It’s like a bad dance routine, isn’t it?  The Holiday Hustle.  It’s times like this I wish I were a country music song writer.  Let me explain.

It’s 7:45 AM on Thursday morning.  My husband left for work 15 minutes ago, I’ve had my morning tea and am ready to face the day.  Or so I thought . . .

I check my e-mail to find 47 messages I need to contend with.  One lady cannot download my site and wants me to call her so that I can help her troubleshoot.  My agent has sent a list of suggestions about my book that I need to respond to.  A contact for a company I work for wants me to call her “at my leisure” to discuss training changes for their clients.  I have 15 product demos I am “required” to review for another vendor.  A local college needs to change their speaking date for next year, another wants a list of dates, some are confirming dates, some want topic outlines, some need contracts, others have contract questions, and the e-mails go on and on.

I have 78 action items that I’m really excited about from my NSA trip to New Orleans and I need to spend some time connecting with the people I met at the conference.

I need to write tomorrow’s blog post, report yesterday’s training, confirm tomorrow’s training, clean out the refrigerator, unload from yesterday’s shopping trip, dust and vacuum the house, do my weekly planning, including menu planning, review my strategic plan, respond to most of these e-mails . . .

. . . and all I want to do is clean the house.  My cleaning lady’s husband has developed cancer and is in a hospital 90 minutes from home where they are aggressively treating it.  (Please keep them in your prayers.)  She wants to keep her job and of course I’m going to hold it for her, but for now, I’m on my own.  She’s missed the last 2 weeks and the dust is starting to get noticeable. (I’ve been traveling.)  Since a dirty house is something I cannot tolerate - I mean, I can’t work if the house is cluttered or dusty – this becomes the priority to focus on.  (I have started giving keynotes on how Clutter Around You Creates Clutter In Your Brain.)

Now, I’m not sharing all of this with you to get your sympathy.  While I love my readers and often the feel the love coming back, I’d bet that most of you have more of a reaction to the above scenario like, “Welcome to my world.”  Am I right?

The reason I’m sharing this with you is because what I did this morning put me back into my state of feeling in control, happy, and abundant.  I took control of my vibration and turned the “Holiday Hustle” into the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”  What did I do?

I closed the lid to my laptop.  I forwarded my home phone to my cell phone, and turned the cell phone off.  I put on my favorite Christmas CD, and cleaned the house.  I pretended to be “Brie Hodge” from “Desperate Housewives,” with a little Martha Stewart thrown in for reality purposes.  The upbeat Christmas music made me feel like I was decorating instead of cleaning, and I was inspired with some marvelous ideas on what to do next with regards to decorating, which I will probably do this weekend.

When it was all done, around 4 PM, I opened my laptop, and wrote this post.  I’m feeling on top of the world and invincible.  Everything else will get accomplished, in its proper timing.  I haven’t opened Outlook yet nor turned the phones back on.  Right now, in my own little cocoon, it really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Until next time,
Live joyously!

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want is now available in printed version as well as an e-book.  Click here for more details.

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GET CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE NOW When you’re ready to create the life you want, purchase my latest e-book to get started on the right path. I share my latest success tips and how I’ve applied 20 years of solid business principles and the law of attraction to acquiring the life of my dreams. Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment is helping many others do the same. It comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both are downloadable, so you get them immediately, pay no shipping, and the cost is only $27.

Posted under Inspiration, Motivation

I just got back from a business trip and I must admit that my husband does a really good job of keeping the house clean and under control while I’m gone.  Part of that is just his personality, but mostly he understands that his role as a loving husband is to make my life easier in whatever way he can.  He’s also learned that doing so makes his life a lot easier as well!

With that being said however, there are still times when I’m cleaning the house and putting things back in order when I wonder, “How in the world did this man survive before I came along?”

I often receive e-mails from my male readers who say, “I loved that article so much, I printed it out for my wife.”  I always hope it is received with as much love as that which it was intended.  (!)  If not, well, there are just some things we have to learn the hard way!

Anyway, here is an article you ladies can print out for your husbands or boyfriends; may it be received in the spirit in which it is intended!  Enjoy!

20 Things Every Man Should Know Whether He’s Married or Not

1. If something turns black, like a hand towel, or the bathtub, that just means it needs to be cleaned - you don’t have to throw it away or buy a new one.

2. There is no such thing as “hamper purgatory;” your underwear is either in the clothes hamper, or it is not.  Hanging on the side does not count.

3. A pot, pan, or dish, no matter how dirty, can be soaked before washing to make cleaning it easier.  Don’t throw it away; your wife will notice that it’s missing.  However, she would prefer that you don’t leave it soaking for her to clean when she gets home.  Soak it for 30 minutes, then wash it yourself.

4. Loading the dishwasher is not rocket science.  Glasses and delicate items belong in the top rack; plates, pots, heavy items go in the bottom.  When in doubt, hand wash the item.  If you break something clean it up.  Pretending to not notice the broken glass all over the floor or leaving everything on the countertop with the excuse, “I didn’t know how,” doesn’t fly anymore.

5. Yes, items taken out of the refrigerator typically have to be stored back in the refrigerator.  (Unless, of course, you consume all of it.)

6. You will not remember all of the messages left for your wife or girlfriend.  We understand that “the big game” is more important.  Luckily, most answering machines these days have a “Save” button.  All you have to do is press it while the message is playing, or at the end.  Got it?   Good.

7. It does not work to hang your towels, let them dry, fold them, and try to pass them off as freshly washed; we will know the difference!  Learn how to use the washing machine.  Again, it’s not difficult.

8. It also doesn’t work to pretend you can’t learn how to do something – we know when you’re faking ignorance and your ignorance is not our bliss!  Do you really expect us to believe you can manage a company, take a computer apart and put it back together, or all of the other mentally demanding tasks you perform at work, but you can’t figure out how to run a dishwasher?  Come on, guys!  We are on to you!

9. If you make a mess, clean it up.  Period.  Vacuum cleaners were wonderful inventions.  No matter what the mess is, there is a way to clean it up that does not require only a woman’s touch.

10. Always clean the lint filter after using the dryer.  This is a safety issue, not just your wife being picky.

11. If your wife has been away for an extended period of time and things have gotten a little out of your control, it might be best to hire a cleaning service.  Trust me; she won’t be upset over the money spent!

12. No woman wants to come home to:

a. A dirty house

b. A party you’re throwing for the guys

c. A dirty kitchen

d. A party you’re throwing for the big game

e. A dirty bathroom

f. A smoke-filled poker game

Get these things over with and cleaned up before her flight departs!

13. Failing to use a coaster just because “the cat’s away” will get you into trouble every time!

14. In a pinch, you can always take your clothing to a laundry/dry cleaner; don’t ask your wife’s best friend, your mother, or mother-in-law!

15. If you want to wear an outfit again, say, in the next day or so, it is best to hang it up.  This allows the clothing to air out and protects it from Fluffy.

16. We understand you may end up eating a lot of take-out; for goodness’ sake, take out the trash!

17. If you break something, admit it, and apologize.  It’s probably okay and can be replaced.  Just don’t try to cover it up; we will find out.

18. Your children are your responsibility as well.  So if they have committed any of the above offenses, you are still responsible for seeing that it’s handled in like manner.

19. If you make a mess that cannot be cleaned up easily and by you, such as spilling wine or grape juice on a piece of carpet or furniture, it would be best if you have already scheduled the professional cleaners to come before your wife arrives home, or plan to do so as soon as you get to work.  In other words, don’t just leave it for her to deal with.  (It is okay to call her and ask which company she uses; she may have some tips for you on what to do.)

20. A clean home and a fresh bouquet of flowers are always a delight to come home to – you do want her to come home, don’t you?

Until next time,
Live joyously!

Recommended reading:  How To Be A Gentleman

If you’d like to sign up for retreat information as it becomes available, click here.

You can subscribe to this blog here.

GET CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE NOW When you’re ready to create the life you want, purchase my latest e-book to get started on the right path. I share my latest success tips and how I’ve applied 20 years of solid business principles and the law of attraction to acquiring the life of my dreams. Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment is helping many others do the same. It comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both are downloadable, so you get them immediately, pay no shipping, and the cost is only $27.

Posted under Education, Motivation, Success

“I rest securely knowing that only right action is taking place in my life.”

–Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

I know a lot of people who have trouble making decisions because of the concept of “opportunity cost.”  As my mother has always said, “it takes one to know one.”

It’s not just the process of making decisions, but living with the consequences of the decisions of others that sometimes worries me.  What if we elect the wrong president?  What if my husband makes a bad business decision?  What if I choose this road over another and there is an accident?

Now, you know I am ultimately not a worrier, but for whatever reason, I do catch myself worrying about making the wrong move.  I don’t sit around and fret about things over which I have no control, it’s the things I do have control over and have to make a choice regarding that sometimes bother me.

One of the most therapeutic devices I have found is blogging.  I guess confession is good for the soul, but more than that, feeling a sense of camaraderie with other people who face the same thing, have overcome it, or are just also willing to admit that they, too, struggle with a concept, helps me in some way.  Maybe misery does love company.

Okay, I’ll stop with the trite expressions now.

What I want to discuss today is the fact that deep down, if you think about it long enough, you know that Louise Hay is right:  Right action is all that takes place.  Even when bad things happen, there’s a part of us that knows that they happen for a reason.  You can use the law of attraction to say that you attracted it to yourself and that when you did so, you thought it would be good, but now you know better and you will not attract it again.  When a seemingly senseless death occurs, we often find that someone else’s life somehow benefited greatly from it.

When the pain of a negative event is fresh, it’s difficult to hear these things, I know.  But if you’re suffering right now, you can search deep enough within yourself and your own experiences to know that you can and will come through it.  You know that all is well in the larger scheme of the universe, don’t you?  If you stop to think about that fact long enough, and consider on how deep a level you know it, you will begin to find relief.

This process works on all levels.  Trust in God and that the universe is working in proper order.  There is no wasted time or effort.  All things serve the higher good; your higher good.

Sometimes, there is no difference in your choice, except the joy you experience on your journey.  Two different choices might lead to the same result, but one would be more fun than the other.  Guess which one I think you should choose?

Sometimes neither choice will lead to your desired result, so you need to pick the one that “sits better,” or feels better.

Ultimately, I believe that if we make the wrong decision or a bad choice, the universe corrects us.  One way or another.  Therefore, all action is right action.  We have an automatic course corrector on our side.  Isn’t that fantastic!

Until next time,

Live Joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

GET CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE NOW When you’re ready to create the life you want, purchase my latest e-book to get started on the right path. I share my latest success tips and how I’ve applied 20 years of solid business principles and the law of attraction to acquiring the life of my dreams. Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment is helping many others do the same. It comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both are downloadable, so you get them immediately, pay no shipping, and the cost is only $27.

Posted under Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Weight Loss