Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in a TweetChat around the topic of Life Purpose. I found it fascinating because the conversation was so focused around a particular topic and interesting people showed up to ask questions, engage with each other and share information.

Please watch my short video about what I learned in this process.

One reason I want to share this video with you is to let you know about the work that my friend and mentor, Baeth Davis, is doing about teaching Life Purpose information. It is through understanding your purpose that you can say goodbye to meaningless work and not enough money!

You can access her free interactive trainings for the next four days, just visit this link. You can also check out some of the shifts that I made in my business by understanding (and embracing) my life’s purpose.

Want to see what a Tweet Chat is all about, stop by and join the conversation.

Maybe you’re business isn’t where you want it and some mornings you wake up worrying about bills. I wanted to share with you the truth – I deal with these same worries.

One of my favorite mentors, Baeth Davis has an amazing story and it’s a testament to what can happen when you discover your life’s purpose…

Before discovering her Life Purpose, Baeth was stuck in a very bad place. She was broke financially (working a job that was making her sick),  broke emotionally (in a loveless relationship with the “wrong” guy) and broke spiritually (as she was dangerously depressed)!

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Do you ever feel like "something" is missing in your business (or your life) but you can’t put your finger on it?

I was feeling that way about three years ago before I accepted a hand analysis from my coach, Baeth Davis. The results revealed an essence I had been missing. Watch this short video where I share my revelation and you’ll see why I’m now such a big fan of Baeth.

I’m an affiliate of Baeth’s because I wholeheartedly believe in her purpose-driven approach to business! I want to share with you a SHORT VIDEO she created that will identify if you have any of the 7 Early Warning Signs of Being Stuck in Meaningless Work – work that does little for your bank account and nothing for your soul.

Baeth has also created an unprecedented, totally FREE content-rich interactive online training for stepping out of stuck, broke and meaningless once and for all.

Here’s my link to access all this good stuff. It will only be available this week so jump on it if this speaks to you!

A few years ago while working with my coach Baeth Davis she shared that a big part of my life’s purpose is being of service. Initially I wondered, what does it mean to be of service? My interpretation, and how I’ve used this knowledge to shape my business and life over these years, is that I’m most fulfilled when I’m having fun giving.

What happens now, almost habitually, is that I wake up wondering how I can really be of service today – to myself, to my family and to my community? What can I do to really create value? When I start my day with that question, goodness always comes. It’s like my magic pill.

The question I ask regarding those of you in my community is – “What do YOU really need to get it done?” The answers I’ve been hearing include “how-to” specifics, a space to ask detailed questions along with hands-on coaching and accountability.

Well, I have a big unveiling for you. I’ve revamped my entire member’s area to serve a larger community and give you what you’ve been asking for both in content AND in price.

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My husband Allan recently asked me why I love my business so much. One thing I shared is that I love change, fluidity and flexibility. I like to have boundaries but I also like to push them (and break the rules occasionally). I also believe there’s nothing quite like entrepreneurship to help you learn who you are and what’s important to you.

I’ve been a serial mompreneur for over ten years. This last year has been my biggest and most daring year as I launched Metromom.com. It started as an online community to support women in direct-sales and evolved into being THE resource for mom entrepreneurs (in all businesses) for all the issues they have as business owners, mothers and more. As I celebrate the one year anniversary of Metromom I wanted to highlight the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far.

Lesson 1 – Stay Open to the Possibilities and True to Yourself

Soon after launching Metromom.com in July 2008, I realized that my focus was too narrow. By listening carefully to women entrepreneurs, both inside and outside my community, I realized the need to expand my niche. The lesson I learned was that by staying open, and not being fixated on being “right”, I was able to expand my business and reach out to many more women.

At the same time I realized that while staying open to the insights of others, I needed to trust my instincts. I learned to take the time to make sure I was truly aligned with my values, beliefs and goals before moving forward.

Wisdom Tip: By being open to the possibilities and staying true to yourself, you’ll be amazed at how the right people, places and opportunities appear.

Lesson 2 – Enjoy the Collaborative Process

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned since starting Metromom is that you can’t do it alone. But, you can achieve amazing things when you build a team and leverage each other’s strengths. I’ve learned to delegate whether it means having friends to carpool my kids, VA’s to set-up my ezine or business coaches to help me discover the next step in my marketing plan.

I’m also collaborating with other mompreneurs with the belief and vision that together we can do something much more amazing than any of us on our own. I’ve brought on “experts” to offer a broader range of information to my community. This last year has taught me how I can use my gift of being a natural connector to harness the power of so many other wonderful women.

Wisdom Tip: Learn to enjoy and benefit from the collaborative process of what others add to the process of building your business.

Lesson 3 – Create Systems and Move On

Having a team is great but they don’t work without a system. I’ve learned the value of systematizing all our processes and creating delegated lists so everyone is clear about their responsibilities and timelines. I’m also using a great new program called Basecamp to help me keep track of it all! After determining the process, I’m able to delegate it, and go on to create new products and services that fuel my business and my soul.

Wisdom Tip: Creating systems can be time-consuming the first time around but it’s amazing how they’ll save you hours down the road and provide you with great clarity that comes from working through all the steps.

Lesson 4 – You Have to Invest in the Future

There have been moments where I’ve felt great scarcity over the past year, especially after my husband lost his job. I learned this lesson the hard way but I’ve realized that I have to continue making investments in my business and trust that they will pay-off.

Sometimes this has meant investing in my personal growth, like Baeth Davis’ Life Purpose Spiritual Summit that I attended. Sometimes it’s meant investing in great back-end technology that supports huge growth and many end-users. I’ve had to be smart with how I invested but I’ve had to keep moving forward to grow my business.

Wisdom Tip: Maybe you’re thinking to yourself… I don’t have the time or I don’t have the money. The truth is if you want to be successful you can’t afford NOT to invest in yourself and in your business.

Lesson 5 – Take Action Quickly

This lesson has led me to embrace my new nickname – the “Get It Done” Girl. I’ve learned to let go of perfectionism, and I trust that I’m enough as I am. I’ve discovered knowing the “WHAT” is more important than the “HOW”. I’m very capable at knowing and figuring out WHAT needs to get done. I may not know HOW it’s going to happen and how to do it but I am resourceful and can connect with others who do have the expertise I may be lacking to get the job done.

This skill has served me well as a mompreneur. Because there’s nothing that truly prepares you or gives you all the experience you need to be an entrepreneur – you just have to go for it!

Wisdom Tip: You have to be willing to jump into unchartered waters, and trust that other experts can fill in your gaps.

I share five more lessons in part 2 of “Lessons Learned from a Serial Mompreneur”.  Please share any lessons you’ve learned in your journey as a mom entrepreneur!

Earlier this year I hit some pretty low points after my husband had lost his job. Not only was I anxious about our situation, I was watching many other mom entrepreneurs come onto the scene with their own websites and communities. My first reaction was to go to a place of scarcity. I had this awful limiting belief that if they existed, and were doing business, that there wouldn’t be enough left over for me.

It sounds crazy when I write it, but it felt incredibly real and scary in that moment. I did know two things at that time. First, I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Second, I knew that to do business in a way that was fun for me, and to stick around, I would have to just focus on doing business in a “Kim” way, and show up as authentically as possible. Some would be attracted to me and follow me, and others wouldn’t. I trusted it would all be fine.

Around the same time, I felt drawn to connect with a particular mom entrepreneur with her own community, Carla Young of MOMeo. On the surface, one would think “competitor” in the yucky sense of the word. But what I sensed from observing her on Twitter was a kind, funny, open woman. I was blessed to discover that she’s even more wonderful.

We joked back in March that it’d be great to get some amazing mom entrepreneurs together in Las Vegas in June. Sounded fun I thought, but we didn’t pursue it. Fast forward to April, and Carla was scheduling me to speak with her MOMeo community about how I get things done so quickly. She asked, “When are you free in June?” I told her the only days I wasn’t when I’d be in Las Vegas attending Baeth’s Life Purpose Spiritual Summit. Carla laughed and said she’d be in Las Vegas that very same weekend!

We decided to make that gathering of great entrepreneurial women come together. As a connector, I immediately got to work inviting some women I wanted to meet and who I believed would be interested in creating something bigger as a group than any of us could on our own.  Much to my surprise, nine of us ended up coming together – Alexis Martin Neely, Carla Young, Sarah Robinson, Jennifer Haubein, Sandy Grason, Kim Castle, MaryPat Kavanagh, Dorcy Russell and me!

Each of us shared what we could offer (our true creative brilliance and what’s fun for us to do) as well as the support we’d love from the rest of the group. Getting behind each of these women to support their product and service launches feels great. I’m not sure where it will all go but I have lots of faith. I’m so blessed that I could connect with them and them together and bring them into my life.

Please share your comments on how you’ve benefited by turning your “competitors” into “collaborators”. This is an area were women entrepreneurs really shine!

Sometimes a film touches you at your core, leaving you emotionally raw and hopeful at the same time. This was my experience of YOU The Film, which I watched for the second time at Baeth Davis’ Life Purpose Spiritual Summit. Written in just three days by my friend Gildart Jackson, and directed by his wife Melora Hardin, this film is the story  of love and loss, as told through the eyes of Gildart.

You’ve probably seen Melora as Jan in the Office, and recently with Miley Cyrus in "Hannah Montana: The Movie" and Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in ‘17 Again’ but this is her directorial debut and a brilliant one at that. At the recent screening, Melora and Gil shared their story of the film’s creation, how Melora stepped into her directorial role  and what it was like for her to direct her oldest daughter (then just four) in a very poignant role that required her greatest sensitivity as a mother.

I had to chance to interview Melora to learn more about the details of her creative experience.  As their friend, I’m also thrilled to help spread the word to women that’ll resonate with this story using the power of social networking and much of what I’ve learned with my internet marketing experience.  Please help me to do that by sharing this blog with your friends.

Please enjoy the trailer below and  I highly recommend getting a copy of the film, which you can purchase directly from their site.

I did a lot of traveling earlier this year, which was taking a toll on me and my family. They were well-prepared to handle things without me for a few days, but it felt like each time I returned home and we reconnected, I was turning around again to leave. I promised myself that I’d stay put for awhile and I’ve really enjoyed this last month at home.

Then I was listening to the CD’s of Baeth Davis speaking at Ali Brown’s last workshop. I eagerly awaited carpooling time so I could listen to her stories. What I heard made me reevaluate my decision to stay home. I realized that I needed to attend Baeth’s Life Purpose Spiritual Summit on June 4th-6th.

Let me share some of my history with Baeth…

Baeth Davis came into my life in October 2006. During a hand analysis she shared my life purpose with me in and I knew at that moment, she would be my next coach. One of the key things she shared with me about my purpose is that when I have fun I can manifest all that I desire, and it is incredibly important that my life be oriented around being of service. The two points became a huge shift for me. “Fun” and “being of service” became the filters through which I made all my decisions.

At the time we met, I was working with Melaleuca (a direct sales wellness company) and I wasn’t having a lot of fun. I wanted to grow a business, but was dragging around all the wrong people. From my earlier experience with my first entrepreneurial company, Metromom Maternity, I knew that I was meant to do something bigger and serve a special kind of entrepreneurial mom (aka Metromom). Baeth suggested that I build my Melaleuca business around being of service to “Metromoms” and it worked – my business tripled!

I was enjoying myself but I felt there was a bigger way for me to have fun and be of service to Metromoms. Baeth and I agreed that for the time being I’d focus on growing my Melaleuca business and every time I had a “Metromom” idea, I’d put it in a “beautiful box”.

Then, in August of 2007, at the urging of my husband, I attended Baeth’s first Life Purpose Summit. I showed up there in two worlds – a bit of Melaleuca and a bit of Metromom. Through the summit I recognized my life purpose calling me more towards the Metromom world. To pursue that purpose, I chose to do an intensive 3-day coaching program with Baeth and two other coaches, Kendall Summerhawk and Kailash Sozzani.

I was so excited to be on track with my purpose. On the flight to my coaching program, I wrote in my journal:

I love to connect with other women. This is a joyful experience for me, and I do it effortlessly. IMAGINE… if I could create a business where I get to connect great women to each other, provide them with lots of value, make a great income for my family AND give back in a really big way.

Adrenaline poured through me as I wrote this—an inner knowing that I was on the right track. After three days with three unique and highly-gifted women in a collaborative coaching circle I was able to focus in on what I love to do, what I’m really good at and what can benefit others the most. With Baeth’s support, I went onto to create my Metromom community and website as it currently is.

When I learned of Baeth’s second summit, my first thought was not to consider it because I’d already attended once. After listening to her talk on the CD I had a sudden realization. I realized that I’m not in the same place as I was 18 months ago. I’m now fully in a Metromom place and my vision has evolved and changed drastically from my days as the Melaleuca representative.

While I’ve certainly stepped into my purpose in creating Metromom, I determined that I am ready for some fine-tuning. Now in this place in my business and my personal growth, what new insights may I receive? What new people will I meet and special connections may I form?

It’s very easy to have the “bright shiny object syndrome” and want to attend every event. I have learned to say “no” to many, not because they’re not wonderful but because they’re not right for me at the time. Now, it feels amazing to feel a complete “yes” about attending Baeth’s. I’ll certainly share more about my experience when I return next week. (If you’re going to be there, please make sure to find me and say hello, or send me a tweet.)

I woke this morning to spend some quiet time updating my personal intention statement–a statement of all that I want to bring into my life both personally and professionally. Two years ago I’d never heard of an intention statement, the whole idea sounded very illusive. My coach, Baeth Davis, kept mentioning it to me and when I took the plunge to sit down and write it for myself, the impact on my life was huge.

For me, writing doesn’t always come easily to me so getting my thoughts down in language that felt good and realistic AND achievable initially took me about a month. The results, however, were incredibly worthwhile. In four pages of single spaced writing I had noted what I wanted to bring into my life as a mother, wife and business woman.  I noted who I wanted in my life, what I wanted to be doing, how much I wanted to be earning and the difference I wanted to make. Talk about making my heart sing!!

For a few months I read my intention statement out loud first thing in the morning. It took me about 10 minutes and grounded me to my purpose and set my outlook for the day. A key point I’d like to share is that the language you use is incredibly important. Your words must resonate with you. You’re putting this statement out into the world but if you just say it and don’t feel it, I personally believes it a waste of your time.

The purpose of the intention statement is to provide you with a vehicle that when read aloud, really raises your energetic vibrations. When you read it, you want it to feel achievable for you. None of that awful impostor feeling.

I didn’t choose to say things like "I intend to make a million dollars this month" or "solve world peace" because that didn’t feel true for me.  Instead, I used some other phrases that made my words feel attainable and gave me a feeling of possibility. For example, when I say "I’m in the process of creating a life that will provide us (meaning my family) with great freedom and choice to do what WE choose" feels amazing each time I read it. I’m not fully there yet but when I state that aloud in the morning, I have that immediate feeling of "YES".

Another example of language that always feels great is to say "more fully than I’d imagined". For example, "I am open to new and unexpected opportunities that utilize my talents more fully than I’d imagined." It leaves space for some good unknowns to show up.

In 2007 I was in a very different place than I am today. My vision for Metromom was not clear. My ideas sat tucked away in a "pretty box" waiting for me to put them all together. I was working with a direct sales wellness company called Melaleuca and not doing particularly well until I wrote the following statement and read it daily. My business completely shifted. It was also the experience that I then had with Melaleuca, and the clarity I gained that helped me clarify the missing pieces of my Metromom puzzle and "take it out of the box."  If you choose to write a version of your own, I’d love to hear parts of what you come up with. It’s an incredibly powerful tool.

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