I’ve been working really hard on something new and exciting, but it’s not quite ready yet.

In the meantime, maybe you didn’t see my latest video.

This is for you if you are:

-trying to get things done

-find yourself overwhelmed

-or are unsure of what to do.

Sound familiar?

​Take 3 minutes and watch this quick tapping video

You’ll know what to do next.

For more resources like this, make sure to sign up for my newsletter.

The September and October issue of On Purpose Woman Magazine is out.

In it you can read my latest article, “Going Viral, Is it Healthy?” on page 10.

I think it’s one of my best.

Click here to read on page 10.

Let me know if you like it!

A long time ago I began to dream of being a writer, and it was a dream that never left me.

Although it has become my work to help other people to write for their books and websites, it’s all too easy for me to lose touch with the things that brought me to writing in the first place.

For me it is about self love, and finding myself in the process of writing things. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, if I didn’t love myself and think my voice was valuable, then I wouldn’t bother to do any of this.

That is why I try to get other people hooked on writing

I could easily write and not enjoy it because I would be trying to be someone else. It is so easy to compare to the millions of books I see and read, but the thing is that those are finished products.

Some of those authors have budgets and teams that I can only dream of. Some authors literally do nothing but write, or went to college for it and had someone pay for that, etc. Or they pay ghostwriters and editors to polish to perfection.

There is no reason to compare because it’s not a fair playing field to do that.

I don’t even want to compare to **myself** in the past because I am different than I used to be. I am a new person.

My greatest fear is that I will be like everybody else: normal.

As opposed to future Leonardo DaVinci of whatever I write…

But I am coming to accept we are pretty much all the same deep down. Including moi.

Millions of words will not change that but I am going to have so much fun writing those words

Any little bit of time that I can grab to write is worthwhile. Writing is a beautiful thing to me.

I am giving myself a morning every week dedicated to my writing.

That time is a gift to myself out of love. It doesn’t matter how long I take to write or what comes out of it. It is for me.

I wanted to continue to talk about the lessons I’ve learned this past year in the aftermath of turning 35…

but I changed my mind. I don’t feel like writing a list anymore lol.

A list was great when I was on the go writing at a stop on my roadtrip,(See part 1)

But now that I’m back home and integrating the past month of traveling, My thoughts are longer and more. They don’t fit a little list.

In the spirit of honoring what really wants to come out right now, I’ll share some snippets of the writing I am working on from this past week.

Lessons from 35

PART 2

Well, I guess I’m a woman now. I am 35 and I recently revisited some old haunts.

I am reflecting on everything I learned in my journey on earth so far, especially since it’s been one year since I lost someone really important. I wanted to capture this moment in time and the most essential bits so they don’t slip away from my memory.

My life seems to have gone by in a blur. I know I was there putting my all into it the whole time, but it went by fast.

The last ten years I started and built my own business, which was a lot of work. I can see now that I put myself second to my career advancement for sooo long.

But now I’ve changed…

It makes sense why it was the way it was, though.

I grew up with a lot of financial stress around me. If you aren’t rich you are often struggling so hard to get by so as a kid I knew I had to make money in my life.

Also, I experienced a lot of bullying and criticism as part of my upbringing which made me feel insecure and unsafe.

Thus I became obsessed with whatever safety I could create through my own effort:

School.

Trying to do everything right.

And then eventually by starting a business of my own.

Eventually during these ten years I did find ways to make money that I felt good about:

writing,

editing,

teaching others.

That was all ethical and even exciting to me, but it was still a whole lot of work. Even in my off time I was thinking about it. I had trouble with work-life balance and boundaries.

This last year has reminded me how important my own needs are beyond just the financial.

It was easy to focus on that when I was ABLE to put so much effort into it, but after my dad’s death I could barely think and function normally so returning to my old workaholic patterns wasn’t an option.

Although growing up it didn’t feel safe to put self love at the top of my life, since when I was shining I became just a bigger target for bullies–

but this year instead of putting my head down and doing the work to survive, I did something else.

I learned to accept more help from other people like my friends at a distance while also making my own decisions. I had to adapt and to move.

I left myself go to absolute pieces emotionally so I could pick myself up and back together again with a few pieces left behind.

Not all of who I was before made the cut, and not all of my former life did either.

I am now the one that decides what combination of pieces will make my life the most beautiful thing that it can be to my eyes and that’s what I’m prioritizing from now on.

That is what it is about: the beauty of being alive and even if it seems ugly, to find a glimmer or sparkle in it somehow someway that is the path.

I don’t decide if others live or die. I have no control over the big picture of things. I just do what I can do.

But there are things I can grasp hold of and rewrite in my life.

I’m not waiting for a happily ever after down the road. I will grab the pen and add my own ending and have it be what I need it to be.

That is what I love about writing, because no matter how many tries it takes you to hit upon a satisfying ending, it is possible to write something beautiful for yourself. No matter how the story goes.

You hold the pen on your adventure and you get to decide what meaning you make out of it.

Hope you enjoyed this little piece of writing!

Up next are more intimate sharings from my heart about what I’ve learned.

I’m planning yet another way to switch things up and express them in a new way.

So stay tuned or sign up to get all my posts by email here 

How are these last August days treating you?

I just made it to my home in Wisconsin after several weeks in Maryland and Virginia. It is less hot here, so I’m going to make every bit of summer count.

Also, I thought it would be fun to write a list of lessons learned at 35.

Because that is how old I am, and I have learned quite a few things!

SO many that I decided I would send you part of the list now, and part next week.

Sound interesting? Then keep reading!

By the way, my bday fundraiser has been AMAZING and my heart is bursting because we raised almost $200 in the past week.

Thank you so much!!

Missed that announcement? Go here to read more about the emergency fundraiser to help Ariefa, the director of Her Future Foundation.

It’s a nonprofit dedicated to girl empowerment and safety from FGM in Sierra Leone.

OK now here comes the list.

In no particular order other than this is how my mind works!

I wrote most of this out in a Denny’s in Montana waiting for an omelet. It was a pit stop during the 15-hour ride home this weekend. 😀

35 Lessons from 35

PART 1

1. Writing is medicine. Do it daily even a sentence.

2. It makes it obvious what I feel and then I take action on that rather than powering through.

3. Take time to pause and BE not just do.

4. There is no point where I will be more enough as a person because of my accomplishments. Trying to do that is never a good thing.

5. Dictate ideas and journal entries when you have idea on the go

6. Reviewing your life weekly or at least monthly means you remember what you learn better.

7. Don’t undervalue your skills.

8. Education pays off your whole life. The investment is worth it.

9. No one has a magic bullet to success. Most important, if you are going to get help or hire a coach, ask if someone can help you take actions you will procrastinate; provide a needed viewpoint or skills or teach you things; help you get clear on what success means for you; or all of the above. If yes, then that helper may actually be helpful.

10. Collaboration is worth the complications when the mood strikes.

11. ‘No’ is a good word to exercise.

12. So is the phrase, ‘let me think about it.’

13. When people tell you who they are with their actions, believe them. It matters so much more than words.

14. An apology doesn’t always fix something. Sometimes we make mistakes with a person that can’t be undone, but we can still learn from it.

15. Communication really is the key to a good relationship, but it also means learning how to phrase something in the best way and find the best time to bring certain things up. It’s a whole thing.

17. If you can’t find Mirin, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of it for 2 tbsps rice vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. [This is helpful if you want to make ramen — this is one of the recipes that has inspired me this year to make my own ramen with gluten free ingredients! Also this one, and this one.]

Stay tuned for part 2 next week!!

I’m also working on another way to record my lessons of this year having lost a loved one and turning 35.

Stay tuned for something new and exciting coming up!!

P.S. For my birthday I want to raise $600 for an emergency medical bill for the Director of Her Future Foundation. I work closely with this organization, and know he has volunteered unpaid all year to help girls in Sierra Leone end FGM and child marriage.

Check out my previous blog for more or go here to donate (every little bit helps!) https://gofund.me/a624dbac

The past week has been crazy! Has it been nutty for you as well?

I have been spending a lot of time with different folks to celebrate my recent 35th birthday (a week ago).

(Most people say I look totally different than I did a year ago because I’m growing out my hair! It hasn’t been this long in about 15 years and I’m keeping it.)

More on all the life stuff like that in an upcoming blog post.

Today I wanted to put out a request for my birthday.

Last year for my birthday, I invited people to provide me with a condolence coffee since my father had just passed away. Thanks so much to all that did.

Now, I am in a much better place than I was a year ago, and I want to raise money for a really good cause.

Have you ever gotten that feeling that it is all on you?

A lot of that feeling is landing on Ariefa Kumara, the director for Her Future Foundation, right now, so I’m trying to raise $600 to help out.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you might remember I did a fundraiser for this organization this spring.

The organization Her Future Foundation (HFF) has been founded to educate and empower girls so that they can be liberated from child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other harmful practices in Sierra Leone–where girls as young as 8 are married to adult men.

Ariefa founded HFF and now runs two schools that enroll over 300 children, both boys and girls, in addition to other programs.

This spring we raised $1000 (above our goal) to get them NGO status, so they can continue to expand, assist vulnerable girls who have no parents, and provide more services.

What happened:

Last month the director Ariefa had a medical emergency 

The nonprofit is dependent on his well-being because he’s the one who can connect the girls in Sierra Leone with funding from international donors.

There is currently no funding but the organization has NGO status so with a little more time they should be able to receive it.

He’s in the middle of lining up new funding for the organization by working with officials in the UN (United Nations) World Population Fund and the European Union. Light is at the end of the tunnel!!

But in the meantime, the emergency put him in the hospital with malaria.

He needed help so a team of donors got him emergency funding for medical expenses. Sierra Leone doesn’t give free medical care, or even treat patients without payment. I donated $300 to gofundme and directly to him because his health is essential.

The good news and bad news

The good news is he is in a more physically stable place where he is not going to die, but his well-being is still being dinged.

The bad news is he needs $600 USD more to pay the final hospital bill.

The hospital workers have been repeatedly verbally aggressive and mean awaiting his payment in full. They won’t accept a partial payment.

The personal attacks are affecting his focus and mental health trying to get funding for the organization.

Going forward

We are in the home stretch finding new funding for HFF but since the last grant ended in 2021, Ariefa has worked without pay, which is why he needs help now.

He really has so many people in his community, including all the girls, looking to him for guidance and assistance. He’s done SO much for girlkind, pulling girls out of situations where they’d be sexually assaulted, married as a child, or initiated into FGM ceremonies. Instead he puts them in school.

I really want to help him out as a thank you for his service.

Can you help him to get this last bit of funding to pay this bill?

Not only will it help Ariefa, but it will help the girls as well.

He can put more energy and focus into the home stretch of representing Her Future Foundation and getting international aid.

And it will be that relief of knowing he isn’t in this all alone! He’s got people who want to see this mission succeed.

Want more information?

Check out this information about Her Future Foundation:

website: https://hffgirls.org/

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hffsalone/

You can also shoot me a message by the contact me page.

(Yes, this guy is the real deal! I know people are wary of scams but I met him through my contacts in DC Nonprofits. I also worked with a state department official who visited him in Sierra Leone in person and attested to the amazing work he does there.)

Donate:

Here is the fundraiser that has been started for his healthcare here: GO FUND ME LINK

(It has $390 raised as of this writing, and we hope to raise another $600 to get it to $1000 total.)

Thanks for supporting if you can–it’s not really for me, but I’ll be really thankful if we can do this.

Hope you are well! I have been enjoying some time off with my fiancé’s family.

So grateful that after much preparation, our road-trip from Michigan to Virginia has gone well! Only forgot a FEW things…

Also I am preparing for my dad’s 1 year death anniversary coming in a few weeks.

I am okay, though! Taking good care of myself.

Just wanted to pop in, connect and remind you that the Summer Special on 1:1 support ends this week.

Why prices on 1 on 1 support will go up in the next season.

My 1 on 1 support prices tend to fluctuate seasonally.

I love working with people 1:1. My clients tend to get wonderful results like these stories.

But I also love doing other things, too. The stack of projects I take on changes seasonally, so my availability changes as well.

Availability affects how I can serve clients and for what price.

I am entering a new season of life! My time for 1:1 work will be more limited.

Why?

For the last year as I was grieving my dad’s passing, I had more time for 1:1 work.

That is partly because of sad things.

After feeling all my feelings and doing my executor tasks, and running my business, I did not have the juice for many of my own creative projects.

Thanks everyone for being in my corner during this time!

During this grief, it felt good to offer great prices like my summer special to keep everything super easy and light.

Helping people and working 1:1 with my clients was a total win-win for me to feel more positivity.

It totally helped.

And I do welcome more than 2 people to join me by taking advantage of this special.

Contact me to reserve your spot while it is a win-win.

The good news is that one year later, I am healing.

And–finally–I am excited to feel new creative desires stirring in me!

What desires?

-writing more for my own books and business.

-editing and sharing videos about the things helping me in life and my writing

-creating more group programs

I could dance just looking at this list. It makes me happy!

Sometimes we have to make some room for our desires.

That means letting go.

For me to clear space, I think it’s time to let go of this past season’s pricing and availability.

I just wanted to tell you one more time to make sure everyone got a fair crack at the opportunity!

Sidenote for my clients:

If you are already working with me this year, we’re good at the rate you’ve been on through at least October. I’ll let you know if anything changes after that.

If you haven’t worked with me in over a year, contact me ! Let’s figure out a win-win that works with where we are both at now.

Brand new clients will definitely have to pay more after July 31st!

Is this a win-lose?

No!

It’s just a change.

I know as I honor my inner voice and listen to what it says, I become capable of serving in new ways.

I’m sure I’ll create new ways of being of serving you by listening to my heart.

So it will all be a win-win…but things will change.

All I know is that, in the fall, my 1:1 offerings will look different.

To make room for my passions, closer to September I look over:

1. What previous clients from this year want to keep going
2. What older clients want to resume work in the fall
3. What new clients come in at this special price
4. What time all my projects take

And then I will see what space is left over for adding more clients into my schedule.

What I know:

I don’t have it all figured out yet but the special I have going right now will cost at least $249 in the fall.

BUT I may not have that much time available to serve new 1:1 clients to write for their business or book next season.

Maybe I will tunnel in and focus on my current and past clients as I focus on creating new ways to serve people in fall and winter.

So that is why I am incentivizing you to get in now–

claim your spot in my calendar (limited to 2 new clients)

and to grab it at an amazing price point (only until July 31st).

I’m not going to post any reminders

Why?

because this is for the person who knows what they want!

If you are ready to make your progress happen on your book or business,

Your energy and commitment right now is what makes it a total win-win for me.

All you have to do is contact me and tell me:

What is your desire?

-To start the fall with a fully updated website with better words about you, who you are and what you do?

-To work on your book while you have time this August?

-To write a product description or sales page that you can email, or post by September?

These are some of the writing and copywriting projects I can help you with.

If your desire is to figure out the next step when you have a million ideas for your writing or business, that is ok, too

If moving desires like these forwards sounds good, then contact me to get the Summer Special by July 31st.

I’ll help you out!

Let’s move towards our desires together!

Is this not the special you need right now? No problem.

It’ll be over shortly and my next blog will be moving on to something else.

HINT:

This is something totally different but…

Keep an eye out for my future blogs in August if you are not sure what your desires are or simply want more juice for them.

Because that is OK. I have been figuring that out all year.

Next week or so, I will share some more of the things that have been helping me connect to what I really want.

Let’s move forward towards our desires together! xo

I believe sensitive people should rule the world, but I used to believe that as a sensitive person I was at such a disadvantage.

I felt bad I wasn’t able to be more successful in my life and my business, probably because of this weird personal flaw: being sensitive.

My issue in business was that experts told me to do a lot of things to market my business that didn’t feel right to me or I got very overwhelmed.

And the thing is I would push myself to do those things I saw everyone else doing. If I got too overwhelmed, then I felt bad about not doing them. And it didn’t work well so I figured I wasn’t doing enough.

Why tell you right here? Right now?

Well, because mistakes happen. And even though I messed up by ignoring and pushing through how I felt, I kept trying to find another way. That’s because I was passionate about wanting to help people and knowing there had to be a way I could do it. I kept experimenting with my marketing and things are better now.

I’m at a point where I am letting go of forcing myself to do things that don’t feel good and the best part is that:

I’m still able to run a business,

I’m still able to help people, and

I’m still able to feel satisfied that I’m doing enough and being enough.

I’m no longer ‘masking’ who I am, and as a result I’ve drawn in:

amazing friends,

an amazing partner,

and awesome clients I actually love.

So, if you’re feeling too sensitive or whatever, I just thought I’d send over a little encouragement today. In case you needed it.

Have you ever felt pressured to do things that didn’t feel good or that make you feel overwhelmed?

it is okay. I think a lot of sensitive people go through this. It can be tough.

Keep trying to find a compromise, try find a way forward that works for you and feels more comfortable.

Be willing to step outside the box and be different.

And if you are sensitive and trying to market yourself, your skills, your business or your message, check out the replay of my recent talk:

“Why Sensitive People Hate Marketing,”

There’s lots of tips for how to move forward and find a better way.

I just want you to know that today, as with every blog, I’m on a mission to help you write for your book or business.

Getting those words on paper or out online means serving more people… in a FUN way where you feel lit up and rewarded.

​

(Imagine me dancing and snapping, just for fun)

And when we do 1:1 coaching, we can make this all happen!

I know because I’ve seen it.

​

Below are 3 success stories from clients who have signed on to do 1:1 work with me since April.

I’ve been collecting these for a little while and it’s time to share the good news, my friend.

Meet Kristina.

She said, “I definitely am so so happy that I reached out to you because I feel like you have helped me motivate myself and helped me to boost my confidence and self-esteem when it comes to my business ideas. You helped me with the process. Since we’ve talked, I’ve literally built an Instagram network, built a Tiktok network. I’ve been more comfortable with posting my things on LinkedIn, and Facebook. Oh and my website, you’ve helped with that. Just from April, when we started talking, I’ve literally built an entire website and I have over 1000 followers on social media, which I like never thought that would happen.”

She said I helped with “the confidence, motivation, but also, the tech side. You really helped me with the process and met me where I am.”

So exciting to see her shine and have fun with her business. What platforms you are use is a personal choice, but I definitely hope where ever you are online, you have fun with it, like Kristina. Her site is up here 

Meet Joey.

Joey was feeling anxious about a speaking opportunity around his therapeutic creation Culinary ACT. He recommends my work to anyone else with “new ideas that feel scary and vulnerable.” We worked to prepare him with what to say.

He completed his talk and said that, “I was maybe looking into the doorway of culinary ACT before working with you, but now I feel like, I’m locked into the threshold and, Okay, I might not know what’s happening next, but I have other people who I can continue to bounce ideas off of to figure it out. So I think the end result is feeling affirmed. And I feel like I earned that.”

Now, he told me today, “I’m not as scared as I was before.”

So happy good things are happening for him–and now that the idea is out of the bag, it’s just going to keep rolling. I didn’t help specifically with his website but you can find it here

Meet Xena.

Xena is a personal trainer who used to feel off about her website and email freebie. She was not excited to share it with potential clients. She wanted to change it so more people would sign up for programs through her site but she couldn’t find the time to sit down by herself and do a revision. So she got my help. We put it on the calendar, edited the whole site together with a freebie email sequence and made some new additions.

She “loves, loves, loves” her site now–here’s my favorite new sales-page we worked on because it sounds so much like her. I get such a joy when someone’s unique personality gets to shine!

Kristina, Joey and Xena all received 1:1 coaching with packages like I am offering below. Some also chose to renew because the service was helpful.

I’m just so freaking proud of the progress they made. I’m actually really surprised…so little time went by and the results are outstanding.

If you’d like to get serious about writing out your ideas for your book, or business, I’d love for you to shoot me a message about this Summer Special below.

​

Not sure?

Joey said this about me:

I’m not “someone that’s going to cover your shit in red ink.” He said, I’m “warm and encouraging” even in my feedback.

And “You’re affordable. Sometimes there’s like an intimidation around hiring a consultant. You don’t operate that way. That just makes it a little more easygoing for people. And so I would tell these people [ who may be on the fence] that maybe they’re limiting their idea of how you can be useful for them.”

​

Yes, I’m offering really affordable rates right now! It’s what feels good at the moment but it can change at any time. Life is short, baby!

---

Here are the details

​

​

Want help writing for your book or business?

Get writing done for your website, blogs, email funnels or books.

Help the people you are meant to serve and build an audience.

​

Summer Special:

​

1:1 Coaching to get writing done together on zoom or phone

Includes any writing coaching, copywriting, collaboration or basic website/email technology walk-throughs you need for your project

Three (3)- 30 minute phone or zoom sessions.

​

Only $180 total

A 333 value

54% off

​

Rules:

*Only 2 spots left

*Only available for purchase in July 2022

*Must use by September 31st

​

Bonus:

*Use all your time and you can keep your rate.

*You will qualify for price matching through the fall of 2022.

*Otherwise prices may increase in August and for the fall.

​

This is crazy because this special is 54% off what I have charged in the past.

But it’s what I feel called to offer…

​

so this is for the mermaid ready for real magic.

who wants to see that website, or book move forward…

and who believes it’s possible to write, make a difference, pursue your dreams and still have a fun and relaxed summer!

YES

Let’s invigorate your writing, your website, your book so you can tell the world whatever you have to say!!

Here you come, world.

​

To grab your spot or talk more about it, contact me.