Mid-year update and goal review (plus a free workbook!)

Well, here we are, well into July. 2017 is officially half over! This year is flying.

I feel like time is evaporating right in front of my eyes and if I let myself think about it late at night I start to freak out (aka last night) so I’m just trying to stay present and as grounded as possible and enjoy this season instead of trying to rush through to the next phase, because even though it's easier for me to always look at where I'm falling short or can be doing better, this season of life honestly rocks and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. Or at least more accepting of who I am and who I'm becoming.

And it's important to celebrate what we can!

This is the time of year where the days and weeks start to blur together, in that busy/chill whirlwind. Ben is teaching summer school so our week days have been full of 12+ hour work days, hustle, froyo dates, and Netflix. Weekends are full of short getaways, relaxing at home, and doing our best to get out and enjoy summer in Chicago!

In terms of business, I’m not as far as I thought I’d be by now, but in terms of LIFE and my relationship with myself: I feel like a completely different person. Confident, excited, finding my groove.

Back in January I wrote “But I also know that I can do more and be more. I still feel like I've barely even scratched the surface of my own potential and have super huge visions and dreams for what I want to do and create.”

I made “open hearted” my word of the year and I’m still trying to embody that every day.

It's a strange season of life. Pre-kids, but post quarter life crisis.

I've done the big scary things like go to grad school, get married, move to the big city, survive unemployment, quit my job, start my own business, become a life coach, and stretch my comfort zone farther than I ever thought possible.

I'm no longer motivated or fueled by the desperate energy that comes when you feel like you aren't enough yet...when you know you have to climb onto the next rung of the ladder in order to feel like you've "made it."

I've done so much inner work to develop my self confidence and heal my insecurities, anxiety, and perfectionism, but at the same time I'm still learning what it's like to be on the other side as a (more or less) whole and mentally/emotionally healthy woman.

My mid-year update!

At the beginning of the year I decided to invest in a high-level business mastermind with a small group of other life and business coaches, which was the most money I’d ever spent on myself before outside of our wedding, but I’m so glad I did because I've gained so much.

• Confidence in who I am and what I'm here on earth to do.

• I feel like I am FINALLY exactly where I’m meant to be, instead of having that constant anxiety/FOMO feeling.

• Connection with other inspiring and driven entrepreneurs who push and pull me to do scary things, and show me that it's ok to blaze my own trail. We're all safe. No one is gonna die if we share our truth.

• Finally stepping out and establishing myself as a life coach for creative entrepreneurs who want to get out of fear and into flow.

• Lotsssss of really great online business and marketing strategies that align with my values and vision! So fun.

• Perspective. I know I've found my purpose and for the first time in my adult life can stop seeking. I'll always be learning, evolving, and growing, but I'm realizing that I'm in this for the rest of my life and there is absolutely no rush to do ALLTHETHINGS right now. I can take the deadlines and timelines off my goals and trust that if I feel aligned and just show up every day, everything will happen in the perfect timing.

• Basically I want to be the coach and support system that I WISH I had 3 years ago, 2 years ago, when I was first getting started on my entrepreneur adventure.
• I launched my first ever mini program, Fear & Flow! This was the most unexpectedly intense week, haha. Ironically given the content, it dredged up fears and insecurities I didn’t even know I had!

CONNECTION/COMMUNITY

It’s so important to surround yourself with like minded people who can support and share your goals and dreams, especially during the phases where you're feeling extra vulnerable or testing your own boundaries.

Also include people who are a few steps ahead and will pull you!

I used to be intimidated by people who were older or more experienced than me but I’m learning how to take down my walls, see us as equals but just at different points of our journey.

Stop waiting on the sidelines and watching other people do the things you really want to do too. When you dive in, raise your own pedestal, and stop letting jealousy and fear hold you back, you'll become part of the conversation as an equal.

CREATING A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH FEAR

Read this book. Seriously. I'm going to share an entire post about it later this week, but it's completely changing my life.

Instead of letting fear (read: insecurities, doubt, anxiety) paralyze me, I'm learning how to frame these "negative" emotions in a neutral or even POSITIVE way and am turning my inner critic into my biggest cheerleader. She takes no shit, and I actually love her.

RANDOM UPDATES FROM 2017 SO FAR

(because I've been lazy about keeping the blog updated)

• I turned 30! Wow. It feels really great. Like I can stop striving and seeking and can just be ME.
• I did the Ultimate Reset, a 21 day plant based cleanse, and learned a lot about my relationship with food and my body. Still a work in progress on that front.
• I started a new health and wellness blog, Inspire Joy, as a place to share my fitness coaching business and went to Los Angeles by myself for a leadership conference!
• In June I started running again and remembered why I love it so much. I had my dad make me a training plan for the Steamboat Classic, a 4 mile race in my home town over Father’s Day weekend. It had been a couple years since we ran and it was super fun (and humid) as usual!

To be completely honest, for the past few years my business has been my number one priority. I feel like I’m reaching a point where I’ve gained so much knowledge about online marketing, entrepreneurship, coaching, branding, ETC. that I can pause the incessant addiction for e-courses and learning and finally get to a place where I can TRUST MYSELF and the wisdom that is already inside of me.

The more I learn, the more I realize we have the answers inside of us all along!

I'm starting to feel like I can actually be a leader and do this thing. Create a thriving and abundant living by simply being myself and sharing what makes me happiest. Teaching women how to get out of their own way and do it too.

ON TAP FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2017

• Travel!! Aside for a few weekend getaways and my trip to LA, this year has been relatively low key for me and I've been in hermit mode at home, but all that is about to change and I can't wait because I love traveling. This week I'm heading to New Orleans for our Beachbody coach summit, I'm going to TN/NC in August with Ben to visit his mom, Michigan in September to host a leadership retreat for my team, and Dallas in November for my 4th annual business conference, The Platinum Edge. 
• Growing my life coaching business! There are so many ideas floating around my head. If you're interested in working together, book a free consult ASAP because my rates are only going up and I expect to be fully booked with a waitlist very soon!
• Creating more freebies and e-books to share with you!
• Sharing my creativity with the world! This has been on the back burner for a couple of years, but I am feeling the urge to start painting again.

I made this nursery art for my friend Deidre’s new baby Anna Pixley and it was SO FUN. I’m thinking of doing a whole alphabet and selling them as digital prints in the Etsy shop.

Let’s not even talk about my fabric stash…

• Up-leveling like woah. No more hiding or playing small. I feel like the last six months have been preparing me for something big. I'm ready to step out and share everything I've learned with the world! :) Time to stop planning and start turning those visions into reality instead of being intimidated by myself, lol.

Exactly one year ago I wrote this post on growing pains as you move out of your comfort zone.

I’m realizing that the growing pains never go away, because if we’re constantly challenging ourselves to grow and expand into our potential, we’re always going to be finding new edges of our comfort zone.

But it’s like running! It always feels hard, but you get faster and stronger.

That’s where I’m at right now.

Stronger, more confident, more EXCITED than scared about what I’m creating and doing with my life.

The fear never goes away, but it doesn’t really bother me anymore. I know that I am so much stronger than my fear of failure/rejection/judgement.

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Your mid-year review

I love writing and journaling, so here are some of my favorite prompts to get you started on your own mid-year review.

You can answer them in your journal or click here to download a pretty workbook to print out (and get monthly love bombs and updates from me)!

What were the biggest lessons you’ve learned this year so far?

How have you grown?

What have you accomplished or completed?

What projects are still in the works?

What or who are you grateful for?

What were your favorite memories?

What do you want to grow or improve upon?

Where do you want to be by the end of the year?

How do you want to feel?

What can you do in order to feel that way now?

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And one last reminder. No matter where you are right now,

YOU ARE AMAZING

YOU ARE LOVED

YOU ARE ENOUGH

YOU ARE CHANGING THE WORLD!

xo Anna

What's on the other side of fear?

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”

Do you ever feel like it would be soooo easy to achieve all your goals and create the life and business of your dreams … if you could just get out of your own way? 

I've been coaching smart, talented, and creative women for the past three years as a health and fitness (and now life!) coach, and whenever I ask a new client what holds her back, 95% of the time the answer is either:

(A) Some variation of “myself”

(B) “Not enough time" ...which is the same as “myself” since time management >> priorities >> our relationship with ourselves.

Yup, it's official. We are WAY too hard on ourselves.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could stop being your own worst enemy and start being your own best friend and advocate? If you could stop letting your inner critic or fear block you from taking action, making a life pivot, or simply being happy and fulfilled?

Maybe you'd set harder boundaries.

Maybe you'd say "no" more often.

Maybe you'd spend less time around the people who leave you feeling exhausted/insecure/pissed off.

Maybe you would spend less time hustling and more time working on passion projects that may or may not be income-producing.

Maybe you'd leave the job, the relationship, move out of the city that's draining your energy.

Maybe... you'd figure out who you actually are??

We live in a world that’s constantly telling us to do more, be more, achieve more, and earn more, NOT TO MENTION the load of work, volunteering, family, friends, self care that we already have on our plates, so it’s easy to start believing that we aren’t good enough, which is a complete LIE that's keeping women trapped under our own glass ceilings.

I believe that learning how to face our fears with patience and compassion is the most radical and powerful action we can take if we really want to work towards female empowerment.

Ultimately, it's about taking ownership of our inner confidence, happiness, and the direction of our lives instead of living on autopilot or in reaction mode.

Choosing to decide that we are enough, just as we are, no matter what the world or media or our inner critic might say.

Over the past three years I’ve been on a quest of self discovery, absorbing all the personal development I can get my hands on so I can "find my potential," create my dream life/career, and overcome my self doubt and anxieties.

• I’ve worked with life coaches and energy healers.
• Taught myself how to meditate.
• Cut caffeine.
• Quit the birth control pill to heal my hormones.
• Made regular workouts and eating healthy my default lifestyle.
• Started going to yoga.
• I journal everyday.

And you know what?

That last part is the key.

Because through a regular journaling habit where I literally just brain dump stream-of-conscious crap that’s in my head, I’m able to dig deeper into what is really going on.

And I’m also able to go back and see where I was at and what I was struggling with years ago.

I recently noticed that even though I’m literally building my DREAM life all around me and am working through all my self doubts, insecurities, and “issues," I still stress out about the exact same things I always have.

Fear of failure.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of success.
Fear of nobody liking me or wanting to work with me.
Fear of being misunderstood.
Money stress.
Overwhelm because I want to do ALLTHETHINGS and I'm a perfectionist.

Every day anxieties that all revolve around the fear of not being good enough.

I can meditate the stress away, diffuse oils, clear my chakras, numb out with wine, psychoanalyze myself and understand exactly why I still struggle with this stuff, but at the end of the day these are fundamental human fears and they aren't ever going away.

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WAYS THAT FEAR MANIFESTS IN YOUR LIFE AND BUSINESS

• Imposter syndrome or feeling like a fraud
• Overthinking
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Overwhelm
• Perfectionism
• Procrastination
• Comparisonitis
• FOMO
• Never feeling good enough
• Never feeling like you’re quite there yet…
• Burn out
• Working too much
• Emotional eating
• Sabotaging yourself when you start to see success
• Being self critical
• Judging yourself or other women
• “Mommy guilt”
• Guilt even if you don’t have kids
• Social media addiction
• Chronic fatigue or exhaustion
• Over exercising
• Body image hang-ups
• Obsession with planning, but failure to execute or follow through
• Need for control
• Feeling like a failure if you miss a goal
• Inability to earn money from your business
• “Procrastistudying” -- signing up for alllll the courses and webinars
• Scarcity mindset -- feeling like there’s not enough money/clients
• Not being able to relax or have downtime

The list is endless!

We’re always trying to escape or avoid our fear, stress, overwhelm, anxiety, (insert all negative emotions) and get to the other side.  

But what IS on the other side of fear?  

There’s a lot of hype these days around learning how to find alignment and flow, which seems to be the opposite of fear.

“Flow” is this mystical state of being where we can eliminate stress and hustle and turn our days into a smooth lazy river, trusting that everything we need and want is coming our way through law of attraction and that the universe has our back.

"Choose love over fear!" the experts proclaim.

Does this actually work? Maybe. At least we'll feel more calm.

But at the end of the day, fear will always pop back up, because it's part of our biological design. We can't ever completely overcome it!

What I’m discovering is that fear itself actually isn’t the problem. It’s how we perceive it.

And flow is actually not an absence of stress or fear, but simply allowing ourselves to experience and process ALL our emotions. Because if we try to numb or ignore the emotions we label as “bad,” we are also numbing ourselves to experiencing joy, abundance, love, and all the good ones too.

What would happen if we simply accepted our feelings, good and bad, without placing a judgement on ourselves?

If we stopped spending all our energy over-thinking, over-planning, trying to fix ourselves  … and just decided to show up as ourselves for who we are IN THIS MOMENT?

My hypothesis is that life, business, earning money, and simply being ourselves would all be a heck of a lot easier and more fun if we chose to accept that fear is just a part of being human, not something that's out to get us.

When we stop making a big deal out of our fear, it will fade into the background and become part of the kaleidoscope of emotions that we experience on a normal daily basis, and that's when we can find our flow.

So instead of “feel the fear and do it anyway,” how about just “feel the fear and do it?"

Let’s stop trying to get to the other side, and just live our lives!

This process is not something that’s theoretical or mindset-based. You can read my blog and nod your head, but at the end of the day this is something that has to be physically experienced.

SO!!! 

Wanna go there with me?

I’ve created a 3 day group program/mastermind/adventure called Fear & Flow, for courageous entrepreneurs or sensitive overachievers who are ready to dig deep and explore these topics with me!

I’m sharing some of my favorite journal prompts to get you digging deep, feeling your feels, and figuring out what “fear” and “flow” feel like to YOU, in your body.

We’ll also have a daily Facebook Live discussion and a group video call where we’ll come together and mastermind how to find the sweet spot or balance between fear/love, scarcity/abundance, hustle/flow in our own lives.

I want to bring together a small group of visionary women who are passionate about breaking out of our own self-imposed limitations and living a bolder, bigger, more passion driven life, because sometimes we just need someone to talk with about this crazy deep stuff! And I’ve discovered it’s so much fun to come together in community and mirror back each others’ light when we can’t see it ourselves.

If you want to join us, you can learn more here!

NOTE: registration for this round of Fear & Flow has closed, but make sure to join my mailing list to be the first to know when I relaunch!

xo Anna

Eating, drinking, and hiking our way through Galena, Illinois

It's crazy that this summer marks the fifth year Ben and I have lived in Chicago!

I grew up in central Illinois and never thought I'd be a city girl, but I guess it's official now. I do love this town. It's where we were newlyweds, where I went through my crazy quarter life crisis, and where we've made some lifelong friends. 

But oh my gosh you guys, the energy of Chicago is intense. It's a scrappy, fast paced city of hustlers, movers, shakers, corruption, violence, extreme weather, more delicious restaurants than you could ever visit in a lifetime, and a patchwork of neighborhoods that are each as culturally and economically distinct as a small country. 

We live in a neighborhood that's as quiet as it gets, but there's still always a sense of urgency and go-go-go. I try my best to carve out a little oasis at home, but sometimes I just have to get out of town back into the "normal" part of Illinois to relax and breathe!

In just one hour you can drive out into cornfields and big skies, and take a giant exhale.

Ben and I love to explore new places together and take mini getaways, since there are so many cool towns within a half day's drive of us in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Last week he had some time off work between the end of the school year and the beginning of summer school, so we decided to visit Galena, IL. It was my first time there and I fell in love because it's SO ADORABLE!

It's on the northwestern most edge of Illinois, only 20 minutes or so from the borders of Iowa and Wisconsin. In the 1800's it was one of the biggest steamboat ports, and the very first mining "boomtown" before the silver and gold rushes in California. (Lead deposits = the name Galena).

The topography and history of the area is also unique and fascinating, especially to a geography nerd like me.

It's situated in a patch of land stretching into southern Wisconsin called the Driftless area, untouched by the glaciers that scraped the rest of the Midwest flat, leaving glacial "drift" (fertile, mineral rich soil) behind. 

There are rolling hills, rare species of plants, archeological remains, deposits of minerals, and unique microclimates as a result of the un-glaciated terrain, which gives you the feeling of being in a completely different country.

On top of the landscape, the actual town of Galena hasn't really been touched since the glory days of lead and zinc mining, and it's been revitalized into a trendy tourist destination full of boutiques and restaurants. 

Since Ben is a history teacher, we also wanted to visit because Ulysses S. Grant had a home in Galena and there's a lot of Civil War era history there, including an unexpectedly awesome small history museum!

Because we're cheap, we stayed at a Ramada on the edge of town but next time I definitely want to check out one of the cute bed and breakfasts or inns. 

In 36 hours, we packed as much into our trip as we could!

The town was very quiet since it was the middle of the week right after Memorial Day, and the weather was perfect so we started our adventures at the Casper Bluff reserve, where there are ancient burial mounds that are part of the larger Effigy Mound culture that existed between A.D. 700 and A.D. 1000 in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. We honestly couldn't figure out what was a mound versus a hill, and the bugs were driving Ben cray, but we met some adorable cows!

Oh, don't mind us. We're just the cliche city folk who are gonna take a selfie with your cows...

After our hike, we drove over to Galena Cellars vineyard, a gorgeous little winery, for a tour and wine tasting. After living in Oregon, I've turned into a bit of a wine snob, but I was really impressed with this place. It was super homey and friendly, and they had dozens of wines to try! We'll definitely be back. There are also lots of fun events there and hellooooo wedding venue if you are looking for a unique event space.

For just $10 you can get a tour of the facility and a wine tasting with 6 pours. The wine tasting ladies were very nice, friendly, and enthusiastic about the wines and gave us a couple extra tastes too. We ended our visit by grabbing a couple of (CHEAP AND HUGE) glasses of our favorite wines, some cheese and crackers, and sat on the front porch looking out over the countryside.

HAPPY PLACE!

That night we had dinner at Vinny Vanucchis, an adorable Italian restaurant with a great patio. 

The next day we started off at the Galena Historical Society and U.S. Grant Museum which was very impressive and full of things to learn about the geographic, cultural, and political history of the area (must visit if you are a Civil War buff). In a really cool twist of fate, the building is situated literally on top of one of the original mining shafts, which you can peek down into! The museum also houses the original Peace in Union painting by Thomas Nast, depicting the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox.

It was still fairly early by the time we made it out of the museum, so we grabbed coffee and wandered around the park and downtown shops. 

We wanted to check out the brewery for lunch, but it was unfortunately closed on Wednesdays so we went to a tavern called Gobbie's with the most AMAZING unhealthy appetizer I've ever eaten in my entire life. They're called beer nuggets and I still don't know what that means, but they appear to be deep fried herbed dough bites dusted with Parmesan and served with a delicious chunky marinara sauce. NOM. 

On our way out of town we stopped at Blaum Bros Distilling Co. because heck, the theme of this trip was eating and drinking everything possible. It followed the theme of every other place: unexpectedly amaaaaazing! Ben sampled a few of the liquors and I had a delicious bourbon cocktail.

We worked off the buzz with a visit to Horseshoe Mound, which seems to be the highest point in the area with gorgeous views and a painfully steep little hiking loop. I mean, can you believe this is Illinois, only 3 hours from Chicago?

When people call the Midwest a "flyover zone," I say hey. Watch yo'self and come see and eat and drink your way through MY Midwest. (Also see: Bayfield, WI).

What to do in Galena

Galena Historical Society & Grant Museum
Wander up and down the boutiques and shops -- eat all the samples in the kitchen and canned good stores!
Hike or picnic at a nature preserve
Galena Cellars Vineyard (there's also a tasting room downtown)
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co.

On our list for next time:

The Grant Home
Belvedere Mansion and Gardens

Where to eat in Galena

Gobbie's -- Lunch or dinner, great outdoor space. EAT THE BEER NUGGETS (they come as a side with pretty much everything). The pizza looked good too.
Vinny Vannucchis -- Family style Italian restaurant with lots of pasta. Great outdoor patio and Negroni cocktails.
The Market House Restaurant -- Basic Midwest comfort food with lots of gluten free options. Good for cheap lunch!

On our list for next time (lots of places are closed Tuesday and Wednesdays):

Victory Cafe
Otto's Place
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fritz and Frites
Galena Brewing Company

SO MUCH TO EAT!

Where to stay in Galena

We stayed at the Ramada Inn because we wanted to spend all our money on food and drinks, lol! It was a very nice and clean motel, but skip the continental breakfast. If you want more of a special experience, there are a bajillion adorable bed and breakfasts and quaint inns downtown.

Where is your favorite place to go for a weekend getaway?

xo Anna