I met a woman recently who had no dreams.   Her eyes were like windows to a world filled with smudge and each day she accepted her life as it is; with no real hope that things could change.  She held down a job she admittedly didn’t like, that restricted her creative passions and squashed her dreams of creating the “more” in her life that she truly wanted.  The worst part is after years of giving over to financial limitations, making ends meet and following a routine that enabled her to live she had forgotten what it had meant to thrive.  Somewhere deep inside she had dreams once.  When I asked her about those lost dreams; a glimmer of whom she used to be shone through and she described herself as a well educated woman with a passion for travel and began to smile as she explained the empowering ideas behind her half finished book that she started years ago.  That too has been shelved and now sits covered with dust and cobwebs in a place in her heart that she hasn’t visited for a long time.  In her struggles to maintain life she has compromised her dreams for sustenance that barely sustains and lives in a state of “ok.”  Sadly, many women are just like her!

What are your dreams?  What dreams and visions have you given up in your life that still lurk and nag from the very back of your subconscious?  What would you do right now if you knew that failure was not an option? What changes would you make right now - in this very moment - in order to recreate the life of your dreams?  

Another woman I know has through intention created the life of her dreams.  She spends her days performing work that truly inspires her passions and renews her life energy day in and day out.  She dreamt of having a personal chef who would handle the cooking for her family so she would be allowed more quality time together.  Not only does she have that but she is also blessed with gourmet, low-carb and kid friendly foods for her entire family 4 days a week and a personal chef who not only shops for her food but maintains a tidy and clean refrigerator as well.  She never once believed that this was not possible, never once gave thought power to the idea that she might have to cook or spend her days simply earning a paycheck.  This was always her dream and now it is her reality.  (I think it sounds like a pretty great dream…)

What is the difference between these women?  One decided along the way that her dreams, passions, ideas and right to personal fulfillment could wait while the other always believed that the world was her oyster…Decide in this very moment to be the creator of your own destiny and empower yourself with not just the ability to succeed; but the notion that there really is no other way to truly live in freedom and abundance.

Have you ever felt insecure about how you would be perceived in the business world as a stay at home mom? Or maybe you aren't a full time mom but wonder how it would be to run a business from home with kids around? One of the big lessons I had to learn early on was that I never had to apologize for who I am and for my very important job of being a mom. And I learned that we never have to apologize for our kids coming first.

When Christy and I were in the last weeks of fund raising for our commercial property and the stakes were pretty high, Luca was just two years old. And when there was an immediate need of his (howling cry, bumped head, or just needed my attention), there was never any issue that I would say, "gotta go, can I call you back?" Later when there was a moment that I could call again, we'd pick right back up where we were before. No resentment, no annoyance, no inconvenience - just business as usual and how we had to juggle our time and responsibilities. Our kids and families always came first.

This was a big lesson for me to learn as a new mom. I was so insecure about letting anyone know that I was a stay at home mom trying to do my first big commercial deal until I realized that it was not only ok to be doing what I was doing with a two year old baby at home, it was something that I didn't need to apologize for either.

From that moment on I changed the rules. I started off my business calls to real estate brokers, management companies, and whoever else I was dealing with at the time, by letting them know that I worked from home, had a small child, and if I had to get off the phone quickly to care for him, I would get right back to them as soon as possible. I let them know in advance, and not once did anyone ever have any problem with it. In fact, I soon realized that they had more respect for me and what I was trying to accomplish. My worries that I wouldn't be taken seriously for being a stay at home mom were completely ungrounded because I had changed the rules and let them in on what my priorities were, while always being professional and holding up my end of the relationship.

I had learned that when it comes to your kids coming first, you never need to apologize. You just need to let others in on how you run your business so that everyone knows the rules from the beginning!

When Christy and I talk we tend to bounce from one idea to another, not always in the most linear way, sometimes leading nowhere, but sometimes leading to extraordinary ideas. And still at the end of the day we manage to get a lot done, a lot accomplished, and have something to show for it.

This is the value of what we have to offer as mom entrepreneurs. Our method might seem absolutely mad to someone not used to balancing quite so many things at one time as we are, but it works for us and we know there are a lot of other moms out there that need to know that even though it might seem like madness, it absolutely isn't! And not only is it not madness, there is a method to it that actually really works!

Our brains as moms have to function in so many ways. We are constantly evaluating what needs our most urgent attention, what can be delayed by 5 or 10 minutes, and what can be put off for even longer and acting on that info. The juggler is a very good example and as moms we literally learn how to juggle single handedly behind our back with three balls in the air, while the other hand makes dinner, calms a crying child, or makes a business call.

This is our life, how we have learned to operate, mostly out of necessity but also because we have figured out that we CAN make it work AND get a lot accomplished. Let's share it with other moms out there that no you aren't crazy, yes you can bounce from one idea to another, yes it is ok, yes we can juggle a lot, and yes, with a little planning, goal setting, and focus, we can be successful mom entrepreneurs precisely because we do things in this way!

To all the moms everywhere, and especially the incredible Moms Creating More for themselves and their families, have a wonderful Happy Mother's Day!

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.  
- Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul
 
God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.  
- Jewish Proverb
 
All mothers are working mothers.  
- Author Unknown
 
Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children.
- Marilyn Penland
 
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.  - Charles R. Swindoll, The Strong Family

I know how to do anything - I'm a Mom.
- Roseanne Barr

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.
- Marion C. Garretty

When you educate a man you educate an individual; when you educate a woman you educate a whole family.
- Robert M. Maciver

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.
- Maya Angelou

We love the Passion Fruit Tree and hope you will take a few minutes, if you haven't already, to answer the Plant My Tree questions so we can design one for you too! Print out your tree and post it somewhere that you will see it often, to help you stay passion focused. And remember, whatever you focus on is what you will get!

We also love our Dream Boards and wanted to share how you can create your own. Christy and her husband worked on their most recent one together. Christy's kids also love making their own too.  

A Dream Board or Vision Board is just that...a place to post pictures, words and images of everything you desire, want or dream of. No limits just things that would make your life everything you can imagine.

Christy and Mark's Dream Board has pictures of places they will visit, the beach house they will own, the charities they support and will give even more to, the people they want to spend time with and the relationships they want, things they want for their childen and so much more...theirs is a full size poster framed and hanging on their bedroom wall.

Wendy and Tommaso's Dream Board is also in their bedroom. It is the first thing they see every morning and the last thing they see before they go to bed. Below are a couple of photos of what is on their Dream Board because in this case, especially, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So gather up scissors, magazines, a glue stick and whatever size paper or poster you want. Then use the magazines to find images, pictures, phrases and words that are meaningful to you. Make a collage of them. Be sure to include things that represent a well balanced life...family, financial, emotional, legacy, health, etc.

We'd love to hear about your Dream Boards or better yet take a photo and send us a copy! We want to support you and your dreams!

Details of Wendy & Tommaso's Dream Board
Click here to see their full Dream Board.