About to head for the gym! Side Note: I was going to start this “Before I run to the gym…” but decided to change my language to be more intentional. People always use language like “run to the…” and “doing the school run”. It just gives me the feeling of being out of control and late so it ends up being a dash to do this and that. No, I’m about to “head to the gym” and when I finish work I go and “pick up my girls from school!”

Where was I lol… Before I head to the gym I’m planning out my December Goals in my Charlene Johnson PUSH Journal. It’s a great tool I use to evaluate where I am in the different areas of my life and it highlight areas I need to work on. Where I need to be PUSHING.

I can also see improvements I’ve made since last month.

When your INTENTIONAL it is so powerful.

One of my push areas last month was Financial. One phone call ticked that box and made a massive difference to our finances for the next 5 years! Big statement I know. Now I could have made the call anyway without writing it down as a Push Goal and ticking it off but because I did and can see the massive difference it made I’m more committed to this monthly processes.

The call I made was to our mortgage company:

We wanted to get onto a lower interest rate before a possible increase in November
We would have had to pay a fee if we tried to make this change before November 1st
We called on the 1st November and got the lower interest rate locked in for 5 years and it’s made a massive difference to our finances

If I hadn’t written this down as a goal I may not have pushed so hard and found out the information I did to make the call at the right time to avoid fees yet still lock in a great deal.

The year isn’t over. There’s still time to make some changes in some or all areas of your life this month that will make for a better launch pad for 2018. Here’s some ideas:

Physical Health – workout 3x per week, meal prep every 3-4 Days
Mental Well-being – read one book and listen to one audiobook this month, study a topic in detail, listen to some TED Talks
Environment / Surroundings – Organiser paperwork, paint a room, have a clear out of a certain area (clothes, shoes, cleaning products, tinned foods etc)
Hobbies / Joy / Restoration – take the last 2 week’s off to spread with family and friends, Push to get 8hrs sleep, go to be early, have a PJ Day
Romance – spend quality time with your other half, Plan a surprise romantic meal in or out, treat yourself to Spa Day or create your own at home with a Spa kit, candles and a good book
Friends and Family – reconnect with a Spears quality time with (name the people)
Finances – review and get better prices on services you’re currently paying, saving a certain amount, give a certain amount, educate yourself on a certain topic
Purpose / Career – if you’re not on track read and ask questions on how you can more in the right direction, if you are on track be better find a mention and educate yourself even more
Spirituality – where are you in your relationship with God? What will you commit to doing that will draw you closer to Him
Personal Growth – what areas of yourself and your character need work? Is it your Boundaries with people? Ready Henry Cloud’s Book “Boundaries”

Where do you need to focus some Push energy?

Be intentional. Have an amazing December, 2017 is not over!

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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Time to regroup

November 27, 2017

Every few months I like to take time out to immerse myself in training.

Take some time to work ON my business and not just in it.

It’s so important to take time out. I know about vision statements, values, mission statements and SWOT Analysis but to refreshing to look at these things again, update them and reposition yourself.

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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More Supporters equals More Critiques

April 5, 2017

Was just journaling about the amount of online criticism my brand is getting and this line came out of me and I had to share.
Last month was our best month in business, more new customers, more new sale, more exposure to people who need and want what we have but the exposure caught the eye of criticism too.
Top tips for when your work is being criticized:

Journal, pray address how it making you feel and move on.
Focus on the positives, your happy customers, testimonials and further growth and plans.
Get your head down and keep working!!

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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The work you do when no one is watching

January 30, 2017

The work you do when no one is watching… that’s the work that counts.
The workout you do when no one is watching… that’s the workout that counts.
The writing you do when no one is watching… that’s the one that counts.
The self-talk you do when no one is watching… that’s the one that counts.
The praying you do when no one is listening… that’s the one that counts.
The reading and learning you do when no one is around… that’s the one that counts.
Don’t live your life in show. Live on purpose! Everyday. All day.

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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Prayer. Reflection. Contemplation.

January 2, 2017

This very still, but powerful action, makes you who you are.

A thoughtful movement in your thinking, in your conviction, could be the small movement that makes a huge difference in your life.

A tiny concept thought about, believed, pondered, acted upon and implemented, in small measure, consistently and thoughtfully could be the concept you master and end up writing a book about one day.

Get prayerful. Get Reflective and take time to contemplate the thoughts that come to you.

A ship is guided by a tiny rudder and your thought could be the 1-2 degree change that sets your life in a new, fantastic direction!

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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Overwhelmed?

December 16, 2016

How do you deal with overwhelm?

I was just thinking about this;

I don’t “get over it” instead, I tend to go beyond it.
I know for a fact that things won’t get so bad that time stops!
Time, thing and life will go on.

So I think beyond that time/moment and it helps me to gain perspective.
For example when I was beginning to feel overwhelmed about the imminent prospect of giving birth within a few days, I reminded myself that one week from today my baby would be in my arms, that perspective really helped.

Sometimes it takes thinking about the that long game, future prospect and looking a little further up the road that will give you the hope you need, to know you’ll make it through, what you’re going through.

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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My Story

December 7, 2016

I’m reading my favorite marketing book “Read their mind” by Sandi Krakawski (it gets you thinking like your customer). She talking about her story and it got me thinking about mine.
My story is a bunch of experiences that either didn’t work or worked for a while. There’s one thing I’ve been determined to do, fit these puzzle pieces/experiences together to make something that does works.
From the time this 7 year old saw a beautiful black women in a suit looking very important, I wanted that, I wanted to be in business. When in my teens we travelled to the States and I saw powerful women of God preaching, I wanted to do that too. These are my early memories and desires.
I have always had my hand and head in business. I would see and “get” marketing. I wouldn’t unconsciously watch advertistments and billboards go by, I’d study the placement, the message, the copy, the imagery and feelings it produced.
In my teens I had my own Consultancy Company – which was basically me having meetings and creating Marketing Plans for friends and friends of friends who had small up and coming businesses. It was so much fun. People had incredible results but I didn’t make any money because I found it hard to charge for advise as a teenager.
For all these years I would quietly pray “Lord give me a physical product that I can market.”
I loved marketing, I studied it and found jobs in that field (so I could get paid for it). I did Marketing and PR for choirs, events, churches, local government and loved it. I relished seeing what worked and what didn’t work, learning from it and applying all of that to the next project for even better results. But yet I would quietly pray “Lord give me a physical product that I can market.”
Always the lover of clothes, fashion and style I studied Business and Marketing at the London College of Fashion. What a fantastic combination! From there I honed my marketing skills into the area of fashion and started a label with friends that we worked hard on, enjoyed and learnt so much.
The thought of starting my own label was scary but I had always prayed “Lord give me a physical product that I can market.” I was recently married, had moved out of London and the label I created with my friends was getting harder to manage with the distance, being a newly wed and having to juggle a job.
The death of my dad gave me the push I needed to go it alone and start my own fashion label. It was exhilarating! There were no limits, I could do whatever I wanted to do and I did a lot, some was good, some didn’t work but I learnt so much (are you seeing a pattern) and refuse to stop. I went from creating a collection for Chealsea Fashion Week to having my first child to working with over 100 personal bespoke clients while selling a body shaper product on the side, to making one clergy dress for a friend and that one clergy dress idea has developed and is now a Limited Company shipping hundreds of clergy dresses and blouses per month around the world.
I’ll end this with my prayer of gratitude: “Lord thank you for giving me a physical product that I can market.”

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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Do You Understand Your True Motive?

November 16, 2016

motive – noun

1. a reason for doing something.

“police were unable to establish a motive for his murder”
Usually what we want and desire isn’t bad. What we need to consider is WHY we want what we want. What’s the motivation?
Last night I watched Holby City, that’s my show at the moment. It’s the hour a week that I sit (in my case redound on my mini trampet) and watch tv, outside of that I don’t watch tv much. Yesterday was the climax of a story that was very much about Guy Self’s motivation. He’s been wanting this Neo Unit forever! Finally, this dream is happening, he’s made a lot of bad choices along the way for it but finally, he’s made right with his daughter and some things within himself. Now he can (almost/seemingly) have his dream unit built. Then he resigns and gives the money to the hospital!
His motivation was:

proving his late mother wrong,
trying to please the world and
trying to please his daughter.

Once this dream was in his hands. He realised his real motivation was love and acceptance from his daughter and he realised he had it!

It makes me think about my dreams and goals and more so, my motivations!
It’s a good thing to think about. Consider:

who is it really for?
are you trying to prove anything to anyone?
when and how did the desire start?

If it’s all from a good, pure place, go ahead and pursue that dream with all your heart and energy. If there’s other people’s words and expectations involved, dig deeper and deeper until you get to the truth of that thing and deal with it.
Let’s tap into our motivations and ensure our motives and pure!

by Inspiring you to be all you be!

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Enjoy the journey don’t endure the journey

October 18, 2016

I read an email yesterday from a Fitness Bootcamp company I’ve worked with before. They talked about not letting the destination (goal weight) be what you look forward to enjoying but to enjoy the momentum on the way to the goal.

This stuck with me. I thought about keeping the email (empty inbox goals) but I decided to delete it (cause if I filed it I’d probably never read it again anyway – just being honest). Why did I delete it, because I knew the message stuck! (So much so that I’m blogging about it today).

It’s so important to enjoy the journey!

– Enjoy the fact that your mind is changing about yourself and food and you’re exercising everyday
– Enjoy the time you and your fiancé get to spend together planning your wedding day
– Enjoy every positive step you take in the direction of your goal
– Enjoy (insert here, whatever it is you’re doing on the way to where you’re going)

Because the GOAL is what? A score, a day (wedding day), an achievement (weight goal). The joys last for a varied amount of time, a few minutes, a few days, a month… It peaks, then subsides, then what… You move onto the next thing. It can be almost deflating. But if you’ve enjoyed (not endured) the journey, you have become a richer, happier person on your way to your goal.

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