How did you two meet?
The quintessential question asked to every couple. And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.
My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I, Lottie, was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.
Huxley was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.
And that's when we bumped into each other.
There were no sparks.
...
And that’s your misogi, Amber?
This is the question which sparked what you are reading. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk about what exactly a misogi is, shall we? If you google it, you'll discover it's a: Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body (source: wikipedia). And this isn't exactly what I'm talking about.
This term was first introduced into my life when Jesse Itzler mentioned to choose your Misogi challenge for the upcoming year... and instantly I googled Misogi, just like you probably did; however, the way he means it is a challenge to help push our boundaries, discover what we are capable of and tap into possibilities we don’t see in the moment. When we look back and reflect on the year, we will remember who we are and the challenges we have overcame.
Now, you can choose ONE Misogi challenge for each year and if you are around 40 years of age living...
In a conversation with a friend, she brought up how she feels like she needs to HUSTLE in her business. She followed it up with, “I know you don’t believe this, Amber. Change my mind.”
And if you also feel like you need to hustle to hit your goals or make a certain revenue mark, then listen up buttercup because I’m about to dose out some tough love.
Hustle by definition means to: (verb) obtain by forceful action or persuasion. Courtesy of Google definition.
If you need to persuade someone, then, to me in this moment, it’s a form of manipulation… hard...
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Wouldn’t you want to know… the question on my mind while I embarked on a 5mi run the other morning with freezing temps and slippery AF roads…
And I cried.
If you know me, tears don’t flow easily. So, crying while running was a bit of a shock.
The reason behind the tears are few but I’ll share one… what would happen if I spent one year, just one year giving my absolute all to MYSELF?!?
What would it look to give my all to my training, to my meditation, to my breathing, to my nutrition, to my prayers, to my relationships, to my business, etc.
And the tears came.
Wouldn’t you want to know if you spent just one year… your absolute all?
If you are like me, you tend to put others needs and requests above your own… and there’s nothing wrong with that.
But I can honestly say,...
This past year, I’ve realized the importance of daily habits versus hustling towards a goal. There’s magic in consistent, often non-sexy and mundane habits. On the days where I sleep a wee bit longer and skimp out on one of these habits… my day feels rushed, I feel out of sorts and my focus is lacking.
On a call the other day, my mentor Jesse Itzler talked about taking your daily vitamins… as in the habits we take which fill us with joy, the habits that makes us our best selves.
While he was listing out his, I started feverishly jotting down mine:
Habits like these are not rocket science, they are...
If you are reading this, then HELLO my fellow introvert. Yes! Name is Amber and I am an introvert as well as Scorpio, 2/5 Manifesting Generator and an INFJ. Whew. With all that information, you already know too much. But, allow me to tell you a wee little secret.
You can launch your offer, grow your business and create the impact YOU desire as an introvert! You can!
There are a slew of digital CEOs who are introverts who are slaying the entrepreneurial space, so why not you? Here's the thing, you are most likely NOT seeing being an introvert as a strength, but instead as a weakness.
At a recent Mastermind retreat, their guest expert was an FBI expert who deciphered folks' personalities and behaviors based simply on their body language. It was completely fascinating to watch her in action... but the MAIN thing I took away from her talk was this, "Your greatest weakness can be your greatest superpower."
...
You remember that moment on the sitcom Big Bang Theory when Penny gets sucked into playing video games… it completely consumes her and she finds herself staring at the computer screen in stained sweats, messy hair with bits of Cheetos throw in and makeup smudged under her sleep deprived eyes?
I remember it so well, here’s a glimpse if you need a refresher!
The reason I’m bringing this image up… this is how I would feel with launches when I first started on my entrepreneurial journey. Like you needed to be lacking proper hygiene, a good night’s sleep and how dare you change into clean clothes WHILE in launch mode.
You can’t be successful without the hustle.
You can’t be successful without the struggle.
You can’t be successful without the Cheetos in the messy top knot?
As a newbie entrepreneur, this was seriously what I thought launching included. Even when talking...
I don’t know how she does it.
Remember that movie, back in 2011 with Sarah J. Parker. If not, no worries, the movie was about a mom of two small children who held a position at an investment firm.
It’s been awhile since I watched the movie; however, I remember feeling anxiety for SJP’s character as she tried her best to balance work and mom life. The reason I bring this movie up is because of how ticked off I get when I hear the words work/life balance or integration or boundaries.
Not because I do not believe these things exist… but because these words can make us feel inadequate, like we aren’t doing enough or doing things right. Like everyone has the SECRET to how to create the work/life balance.
A large part of this is because social media shows us these women cooking meals, raising perfectly polite children in their well-curated homes, building an empire in business. While we sit at home in our messy hair...
If you have been following me a wee bit, you know "launching" is my super strength... especially launching without the hustle, when short on time, when trying to balance life and mama-hood. It wasn't always like that though, so let's get some context first.
Back in 2008, yours truly graduated from veterinary medical school with a doctorate and embarked on an emergency/critical care veterinarian career which took me to: South Africa, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, etc.
However, my entrepreneurial journey began after our twins were born... and my heart needed me to be more present within the home and less on the ER floor. Like most folks, I started in a MLM which lead me to want to start my own business and invest in coaching, memberships and masterminds.
With all the twists and turns, I landed coaching within an entrepreneurial community for an 8-figure company which serves entrepreneurs to create an irresistible offer,...
Investing.
This word has been popping up ALL over the place for me... well, in three places actually. The first was a joke I spotted on Instagram which I casually shared via text to the hubster.
Then the word "investing" popped up for me while I was journaling... which I will elaborate on more in a bit. But the third time, this word came my way just this past week was during a coaching call where I was being coached.
[Context]: For the past 14 weeks, I have been raising newborn Newfoundland puppies in my house WHILE homeschooling our twins... WHILE performing physical therapy on one of our twins... WHILE being an uber driver to their afternoon appointments... WHILE running my own business.
So, when our last puppy found her forever family, my coach said to me this:
"I want to see YOU invest in YOURSELF like you did for those puppies."
And that hit me.
Because the day before, I literally wrote in my journal this...