Last year Sally toured the U.S. in an RV as part of Girls Gone Moto (GGM) , coaching and spreading love with random acts of kindness.

Enjoy getting to know Sally, and her gunslinging, rockstar ways, and be sure to connect up with Girls Gone Moto’s Facebook page for details on a free call on Tuesday, February 21 and to follow their adventures this year.

Q: Tell us about your coaching practice. Who do you love to help and why?

My coaching practice is full of amazing women doing amazing things (and some REALLY cool dudes). People that don’t follow the norm.  Entrepreneurs, small business owners, rebels, movers and shakers, lovers, and risk-takers.

I tend to attract the people that want a “thing” (a more successful business, a mobile lifestyle, a better relationship, etc) but what they’re actually searching for is how to become the kind of person they need to be in order to have that “thing.” 

Which usually turns into a lot of talking about how to get through their fears. Why do I do this?

I absolutely love inspiring people to live the kind of lives they want to be living. To realize they can create their own happiness. To know that no matter what they’ve learned or what other people have told them, they can achieve their dream lives. To value their ideal life more than their fears.

I love the moment when someone starts believing that they can have what they want, and their possibilities are endless. I feel like it’s an honor to be able to be with someone during those moments.

Q: We know you really are a rockstar, what other jobs/careers have you had?

Aww…well thank you my dear. Before coaching, I was a touring musician/crossword puzzle writer.  I bet you didn’t know those two things could go together! I’ve also been a nanny, bartender, denim specialist at a boutique and worked PR.  I’ve never been very traditional in my work.  

I’ve always created jobs where I had a lot of flexibility and could have a mobile lifestyle. Which is why it’s not surprising to me that I chose coaching!  

Q: What inspired Girls Gone Moto?

Honestly, at first it was simply a personal lifestyle choice.  Natalie (my GGM partner in crime) and I were living in the same city, with no real ties to anything, and both had jobs that are mobile. Last year was a time of experimentation and exploration and we started to want to try out different kinds of lifestyles. In a spontaneous turn of events, we decided to move to Costa Rica to see if we could (and would like) the travel/work lifestyle and what we found was not only did it work, but that it was absolutely fulfilling and fun and easy and inspiring to people. We got to live in a beautiful and tropical place, going to to beach, living in the jungle and still run our businesses successfully as though we were in an apartment in a so-so city. That inspired us, and we wanted to keep it going.

We loved our working and living/traveling together dynamic and we knew we wanted to continue and build something with the two of us. So when we got home, we decided to put all our stuff in storage and get in RV.  We had no real plan. We just knew we had five weeks. So we started driving and let our intuition guide us. And what we found while we were out was that we’d meet people everywhere that were really inspired by our story: Two young, successful girls with their own businesses traveling around and living this whimsical life of freedom, full of amazing experiences.

So on that trip we decided we wanted to go out again, with a more pointed purpose…to inspire as many people as we possibly can to live their most ideal lives, and spread kindness to complete strangers, as a way to pay-it-forward.  We knew that part of this impact was through videos, so we got an amazing videographer on board, and thus Girls Gone Moto was born.  

Q: What was the biggest challenge of driving across the US?

There were a lot of challenges, but I think for me, it was having to manage all the personal lessons that showed up along the way, under really stressful situations. We had extreme weather, lots of technical difficulties, a breaking-down RV, a shooting schedule, our own businesses to run, our new business (GGM) to manage, volunteering opportunities to schedule, Random Acts of Kindness to do, finding clients to coach on camera, speaking opportunities to filter and set up, long drives to be had, and on top of that, we’re people.  Three of us and a dog all in one very small space, having to get along and make sure that we’re all feeling our best so that we can keep going.  

I feel like I came home a different person.  Stronger.  More capable.  

Q: What is your favorite aspect of running your own business?

The freedom!! I make my own schedule so I spend my time exactly how I want to spend my time.  Also, everything is done exactly how I want it to be done.  No one to answer to.  

Q: I love that you are completely Sally 24/7 (guns, guitars, cowboy hats, Costa Rica, unwavering support of your clients/friends) what advice do you have for women just starting out in their online businesses about putting their “real” selves out for everyone to see?

I LOVE this question because I struggled with this a lot in the beginning of my business. At first, I thought I needed to be ‘professional” (whatever that means) in order to be taken seriously as a young coach. I thought I needed to tone down all those things that make me unique. I remember I even went into my first class of coaching school having straight-ironed my hair and wearing this super conservative (for me) outfit. The more time went on, the more I realized that the more ME I was, the better my business did. This day and age, people don’t really buy services. They buy YOU. They hire you because they like YOU.  

I mean, what else sets you apart from the billions of other people in your same profession?  It’s that you’re you. So the more you, you are from the beginning, the better. You have something unique that no one else in the world has. Your experiences, stories, passions, ideas, perspectives, thoughts, etc. Don’t hide them. They’re why I’m going to hire you.

Q: Who are your business role models and why?

I love Gwen Stefani.  I think she very flawlessly walks the line between complete badass business girl with her band, clothing line, personal life, and total sweet heart/down to earth-ness. She is the kinda girl that hangs with the guys, but also gets her nails done and wears lipstick. She sings about real life situations in a very honest and real way. And she is always pushing the envelop with her persona. She is always HER. I also have a lot of respect for Marie Forleo. I love that she teaches extremely valuable information to people in a way that her audience absolutely resonates with. She’s sassy, fun, smart, and absolutely KILLER at marketing. One other girl I love is Ashley Ambirge. She’s has a potty mouth and a stellar work ethic. She’s been running her successful business from the beach for years. She is one to watch out for. This girl is big time.
 

Q: What did 7 year old Sally say she wanted to be when she grew up?

A ROCKSTAR!! No joke.  I even designed my own outfits on paper dolls back then and imagined myself on stage. 

Q: What’s next for you?  What wildest dreams are you taking on next?

Such a great question!!  This year I’m doing a re-vamp of Sallyhope.com, that will include an advice column, a brand new bucket list to complete (CANNOT WAIT!!), some books, and a TON of collaboration with really amazing people doing really amazing things.  More guns. More writing. More dancing. More videos. More specific help for readers.

GGM is also going to be collaborating with some amazing people to put on an epically fun get-together/camping trip/live event that will combine all the best from your most fond memories of summer camp, your favorite self-help live event, and your most helpful business event (all in one!). Think RHH Live meets Summer Camp. It will be Labor Day Weekend and is called Camp Renegades. So keep an eye out.  I will be making announcements in the next couple months.  

Q: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about rocking our own lives?

Yes. Absolutely. If you can dream it, you can have it. Seriously. I know it’s cheesy but it’s true.

The best thing you can possibly do for yourself is to BELIEVE that you can have the life you want. Imagine it, in as much detail as possible. Think about it as though you already have it. Then…take risks. Do the scary thing. Do the exciting thing. Start out small, taking one step at a time, and then ramp it up.

That will happen naturally the more you step out of your comfort zone. And mostly, be kind to yourself. Don’t expect to have everything all figured out right now. Don’t let the fact that you don’t, stop you from moving forward. You can do it.  

Sally Hope is a Blogger/Love and Life Coach who loves hot-pink lipstick, guns, crosswords and cowboys. A former Rockstar, she has taken her show from the stage to the road by traveling around the US in an RV while coaching her clients and inspiring people to live their own Rockstar Lifestyles. Her latest obsessions include traveling, country swing dancing, motorcycles, LOVE, chips and salsa, and adventuring. Whatever it is you are wanting in your life, she will help you get there faster, with a good butt kicking, a wink, and a smile. You can find her at her website or her Facebook page, Twitter, or getting ridiculous on her YouTube channel“

Leave a comment below to share with Sally & the rest of the world how you are showing up authentically in your business and rocking your life in 2012.

Here are two ways to examine your current site and uncover hidden (or forgotten) gems.

Once you’ve found these gems they can be repackaged in a variety of ways. Repackaging saves time, gives great (but neglected) content new life, and helps establish you as the expert you are.

1: Examine your blog post categories and tags

If you’ve been categorizing and tagging your posts use this ability to sort by topic to your advantage. Pick one category or tag and drill down through the blog posts. Look for big picture themes, how-to posts that go together to explain a larger topic, and posts that can be grouped together into a package of content.

Here’s an example:

A fitness coach has posted 30 healthy snack recipes on her blog over the past few years. With a little bit of editing and design she can repackage those into a PDF recipe book to sell or use as a freebie for her opt-in list.

2: Shine a light on your wisdom

Trust me, you’ve said some brilliant things in blog posts that have never seen the light of day. Now it is time to bring these bits of wisdom to light. Go back through your blog posts looking for little phrases, tips, quips, etc. that are totally you. You can turn these into branded tweets or tips to share on Facebook. You also can rescue neglected but powerful posts by pulling them out of the archives and showing them off.

Here’s an example:

Last March I blogged everyday. You probably didn’t see my March 2nd post “Do online businesses need a logo?” because I hadn’t been blogging for very long then. I decided to pull that post out of the archives and sent out this tweet last week:

It got retweeted a couple of times and more people were exposed to that info and me. You can do this with your vintage blog posts, too.

If I wanted to take it even further I can make a branded tweet like this:
“Branching Out Tip: get these files from your logo designer: .eps .tif .jpg .gif along w/color & font info, you’ll need it as your biz grows” Or I could pull a larger chunk of info out of the blog post and make it into a tip for my Facebook page.

What if your website is new?

So if you’ve read this far and are saying well that’s all great for someone with a lot of blog posts, but what about me? Here are a few tips for new bloggers, too.

Fill up the tags and categories

Instead of relying on tags and categories that aren’t quite full, do the work and fill out those categories and tags. Pick a topic and write a series of posts.

Here’s an example: Our fitness coach has a category called “flat stomach” with only one blog post so far. She decides to do a week long blog series on the best exercises to tone your tummy. Seven blog posts later she has a great series on her blog and also enough material to put together a quick PDF ebook for her audience.

Expand questions into content

Look at your social media streams and emails for little bits of conversation. What do you talk about all the time? What questions do you answers over and over? Think about how you can expand those into a blog post or a video response.

Here’s an example: Our fitness coach is always answering questions about how she got back into shape so soon after having a baby. She created a step-by-step fitness plan for herself, but hadn’t thought about sharing it with anyone else. She’s answered that question so many times that she can pretty much recite the answer in her sleep. Now she has perfect material for a blog post or even an ebook.


===========

***Super Cool Bonus***

Post a link to your blog in the comment section below and I’ll go on a mining excursion on your blog. The first 20 to comment will get a reply with my recommendations for quick ways to repackaging their genius.
==========

Spotlight

This month we are shining the spotlight on Andrea Lewicki of The Lewicki Agency for her exploration of curiosity as a form of self-care.

Real-Time Curiosity Sessions
With: Andrea Lewicki
Price: $27
30 minute session with Andrea. Practical application of your curiosity as a catalyst for change. Immediately useful and a whole new way to experience curiosity.
http://thelewickiagency.com/real-time-curiosity/

————————
And now, on to the full list…have fun, grow, learn, explore, live!

~~~February~~~

Personal Development

Myself 2012 – A “You Versus Your Baggage” Resolution Campaign
With: Akilah S. Richards
Price: $100
Defend yourself against your baggage with this direct approach to lifestyle design! Join “the debates” and let me show you just how ready you are TODAY to define, design, and live your fullest life.
www.execumama.com/vote
Starts: Feb. 6, 2012

Reclaim Your Time
With: Jill Farmer and Sarah Wagner Yost
Price: Free
Not enough time to get it all done? Join coaches Sarah Wagner Yost and Jill Farmer for a FREE teleclass on February 9. Reclaim Your Time, baby. Learn to Recapture Lost Hours and Heal Your Relationship With Your Clock.
http://sarahwagneryost.com/reclaim-your-time-learn-to-recapture-lost-hours-and-heal-your-relationship-with-your-clock/
Event Date: Feb. 9, 2012

Soul & Creativity

Your Souls University
With: Hillary Rubin
At a turning point in your life? It’s your time time to rise and take big steps towards your big dreams. It is my goal to help you become realized women who sheds her fear to become undeniable in life. Take a peek into the 3 day fur-hee YSU pre-experience and be poised for greatness in your life, relationships and business.
http://www.yoursoulsu.com
Starts: Feb. 1, 2012

Unleash Your Wild Creative Daimon
With: Kathleen Profit
Price: $499 or 3 pymnts of $187
A 12 week Embodied Arts webinar program with a private membership site to post expressive art and writing work in. Training in the embodied arts: authentic movement, expressive painting, authentic writing, and the art of witnessing, to unleash the deepest levels of your authentic self!
http://kathleenprophet.com/unleash-your-wild-creative-genius-embody-your-legend-program/
Sales Close: Feb. 11, 2012

Take Flight Play Camp
With: Alara Castell
Price: $79
Take Flight Play Camp is my offering of tapping into your inner child to open your life to energetically receiving more, as you deserve it, focusing on helping you build a solid practice of play to support you in your life and business. Six weeks of fun, online, at your own pace plus space to share your experience in community.
http://www.alaracastell.com/take-flight-play-camp/
Sales Close: Feb. 27, 2012

Wellness & Health

Winter Recovery Sessions
With: Jennifer Cooper
Price: Pay what you want
During this season of renewal, we’ll take a virtual journey together, to recover, to heal, to get ready to re-emerge as our best selves.
Starting February 1, 2012, we’ll take 14 days to recover toward love.
http://jennifer-cooper.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/events/2012/02/winter-recovery-sessions
Starts: Feb. 1, 2012

Fresh Start Cleanse
With: Judy Griffin
Price: $20.12
This is a week of vibrant nourishment to get women back on track, open a window to Healthier Living, and your ticket to feeling fit and fabulous. http://nourishingsolutions4life.com/2012-fresh-start-cleanse-for-only-2012
Starts: Feb. 2, 2012

Busy Women Mealtime Makeover
With: Betsy Moore
Price: early bird special of $95 by January 26th, $125 after that
This program is perfect for you if you are a busy woman and you want to get a decent meal on the table! We’ll cook together. You in your kitchen. Me in mine. 12 new recipes for real, whole, fabulous food. You are better than processed food. 4 weeks. Join me.
http://bmoorehealthy.com/2011/07/29/busy-women-mealtime-makeover/
Sales Closes: Feb. 5, 2012

Foundations for Unshakable Joy™
With: Stephenie Zamora
Price: $97
The EXACT Foundational Process That Took Me From a Stressed and Depressed Mess, to Happy, Fulfilled and Living a Life Built Around My Passions and Purpose
http://www.myawesomelifemastery.com/
Starts: Feb. 7, 2012

Weekly Healing Energy Retreat
With: Barbara Coon
Price: early bird pricing good through Feb. 1: full payment $200 or 3 payments of $77
In 12 healing sessions by phone you will understand your own internal energetic world and develop new relationships with your inner parts that support or block healing. Weekly each Tuesday at 7pm PST is time to connect with the healer within. You will trust your body’s capacity to heal anything while emerging with more awareness, connection, and peace.
http://barbaracoon.com/mentoring-2/
Begins: Feb. 11, 2012

Cleanse with Style™ – New Year, Amazing You
With: Holli Thompson
Price: $297, with coupon $197
This powerful 4 week program has everything you’ll need on your journey to health: live, recorded Q&A calls, an e-cook book, quizzes to pinpoint your needs, shopping lists, email assistance and butt-kickin’ action guides to get you on your way faster.
www.cleansewithstyle.com
Starts: Feb. 15, 2012

~~~March~~~

Personal Development

Master Your Life Women’s Group
With: Dr Laura Ciel
Price: $450, payment options and additional private sessions available, also
Master Your Life! Be Part of the 10% Who Actually Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions! If you are a woman who has made some ambitious resolutions or set high goals for yourself this year and you are committed to seeing them achieved, this is for you. This is also for you if you did NOT make such goals and you WANT to.
http://1oneworldleadership.com/events/new_years_resolutions/
Begins: March 6, 2012

~~~Ongoing~~~

Business Growth

Corporate Sponsorship Success E-course
With: Michelle Christie
Price: $495
This 4-week workshop will cover the steps necessary to secure sponsorship, as well as useful tips when faced with some typical challenges along the way.
http://www.macswomenonline.com/corporate_sponsorship_ecourse.html

How to Get Your First 1000 Subscribers
With: Jenny Shih
Price: $67
You’ve heard that “having a list” is one of the best ways to grow your online business, but you’re not sure how to find all those people and get them to subscribe. In this class you will learn exactly how to get your first 1000 subscribers with down-to-earth, practical, specific how-to instruction… superhero style.
http://jennyshih.com/grow-your-list/

Personal Development

Vibrant Life Master Class
With: Maddy Vertenten
Price: $197
The Vibrant Life Master Class is a self-paced course for women delving into the questions, practices and action-steps that culminate in the creation of a Healthy + Beautiful life. Modules include: Heeding the Call to Greater Depth & Meaning; Vibrant Health; Owning the Feminine Art of Creation; Money Savvy, Meaningful Service, and Changing the World; plus two 30-minute private coaching sessions with Maddy.
http://vibrantone.com/vibrant-life-master-class/

30-Day Fast-Action Coaching Program
With: Shay de Silva
Price: $697
A one-on-one 30-day program to get you totally clear on where you want to be and how to get there. We’ll work together to create a detailed action plan and I’ll keep you accountable every step of the way!
http://solutiongarden.com/action-planning/

Please share anyone who would benefit from this information.

If you’d like to be included in the next roundup, please fill out this form for consideration. Thanks!

Here’s a trick for coming up with blog post topics for your editorial calendar.

You can also try this tactic when inspiration isn’t striking and you need a quick blog post topic.

Content Strategy Tip: Pick up a stack of magazines and use their cover lines to create fill-in-the-blank formulas, like Mad Libs, to spark post ideas.

Here are a few examples to get you started.

Cover line:
The Novelist’s Survival Kit (from Writer’s Digest)

Mad Libs style fill-in-the-blanks template:
The _____ Survival Kit

Twist to fit your niche:
The Weight Loss Survival Kit
The Product Launch Survival Kit
The New Mom Survival Kit
The Solopreneur’s Survival Kit

Cover line:
Story Essentials: What Every Writer Should Know (from Writer’s Digest)

Mad Libs style fill-in-the-blanks template:
_____ Essentials: What Every _____ Should Know

Twist to fit your niche:
Weight Loss Essentials: What Every Woman Should Know
Product Launch Essentials: What Every Entrepreneur Should Know
Breastfeeding Essentials: What Every New Mom Should Know
Outsourcing Essentials: What Every Solopreneur Should Know

Easy, right?

Now, let’s see what you can do. Post a comment with your twist on one of the cover lines above (or an alternative cover line from one of the magazines you have on hand). I’d love to see what you come up with!

p.s. This is a great thing to do while you are waiting for doctor’s appointments, oil changes, etc. There are always magazines on hand and often they are ones you’ve never seen before. Fresh inspiration for your brain.

~~~January~~~

Business Growth

Online Zennn
With: Kat Fulton
Price: $247
Join the Zennn Masters by January 30 and master your domain with style and ease. Online Zennn is a 4-week course on WordPress websites, designed to replicate your awesome offline self to the web! (definitely for WordPress newbies!)
http://www.onlinezennn.com/join-online-zennn-2012/
Enrollment Closes: Jan. 30, 2012

Creativity

Writer Unleashed
With: Nanci Panuccio
Price: $47
A four-week audio program for writers of fiction and memoir who want to dissolve creative blocks, free their voice, and write with more joy, inspiration, and mastery.

http://emergingwriters.us/writer-unleashed/
Begins: Jan. 31, 2012

Family

The 10-Day Family Re-Charge
With: Erin Goodman
Price: PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
Are “slowing down, having FUN and spending more time together” part of your family’s goals for 2012? The 10-Day Family Re-Charge is a virtual program designed to help busy families (re)connect with healthy eating, nature, music, creativity and most importantly with EACH OTHER!
http://eringoodman.com/the-10-day-family-re-charge/
Enrollment Closes: Jan. 31, 2012

Personal Development

Making It Stick: The Class
With: Michelle Nickolaisen
Price: $15
In this online class, you’ll learn everything you need to know to make your new habits stick in 2012 – including why most attempts to add new habits fail, how to use habits to reach your goals, & how to add habits to your day without relying on sheer willpower to keep ‘em there. And bring your questions for Q&A time, where you can get personalized advice for your situation!
http://www.letsradiate.com/2012/making-it-stick-the-class/
Enrollment Closes: Jan. 25, 2012

Wellness & Health

THIS has to STOP: 4 Keys to Release the Weight & More
With: Brenda Coleman
Price: Free
This call will touch on certain to releasing your weight and creating the life you want. Without this information, it doesn’t matter how many weight loss plans or meditation and yoga retreats you sign up for, it just won’t work.
http://www.brendarcoleman.com/this-has-to-stop
Enrollment Closes: Jan. 31, 2012. Sign-ups after Jan. 24, 2012 will receive a recording of the call.

The Peaceful Heart Retreat and Retreat Into Stillness
With: Barbara Coon
Price: $77/month for 4 weekly sessions, $197.00/month for the weekly and monthly afternoon retreat
Retreat Into Stillness is your time to connect with the healer within. Be present to your body’s inner worlds by opening doors to more ease, peace, and joy.
http://barbaracoon.com/mentoring-2/
Sales close: Early Bird Pricing Jan. 31, 2012

Inner Circle Body Wisdom Boot Camp
With: Sue Ann Gleason
Price: $697 for 16 weeks, live calls plus online forum
The Inner Circle Body Wisdom Boot Camp is an online program supporting and inspiring women to explore what it means to be a well-nourished woman. In addition to the culinary and nutritional components of this program, we will examine our art, both the expressed and the unexpressed, because I’m convinced there is a deep relationship between our creative expression how we nourish ourselves both at the table and in our lives.
http://wellnourishedwoman.com

~~~February~~~

Business Growth

Hot Brand Action
With: Shenee Howard
Price: $275
A virtual branding course that isn’t just about learning about your brand but building it, LIVE.
www.hotbrandaction.com
Close date: Feb. 1, 2012

Soul & Creativity

Unleash Your Wild Creative Daimon & Embody Your Legend
With: Kathleen Profit
Price: $499
A 12 week anthropological dig into the exquisite wild RICH terrain of your psyche! We will work with the embodied arts:  authentic movement ~ an inner vision quest, expressive painting, writing,  and ritual performance art, to explore and access the deeper profound intelligence which resides within your dark cryptic creative nature, your personal daimon, and evoke it into your psyche  to transform, guide, fortify and unleash a whole new level of your authenticity into Life!
http://kathleenprophet.com/unleash-your-wild-creative-genius-embody-your-legend-program/
Launches: Feb. 2, 2012

Wellness & Health

Busy Women Mealtime Makeover
With: Betsy Moore
Price: early bird special of $95 by January 26th, $125 after that
This program is perfect for you if you are a busy woman and you want to get a decent meal on the table! We’ll cook together. You in your kitchen. Me in mine. 12 new recipes for real, whole, fabulous food. You are better than processed food. 4 weeks. Join me.
http://bmoorehealthy.com/2011/07/29/busy-women-mealtime-makeover/
Enrollment Closes: Feb. 5, 2012

Foundations for Unshakable Joy™
With: Stephenie Zamora
Price: $97
The EXACT Foundational Process That Took Me From a Stressed and Depressed Mess, to Happy, Fulfilled and Living a Life Built Around My Passions and Purpose
http://www.myawesomelifemastery.com/
Launches: Feb. 7, 2012

Fresh Start Cleanse
With: Judy Griffin
Price: $20.12
This is a week of vibrant nourishment to get women back on track, open a window to Healthier Living, and your ticket to feeling fit and fabulous.

http://nourishingsolutions4life.com/2012-fresh-start-cleanse-for-only-2012

~~~March~~~

Personal Development

Master Your Life Women’s Group
With: Dr Laura Ciel
Price: $450, payment options and additional private sessions available, also
Master Your Life! Be Part of the 10% Who Actually Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions! If you are a woman who has made some ambitious resolutions or set high goals for yourself this year and you are committed to seeing them achieved, this is for you. This is also for you if you did NOT make such goals and you WANT to.
http://1oneworldleadership.com/events/new_years_resolutions/
Begins: March 6, 2012

~~~Ongoing~~~

Business Growth

How to Get Your First 1000 Subscribers
With: Jenny Shih
Price: $67
You’ve heard that “having a list” is one of the best ways to grow your online business, but you’re not sure how to find all those people and get them to subscribe. In this class you will learn exactly how to get your first 1000 subscribers with down-to-earth, practical, specific how-to instruction… superhero style.
http://jennyshih.com/grow-your-list/

Personal Development

30-Day Fast-Action Coaching Program
With: Shay de Silva
Price: $697
A one-on-one 30-day program to get you totally clear on where you want to be and how to get there. We’ll work together to create a detailed action plan and I’ll keep you accountable every step of the way!
http://solutiongarden.com/action-planning/

Please share anyone who would benefit from this information.

If  you’d like to be included in the next roundup, please comment below and I will send you details..

She has tears slipping down her cheeks. She’s trying to talk but I can tell that it is an effort to just get the words out.

“I don’t want to do the spelling bee because … what if I spell a word wrong?” she finally manages to say, her voice cracking at each word.

“Oh,” is all I can manage for a second. “Oh, honey.”

My first thought is “That’s just silly.” But I don’t say that out loud.

Instead I say …

“Eventually everyone spells something wrong.”

“What’s most important is that you try.”

“I don’t care if you win. That’s not what this is about, it’s about learning to spell.”

“I will love you even if you spell every word wrong for the rest of your life.”

Then, because that advice doesn’t seem to be stopping the tears, I do what I’ve learned to do with my kids, distract with humor.

“Libby (our Lab) doesn’t care if you spell anything right ever.”

At this she laughs and her sister laughs.

Fear of the spelling bee is forgotten.

I mull her reaction to the spelling bee over in my mind the rest of the drive home. I talk to my husband about it. I talk to my mom, a retired 2nd grade teacher. I talk to my sister.

I think about how much I identify with my daughter’s fears. I think about all the things I haven’t done in life because of fear of the outcome. I think about the advice I gave her that I don’t quite follow 100 percent of the time. 

I wish for a magic wand to take all her fears away.

…

A few weeks pass and my daughter comes home thrilled, “I got second place in my class!”

She describes in detail how the spelling bee went down: how her stomach felt weird, how her legs and hands were shaking, how everyone spelled words wrong and had to sit down, and how Ethan won by spelling the word “tongs” correctly.

“That wasn’t so bad was it?” I ask.

I think of myself and I think of you.

I wish for both of us what I wish for my daughter: that fear not stop us in our tracks.

I want us to embrace fluttery tummies and wobbly legs and to step up to the spelling bees that life sends us.

————-

What has fear held you back from lately? What advice have you given someone that you love, that you need to take to heart, too? Comment below and share with someone you know who needs a little push.

If you’re an entrepreneur who has been circling around creative writing and you want to stop circling and jump in this year, Nanci shares her best advice for taking that first step.

Enjoy the video or read the transcript below.

Leave a comment for Nanci below and please share the interview!

Nanci is a writer, creative writing coach, and founder of the Emerging Writers Studio. She mentors aspiring writers as they create, revise, and seek publication for their stories, novels, and memoirs. Her new program, Writer Unleashed unleashes Tuesday, January 31st, and is designed to help writers liberate their voice, dissolve creative roadblocks, and write with more joy, freedom, and power. You can follow Nanci on Twitter: @nancipanuccio and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EmergingWriters

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Transcript

Christie:

Hi! It’s Christie Halmick and I’m very happy to have Nanci Panuccio with me today. Hi, Nanci!

Nanci:

Hi!

Christie:

Nanci is from the Emerging Writers Studio. I will have a link to her website, her Twitter handle and her Facebook page below our video. I wanted to tell you a little bit about Nanci. Nanci is a writer, creative writing coach, and founder of the Emerging Writers Studio. She mentors aspiring writers as they create, revise, and seek publication for their stories, novels, and memoirs.

Today we are going to talk about Nanci’s online class Writer Unleashed which starts on Tuesday, January 31st. You can actually, if you go to her website on the links that we’ll have below, go ahead and sign up for that and be ready to start on January 31st. So, I’m going to let Nanci talk a little bit about who Writer Unleashed is for, what you can expect if you go through the class, and what kind of writing it covers, that sort of thing stuff. So, go ahead Nanci.

Nanci:

First of all, thank you so much for inviting me here.

Christie:

You are welcome.

Nanci:

Writer Unleashed is a four-week audio program. It has four modules starting on January 31st. Each week a different module will be released. Each module has about four sections, they are each about 15 minutes in length. Each module also includes a pdf transcript and lots of writing exercises.

The purpose of the program really is to help writers,get out of their own way, to dismantle some of the misconceptions they may have about writing and about the creative process, about their own potential, and the things that are really getting in the way of them creating their best work.

The way that this came about is, whenever I ask writers what they are struggling most with I’m always surprised by the answer I get. I expect something like “I’m struggling with writing dialogue” or “creating character” those kind of things “structuring my story, my novel” and so on.

But the common theme tends to be not that at all, not about technique, but about problems with motivation, staying inspired, keeping the creative juice going long enough to sustain a project from beginning to end. Because, you know, it really does take a lot of time to write a story or novel.

They also struggle with time. Time is a huge obstacle for many. Managing their energies and trying to integrate writing into a very busy lifestyle. Many of the writers that I work with started writing relatively late in their lives. They have full careers. They may have families. So this is a response to those obstacles that they face.

Christie:

Cool. So it starts January 31st.

Nanci:

Yes, it starts January 31st. Do you want me to go through the modules and explain?

Christie:

Yeah, let’s go through those a little bit.

Nanci:

The first module is going to talk about getting into the zone. How you get into the writers zone and how you reach a state of really high engagement with the work. Because, we really need to reach a sort of dream state when we write. But We also have to be awake at the same time. So we need to fully engage with the work and a lot of writers struggle with that. So this module is going to talk about how to anchor ourselves in our writing so we that can reach that flow state quickly and really stay focused. Then we’ll talk about how to create the conditions to nourish that flow state and keep it going. Because a lot of times the intention is there, but our environment doesn’t necessarily support it. There might be some rungs that are missing on the ladder. So we need an environment that supports that. We need to do away with distractions and interruptions and we really have to control the distractions and interruptions so that they don’t control us. So that module is going to discuss that.

The second module is going to focus on voice, the writer’s voice, the author’s voice, or the voice of the story or book itself. We are going to attempt to define what makes one voice different from another and we will also talk about some of the obstacles that get in the way of really … the way we self-censor ourselves with common misconceptions and doubts about the writing process. Sometimes we think that it’s supposed to be easy, it should be easier than this. The truth is, it’s not supposed to be easy, it isn’t easy. To me, writing is an art, just like any other art. It’s like learning to play the piano, or learning to dance well, it’s a rigorous practice. It requires a lot of tenacity. It requires a balance of persistence and patience. In that class we will talk about some of those mindset shifts we really need to make to start getting out of our own way.

In the third module we are going to talk about breaking the rules. Some of the mantras that we hear, a lot of the time, the most common writing mantras out there like: “write what you know” “show don’t tell” “your main character must undergo a change.” It’s not that these rule are wrong, or that they are bad, it’s just that they don’t go deep enough. What I want to do in this class is unwrap them a little more and just … Like for instance, “write what you know” is deceptively complicated. Of course we are going to write what we know, we have no choice that’s who we are. But at some point we have to write from what we know towards what we don’t know. In that not knowing we create space in the work and we give it some air and let it breathe. So that class will talk about some of those mantras. We are just going to explore them a little more deeply because I think that sometimes writers take those kind of rules at face value and it can be a little misleading and it can actually straight jacket your work and strangle their voice. So that’s module three.

Module four is going to talk about what we already know about writing. Because we take things for granted and I think that our basic human impulses require us to tell stories in our heads all the time. In a way we are always writing in our head, where these stories are running through our mind all the time. We create characters out of people we know, we fill in the missing pieces. We have imaginary dialogue with people that aren’t even in the room, you know. So all these things are happening all the time. I think that literature really is a written version of our natural human impulses.

So that’s the content of the course.

Christie:

Tell me a little bit about what you are working on in your writing practice right now.

Nanci:

In my writing practice right now. Well, for one thing it’s sales pages and blog content that’s part of it. But I am also working on a collection of short stories. So that I’ve been working on for a pretty long time. So, yeah.

Christie:

Tell us a little bit about your writing background, beyond what you are doing right now.

Nanci:

Beyond what I’m doing right now. Well, I started pretty young. I found pretty early on that writing was something that I could spend hours and hours doing effortlessly. I could just lose myself just in that imaginary process and so as a child I learned pretty early on that it was something that I just loved to do. Then as I grew older, of course, I got detoured from that because I didn’t … I bought into this idea that it just wasn’t a viable pursuit it was a hobby. I kind of danced around the desire for a while. I worked in advertising. I worked in publishing at a magazine and then I had a freelance writing business of my own for many years. But it wasn’t until I was about 39 that I actually said OK this is it. I sold my apartment, I moved to the Catskills and I pursued an MFA in creative writing. That allowed me the time to spend two years just writing full time fiction. Whereas before I had been writing full time for clients. So I had the routine and the practice down so I was able to do that.

But throughout my journey as a writer my the relationship to my writing was always changing. I know what it is like to have this feeling of great flow and focus. I know what it’s like to feel like you are just really on fire. I would get up at 2 a.m. in the morning and just write down a story because it just came to me. I also know it is like to feel like a dried up speck of dust with no soul and nothing to say. So I understand the struggles. I’ve gone through the whole gamut of experiences. I’ve had a lavish amount of time to write.

Then, once I figured all that out, I had a child and then everything was turned upside down.

So I had to relearn how to fit my writing practice into a very kind of chaotic household. I had to really think about how to be more productive within the parameters of having a family. Which was a huge challenge for me.

I think that’s where a lot of writers find themselves, in this space where they have so much going on. There are so many demands competing for their desire to write. How do you fit all of it in and honor your desire to write.

These are the questions I’ve been struggling with for the past five years, really. I’ve realized that it’s just different for everybody. For me what I finally had to do to get back to that place where I was when I was single …. and I had total solitude to write in wonderful space and just solitude and silence which I really crave as a writer … I had to get up really early in my house and that was the only way. And I found that if I gave myself those couple hours, or even one hour, the rest of my day felt so much easier. I wasn’t as cranky or irritable. I was just more present in the other areas of my life.

Christie:

I love that your experience is what has kind of born this class … this journey that you’ve been on with your writing life. You were talking about when you had your child and the changes and we talked a little bit about this earlier before we started the recording about entrepreneurs.

I wanted to ask you about those people who are in that spot of having their business and having that secret desire to write … maybe it’s not secret, but maybe they just have been dancing around it, like you were for a while. What’s a step, one step or two steps that they can start to take to do this?

Nanci:

Well, if I had to give one piece of advice I would say to find other writers to connect with. The best way I found was to join a workshop.

I think it is really useful to do that number one because it gives you the positive pressure to get something done and to actually make time. Because if you don’t have the deadlines you are probably going to just keep pushing it aside. Because everything else is more powerful really. Because there are just so many other things that we have to do as entrepreneurs including writing. There’s a lot of writing involved. So to make space for the creative writing, I think being in a live workshop especially and having a community of writers is really inspiring. It also turns you on to different writers, different authors, different books that become really great comrades in your journey as a writer and as you evolve technically as a writer and hone your skill. It also keeps you really sharp because you are giving feedback on other people’s work and you are required to submit something. When you have that kind of positive pressure on you you are going to really hone in and focus and really work on those sentence by sentence and word by word. It just brings you up to a different level. That’s what I would say, join a workshop or a peer group of some sort and make it a consistent practice.

Christie:

If somebody took your Writer Unleashed class and then wanted to work with you more you do also offer creative writing coaching. Can you talk a little bit about how that works.

Nanci:

Sure. Often writers come to me … they have been writing for a long time. They may have a full blown novel or they may have chapters of memoir in pieces or fragments, or they may have short stories or they may have a whole body of work. But what happens at some point in the writing process is they reach an impasse and they know that there’s a gap between their intention and their vision for the piece and with what’s on the page at the moment. So I help them fill that gap. I work with them on the manuscript over the course of weeks, months, maybe years sometimes. We just work on different element at a time so maybe we’ll work on characterization, or we’ll work on structure or we’ll work on the beginning.

But basically what I do a lot of the time is help them figure out why the piece matters to them. Why the story matters.

What is it about the piece that’s important to them? Because that’s really a key to what the center of the piece is and it makes it much easier then to structure the piece.

There’s always an essential question that every story asks, it’s not explicit, necessarily, but there always some question that the character or the author is trying to figure out.

It’s not that they need the answer, it’s the exploration that matters.

Once they get at that, which is really not easy to do. It sounds easy but it’s really not easy. Then everything kind of falls into place a little more and they can start to see patterns emerge in the piece. So it’s basically a way of getting the manuscript closer and closer to its highest version of itself and ultimately bringing it closer to publication. Which is what most writers really aspire to ultimately.

Christie:

Yeah. So I wanted to ask you what it feels like whenever somebody you’ve coached gets something published and they send you an email.

Nanci:

Oh! Oh! I love that! I have one writer who I work with in Israel and I’ve been working with her for a few years now and she’s just won an award in a memoir magazine. She’s just phenomenal and she’s getting published so much and every time she gets published she sends me an email. And wow! It’s… but I really also just love to see the progress my students make it’s just so amazing. They have such innate brilliance, it’s not always apparent on the first draft, it’s there but I just help them bring that out. They are all brilliant in their own way. It’s incredible. I love them! They are amazing.

Christie:

And so do you have a writing coach?

Nanci:

I have worked with writing coaches. I mean certainly in the MFA program I worked one-on-one with a mentor which really was for me a real turning point in my writing. Just having that close attention to the rythms of the way I write and really understanding my work. So working with a mentor for a long period of time I found extremely helpful. These days not so much. I do occasionally work with an editor to help me hone something because I tend to revise for a very long time before I give it up. I want to take it as far as I can and I reach a point where I just don’t know what to do with it anymore, I’ve taken it as far as I can I’ll have someone read it and give me the feedback and then I can just take it further. So yeah, yeah.

Christie:

Well, do you have anything else you’d like to add about Writer Unleashed or anything else?

Nanci:

Let me see. Well, Writer Unleashed again, it starts January 31st and it includes audio classes. There will be a component where the writers can join in a forum they can share their writing assignments, if they chose to, it’s optional. But they can also just ask questions about anything related to their writing or writing in general or their process, whatever. So it’s a space for them to just have an open dialogue about writing. So that will be a component of the class as well.

Christie:

Thank you so much for such an interesting conversation, it’s a great topic. I think there are lots of writers who could benefit from spending some time on their craft with your help. I will have Nanci’s website address and the link to Writer Unleashed the information on that so you guys can go check out all the different modules and go ahead and sign up for the class if you are interested in getting some fiction, memoir, and short story type work completed. Get it done this year. Thank you very much Nanci!

Nanci:

Thank you Christie.

Christie:

Thanks!

Nanci is a writer, creative writing coach, and founder of the Emerging Writers Studio. She mentors aspiring writers as they create, revise, and seek publication for their stories, novels, and memoirs. Her new program, Writer Unleashed unleashes Tuesday, January 31st, and is designed to help writers liberate their voice, dissolve creative roadblocks, and write with more joy, freedom, and power. You can follow Nanci on Twitter: @nancipanuccio and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EmergingWriters

Leave a comment for Nanci below and please share the interview!

Enjoy the video or read the transcript below.

Miki is a writer, teacher, wife, and mama of two.  She is passionate about building bridges—within the community of mothers, between mothers and their families, and between women and their inner knowing.  She’s creating her own definition of Real Motherhood for herself and creating a wide, deep permission for other moms to explore who they are as well. Her new program, Real Mom Compass, will be available in January. Her free e-course “7 Encouragements for Real Motherhood” is available at thestillspace.com. You can follow Miki on Twitter: @MikiDeVivo for updates on Real Mom Compass.

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Transcript

Christie: Hi, it’s Christie Halmick of Jewels Branch Creative and I’m very happy to have with me today Miki DeVivo of TheStillSpace.com. I’m going to read a little bit about Miki: Miki is a writer, teacher, wife, and a mama of two.  She is passionate about building bridges—within the community of mothers, between mothers and their families, and between women and their inner knowing.  She’s creating her own definition of Real Motherhood for herself and creating space for other moms to explore who they are, as well.  So, hello! Hi Miki.

Miki: Hi, hi!

Christie: So glad you are here with me today. We are going to talk a little bit about, or Miki is going to talk about, the group experience she is creating and offering in January called Real Mom Compass. She’s going to explain a little bit about what that is, who it’s for, what you can expect from going through that experience with Miki. And I’m going to let her go ahead and do that, Miki.

Miki: Hi, thank you so much for having me.

The key piece that I see moms like myself and moms that I talk to needing, and asking for really, in a variety of different ways, is a compass for themselves.

There’s a character in our society called the “ideal mom.” She’s out there she’s the one whose hair is aways perfect, who showers everyday, the house is spotless, the dinner is all organic, made from scratch everyday. She loves every moment of parenting, she loves every minute of being a wife, (phone rings) she remembers to turn her phone off before she gets interviewed. And you know, she has sex every night, the kids are always happy, you know…it’s this perfect thing. And we have this somehow, it’s come into our culture.

Our moms and our grandmothers fought really, really hard for lots of the freedoms that we enjoy today. We are very thankful for them, for the freedoms that we have and the opportunity that we have to even ask these questions. It’s a huge, huge gift that we’ve been given. But it also means that in a lot of ways the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Whereas we always had to be this one thing. Now we have lots and lots of freedom, which is great, but it becomes this heavy expectation on ourselves that in order to live up to this gift that we’ve been given, that we have to meet all of these roles. We have to be the perfect wife and the perfect mother and the perfect woman and gorgeous and beautiful and skinny all the same time.

Christie: and have a business.

Miki: oh, yeah that, too! Profitable, savy, smart, that piece…. and that’s fine that’s great, that’s ok.

But what I realized that I needed to do, because that was feeling like a really heavy burden for me, was that I needed to take a step back and look at whether or not all of these pieces were pieces that I wanted in my life. And what I actually wanted those pieces to look like.

So instead of just trying to reach for this external thing. Constantly reaching against that. Going: Is that me? Is that not me? I want to be that. I don’t want to be that. That’s me. That’s not me. I can do that. I can’t do that. I spent so much energy pushing on this external expectation that who I was inside and what I really wanted didn’t even enter the equation at all.

I got really burnt out and frustrated and angry and disconnected and resentful, lots of lovely adjectives. I couldn’t enjoy my kids in the way I wanted to. I couldn’t enjoy my husband in the way I wanted to. Everything looked like people were trying to mess with me, and get in the way of me trying to be this ideal woman. And I was like OK no, no.

So, the Real Mom Compass is a way for moms who are tired of feeling that overwhelm, who are tired of giving their energy to this external expectation, to take some time to really step back and decide for themselves decide what’s important to them, what they want. To put words to that longing. To name that for themselves. To claim this new identity for themselves.

Not in a way of having to throw out the mother with the bath water so to speak. But to really examine where you already are. What you already long for. What you already want that you might not have had the opportunity to name. And that wasn’t quite as important that you do name until you became a mom.

Now you go OK, um… you know it just changes the way we see the world. It throws everything into sharp relief.

The Real Mom Compass is a way to make that examination. To make sure that every moment we know … once we have this compass … we know then where we are headed and when we are off track. At any moment if we start to feel panicked or overwhelmed or we start to have those negative stories run in our heads, we have this compass that we’ve created for ourselves and we can say, “am I headed where I want to be?” or “am I headed off track?” And to know how to get back on track if we are off track.

It’s for moms who are looking for that type of exploration. That deep exploration about who they are and their purpose in the world, so they can stop feeling like they are playing the role of “wife” and “mother” and just be their whole self with every interaction.

It doesn’t really matter what age your kids are, it’s more about where you’re at and what you are ready to look at and make happen for yourself.

I’m taking a look at the content right now, I’ve got the workbook and I’m trying to decide whether it’s going to be eight or nine weeks. It will have a workbook where you do independent work, writing and discovery, personally and individually. There’s also a group component. There’s going to be an online meeting space where people can give feedback and support. Mostly just support. So that we can know that we are not alone in our journey. Then there will be group calls where we can talk through some of this issue, strengthen the sense of community. Also I’m working on a group of guest speakers who can talk to us about specific skills to live that authentic life.

Christie: Great! Can you give us an idea of time frame when you are going to have it up for sale, when to watch for that.

(phone rings)
Miki: No body ever calls me! Excuse me. …

Timeframe. Right now if you go to thestillspace.com there are a series of seven encouragements for Real Motherhood. That’s a 14-day, 7 bit e-course to help, right now as my gift to moms, just sort of laying the ground work and honoring the work that we do everyday as mothers. That’s available now and the course the Real Mom Compass is going to be in January. So we’ll get ready to start off the New Year right because we don’t need to have another year go by before we can start asking for what we want and what we need and getting really clear on that.

Christie: I’m glad you said the group component. I’ve found that just having a space where I can go say “I’m experiencing this” … I have a space where I can go for my business and say, “I’m experiencing this in my business” and other people will say “OK I’ve been through that.” So it’s a safe space and I’m glad you are including that because they are so helpful. I don’t have a lot of support around here, around the local area, so finding that online has been very helpful to me. So I can see that that would be a good component of what you are doing, too.

Miki: I think as moms, it’s really important like you said, we can feel pretty isolated, even if there’s another family in the house right next door. This ideal mom thing, kind of, can prevent us from approaching other moms and saying “oh my god, are you going through what I’m going through? I can’t take it anymore.” Or I have this really great success story. We’re also not really allowed to brag about what we’ve done well or to celebrate what’s working well in our families, too. So we’ll have this online space where we don’t have to posture or pose or put up any walls about who we are and what we are trying to do. We are all on the same page and on the same team.

You know there’s that whole mommy wars thing. “This is the way to do this thing.” and “This is the way to do that thing.” If you don’t do it this way you’re not a good mom. I’m really tired of that I think that it diverts our energy away from the real issues: are we doing that we want to be doing and following what we know is best for our own families. So the space that we’ll create, we’ll spend some time at the beginning just creating that safe space so that we can be comfortable. And it’s not going to be that catty, infighting, mommy wars thing.

Christie: How did you get to creating this particular course? Let’s frame it this way, what did you do before you started doing this? What are the jobs you’ve had?

Miki: Well, when my daughter was born I had a really tough time adjusting to my new role as a mother. I had worked really hard and achieved a lot of things and a lot of those things were in my control. Then I became a mom and very little was in my control. Or my understanding of what I could control and what I couldn’t control kind of drove me nuts because I was trying to control the things that I couldn’t do. Not taking control of those things that were in my power.

So I had this longing in myself, I needed something more and it was surprising to me that being a mom left me with more longing. I thought there was something wrong with me because of that. But I’m finding that a lot of moms feel that same way. They become moms and then they go OH, OH, OH!

One day I picked up the camera and was taking some photographs of my daughter and in that moment the way I saw her changed and instead of becoming a constant ticking time bomb of poop, and feeding needs and stress, I could really see who she is. Who she was and the beauty in there.

It took me a couple more months to realize. But I realized I could be a photographer and help other families have that same experience of beauty and being more in love with their families. So that idea about bringing more love and more connection and more awareness to the families … I realized I could bring that to an online space and just go straight to that. Photography is beautiful and I am still passionate about doing it. But by offering space and asking questions and helping moms come to their own answers, it seemed a more direct route to achieve a more powerful result.

Christie: Cool! That’s a good journey.

Miki: Yeah, but you know everybody says that, you listen to interviews and “oh my gosh, she knows everything” … When you are in the middle of it … when you look back on it it’s all very, “that’s how I got here” but in the middle of it was a process of asking myself those questions about: Is this really what I want to be doing? Is this the best way for me to express my gifts? Is this the best way for me to enjoy what I’m doing?

Christie: So, I wanted to ask you have some advice for, a lot of my audience are women entrepreneurs who are doing the business thing, a lot of them are doing the business and mom thing. Any words of wisdom for them?

Miki: Yeah. I think the biggest thing that I’ve come to be aware of and surrender to is that that motherhood and business owner can be part of the same thing.

You don’t have to be the business woman over here and be the mom over here. And have them fight. That our creativity comes and goes in waves and that being a mom can actually help with that. Because one of the things that allows creativity to flourish is the borders and the boundaries. If you had all the time in the world to run your business or do your art or make things. You wouldn’t be living your life so you’d have nothing to draw from to make your art or no problems to solve as you are running your business you wouldn’t have that experience to draw on.

And so as the creativity comes and goes the motherhood also allows there to be boundaries on it. The painting is made beautiful by the confines of the canvas. If you are going off, it becomes too much. So finding the balance and not trying to compartmentalize, but know that each feeds the other is a really important thing.

When we are working on something creatively, when we are trying to solve a problem, if we push and push and push against it it actually raises the level of noise in our head and we can’t hear the insight that comes to us.

Being a mom requires our full conscious awareness and attention. Not always possible. So when we come into the mothering and put our full conscious attention on our families it can allow our subconscious to work on those things that we were struggling on in our business. And vice versa. So they go back and forth.

That’s one of the major things that I’ve discovered about the balance for me. And to really embrace what works for you instead of saying, “all writers write eight hours per day with no distractions.” That might have worked on Walden Pond but that’s not the life that we live. So to stop struggling against what is and figure out what works best for you, or works best for me is another thing.

I think something that we have a particular gift with, as women, like you were saying, creating this community and using multiple voices and multiple pieces of awareness and multiple stories to create the truth. As opposed to it being one truth. I think that being able to tap into that. To know what you bring to the table and to tap into the large community is a particular gift that we have as women. The benefits that we have now with social media and the internet and that we can bring people together and create community to bring all of us forward.

Christie: Cool. Was there anything else that I forgot to ask you or anything else you wanted to say? If not I have another question for you.

Miki: Let’s hear the other question.

Christie: So, eight year old Miki, what did she want to be when she grew up?

Miki: Oh, I wanted to be Annie. And I think in relation to Annie, I wanted to be an actor. A lot of my life was focused on that for a long time. I have a bachelor’s in acting. Before I went to college I said, “OK you’re about to focus your life on this and it’s going to cost you a lot of money, why are you really doing this?” And what I discovered was that I really liked the community that is created when a bunch of people where working on something that is higher than themselves, that the whole was greater than the sum of it’s parts.

That’s a through piece that as I got older I realized that the world of actually performing has an element of cut-throatness and level of rejection that I was not interest in going through. But that element of community. My mom was a teacher for many, many years when I was growing up and I always helped her at preschool. Always during summer vacations I would help teach. So working with children has always been something that’s important to me.

I feel like now that I’m a mom, and I have my own children, working with moms is another way of leaving the legacy. Making sure that the next generation feels special, by making sure that the mothers are mothered. That the mothers are taken care of, that we are taken care of.

That we have enough support, internal and external support, which is strong enough, which is important in and of itself. That reaches out into leaving a legacy for our kids. Making sure that people feel special and understood. And know that they are ok, and enough and good enough just as they are has always been part of my theater training and part of my educational philosophy.

Christie: So it’s interesting to see that because, everybody that I ask that question to they always have an answer that actually ties back into what they are doing. So it’s neat to see that because I’m watching my girls now and all the different things that they want to be and I’m just excited to see how that pans out for them, what that looks like whenever they’re moms.

Miki: yes, which pieces of the puzzle fall away and which become a through line for them to hold onto, a touchstone.

Christie: Thank you so much Miki for stopping by and doing the interview. I will have links to The Still Space below the video.

Their lovely, heartfelt responses are a testament to the joys of life as an entrepreneur.

What are you thankful for?

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I am so thankful that life is a choose your own adventure game. I own a business, so I have direct responsibility for how my life works. I’m not oppressed, I’m not impoverished. I have the opportunity to live according to what matters to me.

~ Christyna Lewis http://beeventures.org/

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“Thankful that I get to set my own hours in my business!”

~ Jo Crawford http://www.craftingthesacred.com/

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I’m grateful to have a supportive network, both personally and professionally, that want to see me shine. That hasn’t always been the case for me, and I never want to take it for granted.

~ Lisa Robbin Young http://businessactionhero.com/

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I’m thankful that I have the ability to choose who I work with and work for. My greatest work is done when I love the people who benefit from my efforts. My clients inspire me to give my best every day.

~ Janica Smith http://www.adminismith.com

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I am thankful for so much! Thankful for my beautiful family, healthy children, and the abundance of love in my life. I am thankful for a husband that supports my dreams, visions, and goals. I am so thankful that I get to do my great work and connect with completely amazing people all over the world.

~ Danielle Miller http://www.daniellemmiller.com/

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I’m thankful for all the moments I dared to speak my truth and was rewarded for doing so. And, by ‘rewarded’ I mean someone else benefited from the act.

~ Kellie Stout Walker www.getyourlifeingear.com

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I’m thankful to be doing work that I love in the company of some of the most generous, intelligent, spirit-rich entrepreneurs on the planet. My world is so much richer. . . And in life, I’m thankful I can see the forest.

~ Sue Ann Gleason http://consciousbitesnutrition.com/ and http://www.chocolateforbreakfast.com/

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I’m thankful that in spite of circumstances working against me (being raised by a very mentally ill/emotionally abusive father and being isolated from most of my family for all of my teen years, among other things) I’ve been able to find the lessons in the madness and strength in the struggles. I’ve created the life and business that I’ve always wanted, full of freedom and creativity, with the primary purpose of helping people. How great is that?! And I have the most amazing partner of 8 years supporting me and believing in me wholeheartedly. This is life on my terms, and I am deeply thankful. I am especially thankful that I’m living proof you can overcome whatever life throws at you and succeed wildly!

~ Heather Thorkelson www.heatherthorkelson.com

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I’m thankful to have work I enjoy that supports my lifestyle. I’m thankful to be part of an amazing community of women all striving to live their ideal lives!

~Amy Scott http://www.nomadtopia.com/

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I am thankful for the initial push that moved me out of my comfort zone and the nudges I receive since then that push me further away & towards the life I truly want. I am also thankful for the support I receive from my mother and that I am in the company of women that are doing what they want “their way.”

~ Brenda R. Coleman http://www.brendarcoleman.com/

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I am so grateful to be living and working on my own terms.

~ Sarah Yost http://sarahwagneryost.com/

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I’m thankful that I get to immerse myself in learning how to create an inspired life and share that knowledge with strong, amazing women. Watching other people change their lives from the inside out is a constant reminder to live my own life from a place of inspiration.

~ Christy Lambert www.christylambert.com

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I am thankful for my clients who show up, are willing to look in the mirror to face themselves and make change, and trust me enough to walk the path with them.

~ Laura Gates www.lauragates.wordpress.com

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I am seriously grateful/thankFULL for taking the leap into my dream! My Creative Wild Daimon! into Bschool and THIS group of exceptional women who not only know how to ROCK in Biz but know how to love… and wooed my all the way through to my BIRTH! I am grateful to be standing in the new world with my new clients and a biz that is transforming their lives and CHANGING the WORLD!

~ Kathleen Prophet http://kathleenprophet.com/

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I am thankful for “effort”. Because what we are willing to put action/effort into reveals what we are TRULY passionate about. So often we talk-talk-talk about our big ideas but don’t move on them. This year I put actionable effort into flying my open sky at Gladly Beyond. The effort was hard and stretched me in new directions and every day that effort would serve as my barometer: do you still REALLY want this? And the answer was always: yes!!

~ Cris Gladly www.gladlybeyond.com

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I am thankful for the ability to be present, in this moment NOW; for not living in the past or hyper-projecting into the future. It’s the best way to stay centered and to not identify with destructive patterns. I am grateful that I am free of the constraints of a traditional *job* and that I have the strength and creativity to create my own reality!

~ Shanna Trenholm http://shannatrenholm.com/

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I’m thankful for starting my own business Day 1 in circle and collaboration with some of the most inspiring and influential women I have ever met. Without co-collaboration, I would not be as strong and successful as I am today.

~ Shara Raqs http://www.womenofmindfulbusiness.com/

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I’m thankful for my clients who are brave enough to discover their life purpose and live it. For my amazing biz owner friends who cheer me on, listen to my ideas and are willing share their brilliance with me. And for my angels who have guided me through unchartered territory and never let me down. ♥

~ Geanine Thompson http://www.LiveYourPersonalLegend.com/

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 I’m thankful for women who are stepping up to claim their creativity!

~ Mic Boekelmann http://www.theartgetaway.com/

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Business: I am thankful I found my vision – I’ve never felt more clear and more certain of what I’ve done and going to do in my entire life. Very powerful feeling. I’m also so happy and grateful I have such a supportive network of friends, collaborators and mentors to help me up when I do stumble. I wouldn’t be where I am without them (yes, YOU are all included in that – so THANK YOU so much!)

Personal: I am thankful for such a wonderful, loving family. We might have our differences and argue, but as I get older, I realize how supportive and close my family is. It’s something I took for granted growing up. And also my friends who have always been there cheering for me even when I couldn’t pinpoint what I wanted to do or flaked out on them.

~ Beatriz Alemar  http://www.breakthrulife.com/

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 I am grateful I am doing exactly what I know I was meant to do in this lifetime. I am grateful for all of my network of friends, colleagues, clients and supporters who have helped me get to this amazing place and support me in always evolving further. And I am grateful for my children who not only encourage me to continue listening to my heart, but who also listen to their own hearts.

~ Laura Ciel http://www.1oneworldleadership.com/

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 I am thankful for family and my health. I am thankful for the miracles in life. I am thankful for freedom of choice. I am thankful for my son who is turning 3 years old next week and who had heart surgery at 6 months old. I am thankful for the trials and triumphs of life, because that has made me who I am today. I am thankful for memories.

~ Sasha Campbell www.blyssfulhealth.com

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 I’m thankful for what has yet to unfold and the magic it takes to make it happen.

~ Hillary Rubin http://www.hillaryrubin.com/

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 I am thankful for each day that I awake to experience this wonderful craziness called life and the joy that others bring to my life through their love, kindness, smiles, hugs and thoughtfulness. It is always a surprise how each day is such a unique gift unto itself – it is all good and beautiful and I am simply full of deep gratitude each day I am here to experience it. Hugs from my 8 year old also totally rock my world like nothing else…forever thankful for that one-of-a-kind gift, as it is like no other on earth.

~ Tina Pruitt www.tinapruitt.com

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 I am beyond grateful for my two little girls who inspire me over and over, day after day. I am grateful for the freedom I have to explore my identity as a business owner, a mother, a women and to experience the journey wherever it takes me.

~ Julia Gersen www.mommafix.com

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 I’m thankful that I awoke from my long slumber to embrace my gift and share it with others so we can make a happier, healthier world. I am also grateful that no matter how impatient I might get, only the right seeds germinate to create love, healing and abundance for all.

~ Laurie Erdman http://www.chronicwellnesscoaching.com/

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 I am thankful for being able to put my soul on the wall for everyone in the world to judge. In whatever form that takes, I know that what I am doing is what I want to be, is who I am, and is why I’m here. I am thankful today to be able to accept money for my vision as it launches this week.

~ Jerah Lena Coviello www.ecovogue365.com

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I am thankful for my family who support me in this entrepreneurial road. They listen to my ramblings, my ups and downs and they are my biggest supporters. I could not do what I do without them holding my hand every step of the way.

~ Christina Psarianou Rasmussen www.secondfirsts.com

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 What are you thankful for? Comment below to join the conversation.

In this interview we chat about:

• How Hannah got to this point in her coaching business.

• The Holiday Joy Up: 10 days of inspiration November 26th to December 5th
Cost: Pay what you can. You’ll receive daily letters from Hannah that include: recipes, guest contributors, soul work, and affirmations.There’s a Facebook group to support you, too. (afilliate link)

• Doing It All A free call for holistic health and wellness entrepreneurs, Monday Dec. 12, 2011 at 8:30pm ET.

• What the holidays look like at Hannah’s house.

• Hannah’s advice for momma entrepreneurs as we head into the holidays.

Enjoy the video or read the transcript below.

Hannah Marcotti believes that you + joy = the gorgeous life. The gorgeous life is the sparkle, the joy, the magical moments. It is your food intuition, your deep body knowledge, your desire. It is space, it is touch, it is yours. She is the coach who will guide your course there. Hannah can be found dancing in the joy of her own life surrounded by three kids, a puppy and a beautiful man she has had the pleasure of being with for 18 years. Writing, business coaching and helping others discover their joy in this world is her purpose, proving that we can take action on whatever our heart is willing to dream up. Dream, define and take the action your heart desires is her daily mantra.

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Transcript

Christie: Hi everybody! It’s Christie Halmick with Jewels Branch Creative and I’m very happy today to have Hannah Marcotti with me. Hi Hannah!

Hannah: Hello.

Christie: I wanted to read a little short bit from Hannah’s website. Hannah is a…I would call her a life and business coach for women and holistic entrepreneurs and umm …. I’m losing my train of thought, so I’m going to read what I have. OK.

This is what Hannah says on her website, about when she’s coaching you, what it’s like.

“I will ask you from a place of wanting your gorgeous life to unfold, to look at the tough stuff. To simplify. To not let yourself off in easy ways, but to walk through your fears and discover how all of your challenges become your gifts in this life. This gorgeous life.”

I love that because I think it sums up Hannah very well. The only thing that’s missing from it is this little piece, Joy.

So, I wanted to let Hannah talk a little bit more about what she does, who she serves and a little bit about the path that got her to where she is with her business right now. So go ahead Hannah.

Hannah: O.K. So by training I am a holistic health coach which means that I look at someone’s entire being entire self, entire world, not just the food they eat but their life that they are living. That’s how everything started out for me.

What I started to notice was that we would talk about food, but then we wouldn’t talk about food. We would be talking about passion and purpose and how those were all related.

It would always tie back into the weight that we were holding on to and just all the decisions that we were making in our life if we were feeling void in our passion and our purpose. Especially for women, especially for mothers, who were often taking time at home to raise their children and feeling like something was missing.

What I started to discover was that everything that we were working on could be looked at from the place of joy. Are you feeling joyful?

And I remember the defining moment when it happened.

So that’s kind of where this whole think came from. Let’s not look at the planners because they are not working if we are not feeling joy in our life.

From there everything started to shift a little bit more. The other piece of it, I went to a school that is very large, and a lot of moms go to the school. Institute of Integrative Nutrition and they come out and they don’t really know what they are doing. They really fear marketing and not feeling like they have any clue how to run a businesses.

Over the course of the last few years. I’ve really fallen in love with marketing, and not your typical marketing, marketing that’s done more from the heart and that’s very much inline with who you are as a person.

I’ve sort of integrated these two different worlds. The world of holistic health and joyful coaching and creative business coaching. And that’s where I am right now.

Christie: That’s great. One of the things that’s come up over and over again as I’m doing these interviews is self care. One of the interviews was with Andrea Lewicki and she talked about curiosity, using curiosity as self care. One thing she brought up is joy as a from of curiosity or curiosity could be called joy. Part of what I think about when I think about you is using joy as self care, as a way to take care of yourself.

I found that I needed a reminder, so whenever I come to your website there’s always something there that reminds me to look at this bigger picture and to get away from my planner if I need to and be present where I am with my family, with my business. So I have found that to be…that’s one of the reasons why I come to your site. Because it gives me that feeling whenever I come there. So one of the things that….when did you do Joy Up, the original Joy Up?

Hannah: that was in August.

Christie: o.k. August

Hannah: the beginning of August

Christie: Can you tell us a little bit about that (Joy Up) and then talk about the next one that is coming up, the Holiday Joy Up.

Hannah: So the Joy Up ran when Mercury was in retrograde. It was planned for this time when I knew a lot of people were going to be feeling out of sorts, really just off and confused and really not able to make big decisions. Or big, you know, big moves in their business, or anything like that because they were going to be kind of trapped. And I knew it was sort of risky for me to be doing that because I did have a lot of technical problems happen, but I felt like it was the prefect time to support people around this idea of joy.

It’s funny that program I always say it felt like it was sort of channeled through me, I knew that it was going to happen. and I knew that it was my next big thing but I really didn’t know what it was going to look like or what was going to happen. So I had to have a lot of faith. And really the idea was can you increase the amount of joy in your life in 10 days?

That was the question that I put out there. And I knew that the answer was yes. I knew that we could do that. You hear a lot of talk about 21 days and longer amounts of time and for me it’s about creating rituals so if in 10 days you can pick one thing and turn that into a ritual in your life, so we started with things like drinking lemon water in the morning, or making your bed. Very simple things that you don’t align with joy normally you don’t think of. Just like you were saying curiosity is joy. There are so many things that can bring you joy because what you are doing is taking care of yourself. And you are focusing on just being present to where you are. So things like making your bed in the morning is your present self taking care of your future self. So when you go to bed later that night and you walk into your bedroom, which should be your sacred space, and there’s this beautiful made bed. That brings you joy. It’s such a simple joy and you say wow thank you I am so glad that I did that I’m so glad I took care of myself because now when I climb into bed I know that I have that power, I have that ability to take care of myself in the future and that’s really powerful.

Christie: So from that, you um…there was a Facebook group that supported that. And there was a lot of great conversation there.

You have coming up now the holiday portion of Joy Up. Can you tell me what you have planned for that? And when that starts.

Hannah: Yes, absolutely. So that (Holiday Joy Up) starts November 26th. It actually starts whenever you sign up because you can be part of the tribe. I like to send emails you know, here and there, so you never know when one’s going to come. So when I was doing the Joy Up, I knew that the next step was going to be the Holiday Joy. I had run a program last year during the holidays and it was one of my most popular programs and I was surprised by it I couldn’t believe the amount of interest in it because we feel really isolated and alone during the holidays which is the exact opposite of how we should feel. We’re spending too much money and we don’t want to. Our kids are getting gifts that we don’t want them to get and we have this…I should be there, but I don’t want to be there, I want to be here. So much conflict and so much stress and it should be the season of joy.

Everyone keeps putting pictures up that they are finding in all of the stores joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy that’s the message that’s coming, but we feel out of alignment with that message at this time.

So that’s the next program and it’s really just an extension of the Joy Up. It’s taking those same fundamentals that we worked with in the Joy Up adding a few more. So layering it in just a little bit more and anyone can join. It doesn’t matter if you’ve gone through the first 10 days or not the support is there regardless. A beautiful new tribe is joining the original tribe and it’s just really beautiful to watch it all sort of unfold every time I see.

It’s a “pay what you can” program. It’s hard for me to put a price on joy. I took that pressure off myself, I said I don’t want to do this. So many people in the world have monetarily have so much, and so many people do not. In my mind, if you can pay what you can to feel accountable for yourself to go through this process so that you will do the work, then that can look like whatever it does for you.

It’s been this beautiful shift, you know of those who have so much being very generous, and there are people who are telling me “I just lost my job” and I’m so grateful that I can still be part of this group.

And that is just like…that’s my joy.

Christie: So if you sign up for the Holiday Joy, kind of give us an idea of what you can expect if you are newbie coming in what can you expect to get from you and that kind of thing.

Hannah: Absolutely, so its 10 days. Everyday for 10 days I send out a letter and it’s very… it’s a format. So everyday you know what to expect so it’s not like you have to rediscover the whole thing all over again.

A quote, a letter from me, the day’s soul work (which is the most important part) which you can just take in or actively do. Then there’s a guest or two each day. There’s a recipe and they are as healthy as possible, though in the holiday season we do add a little sugar and butter. They are all gluten free because I am. Then a daily affirmation. So each day you have this letter that you can sort of unfold in any way that works for you. You can take it all in or you can go slowly. Some people saved them up and went through them at the end, just took like an intensive day and went through them. So everybody has their own process. Which is really beautiful. Then the connection in the joy tribe which is on Facebook where we have a private group.We just share and talk and support and it’s just really lovely place to be.

Christie: It feels like getting a little care package each day whenever you get the email. Because it’s all about you, it is all about taking care of yourself and being present. So they are a lot of fun, from the Joy Up this summer, it’s fun to get those and see what your joy assignment is for the day.

What’s next? What’s next after Holiday Joy Up for you Hannah?

Hannah: So we have a …my partner, who I run a program call Mama Coach with, we have a free call coming up on December 12th. It’s at 8:30 eastern.

We are just going to be talking about doing it all. What it means to do it all. So raise a family, have a business, love your partner, spend time with them, exercise, eat well, everything. We are going to kind of throw that myth out the window and talk about what really happens inside of doing it all.

Then in January we will be launching something that we haven’t announced yet, so something’s coming. That’s just to support women and mothers who are running holistic businesses. Because we all need as much support as we can get. There’s a wealth of just amazing women with information that when we gather together it’s really incredible when that happens.

Christie: So what do the holidays look like at your house?

Hannah: That’s a good question. So for me the holidays are all about the magic and the tradition. So a lot of traditions that we’ve kept from when I was a child and a lot that we’ve had to make new to make our family work. For me, you know, it’s like sparkly lights and a Christmas tree and eggnog. And just trying as hard as possible to stay in the presence of what the season means and to not go too crazy with feeling obligated to be everywhere and to do everything. I haven’t sent Christmas cards for years and I may not do it again. Just taking things off my list so I can really enjoy the time with my kids and allow them to start to grow new traditions on their own. Not to be so locked into what I want to do. But to give them some breathing space so that they can create their own magic of the season, too. So that’s what it looks like.

Christie: On thing my daughters started on their own was an Advent calendar. We’d never done that, I’d never done that, my husband had never done that. They saw one somewhere and said what’s that and so we kind of explored that whole tradition and have brought that in. Every year they say it’s time for the advent calendar. Oh yes, I would forget if you didn’t remind me because it’s not so firmly entrenched in my mind as a tradition that I have. But it’s definitely their tradition that they’ve brought into our holiday celebration.

Hannah: Oh, it’s so nice to be able to give them that space. To have their own joy.

Christie: Their advent calendars are highly geared toward stickers so it pulls in the love of stickers that 8 year olds have. So it works on many levels.

What else would you like to say?

What kind of closing remark would you have for the mamas and the mama entrepreneurs out there as they head into the holidays?

Hannah: For me I’m back in this place of stepping outside of the rituals that keep me grounded. When I do that I start to feel sick and I get crabby and I start yelling and I don’t want to do that and I don’t spend time with my husband.

So right now I’m in that place of just finding my center again and to do that it’s through ritual. Making sure that I have my tea and things like that. I go and I do the dishes when they are piled up. I take time to sit down read so many stories that my bigger boys can’t read anymore to my little ones.

So that’s really how I think you can to reconnect to self care if feel that you’ve lost your way a little bit.

Christie: O.K. great. I thank you so much Hannah for stopping by and sharing a little bit of yourself with us today. Everybody I will have links to Hannah’s site which is Mama Space, which you can find at hannahsharvest.com. I will have that below the video as well as information on the Holiday Joy Up, which I highly recommend you do. Information on the call that Hannah mentioned the Doing It All (or not doing it all) call that Hannah is going to have in December. So I’m going to sign off. Goodbye Hannah, thank you very much.

Hannah: Thank you so much.