8 Tips to Stay On Track with Your Goals and End the Year on a [Mariah Carey] High Note

It’s the beginning of Q4 2016–do you feel satisfied with the progress you’ve made toward your goals so far this year?

Whether you do or not, the tips in this video can help you finish the year out even stronger, ready to raise your champagne flute (or bottle, no judgment) high in the air on December 31st, toasting to the good life, which is your life RIGHT NOW.

Reminder, darling, that a lot of people don’t go for their dreams and wallow in a life of mediocrity, but you’re really GOING FOR IT. That says a lot about your character. (Namely, that you’re a no-BS kinda lady. I like that. We should do lunch.)

Anyway, here’s to a fabulous Q4! Please let me know what you’re working on and enjoying these last few months of 2016!

Love,

Erica

PS – Yes, I totally did screw up the numbering in this vid. That’s what last minute edits and not enough coffee will get you. Le sigh. 🙂

My Current Affirmation Routine

Here is what I do to create a set of affirmations to get my mind right and how I fit practicing them in my day to day life!

(PS – I don’t think I said the words “Step 4”, but Step 4 is to actually make time to SAY the affirmations and make doing so a part of your routine!)

Let me know your thoughts about affirmations and if/how you use them in the comments below!

Peace, love, and glam,
Erica

Throwing A Little Money At The Things That Bore You

In today’s [very sleepy and very dimly lit] video, I’m talking about how I recently gave Instacart a try. Instacart is a website and app that let’s you shop online for groceries and have them delivered to your door (sometimes within a few hours!), which is ideal for anyone trying to save a little time. The first delivery was free, but I think it’s $10 or so going forward? (Need to double check that.) In any case, it saves me at least 45-min to an hour of my life every week so it’s worth it for me.

Overall, the experience was seamless, but a couple of small errors in my order reminded me to loosen the reigns on my controlfreakism. (Totally a word.)

Where can you throw a little money at a task that either bores you or is beneath what you’re capable of spending your time on? And have you experienced having to let go of things being done exactly your way when delegating a task (whether personal or for business) to someone else?

When A Purchase Is So Much More Than Just A Purchase: The Significance of A Splurge

Hello! Today we’re talking about how a spendy investment can both symbolize a milestone in your life AND help create more of what you want going forward, therefore representing your past, present, and future.

Hope you enjoy this! Please leave me a comment below about any major purchases you’ve made or plan to make that are so meaningful to you!!

Peace, love, & glam,

Erica

PS – Please like/comment/subscribe/share if you are picking up what I’m putting down. 😉 It only takes two seconds and you can consider it your good deed for the day! Hehe.

I want to get my message out there and help as many women as I can to create glamorous, meaningful lives they love and have always pictured for themselves. (In the future I’ll also be doing this through life coaching and putting out info-products/physical products related to time management, goal-setting, & self-care, but for now I’m simply working on putting out fun, helpful content!)

So THANK YOU for watching and THANK YOU for your support as I build and grow. ❤

On the Road to Fabulosity, Expect Mental Potholes (…Just Don’t Get Your Heel Stuck)

Sigh. “Mama said there’d be days like this.”

When your approach to life is to sit back and wait for things to happen to you rather than really going for what you want, you probably feel like shit, but at least you know (if you have some level of common sense and self-awareness) that you yourself are causing that misery.

So it’s kind of like you’re still in control, because you caused the shit feelings and you EXPECTED the shit feelings. So, uh, no grand expectations equals no letdown right? (Not my way of living but I get the “appeal”.)

But ironically, when you ACTUALLY start to take control and make decisions to spend your time doing more of what you love, what feels good to you, and working toward what you want to have/do/be/see in this lifetime, that’s when an occasional dark mood can really be jarring.

For the most part you’re humming along, doing your thing, not perfect but cool with that because you know perfection is an illusion. And then you see someone else’s Instagram post who’s further along in her biz than you are, or you make a small mistake at work. Seemingly NBD, but somewhere within your subconscious minds it gets to you.

And suddenly you feel stupid to have been so naïve, thinking you of all people could be the next Oprah Winfrey, you of all people could be an entrepreneur considering you barely made a dime from that color-in sticker stand you launched when you were a kid (true story for me lol) , you of all people could travel by yourself. Moments of doubt or worry or confusion can make you question everything.

I get it.

Some days I feel confident, strong, happy, and hopeful even fully knowing that I don’t and won’t have it all figured out. I feel like I’m on my way, that nothing can stop me if I stay persistent and consistent.

And other days I feel like I do today–annoyed that I have to be at my corporate job rather than at home doing my own thing, feeling guilty for feeling that way, stuck in the past and missing people I need to get over, overwhelmed about all I want to do, concerned about money. And on and on the monkey mind goes…

This is why I am grateful for having heard (or read) that so many other entrepreneurs, both those who are newly successful and those who are well known celebrities who have been doing what they love for years and years, had moments like this when they were on the come up, and even still do to this day. Yet clearly they didn’t let those moments get to them too much because they’ve come SO far.

So I am taking their word for it and trusting that this is part of the process. Your thoughts are just thoughts. You can look at them and see if there are helpful points there that may help you tweak what you’re working on, but the majority of your disparaging thoughts will be pure baseless BS that you can ignore entirely and say “Yeah…NEEEXXXTTT!!!”

The reason you’re even HAVING these thoughts is because you’re getting uncomfortable, and getting uncomfortable can be a good sign that you’re not settling for mediocrity.

I’ve come to expect this and not let it make me second guess that I’m on the right path. But today just kind of sucks, and that’s okay. If I have to feel like crap for a little I’m down. And when I’m done feeling like crap (which is usually sooner than later), I will pick myself up again and feel like a boss again.

For anyone reading this, please hold me to that.

Peace, love, and glamour,
Erica

Spending Less Time On My Appearance Lately | More Time and More Confidence

My desire to spend more time working on my business in the morning has lead me to spend less time on my appearance (getting ready for my day job).

This inadvertently has given me more confidence to rock a bit less makeup and care a tad bit less about what I look like. I will still glam it up of course, some days more than others, but I love that I’m feeling more comfortable being fresh faced and wearing flats. 😉

For my fellow glamour girls out there who typically take a long time to get ready, consider scaling back for a little bit and seeing how you feel.

Don’t get me wrong–I fully believe that if a woman likes to get dressed to the nines and stay in full hair and makeup, it does not mean she is doing so because she’s not confident. She might just love putting on a show, as I do! Fashion and beauty and being a girl is fun! BUT it’s also nice to step back from that every so often to make sure you’re still cool letting the less done up version of yourself shine through. xox

————————————-

Mentioned in video…

My post on DivaLifeDesign.com about making a summer goals list entitled “How to Make This Your Best Summer Yet (Posted two weeks ago, not last week as I thought.)
https://divalifedesign.com/2016/06/28/how-to-make-this-your-best-summer-yet/

One Line A Day Journal Concept & Review

 

Why I love keeping a one line a day journal plus a quick review of the Mr. Boddington’s Studio Every Day Five-Year Memory Book.

Let me know in the comments if you keep a journal, whether full blown paragraphs or just one or two lines. How often do you journal and what do you usually write about?

Peace, love, & glam,
Erica

PS – Didn’t realize I was playing w/my hair so much. Tres annoying. Sorry about that! 😉

——-

Mr. Boddington’s Studio Every day Five-Year Memory Book, $11.54 on Amazon. (It was $10 when I filmed this two weeks ago but I guess it went up. =/ ):
https://www.amazon.com/Every-Day-Five-Year-Memory-Book/dp/1452113718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467716898&sr=8-1&keywords=mr+boddington%27s+studio+five+year

Same as above but in blue with gold edges. So pretty! And this one is $10 right now:
https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five-Year-Memory/dp/0811870197/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41399XqZgeL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR222%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=YF4JTVPKCK7BHMFAN1RJ

—

For more of my thoughts and tips related to self-care, time management, and goal-setting in a fun, glam way check out my Instagram @divalifedesign. 🙂

How to Make This Your Best Summer Yet

*This post is dedicated to my girl, Nikki, cofounder of the original Summer Goals List. ;)*

Does anyone else feel like by the time they FINALLY get into the spirit of summer, it’s basically over? This seems to happen to me almost every year. But this year I plan to have what I refer to as my dream summer, with the help of making a summer goals list.

WHAT IS A SUMMER GOALS LIST AND WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE ONE

My friend, Nikki, and I started making summer goals lists in the latter years of high school. Both ambitious Type A’s (and Pisces!), we wanted to make the most out of the season and accomplish important things before heading into the new school year (or college).

While I’ve made summer goals lists since then, doing so has only become truly useful in the last few years, as within this time I’ve gone from being not only a dreamer, but also someone who MAKES ISH HAPPEN!

I do this not to be a neurotic list-maker, but rather to stay focused on my desires. I need to see things in writing and in my face to program them into the forefront of my mind and make them a reality.

This list is mostly filled with summer-specific things I want to do and places I want to go. I do, however, add my main goals related to business, my side passions like singing, positive habits I’m trying to form, etc. to the top of the list, because those are still my main priorities.

Read on to get ideas to help you make YOUR summer goals list and have your best summer yet! (Might be fun to do this with some of your girls and inspire each other!)

Easy, Breezy Tips to Make Your Summer More Fun and Feel Longer

Even (if not especially) a kick-ass career woman can and should make a little time to get in the spirit of whatever season she’s in.

In this video, I include tips on how to quickly and easily summer-ize your environment and every-day tasks to soak up the summer and all it has to offer while continuing to kick ass and take names as you already do. (Just looking a little bit bronzier.)

xo
Erica

—
LINKS OF PRODUCTS MENTIONED

Zoya nailpolish in “Purity”
http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-Purity.html

Aloha Bay Unscented Chakra Jar Candles
http://www.alohabay.com/products/candles/chakrajars/chakra_jars.html

Paddywax Candle (the one I currently have is Grapefruit and Coriander, but I really want to try the Ocean Tide & Sea Salt one!) Might not be the purest of candles you can buy but I believe they’re healthier than those Slatkin & Co. Bath and Body Works candles everyone obsesses over.

Pacifica Perfume (mine are in Spanish Amber and Sandalwood)
http://www.pacificabeauty.com/perfume

Milani Color Statement Lip Liner in Fuchsia
http://milanicosmetics.com/Color-Statement-Lipliner.html

Burts Bees Lipstick in Fuchsia Flood
https://www.amazon.com/Burts-Bees-Lipstick-Fuchsia-Flood/dp/B014VZUGXA

Orange Calcite Crystal Meaning
https://crystal-cure.com/calcite-orange.html
“Orange Calcite can be used to get positive energy moving in the areas of sexuality, and creativity. Orange Calcite has strong energizing and cleansing properties.
-Balances emotions
-Removes fear
-Overcomes depression
-Dissolves problems standing in the way of achieving your best potential

13 Tips to Make Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone a Bit More Comfy

[FYI – I’ve included a bit of my story, so scroll down if you’d like to get to the tips right away. 🙂 ]

As you may know, I am a corporate diva by day and work on building a business I love in my free time. I just left a job in real estate to take on a new one in financial services. (I’m an office manager/executive assistant in case you’re wondering.) I accepted this position because a new learning experience, new interesting people, and a new salary will help me make my dreams a reality more quickly.

I’ve taken a week-long staycation to allow myself some time to relax and transition, and that glorious week is sadly coming to an end. Actually, by the time you’re reading this, I will have just finished my second day at the new trabajo. And just the thought of that makes me–(gulp)–nervous af.

I knew that I would start getting nervous about the new job around this time. I took a week off before starting my last job, too, and I’m realizing that I felt the exact same way a couple of days before starting that new gig as well. Nervous, kinda sad, insecurities popping up like zits on a teenager…

In part I am nervous because I am entering a new industry of which I know little about, and because it is a much smaller company than I’m used to working for. But my last job transition was from publishing to real estate (in the freaking IT department, no less), and somehow I learned the ropes pretty quickly. I’m sure I’ll be fine.

I think that the BIGGEST thing that feels unnerving about starting my new job tomorrow, the thing that has me feeling like I’m walking the plank (backwards and blind), is the idea that this is a huge CHANGE. I have no idea what to EXPECT. I am starting from SCRATCH again.

For the past two years I have taken the subway to the same stop every day and made the same walk to the office, stopping at the same Starbucks where they know my name and drink order by heart. I have proceeded to walk into the same building and say hi to the same doorman and take the elevator up to the same floor and see the same coworkers basically every day, sit in the same cube in the same chair…

I think you get the picture. Shit started to get comfy. And in my mind there is nothing wrong with that, but it’s not ideal to stay at a place BECAUSE you’re comfy.

Getting out of your comfort zone, especially when it is changing your day-to-day patterns, especially if you are a creature of habit like I am, AIN’T easy.

For some reason I keep getting this visual of two pieces of super strong, scratchy Velcro being pulled apart. My routine is being snatched away (albeit voluntarily because I signed up for this), and it feels scary that I don’t have a new routine to replace it yet. It feels scary that for the first month (or more) I will likely feel nervous going to work. (Not necessarily a BAD, “omg this is awful” nervous, but that still learning the ropes, still kinda feeling like Bambi trying to walk, hoping I catch on quick nervous.)

And you could be the most logical, enlightened, and/or brave person in the world, knowing that this is just your “monkey mind” freaking out, that you will be great at the new job before you know it because there is evidence of you being triumphant in these types of situations before, that even if you do make a couple mistakes no one expects you to be perfect, etc.

…But that pit in the bottom of your stomach will still be there. That tightness in your throat and chest and shoulders that makes you unsure of whether you want to cry or scream or throw up will be there. That “fight or flight” impulse will be there, dreaming up scenarios of how you can run away and make a living off of a mango stand in the Caribbean. (Hmm…) Nerves are gonna do what nerves are gonna do.

So accept the nerves, and know the only way out is through.

HOWEVER, in my humble opinion there is NOTHING wrong with making yourself a little more comfortable in the process of getting uncomfortable.

Here are 13 things I plan on doing over the next couple of weeks to make all this change a bit easier to cope with: