I'm not quite sure how I feel about resolutions. I know we're supposed to assess our lives and decide what to take action on in the coming New Year, and I love the idea of visioning what we want to occur. But as one Wise Woman shared when I asked about the practice on Facebook, "resolutions born of realization and desire can work if you don't use them as a way to beat yourself up. In my experience, they work if you take baby steps. Some of mine have been effective. Some were just 'should's' that I didn't stick to."

I hate "should's" too. Besides, it gets boring having to resolve the same things every year... the same 10 pounds, the same debt paid off, the same promises to call our mothers more often.

What I love is the idea of the New Year. There is so much potential. So much opportunity. It's incredible, really, what can happen in the space of a year. Our children evolve before our eyes, and, hopefully so do we. Babies can be born, businesses can be born. We can take a small step that leads to a giant leap. 

You know her when you see her. She moves purposefully, her feet firmly on the ground. She is gracious, but doesn't make a lot of small talk. Her eyes light up when she speaks and she has a definite opinion. She is confident. She is vital. She is inspired.

Is she you?

It doesn't cost a thing to be inspired. We've seen stories of inspired women around the globe, some with significant financial resources, others with none.

The root meaning of the word inspire? "To breathe life into." Inspired women are full of life.

How do you get inspired? Many will tell you that you can read books or listen to motivational speakers. They will tell you a great story or send you a YouTube video. Maybe a quote?

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you my expanded vision for WISE: that together we are all WORTHY, INSPIRED, SUPPORTED and ENGAGED.

I want to get into the WORTH piece today, at least a little bit (because it's a BIG issue for us). I believe the need to feel worthy is the most difficult requirement in today's society for women. It is also the desire that is least often addressed or satisfied. It's almost gotten trite, this notion of self-worth. But cynicism around the idea does not change the need for it. And when I talk to women, it is so often the core of that sense that all of us have had... "this isn't enough, I'm not enough, I never have enough."

Let me start by saying: You are perfect. I'd like to say that one more time. You are perfect, just as you are. Are you able to accept that statement, or do you resist it? Does it bring tears to your eyes? That's not uncommon. I've met very few women who had full faith in their own worthiness. Our mistake is to believe that everything we've done "wrong" makes us unworthy. Our mistake is to believe that our mistakes define us. Our mistakes and our wrongs actually make us who we are - and are perfectly suited to what we can achieve with our lives. No mistakes = no lessons. No lessons = No growth. No growth = Stagnation. And we all know what happens to a stagnant pond. For humans, a stagnant life leads to self-loathing, boredom and destructive behaviors. We are not here to be stagnant. We are here to thrive.

So the very quick version of WISE is that I used to work in investment management. I really did not like my work so much... and after I had two children in 18 months, I wasn't even good at my work anymore. But, I was making significant money and the truth was, that quitting was not an option, at least from my hubbie, Michael's, point of view. So, I got fired.

And I thought I was done. I had my two babes at home. I started teaching an aerobics class (yes, I went from six-figures to $12/hour... two hours a week), and I THOUGHT that this was the answer to all of my problems. I could DVR all of the TV I wanted and watch all of it! I taught myself to crochet! I watched my kids play!

I was bored out of my mind. In hindsight, I'm quite sure I was depressed, not that anyone would have known. We women hide our truths so well.

So, with my happy-face on, I started to think that I might want to do something, that it might not be such a wise (or fair) decision to place the financial future of our family squarely on Michael's shoulders, that my four years of a world-class education and all my licensing and training as an investment professional should not lead to an obsession with Gray's Anatomy, and that toting toddlers around was a cop-out.

Off I went to bed, early as usual. We'd just had a houseful - some mom friends and their children, who delightfully spent much of the evening up in the playroom entertaining themselves. I glanced down at my bedside table, and glimpsed the dish where I keep my rings each night. One ring... not two... just one. I looked all around, under books, under the bed. Nothing.

What was on my table, however, was a turquoise medallion that my son has been toting around. Evidence! I'd just put him to bed so I quietly asked "Myles, have you seen Mommy's ring?" 

"Yup, Charlotte was playing with it."

Charlotte, the child who stores things like a little mouse - wrapped up in wads of cotton, inside of a pouch, inside of a purse, in a treasure box stashed in the back of her closet. Charlotte who has more "treasures" than Blackbeard.

Dread. 

It's the good stuff. It's where we can be ourselves, and truly step into the belief that we are perfectly imperfect. It's where we don't have to worry about who's going to watch our kids when we have an important meeting.

It's about laughter.

When you're in your community, do you ever feel like you don't have enough? Are you worried about how many calories you're eating? Do you really think anyone cares what you're wearing?

In community, you have more than enough. You have support and love.

But we've created a culture that has removed us from each other. We've built houses with fences around them and busied ourselves to the extent that we don't even have much time for our neighbors and friends. Families are strewn across the country to follow jobs and dreams.

So, we fill the void with stuff and more busy-ness. And it never quite does the trick. We eat to feel better. We buy stuff we don't need to feel better. We become workaholics. And it works for a minute or two, but then the hole is right back... because true wealth comes with true connection and intimacy.

It's so unnecessary, all of this separation.

So ultimately, Wise is our community. A place for us to know your worth and a place where the last thing you need to be is perfect. I know that together we are far more than the sum of our parts, and that we don't need to stand alone, defiantly independent, but rather can enjoy graceful interdependence. We are self-reliant, but not self-absorbed. We can celebrate each other's strengths and achievements, and be inspired to live life BIG. And we've got some BIG work to do together.

Xoxo,
Kiva 

by Kiva Leatherman

The thing I hear most often about the way my life is shaking out is "I don't know where you find the time," "I don't know how you do it all," "I see your Facebook," or "I read your newsletter"... "and you just seem so BUSY!" (Sometimes that one feels like a dig, I'll admit it).

The truth is sometimes I revel in the freedom that my business gives me. My current joint venture partner and I went for a walk in the woods last week and lazed on the lawn between radio shows and planning sessions. Then we dug into her buckets of acrylic paints and lost hours of time. That was yummy.

After a business workshop last week, I have made the firm decision that around June 15^th of next year you will be getting a newsletter that says "Off to the beach, see you in September!"

I chaperoned Myles' first field trip - apple picking - on Tuesday, and rushed home for a nationally syndicated radio interview.

Mostly it's been an adventure that has supported my vision of the life I want to live: to be there for my kids AND have an impact in the world AND make money.

Then there are weeks like the last two. I over committed. I under delivered. I literally rushed from event to event. I put on make-up for FIVE days in a row.

And things started to fall apart. Myles got strep throat. The web developer, who was solely responsible for all of the graphic design for my partnership with Amethyst and our call with almost 1000 people registered, is pregnant and was rushed to the hospital.

I missed deadlines for our largest media partner, a respected center of influence in the personal development industry. I switched to a new back end service provider to support the magnitude of what Amethyst and I are creating for Worthy, Wealthy and Wise, (epic in and of itself) and three days before our launch learned that my existing merchant account wouldn't integrate with the new system. Approval for a new merchant account would take at least a week.

Insomnia struck like lightning and I literally got no more than two or three hours of sleep for five days. I could tell my husband was feeling like he got left with the dregs and my kids started crying every time they saw our beloved babysitter. And I thought, "What have I done?"

By Kiva Leatherman

Currency valuation is big business. There are lots of very smart people in the world running calculations, hypotheticals, and analyses every day to determine the value of the dollar, the yen, the euro etc. But what we are talking about today is very different. I want to talk to you about your personal currency.

By Kiva Leatherman

Last week I lived in a tent. I slept on a thin bedroll and woke with bruises on my hip bones. I got really dirty, and bathed in hot springs. I got really hungry and ate my share of the incredible vegetarian food that had been prepared for this community of socially-conscious entrepreneurs in the middle of the desert in Arizona. I didn't turn on a computer or a cell-phone (though I did read from my Kindle every night). Yoga in the mornings, discussions of the future of money and business in the afternoon. I learned last week about the comforts that can be found when you make yourself very un-comfortable.

Upon arrival, I wasn't even comfortable in my own skin. I can't remember feeling so insecure around a group of people since I was in college. I questioned why I came, and whether any of the other attendees would "get" me.  The "clothing-optional in the Hot Springs" note on the info sheet should have read - "don't bother with bathing suit... no one else cares if you're naked." Yowsa - we ain't in New England any more.