 The Women’s Movement has picked up steam in our country again, and in the world, too. What’s next for us, in our careers, our causes, and our convictions?
With most women being on fire about being the difference in their families, communities and workplaces as I’ve EVER seen them before... what are some of the most common roadblocks? After life coaching for 20 years and business coaching for 15, here’s my analysis. 1. Overwhelm 2. Inner Circle 3. Confidence Overwhelm. Yes! All the things! Since women have moved stronger into the work force and on boards etc, the mystical “work life balance” we hear about eludes many. Don’t stress! Only YOU can prevent the forest fire of overwhelm and burn out in your life, by:
*Balance looks different for everyone. A great book on Boundaries is “Swallowed Up” by Angie Shea Get the book here! Inner Circle. Who is in yours? You may have one personally, including family, friends and mentors. And we have them professionally, too, if we truly desire to grow. They may be the team we are on, leaders, mentors and individuals from associations or groups we are in to develop ourselves. It’s critical that you have stellar people surrounding you who:
If you need to intentionally strategize your Inner Circle, look to the networking, associations, and charitable organizations and events you attend. Ask a mentor for coaching. And find a successful Mastermind Group. Confidence. In my coaching, I soon learned that this is the #1 thing that is holding most women back today! This isn’t about being egotistical. This is about knowing that you have the strengths, the courage, and the determination to do the job, role or project, and find answers effectively when you get stuck. (If you step out in courage, you will get stuck sometimes!) It’s the knowing that even when life gets tough, you have and you will saddle up- and figure it out. It’s the confidence and the clarity to seek help when you need it! Solutions are rarely found in a vacuum or silo. They are discovered with the experience, strategies and stories of the collective. A great book on confidence is “Purple Crayon Confidence” by Kayla-Leah Rich. Get the book here! Be intentional. Be strategic. Follow your gut, and move past these potential obstacles with grace, as you surround yourself with a tribe who can support you. Here is to your 2018! "IT’S OUR TIME!" - WI CEO SheliG
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 1) Find Your Tribe
So many professionals already have mad skills, education and know at least the basic direction they want to head in, if not the specific career or calling on their life. Often times it's the compassionate support we need the most, to have the courage to scale, the accountability when life's obstacles come around, and the resources when we don't know all the answers ourselves. Here's our best ignited tips on growing your tribe or inner circle:
2) Take Inventory It's helpful to use a paper planner for a month, or at least a week, and track where you go, what you did, and who you did it with. What was the value that you brought, and what value did you receive? The next step, color code those experiences. Green would be money making time spent. Blue might be maintenance of current relationships time spent. Yellow might be wasted time. Pink could be self-care. Orange for family and so on. Choose your colors and areas as they fit for you. After your month, look at the objective data! Notice what areas are on point percentage wise with where you want to be. Notice what area or areas need a "dial up" and make actions accordingly. Tell someone in your circle about the changes you need to make to stay accountable. 3) Reboot If you need to feel inspired, or re-calibrate your goals, don't wait until January! You can always do this as needed. In fact, once per year is not enough to re-calibrate! Weekly, monthly, quarterly or whatever you need to do to feel on your A game is what is needed. We all cycle through business ups and downs for a variety of reasons. Some basics that help you to re-boot no matter who you are:
How can we help YOU? We have many opportunities to help you get ignited, and get the support you need! Here are two: The Igniters This year long tribe/community are the insiders of the Women Ignite Movement! From Oct 2017 - Oct 2018 these individuals team up with the core team of Women Ignite to empower each other in business, and in life. We do a powerful, all expenses paid mastermind retreat with Sheli G in McCall, Idaho, and other exclusive social events throughout the year. You get VIP tickets to WICON2018, and you are the first to know what is moving inside the movement, as we take our initiatives global! *Sign up in November and receive a bonus ticket to Sheli G’s “Ignite The Mic” Workshop where you can find your signature message, dial up your speaking strengths, and get professional coaching! It’s a fun, safe room and a favorite WI event. Available 2x per year, you choose which date works best for you! Click here for more information or to sign up! *limited spaces available in this initiative WITribe Our dynamic online community, with an all access pass to previous WICON conference content, premium educational and inspirational videos, professionally facilitated webinars, articles and blogs, a private Facebook group for members only, Ignited specials, and access to the Core Team of Women Ignite! Click here for more information or to sign up!  I've always been one of those event junkies. Diagnosed a "people addict" in my twenties, (Yep. That's a thing.) it comes as no surprise to people that I love engagement. One on one, small groups, and even the masses!But, I know many people feel "peopled-out" in our overly busy culture. We are used to being double booked. Now, we even teeter on manic and quadruple booked- too often.
I've been there. I started two years ago really looking at where I was going, why I was going, and what value I created for others... and/or what value I received. I really cut back on events as a general rule, and was more intentional about what I was doing. It has been MAGIC. Now when I go to conferences, I notice that many of them feel like they haven't changed in the last 20 years. They feel overly rhetoric filled or political, with hidden agendas, or are simply money driven. Not my jam. Women Ignite started with a vision to blow up old ways of conferencing and make it FUN again. We laugh. Sometimes we cry. We learn. We connect with others. We get challenged. We hear stories. EPICABLE stories. From fabulous humans that you may or may NOT have ever seen their name "in lights" before. We leave changed. Introvert to Extrovert. Corporate to Entrepreneur. Black to White. Cause to Career. Left to Right. (And middles too!) Single to Married. Millennial to Retired. WI invite YOU. Of every nation. Background. Fear. Faith. Dream. If you want to grow in your business, calling, cause, in your LIFE, join us. Womenigniteinternational.com October 20& 21 2 days. 16 Speakers. Amazing Connections.  Segregation
I started Women Ignite International 5 years ago with a vision...and that's about it. Part of that vision was to support professional women in their success at work- and in their lives. Part of the vision was to make it a community effort- and not about me. And part of the vision was to destroy walls, not build them. (Or enable them) I'm so tired of stereotypes. Judgements. The limits we place on each other (and ourselves). We've all done it in some way...I know I have. I'm so damn tired of segregating. seg·re·ga·tion ˌseɡrəˈɡāSH(ə)n/ noun 1. the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart."the segregation of pupils with learning difficulties." The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment. It's gotten us in a lot of trouble, and has caused our country- and the world SO. MUCH. PAIN. So all adult humans are welcome at WI events. And- I won't apologize. Women and Men. Single and Married. Millennial to the boomers. Gay, straight, republican or democratic....etc. Our diversity makes us interesting. It's educating, and wha?...even INSPIRING! We can't change each other. We can be kind. We can get along. We can learn. Let's focus on being our very best selves, and maximizing OUR OWN capacity. Let us then serve others with some of that capacity! Let's not try to project, and change each other. Let's change our old broken beliefs. Let's change our dialogue. Let's change the walls into windows. And as WE ourselves change, we do change the world. -SheliG Join us in Joining Arms against SegregationWICON2017 is Oct 20-21. Adult humans welcome. Get your tickets NOW on Womenigniteinternational.com Find out more about us on Facebook!  “Get Clear I thought to myself.” I was about to teach my first wilderness yoga retreat of the year, third one ever. Being a sensitive individual, as most yogis are, I knew I wasn’t clear. I could feel my procrastination habits clicking in. I was being extra efficient and crossing lots of insignificant things off my list to avoid feeling ineffective. But the fact of the matter was I nervous. My nervous energy was presenting as excitement, fear, heaviness and restlessness. This heightened emotional state wasn’t the the high vibration of clarity that I was preparing to teach. My inner voice was screaming, “How can you possibly teach a retreat on clarity without being clear?” I knew I needed to do something. This problem required a serious action.
Instead of putting my head down and pushing forward, I did the opposite. I cleared my schedule, packed my gear and took off on an adventure. But this wasn’t any adventure, this was a class V whitewater river expedition into the heart of Idaho’s wilderness. You don’t take off down the South Fork of the Salmon River if you aren’t clear, the risk is way to high. This section of river has strong water, steep waves and stout hydraulic holes. As we drove to the put in, my illogical fears about the clarity retreat began to dissolve and very real fears of survival took their place. At our first class V rapid, which was a mandatory scout, we gazed at the complex patterns of rushing water with anticipation. Anticipation to be below the rapid, anticipation to see if we would grease our lines and anticipation to know if the river was going to let us pass. After a few moments in silence, we picked our route and took off. My partner, Jon, lead the way and I watched him make the first critical move. As I fell in behind him, I was off angle. I missed the move and crashed over the massive hole I was trying to miss. I kept my gaze downriver and was lucky to push through. The rest of the ride was wild but I stayed focused and before long I was below the rapid! The anticipation subsided and one thing was clear. I was exactly where I needed to be. That night in my tent I reflected on the adventures of the day and the events leading in the trip. I couldn’t believe I had almost lost myself to the emotional pressure of my upcoming yoga retreat. I was so grateful I choose to remove myself from all distractions and connect to my clarity within. I realized that getting clear does not always correlate with doing more. We don’t have to have everything crossed off our to do list and we don’t need to become more efficient. In fact we often times need to do the opposite. We need to clear our schedules and unplug from our devices. We need to create space to face our subconscious fears and focus on what is important. When we do this, clarity not only washes over us, it expands from within us and radiates out of every fiber of our being. -Elizabeth Price  Stop right now and take a moment to become aware of your physical body.
Are you uncomfortable? Are you hungry? How do your feet feel in your shoes? Bra strap? Do you smell nice? Is your skin scratchy? Do you feel fatigued? Got a torn nail that is driving you crazy? Are your shoulders tense? Any pain? How does your outfit make you feel today? Maybe you just finished exercising and you're exhausted but exhilarated! Or cooked or baked up a storm as a love gift to your family and you're tired but delighted. And maybe there are a few out there who smell nice, feel soft, are perfectly manicured and feeling fine! Do you find it difficult to focus on your physical body? What are you going to do about it? Have you ever stopped to think that something should be done about it? Will you carry on being uncomfortable and troubled? Will you go to bed that way? Our mental and emotional and physical health is all intertwined. A stressed mind can contribute to an uncomfortable body. And ill-fitting shoes or bras can contribute to a restless mind. These things can overflow to our significant others and children and co-workers and friends ... and are reflected back to us. What can take you from uncomfortable or restless to cozy and peaceful? For me it is having on as few clothes as possible, spa or chamber music and any association with water ... the sound of it, the weightlessness of it, the warmth or coolness of it, the quietness of it. What is it for you? Here are some lovely things: Candles Aroma therapy Music Massage Dimmed lights Hot or cool bath or shower Manicure or pedicure Fresh hairstyle Get a new bra, for heaven's sake An old black and white movie Nap with a pillow and blanket Cuddle with ________________ (loved one, child, pet ... you choose) Enjoy some intensely-flavored foods. Just a couple of bites of any of these fruits, savored and truly tasted, can change your whole outlook on life today! They have zest and energy and joy in them! Truly! Make it an eating "event" instead of just a snack. Smell, bite, chew, taste, savor, chew, swallow. Any happy memories coming up? Are your jaws tingling? * citrus fruits * peach * berries of any kind * watermelon * Granny Smith apple Sometimes we have to learn to care for ourselves. Women are always caring for everyone else. Make your own list of cozy peaceful so you know what to do when you need it. Don't let discomfort be the norm. Let it lead you back to self care. Choose Joy! -Candy Troutman  My father taught me well. "Always keep your tank full. Do not let it drop below half-way." He was helpful to point out that having the fuel drop below a half tank increases your risk of running out of gas. As a father, I imagine he was hoping to prevent inconvenience and avoid dangerous scenarios for his daughter. He also knew that letting the tank go empty was hard on the car and could damage the fuel pump.
My father taught me well, however, I wish I could say I always followed his advice. I cannot tell you how many times my husband has gotten in the car to find the fuel light on and 4 miles left till empty. Several times I have coasted into the service station on fumes and a prayer. A few days ago, I'm proud to say, I found myself filling up the car when it had a half a tank of gas in it! I was shocked at how quick it was to fill a tank that is already half-full. I smiled at my adult-ness. It was an event! I even wrote about it on my adventure group on Facebook. (This is a group I belong to that challenges us to pick a new adventure daily to get out of our comfort zones--and mine involved fueling the car!) As I was proudly filling up my tank I had the thought: what is the equivalent of a fuel light in our lives? Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually? How do we know when we are running low? How many times have we been completely empty in any of these categories? I know I have before! Exhaustion, illness, adrenal fatigue, break down...you name it! I have learned my lesson and now guard my reserves. I make specific efforts to refill my tank in each of these categories. I cannot operate on empty in any of them and expect to be able to do what I need to do for my family. Unfortunately, too many of us are waiting for the warning light--or worse--before we pay attention to our needs. It isn't just inconvenient to wait for these signals; this is dangerous and damaging. Just like my fill-up, if we take care of ourselves before we are depleted it doesn't take much time or effort. Trying to recover after being depleted, or running on fumes, is far more difficult and takes much longer. Find specific things that make it fun to be you: massage, time-outs, a good book, yoga, meditation, prayer.... Discover what it takes for you to fill up Physically, Emotionally, Mentally and Spiritually. After all, Father knows best. -Kayla Leah Rich  As I work with businesses and organizations, this word is definitely thrown around, a lot. But I don't think a majority of high level leaders truly grasp it's meaning, beyond the trendiness of saying it like you mean it.
What it is not. It's not acting like you care, or are vulnerable, when in fact your ego is still driving 97% of the time. It's not once and a while having a token meeting with team members to let them speak their minds, only to patronize them with little information back, and little implementation of their ideas. It's not dripping superficial news to your team, then acting like you've just "dropped the waterline." What it is. It varies, from one person or company to the next. But it's taking a deeper look at your organization and team, honestly. It's admitting the things that need improvement, and not making light of mistakes, including yours as a leader. In fact, it's mostly being transparent with oneself. You see, when we are ready to be relentlessly honest about where we are, what's not working, what are our shadow sides... we are ready to look at our businesses in the same "no excuses" way. This humble, honest approach leads us to more victory, less pride and pomp, and more approachability from others. -SheliG  mas·ter·mind
ˈmastərˌmīnd/ This term has been thrown around a lot the past few years. It is perhaps widely misunderstood what a mastermind is- or can be. It is also widely underestimated the power of one that really works. Mastermind groups offer a powerful combination of brainstorming, education, accountability and support in a group setting, to fine tune and expand your professional and personal abilities. Everyone in the group is both student and teacher, simultaneously. Group members challenge and help each other to set measurable, BIG goals, and more importantly, to execute them. A successful mastermind deserves commitment, confidentiality, and vulnerability in both giving and receiving of thoughts and ideas. Also compassionate honesty, and respect- even in the midst of different opinions is paramount. Group members become catalysts for each others dynamic growth. Often times, mastermind groups lead to expanded business opportunities, and lifelong friendships. Commitment We are all struggling with time these days. Everyone is crazy busy. But, not always crazy successful! Blocking out time to meet weekly with an intentional, driven group can exponentially expand your growth. If you are not all in, don't bother. Showing up is paramount to it working. Honesty If you say your big, audacious goal out loud, it will probably be scary. If you don't, you may never achieve it. How bad do you want it? Be honest and SAY IT. And if you withhold feedback from a member in the group because you're afraid to hurt their feelings, you are ripping them off. Giving honest feedback is essential to vetting through, and collectively fine tuning ideas, actions and outcomes. Facilitation I have been in both facilitated, and group-guided mastermind groups. I prefer to have a professional facilitator. That person can hold the container of time, priorities and also add some valuable perspectives when someone really needs to be "processed" on an idea or feeling, and hyper focused coaching is needed vs. a "group think" energy. The facilitator can help to ensure the whole group gets the value that we all expect from a high-level mastermind. Cost It will cost you. Money. Time. And willingness. Anything massively beneficial, usually does. It also attracts the people who are ALL IN, and want to play ALL OUT, for the success of all. Fun WI won't do anything unless there is a TON of safety and fun. It will be a blast while we kick booty. What are you waiting for? WI Masterminds are forming now For More Information, Contact Kayla Leah Now! kaylaleah@womenigniteinternational.com  Each year I get two very important questions about Women Ignite:
First, who. I created Women Ignite for any women (and men too for that matter!) who want more from their personal and professional lives. Simply put, this 2-day conference is for anyone who wants to grow, learn, and develop not just as a professional, but as a human being. There will be workshops, keynote speakers, a trade show, and more. Secondly, why should you attend? Because the world needs you. We need your talents, your drive, your ambition, your caring, and maybe most importantly, your love. We need women of action who are not afraid to break glass ceilings and clear the path for others to follow. Women who are not afraid of the courageous conversations that will challenge us, make us think, and help us break through barriers. You have all the talent, determination, and drive within you. Women Ignite will help you spark that passion to grow as a leader, a business professional, a wife, a mom, and a friend. We want to join hands with you and create a better world for each of us.If you ARE interested in meeting new dynamic women (and some brave men!) who want to link arms and create systemic change, and real solutions, starting now, then join us October 21-22 and ignite yourself! |
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