As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I have to share with you someone that I recently learned about and for whom I am extremely grateful. Her name is Beatrix Potter.

I recently saw the movie, Miss Potter, which is all about the life of Beatrix Potter, author and illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books. She has since become my new heroine and role model and here is why. She totally followed her passions and used her talents to create incredible books and products that connected with so many millions of children in so many languages and countries all around the world! And this is all the more extraordinary as she did this in the early 1900's in England where the biggest goal for women at the time was to marry well and run households!

But that is not all that Beatrix Potter did - this is only the beginning! Peter Rabbit was patented and produced as a soft toy in 1903 making Peter the oldest licensed character in existence. Her books and licensed products produced a steady stream of royalties for Miss Potter that allowed her to purchase and conserve large tracts of farmland in the Lake District that had become very dear to her. She eventually moved to the Lake District and became a respected sheep breeder and farmer, buying up land in the area. When she died, she left everything to the National Trust, a conservation organization that has maintained her land as a park for everyone to enjoy. 

Beatrix Potter followed her true passions and was an extremely unconventional woman for her times. She used her talents and imagination to create books that entertained millions, and as a result built her own personal wealth, of which she used to purchase land to be placed in conservation for all future generations to enjoy. She was truly an extraordinary woman and for these reasons she is my new heroine and role model!

So when you ask me what I am thankful for, as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I am thankful for incredible women like Beatrix Potter, that show and prove what can be done when women follow their heart's desires.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you incredible women!
Wendy

 Beach money is money you make while you are sitting on the beach, taking care of your kids or sleeping. It is also the title of my favorite new book by Jordan Adler. I'll post it on the booklist as soon as I remember how:)!
Beach money or passive residual income that comes from a business like network marketing or investing and it has always been my goal. This is cashflow that comes in consistently over time for work you do once. It has to do with leveraging your time and talent rather than trading time for dollars. It is a concept not everyone understands but it is how many people become financially free.
If you work for an hourly wage or a salary you are limited to the amount you can earn. You can only make as much as you can physically work or as much as someone else decides you are worth.
If you are able to invest or build a leveraged business there are no limits. What would you do with an extra $1000-$10,000 or more a month that had little or nothing to do with how you spent the majority of your time? That is what I'm talking about!
If this sounds interesting or intriguing I suggest you read the book. I'd love to hear what you think!