Hellooooo, Everybody!

I’m an admitted personality test fanatic. The media versions used to be pretty transparent in how to skew a result, but recent ones seem to be more credible and accurate… and they’re always fun. I took one called, Which Female Archetype Are You? and got (in high to lower % order): Warrior/Queen/Maiden/Wise Woman.

Topping out with Warrior surprised me because the scared zone has been my lane All My Life.

Yep, my biggest opponent has been myself or rather the limited version of me my lizard brain wants me to be. I constantly battle ‘You can’t’…, ‘You shouldn’t’…, ‘That’s not for you.’ thoughts. Thankfully, since I’ve been in this war since teen-hood, my turn to the free yo self lane happens a little quicker.

My trick for The Lizard? Instead of trying to banish her (which makes her fight harder to be heard), I’ve adopted her as my friend. She’s trying to send help that I rarely need. I acknowledge that, say thanks but no thanks and send her on her not-so-merry way.

So, YESSSS, I’m a Warrior and a Queen/Maiden/Wise Woman too!! I fight to live the life I envision, even if I have to fight myself. And the dividends keep paying off! This week in cReneCoach-land:

• I completed a ‘scare yo self’ challenge of doing 5 consecutive FB live videos (stay tuned, I’ll be doing Freedom Friday Live on FB each week!)
• I applied and was chosen as one of two BARE coaches to manage the FB page for the BARE Daily membership community.
• The first book discussion (Freedom Seeker by Beth Kempton) for my new virtual book club (renamed The Freedom Chronicles) was a great success! Next book will be in September.
• I’m one of the workshop presenters for a FAB women’s conference called Be Golden, with headliner Awesomely Luvvie, who’s been on my ‘want to meet’ list! Would love for you to join me, http://begoldenstaygolden.com/. Use code GOLDEN for an additional $400 discount thru 8/31.
• The beautiful abstract painting series above (Strength to Love) by artist, Shauna Meiri, was “deeply inspired” by a line from one of my posts, “the goal is not perfection, the goal, is love”. Whattttttt????!!!!! Blew. Me. Away.
• I created a ‘loads of good stuff’ teleclass, Your Next Move, to help people be as happy about work as I am that starts 8/8/17. If you’re unhappy at work…if you’re reading this with the dread of Monday in the back of your mind,  It’s Time for you to Stop That! by joining this group. https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/

We can ALL be warriors…for ourselves, for those we love, for our passions. Acknowledge your fear and keep stepping unless there’s a ‘real danger’ reason not to. The Joy of Freedom is on the other side of scary.

Scare Yo Self.

You never know who you might inspire.

P.S. Want to learn your female archetypes? Click here, https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/597220486d5a5d00114ae961 

Had a chat with one of my A-team friends (accountability team) who is also a solopreneur. She was raving about the positive turn my business has taken with new clients, new opportunities and how my putting myself out there is finally paying off.

She also commented on how she loved that I combine fun with training for my craft and it inspired her to incorporate fun into staying on top of HER craft. Now she gets her c.e.u.’s in cities she’s always wanted to visit, staying in upscale hotels, getting spa treatments and having a blast!

I am a Pleasure Principle woman! Life is difficult all by itself. When I find myself feeding THAT beast, I press the ‘stop that’ button on that ‘ish’, count my blessings, and course correct to happy.

This pic is from the Georgia O’Keeffe museum in Santa Fe, where I planted myself for a life-altering week at Gail Larsen’s Transformational Speaking training.

Work I Love + Sidenote Pleasure = Bliss

Over the past 18 mos., I’ve also trained in Savannah, NYC, on the Queen Mary crossing the Atlantic Ocean, London(high tea at The Ritz, ya’ll!!), and Louisville. My wallet is crying(I’m MUCH  better about balancing pleasure with fiscal reality. 😱), but I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything! There’s enough ‘what I love’ built into the work I’ve Chosen to re-energize me and push me through the tough part.

It’s a cliche and it’s true:

Life is what we make it!

What are you willing to do to make yours what you say you want??

Change jobs?

Enjoy dinner and a movie with only your Fabulous self?

Renegotiate a relationship that’s become untenable?

Wear that new strut-your/stuff outfit, Now?

Whatever it is…

See the links below for help with that. ❤️

***New pricing, so if you haven’t looked lately, check again!***

https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/

https://crenecoach.com/clarity-to-freedom-packages/

I’ve been working with a bookkeeper (the Fab, Ariane Trélaün, doyourthing.biz) and this week she gave me the full report on my business numbers. I was head in sand about this last year(having TOO much fun!) and wanted to reel myself for focus on more $$ coming in than going out.

Best thing I’ve done for my business! And it made me think about how valuable knowing your numbers is not only in a business, but in life.

I told someone recently that growing this business is the hardest work I’ve ever done, but I realized that wasn’t true. The hardest work I’ve ever done was continuing to work in a job past my expiration date. And I say MY expiration date, because it finally clicked that the job wasn’t the problem. It was time for ME to move on.

It took me 4 years to figure that out.

It me 2 years more to leave the job.

90 + Sundays dreading Mondays.

$100’s of stress dollars spent on food and shopping sprees.

6 months after my mom’s death to connect the arbitrariness of death to the arbitrariness of life.

3 visits to my financial planner for the o.k. to quit.

5 people I told how I REALLY felt before I left(JUST KIDDING!).

1693 days since I DECIDED to trust the signs and leap into what’s been the adventure of my lifetime!

What are your numbers on ANYTHING you’re tolerating that’s causing you suffering?

A job? https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/ Class starts 8/8. Email me to set up a call to answer your questions about this Not-To-Be-Missed opportunity to move from soul-sucking to life-enhancing work!

A major life transition? https://crenecoach.com/clarity-to-freedom-packages/

Your body? https://crenecoach.com/body-work/

Are you looking at your bigger picture?

This coach has got you covered. Because I know from suffering and I can guide you in how to

Release Yourself from what’s binding you.

P.S. Thanks to ALL who completed the retreat survey! I had a great response and don’t take for granted your taking the time to do it. Retreat planning is happening!

I heard an amazing story on PBS Newshour on a woman who literally freed herself from the worst of circumstances:

Uganda has a serious domestic abuse problem and when women fight back, the penalties can be harsh. Susan Kigula was sentenced to death for killing her husband when she was twenty-one years old.

She shared a cell meant for one person with three other women.

She started a school on death row. She established a choir. She was a leader in the prison church.

The African Prisons Project got her admitted to the University of London in 2011 to study for a law degree by correspondence. She was one of the university’s best students in human rights law.

She led a case, Attorney General vs Susan Kigula, challenging the mandatory sentencing for murder and armed robbery. As a result of this case, Susan and hundreds of others were released from death row.

She completed her law degree and now trains women in prison in the law so they can use it to protect their families and their communities.

Why am I telling you about Susan Kigula?

Because if she could free herself (and many others) from prison…from death row!, then we can free ourselves from our SELF-IMPOSED prisons. Connect to your inner Wonder Woman. She’s there.

“An Australian nurse, who cared for people in the last twelve weeks of their lives, recorded their most often discussed regrets. The top regret: ‘I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.'” (from the book Essentialism)

It’s my life mission to live this and bring as many women with me as possible.

Get Your Life.

If work is your ‘prison’ or you’re simply ready for a career change, don’t miss the Your Next Move teleclass! And because I got a little distracted with a few other things going on in my business, my distraction is your benefit! Doing a fill-up-the-class discount. See link for new date and price, https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/

P.S. Click the link to hear the full PBS piece on Susan’s story and Alexander McLean, the activist and founder of the Ugandan-based African Prisons Project, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/im-starting-worlds-first-prison-law-school/.

P.S. If you don’t like…or even hate…your work situation. Fix That! Join the upcoming teleclass, Your Next Move. https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/

A friend asked me what I was doing over the holiday weekend. When I responded that I would be working, she exclaimed, “Working?!” in a tone that implied it was a bad thing. Five years ago, it would have been.

I had a bad case of burnout. I was two years from official retirement from a long and successful career, but was struggling mightily to keep going. Crying jags before I walked in the building. Weekly Sunday evening descents into a funk, which my husband tagged as ‘raining in the house’. Continuous prayer and petition to God asking for the motivation to keep going. The temporary salve of trips and shopping sprees that were just that..temporary.

The short version of how I worked through all of that drama:

I quit.

My final epiphany came to me sitting in my office and realizing that it wasn’t the company, it was me. Something else my husband told me(such a smart man!) was true…God was packing my bags. There were at least a hundred people who would gladly sit in my seat. The job wasn’t bad. It was simply(or not so simply) time for a new life chapter. And while the timing didn’t seem right (who can’t hold out two more years??), it was a huge trust and believe lesson.

I trusted that God had a different and better plan for me.

I believed in myself enough to know that writing that new chapter as I go is plan enough.

“God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.” ~ Georgia O’Keefe on her obsession with painting Pedernal Mountain

Freedom is my obsession. I will paint it over and over to experience its many manifestations. Has it been all tiptoeing through tulips? Nope! Thorns and briars snag me. They teach me but never stop me. And I’m in the midst of an incredible adventure figuring it all out. Haven’t had one day of regret over leaving.

This is American Independence Day. I’m admittedly conflicted about what and who it represents, but I have no conflict re PERSONAL independence. Faith and Freedom fuel everything I do. Shackles off!

Yes, I’m working over the holiday, but it’s MY choice and I’m enjoying it, not obligating it.

If work feels like bondage for you, another great coach, Gwen Hall, and I have partnered to guide you through FREEING YOURSELF during a six week teleclass, Your Next Move. Not only is Gwen an incredible coach, she’s also my former boss. See, I was smart enough to jump off the bridge before I blew it up! If you’re operating on fumes, be smart enough to do the same.

Check out the details here, Your Next Move. https://crenecoach.com/your-next-move/

And whether you opt-in or not…take one small step towards the life you really want to be living. Then take another.

Stop ditherin’.

P.S. If freedom is your jam too, I started a book club and the first book, Freedom Seeker is a wonderful exploration on 8 Keys to freedom that help you get clear on what really matters to you and how you can have it. Online book discussion July 27th. Sign-up here, https://crenecoach.com/the-l-t-s-g-book-cluba-crenecoach-jam/