I received this email from a wonderful customer yesterday. "I have a blog/website and one of the new features I am adding for 2014 is a monthly Momtrepreneur feature where I interview moms with businesses whose products and stories I love to hopefully inspire more women to take the leap and make the most of their own ideas and talents. I was reading your bio on the about page and I think you would be a great mom to profile. Let me know if you are interested. Here's a link to my website - www.transformingmommy.com.
I have thought of Andrea (the writer of www.transformingmommy.com) for many reasons over the last day since reading her blog. I needed to get the thought out of my head so I decided to put it in writing and let you get a better feel of who I am, so here I go. First, I had to laugh at how she mentioned vision boards and how she's never done one. I'm a "queen vision board girl" and my best friends like to tease me for it. I sent this photo to my life long friend who I met in kindergarten when the topic first came up in one of our discussions.
I have thought of Andrea (the writer of www.transformingmommy.com) for many reasons over the last day since reading her blog. I needed to get the thought out of my head so I decided to put it in writing and let you get a better feel of who I am, so here I go. First, I had to laugh at how she mentioned vision boards and how she's never done one. I'm a "queen vision board girl" and my best friends like to tease me for it. I sent this photo to my life long friend who I met in kindergarten when the topic first came up in one of our discussions.
As I reviewed this vision board yesterday from 2011 I focused on a few items. The first one is under the category fun/dreams/wishes. The first bullet I listed was "research lake houses". It touched me since it reminded me that dream become a reality 9/30/2011 and has become my place of peace. The next item that struck a cord with me was "consider career change to be the authentic Julie". I knew in 2011 it was time to change jobs. I didn't make a change because I had it so good at the company I worked even though I knew I was not growing and developing. In 2012 I realized I was drifting and needed to make some changes. Nov of 2012 I started to focus on Long Lake Lifestyle in the evenings and weekends. In early June 2013 I had a little meltdown with my husband. I told him "I just can't keep doing what I'm doing. I'm burnt out trying to give 100% during the day to my normal job, I'm tired from doing Long Lake Lifestyle stuff on the weekend & nights, and I wasn't feeling like a good mom". The boys and I had just moved to the lake for the summer and I was stressed verses relaxed. We bought the lake house to spend more time together as a family and it was supposed to be our weekend get away, yet I felt like all I was doing was working. I was stunned when he simply said "then quit your job". He said it as calm as can be. My head started to spin because I wasn't looking for him to suggest that solution. I was just expressing feelings. We worked the numbers and discussed this option in great detail. On my birthday (June 18th) I gave my notice and I haven't looked back. So if you have a dream figure out how to make it a reality. You can do it. Trust me. Make the change when you know it's time. Don't wait until you get lost or start doing things you know aren't right for you.
The other item on this vision board that makes me proud is in 2011 we paid off our home. When I was 25 years old I made it a goal to be 100% debt free when I was 40. I never had any bad debts. Just the normal house mortgage & student loans in my 20's. I grow up in a household where my father was a farmer and a fork lift driver in a factory. My mom stayed home to raise 5 kids. The one value they instilled in me was you live within your means. You pay for things in cash and only use a credit card during emergencies. I have stayed true to that and I hope my kids do the same. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and I remember thinking other people were "rich" because of the things they had and titles attached to their names. One time I said something to my dad like "they have so much $$". And I remember him saying "don't be fooled by richness. Half of those folks probably don't own their own homes they live in or the cars they drive. They spend more than they earn". At the time I did not understand this comment and thought he didn't know what he was talking about. I remember the day my parents paid off their home and were so proud. Again, I didn't really understand what it all meant but the day I paid off my home I got it.
Yes, I'm back to a mortgage because of our lake place. I see it as an investment and priceless memories for my family. I plan to pay it off sooner than expected too. When we were in Mexico my husband and I were having dinner and he asked me if I'd like a beach house. My response was "when we have the lake house paid off we can have this discussion". He just laughed and said "dream a little". So yes, I'd love a beach house, but I'm not a dreamer. I'm realistic. I won't lie since I have had this vision of us living at our long lake place in the summers and some place exotic the other months. When I ask my children what they think about moving they say they don't want to leave their friends. My thought is when the day comes I will ask them to give us one year away. And if they are not happy then we will move back. I would rather do this sooner verses later while they are young and can adjust quicker. This dream has not made my vision board though (smile). Maybe some day. Time will tell.
I look at the other goals on my 2011 vision board and most are items I still work on everyday. Being present and kind. Relax, Have fun etc.. As far as the physical fitness category. I'm an exercise nut and I'm always trying to push myself or learn something new. I believe in the phrase "use it or lose it", so health is important to me. I come from a family with diabetes. I remember my mom telling me after she had a massive heart attack at the age of 52 to always take care of my body, so I have always done so and it's something I preach to my kids all the time too.
On vacation (over this past holiday season) I was thinking about how I finally feel like me again. I have focus, I'm doing what I love, and I feel connected to my family. LIfe is just odd sometimes because I think about how in 1996 I ran an internet business (sold extreme sporting goods), but stopped in order to work full time for a corporation and pay off student loans quicker. I traveled a ton for that job and could not keep up with the online business too. In 2003 I had my first child, we just finalized blue prints for our "dream" home, I had recently received a promotion and my husband came home and asked me what I thought about moving to Germany. I think my exact words were "are you crazy?" Yet, at the time I was burning both ends of the stick and it didn't take me long to tell him "let's do it". I stayed home while we lived in Germany. I will be the first to admit I am not built to be a stay at home mom. We returned to the states in 2007 because I needed to get back to work. Life was good and it felt balanced then my father died in 2008. That was a quick lesson regarding how quickly life can change. The things I thought were important no longer were important. I was interviewing at that time and got the position. The job allowed me to work from home. It was the thing I needed because my son had just started kindergarten and I wanted him to be able to get on the bus and off the bus and not have to go to child care after school. That was important to me. I stayed in that position for 5 years and that was the job I left to make Long Lake Lifestyle a reality. Prior to Long Lake Lifestyle I only worked for one corporation from 1994-2013 (minus my time in Germany). I worked in the financial world and that just was not my passion & I always knew it, but was treated well and had no reason to leave. I always loved each position I had and it was the right fit at the right time but at the end of the day if I had to pick a profession for me I should have been a therapist or a Psychiatrist.
I love meeting and interacting with people. I love trying to figure people out or listen to their stories. I truly love to help people. Connecting with Andrea & other customers (the writer of www.transformingmommy.com) is one of the reason's I love what I do now. It's sort of funny because I had reached out to Andrea to make sure she was happy with a Lake Paddle she had purchased via email. She complimented the product and mentioned how beautiful it was and then added that she had ordered the wrong lake, yet she didn't complain at all in the email. I called her on the phone and she re-explained everything. She didn't ask for a refund, she gave the gift to her Grandfather and he LOVED it even though it wasn't HIS lake. All I could do was listen to her when I talked with her as I processed the information she was giving me. And the fact her grandfather reacted the way he did tells a lot about his character. The part that really impressed me was Andrea didn't even proactively reach out to me until I contacted her and she took personal responsibility for accidentally ordering the wrong "county" of the lake her grandfather is on. So often in this world people don't take personal responsibility & they tend to blame others or the situation, etc, I don't know why I'm sharing all of this but reading Andrea's blog www.transformingmommy.com got me reminiscing on how much I truly have transformed in the past decades also in the past year since starting Long Lake Lifestyle.
So since it's a New Year figure out what your vision board is (or goals) and stick to it. If you have debts get rid of them. Live a life that is true to you and stop spending $$ you don't have. Your life will feel richer when you start to stay within your means. The expensive vacation, dinners out and all the unnecessary things are not worth it if you can't truly afford it. As Will Smith said "Too many people spend money they haven't earn to buy things to impress people they don't like". The truth of the matter is once we leave this world it really doesn't matter what our bank account says or the title you had, but I do think it matters that you are true to yourself. If you are trying to lose weight be realistic and reward yourself often. If you are going through a hard time remind yourself often "this too will pass" and believe it. If you're afraid of something figure out what you need to become unstuck and take a risk. Just be your true self in 2014 and be kind. Slow down, quiet your mind and enjoy the little things. Life can change in a heart beat so enjoy it and be grateful for everything. Have no regrets.
Please check out www.transformingmommy.com. Andrea shares some good thoughts and stories. I love her honesty and look forward to connecting with her on a different level. I know I'm where I need to be right now, but nothing stays the same and I always welcome change. Thank you for listening. Sorry for all these ramble, but it's who I am. I know my writing grammar is not the best, but writing was never my strong suit. I focus on my strengths and accept my weaknesses (smile). See you on the water, Julie
To check out my direct website go to www.longlakelifestyle.com
For questions contact me at julie.downs@longlakelifestyle or 608-798-1375
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