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HUGE NEWS!!!

Friends, I just announced the BIGGEST NEWS of my career to my friends, family, and team…..and now I’m excited to share here ? ??. I’m feeling so humbled and thankful….what an extravagant blessing!

My husband and I met in college where we both studied engineering. He’s been climbing the corporate ladder for 20 years as a civil engineer, project manager, and sales expert. His company has literally given him awards because he’s THAT good….he’s at the TOP of his game.

AND…..

⭐️⭐️⭐️My husband just RETIRED at age 42!⭐️⭐️⭐️

Among his accolades, the notice that went out to his colleagues read:

??“Luke has decided to leave the company and take early retirement as a result of his wife’s thriving business. He plans to spend lots of time with his four active kids while they’re still young.”??

There is no fear or doubt or apprehension that’s bigger than THAT kind of potential, right?!! Being able to choose what to do with our time, how we want to be there for our kids, and the ability to be present for every special moment is priceless for us!

One of my favorite things about what I do is having the ability to help lovely people design their own beautiful lives

So what do YOU do with info like this?  Well, you have a decision to make.  You can either smile and say “gosh, how nice for them, I sure wish that was an option for me” and click away.

OR

?You can let this hit you right where you DREAM and say “Wow….I WANT that kind of freedom.  Maybe I should call Daiquiri to see what this is all about.” ?

I can show you how!

Call or text me at (208)562-951(nine)

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Freedom Starts In Your Mind!

We moved a lot when I was a kid. Sometimes change was really hard…but there was always one thing I LOVED about the fresh start of a move….the freedom to reinvent myself

One move in particular…I wanted to dance??. I was always too shy to dance at school dances, but I really wanted to get out on that dance floor! So, when we moved to our next town/school, I made it a deliberate point to hit the floor as soon as the music started.

Instead of “wow, Daiquiri is actually dancing!”, I was simply Daiquiri…and dancing when the music came on was just part of the whole package that was ME.

All those years, I’d felt STUCK because I let myself believe that what other people were thinking mattered more than my desire to be free…to dance!

What’s really ironic? I NOW realize that no one was really paying me any attention anyway! They were all caught up in their OWN internal battles! What I thought was holding me back…was only real in my imagination!

Where do you want to change, but feel stuck?

Change the hair.
Change the job.
Change the clothes.
Take a class.
Call that guy.
Paint the wall.
Start the business.
Say yes.
Sell the house.
Take the trip.
Buy the shoes.
Go on the mission.

Be. Free! The chains are only in your imagination, after all!

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The Look and Feel of Freedom

Today’s freedom shot…a peaceful morning of sipping coffee, listening to some music, and enjoying a gentle “good morning mom” nudge from this sweet old girl.

Long gone, are the days of blaring alarm clocks, speedy showers, biz casual attire, and the daily commute…and I couldn’t be happier!

What would YOUR ideal morning look like if you were free to choose?

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The Power of Simplicity

In this season of holiday celebrating, it’s SO easy to get caught up in the world’s game of MORE…. more decorations, more food, more gifts, more comparison, more longing, more more more more…..I encourage you to focus on SIMPLICITY. Simplicity in life and business.

What would keeping it simple look like for your life? Simple but sweet holiday decorations? Fewer, but meaningful and thoughtful, gifts under the tree? Serving the big family dinner on paper plates? Wearing something to the party that you already have in the closet instead of giving in to the feeling that you need something new? Taking the time to BREATHE and stretch and relax instead of giving in to the compulsion to GO. BE. DO. MORE.?

What would Simplicity look like for your business? Sticking to the systems that work? Focusing on serving and blessing your community and customers instead of growing, growing, growing that bottomline? Refusing to compare your journey to others’? Reminding yourself of your values and goals, and pouring yourself into that instead of competition?

The holiday season is like a magnifying glass….it tends to make everything seem a bit bigger and more stressful than it really is. Shift the focus of that magnifying glass, friends. Choose to highlight and celebrate the abundance and joy in your life instead of the lack….instead of the marketing machine’s incessant song of “you are inferior unless you buy this stuff….be this stylish….be this good at decorating….be this generous…..look this way….feel this way…..be this way….”

YOU are enough.
YOU have enough.
YOU are seen.
YOU are loved and good and precious.
YOU have a hope and a future.

Soak these truths in. Let them flow out of you through your beautiful, human, cracks of imperfection…and in to those around you. Keep it simple <3

oxo
Daiq

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Happy Milestone

This was a happy milestone weekend for me.

Buh Bye Stuffy Shoes!

I finally….after all these years…donated the stuffy “business casual” shoes from my corporate days. What the heck took me so long?!

Thinking about this as I work from my sunny home office this morning….hot coffee at my side, Simon and Garfunkle’s Greatest Hits playing in the background, and fuzzy socks on my toes.  This is MUCH more my speed.  I’m so thankful to have control over the way my day looks and feels!

Man…I’m happily  ruined for the “normal” ways of doing life and business….never going back!

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C’mon Pebble…

Boy, this rings more true right this second than it ever has before!

This is my business anniversary month, so I can’t help but think about where I was when I started and compare it to how far I’ve come. How far WE’VE come. This is a team effort. This is a people business. A family business. A far-reaching international business that is literally affecting people all over the WORLD.

And that’s just in my little organization….because of one little pebble….one little “yes”.

One little “yes” set a massive ripple effect in motion that I certainly can’t take credit for….any more than the literal pebble can pat itself on the back for being tossed into the water. I just took one leap of faith and counted on God to guide my steps through the unknown….and I’ll be honest….I was scared! haha!

But now… mamas are home with their babies, missions are being funded, the hungry are being fed, homes are being paid for….THOUSANDS (so far) are finding the space to SPEAK their truths and to follow their Calling.

Families are living and dreaming in a space that is about SO MUCH MORE than just surviving day to day….they’re thinking about what THRIVING might look like for them.

I just hardly have the words to express how blessed and humbled I feel tonight. I’m so thankful and honored to BE here!

And still….I drove my kids to school today. I worked out at the gym. I had lunch and did errands with a friend. I picked kids up from school. I drove kids to practice. I don’t have to miss a single thing when it comes to my family….my most important and #1 priority.

So friends….I guess the takeaway is this….I will beat this drum about home business and entrepreneurship (particularly with this company) FOREVER. Because I want this kind of abundance and freedom for YOU too.

C’mon little pebble….let’s take a leap! 

oxox Daiq

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Short Cut To Success? No Thanks!

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A friend and I were chatting about what “success” would look like for each of us, when she said with passion and longing in her voice, “Oh, if only I could just snap my fingers and BE there!”  Be there.  Be successful.   Be at the finish line.

It wasn’t long ago that I would have whole-heartedly agreed with her 🙂  But it was different this time.  The heart-response (my immediate response that welled up in my mind without my even thinking about it) this time surprised even impatient me….my heart response was,

If I snapped my fingers and was suddenly THERE, what would I DO with myself every day?!  

It reminds me of raising my kids.  Sure, there are days when I wish we were in a different place….somewhere in the future where there is no teenage attitude, homework, messy (again?!) bedrooms, or non-stop driving around to deliver the kids to yet another activity.  But man, I don’t wish their childhood away…..not for a second!  All that hard stuff comes with so much sweetness, that it seems sometimes that my heart could burst with the joy of it. It’s not easy, but it is so very worth it!

Raising up a successful business is a lot like raising babies. 

You lay a solid foundation of learning and discipline and consistency.

Then you begin to place bricks….day by day, you build on the foundation..

Sometimes it seems like growth is agonizingly slow….but then that baby rolls out of bed one random Tuesday morning, and they’ve grown 2 inches in their sleep!

Every now and then there’s a particularly difficult day….there’s a broken arm…some knocked out teeth….a skinned knee…a broken heart….a fender-bender.  This is the time for extra tender-loving-care and nurturing.  Extra love and patience and conversations about the choices we make and how we’ll do better next time because now we know better.  It was a painful lesson, but important.

I was trying to figure out how to write this post without using the terribly cliche line about it being “about the journey, not the destination”….but man, you guys.  It is SO about the journey!

Parenthood is not about waking up one day and having an adult child looking at you from across the table.

And building a successful business is not about snapping our fingers to find ourselves at the finish line.

It will some day be fulfilling and rewarding to have healthy, mature, amazing, contributing adult children….and it will some day be fulfilling and amazing to have a mature, profitable, impactful business.

But do you really want to wish away all the in-between time?  Do you really want to live for “some day”?

As I sit here and write with my littlest kiddo snuggled at my side, I can say with my whole heart that I wouldn’t, even for a moment, take a short cut to the finish line.  From my perspective as I sit here and breathe in the sweet smell of his head, and giggle at his silly jokes….it’s clear…

The only thing a short cut offers is an opportunity to miss the really good stuff.

Cheers to your journey, friends — soak it all in and enjoy the view! oxox Daiq

 

 

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There’s A New Game In Town

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Have you noticed how we often treat success like a game of musical chairs?  There are 10 people running, sweating, heart pounding….keeping an ear on the music and an eye on those 9 empty chairs.  There’s a feel of “every man for himself” in the room because SOMEONE is going to be left standing without a chair.  The music stops its relentless march and everyone pushes and shoves to get their rear-end on a seat, and they even hold on to the edges of the chair with an iron grip because the other players will not hesitate to shove them right off the chair and onto the ground during the mad dash to do anything…anything….to avoid being THAT person.  Once the wrestling for chairs is done, there is a moment….a moment when those sitting on chairs breathe a sigh of relief….and this is the same moment when THAT person’s shoulders droop in defeat as she shuffles off to watch the remaining game from the sidelines.   Those still in the game watch her with a bit of a guilty feeling in their belly, but the feeling of relief is stronger…..anyway, they don’t have long to dwell on it because the game doesn’t pause for their introspection.  A chair is removed, the music started again, and the fight to grab a spot among the successful starts again.  Oh boy….my stomach is tight and my heart is racing just thinking about it!

Of course, there are times in life when there are winners and losers.  Someone will get the gold, someone the silver, another the bronze….and all else, bragging rights and a pat on the back.  One team on the field will end the game with more points than the other.  The climb up the corporate ladder results in someONE being CEO, and many others midlevel managers.  Just one out of hundreds of millions will win the lottery.  Yes, there are winners and there are losers in life.

There is also a way of doing life and business that is abundant and limitless.  Which would you prefer….the scratching and fighting to claim that last chair for yourself….playing the political game of one-upping….holding on to that chair with all your might so someone doesn’t bump you off….never having the luxury of TIME to think about whether or not this is how you want to live?….

OR

A game where abundance rules.  All ships rise with the tide.  There are chairs for all.  Food for all.  Space at the table for all?

I know which way I choose.  I chose to believe and live ABUNDANCE.

If you’re TIRED….tired of the music and the limited number of chairs….that’s why I’m here doing what I’m doing.  I’m here to spread the news of a new way of doing life and business, and friend…it is so much more fulfilling and joyful and peaceful than the rat-race you might be accustomed to!  Or, maybe you’ve already left the rat-race to raise babies or to test the entrepreneurial waters, and you’re having a tough time seeing how you can have a bit more LIFE in that elusive work-life balance.

Hear me on this, friend…… THERE IS A WAY, and it’s my passion to show you HOW.

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The Cure To What Ails Ya ;-)

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There’s “thinking about it”, and then there’s “Analysis Paralysis”.   Analysis Paralysis is what I call over-thinking…..you know, when you have a BIG idea…..so big that you feel like you almost can’t get your brain around it?  Or, when you’re faced with doing something that might be scary or bold or risky….but you’re super excited anyway, so you get caught up in a brain loop of going back and forth?  Sort of the “good angel/bad angel” on your shoulders going round and round….and you sit there just feeling a bit dizzy? I know you’ve been there 🙂

Friends, the CURE to Analysis Paralysis is ACTIVITY.  

Take ONE step.
Make ONE call.
Speak ONE thought.
Write the post.
Make the earrings.
Sign the paper.
Hire the coach.
Join the class.
Take the photo.
Raise your hand.
Go.
Do.
Something….even if it’s small.

Get out of the paralysis that comes with trying to think 15 steps ahead and JUST. GO.  And then do it again tomorrow! Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to your goal!

Where in your life are you paralyzed?  What is one small action that you can MOVE on TODAY to get you over this hump of “thinking about it” and into action?  GO!

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Warrior Girl-Child

You might see a pretty young girl, but I see a WARRIOR. This is my 13 year old daughter, who took a monstrous risk this week…

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Clara is a volleyball player. She’s a really excellent volleyball player — she can smash that ball and jump and hustle with the best of ’em. So this past week, she decided to try out for an elite volleyball club — the best of the best in our city try out and only a handful make it. She knew she was taking a risk. Our conversations this past week leading up to tryouts went something like,

“Mom, I’m so nervous, I feel sick!”….”I know, sweetie, but you are so good! I’m proud of you for trying!”

“Mom, what if I don’t make it?”…..”All you can really do is put yourself out there and trust that God is with you and that the very best thing for you will be done. Stand tall!”

“Mom, I’m not as good as lots of other girls trying out. What if I embarrass myself?”…..”You’re taking a risk in trying, sweetie. You’re making yourself vulnerable, but does that mean you shouldn’t even TRY? I am SO proud of you for trying!”

“Mom, what if (name of friend) makes it, but I don’t?”…..”Then, we will celebrate her success and cheer her on, and you’ll keep working hard and enjoying volleyball. I’m so proud of you!”

“WHAT IF….” How much of what holds us back in life begins with this phrase?

What if….I’m too scared?
What if….I fail?
What if….I’m embarrassed?
What if….Someone else is better?

As a mom, my instinctual desire is to pave the way for her. To linger at tryouts to help somehow. To maybe chat up the coach who’s making the decisions. Sometimes to even encourage her to NOT try because I’M afraid of her being disappointed or hurt!

But I encouraged her to put her whole self out there this week. WAY out there to compete with incredible, tiny-volleyball-shorts wearing, jump-serving, UBER competitive warriors in their own right. I encouraged her to TRY her best and to be vulnerable.

She came home after the last day of tryouts, crumpled onto the floor, and cried tears of embarrassment. Tears of disappointment and humiliation. “Mom, I’m so much better than I was at tryouts today. I’m sure I didn’t make the team. I’m so embarrassed.”

I got down on the floor with her and hugged her….Looked deep into her sad green eyes and saw her pain….all I could say was, “I am so incredibly PROUD of you and how brave you are, sweet girl”

The friend was offered a spot on the team last night, and do you know what Clara’s response was when I told her the news? She had a troubled look on her face and she immediately asked “Did she make the A or B team?”

“She made the A team”

“Oh GOOD! That’s the BEST team! I can’t wait to hug her!”

A brilliant joyful smile broke over my girl’s face, she quickly grabbed her phone to congratulate her friend….. and tears of pride welled in my eyes. THAT GIRL IS A WARRIOR.

She battled Fear.

She battled “I’m not good enough”.

She battled Failure and Embarrassment.

And she came out the other side standing tall and loving in the most beautiful, selfless way I’ve ever seen. 

If you love this story, friends…..I’ll bet it’s because there’s a warrior within YOU too. A warrior that might be STUCK and HIDING under the comparisons and “what ifs” of life. A warrior that KNOWS the path that you are to take….but, oh….what if…..?

Put yourself out there this week, friends…..WAY OUT THERE. You might make the team, and you might not. But you can be SO PROUD of yourself for trying! Stand tall and remember that God goes with you! oxox Daiq