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2011 was quite a year. I changed almost everything that it’s possible to change in one’s life. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting and digesting. After some back and forth I decided to share some of the best of 2011, things I learned, and my plans for 2012 with you. I do this not so much because I think my life is inherently that interesting to you, but more to inspire you to digest your own year and to consciously create the next one.

I find that when I skip the digestion step of everything that’s happened, I get cranky. I forget my blessings, I start finding myself wrong, and things kind of go bland. But when I take the time to notice all the good (and some of the challenges, as well) that I’ve just experienced, life gets back to its usual sparkly sheen.

In no particular order, here are the significant things that happened in 2011:

• I got rid of most of my stuff and left my home in NYC and hit the road on The Freedom Tour. (34,000+ miles by car, 30,000+ by plane, over 60 beds, hundreds of hours spent looking out the car window)
• I fell in love.
• I started and ended a business partnership with grace and love.
• I ended another business partnership that was a little tougher to unravel with just as much grace and love.
• I learned to say no far more often and with far less angst.
• I bought my first car.
• I sold my first apartment.
• I reached a level of financial abundance and consciousness I’ve never achieved before. (This manifested as making, giving, and saving more money.)
• I explored what freedom is and is not to me.
• I spoke in 18 cities in North America to hundreds of different people.
• I spent time with people, like my aunt and uncle Penny and Phil and my Granny, who I haven’t ever spent as much quality time with.
• I got a book deal.
• I individuated from my mom financially, business-wise, and emotionally. We are both all the better for it.
• I realized how much open space there is in this country. Having lived on the tiny island of Manhattan for 6 years this awareness calmed me down in a way I found surprising and refreshing.
• I gave myself a demotion and stepped down as the CEO of Team Northrup so that I can now focus on running my own show instead of other people’s. I’m now the co-creator which feels much more expansive.
• I was invited to become a part of Hay House’s new Ignite initiative, which is focusing on attracting a new generation of authors, speakers, and audience members.
• I started and maintained a 6 days a week meditation practice.
• I started teaching yoga at Yoga Shanti.
• I received profound support from friends and family on The Freedom Tour as Mike and I traversed the country. Thank you to all of you. You know who you are.
• I made new friends.
• I got better at doing nothing.

Some things that didn’t go as well as I had thought they would:

• I thought The Freedom Tour would be better for building my Team Northrup business but given my lack of strategic planning around this and my burn out early on in the trip, it wasn’t. That’s okay. It was really amazing for a lot of other reasons.
• I wanted to document The Freedom Tour more. I had visions of daily videos, more pictures, more updates, and more transmitting my adventures to my readers. But instead, I enjoyed a lot of adventures and precious moments that went undocumented. And because I was there in the experience instead of capturing it for the future I suppose this is really a good thing.
• I wanted to do more connecting with people I didn’t know on my travels. I had visions of tweetups, donation yoga classes, and meeting people at coffee shops to talk about freedom. That kind of conversation only happened once and I wrote about it here. It was enlightening, but not exactly what I had imagined. It turns out I’m scared to talk to strangers and sometimes I have social anxiety. Another lesson in learning that sometimes it’s okay, and even necessary, to do less.
• During The Freedom Tour I didn’t take that great care of my body and I ended the year with about ten extra pounds on me. Ooops! A reminder to prioritize self-care in 2012.

Luckily, far outnumbering the things that didn’t turn out the way I thought they would were wonderful things I hadn’t even thought to think up (like falling in love and getting a book deal!) So, overall the year ended significantly on the upside.

Taking everything I learned from 2011, I spent some time focusing on how I’d like to create 2012. I still have some more refining to do (using some of the tools recommended below). But I’m sharing my 2012 creation plan with you now, even though it’s not complete, because the idea that I could create the perfect 2012 plan and control how the year goes is not only absurd, it’s also exhausting.

Here are my 2012 intentions/goals/desires/creations:

• Tighten up my brand to clarify and expand upon my message of financial consciousness as an inroad to spiritual and emotional freedom.
• Write my first book.
• Launch my 2012 Mentoring Program.
• Take a tropical vacation with Mike.
• Follow my inner compass as my default setting instead of checking outside myself to see if I’m ok.
• Launch two or more digital products.
• Rock the stage at the Hay House I Can Do It Ignite events.
• Increase my USANA business revenue by 100%.
• Spend more time alone and more time doing nothing.
• Get better at asking for what I need/want.
• Continue to say no more often and with more grace.
• Dance more.
• Intentionally align with organizations that uplift and serve women such as Women For Women International.
• Prioritize self-care.
• Create The Freedom Family. (More on this soon and NO, I’m not planning on getting pregnant this year.)

Tools for 2012 Creation

Something I’m adding to my planning of the year this year that I’ve never done before is assigning measurable goals to each intention and then tracking them through the year. This is inspired by Chris Guillebeau’s Annual Review. I’ll also be scheduling specific events, actions, and goals into my calendar and breaking them into action steps using my new Getting Things Done system a-la David Allen.

Lastly, as I’m going through my intentions/desires/goals for 2012 I’ll be creating a list of things that I’ll be delegating to the universe. For example, if my goal is to enroll twelve people in my mentoring program, I may write down that I’ll be personally responsible for attracting six of them, and I’ll ask the universe to attract the other six. This will act as a reminder to myself that I’m not responsible for everything, that synchronicity and magic abounds, and that there’s help for me (and you) available at all times if I’m simply willing to ask.

If you’re wanting to some guidance in your 2011 review and 2012 creation, I recommend the following resources:

• Creating Your Magical Year by Molly Mahar (Molly interviewed me about how I wrap up the year and plan out the next one and I gave her some juicy, honest answers including sharing the family New Year’s Eve ritual we started when I was six. Click the green and yellow button on the right to get access to it.)
• Marie Forleo’s Free Planning Tool To Set & Reach Your Business Goals
• Chris Guillebeau’s How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review

What were some of your best moments of 2011?

What did you learn last year?

What are you thrilled to announce that you’ll be creating in 2012?

What do you think about doing a year in review and planning out your year in general?

Leave a comment!

As the year tiptoes to a close (it really snuck up on me this year) I’m taking stock.

And I’m making stock. (Yes, I have been cooking non-stop since Mike and I settled into our new home for the next five months. My inner Susie Homemaker has come out in full force. I’m just as surprised as Mike is.)

Part of my taking stock has involved going through all of my “stuff”, digital, physical, and mental, and deciding what to do with it. More on this in a future post when I tell you why I’m obsessed with Getting Things Done by David Allen. In my process of diving into my notes and bits (it’s amazing how much you can accumulate while living in a car) I found a note I’d written to myself sometime this year entitled, “Here’s what I know.” I don’t have a clue when I wrote it, but I know that when I read it it made me feel good.

Here’s hoping it makes you feel good too.

Here’s what I know…

• Doing something for the money never ends up being worth it.
• If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.
• You are valuable because you exist. Period. (Or, full stop if you’re British.)
• You are enough. You always have been. You always will be.
• Your place of greatest ease and joy will also be your place of greatest service.
• It’s okay to sleep for ten hours or more a night from time to time. In fact, it’s critical.
• No accomplishment or moment of recognition will ever replace feeling loved, by yourself or anyone else.
• It’s not going to turn out the way you thought. It will be better.
• You know. You always know.
• The fact that it feels good is reason enough to move every day. The fact that it will tone your ass and make your waist smaller are mere side effects.
• Organizing your life around what feels good is the single wisest choice you can make.
• There is always going to be a small part of you that wants to please your mother, even if you’re not conscious of it, and that’s okay.
• Saying yes to someone simply because you don’t want to disappoint them is not only unfair to you, it’s unfair to them.
• Sleep, water, movement, greens, and a good cry cure almost anything.
• Anything worth taking seriously is worth making fun of. (Thanks Mom)
• Paying attention to your money is a profound act of self-love.
• It turns out that life is happening right now.
• Loving yourself more is the best place to start to solve any problem.
• You can’t judge and have an open heart at the same time.
• Nothing is random. Everything happens for a reason.
• Your body is wise beyond what you could possibly imagine. Listen to her. She will lead you home every time.
• Home is not a place.

Your turn!

What do you know?

What can you count on no matter what?

Tell me and remind yourself. Leave a comment.

Are you exhausted? Might be time to quit.

I remember when I was growing up, the other kids would tell me that they hated going to basketball or lacrosse practice, but their parents had taught them not to be quitters so they just toughed it out. I was always totally mystified by this. I had tried and quit just about every sport available and I had no problem with it. (The only thing I stuck with was tennis because I liked the skirts.)

What was the point in grinning and bearing it through hours of practicing something you had no intention of doing past graduation? What was the point of wasting hours of our precious childhood just so as not to be seen as a “quitter.” I just didn’t get it. It turns out, this same philosophy applies to my adult life (and perhaps to yours.)

I’m a quitter and proud of it. It means I’m in hot pursuit of my passion and purpose. It means I know what feels good and what doesn’t. It meant I value my time, my energy, and myself.

When I left on The Freedom Tour and told people I was going on an “indefinite road trip around North America” the most common question I got was, “For how long?” to which I would reply, “Until I’m done.”

In early September my man Mike and I decided not to go to Asia in Spring 2012 because it just didn’t feel right to either of us. So we decided to stay put somewhere for six months or so. We were already in Scottsdale, AZ and since I have family there and the weather is awesome in the winter, we decided that was our spot. We found a gorgeous apartment. We scouted yoga classes and rock gyms and juice bars.

Two weeks ago I was in NYC for Marie Forleo‘s spectacular event Rich, Happy, and Hot Live. I told my friends who I ran into on Friday night that I was moving to Scottsdale, AZ. Every time I said it, the response was, “Why?” And inside me every time I said I was moving there, I asked myself, “Why?”

Do you ever make a plan just so you can have something to tell people?

I called Mike that night and he told me my aunt and uncle were leaving Scottsdale and given that they were basically my only community there, it suddenly dawned on me that there was no good reason to move there. Moreover, it didn’t feel good, and quite frankly that’s all that matters.

Based pretty much all on instinct and what feels good, Mike and I have decided to move to Sag Harbor, NY. We’re actually going to sign a lease and stay put. I’m going to teach yoga. We’re going to eat vegetables, build solid businesses, and work out with consistency. (All of these things, and more, have been challenging on the road.) I’m going to write a book and hibernate.

Yes, it appears that that moment of “Until I’m done” has arrived. The Freedom Tour is winding down in absolute perfect timing.

Have I done everything I planned on The Freedom Tour? No. Absolutely not. In fact, the last nine months turned out nothing like I had imagined. They were better.

Those parents of my childhood friends might look at me and call me a quitter. This year I ended a business partnership that I’d invested three and a half years in. I ended another business partnership that I’d invested several thousand miles, several thousand brain cells, and several months in. I bowed out on an investment where I had a large chunk of change coming my way. I said no to a sponsorship deal with several zeros even though the paperwork had already been signed.  None of these things felt right anymore so I quit.

Call me a quitter. I welcome it.

Just like it makes no sense to spend an entire winter of beautiful afternoon hours in a stinky gym if you don’t even like basketball just so you won’t be a quitter, it makes no sense to keep doing anything that no longer feels right or feels good. Even if you’ve invested thousands of hours or thousands of dollars. Even if it will disappoint someone. Even if it used to feel like a good idea and suddenly it doesn’t anymore.

It doesn’t matter. I give you permission to quit. If you feel done, you’re done. That’s the only information you need. Let it go. Expand your expense allowance for “projects that I decided not to pursue further because they didn’t feel good” and simply write it off at the end of the year. Let it go. Move on. Quit.

There will never be a payoff after spending time, resources, and precious energy doing something that no longer feels good that will make it worth it. I promise. It just won’t happen.

So, I’m quitting The Freedom Tour as it currently exists. I don’t quite know what it will morph into, but I’m certainly not quitting on freedom.

Next up: an exploration of freedom within the structure of living in one place and having regular routines. Stay tuned.

What are you doing that doesn’t feel good anymore?

What are you doing that doesn’t feel right anymore?

What do you continue to do just so you won’t be a quitter?

Have you ever been called a quitter? Why?

What are you ready to quit?

What are you ready to let go of? Leave a declaration here!

Leave a comment. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say on this!

What if you didn’t have to wait to have a million dollars in the bank to feel good about your financial status and security?  To feel like you were taken care of, and that everything was going to be okay?

Is that even possible?

The truth is, we ALL feel freaked out about money sometimes. We live in a world that is completely freaked out about money. So it’s easy to get turned upside down and full of worry, anxiety and stress when it comes to your bank account, job status or the state of Wall Street.

But isn’t all this fear-based hoopla a total downer? If you’re anything like me, you know how ugly it can be when fear hijacks your bank account.

I’m so excited to share a f*r*e*e call that I’ve been invited to be a part of on Saturday, November 12, a fear busting conversation called MONEY PEACE.It’s all about kicking fear out of your bank account and getting on the path to true money peace right now.  GO HERE to check it out.

My friend, inspirational catalyst Christine Arylo, has gathered four of her smartest money-minded, miracle making friends, a true Money Peace Dream Team: a Harvard MBA, a Harvard PhD Economist, a Spiritual Minister, and a Serial Entrepreneur for a transformational conversation in which we will all…

• GET REAL about the truth of how fear hijacks us through our relationship with money
• GET WISE about how we can make different choices, ones that lead us to MONEY PEACE instead of MONEY MADNESS
• And GET INTO ACTION and receive tools for switching our minds and emotions from fear to peace when we face financial challenges

 ***Check out my Glimpse TV with one of my fellow Money Peace guests, Manisha Thakor, author of Get Financially Naked, and find out the three most important things you should be doing with your money.***

There’s no one better to lead this call than Christine Arylo. She’s the popular author of Choosing ME Before WE and the co-creator of the wildly successful 40-Day Fear Cleanse … suffice it to say she knows her stuff when it comes to clearing fear and becoming happy.

We all have a lot of things we could be doing on a Saturday morning … but given the current state of money fear out there, I can think of nothing more important than to be with you all kicking fear out of our bank accounts and bringing the truth about money peace (plus Christine will also send you a recording of the call so you can turn your Money Peace on whenever you need.)

If you are tired of waiting for the day when you can feel peaceful about your $$, this call is for you. Regardless of your situation, you’ll leave this call feeling like a Zen Money master, with tools, techniques and wisdom to set foot on the path to true Money Peace!

Sign up for the call now and become a money miracle maker yourself… more calm and confident about cash than you ever thought possible.

Here are the deets:

Date and time: Saturday, Nov. 12, 9:00 a.m. PST / noon EST

Call-in info: **You’ll get this info once you sign up!**

Who: Christine Arylo and the Money Peace Dream Team  – Reverend Karen Russo, Dr. Margaret Smith, Manisha Thakor and me – check out the website to find out exactly who we are and why you want to jump on the opportunity to join this fear busting conversation. (And don’t forget to check out my Glimpse TV interview with Manisha Thakor below!)

Why: Gain wisdom about your relationship to money and get on the path to Money Peace right now.

P.S. Can’t make the call live? Go here now and sign up anyway to get the recording. Create some ME time this weekend and tune in. You deserve MONEY PEACE of mind.

p.p.s.  No one, including you, should have to wait until the future to feel a sense of serenity about money... I like having nice things as much as anyone else, but honestly, aren’t you over people trying to sell you the secret of how to make a million dollars so you can be happy?

Why should you have to wait til then to feel secure, happy and taken care of. You are worth happiness right now, regardless of your bank account balance.

You deserve money peace right now … tune in Saturday the 12th!

Glimpse TV with Manisha Thakor

And now, I’m so thrilled to present Glimpse TV with women’s personal finance expert and author of Get Financially Naked, Manisha Thakor! I stopped by her gorgeous home in Santa Fe, NM about a month ago, shared a delicious home-cooked meal (not only is she amazing with money, she’s also a great cook!), and had a chat about the “he-cession” and the “she-conomy”, the next HOT commodity we should all be paying attention to, the three things you must be doing with your money, how to talk to your guy about money, and more. Cuddle up with us and get ready to get more intimate with your money!

More Manisha:

Money Zen Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Money Peace call with both of us!

Did you like what you saw? Excited about the Money Peace call? TWEET about it and share the love!

Copy and paste the pre-written Tweets below to Twitter or Facebook to give your sisters a leg up in the money game!

Get financially naked with @katenorthrup and @manishathakor #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/rQ1i2Y

The 3 most important things you have to be doing with your money per @manishathakor on #glimpsetv w/ @katenorthrup http://bit.ly/rQ1i2Y

How to talk to your man about $ w/ @manishathakor + @katenorthrup on @glimpsetv http://bit.ly/rQ1i2Y

What if you didn’t have to wait to have a million dollars in the bank to feel good about your financial status and security? http://bit.ly/v1M084

Turn your freak-out about $money$ into a peace-out about $money$ @Christine Arylo @katenorthrup #fearcleanse http://bit.ly/v1M084

Kick fear out of your bank account today… it’s got no business being there @ChristineArylo @katenorthrup #fearcleanse http://bit.ly/v1M084

The Freedom Tour has taught me several lessons about myself, love and life:

But one of the most important lessons of all: freedom is an inside job

This summer I had a chance to experience it first hand – in a dressing room. Of all places.

I took a branded shopping trip with my friend and colleague Kristen Domingue, creator of Ignite, a boutique style and brand consultancy. She specialized in helping women entrepreneurs link their style to their brand, and their brand to their purpose, so they KNOW they are attracting the right clients, on and off-line.

Given that I do so much speaking, and dress from my suitcase-cum-closet, a little style pit stop felt like a good idea.

After filling out her extensive brand assessment, and talking about my brand and purpose with her, she hit the streets and set aside clothes that were aligned with my core message. Clothes for dates, for speaking gigs, for working with clients, and just plain old hittin’ the road.

We had a lot of fun, broke a few sales associate hearts. And more than that, I realized we are aligned on something important.

I believe that freedom is something that happens inside of you when you tell yourself the truth (about money, love, etc.), and then align your life with that truth.

Inviting Mike on the Freedom Tour? Truth.
Starting the freedom Tour? Truth.
Taking a break this summer? Truth.
Not doing a daily video blog? Truth.
Cutting my hair? Truth.

And as a result, I am feeling more like me, and more free than I have in a long time.

Kristen totally understood that – in fact – just like I believe freedom is an inside job, she shares that branding is an inside job: the outer expression of your internal purpose; aligning your brand with your purpose leaves you free to have the kind of business and life you really want.

I mentioned in another post that this year, I launched a new business partnership, ended another one, then ended the one I had just started, experimented with being homeless, and fell in love.

With all that transition, my brand was a little hard to nail down.

But I can tell you for sure, my essence wasn’t.

It’s in stripping away everything that wasn’t me that the truth of my loves, likes, dislikes emerged. Which meant that while we saw tons of cute clothes, I felt most like me when we took an off-the-plan stroll into Cathryn Malandrino (a personal fave of mine) and I fell in love with a dress I wore to dinner that night, and then to a wedding the following week. It felt so much like me, that I bought it in 2 colors.

There is something magical about finding a dress that compliments you perfectly, fits you like a glove, and truly looks like you to the most important person of all: you.

And as I transitioned all year, a magic is emerging on The Freedom Tour that has it “fit me” just like my Cathryn Malandrino.

This year on The Freedom Tour (just like in the dressing rooms,) I tried on, I took off. I looked for the right fit, color, cut and shape.

I didn’t settle.

And I found freedom in the perfect little black (and peach!) dress…

What I noticed about Kristen in our time together, is that she is committed to getting down to the core essence of a person. She doesn’t want you to just look good, she really wants you to have something that fits YOU.

She’s offering a tele-class about this called Magnetic Branding. On it, she’ll share exactly how to infuse your brand with your purpose – your truth – and how this creates more freedom in your business and life.

Click here to register for it:

Magnetic Branding
November 8th at 3 pm EST

More than anything, I do The Freedom Tour to inspire you to find the keys to your own freedom. I know this tele-class is one tool to help you do that.

Click here to register now.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just feel downright overwhelmed.

Like this morning for example. I’m packing up all my stuff (which admittedly isn’t much) and headed back across the country for the fourth, and hopefully final, time this year. (More on this very soon – big changes afoot here on The Freedom Tour.) I’m ironing out a book deal. I’m about to launch my 2012 Mentoring Program. I’ve got people emailing me about Team Northrup, interviews, bookkeeping, events, and more. How’s a girl to keep her sanity when everything always seems to be moving so fast?

Luckily, this week a new book is hitting the scene: Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom by Whitney McMillan.

Whitney asked me to review the book several months ago and here’s what I had to say about it:

In a world full of time-management tools, stress reduction techniques, and endless overwhelming band-aids to “fix” us, Whitney McMillan gets right to the source of overwhelm: our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Let this book be your permission to let go, get light, and be free.

Full of heart-centered personal stories of Whitney’s own journey with overwhelm and a practical Guided Journal with amazing tools to shift your overwhelm, it’s a truly valuable resource for transforming your life.

And I’m so glad I had this announcement scheduled to go out this very week, perhaps the most overwhelmed I’ve been since I left NYC in February, so that I could remind myself to dive into some of Whitney’s tools.

Each chapter in Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom focuses on a particular step in Whitney’s proven 7-step Rock Your Overwhelm process. From acknowledging your ‘overwhelm beliefs,’ releasing them, and moving forward into visioning your life of ‘overwhelm freedom,’ you’re guided to live your dream life – with clarity, balance, and freedom.

Here’s what my girl Gabrielle Bernstein, best-selling author of Add More –ing to Your Life, & Spirit Junkie, has to say about the book:

By fearlessly sharing her own authentic experiences, Whitney serves up first-hand guidance out of overwhelm and into a free flowing life.

To grab your copy and join the Rock Your Overwhelm movement, jump on over to: http://inspiredauthorscircle.com/whitney-mcmillan/

And guess what? The book is NOT all you receive! If you purchase Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom today, November 2, 2011, you also receive $1000s of FREE gifts as a BONUS. Not only does Whitney know how to rock overwhelm, she also knows a thing or two about generosity

Next time someone tells you they’re overwhelmed, or the next time you find yourself telling yourself that you’re overwhelmed, tell them (or yourself) about Whitney’s book. Then open it up and join me in diving in to Rock Your Overwhelm because who couldn’t use a little more clarity, balance, and freedom in their lives? I know I could!

Here’s to you LIVING FREE FROM OVERWHELM (and free in all other areas as well!)

P.S. Whitney believes overwhelm freedom can benefit all people. Will you join the movement to start Rocking Your Overwhelm today? www.whitneymcmillan.com

As I was planning The Freedom Tour my friend Kim introduced me to Molly Mahar and her Stratejoy road trip.

Here was another smart, young woman who had packed up everything and was living out of her car traveling the country. Awesome!

I emailed her “Contact Us” form immediately not expecting a response (find out why in our episode below.) Much to my surprise, Molly called me immediately and…

…within 24 hours we were laying in the grass in Central Park musing on life, love, and what it means to be a young women with a world of possibilities in your late twenties.

I caught up with Molly this past June (yes, this is a semi-vintage Glimpse TV – note the long hair) at the World Domination Summit in Portland, OR. Molly told me all about the ups and downs of her road trip (which it turns out was her honeymoon!) and she filled me in on her very intriguing new product, Joy Juice.

Joy Juice is made up of 120 journal writing prompts to tune into yourself, get unstuck, and boost your confidence.

Sounds good to me! It will take you through an entire year of getting to know yourself better. Divine!

Tune in to find out how Molly went from wearing a suit and heals selling mini Cokes for $4.50 to business men to sleeping ON TOP of her car, among other inspirational vignettes and giggles.

More Molly:

Website: www.stratejoy.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Stratejoy

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Stratejoy

Get your hands on Joy Juice!

Nancy & me at The Freedom Tour launch party.

Nancy Levin is a bad-ass event producer. She once lived out of a carry-on suitcase for 73 days straight. The most she’s ever been on the road in a year is 213 days. Nancy is a road warrior, no doubt, but she also happens to be a poet and one of my dear friends.

When I first heard Nancy read one of her poems (the very same one she reads on the Glimpse TV episode below) before a keynote at a Hay House I Can Do It event I was awed to tears. I didn’t know this woman who I had known for several years had this kind of art in her. This is what Nancy represents to me:

Pealing back the layers.

Forgiving yourself.

Finding the gems in vulnerability.

Being deliciously, adorably, divinely human.

I’m so thrilled to share Nancy with you today on Glimpse TV. She’s hilarious. She’s freaking smart. She’s gorgeous. And she’s very, very real. Nancy’s book, Writing For My Life: Reclaiming Lost Pieces of Me is a book of poems, most of which were written as she was going through and healing through a divorce.

As Louise Hay says,

“Whether or not you are a poetry lover, you will be so glad you found this book. It’s liberating.”

Tune in for Nancy and my Glimpse TV episode where Nancy bares everything from packing tips to her soul. Enjoy!

More Nancy:

Web: www.nancylevin.com

Twitter: @nancylevin

Buy the book: Writing For My Life: Reclaiming Lost Pieces of Me

I got an email several months ago from leadership, relationship, and team coach Randi Buckley asking me if I would be willing to share my thoughts on having kids with her for a new coaching program she was cooking up.

I immediately LOVED the concept and it made my cells buzz:

The MAYBE BABY Program- Six Weeks from Ambivalence to Peace: For women who hear a whisper of ‘maybe’ in their hearts.

She was reaching out to me as a 20-something entrepreneur who might be grappling with the idea of children to share my perspective along with other interviewees and some experts like sociologists and OB/GYN’s (to be coupled with her own coaching genius and personal story of ambivalence and then having a baby and being thrilled by the experience.)

Here’s the thing:

I’ve never, not even for one second doubted that I’m going to be a mother.

The one thing I’m 100% clear on in my life is that I want to have kids. In fact, my whole reason for starting a business was so that when I’m ready to have kids I can be fully present with them and not have to worry about sacrificing time with them for work or vice versa. (Watching the recent film I Don’t Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker reaffirmed my motherhood business fuel.)

Though I didn’t end up being interviewed for Maybe Baby as I’ve never been ambivalent about children, I felt a strong connection to what Randi is doing and know it could help thousands of women. I know tons of women who are entrepreneurs and/or are dedicated to their jobs who aren’t sure if they want kids. It’s an issue that they feel torn about and grappling with it causes quite a bit of social and personal mental and emotional rug burn. And as someone who’s never felt that way, I never quite know what to say to them.

Enter Randi Buckley with her Maybe Baby Program.

Here’s what she has to say about it:

“Maybe Baby” is a coaching program for women who are ambivalent about having children,

but hear the whisper of ‘maybe’ in their hearts.

With compassion and no hidden agenda, we work together to uncover your answer

AND to be at peace with it.

How beautiful is that? As young women we’re blessed with the opportunity to be and have anything we want. And that can be paralyzing at times. Just because we CAN have it all doesn’t mean we HAVE TO have it all. The truth is nobody wants it all. We want what we want. And Randi will help you uncover what that truly is in Maybe Baby.

Enjoy the journey.

Are you now or have you ever been ambivalent about having kids? Why?

If you’re a woman who works and has kids, what is that like for you? Any helpful wisdom to share?

What’s the one thing you know you MUST do before you die (like how I MUST have kids before I die)?

Last week I had the pleasure of enjoying an intimate chat with Cheryl Richardson while perched on her bed at the W Hotel in Union Square. We laughed. We sang. We talked a lot about dancing. I was inspired to interview her because of her newest book, which she wrote in collaboration with the legendary Louise Hay, You Can Create an Exceptional Life. The book follows a series of conversations between these two incredible women over a year and gives you many precious glimpses into both of their exceptional lives.

Cheryl basically put life coaching on the map and is a world-renowned speaker, author, and coach. My favorite of her books is The Art of Extreme Self-Care (pay special attention to the chapters “You’re So Sensitive” and “Let Me Disappoint You”.) Louise Hay is one of the pioneers of the personal growth industry, making waves with her first book You Can Heal Your Life, and going on to found a publishing company, Hay House, which is the top inspirational and self-help publishing house in the world. You can imagine what incredible wisdom ended up in You Can Create an Exceptional Life with this dynamic duo co-authoring it.

Go get your copy of the book and then tune in for my chat with Cheryl where you’ll learn about the triathlon of self-care, what’s difficult for Cheryl that she’s learned to accept about herself, how to give yourself the freedom to not have it together, the best source of wisdom that most people don’t take the time for, the surprising place where Cheryl got her best speaking training early in her career, and more. Plus, stay tuned until the end for a special duet between Cheryl and me that you won’t want to miss!

For more Cheryl visit www.cherylrichardson.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.