I find it both interesting and frustrating that some popular discussions of working for yourself excludes working with others.

This particular notion sets a bias against a service-based business model because some of the implicit and explicit influencers in business so strongly delineate between working for yourself and working for other people. The goal of business-building, we are often told, is to get away from working with other people so that you can be free to do other, more important things.

Working for yourself equals freedom. Working with others equals lack of freedom.

It doesn’t quite matter if your basic competitive advantages, values, affinities, and vision entail that you’ll be a teacher, coach, consultant, speaker, designer, writer, programmer, or on-call artist. Working with others is trading time for dollars, and trading time for dollars is a bad business strategy, right?

I find this fascinating because there are some very, very respectable businesses that are built on service. Even with the rise of EFTs, most investing firms are service-based businesses. So are insurance firms, real estate conglomerates, consulting agencies, multi-million dollar catering businesses, private military agencies, and professional sports teams. Think about it this way: if you see them on TV, they’re trading time for dollars.

Some of the best, biggest, and most profitable businesses are built on trading time for dollars. There’s more to reality than the particular soundbite that “trading time for dollars is bad business strategy.”

This assumption about trading time for dollars is quite strong in the lifestyle business meme, which is why this style of business often comes off as narcissistic and self-serving. Let’s look at the definition, thanks to Wikipedia:

Lifestyle businesses are businesses that are set up and run by their founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and no more; or to provide a foundation from which to enjoy a particular lifestyle.

What’s often left off the table is that businesses that start with services are more likely to be successful long-term.  The initial financial viability of starting a service-based business and then moving to more passive revenue is a much more solid pathway for most people. First of all, a service-based business is much easier to start – it’s a quick jump from Stage 0 to Stage 1.

And what about consultants or coaches who build up a reputation that allows them to charge $500 an hour or better? When you move into speaking, the rates are even higher. Depending on the scope of your business, it’s likely that speaking will continue to be a lucrative source of income for a long time. Realistically, the cap for what a popular consultant and speaker can charge is high and will continue to grow with your amount of influence.

While the income for a speaking gig, for instance, is a one-time deal, a $10,000 speaking gig that takes only a few hours of prep has a much higher, faster profit margin than a $20-50 e-product that you spend weeks developing. While the e-product will be there indefinitely, very few e-products have an effective sales shelf-life of more than a year or two. If you’re using the mega-launch strategy then you’ll make 90% of your income the first two weeks and then it will dwindle down.

Now, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater here. A lot of the recent re-examinations of business have done a great job of helping question assumptions about personal productivity and business development and operations. At the same time, the basic ethical frameworks on seems to be no less noble than the very corporations they often provide as fodder to show what you don’t want to be a part of.

There are plenty of wholesome reasons why we might need to limit our interactions with other people. That said, assuming that working for yourself excludes working with others says more about your personal values – especially the value you think other people have to offer – than it does about the nature of business.

If you know that you’ll thrive by building a business based on top-notch service, don’t drink the kool-aid that doing so is a bad business strategy. Sure, build in other streams of income that allow you to leverage your work so that it scales past the limitations of you working one-to-one with people, but being bound by space and time is quite different than being a slave.

If you’re looking for help expanding your service-based business, check out The Unconventional Guide to Freelancing. 

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. The Opportunity Small Businesses Have To Truly Support People
2. Soft Costs Are Real Costs

Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Shann Vander Leek shared her journey of finding the goddess within her own self. Today, one of my (Angela’s) very own heroines, Desiree Adaway, challenges us to defy expectations and be our own truth.

***

You are not your wound, your weakness, or your resume. You are not your pain. You are not your job. You are not your income, your parents, your children, your partner, your community, or your circumstances.  Sometimes we have too much faith in these things, these illusions. Our lives are not defined by these circumstances or by others. Those things may be facts… they are not always truth.

Who are you?  Are you fact or are you TRUTH?

This has been the hardest lesson of my life. To let go of the labels, boundaries, and stories to  get clear about who I am. Not the stuff I own or the circumstances that I have helped to create through action or inaction, but to get clear about WHO I am and the gifts I have to share.

What does it take for us as humans to feel full…satiated…satisfied…safe….whole?   

In the past it has been about filling up something deep within some place in our soul that we think one more flat screen TV or 1,000 additional square feet will help fill. In reality, it’s about unlocking the key to gain access to the “good news.”

Beyond your exterior lies an interior that is so dazzling and powerful that it can transform lives. This place within shows us that we can love more, accomplish more, do more, and be more. The light that shines shows the way. It shows the TRUTH.

To see this in ourselves we have to see it in others. Empowerment is a two way street.

I cannot be whom I am supposed to be, if you are not who you are supposed to be. If my sister is not safe, then I am not safe. Her lack of safety reveals my own insecurity at a deeper level.

We become in people’s presence that which they expect us to be.  People may want to hold you to your past—hold on to an old story, an old fact- an old judgment. I no longer let them.  My opinion of self can not come from others. That source of power and light, of greatness, must come from me or it will not come at all

So I defy expectations—if they expect weakness, I am strong. If they expect less—I  give more. I let them know who I am. I am more than fact. I am TRUTH.

About Desiree: Desiree is a consultant, strategist, coach, speaker, storyteller, and explorer.  She uses her superpowers-her voice, sense of adventure, and belief in the transformative power of community-to help organizations design programs that create unrestricted revenue, volunteers, and advocates. You can find out more about her at www.desireeadaway.com, or follow her on Twitter at @desireeadaway .

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. Getting to the Truth: Conversations with Brainiacs and Thought Partners

Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Dusti Arab challenged the cultural narrative around motherhood. Today, goddess extraordinaire, Shann Vander Leek shares her journey of finding the goddess within.

***

Fresh from a relaxing hot bubble bath I marvel at my healthy form and am thankful for learning how to appreciate my divine feminine body. I love my Shann-ness: curvaceous, soft and strong.

I haven’t always felt this way. Years ago, I had very little body-mind awareness. The disconnect had to do with overindulging in my former high-stress career, mind numbing drama, rich restaurant food, and partying like a rock star on the weekends. Thankfully, motherhood and getting involved with coaching, martial arts, and yoga helped me walk away from a career and bloated lifestyle which no longer suited me.

While lost in my career aspirations, I lost respect for my feminine physical being.  Always a chameleon, I morphed into the predominately male culture in which I was immersed. I played golf, drank the finest wine and even enjoyed smoking expensive cigars. I could be arrogant, mouthy and closed off to my natural feminine nature. It never occurred to me to flaunt being a bright, soulful and funny woman. I was hiding out like a child under the coffee table with the need to be steeped in 100% warrior energy.

I once worked a highly demanding job during the day, complemented by mind-numbing evenings in front of the TV. I was physically inactive with the exception of weekend adventures. Escalating body weight and over-the-top migraine headaches finally got my attention. I was out of touch with the body I’d kicked to the curb.  My priority became taking an inventory of my life and consciously creating a new way of living. I was in desperate need of self-care. Can you relate?

A New Way of Living

A friend recommended yoga as a healthy activity to lower my stress levels and get in touch with my body again. I sampled a class and from the first relaxing breath to the final shavasana, I was hooked. Practicing yoga dramatically began to improve my life.  In the years I have been interested in, studying and currently teaching luscious living yoga playshops; I have reinvented myself and learned to rock my Goddess life.

My personal recipe to empower the Goddess within includes creating a feminine environment, getting my creative on, honoring my body, practicing yoga, engaging in community, and getting unplugged.

Environment

The first step to rocking my Goddess life began with the creation of a luxurious feminine environment. I adorned the walls with a collection of artwork and personal landscape photographs. I promised to keep fresh flowers in the house at all times. I created a beautiful feminine alter showcasing love notes, images of my daughter, and special treasures. My feminine space is spiritual, colorful, and exotic.  I regularly spray lavender in the room for a calming effect or lemongrass when I want to wake up my senses. Burning Japanese incense is a favorite ritual for meditation, and freshening a stale room.

Creative Expression

I love to create vision boards and collages including images that represent my immediate desires. Choosing the images and bold graphics from my favorite magazines and crafting each project is fun. My most current collage is filled with images of spring flowers, art glass, the tail of a beautiful whale flashing out of the sea, the Dalai Lama smiling, and the Napali coastline. The phrases included are “A Force of Nature” and “Joyful Wisdom”. Not into clipping magazines? Pinterest is perfect for creating digital vision boards like the transformation goddess vision board I created here.

Honor Your Body

I honor my body with regular massage therapy. Massage is not a luxury—it is my feminine right to create time for and receive body work. The benefits of massage therapy include lowering stress, deep relaxation, and improved circulation.  Part of rocking my Goddess life also includes enjoying a soak in the tub several times each week. I love the calming energy of a delightful bubble bath. Bathing is a sacred ritual. A divine space complete with candles, incense, soothing music or a good book to read.  Honoring my body also includes eating whole foods, raw foods, and being conscious of what I put in my body. Today marks the 95^th day of an 120 day experiment living without sugar and refined carbs. I am sleeping better and have energy to burn. I’m not sure what will happen after 120 days but I suspect I will continue making better nutritional choices.

Practice Yoga

Nurturing my body, mind, and soul with a regular yoga practice helps me get in touch with who I am on a deeper level. I’ve learned to be gentle with myself through restorative poses. Tuning into my breath and how I feel while moving my body is a gift. Practicing yoga improves my body consciousness and helps me remain flexible and peaceful. I delight in teaching yoga playshops to women in desperate need of retreat time.

Be Kind to Yourself

Positive self talk is one of my favorite weapons to combat disempowering, masochistic mental commentary. My ego mind can be an unruly playground filled with bullies, tattletales, and monsters under the bed. When I am feeling battered by the schoolyard bully, positive self-talk is my magic weapon.  I am no longer willing to live in a guilt-ridden shame pit created by the harsh judgement of my ego. When I am emotionally drained or feeling insecure, I practice an internal dialogue like:  “I approve of myself” or “All is well, I am safe.” Positive self-talk is a big part of my feminine confidence. Witnessing my internal dialogue teaches me to practice nonviolent communication with myself and the world at large.

Engage in Community

Engaging in community is a slow growing process for me. I am an introvert and generally prefer to be left to my own devices.  Allowing new people in to my life can still be uncomfortable.  I sometimes think, “What if they see me for who I really am and don’t like what they see?” We all love to be loved. Stepping out feels risky, but I do it anyway. I’m grateful for the chance to to immerse myself in community through my playshop offerings. This year I committed to a year-long women’s circle. Talk about vulnerability. Wowza.

Get Unplugged

It is essential to regularly get unplugged from my highly connected virtual environment. I create an oasis of time each day to get out into the natural world. My mental clarity improves when I commit to hiking along a woodland trail or beach combing the shores of Lake Michigan.  When I’m freaking out about having too much on my plate, I make it a priority to step away from the madness for awhile to soak up the sweetness of the day.

Not too long ago my inner Goddess was crying out for attention. I am so glad I listened. I am empowered and grateful to rock my Goddess life.

How will you honor yourself today? Are you ready to transform your life and coax your inner Goddess out of hiding? She’s been waiting for you.

About Shann: Successful television advertising maven turned transformation enthusiast, yogini, and author of Life on Your Terms. Shann Vander Leek is the founder of True Balance International, co-founder of Anxiety Slayer, and creator of the Transformation Goddess Experience. Unconventional and delightfully curious; she inspires professional women in transition to live life on their terms while creating more balance in their lives through transition coaching, self-care and creative expression. Check out her luscious new offering for women who are ready to reclaim their feminine sovereignty at www.transformationgoddess.com. Connect with Shann on Twitter: @shannvanderleek

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. Be the Wizard In Your Own Life
2. End Malaria Makes A Difference in a Teenager’s Life
3. Do Your Thing To Rock Your Brand

This May, we’ve been working on our 2nd Core Conversation Series – Extraordinary Women Change the World. In case you missed any posts, here is a brief wrap-up of the posts up to this point with an afterword by Angela Wheeler. Enjoy!

Extraordinary Women Change the World – In the kickoff post for the series, Angela Wheeler (Charlie’s wife!) discusses why we’re interested and promoting women’s empowerment. She shares her story of discovering empowerment this past year through her personal and medical struggles.

You, Me, and Tina Fey – Michele Woodward talks about the reality of mean girls in the adult world and what we can do to rise above it and empower one another.

Celebrate Your Power - If the word “empowerment” doesn’t sit quite right with you, you’ve got to read this inspiring post by Nailah Blades. Sharing her story about “showing up,” Nailah shows us what it means to shine on your own terms.

Fog Leads to Clarity and Empowerment – Molly Gordon speaks from a place of honesty and experience about what it was like starting her coaching practice – and the peace that came from standing in her own power.

Be the Wizard in Your Own Life – Heather Allard shares a story of empowerment that came from the tragedy of her father’s death and her mother learning how to do things for herself.

Social Networks, Isolation, and Changing the Story of Motherhood - Dusti Arab discusses how Gen Y is changing the cultural narrative of motherhood and how empowerment is a key component of the next phase of feminism.

Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

The response to the start of this series on women’s empowerment has been overwhelmingly positive. Deep gratitude to all of you who have contributed to this discussion and taken it out into the world in your own way. That’s what we love…Share your power with your audience, your community, the world.

We’ve been impressed with the stories our contributors have shared thus far. It’s beautiful and inspiring to see how each of our contributors has been on a unique journey related to empowerment. From fighting back after a near-death experience to challenging the status quo of motherhood to giving yourself permission to shine.

Stay tuned….Next week we’ll have more inspiring contributions to our series. You’ll get a chance to hear from Shann Vander Leek in all her goddess glory. Then, later on in the series you’re going to get a glimpse into the lives of empowered change makers such as Liz Dennery Sanders, Bob Poole, Pam Slim, Justine Musk, Tim Berry, and many more.

A few thoughts/questions I’d like to leave you with today:

1. Has there been a post in this series that has reached you in an important way?  We’d love to hear from you and share your empowerment journey.
2. Is there a woman that has made a significant positive impact on your life? If so, let her know.
3. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing women who have made an impact in our lives. I’ve been blessed to have a supportive mom, as well as two “bonus moms.” I’m going to let all three of them know what they’ve done for me. I hope you have a chance to express gratitude to an important mother in your life.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. Build Something You’re Proud Of
2. Be the Wizard In Your Own Life
3. Extraordinary Women Change the World

Hugh MacLeod’s new book, Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear, is a gem that shows how blogging has utterly changed the world for those of us that have embraced it. From the book:

Having a blog, a voice, having my own media, utterly changed my life. [...] This gave me the freedom I spent most of my adult life searching for, the same freedom I think we’re ALL searching for, in one way or the other.

I echo his sentiment. Before I started blogging, I was just another guy with way too much stuff do trying to figure out how I was going to get it all done and thrive at the same time. Though the people around me had the same basic problem, it wasn’t a topic they embraced and got excited about, and, though what I would share with them was appreciated, it was awkward. They hadn’t quite opted into it.

So I started blogging about it and everything changed. There were people out there trying to untie the same know I was and who were actually wanting to talk about it. There were other people writing about it, too, so I could learn from them. I wasn’t an isolated, random guy any more – I was part of an ever-building conversation with changemakers.

I was heathily pushed into coaching, which, before I started doing it, was nowhere in my life plan. I was a doctoral candidate in Philosophy and a military logistics officer; neither of those career tracks have coaching as a stepping stone or terminal point. But I loved it and now can’t see my life without it in one form or the other.

Blogging has connected me with amazing people that I never would’ve met otherwise, not because they were out of my reach, but because they simply didn’t exist in my world. Most of my friends and associates are people I’ve met online first and then developed relationships with. My online friends are different from offline friends along many dimensions, but the important one for this conversation is that I actually know them better than many of the people I’ve known offline for years because people reveal more of what they’re excited about and who they want to be online.

Think about it: when’s the last time you met someone offline who was committed and excited about making a dent in the universe? Who you couldn’t get to shut up about something other than their kids and pets or the people around them who were doing epic shit?

Blogging has the potential to make heroes of all of us, in our own way. It sets the stage for us all to have a Martin Luther or Rosa Parks moment where we see the world different and decide to take a stand to make the world start moving the way we see it. It’s a strange, chaotic, and disruptive world now that we all have our own publishing press.

And I love it.

To riff on a point Hugh made in the book, we’re in the midst of a revolution without all the violence. We’re still in the early stages of it, but one of the things we’ve already seen is the rebirth of entrepreneurship.

I’ll be writing more about freedom soon, but what’s important about all this is that blogging gives us the freedom of self-actualization, not just the freedom from interference. Before we all had a publishing press, our ability to craft a new environment for ourselves was quite limited. No more.

Need a new social environment? Create one. Need different career opportunities? Start publicly sharing your body of work. Want to sink into being your weirdo self? Do your thing.

The days of choosing your own adventure from a list of pre-written ones are over. We live in a time in which we can all blog our own adventures, with no one telling us we can’t.

That, my friend, is freedom. How are you using it?

Check out the Freedom Is Blogging in Your Underwear website to learn more and see where you can grab a copy.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. The Definitive Guide to Writing Better Blog Posts
2. New Blog Domain, Same Old Blog
3. 10 Tips to Help You Fail at Monetizing Your Blog

Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Heather Allard shared how tragedy led to empowerment. Today, Dusti Arab discusses the changing cultural narrative of motherhood – and the empowerment we can find after isolation.

***

The first year of motherhood is the most isolating of a woman’s life.

If you’re nodding, then you’ve been there.

My first year as a mama, I suffered from debilitating postpartum depression, got divorced, and struggled in almost every aspect of my life. Left reeling from the rapid changes and lack of support, I wondered if I’d made a mistake – my daughter deserved so much better than me. Working, putting myself through college, and figuring out the whole mom thing, it was one rough year.

Nine short weeks ago, I had my son. Totally different story. I fell in love with that little boy the moment I laid eyes on him.

So what was different? I had support. Most importantly of all, I knew other moms who understood what I was going though. Like how they understood mom-guilt. You know, that feeling when no matter what you do, you’re falling short in one or more aspects of your life?

And they understood I wanted to do things differently. Unschooling, real food, the whole shebang – I’m kind of a crunchy mom.

If you haven’t heard the term “crunchy” mom, the idea is basically that the “hippie” mom is making a comeback in a big way, thanks to better education, sustainability initiatives, and most importantly of all, a refusal to accept cultural parenting norms as the be-all, end-all way to raise children.

Beyond fun words like crunchy that let us come together in the name of being different, I think something incredible is happening here. As a population, we’re refusing to settle. We’re rebelling against a cultural narrative that no longer serves us.

Before now, the expectation was for moms to sacrifice their dreams and idenitities because motherhood = martyrdom. But no more.

There’s a new story being told – a new way to parent – rooted in your unique identity as a woman and your ability to self-actualize.

Today, the most rebellious thing you can do as a mother is maintain your individual identity.

Why? Because if you can’t stay rooted in your own identity, how can you help someone else discover and cultivate their identity?

There are three core underlying trends in this new wave of parenting.

1. Even while technology is making us more connected than ever, we’ve never felt more isolated as mothers.
2. Supermom and the status-quo endorsed method of parenting is being rejected as Gen Y moves into the next phase of their lives.
3. With Gen Y moving into parenting, feminism has reached a point of critical mass where it is about to evolve in a major way.

With the rise of social networks, we can finally reach out to other. But usually we don’t. Instead, we keep up the illusion of Supermom. We propogate the cultural myths we’ve been raised on, like the Myth of Obligation where we can’t do X because we’re Y – i.e. I’d love to pursue my dream of becoming a writer, but I’m a mom. Or the Myth of the Milestone. if I can just get X, I’ll be happy.

You know better.

Technology is accelerating the need to keep up with the Joneses for anyone willing to buy into it. Mindfully choosing how we interact with these technologies is a key step towards better parenting and happier moms everywhere. That’s why empowering and encouraging organizations and groups to help facilitate positive mom-to-mom relationships is going to revolutionize how we parent in the coming years.

As we harness social networks to work for us and help us meet our needs, we’re also watching a new narrative form for parenting – doing what works for you.

Seth Godin’s recent manifesto Stop Stealing Dreams is a reflection of one major way parenting is changing – we’re rejecting a public school system that was built for creating compliant workers, not teaching our kids to think for themselves.

This is personal – but it’s also intensely political.

The Republican primaries have made all too clear that women do not yet have the same rights as men, even in our freedom-lovin’ States. The fact that women’s reproductive rights are still a debatable issue is ludicrous.

I was raised on girl power slogans and talk that said I can do anything, and so was the rest of Gen Y. We were told we could have it all. And now, as we step into motherhood, that’s what we expect and good luck taking it away from us.

Feminism is a part of our cultural birthright, no matter how loaded the word has become. If you’re a woman, and you’re not a feminist, you’re disregarding the fact that men and women are not yet equal. Especially when we look at the insane expectations for moms, it’s easy to see the female bashing still ingrained in our cultural norms.

The most interesting part is society can’t even agree on what these expectations are. What does the infamous Supermom look like?

If she’s a stay at home mom, depending on who you ask, she either doesn’t have a real job or she should be completely fulfilled in her roles of wife and mother; and if she’s a working mom, she’s abandoning her kids at daycare.

Moms never win.

It’s time to take a stand. Mothering isn’t a role – it’s a relationship. And the relationships that are connected to moms can thrive whether or not you work or stay at home.

A New Story Awaits

As humans, stories are how we connect with the world around us – in a physical and emotional context. If a story resonates with us in a powerful enough way, we’ll sense the greater truth that exists within it.

As Gen Yers and Millenials enter the realm of motherhood, a new story needs to be told.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to start telling your story. Share your struggles with someone, and listen to theirs. Just listen.

Because actively listening to women is one potent way to change the world.

***

About Dusti: Dusti Arab is the marketing specialist at Productive Flourishing. When she’s not writing, she’s probably at a coffee shop chatting with people she’s never met or having a dance party with her daughter while  belting out Disney songs. Her current project is Rebel Mama.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. How to Swim Through A Sea Of Social Troubles Without Drowning
2. Vancouverites Remind Us of How We Can Use Social Media
3. Making a Habit of Changing Habits

One of the things Tim Sanders  – one of my favorite speakers and mentors-from-afar – spoke about at SOBCon was the need for employers to give privacy back to their employees. There’s now too much social pressure to share your hard private journey with the social world due to social media.

Given that both Angela and I have been so public about what we’ve been going through with her mental health battle, you might think I’d take issue with that. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We wrote about our journeys not to create a pressure for other people to share theirs, but, rather, so that people who have been going through those private journeys could see that, even though they may be doing it privately, they’re not alone. And, should they want to share their journey, it can be shared courageously and received compassionately.

If you don’t want to share so much of your lives with people, you can opt out of it. If you happen to have a very public business – as we do – you can still opt out of it. There’s no need for you to add to the heap of troubles you’re already working through by playing it out on the stage if that’s not what supports you.

We can help others reclaim the privacy they might really need, too.

We can help people reclaim their privacy by being patient and good readers rather than needlessly voyeuristic and drama-seeking ones. We can show up and love our more reserved creators for the body of work they’re producing just as much as we can show up and love the people whose body of work is their leadership around radical transparency. We can make room for people to show up however they are, rather than how our sometimes unconscious social pressure dictates they be. Remember: we build the web.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. This You
2. Do You Have the Weirdo Syndrome?
3. Make a Difference: Imagine, Then Act!

May’s free planners are ready to go! I think this may be the latest day of the month we’ve ever shared the planners; May took off before we were ready for it, too.

May can be a challenging month for a lot of people. At the same time that the seasons are changing and many are wanting to be more active outdoors, weddings, graduations, and a bunch of other social events start happening. It can be a bit of a pile-up month as we try to get everything else done and add the new changes on top of it.

We all know where that bridge is going. Let’s be proactive about getting off of it before it starts.

Here are two suggestions for handling May: 1) intentionally underplan your time, leaving enough margin for the things that’ll come up unexpectedly and 2) be very clear about what has to happen this month versus what needs to happen in some month. Scoot non-urgent projects for June once we’ve transitioned out of the spring busy season.

Want to plan ahead without waiting on us to share these planners? You can get all of 2012′s planners right now. Head on over to the Premium Planners page to learn more and pick them up.

Monthly Action Planner

Basic idea: Projecting effectiveness further into the future requires a more holistic view of your objectives.
Use when: You’re doing your month planning and review – this planner can be used with either the Productivity Planners or the Freelancer Workweek.
For more information: The Monthly Action Planner

Download: Monthly Action Planner - May 2012 (750)

Productivity Heatmap:

Basic idea: We are more productive at some times rather than others.
Use when: You’re trying to figure out when you’re the most productive.
For more information: How Heatmapping Your Productivity Can Make You More Productive

Download: Blank Daily Productivity Heatmap (33792)

The Action Planner Series:

Basic Idea: Once you know when you work best, why not plan your weeks and days around that information? Do more work in less time by leveraging your natural rhythms.
Use when: You’re planning your day or week.
For more information: Read the Productivity Planners User Guide (12322)

Downloads:
Daily Action Planner - May 2012 (381)
Weekly Action Planner - May 2012 (396)

The Productivity Jumpstarter

Basic Idea: Sometimes we’re running around being busy but aren’t really being productive. This aid helps you stop running in circles and start making meaningful progress on your goals.
Use when: You have no idea what you should be doing and are tired of running in circles.

Download: Productivity Jumpstarter (v.2) (25594)

The Blog Post Planner and Calendar

Basic Idea: Brainstorming and planning your posts ahead of time may help you have a more streamlined, consistent, and insightful blog. Your mileage may vary, but it’s worth a shot!
Use when: You’re thinking about what you’re going to write.
For more information: The Blog Post Planner and Calendar – skip down to “How to Use These Planners” if you don’t need to be sold on why to use them.

Downloads:
Blog Post Planner - May 2012 (129)
Blog Post Calendar - May 2012 (86)
Blog Post Planner-Calendar Set - May 2012 (123)

The Freelancer Workweek

Basic Idea: Some of us work better to task than to time, and we need a planner that addresses how we work rather than making us fit how we work into it. This is a great one for freelancers and entrepreneurs.
Use when: You’re tired of time-based planners and want to get clarity on what needs to be done.
For more information: The Freelancer Workweek – skip down to “How to Use This Planner” if you don’t care about the design methodology.

Download: The Freelancer Workweek - May 2012 (213)

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. The Free Planners for January 2012 Are Available
2. The Free Planners for February 2012 Are Available
3. The Free Planners for April 2012 Are Available

Editor’sNote: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Molly Gordon shared with us how embracing the fog brought her much clarity and empowerment. Today, Heather Allard, the founder of The Mogul Mom shares how tragedy led to empowerment for her mother (pictured above) and herself.

***

In 1972, my father died after falling and fracturing his skull during a friendly relay race at my third birthday party.

My mom, Valerie, was then widowed at age thirty two and left alone to raise me (3), my brother (8), and my sister (11). She had to quickly learn to do things she’d never done before — things like writing a check, balancing her bank account, and driving to places she’d never been to before.

These things sound simple to us, don’t they? But back in 1972, the man of the family usually handled them.

My mother is and always has been a strong, intelligent, independent lady, so learning new things didn’t take long for her. But she did take one big life lesson with her: the more you can do for yourself, the better. Especially for women. 

Since the day my father died, my mother taught us to be self-sufficient, to learn how to do as many things as possible, to not be like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz seeking empowerment from the great wizard himself — but instead, to have the confidence to be the Wizard in our own life, by learning and doing and believing that deep within, we already have everything we need.

And my mother didn’t just teach us these things. She has spent her entire adult life empowering others to “be the Wizard” through her volunteer work at adult literacy and heart health programs, and as a bereavement counselor with Hospice of Rhode Island for over fifteen years.

Because of my mother’s lessons, I am a woman, a wife, and a mother who can do anything.

I can paint walls in my house. I can do my own taxes. I can fix broken doorknobs. I can mend stuffed animals. I can build businesses. I can earn income. I can help other women.

And most importantly, I can teach my children to do the same.

More About Heather: Heather Allard is the founder of The Mogul Mom and mom to Hope, Grace & Brendan and The Dude, her beloved dog. She’s on a mission to help mom entrepreneurs run a business, raise a family and rock both. Follow her on Twitter for bite-sized blips of daily life as a mogul mom.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. Seven Ways To Rock Your Goddess Life
2. Empowered and Proud – We’re Just Getting Started
3. End Malaria Makes A Difference in a Teenager’s Life

Editor’sNote: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Nailah Blades shared with us what happened when she dropped the mask and sat into her power. Today, Personal Growth Coach and Speaker, Molly Gordon, the founder of Shaboom, Inc. shares with us how embracing the fog can bring much clarity and empowerment.

More About Molly: For more than 20 years Molly Gordon has been teaching spiritually and psychologically savvy “accidental entrepreneurs” how to earn really good livings doing work they love. She lives in Suquamish, Washington, with Miles (the Charming Prince), Bolivia the Wonder Cat, and two hens: Viola Swamp and Feathergrain. Follow her on Twitter @shaboom.

If you liked this post, you might like these, too:

1. Why Waiting For Your Time to Be Great Leads to Failure
2. Welcome, Empowerment Pack Purchasers!