Get Your Hopes Up with Christy Wright

Here's the truth about money: The more you have, the more impact you can make. So why wouldn't you want to make a million dollars in your business? Well, for many of you, it boils down to what you believe. So much of what I teach you is to believe. Believe in yourself, believe that you can do the thing, and believe that God put that dream in your heart for a reason. Remember when you were a kid and you believed? Maybe you believed in Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, even flying reindeer. You believed you could be anything you wanted to be. You believed anything was possible. Maybe you even believed you would be a millionaire when you grew up. But something has changed since then. Something happened as we grew up and became more reasonable and more logical-we stopped believing. At some point in your journey, whether you realized it or not, you stopped believing and you settled. You probably thought, Well, I'm not going to dream too big because I don't want to end up disappointed. If you don't believe something is possible, you're never going to try. When you set goals for your business, you also create a plan to achieve them. It's the same with being a millionaire. If you set a goal of becoming a millionaire, you have to create a plan to make it happen. It's as easy as that. You have to be careful of the words you tell yourself. When you hear those negative thoughts in your head saying, I'm not enough, you just need to have a positive thought prepared to tell yourself, I am enough. I got this. Related: Ep. 58 - Perseverance in Your Business: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up Working Through All the Feelings About Wealth We all have perceptions of what we think it takes to be wealthy. We even have perceptions of what we think it means to be wealthy. Should I feel guilty for having money? No! Is it even okay to have wealth? Yes! Yes, it is okay to have wealth! Listen, when God blesses you with His resources, it is up to you to steward these resources well, and He will bless you with more. Imagine the impact you could make if you had an abundance of resources. The bottom line is that you need to be a good and faithful servant of God's resources. Imagine being able to give like never before and change your family tree. Now that right there is what it's all about. Building wealth in a smart way, slow and steady, for the right reasons is the way to go, and you can do this. Don't get me wrong: It's okay to enjoy nice things. There is nothing wrong with that. But the true joy in building your wealth comes from being able to give generously and leave a legacy for your family. Related: How to Set Prices How to Make a Million Dollars in Your Business with Chris Hogan Chris Hogan is the national best-selling author of Retire Inspired, host of The Chris Hogan Show, fellow team member here at Ramsey Solutions and last but not least, my good friend. So, before we get started, let me tell you a little about Chris. You know those people that walk in the room and just own it? The people that have everyone's attention because you just feel their presence? That's Chris Hogan. It's more than his booming voice that commands attention. It's his contagious passion to help people understand how to build wealth and live the life they've always wanted. To say he gets people fired up is a huge understatement. So, in this episode, Chris Hogan and I are going to get you to believe again. Because you may not realize it, but you already have exactly what you need to make a million dollars in your business. The Largest Study Ever Done on How to Make a Million Dollars Steve Jobs once said, "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."(1) But don't just take Steve Jobs' word for it-the research backs it up. In the largest study ever done on millionaires, Chris Hogan...

It's exciting to plan for the future, set fun goals, and dream big for your business, but you also need to figure out how you'll reach those goals. If you don't know where you are, it's hard to know how to get to where you want to be. Today, I want to talk about how you can assess and evaluate where your business is right now so you can see the path to where you want to be in 2019. Make sense? Great! Let's get started. End of the Year Business Review Organizing and evaluating the major projects you did in 2018 is a great first step toward planning for 2019. Start by creating four columns and sorting projects into these four categories: right, wrong, missing and confused. RIGHTWhat worked well? What was a huge success or helped you gain momentum? These are things that you want to maximize, amplify, and do more of next year. WRONGWhat didn't work? Did you have a setback or a challenge? Did some of your results disappoint you? If so, it's okay! Making mistakes shows you are taking risks and pushing the limits. The important thing is that you learn from your experiences and stop spending time on these things. MISSINGWhat opportunities were overlooked? Was there something you should have done, but didn't? Maybe it was something you didn't know you should do at the time, but you know now. These are things you are going to add. CONFUSEDWhat needs a little more explanation or better processes? Was there something you had to help customers or your team understand multiple times? These are the things you should clarify. This is a great exercise for your business as a whole, but I'd also recommend you do this for the main areas of your business: sales, marketing, operations, money, team and time management. Evaluating your business's strengths and weaknesses will help you finish the year strong and start the new year even better that last year. Related: Ep 61: Learning From Failure: How to Dust Yourself Off and Move Forward How to Wrap Up the Year and Finish Strong with John Felkins John Felkins is one of our very own Entreleadership Executive Coaches here at Ramsey Solutions. John is on a mission to help business leaders reach their maximum potential. He guides leaders and small-business owners to cut through white noise and helps them make real progress on their journey to becoming the best, most accomplished version of themselves. John Felkins started his professional life as a project management engineer and realized his passion was actually coaching and consulting. After creating a consulting firm, he went to an Entreleadership event, fell in love with the principles, then quickly joined the Entreleadership team to help launch the highly successful Entreleadership coaching program. In this episode, John Felkins and I discuss how to work in your sweet spot and how to wrap up the year and finish strong. We talk about: Why it's important to use your gifts with your work and not force yourself to do a job that doesn't come naturally The main things you need to identify and assess in your business before the year ends Practical questions to ask yourself to end the year strong The metrics to know now in order to improve your business next year Knowing your business vitals and why that's important for your profit and loss Identifying the actual cost of doing business, so you can make adjustments to improve in the future Why putting your phone down will help you avoid distractions and serve your customers better Related: How to Stay Focused and Eliminate Distractions in Your Business Get a Running Start on Your Year We all know the holidays are a crazy busy time of year. Before you know it, it's January, and you aren't sure how to start tackling all those New Year's goals you set for your business. You still have a few days to get your plans in place, so figure out where you want to be and break down what you need to do to reach that goal....

Alright y'all. Let's face it: Distractions are a fact of life. You're going to face them in every area of your life and your business, and the honest truth is that if we don't face them, they're going to keep us from getting things done. I want you to reach your goals and achieve everything you want in the coming year. So let's talk about how to stay focused and eliminate distractions. All human beings are wired to be curious. We naturally gravitate toward the new, even if that keeps us from doing the things we need to do. But not all distractions are created equal. Three Categories of Distractions Let's think of distractions in the form of a stop light. STOP.Red Distractions: The distractions that you should ignore. STOP. Proceed with caution.Yellow Distractions: The distractions that cause you to slow down and think about. GO!Green Distractions: The distractions that demand your attention. Red Distractions Squirrels These types of distractions, like a squirrel zooming in front of you on a walk, divert you from your main task at hand. They might be new ideas, shiny objects, something more fun, or simply something that is going to help you procrastinate. For me, this is a normal occurrence. They steal my attention away from what I'm really supposed to be doing. I am working on one idea or objective, something new pops up, and I focus on that instead. It's easy to get derailed by these types of distractions. But honestly, they are just squirrels. These go in the Red Distractions category because they are the types of distractions that you need to stop letting steal your focus. Technology You knew I was going to go here. I can't talk about distractions without calling out the main culprit and source of distraction for so many of us. Technology notifications distract us all day long. It's a text when you're in the middle of a project or a quick browse on Facebook when you really should be writing marketing copy. Most types of technology distractions are examples of those that you can and should ignore. Those notifications come in 24/7, and they're still going to be there when you get done with your task at hand. How Do You Handle Red Distractions? Red Distractions are the easiest distractions to avoid. You shut it out, put on blinders, and force yourself to focus. This is a matter of will and discipline. If you want to get anything done, set yourself up for success. You need to eliminate any possible chance for these distractions to come at you.  Put on noise-canceling headphones, go to a room or coffee shop by yourself, close all the tabs on your computer, hide your phone, and get to work. Force yourself to focus, and you'll finally start finishing. Yellow Distractions There are no hard and fast rules for ignoring these distractions. Proceed with caution, like you would at a stoplight. Stop and think before you let them steal your focus. People Around You You're going to encounter all kinds of people who have the potential to distract you-customers, team members, vendors, friends or family. When you have people in your life distracting you, you must stop and think before allowing them to steal your focus. Do their needs demand your attention, or can you set up a boundary until you have the space and time to address them? Related: How to Say No And Stand Your Ground Kids in Your Home Yes, kids are people, but we all know they present a different level of distraction than the other people in your life. Nothing can derail your plans like your kids. (Can I get an "Amen!"?) Let's be honest. When your kids need you, it's because they need one of two things: They want to play or they need help. Again, think about what is most important in that moment. Are you up against a deadline and you need to tell your kid you'll play with them later? Or are you in a place where you can be present and seize a moment with them? Related: Look For Distractions...

It's time to talk about learning from failure. I know. Learning from failure is no one's favorite subject. No one gets excited about failure, but y'all, failure is a reality in life and business! We might as well just learn from it! I have had a lot of failures in my life . . . and in Business Boutique . . . and in speaking. So I've gotten a lot of practice. And today, I'm going to help you answer the question, "How do I learn from my failure?" Three Ways to Learn From Failure 1. Adjust on the Fly When it's possible, adjust on the fly. A few years ago I was booked to speak at Catalyst, talking to women about life balance. Everything I wrote was directed at women and what we struggle with when it comes to life balance. I used stories that were relatable to women and I even pulled stories from the Bible, citing Scripture about women. On the day of the event, I stood at the back of the room and watched the room fill up with people, who were all men. Do you see the problem? I could have gone ahead and given the talk as if I were presenting to women. That would have been the safe route. Or I knew I could adjust on the fly to the failure. That's what I did. I had notes from a previous talk and just scrapped the slides! It was exactly the talk I was supposed to give, and they only heard it because I was willing to think on my feet. The lesson? Don't be afraid to think on your feet and make it up on the fly to save a misstep from becoming a complete failure! Related: How to Be More Confident 2. Deal With It If you make a mistake, drop the ball, or just fall flat on your face, deal with it. Back when I worked as the aquatic director at the YMCA, in the middle of a chaotic day, I made a big mistake. On the day of our mandatory annual aquatics safety training, my director called me to ask why my lifeguards were not in attendance. Luckily there were two options for sessions: 9 a.m. or 2 p.m. But I'd not only forgotten, I also hadn't told a single person they needed to be there. You know what I did? I dealt with it. I went speed walking down the hall to the executive director's office and opened the door. I looked her in the face and said, "I am sorry to bother you, but I need you to know that I have dropped a huge ball. I am taking care of it, but I just want you to know that I am aware of it and I am really sorry." I explained what I'd forgotten and gave her my plan to fix it. Thankfully, I got almost 100% of my staff to the 2 p.m. training. I failed but I did three things to face my failure head on. Own it. It's in our nature to hide, cover up, make excuses, and place blame. By owning it, you are doing the opposite of what most people choose, while demonstrating maturity, integrity and self-awareness. In the process, you're also building trust. Apologize for it. Apologizing shows you're coachable. It demonstrates humility instead of defensiveness, which makes others want to work with you more. Fix it. Doing your best to fix a mistake is proactive. People will respect your ability to try to repair a mishap when one happens. 3. Dust Yourself Off There's no magic lesson with this one. But here's the truth: You're going to have experiences you would never want to relive. There are going to be times you fail so badly it stays with you for a while. Many years ago I had a speaking engagement that I try to forget, and it haunts me to the this day. But you know what? It hasn't kept me from doing the thing I'm meant to do. I kept going. And you can too. Y'all, it's totally possible to learn from failure with these three strategies. If you can adjust on the fly, you might avoid it all together. If you can't avoid it, then deal with it. If you can't deal with it, just dust yourself off and keep going. How to Learn From Failure with Kristen Hadeed Kristen Hadeed is the CEO and founder of Student Maid, a cleaning company that has employed thousands...

If you've been in business for any amount of time-heck, if you've been living for any amount of time-you've encountered fear. We always think of fear as a bad sign. But in truth, fear is not a sign that we're doing something bad; it's a sign we're doing something bold. So many times in life fear can hold us back from doing the thing we're really meant to do. Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you don't get scared. When Fear Makes You Doubt Your Ability I was 10 years old the first time I realized I was a good runner-at the skate center of all places. It gave me incredible confidence as a 10-year-old to discover something I was naturally good at. It was this realization that led me to join the track team in middle and high school. Despite my natural running ability and the fact that I loved running, the strangest thing happened before every race. I got scared. I'm not talking about the normal "prerace butterflies." I mean, I was terrified. Being scared made me doubt my ability and made me want to quit. I would beg my coach to take me out of the race, and every time he made me go to the starting line. I love that about him. He made me do it anyway. You'd think that after running multiple events for multiple track meets over multiple years, I wouldn't have gotten scared anymore. But I always did. Then my coach did something that helped me change my focus and interrupt my thought pattern. At one of the track meets, I was begging him to take me out of the race, he looked me in the eyes, exasperated, and said, "Christy, will you just tell me one thing you like about yourself?" Confused, I answered him: "My blue eyes." "Great," he said. "Focus on that. I don't want you to think about the race, the other runners, or your time. Just focus on your blue eyes." Changing my focus from what I was scared about to what I was confident in was just enough to distract the fear out of me. Related: The Fear or Wisdom Filter Changing Your Focus to Overcome Fear Whether you choose to think about what you're scared of or what you're proud of, what you focus on will become magnified in your life. Focusing on what you're good at and what you're proud of will encourage you to get better. Focusing on fear causes you to stay back, give up, or play small. I was a good runner, but fear made me doubt my training, my track record and my natural ability. It doesn't matter how many accomplishments you've earned. The fear can get so loud in your head that it makes you doubt yourself. But here's the good news: You get to choose what you focus on. The thoughts you allow to enter your mind will change your entire experience. My friend Melissa says, "Your mind is multimillion dollar real estate. Be very selective about what you allow to reside there." Related: Ep. 31 - Is It Fear or Wisdom? Three Questions That Will Help You Face Your Fears Walking to any starting line is scary, and it makes you vulnerable. But before you let fear steal your opportunities and rob you of your potential, ask yourself a few questions. What's something you like about yourself? What are you proud of? What's going right in your life or business? And then, focus on those answers instead. It may just be enough to distract the fear right out of you and make you want to go for it. Overcoming Your Fears with Jessica Honegger Jessica Honegger is the founder and co-CEO of the socially conscious fashion brand, the Noonday Collection; author of the book, Imperfect Courage; and host of The Going Scared Podcast. As if that's not impressive enough, she's also the mom of three little ones. Jessica is passionate about encouraging others to leave their comfort zone, move forward even when you're scared, and step into a life of impact. The path to success doesn't always seem clear, but when you focus on what you are confident in-instead of what you are fearful of-moving forward doesn't...

It's time to talk about working smarter, not harder in order to increase your productivity. How to Be More Productive With Simple Changes Have you ever wondered how you can be more productive? The solution may be staring you in the face and easier than you think. Here's an example straight from my closet. Every morning I woke up, walked into my closet, flipped on the light, and picked out clothes. And every morning I spent a ton of time just staring at my clothes-well, squinting at my clothes. After months and months, I realized I had a problem. My problem? My energy-saving light bulb. It took time to warm up and actually illuminate my clothes. And every morning I had to either wait for the lightbulb to heat up or squint. You know what I finally did? I put in a normal light bulb! Angels shone down from heaven and I could actually see my clothes when I picked them out. It's funny to think about, but we do this in other areas of our lives, don't we? We live with problems instead of actually fixing them. We've all been there. The sink has been leaking for years. And instead of fixing it, you clean up the puddle every time you use it. We just live with the problem and take extra time every day dealing with the consequences, not the source. You have one sad phone charger with a wire sticking out, and it's on its last leg. Instead of getting multiple phone chargers and leaving them several places around the house, you just carry the one with you everywhere. You lose it or risk electrocution multiple times a day. We live with the broken phone charger instead of taking the time to find a solution. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. Our problems are not going to change until we bring solutions. I get it. We are tired, and solving the root of the problem requires thinking and energy and time. I want to challenge you to use some time and energy to get to the root of some of the problems holding you back. If you want a different result, you have to do something differently. If we're going to work smarter, not harder, we've got to get rid of some of these problems. Three Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder 1. Stop Press pause on your crazy life for a second. Your brain is CONSTANLY in overdrive. It's going 100 miles an hour all day, every day. If we're going to think outside our problems, we have to stop. You can't identify the root of your problems if there's no margin in your brain. Stop and create some space to think. 2. Think Thinking . . . what's that like? HA! Once you've stopped long enough to create space to think, you might be surprised what you can identify. Think through your day from start to finish, and ask yourself this question: What barriers or annoyances do you deal with? Identify areas that drive you crazy and keep you from getting things done. Things that steal your time but don't have to. Problems that you accept but don't have to. Annoyances you live with but don't have to. It could be a small thing that is a drain on your mental or physical energy. Make a list. 3. Solution Take your list and write out to the side a solution for each of the problems you live with. Most of the "problems" in our lives have a very easy and obvious solution. We just haven't come up with the solution, because we've never taken time to come up with it. You might need to get on Amazon and order several phone chargers, get a new light bulb, set out your clothes the night before, or buy yourself a jewelry case. The Difference Between Problems You Can Solve and Problems You Can't Solve There are problems you can live with and problems you don't have to live with. You probably have some problems that you might have to live with, but I'd be willing to bet that you also have a lot that you don't. Stop. Think. Solution. Stop going 100 miles per hour. Think about what's holding you back....

Let's talk about perseverance. Perseverance is a quality that will have a huge effect not only on your business, but on your whole life. What Is Perseverance? Perseverance is persistence. It's pursuing something with passion. It's pushing through when things are hard. I'll be honest: Perseverance isn't something I personally struggle with. In fact, I'm so persistent that it's almost a flaw. Sometimes I just don't know when to quit! But that's why I can tell you that being persistent and persevering in my life has been the number one quality that's enabled me to achieve everything that I have. Even when it's hard, even when it's inconvenient, and even when I have tons of obstacles, I still push through.  Why It's So Important to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up Steve Jobs once said, "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."1 Half! He believed half of what makes an entrepreneur successful is not money, not fame or a family name, not a business degree or even knowledge. It's perseverance! I couldn't agree more. And you know, there are so many success stories of women who got their million-dollar business idea right after pushing past the point of wanting to give up. People may have thought they were crazy, but they pushed through anyway. Look at Kendra Scott, who started her first business at age 19.2 That business was called The Hat Box, but none of us know Kendra Scott as a hat designer, do we? That's because Kendra didn't find her successful business idea until almost a decade later. She designed her first jewelry collection with just $500 cash, and today, women all over the world (including me!) can't get enough of her fun, girly jewelry and accessories. Related: Ep. 40-Top Traits of Highly Successful Women Then there's J.K. Rowling, who wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a broke, single mom, fresh off the heels of her mother's death and a divorce. Her book was rejected by 12 publishers before it was finally picked up by one. She was given an advance of less than $2,000 for her work.3 Of course, we now know her as one of the wealthiest women in the world. But maybe you don't want to make a million dollars. Maybe you just want to pay for a trip to Disney World, or be able to quit your day job. On some days, I bet that seems like an impossible dream. Or maybe your business is stalling and you're thinking about scrapping the whole thing. Let me encourage you to keep going. In this episode, I want to help you. I want to help you persevere, and together, we'll tackle your doubts, like: How can I develop perseverance if I'm not a naturally persistent person? How do I keep going even when I don't reach my goal? What should I do when I want to give up? How can I get over the critics and the complainers? Slow and Steady Perseverance with Dave Barnes I am so excited to introduce you to one of the most talented guys I know, Dave Barnes! Dave is a singer, a musician and a Grammy-nominated songwriter. Have you heard the song, "God Gave Me You" by Blake Shelton? It's a huge country hit, and Dave wrote it. I'm a fan and friend of Dave's-and by the way, he's hilarious. In this episode, Dave and I talk about: How God used very humble beginnings to launch Dave's career in ways he could have never predicted Why he felt under-qualified for the first five years in his career but just kept going How to enjoy the small successes along your journey without stressing over "what's next" Leaving margin in your schedule for God to surprise you Why you should listen to your inclinations and let your values dictate your business plan Pep Talk Time! And of course, one of my favorite parts of this podcast is hearing directly from you. So this week, I'm answering your business questions about scaling, passive income and quitting your full-time job. Don't...

One of my favorite things about business is marketing, and I'm so excited because this week we're diving into a marketing concept known as the unique selling proposition. What is a Unique Selling Proposition? It is one feature or benefit you want to highlight about your product or service. This concept dates back to the 1940s and was used to get people to switch from one brand to another. For examples of this, just Google "1940s soap advertisements," and you'll see some brands touting "lovelier skin" and others promising to "stop BO!" Don't most soaps do both? Yes, but each brand chose to highlight a different feature of its soap. I've taught y'all about this before in many places, including my Business Boutique book, where I call it your unique position. It's the angle you want to take in all of your marketing that lets your customers know why they need to buy from you. In Reality in Advertising, author Rosser Reeves explains the purpose of your unique selling proposition so well. He says, "Each advertisement must say to each reader: 'Buy this product, for this specific benefit.'" He also says, "The proposition must be strong enough to move the masses." Related: Ep. 52-Market Research: How to Know What Your Customers Want So focus on just one feature or benefit of your product-something you want to be known for that is strong enough to move the masses-and highlight that in all your marketing, even if that thing seems obvious. In fact, in this episode, I'll tell you how my college professor taught our class how to sell a toaster by highlighting a feature as basic as its electric cord. But here's another example. FedEx has an advertising campaign right now that grabs my attention every time I see the commercial. In the ad, you see a woman standing in her art studio waiting on a delivery. In another scene, a package is hand-delivered to an elderly man sitting in a nursing home cafeteria. Then there's a little boy peering with wonder at a FedEx box in his living room. A voice-over asks, "What's inside?" Then you see the artist, the senior and the little boy light up as they open their boxes-and the answer comes: "Possibilities." Here FedEx reminds us that receiving a package in the mail is exciting! And if they've done their job right, maybe they've even convinced you that when you send or receive a parcel via FedEx, anything is possible. Doesn't UPS offer a very similar service? Yep. If you use UPS for your shipping and handling, can you send and receive the same things and have it done in the same amount of time? Probably. But FedEx hooked me with their commercial because they chose to highlight the excitement that comes with anticipating a package. What result can you highlight about your business that will make your potential customers feel something? In this episode, I'll challenge you to answer these questions about your business: What makes your product unique? What makes your services unique? Why should someone buy from you instead of your competition? If you don't know the answers to these questions, you're missing out on sales. You're missing sales because if you don't answer these questions in your marketing, your customers sure won't know the answers, either! Claiming Your Unique Value Proposition Now, your unique selling proposition doesn't have to be something unique to only you-in fact, it probably won't be. My guest this week understands that and has marketed her business brilliantly. Megan Tamte is the co-founder and co-CEO of Evereve, a retail fashion and styling company and one of my favorite stores. Evereve's tagline is "Dress like a mom." Just think about that for a minute. How many stores and boutiques and online clothing companies sell clothes for women? How many sell for moms, specifically? There are probably thousands or even millions, right? But Megan chose to claim it. Her marketing lets people know that...

This week we're going to talk about being intentional. Y'all, it's easier said than done. So many people just go through life without doing things on purpose. What Happened When I Got Intentional I need to tell you about a time that I was not so intentional. When I graduated from high school, I very excitedly got out of the state of Tennessee where I had grown up and attended the University of Central Florida. I went for the great business school and the beautiful campus, but I didn't really participate with the school side of things. Let's just say, I loved the beach more than I did class. And my grades showed it. I wasn't intentional with my time or my studying, and at the end of my first semester of my sophomore year, I had a 1.4 GPA. YIKES! Y'all, it wasn't that I wasn't smart and willing to work hard-I just didn't focus. But here comes the good news. When I decided to transfer to the University of Tennessee-to spare my mother the out of state tuition and because I realized I wanted to return to Tennessee after college-something amazing happened! They accepted my credits but didn't carry my GPA over from UCF. I got a clean slate. And I ran with it! I got really serious. I stayed late, I did extra credit, and I went the extra mile. At the end of my sophomore year, my first semester at UT, I got a 4.0. All because I was intentional. It's so easy to just get by. It's so easy to let life happen and just spend our time reacting instead of acting. I want us to do something different. I want us to be intentional and do things on purpose. Things will not happen for you in life; you have to make things happen. 5 Areas of Your Life to Be Intentional 1. Be Intentional With Your Marriage I read this a few weeks ago on Twitter: "If you want what you used to have, you have to do what you used to do." What did you used to do in your marriage? It is so easy for our marriages to become businesses. You and your spouse did not fall in love over the cable bill, or kid's schedules, or determining who was going to pick up the dry cleaning. Before the busyness of kids and errands and all the to-do lists, you and your spouse probably just had fun together. In my life, there are things that Matt and I used to love to do. We still do those things, because we schedule time to do them. We put it on the calendar. If you wait for those things to happen, they will never happen, because life will get in the way. What do you and your spouse love to do together? Those things don't have to slip away. Life gets busy, but don't let your marriage become an afterthought. Be intentional with your marriage and see how it changes things for you, your spouse and even your kids! Related: Ep. 49 - How to Get Your Husband on Board With Your Business 2. Be Intentional With Your Parenting In any area of our lives, it's easy to be reactive instead of proactive, but this seems particularly tempting with kids. Admittedly, I have two kids and they are fairly young, and I'm learning with many of you. But I've noticed that we, as moms, spend a lot of time reacting. We react to school and sport schedules. We react to what other parents are doing. We react to handling their behavior. We react to dealing with tough situations. Trust me, I know parenting is hard. But we're going to spend the energy regardless, so we might as well spend it on the front end, shaping our kids proactively, rather than always reacting to whatever life throws at us. Being intentional with what you want your kids to know, feel, do and experience doesn't have to look like holding yourself to an impossible standard of perfection. Just do things on purpose; it's amazing how our kids will get it. Related: Ep. 8 - How to Deal with Mom Guilt 3. Be Intentional With Your Business You can't float by in your business and wonder why you didn't reach your goals. Success won't happen if you don't do things on purpose....

It's time to talk about building a social media strategy that works. No matter the type or size of your business, having a strong social media strategy is important. You don't have to be an expert to find success on social media. Getting People to the Party With an Effective Social Media Strategy I want you to think of your social media profiles like a party! And people can't come to your party and have a great time if they don't know about it or show up. I'm going to break this down into seven ways for you to step up your social media strategy to attract more followers. Seven Ways to Step Up Your Social Media Strategy 1. Be Visual If your social media page is a party, think about how you signify to real-life guests where to find your party. You put out balloons and maybe a sign. You want to make it really clear: THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE! Do the same thing when you post content on your social media page: make it visual whenever possible. This will instantly set your content and posts apart. Can you add a photo or video? Is there a graphic you can create? There are tons of apps and tools to help you create visual content in less than a minute. I've got a list of a few of my favorites on my Social Media Cheat Sheet. 2. Be Interesting The human brain is designed to ignore anything that is familiar. It's constantly scanning its environment and labeling, categorizing and discarding anything that isn't necessary for survival. It's crazy. It's the reason that I can say, "If at first you don't succeed . . . " and you instantly know how to finish that sentence. Your brain finishes it for you and moves on. But if I say, "If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving probably isn't for you," then that stands out because it's interesting. Related: Ep 31: Branding the Look and Tone of Your Busines 3. Be Varied When you add variety to your content on your social media strategy, it keeps people coming back for more because you've added an element of surprise and delight. It's the same reason that I could go into T.J. Maxx twice a week but I won't go into a department store more than twice a year. Department stores don't have as much variety as T.J. Maxx! The variety is addicting and it draws you in again and again. Mix up the types of post you're putting out into the world to keep your follower's attention. Related: Get the Most Out of Your Content 4. Be Engaging If you want to grow your impact on social media, you need to increase your engagement. Engagement indicates how many people acted on your post-they didn't just view it or scroll past it; they responded in some way. They liked it, shared it, retweeted it, left a comment, etc.  Any of these are great things because the more people that engage with your posts, the more "successful" the platform views that post and the more likely they are to show it to even more people. When it comes to your social media strategy, pay attention to what types of your posts get people to do something. 5. Be Responsive In life and on social media, one-way conversations are not fun. That's why you should set aside a few minutes each day to respond to comments and feedback you receive. Your customers are more likely to respond to your content (remember: engage!) when you respond to them and engage. Treat others how you want to be treated, right? So if you want more responses, be more responsive. Related: 3 Ways to Connect With Your Tribe Using Social Media Content 6. Be Consistent If your social media followers see you four times a day for months, and then you choose to go off the grid, they'll be confused. You have to show up when you say you're going to and be consistent! You get to choose what your consistency is, but then stick to it! Your content should have variety, but your frequency should have consistency. Teach people what to expect from you and then follow through. Consistency is so key in building...