Tag Archives: live your dream

create a blue zone routine

Create Your Own Blue Zone Routines

August is often the start of hectic activities to resume our regular routines. Here is why, and how creating your own Blue Zone routine is important.

Whether you are getting ready to send your children back to school, or you are just starting back into a more regular work week as employees, you and your customers are all back from vacations — the end of summer schedules is near.

As you begin to ramp back up into your regular routine I suggest you think about creating routines that better align with your desires and your health — rather than doing what you have always done.

I often talk about how creating a life you love will feed your soul and your pocketbook. And it is true. Plus, creating routines that feed your inspiration actually improve your health and life span!

In his book, The Blue Zones, Dan Buettner describes nine key lessons he discovered while researching the places around the world where people live longer than average. He looked at places where people lived to over 100 healthy at rates significantly higher than average — blue zones. Many things he found also match what I have learned about success.

Here are key points you will want include in your routine this fall:

  • Regular physical exercise — preferably outside rather than in a gym helps your body be strong and reduces stress.
    • Walking five miles a day or more every day seems common in blue zones.
    • Gardening is another great form of exercise that uses a wide range of motions and gives you a source of fresh vegetables.
  • Choose work you love, rather than work to later do what you love.
  • Find purpose in your life so you wake up enthusiastic for your day.
  • Take time for family — many blue zones have strong family time in their lives. In fact, they put family first.
    • Develop and cherish a strong social network; family and friends who will have your back and you will have theirs emotionally, financially and physically. Make sure the people you spend the most time with honor the same values and goals you do.
  • Take time daily to admire what is beautiful in your world. Stop and enjoy it.
  • If your routine does not include much laughter, start new ones that allow for more joy in your daily life.
  • Keep learning. Look for ways to expand your mind regularly.

Here is to your happy, healthy, Blue Zone routines. Do you have one to add?

Achieving Balance During Life’s Biggest Transitions

On Mother’s Day, I watched one of my daughter’s graduate college, and in a few weeks, my youngest will graduate high school. Within full of appreciation for their achievements and excitement for their futures, I am sometimes caught by surprise by the deep effect their transitions have on me.

As a mom, my children’s transitions actually constitute transitions for my life, too. Will they be living at home anymore? What level of support will being their mom mean in their next phase of life? how much influence do I actually have on their choices?

I remember distinctly the day my son (and oldest child) first drove away at 16 years of age with his newly acquired license. I knew I had to trust that the job I had done would guide him to make good choices, because as much as I didn’t want to admit it—once out of the driveway, he could do and go as he pleased. It also meant I would no longer be driving him everywhere — a significant convenience, yet a loss of one-on-one talk time with him that I loved.

Have you experienced some of these transitions, too?

The tricky part with these relationships we cherish is investing our hearts in them, while still maintaining our own center of gravity. We require our own dreams and inspirations so that as our children become less dependent on us we are not left with a black hole in our lives. It is even true of our spouses, friends and work. Our center of gravity must remain in us, while we nurture, love and put our all into the things we care about.

I have not always been good at this balance — often being far more invested in others than myself. However, what has changed all this for me is having a BIG goal of my own! Even if I am fully investing most of my time in my children or my work, if I have identified my BIG personal goal and invest just a little time towards it regularly it establishes my own center of gravity, my own destination, and feeds my inner light. And ironically, I have found I am a better mother, friend and worker when my inner light and center of gravity is strong!

It has also made these transitions smoother and more joyful, even if I do still cringe that the part of my parenting journey where my children are living at home is coming to a close — I have more energy invested in my future than grieving what is past.

Here is to gloriously smooth and joyful transitions for your life!

women professions after graduation

To the Graduating Women of 2015

Graduating women of 2015, congratulations! You have achieved your goal and are about to embark upon the next journey of your life.

You may receive advice from parents, friends, and other well meaning people on what job to take, where to live, or any other significant decision you are making as you leave the container of college. Yet, no matter what path you choose there are some things that can help you on your way.

  1. Believe in your capacity to do great things. Maybe you are naive, idealistic, and impractical. Good. Stay that way as long as you can. Thinking outside the box is the only way new and wonderful things have come to humans, so let yourself believe — regardless of what others say. As a serial entrepreneur, I have found believing in myself the most important thing I have done to create opportunities and succeed.
  2. Know you will probably encounter gender bias at work and in life. It is still an unfortunate reality. However, more important is to remove any internal gender bias you might have that will hold you back from shining. Two ways young women do this are either to retract into sweet, non-assertive mannerisms to avoid offending the men in power over them, or to over masculate their mannerisms–hiding their feminine nature. Neither work and both will leave you in a one down position. Be yourself. Bring your feminine and masculine strengths to your life. And speak up for yourself with the expectation you will be heard, not with the expectation you will have to fight for your rights. Stay alert to your own subconscious gender bias lest it sabotage your success before you even start or creep in slowly without warning. Other people cannot hold you back if you are enthusiastic and believe in yourself.
  3. Find women you admire and connect with them. Having strong women in your circle will help you in ways you cannot imagine, until it happens.
  4. Take a leap of faith and do what your heart is calling you to do. You are not commiting for a lifetime, so let go of the fear this has to be “the right” choice. When you follow your heart, and not your head, you will avoid spending decades in dead end jobs that seemed responsible. Plus, you will have spent your energy pursuing what excites you and there is no telling today what great things will come out of that tomorrow. To bring your innate gifts to the world, you have to pursue what you are passionate about. The world needs your passion and creativity, not some mindless motion of another cog in the wheel.

I look forward to learning all the amazing and wonderful contributions you make to our world!