Vibrant Happy Women

I share the story of my 3-year-old daughter Cora's self destructive behavior (hair, stitches, scabs) and how we FINALLY stumbled onto a solution after weeks of thinking there WAS no solution. I relate this story to your life. Are their times you've given up? Well, don't. 99% of the time a solution will present itself IF you stay open. Learn how in this episode. www.jenriday.com/happy62

Despite having a successful blog and business, Crystal Paine found herself feeling burnt out and not really excited about anything at all. So she made the choice to untangle herself from her business obligations so she could take a year of rest and have that time to pour into herself so she could better pour into others. During that year Crystal did things that brought her true joy, including spending time with her kids, completely overhauling her health and enjoying the freedom to be more spontaneous, adventurous and creative. If the idea of a year of rest appeals to you, then you're going to love this episode. Crystal Paine a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, business consultant, and the founder of MoneySavingMom.com. MoneySavingMom.com was started in 2007 as an offshoot of a mommy blog Crystal had and has since grown to be one of the top personal finance blogs on the web averaging over 1.5 million unique visitors per month. Crystal lives in the Nashville area with her husband and 3 kids. Get Crystal's free 5 Days to a Better Morning series to learn how to start your day off on the right foot.  Nuggets of Wisdom from Crystal: "Do what you can with what you've got, where you are." 'I wanted to say yes to my family, yes to fun, and yes to things that were going to scare me a little bit but hopefully help me break free from fears and anxiety and be able to just walk in more freedom in my life." "I said yes to my health." "When I broke free from not being dependent upon coffee to survive, then I realized that I felt so empowered in other areas in my life....I needed to break free from that because it was causing me to have anxiety, it was hindering my sleep, and that then was contributing to other health problems. But it was also that I was looking to this thing, this drink that I was drinking, to give me the energy to do what I needed to do, instead of just getting enough sleep and taking care of myself and eating healthy so that I could have the inner strength to do what I needed to do." "I wanted people to see that I am not at all as brave or courageous as people assume that I must be, and that there's a lot of things like making phone calls or talking to people that I don't know well that scare me. But I have learned that the more that I make myself face those fears and do those things, the more that I feel empowered, and so when I step outside my comfort zone, the more that I do it, then over time my comfort zone moves, and I am able to then face more fears and go farther because I didn't just stay where it is all safe." Some of Crystal's Favorite Things: Personal habit: "Writing out daily to-do-lists. I’ve done for years and years. Google calendar for family, team. I brain dump everything into Google calendar as all-day tasks." Easy meal: "Salmon, bake it in the oven, with brown rice with sweet potato fries and roasted broccoli. Salad with a homemade dressing." Favorite kitchen gadget: "InstantPot" Crystal's Favorite Books: Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist Best advice received: "Do the next right thing." Crystal's Happiness Formula: Getting enough sleep + allowing time to refuel + using talents and gifts to bless others' lives. A Challenge from Crystal: "Take time and make space in your life to breathe and refuel and take care of you." Resources 5 Days to a Better Morning series InstantPot Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:  

Are you looking for the "next step" in life? Wondering what your "big girl job" is going to be after sending your youngest child off to school? Wanting to change careers or do more of what you love? You're not alone! Most women want to find their purpose and passions, but they don't know where to start because they have no idea what they like to do. In this episode you'll learn the first step to figuring out what you're passionate about. Ever wonder what you're "supposed" to be doing with your life? If there's some purpose you need to fulfill? You're not alone! We've all been there. In this Happy Bit Jen shares a great tip for taking the leap into the unknown: Follow your Feelings. Our body has an internal GPS to let us know exactly what we should and should not be doing: our emotions. When we do what feels AMAZING, we're on the right track. When something leaves us feeling drained, that's probably not the right path. Follow your feelings. Resources

When challenges come, we often launch into a state of stress and feelings of inadequacy. In this episode guest Kate Northrup shares why it's critical that we address the HOW of dealing with a situation more than the WHAT. Specifically, Kate believes we need to approach a difficulty from a perspective of love, positivity, presence and intuition. When we do that, everything else is easy.  As an entrepreneur, bestselling author, mother, and activist, Kate Northrup supports ambitious, motivated and successful women to light up the world without burning themselves out in the process. Committed to empowering women entrepreneurs to create their most successful businesses while navigating motherhood, Kate is the founder and CEO of Origin Collective, a monthly membership site where women all over the world gather to achieve more while doing less. Her first book, Money: A Love Story, has been published in 5 languages. Kate’s work has been featured by The Today Show, Yahoo! Finance, Women’s Health, Glamour, and The Huffington Post and she’s spoken to audiences of thousands with Hay House, Wanderlust, YouSANA Health Sciences, and more. Kate lives with her husband and business partner, Mike, and their daughter Penelope in Maine. Join Kate's FREE Sustainable Success Workshop to learn more about the art of balancing mothering and entrepreneurship. Nuggets of Wisdom from Kate: “The art of life is not in controlling what happens to us, but in using what happens to us.” - Gloria Steinem "What I love about this quote is it really articulates what I have been learning, not only in motherhood, but also in business, which is that we cannot actually control what happens in our lives to a large extent, but we can control our response to it, of course, and we can use what happens as fodder for learning information, to change our course of action, and as an opportunity for growth. And so, this just deeply resonates with me for that reason. " "It's not so much WHAT we do, it’s the HOW we do it. The HOW we do anything is really going to impact our results far more than WHAT that we actually do. We know that from sports psychology that the more awareness and the more consciousness we bring to our workouts for example, and the more presence we bring, the better our results will be." "Part of what’s been really amazing about scheduling things according to my cycle and also being super clear on when I have childcare and when I don’t and when I’m working and when I’m not, has been that predictability. I find myself so much more calm." "If we actually honor the gifts of the luteal phase, which is the slowing down, it’s a really great time to wrap up loose ends, to complete projects, to check things off your to-do list. It’s actually a super powerful time to address things, and get done." "We can’t control the weather, we can’t control our children, we can’t control other people, we can’t control the economy, we can’t control the government… there are so many things that we can’t control, and yet all of us crave predictability. So, for me, you know, I really crave that." Some of Kate's Favorite Things: Personal habit: "Scheduling and calendaring. I think this is a theme of our conversation. I have kept a day timer.  I started using a day timer when I was 14 years old. And just having things written down so I could look at the week and kind of know what it’s going to bring and design my life according to what brings me the most joy has been an ongoing habit my entire life." Easy meal: "We always kind of have like chicken, organic chicken sausage of some kind in the fridge, because it keeps really well and my daughter really loves to eat it. So, if I just don’t have much time, I take a big huge handful of spinach and sauté it up with some organic chicken sausage, cut up in little pieces, and I eat that, and it’s delicious. And it takes me like 5 minutes." Possession: "I really love my lemon squeezer." Morning Elixir Recipe: warm water, juice from half a lemon, dash of cayenne pepper, 1/4 t. raw honey, 1 T. apple cider vinegar, and some grated fresh ginger. Kate's Favorite Books: "Carry on, Warrior by Glennon Doyle-Melton and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott" Best advice received: "Read your baby, not a book." Kate's Happiness Formula: Decide that you want to be happy. In the moment, whenever you notice that you are veering off ,which is really easy to do, and you’ll do it all day long, look for things in your environment that are pleasing to you, or that you could feel gratitude for. Breathing. Community. Having a tribe. Investing in the people that you love and those relationships because those bring the greatest joy. A Challenge from Kate: "I would like you to try looking at your schedule, and asking yourself if there is anything that you see in the upcoming week that feels heavy or feels draining to you like is it something that you just look at and, 'Uhhh, I don’t want to do that.' And if there is something, then I would ask you to look at it and ask could that thing be cancelled? Could it be rescheduled? Could it be shifted in some way? Could that task change? Or could it be delegated? Could somebody else do it?" Resources FREE Sustainable Success Workshop KateNorthrup.com Money, A Love Story: Untangle Your Financial Woes and Create the Life You Really Want The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle, Amplify Your Fertility, Supercharge Your Sex Drive, and Become a Power Source The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul The Healthy Godmother (Heidi Symonds) Carry on, Warrior by Glennon Doyle-Melton Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:  

Some of the world's most successful women, including Judy Faulkner, ranked No. 3 on Forbes' "America's Richest Self-Made Women" list, have one important thing in common: they know how to listen to their inner voice - their intuition, or instinct, or a Higher Power - and make confident, bold decisions with clarity and ease. And they DO NOT  allow what "everyone else is doing" to sway their decisions. In this Happy Bit I challenge you to go inward and listen to your gut and allow that inner GPS to empower you to live a confident, unstoppable life.  Your challenge: whenever you feel unsure of what to do, or looking around at what everyone else is doing. STOP! Go inward and listen to God, or the Universe or your gut instinct to find out what YOU need to do.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic... join me in the Vibrant Happy Women Facebook group and share 1 thing you've learned recently as a result of slowing down and truly listening to that inner voice.  Make it a great week! Resources Epic Systems Judy Faulkner The Giving Pledge (Gates & Buffet) Forbes "Richest Self-Made Women" List Capital Times Article About Judy www.jenriday.com/happy60

We can transform our health when we follow the holistic approach of Aryurveda, the world's oldest healing system, which focuses on mind, body, spirit and the 5 senses. In this episode Ananta Ripa Ajmera shares that health is our birthright - our true nature - and shares numerous practices from her book The Ayurveda Way: 108 Practices from the World's Oldest Healing System for Better Sleep, Less Stress, Optimal Digestion, and More. Ananta brings home the idea that true health focuses on so much more than just our body and definitely includes elements of "healthy selfishness" and cultivating a relationship with our own higher selves.  Ananta Ripa Ajmera is committed to making Ayurveda understandable and applicable to a diverse, modern audience. She teaches Ayurveda lifestyle, stress management, and meditation at yoga and business conferences and for clients including ABC News, Stanford University, and the California probation departments. Ajmera studied yoga and Ayurveda with Acharya Shunya and serves as Branding and Yoga Studies Director for Vedika Global, Acharya Shunya’s school. Her writing is popular on MindBodyGreen, Elephant Journal, and The Huffington Post. Nuggets of Wisdom from Ananta: "When you sow a thought, you reap an action. When you sow an action, you reap a habit. You sow a habit, you reap a character. And when you sow a character, you reap a destiny." ~the Upanishads "We are so often taught to believe that everything worth having in this life is somewhere outside, and it has to be attained by doing something. By affirming that actually everything that I am searching for lies within me, it's just a very empowering way to start the day." "Ayurveda is the science of life. It is as old as life itself. Ayurveda looks at four dimensions of the human being: the body, mind, spirit, and the five senses." "Ayurveda is defined as that science which teaches us how to distinguish between those actions that bring us joy and those that bring us sorrow. Because joy-filled actions are what give us health, and, you know, they define the joy-giving actions as those that benefit not only ourselves but others, so, compassion and service are actually an inherent part of the practice and lifestyle of Ayurveda." "Health is your birthright. Health is your true nature. And I think, for me, being able to connect with that and being able to connect with the idea of freeing my spirit has been the key to developing the willpower and the strength to be able to make diet and lifestyle changes which Ayurveda recommends for being able to bring my body then into balance. For me the suffering that I had really started in my mind. And it started from just being disconnected." "We kind of know that certain habits are not helpful for us. We know better, but we don't do better." "Go slow. Really go slow and make anything that you choose sustainable." Some of Ananta's Favorite Things: Personal habit: "Waking up early by 6 o'clock in the morning." Easy meal: "Khichadi. It is an extremely healthy recipe, and it's really delicious, and it is something that is particularly good in detoxing the body, so it's great in the spring season." Favorite kitchen gadget: Magic Bullet blender. Emma's Favorite Books: "Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom: A Complete Prescription to Optimize Your Health, Prevent Disease, and Live with Vitality and Joy" Best advice received: "Give when feeling full." Ananta's Happiness Formula: "I'm happiest when I listen to my intuition." A Challenge from Ananta: "To really contemplate one thing that you would like to start to incorporate into your life to benefit your health, body, mind, and your spirit. And really think it through before you commit to it. So, don't make it like a New Year's resolution, but really commit to a mindful intention or resolution that you want to do. And then I challenge you to write it down, and then make that your first step to manifesting whatever your intention is, and revisit it, and rewrite it, and really, you know, take that one thing and plant it like a seed in the garden of your mind, and see what kind of beautiful flowers start to grow in your life as a result." Resources The Ayurveda Way: 108 Practices from the World's Oldest Healing System for Better Sleep, Less Stress, Optimal Digestion, and More Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom: A Complete Prescription to Optimize Your Health, Prevent Disease, and Live with Vitality and Joy Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:  

You might know your happiness is important, yet you feel guilty taking time for yourself. In this Happy Bit I share an analogy that will help. Have you ever considered that women are like the sun? Learn how radiating more happiness will change everything in your "solar system." 

Do you ever feel trapped by your busy life? Desperate for a little more freedom? Beth Kempton felt the same way. While pregnant with her second child Beth found herself completely burnt out and feeling trapped by her busy schedule. Beth arranged her affairs as they say, and took a 5-month break to relax. During this time she did a lot of thinking and figured out the 8 keys to finding freedom, which she shares with us in this episode. Beth Kempton is a fierce champion of women living free and happy lives, doing what they love. If you were to read her resume from her early career it would include stints working for the UN and at many of the world's top sports events like the Olympics, hosting her own TV show, and the fact that she speaks Japanese, but the most important thing to know about her life now is that she is on a mission to inspire all of us to fly free. For the past six years she has run a company called Do What You Love which has helped thousands of people to create a life that makes them happy, through online courses and retreats. She is also a wife and mother of two sweet girls, and has recently become a Hay House author. Her first book 'Freedom Seeker: Live more. Worry less. Do what you love.' has just come out. Nuggets of Wisdom from Beth: "What you can do, or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." ~Goethe "If you can see something in your mind's eye, then you almost already know how to do that thing. And when you really do that you become bold and you take those difficult steps and you start to see magic unfold." "For the first time I could see what cage I was trapped in, what it was that was holding me back from the fuller life I used to know...I was just this shell of myself, feeling guilty all the time, not running my business properly, not being a good mother...I was never where I was supposed to be. So if I was playing on the carpet with my baby my hands would be in the game and my head would be in my inbox." "What I discovered was that the key was taking my mind to somewhere where I could get head space and heart space." "It was almost like I saw a free version of myself out in the world and I asked myself, 'What did she have that I don't have now?' And realized that it was space. She had a vast amount of space, both physical space in the places she was visiting, but also space in her day, space in her mind, quiet... And I had none of those things. I was very heavily pregnant so it wasn't really realistic to get on a plane and go to Siberia. But I thought, 'How can I make some space?' and I started really small with 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there... I would just go outside and stand on the grass and look at the sun or have a cup of tea and read Flow Magazine. And then that would build up, I'd go to a yoga class or spend half a day walking on the beach. And that made a big difference and I felt better." Some of Beth's Favorite Things: Personal habit: "I'm really bad at habits. I have a lot of good intentions. I think my lust for adventure and for wanting things to be fresh and new means I'm very, very bad at habits. But I do know that I'm much better in going through my day when I'm organized, so I do like to sit down and plan my week and have a moment of quiet with a cup of tea." Easy meal: "Miso and rice. I lived in Japan so it's definitely my favorite." Favorite kitchen gadget: "Rice cooker." Emma's Favorite Books: The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. Phenomenal by Leigh Ann Henion Best advice received: "Moisturize your neck every day."~Beth's Mom  "Keep your eye on the prize. Don't let other people's opinions of how big your idea can be LIMIT your opinion of how big your idea can be."~Lord David Putnam Beth's Happiness Formula: "Love + Adventure + Freedom." "Happiness is something that happens on the side when you aim to feel free." A Challenge from Beth: "Ask yourself today what it is that's making you feel trapped and to take yourself to a place when you've felt free in your life and look at the difference and think what can you do right now, in this moment, to feel more like you did the last time you felt free." Resources Freedom Seeker: Live More. Worry Less. Do What You Love The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. Phenomenal by Leigh Ann Henion Quiz: Find Your Freedom Key Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:  

The sense of achievement and accomplishment that come with setting goals can be amazing... BUT it can also leave us feeling like we are always lacking something because there's always one more goal we need to work on. Learn how setting an intention is different from setting goals and how intentions can dramatically improve your joy in the journey (rather than always reaching for a new destination).

After a fantastic career as a high-level lawyer, a marriage that looked great from the outside and all the normal definitions of success, Emma Bell realized she wasn’t happy and that she didn’t even really know herself. In this touching episode Emma shares how she learned to be compassionate with herself and live authentically, which set off a chain of events that included becoming an authenticity and mindfulness coach, finding the love of her life (who complements rather than “completes” her) and having the thrill of helping hundreds of other women make the same journey to self love. Emma Bell lives in a beautiful Scottish village with her husband, Graeme, and her jack russell, Buddy. After seventeen years as a corporate lawyer, the high pressure/long hours culture forced her to realize she was a square peg squeezing into a round hole. She worked as a judge for seven years, during which time she published her book, The True You, and began coaching. She now pursues her passions of writing, teaching authenticity, and motorbiking with her husband around the world. Nuggets of Wisdom from Emma: "David Foster Wallace said, 'You will become way less concerned about what others think of you when you realize how seldom they do.' I just love that quote because it is a reminder to me not to waste a second worrying about what others think of me. You have to live your life with yourself first. I think being true to your values and your principles is what matters most, and it is something I spent 30 years learning." "For me, it was the point which I realized I had absolutely no idea who I was, that was important to me. I realized I had been living according to everyone else's idea of success. So, that was really when I realized that I needed to get to know myself." "I had always been so hard on myself. I was not working hard enough, or I was not trying hard enough or I was a failure or.... I started to change those messages... then self-care becomes a lot easier." "Be clear about what success means to you. My definition of success is having the peace of mind of knowing that I have been the best of which I am capable in every single moment. I have given my full self, I have given my heart, I have given my love in every single moment. That is what success means for me." "Every single day, just take one step toward your idea of success. Just do one thing that moves you toward your idea of success. And those are, for me, the daily rituals." Some of Emma's Favorite Things: Personal habit: "Mindfulness and getting up every morning and meditating." Easy meal: "Salmon with mango and avocado salsa. Chop up a mango. Chop up an avocado. Put in some red onion.  Get the juice of two limes. Cush it all together and serve it along side baked salmon." Possession: "My husband. He is an awesome cook." Emma's Favorite Books: "Wishes Fulfilled by Wayne Dyer" Best advice received: "Emma, you can do everything you want- just not all at the same time. " Emma's Happiness Formula: 1. Being mindful 2. Being authentic 3. Being self-caring 4. Being giving. 5. Being grateful. A Challenge from Emma: I would challenge your listeners to spend 10 minutes being mindful. Resources Self Love Checklist emmajbell.com The True You - sign up and get a free copy of the Emma's book Wishes Fulfilled by Wayne Dyer Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women: