Mark and I are no stranger to goal setting.  We have seen a life of dreams come true by implementing goal setting strategies and were recently looking for a new one to add some spice to the equation.  While listening to a leadership seminar from Jim Rohn that I had been given for Christmas, I was immediately drawn to one that was simplistic, easy and powerful.  It didn’t surprise me that I happened across exactly what Mark and I were looking for!

The first step in this strategy was to write down a comprehensive list of the accomplishments in life that you are most proud of.  This was a way to validate and realize exactly what it is that you have already accomplished.  When that is complete it is natural to feel powerful and full of energy to dive into new things.  The second step is to write down 50 things that you want or want to accomplish in the next 10 years.  This should be done without too much thought that would serve only to prove an idea.  (Because as we know, they are all within reach) Write them down quickly and remain completely open to every hair brained idea you have ever had.  Write with no limits.  The third step is to take your list and begin categorizing it by financial, healthy, family, spiritual, charitable and any other category that may arise.  As your list becomes organized and chopped up into different areas of life the exercise asks you to choose 3 of your dreams that you will accomplish in the first year.  Then you choose 3 more to accomplish for the third year, fifth year and 10 year marks. 

The exercise is truly easy and an awesome way to quickly analyze the things in life that are most important to you.  It can serve to shift your focus and breathe new life into the desires and dreams that you have.  Often in the midst of accomplishment we forget that it is not only okay, but required to always look and expect more out of life.  

A long 14 years ago, my husband and I sat at our favorite restaurant writing down our dreams on a cocktail napkin.  We included our aspirations for children, business ventures and desires for real estate.  We smiled and giggled with the confidence of a young couple in love; absolutely unbound by the often limiting responsibilities of adulthood.  In our innocence we were virtually unknowingly creating a life blue print that matched the deepest desires of our souls and was perfectly coordinated with the things in life that we felt strongly would make us happy.  We would scribble down one dream and find that it would lead us to set yet another bigger and better goal.  The experience was joyfully similar to what people do when they imagine that they would win the lottery or inherit a million dollars from a rich relative.  No limits! 

It was fun to think about the things we really wanted in life without worrying all too much about how we would get them.  Some of our goals seemed so grandiose at the time that it was surprising to find that same napkin as we were moving into our new home many years later.  As my husband and I sat down to read the innocent goals of a young couple we were amazed at how many of them we had actually attained.  Even more surprising was that many of our initial goals were surpassed along the way.  We had three children, owned several businesses and were in the process of moving into our home by the water. (Also a milestone from the napkin) All of this started from the playful scribes of what we wanted in life on a flimsy cocktail napkin some 14 years ago. 

By taking the time to truly reflect and feel the things you really want in life you are paving a path to meet your goals.  Writing them down not only gives them a concrete sense of being; but also allows them to become real versus imagined.  Every one should take every opportunity possible to somehow validate what they want.  What is important to you?  What is it you would like to spend most of your time doing?  Who are the people you want in your life every day and what would your ideal life look and feel like if it were happening?  Think about where you want to live and what sort of things would give you the meaning and purpose to truly be successful?  Leave no stone uncovered!  Then find a way to write them down and make them a permanent part of your conscious living.  This is the first step in making your dreams a reality.  Napoleon Hill in the altruistic book “think & Grow Rich” says “what the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.”  My husband and I are truly living examples of this power.  


Christy

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.

What is your greatest strength? How do you share it with the world and add huge value? How do you monetize it to produce financial freedom for your family so that you will bless others in a truly spectacular way and live an exceptional life?

That is a great question! You are going to need to take some time to think about it. We will share a tool with you that will help you answer this and more.

I asked this question to Wendy and she manifested the most amazing way to answer it. Thus the Passion Fruit Tree™ was born. It is a wonderful representation of your strengths, your passions and your goals.
 
We want you to help us plant an "orchard" of Passion Fruit Trees™. These trees represent the amazing women who are coming together to form this community of MomsCreatingMore.com.

Click on the button below to go to the website where you will be asked a series of questions and begin to create your own tree. Use the Passion Fruit Tree™ as a  representation of where you are right now and where you want to go. Play around with it, while it is still free, and let us know what you think!

We are so excited for you and all that is possible. This site is for the Mom who knows that more is possible for you and for your family. That you can do more, create more, enjoy more and have more... In all areas of your life: financially, spiritually and emotionally. We want to help you find out how and what to do to get there.

Wendy and I were both searching for this  "moreness". We struggled to find balance, made loads of mistakes and yet managed to accomplish amazing things for ourselves and our families. We found ways to buy a 104 unit apartment building, rehab a million dollar home in the Hamptons and start several new businesses in the last two years. I managed as many as 25 units and flipped 6-8 houses a year when my children were infants. We have had the opportunity to travel, to spend quality time with our families and to be home while our children grow.

We want to share our secrets, our insights, our mistakes and our journeys and know that this will help make yours quicker and easier.
Nothing is impossible. We are here to help you find your dream and we will be the support network to inspire, motivate, encourage and help you make it happen.
 
We want to inspire you to dream big dreams and then to go make them come true. Your journey will be amazing and we can't wait to see what is possible for you!
Christy