right? I'm doing something I love to do,
Speaker:but my mind is in a different space and it feels
Speaker:so restful for me to get off the Zoom calls out
Speaker:of the creative,
Speaker:out of the content creation,
Speaker:out of all the things we do in our businesses and
Speaker:to just be in a different space many times.
Speaker:There is just something that drops into my head of,
Speaker:oh, that's the solution to that problem.
Speaker:That's how I wanna handle that.
Speaker:That's a new vision I wanna create.
Speaker:That's a new thing that's gonna go on my someday list.
Speaker:But we don't get there unless we rest right into something.
Speaker:Totally Agree with that.
Speaker:But so then how is that different from Renew?
Speaker:Because you might enjoy a hobby that you've put in your
Speaker:rest, but you said hobbies renew.
Speaker:Well it is a small distinguish.
Speaker:What I'm looking for to encourage people that wanna change this
Speaker:lifestyle is that you have both.
Speaker:You have times where you're really checking out and then you
Speaker:have times where renew sometimes is learning something new,
Speaker:right? Like I wanna learn something new.
Speaker:Maybe I wanna learn a new language,
Speaker:maybe I wanna learn to do a different hobby.
Speaker:It just has a small distinguish.
Speaker:It's gonna still feel restful.
Speaker:So let's go back to the old idea of having a
Speaker:weekend. A what?
Speaker:A what,
Speaker:right? Yeah,
Speaker:because we can work from home and we can work anytime
Speaker:we want.
Speaker:As entrepreneurs,
Speaker:we don't give boundaries to our days.
Speaker:So just identifying that I want,
Speaker:and for me,
Speaker:I want my Saturday to be a,
Speaker:there's not an appointment on my calendar.
Speaker:It is white space.
Speaker:It is margin galore.
Speaker:So if I wanna get up late and linger over coffee
Speaker:and read through all the emails that I love to read
Speaker:from my friends like you and just really spend time,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just in that inbox,
Speaker:just reading all the stuff or reading the newspaper or reading
Speaker:a good book out on my porch or getting in my
Speaker:hot tub,
Speaker:like what will bring life back into me And I do
Speaker:it a different pace and then the rest day is just
Speaker:a little bit different in.
Speaker:So it's thinking about that old weekend that we used to
Speaker:get when everything was closed down on the weekend and we
Speaker:made choices because there was nowhere to go or nothing to
Speaker:do. So we renewed ourselves and we rested the Saturday Sunday
Speaker:kind of rhythm.
Speaker:Now for some of your people it might be a Sunday,
Speaker:Monday or a Tuesday Wednesday and they don't even have to
Speaker:be back to back.
Speaker:Although I think there's something that feels good about a different
Speaker:couple of days and then I'm back in again and then
Speaker:a different couple of days.
Speaker:So it's the rhythm,
Speaker:behavior and routine of this flow,
Speaker:right, that we can get from renewal and rest.
Speaker:Right? And I'm thinking that some of our listeners are like,
Speaker:I can't do that.
Speaker:I have orders every day.
Speaker:Orders are expected to go out every day.
Speaker:And I'm a one woman show,
Speaker:so every time there's an order I've gotta flip and turn
Speaker:it around right away.
Speaker:I've come to find your customer's understanding you can also teach
Speaker:your customers what to expect.
Speaker:Yeah, that's what I would say to Sue if I was
Speaker:coaching with someone who said,
Speaker:but I can't do that.
Speaker:The question I would ask is why?
Speaker:Because like we have an assessment that we do for the
Speaker:Enneagram and the needs and values and we have it written.
Speaker:If someone purchases those that you can explain to your clients,
Speaker:it's a 24 hour turnaround Monday through Friday.
Speaker:And people know that if you are a kind of small
Speaker:business owner,
Speaker:you are showing them that you have great boundaries around your
Speaker:business for that reason.
Speaker:You're gonna be around a long time because you have good
Speaker:boundaries. Whereas so many people burn out because you know,
Speaker:or how can we create a better system and process so
Speaker:that you don't have to ship on the weekends or that
Speaker:you know there's something in place that somebody else ships for
Speaker:you on Saturday and Sunday so that you can have that.
Speaker:So is that the higher that you need to make to
Speaker:give yourself that margin as the CEO and business owner of
Speaker:your business so that you can be at your best creative
Speaker:self. So there's a lot of things that over time you're
Speaker:not gonna do this all at once.
Speaker:Over time you make small incremental steps to live differently.
Speaker:You didn't get here overnight.
Speaker:That's what I said.
Speaker:It took me three or four years in small incremental steps
Speaker:to develop my process and say this works.
Speaker:And I think you need the time to get there too.
Speaker:You do.
Speaker:You can't devote weeks and weeks a hundred percent devoted time
Speaker:and get there.
Speaker:You need to put in those weeks and months to see
Speaker:how it evolves.
Speaker:It's small incremental steps.
Speaker:Yeah. And that's why we look at the components and say
Speaker:which component,
Speaker:if I'm working with a client privately,
Speaker:I'm kind of like,
Speaker:which feels truest for you that we need to look at?
Speaker:Is it the rest and renew piece?
Speaker:Is it the time piece?
Speaker:Is it down in the needs and values?
Speaker:So you can start anywhere in the process.
Speaker:Yes, it would work great if we built it from the
Speaker:ground up,
Speaker:but it's kind of like,
Speaker:where are you at right now?
Speaker:What is really your most pressing place that you need to
Speaker:lean into?
Speaker:And that's why you can go back in the book and
Speaker:just reread a chapter and say this is where I'm gonna
Speaker:start, this is where I'm gonna dive in.
Speaker:This feels the best right now.
Speaker:Yeah. And getting some small wins along the way feels really
Speaker:good. Yes.
Speaker:So important.
Speaker:Yeah. Just for your psyche and to keep your momentum going
Speaker:and continuing.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:so now we're going back to component three and we're not
Speaker:hitting all of these because it's the holidays.
Speaker:I want you guys to get out and do other things
Speaker:besides listening.
Speaker:Yes. And we're gonna talk about that.
Speaker:Yeah. And if you're listening and it's not the holidays,
Speaker:all of this just incorporates into your life.
Speaker:So we are giving ideas for the holidays,
Speaker:but it can be for any day For sure.
Speaker:So when you talk about the blocks,
Speaker:one final observation and then we're gonna get into the fun
Speaker:stuff. Okay.
Speaker:Okay. Again,
Speaker:the blocks are present people project and prep.
Speaker:And I find it fascinating that prep is last because you'd
Speaker:always expect prep to be right at the first.
Speaker:Like that's the beginning.
Speaker:But to your point,
Speaker:emails, all these things,
Speaker:all these tasks that have become so routine for us to
Speaker:do, I've had to go back and look at myself and
Speaker:say, does the result of doing that task even matter?
Speaker:Mm. And by doing that,
Speaker:I filtered out a lot of things that have just been
Speaker:on my calendar and my routine and I find,
Speaker:you know what they mattered at one time,
Speaker:they don't matter now,
Speaker:or I can do it a different way or it takes
Speaker:way more time than the result.
Speaker:It's not worth It.
Speaker:Wow. That's awesome.
Speaker:And weed things out.
Speaker:And so I think that also sits in prep just for
Speaker:analysis as we're all going through and thinking about this for
Speaker:ourself. I often talk about the time blocks as if you've
Speaker:been on an airplane.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:they tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first
Speaker:and then take care of your baby,
Speaker:your elderly person,
Speaker:those next to you,
Speaker:that is actually the present block and the people block lived
Speaker:out, right?
Speaker:So I need to take care of me or I'm no
Speaker:good to anyone,
Speaker:right? So I have to be in good health,
Speaker:I have to be in good mental,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this goes into some of that Enneagram work of body,
Speaker:mind and emotions,
Speaker:right? Like I need to regulate me and be in a
Speaker:good space before I can give my best to those I
Speaker:care about,
Speaker:which is the people block.
Speaker:So that's why I encourage people,
Speaker:if you're building out your ideal week,
Speaker:put in your present blocks first,
Speaker:then put in the people blocks that you wanna have in
Speaker:the next week.
Speaker:And some of those may be repetitive.
Speaker:Like every Friday night's a date night for my husband and
Speaker:I, that's a people block every Friday night.
Speaker:So I can put that in from now till whenever in
Speaker:Google or whatever you use,
Speaker:put in the people blocks,
Speaker:what you'd like for them to be.
Speaker:Now we've got present our own care,
Speaker:we've got our people now put in the projects,
Speaker:the big things you're doing both personally and professionally.
Speaker:We recommend two to three projects every 90 days.
Speaker:So you know,
Speaker:every 90 days you're kind of reviewing,
Speaker:but you have time blocked out an hour and a half,
Speaker:two hours to work on those projects.
Speaker:So, and then the preps go in between those and then
Speaker:make sure you have white space.
Speaker:Mm. Just place that isn't claimed by anything.
Speaker:Because we know Dave Ramsey says,
Speaker:Murphy's moving in,
Speaker:there's gonna be something that Happens.
Speaker:Absolutely. He's always outside the door.
Speaker:Yeah, somewhere there's Gonna be something.
Speaker:Yeah. Software doesn't work,
Speaker:orders don't process things don't go through that.
Speaker:You have to give some attention to.
Speaker:Yeah. Plus the reason for the white space,
Speaker:and I talk about this in the book,
Speaker:that's where the moments that matter will happen.
Speaker:Ooh. That's where you linger in a conversation with a team
Speaker:member or a client or a customer or your spouse or
Speaker:your adult kids or your kids that are,
Speaker:you're taking care of at home and maybe homeschooling.
Speaker:That's where you have the margin to linger.
Speaker:And I can guarantee you most of those white space moments
Speaker:where you get to linger will be with people.
Speaker:They'll be like,
Speaker:this matters.
Speaker:I need to slow down enough to listen.
Speaker:Right? Like my kid just came home from school and they
Speaker:need me to listen.
Speaker:Right? Or my spouse just called and they need me to
Speaker:listen and I've got the margin,
Speaker:the white space to do that.
Speaker:So that's how we kind of work with time in that
Speaker:way and how we order a calendar.
Speaker:Yeah. So I'm thinking at the place we're at right now,
Speaker:Christmas Eve day,
Speaker:moving into the following week.
Speaker:Now we all don't have your book yet,
Speaker:haven't gone through the process cuz it takes some thinking and
Speaker:some work,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:worksheet planning and all of that to get that in.
Speaker:But I feel like we can offer an idea for everybody
Speaker:to think of using right now.
Speaker:And that is,
Speaker:you tell me differently if I'm wrong Teresa,
Speaker:okay? But as you're going into whatever your plans are for
Speaker:Christmas Eve,
Speaker:even if you find yourself alone with a special book,
Speaker:you know that you're gonna enjoy or you're with family,
Speaker:you still have that crazy ant that gets on your nerves
Speaker:all the time or you're like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever your situation is,
Speaker:whether it's tonight moving into Christmas,
Speaker:moving into New Year's to the people block,
Speaker:is be present in that moment and capture all the value
Speaker:and the good feeling that it can give you.
Speaker:Because I know for me so frequently I'm going through the
Speaker:motions cuz I've gotta get the food on the table and
Speaker:soon we're gonna unwrap and the dog is doing something crazy
Speaker:and like,
Speaker:and I'm missing a conversation with somebody who's very special to
Speaker:Me. So good.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:the holidays give us this opportunity because we are kind of
Speaker:stepping back for many of your listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they've met all the deadlines,
Speaker:they've got all the orders out,
Speaker:and now they've got kind of this golden week maybe that
Speaker:they're saying,
Speaker:I wanna put some stuff in here that really is meaningful.
Speaker:Whether it's today on Christmas Eve,
Speaker:tomorrow on Christmas,
Speaker:or throughout this whole week that they'll have ahead of them
Speaker:or you know,
Speaker:new Year's weekend,
Speaker:whatever it is.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:so how you can kind of approach this is just take
Speaker:a few minutes and say,
Speaker:who do I wanna spend time with this week?
Speaker:Who does matter?
Speaker:Like it matters to go to this Christmas event or this
Speaker:dinner. Or I have some high school friends that many times
Speaker:they'll come home,
Speaker:I'm 61 but I still got high school friends who come
Speaker:home to see their parents and I still live within an
Speaker:hour or two of my home.
Speaker:So we'll plan a dinner together to get together and go
Speaker:out to a nice dinner and catch up with one another.
Speaker:What would that feel like to lean into that and to
Speaker:say this matters to me to be with these people for
Speaker:a couple of hours,
Speaker:even if I only get to do it once a year.
Speaker:How could I invite them to my home or do that?
Speaker:Who do I wanna have in my home?
Speaker:Where do I wanna go?
Speaker:Who would I wanna go out to dinner with?
Speaker:Who would I wanna have coffee with?
Speaker:Doesn't mean you pack your whole week,
Speaker:but what are the three to four really meaningful people?
Speaker:Because you still have time,
Speaker:even if you're listening to this on Christmas Eve,
Speaker:you still have time to call somebody up for a next
Speaker:Friday coffee,
Speaker:right? Or a New Year's Eve,
Speaker:get together for lunch or whatever.
Speaker:The other thing I think could be helpful for people is
Speaker:what are the boundaries you wanna have?
Speaker:So I'm gonna talk about some difficult things cuz you mentioned
Speaker:the crazy aunt,
Speaker:right? So what are some boundaries you can have about even
Speaker:hard places you may know are important for you to show
Speaker:up with these people because they're family or their friends.
Speaker:But you go in knowing I'm going to be there for
Speaker:two hours and then it's okay that I left.
Speaker:It's okay that I gave myself permission to go,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this is important for me to be there and my presence
Speaker:matters and I wanna show up cuz I care.
Speaker:But it's okay for me to know when I want to
Speaker:go home and to pay attention to that.
Speaker:Or it's okay for you to say,
Speaker:I only need to bring this amount of food to the
Speaker:occasion. I don't have to bring the whole meal.
Speaker:So a lot of the work that we get into sometimes
Speaker:with clients around time,
Speaker:especially the people block is boundaries.
Speaker:And that sounds like deep work,
Speaker:but holidays are some of the most stressful times for people
Speaker:because they don't go into some of the holiday occasions with
Speaker:boundaries. Yes,
Speaker:I'm saying yes to this,
Speaker:but with this,
Speaker:and maybe that's a conversation you have to have with a
Speaker:spouse or a significant other or your children to say,
Speaker:we're going to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:aunt Susie's,
Speaker:sorry if your name is Susie,
Speaker:but we're going to Aunt Susie.
Speaker:Hey Teresa,
Speaker:From one to four and then we're leaving because we wanna
Speaker:go to Aunt Mary's house at six.
Speaker:This is one of the things that I hear the most
Speaker:about at the holidays is just deciding the schedule of where
Speaker:we're gonna show up and what we're gonna do.
Speaker:The other thing I think you mentioned,
Speaker:and I'll throw this in there too,
Speaker:is what if you're alone at the holidays?
Speaker:What if you don't have that place to go?
Speaker:How can you reframe spending Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Speaker:And it is a present block,
Speaker:it is a,
Speaker:I get to take care care of me,
Speaker:so I'm gonna take myself out to dinner or I'm going
Speaker:to plan an in-home spa day for myself.
Speaker:Or I'm going to be purposeful in what that day is
Speaker:and think today about Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or New
Speaker:Year's Eve,
Speaker:cuz you know you don't have plans.
Speaker:So how can you make that a take care of self
Speaker:day or invite someone else that you know that might be
Speaker:alone? And how would you wanna spend it with somebody else
Speaker:that maybe is a new friendship that will evolve in 2023?
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Or reach out and help others.
Speaker:Yeah. Or volunteer somewhere.
Speaker:Yeah. That's part of people blocks too,
Speaker:is how do you wanna volunteer into your community and be,
Speaker:so maybe there's somewhere you could serve or volunteer on either
Speaker:one of those weekends.
Speaker:So just some ways to,
Speaker:I think a big word that I lean into is pre
Speaker:decide. That's a big part of the process is when you
Speaker:pre decide how things will be,
Speaker:may not come out exactly that way,
Speaker:but at least you've put in the intention to say,
Speaker:I can do my holidays according to my boundaries and still
Speaker:be super loving to the people that I wanna lean into.
Speaker:And yeah,
Speaker:so it's that pre-decision piece of just taking some time to
Speaker:think ahead of time.
Speaker:Beautiful. I love that.
Speaker:And we can all do that right now.
Speaker:Yes. For in our day to day tomorrow this week or
Speaker:the future,
Speaker:whenever it is.
Speaker:It's a part of life.
Speaker:It's previous life.
Speaker:Yeah. So that's one thing.
Speaker:And I cannot let you go without talking about one more
Speaker:really special thing.
Speaker:Sure. Let's do it.
Speaker:And that is your extraordinary moments.
Speaker:Yeah. Share with everybody what you do.
Speaker:And like four years now,
Speaker:almost five,
Speaker:not sure.
Speaker:Yes. So part of my story,
Speaker:and if you pick up the book,
Speaker:you'll read a part of my story.
Speaker:The first three chapters talk about a very difficult season in
Speaker:our life about five years ago when we lost our adult
Speaker:son at 30 years old to addiction.
Speaker:And that really reshaped a lot of,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just how I was living my life and really began,
Speaker:I was already doing some pretty deep internal work,
Speaker:but, and so about four months after that happened,
Speaker:during that next spring,
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:What do I wanna notice about each and every day?
Speaker:Because there's got to be good things in each and every
Speaker:day. So what do I wanna notice about each and every
Speaker:day? And so I began to just take a picture of
Speaker:something every day that was like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this is a great moment right here today.
Speaker:My picture is going to be on the day that we're
Speaker:recording this,
Speaker:a plate of peanut butter cookies with kisses in the middle
Speaker:that someone left on my table in my office.
Speaker:Now that's pretty awesome.
Speaker:Oh yeah,
Speaker:it is.
Speaker:And so it's just the littlest of things.
Speaker:It could be a conversation,
Speaker:it could be a relationship,
Speaker:it could be a picture of a flower from my flower
Speaker:garden, and then I just write a little something about it.
Speaker:So I think today is 1,520
Speaker:days that I have done this practice of gratitude really is
Speaker:what it's become.
Speaker:And so for,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:it's become a spiritual practice of just saying there is something
Speaker:good in every single day,
Speaker:even when you think you can't find it.
Speaker:But if I don't have the margin,
Speaker:if I don't have the pause to just stop,
Speaker:so when those Play-Doh cookies we're here this morning,
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:this could be it.
Speaker:This could be the moment.
Speaker:And I need to notice that and be grateful and thankful
Speaker:for the friend who,
Speaker:to be honest,
Speaker:I haven't seen in a long time.
Speaker:But she wanted me to sign some books for her that
Speaker:she bought for Christmas gifts.
Speaker:And I left them on the table and she came in
Speaker:and brought me a plate of cookies.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:she used to bring me cookies years ago and we worked
Speaker:together. And I'm like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I just took the pause and just held that moment and
Speaker:said, this is really cool.
Speaker:So now that I've done it for so long,
Speaker:I look for them.
Speaker:And that's my phrase.
Speaker:Every ordinary day has an extraordinary moment.
Speaker:You just have to look for it.
Speaker:And it's part of that awareness that we can build to
Speaker:live from a place of rest,
Speaker:not rush.
Speaker:And it changes your mindset to say,
Speaker:there's good things about today.
Speaker:Everything's not on fire.
Speaker:The world is not falling apart.
Speaker:There's goodness in every single day.
Speaker:Absolutely. And I would love all of us to take on
Speaker:that idea,
Speaker:that mindset of look for those things in your day,
Speaker:maybe we'll have some people start doing what you're doing and
Speaker:posting it.
Speaker:Yeah. I have people that have done it in their own
Speaker:way and it's just become,
Speaker:and the other beautiful thing is I have these beautiful pictures
Speaker:of each and every day that tell a story.
Speaker:When I go look in my photos,
Speaker:I can remember those moments again and again,
Speaker:both through Facebook,
Speaker:which is where I do the post and Instagram,
Speaker:I do it in both places and also just through my
Speaker:own photo album.
Speaker:It's so fun to relive really what are small moments.
Speaker:And for entrepreneurs we forget to do that.
Speaker:We just go to the next thing.
Speaker:Well that went well,
Speaker:that sales was good,
Speaker:those things were,
Speaker:and we're onto the next thing.
Speaker:Yep. And so it's the pause that makes the difference.
Speaker:And I find this too,
Speaker:that if I'm looking and really enjoying and being very present
Speaker:in my moment,
Speaker:it's such a deep reward inside.
Speaker:You feel it inside,
Speaker:It just slows us down a little bit.
Speaker:But you have to be conscious of it and recognize it
Speaker:as such,
Speaker:not just do the action and go on to the next
Speaker:thing. You have to take it in.
Speaker:Yeah. Top Of mind.
Speaker:Yeah, top of mind.
Speaker:Absolutely. So good.
Speaker:So we've reviewed a lot about the real life process already.
Speaker:If you want to add anything else about that,
Speaker:please do.
Speaker:And then let's also talk about your book for a second,
Speaker:right as we're closing up here.
Speaker:Sure. Well,
Speaker:I think we've covered a lot and so we've given enough,
Speaker:and I just encourage you to lean into right now in
Speaker:this holiday,
Speaker:in this first even week of the new year,
Speaker:what do you want it to be different?
Speaker:How would you like to,
Speaker:this is always that time where we do the balcony work
Speaker:and we get up there and we kind of look at
Speaker:it all.
Speaker:But what's small,
Speaker:small piece encourage you,
Speaker:if you haven't got the book,
Speaker:go to do what matters book.com
Speaker:and you can find out all the ways about the book
Speaker:book. You can actually,
Speaker:yeah, just find out.
Speaker:Get the free resources.
Speaker:We have a lot of free resources that go with the
Speaker:book. So thank you Sue,
Speaker:for allowing me to be in this conversation.
Speaker:So good.
Speaker:This has been wonderful,
Speaker:Teresa, thank you for showing up on such a special day
Speaker:with such great information.
Speaker:Happy holidays everyone.
Speaker:Yes, Happy holidays.
Speaker:What a gift this can be to live out your life
Speaker:from who you are being not what you are doing.
Speaker:It's a whole new approach to living one that's true to
Speaker:your inner values.
Speaker:So you can spend your days balanced with all that's truly
Speaker:the most important.
Speaker:I encourage you to get Teresa's book.
Speaker:I'll be honest,
Speaker:I thought I knew myself,
Speaker:but when prompted to answer some questions,
Speaker:I needed some time to really reflect before I could answer,
Speaker:give this gift to yourself.
Speaker:Her book can be found at www.thereallifeprocess.com.
Speaker:And heads up,
Speaker:there's only one L in real life.
Speaker:And of course the link is in the show notes page
Speaker:too. Finally,
Speaker:I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and happy
Speaker:Hanukkah because this year they land together.
Speaker:I'll be back with you again next week,
Speaker:which will be New Year's Eve Day where I have yet
Speaker:another special episode lined up for you.
Speaker:Once again,
Speaker:Merry Christmas.
Speaker:Before you move on to your next activity today,
Speaker:make sure to get your name on the list for at
Speaker:least one gift Biz Bash.
Speaker:You can see dates for the upcoming sessions and get signed
Speaker:up over@giftbizunwrapped.com
Speaker:slash bash.
Speaker:And if you're enjoying the podcast and would like to show
Speaker:support, a rating and review is always fabulous because it helps
Speaker:get the show seen by more makers.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward.
Speaker:And there's another way where you can get something tangible in
Speaker:return for your support too.
Speaker:Visit my merch shop for a wide variety of inspirational items
Speaker:like mugs,
Speaker:journals, water bottles,
Speaker:and more featuring logos,
Speaker:images, and quotes to inspire you throughout your day.
Speaker:Makes a great gift too.
Speaker:And we've just added some new products for the season to
Speaker:the shop.
Speaker:Turnaround is quick and the quality is top notch,
Speaker:nothing but the best for you.
Speaker:Take a look at all the options@giftbizunwrapped.com
Speaker:slash shop.
Speaker:All proceeds from these purchases helps go to offset the cost
Speaker:of producing the show.
Speaker:And now be safe and well,
Speaker:and I'll see you again next time on the Gift Biz
