Use this template to justify your trip and secure your seat at my signature retreat, Sense of Self.
Dear Boss,
I’d like your approval to attend the Sense of Self retreat, attended by the most forward-thinking women leaders, for 7 days of inspired learning, growth and self-discovery from October 12-19 in Phuket, Thailand.
Here’s why I should attend:
· The community of attendees is what sets the Sense of Self Retreat apart from other retreats and conferences – I’ll be among the top women leaders who are actively changing the way companies innovate. Leaders who are ready to make huge leaps both personally and professionally. Leaders that are actively changing organizations. These are the people I want to learn from and grow with, and this retreat will be a great way to do that.
· Attending Sense of Self will allow me to: better communicate with my team, create a plan to achieve my personal and professional goals, fully articulate the value that I bring to the organization, and help me become more self-aware, which we both know if a key predictor of success.
· The retreat is facilitated by an HR Professional with over 15 years of Human Resources experience. Her mission is to create a corporate America that is inclusive, innovative, diverse and authentic. That fully aligns with our company vision, mission, values, and goals.
If I register now, I’ll be able to get an additional bonus of 3 Leadership Coaching sessions. Because of the level of personal and professional growth that I will achieve that week, I think that the return on your investment will be well worth it.
· Airfare: $1000
· Retreat: $3200
· Total Investment in Me: $4200
For more information about the retreat, please visit
Your brand is unique. Its persona is what distinguishes your brand from its competitors. In the age of technology, your website is a part of your brand. with so many competitors online, it can be difficult to distinguish your brand. Having a weak or negative brand image online impacts your brand’s credibility and can lead to missed business opportunities. I am telling you this from experience! I wish I’d known the 5 tips below before I created my first website. And remember, websites aren’t just for big businesses. You can have a resume website, or promote a podcast. If you want to be found, create a website.
Choose Colors Carefully
Color choice is one of the most impactful parts of designing and building your website. You want colors to grab your visitor’s attention, as well as to relay your brand’s message. Understanding color psychology and its impact on the customer’s emotions highlights why knowing your target market is so important. Colors have different meanings in different cultures. Understanding these differences helps improve your brand by ensuring that your website is sending the proper message. Really think about what you want the color to say. How do you want it to make people feel?
Design Your Layout Deliberately
The layout of your website adds to the success of your brand. A key concept of layouts in website design is known as ‘the fold’ — the amount of content that visitors can see without having to scroll. Measuring the amount of useful content versus the amount of “filler” content, like ads and graphics, is important in evaluating the user experience. Even planning white space usage is helpful, as it avoids overloading potential customers with images and information. The layout impacts how long users stay on the website, making it one of the most important branding elements for your brand. The longer visitors are on your website, the more they learn about your brand.
Design Your Site Uniquely
A unique identity is central to developing a successful brand. This is not only true for the products and services, but also the website. Don’t just pick the first free theme that looks good. If you can afford it, hire an experienced web designer whose portfolio showcases the kind of style you want to carry your brand. Custom design means a one-of-a-kind site. Making the investment to craft a unique image for your brand distinguishes you from your competitors and makes you more memorable to visitors. If you don’t have the ability to invest in a web designer, get a template that is highly customizable and user-friendly.
Format Your Site Consistently
Consistency in website design plays a huge part in successfully improving your brand. Repeated colors and fonts help consumers remember your brand, especially when they are unique. A consistent design builds your brand’s image by ensuring that the right emotions are being conveyed throughout the site. Consistent design elements project a uniform and memorable image of your brand.
Use Intriguing Images Smartly
Professional visuals on your website are as much of a part of the design process as color and font selection. Visuals that are reflective of your brand’s color scheme and style can boost brand recognition by maintaining consistency. The details of each image are particularly designed so that they convey your brand’s message. Investing in visual elements is another way to display your brand’s personality throughout the website. High-quality visuals improve the overall look of your website. For businesses selling physical items, images that were taken by a professional photographer enhance the professionalism of your brand. Don’t forget the power of videos and infographics, as they can help convey more complicated messages.
A successful brand cannot exist without a unique identity. Every design decision should be made to display your brand’s message and personality. Is your brand creative or analytical? Traditional or innovative? Every element of your website’s design is focused on the brand and its message. Your website should be simple, consistent, clean and easily recognized. It should also be memorable, as a unique identity is central to building brand recognition. Lastly, personality is key. Consumers love brands that feel real. Think about the emotions that you want to be affiliated with your brand and use your website to evoke an emotional response. Following these tips will help you build a website that truly portrays your brand’s purpose and personality.
Every type of workplace setting should evolve and grow over time to ensure it can continue to be successful and have a high level of productivity. Implementing changes is necessary from time to time to ensure that the process can improve and that any issues can be resolved. Change management can be one of the most important pieces of your role. If you want to implement changes in the workplace successfully, there are a few main steps to take.
Have a Proven Process
Having a proven process in place will help to implement change and allow for any and all adjustments to be seamless and incorporated quickly. Trial and error will allow you to determine what methods work and others that are not quite as successful. You’ll need to be flexible when it comes to adapting processes to fit individual needs and circumstances because each situation is unique. Performing audits and gap analysis can allow you to perform assessments before developing a plan.
Many managers make the mistake of failing to implement change at the top, which will influence the team and offer accountability. Employees who will be most impacted by the proposed changes can be an invaluable source of information and ideas regarding the practicality of the changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and insight to ensure that the proposed changes are successful and necessary. After you get the information you need, set the example, and show everyone how it’s done with your leadership skills to ensure that they can follow suit and understand what you want to change.
Communication is key for implementing changes in the workplace to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that they understand what you expect to happen in the future. You’ll need to schedule a few meetings to discuss the new changes and begin incorporating them into the setting. Scheduling meetings will prove to be useful because it will also allow your team to ask questions and have a space to discuss the changes. The details should be communicated in detail and early on to ensure the changes are sustained long-term.
Implementing changes in the workplace doesn’t have to be daunting or impossible. With the right steps taken, you can allow your company or organization to evolve more effectively and for any adjustments that need to be made to be seamless without interrupting the productivity of your team. Become the perfect leader to take your business through this time of change by joining one of our coaching programs!
Figuring out who you are, and accepting yourself for who you are is the only way to have a happy, fulfilled life. It’s hard to fully love others if you can’t love yourself. Feeling better about yourself can help you feel better about everything else in your world.
I did many, many years of therapy and one of the things that stuck with me was that before I could make any positive changes, I had to figure out and really come to terms with who I was at the core of my being. Think about it, you can’t change negative behavior or thoughts if you don’t accept that they are actually there. Once you accept who you are, you can become the leader, the friend, the mother, the whatever it is that you want to be.
Ok, ready?
1. Don’t worry about making your parents proud. I know. It sounds silly. But the need to make your parents, or parental figures proud and to live up to their expectations is an obstacle standing in the way of your self-acceptance. What they want from you, and who they want you to be is a reflection of them. Learn that it has no bearing on you.
2. Love what you’re good at. Do you juggle? Sing? Master of the Rubik’s Cube? (Yeah, I’m old) No matter what your “thing” is, embrace it. Want to know what I’m good at? Singing off key at the top of my lungs during road trips. Seriously, and I say this a lot, figure it out and then write it down. Everything that you’re good at from being able to recite the alphabet backwards to being an awesome friend to heart surgery. There’s plenty of room between those things for you to fill in. Get your list together.
3. Start Learning. If there’s something that you don’t know how to do and you’ve always wanted to, learn it. There are way too many resources out there for you to be wistful about not learning French. Go for it. And if you suck at it, fine! At least you tried and you can add it to the list of things you’ve done even if you can’t put it on the What You’re Good At list.
4. Be Reasonable. This one can be hard for me. I was often told that I have unreasonable expectations of myself and this is why I know why this is so important If you are 40 and have a goal of being a prima ballerina and you have never taken a ballet lesson, this may not be reasonable. Take the lessons, have fun, let go of the expectations.
5. Forgive yourself and others. If you are holding on to grudges, this will stand in the way of accepting yourself. If you’ve been wronged, I am not saying to forget, but I do think that finding a way to forgive and move past trauma, even forgiving yourself for trauma that you may have caused others, is key to self-acceptance.
Have you ever noticed that you freely accept other people as themselves, warts and all? Now it’s time to do that for yourself. Focus on the positive accept yourself as you are. Want to learn more? https://www.retreatsatresorts.com/events/thailand-sense-of-self-retreat
There’s much talk about people having purpose. Word on the street is that you need purpose in order to be fulfilled. The big question is always, what do you want to do with your life? That’s a really big question. Do you know the answer? Have you found yourself adulting but you haven’t found your life’s true purpose yet? Are you super bummed about it? Well if it makes you feel any better, you’re not alone. You’re not a loser. In fact, it may indicate that you’ve been so busy taking care of business, kicking ass and taking names, that you just haven’t gotten around it yet. No worries, I have 8 simple steps that you can use today to help you find your life’s true purpose.
1) Stop Worrying About It
The first step is to stop worrying about not finding your purpose. That isn’t helping. Worrying won’t take you any closer to finding what your life’s true purpose is, it actually holds you back from finding it. Holding on to those negative feelings is counterproductive to finding out
2) Focus on your here and now. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Go do something that makes you happy. Get a mani/pedi, go play chess, go to a hockey game. Go do something fun.
3) Keep Track of What You Like
What do you actually LIKE doing? It’s ok if you just say watching TV or reading. What do you like to watch? What types of books do you read? Do you sketch things when you’re bored? Sing along to your favorite songs? What fills your heart with joy? Pay attention to the things that you have a genuine interest in. And write it down. Keep track of the things that you’re drawn to.
4) Dig into Your Childhood
Did you want to be an astronaut when you grew up? A firefighter? What about that interested you? What did you think was fun? Some of us will have to think a little harder than others, but really try to remember as much as you can. Write them all down and if there is anything that still tickles your fancy, make note of it.
5) Go Exploring
Try something new. How will you know that you don’t like something if you don’t try it? I can officially say that I don’t like country line dancing. Can you? If there is something that piques your interest, go do it! Check out Eventbrite and Meetup Groups. If something doesn’t work out, at least you can say that you tried. Keep trying new things until you find 3 new things that you like!
6) Find Your Own Dream
If your mom was a doctor, that doesn’t mean you have to be. If your dad was an attorney, you don’t have to love the law. If all of your friends went to nursing school, you don’t have to get over your fear of needles and plunge right in. Figure out what you want to do. Find out for yourself what you like to do.
Create your own path, your life is your journey and no one else’s. Don’t give yourself room to look back and say “what if”.
7) You Don’t Have to Make It About Work
You spend about 16 hours a day awake. For most people, they spend half of that time at work. It makes perfect sense that a lot of people want to spend that time doing something meaningful and that fits with their true purpose. But what if you spent your time at work doing something that you like to do and spent your time outside of work doing something meaningful that gave you a sense of purpose?
Many times, people feel unbalanced and out of sync because they aren’t doing anything purposeful and they spend so much time and energy trying to monetize their true purpose. How much time have you wasted trying to find meaning and purpose at work? Think about all of these steps and then think about what you can do outside of work that aligns with your true purpose.
If it is important to you to find purpose at work, think about finding it in the industry that you are in or the company that you work for. For example, I was able to find purpose in doing HR for a Veterinarian because I love animals but it would take quite a lot of work for me to own a zoo.
8) Above All, Have Patience
Your true life’s purpose isn’t going to just fall into your lap. You have to be patient. You’ll have some hits and some misses. Your perfect calling isn’t going just to hit you on the head. It’s going to take time and a fair amount of trial and error before you find what fits.
But whether you are trying to find your purpose at work or at home, finding out what makes you tick will be incredibly rewarding.
Ok, so this is really 8 and a half steps. Because my last note is to find your peeps. Figure out who will support you on this journey and see if they want to come along for the ride.
And don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. Don’t want to start your own business? Don’t. You can be happy working in corporate America. You can go to work happy and satisfied. Want to run your own business? Go for it! Not sure what you want? Do both. Whether it is through working for yourself, working for someone else, volunteering, or creating a side hustle, you can find your life’s true purpose and add meaning to your life.
