The Brave Yes

Inside this Episode “The night seemed long. Wilbur's stomach was empty and his mind was full. And when your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep.” ― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web Read more about Sleepy Rituals for Tired Parents http://www.abundantmama.com/5-sleepy-rituals-for-tired-parents/ Get your copy of the workbook 10 Habits of Highly Effective Mamas now. http://www.abundantmama.com/10-habits-of-highly-effective-mamas/

In this latest episode of Amplify Your Life, Erica and I chat about her concept of Let Why Lead, the name of her blog, and living as a purposeful woman and mother. She dishes on her favorite TED Talks and her new book Create a Family Purpose Statement, which walks you through creating your own family mission statement. Disclosure: My own family purpose statement is included in the book as well. Inside this Episode Erica shares this beautiful Momastery quote: "Brave people only answer to ONE voice and that is the voice that arises within. Brave people are just people who trust themselves more than they trust the crowd." Check out Erica's blog Let Why Lead. http://www.letwhylead.com/ Get her book How to Craft a Family Purpose Statement: A Guide to Discovering the "Why" of Your Family and Building an Identity that Will Stay with Your Children Forever http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017L4S8IS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B017L4S8IS&linkCode=as2&tag=abundantmama-20&linkId=6B7UPDBH4NDEOIGB (affiliate link) Check out Erica’s popular list of 12-Must See TED Talks for Purposeful Women. http://www.letwhylead.com/2014/02/12-must-see-ted-talks-for-women.html

In this 7th episode of Amplify Your Life, I’m talking with Karen Maezen Miller, a Zen priest and author of three books, including Momma Zen. And she admits -- and I confess, too -- that much of our roles in motherhood are really about our own egos. Ouch. In this 7th episode of Amplify Your Life, Maezen and I discuss motherhood, mindfulness, meditation -- and anger. I really wanted to talk with her about anger because I've always admired her frank conversations around it, that even SHE -- a Zen Priest -- gets angry. And she offers some really great advice on how to handle anger in motherhood. Resources in this episode include: Karen’s books: Momma Zen, Hand Wash Cold and Paradise in Plain Sight Karen’s Retreats: Sign up for one now. Her blog: http://karenmaezenmiller.com/blog/ Karen's Facebook page: Become a Fan now. https://www.facebook.com/Karen-Maezen-Miller-91522177403/ The Abundant Mama Project program

This week is Random Acts of Kindness Week and in this latest episode of Amplify Your Life Podcast, I'm chatting casually with Galit Breen about kindness. It's one of my favorite topics. Her story about kindness began in a dark place a couple years ago when she wrote for the Huffington Post in which she shared a wedding photo of herself. Almost immediately, commenters came out of internet woodwork and began fat shaming her. She fell into a deep, dark place and felt very low about herself. As she slowly climbed her way back up, her daughter, who was 10 at the time, began showing an interest in being online and having her own access to social media. That's when Galit knew she needed to take action. She's been on a mission to teach kindness ever since. In this episode we talk about many ways we can have that conversation with our children about being kind online and in real life. And Galit talks about the importance of teaching our children how to be kind and, of course, to do that we have to be good role models. She shares her thoughts on her 80/20 rule about kindness in her recent blog post 27 Everyday Ways to Be Kind to Our Kids Check out Galit Breen's book Kindness Wins on Amazon or read her blog These Little Waves.

Start -- Taking 3-hour breaks each week from writing and creating and just being Shawn. So much of my self is tied up in what I do that I have forgotten what it is like to live a life beyond it. Plan -- I’m changing things up around here in the fall in a BIG way. So I’m definitely planning on how that shift is going to happen and I’m super excited about it. Be -- More productive … I get so tired of having so many ebbs and flows with my creative energy. I want to manage it better so that I’m to emotionally connected to my work and so I can get things done no matter how I’m feeling. I’ll be announcing HOW this is going to happen later this month with a new project. Build -- A following on our brand new Abundant Girls website and start posting weekly now that we have it up and running. Write -- My next book outline and draft. Read -- I am reading 12 Tribes of Hattie as part of a beautiful new open-minded reading challenge where we are not reading books by the dominant culture. I’ve been totally inspired by this challenge especially since my work around the world with moms in many countries has led me to have more curiosity about the way moms live in other cultures. (Affiliate link. Thanks for your support.) Make -- These Interactive Heart Mandalas with my girls. Love these. Making mandalas and creating them along with coloring is one of my favorite things to do with my girls. Do -- A spa day. This is scheduled … for my birthday this month. The goal here is to do it, even though it’s scheduled. Give -- Treats to my girls’ teachers and friends for valentine’s day Visit -- Baltimore Science Center -- STEM is important to us. My girls naturally love science. It’s their thing. Perhaps because we’ve raised them in the woods practically. (Actually done! We did this over the weekend after this was recorded.) Learn -- How to be a better podcaster. I have interviews lined up and I’m super excited about where this content is going to go this year. Eat -- More GREENS. Love this inspiration of salads in a jar. I can do this.

Welcome to a new year! 2016 is going to be great -- starting out with NEW Amplify Your Life podcast episodes.

AMPlify Your Life Podcast Episode 2 -- A podcast for busy, modern mothers looking for a way to slow down and #BanBusy. Find out more about The Abundant Mama Project here: http://AbundantMama.com

The Abundant Mama Project podcast AMPlify Your Life, a podcast for busy moms. http://AbundantMama.com