Why ‘normal’ is the new sexy in business [New Series: Lessons Learned #1]

Last night, I threw a party to celebrate the milestone of having been in business for five years.

From clients and colleagues to mentors and referrals partners, I toasted the individuals that made it all possible for me.

I almost let this milestone slip by, because, like many entrepreneurs, I got caught up in the neverending list of to-dos.
And that’s ridiculous because if there’s one concept that I champion with every single one of my clients, it’s the fact that we need to celebrate ourselves more.

So what better idea than to throw a party to toast my success and give back to my darling community who has made it all possible for me?

It was such an impactful evening. I was reminded of so many successes (and flops). Lives I’ve impacted, and experiences I’ve had.

It was because of these reminders that I decided…

…the theme for my March newsletters will be about the lessons I’ve learned along the way and have brought me to this momentous 5-year mark.

And as fate would have it, there are 5 weeks in March, to share the 5 most impactful lessons I’ve learned in my 5 years in business.

Ready for number 1, it’s a BIG one….

–>Normal is the new sexy as a business owner.<–

I believe that empowering ‘normal’ is ultimately the key to lasting success as a small business owner.

Some of you may fight me on this one, but I have to follow up great outputs of creativity with times of normalcy. I have to make space for normal.

If you don’t create a ‘normal’ routine in your business, (one that empowers you with both time for work and time for living your life), you will eventually sabotage yourself.

Without space for normal you may…

→ Make yourself sick (like I’ve historically had a track record of doing).

→ Lose your inspiration and want to call it quits.

→ Lose sight of joy in your life and forget why you started your business in the first place.

I’ve certainly experienced all of these at some point. But I learned from one too many sinus infections and one too many joyless days, that I had to create ‘normal’ in my routine if I wanted to make this entrepreneurial-lifestyle work.

For me, normal looks like beginning work at 9:00 am and ending my days at 5:00 pm. I call these ‘hard stops.’

My morning has become a sacred time for me.

Even when I have guests staying over, I will spend some quiet time by myself in the morning before coming out and putting on the coffee (which let me tell you is HARD for a lifelong host!).

My ‘normal’ morning routine includes:

• Drinking warm lemon water (which I basically don’t understand why it needs to be warm nor do I truly understand what balancing my pH level means, but what I do know is that it makes me feel wonderful)
• Time to exercise
• Journal and get in touch with my own intuition or inner guidance
• Prayer, meditation, or visualization (this time varies based on what’s currently inspiring me)
• Reading 30 minutes of personal and 30 minutes for business growth
• Green smoothie (a non-negotiable!)

While some of these practices sound simple, I can’t emphasize enough how life changing they have been.

I used to think I needed to work longer hours in order to get everything done. The truth is when you have a penchant for being task-oriented, you’ll always create more tasks to do.

Putting these hard stops in place in my schedule has been necessary to create the balance that has been so impactful for me.

These days, regardless of whether it’s a Monday or a Saturday morning, I wake up excited about the day, knowing that I come first, and get to make a difference, with my cup full and my heart cared for.

What would empowering normal look like for you?

Nourishingly yours,