Tips for Easy Travel with Kids
steffani

Tips for Easy Travel with Kids

Hahahaha.  Ok so it’s not actually possible to travel with kids peacefully and easily.  (But I do have a great tip to get you closer to it…)

When you travel with a 5 year old and an 8 year old or any age kids for that matter, there can and will be a LOT of ups and downs.

I tend to have temporary amnesia every time we travel.  I forget any of the chaos and mayhem and only remember the beauty and bliss.  Sort of like childbirth.  You forget how painful it is until you have another child.  It’s a love-to-travel coping mechanism.

I enter into every vacation thinking it will be amazing.  Lots of quality time with the kids.  A beautiful romantic connection with my husband.  More fun than you can ever imagine.  Perfect weather.  Sunny beach days.  Great food.  Interesting new friends.  I could go on and on.  I’m very optimistic.  I always set some positive intentions.  (A powerful practice, the alternative does not end well, trust me…)

We just returned from Mexico and this trip was no different.  Booked a beautiful room at our favorite hotel, warm sunny weather.  What could go wrong?!

Well as you know when you’re traveling with kids anything and everything can go wrong.  The kids might whine and fight.  A LOT.  The taxi might take FOREVER.  You might get booked into the wrong room and have to move.  Your son could get sick and you could spend 3 hours in the ER on day 2.  Only to see him suffering for the next 4 days until you leave.

Yea.  We’ve all been there.  Being away from home, and traveling always sounds more glamorous than it is.  And we as humans tend to focus on the negative.  It’s somehow written in our DNA.  The first thing we do is tell the dramatic tale of how Jack got sick and it ruined our vacation.  We feel more comfortable sharing the hardships than the highlights.

Well I’m not buying into the bullshit rule that says that you have to share the drama.  Or even the reality.  I will find a way to highlight what went WELL.  I’ll share the triumphs, the laughter, the sweet moments we shared.  All the amazing memories we created.

We had the best New Year’s Eve we’ve ever had as a family.
Stumbled upon a fun show and beach dance party.
My daughter and I had a late night fun adventure on the beach.
When the kids went to sleep we got to ring in the New Year, just the 2 of us.  Watched some fireworks over the ocean. Romance – check.

On New Year’s day we had a late night beach fire ceremony.  As a family we wrote down things that no longer served us, that we’d like to leave in 2016.  Jack being sick was on all our lists.  And things we wanted to create in 2017.  I loved reading their lists.  What beautiful intentions these kids can set.  Lighting the list on fire in a homemade fire pit and then shouting our intentions to the wind and ending with a family Hakka ceremony.  Now how can I let that get overshadowed by a few bumps in the road.

It’s all about where you put your focus.  Do you focus on what went wrong, the fighting, the sickness, the delays.  Or what went right, the morning breakfast buffet with food we all loved, the quiet time by the pool, the Zoomba water aerobics, the jogs on the beach with my love.  Backflips in the pool.  The kindness of strangers.  New friends from England.  Feeding the fish in the pond and counting 16 turtles, the swim up bar where the kids ordered hourly chocolate smoothies.  The grilled lobster tail for dinner.  Reading a full book cover to cover.  Jet skiing, beach walking, swimming in every pool on the grounds.

Honestly when you focus on what went RIGHT, on all the GOOD.  What is there to complain about?  Life happens.  How do you choose to respond to it?

As we got in the taxi to the airport I asked my kids to tell me their 3 favorite moments of the vacation.  We came up with 25, at least.

We can sit and reflect on the stress and the problems.  And create a story of a nightmare vacation, where things went wrong and we may never go back.

OR we can focus on all the moments of beauty and connection.  The quality time that wouldn’t have happened at home.  The new experiences that expanded our horizons.  The growth and the laughter.  The smiles and the joy we shared.  The swimming and the dancing and falling asleep in each other’s arms.  That’s what I’ll focus on.  And soon we’ll forget that Jack got sick.  I might remember how nice the doctors were and how taken care of we felt.  It won’t be a bad memory.  But a good one.  More of that please.

So here’s how to travel easily and peacefully with your kids.  Focus only on the easy parts.  Focus only on the peace not the stress.  There are as many moments of those when you look for them.  And the more you look for them the more you’ll create them.  And you’ll head into blissful amnesia before your next trip.

Oh the places you will go… Where will you go next?

Loving this life and travel,
Steffani

PS:   My new Happi Mom Squad started YESTERDAY.  There is 1 space still available for this 6 month long mastermind.  If you’re ready, really ready to focus on your happiness so you can raise happiness, email me and join us!

Prepare for the New Year: 4 Simple Steps to Manifest Anything
steffani

Prepare for the New Year: 4 Simple Steps to Manifest Anything

We all want to create the life of our dreams, right?

With the New Year right around the corner we’re all focusing on making this our BEST YEAR YET.

So here are the basics…..

If you are familiar with the basics of the law of attraction, then you know how to use it. You know that thoughts become things. You know that your thoughts place an order and you know that what you focus on you’ll get more of. It’s that simple, right?

So why isn’t it working?  Feels a little empty I know.

Even if we KNOW our thoughts become things there are still things we WANT.  Why aren’t we ALL living the life of our dreams?

Sometimes we try and try to manifest a certain thing…. a certain relationship…..a certain weight……a new job……more money……a speaking gig at your favorite conference (ok maybe that’s just me). But why hasn’t it happened yet?

Here’s a great tool that will help you.

I created these 4 simple steps to help you go deeper.  To help you finally manifest your dreams, desires and goals and watch them leap into your life. You’ll experience the jubilation of that dream come true and you’ll more thoroughly enjoy the journey.

I created these 4 simple steps to help you go deeper.  To help you finally manifest your dreams, desires and goals and watch them leap into your life. This is the behind the scene secret to the law of attraction.

Are you ready for change? For the 2017 of your DREAMS? Then buckle up and let’s get started….

Step #1. Get excited and KNOW that it will come!

The first and probably most important step in this 4 step process is GET EXCITED! Really get excited! Let’s pretend that I’m a world renowned psychic and I just looked into your very near future and told you that your most treasured dreams, your most sought after goals are happening to you right now. They’ve been ordered and they’ve been shipped. They’ll be arriving shortly. What would you do? Would you celebrate? Would you jump for joy? You would par-tay! You would get excited. You would think holy cow it’s actually happening. So get in that feeling place get excited and KNOW that it will come. Have faith, stay strong and celebrate its arrival.

Step #2. Change your thoughts by any means possible.

So this step is very important and usually a little challenging for people. You see, you can’t expect great things when you’re thinking lousy thoughts. So if you have any negative or contradictory thoughts to that big manifestation you’re working towards you MUST change those thoughts. How do I change those thoughts you ask? Well, there are a lot of options here. Choose one that works for you. You can first try and stamp “cancel” on the thought when it comes up. Use this great phrase shared with me by my friend and teacher Andy Dooley. “Stop cancel clear, I have nothing to fear, all my love is here.” You can repeat powerful affirmations, write affirmations daily, read affirmations daily. You can read books that inspire you, surround yourself with people who inspire you. You can do things you love. Redirect your thought to something you love. You can also try the very effective and profound work of Byron Katie which teaches you to inquire on the stressful thought, ask four questions and then turn it around. Look into more ways to change those negative thoughts and change them by any means possible. Your thoughts MUST align with your dreams. So think good thoughts, stay positive and remember those thoughts are creating things in your life.

Step #3. Be grateful for where you are and appreciate every little success.

Soak in gratitude. Bathe in appreciation. Be overwhelmingly grateful for exactly where you are. After all there is a lot to be thankful for isn’t there? You have everything you need at this perfect moment in time. Be grateful for every little success. For the fact that you’re here, you’re breathing, you’re smiling, you’re manifesting. You have created the right and perfect life that you have around you right now. And if you want to enhance that perfect life, you have to be grateful for it. Celebrate every success, appreciate every success. From that parking space to the smell of coffee soak it all in and FEEL grateful.

Step #4. Do what makes you happy and let it flow.

Now, here’s the fun part, sit back, smile and allow it all in. The key to allowing that manifestation into your life right now and for good is to FEEL GOOD! It’s that easy. Be happy. Do what you love. Do every little thing that makes you happy and you’re bound to feel good. When you’re laughing, when you’re smiling, when you could do what you’re doing all day then you’re in the flow. There’s nothing that can stop you. You’re powerful beyond measure. And in that happy state of mind you’re manifestations are moving at the speed of light. You’ve done it. It’s here. Sit back and enjoy it!

Mike Dooley author of the great book Infinite Possibilities says “Thoughts Become Things!” And Wayne Dyer eloquently teaches “you create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, your intentions create your reality.” Get excited, change your thoughts, be grateful and be happy. You’ll find joy in the journey and you’ll be living the life of your dreams!

I will be hosting some virtual and live 2017 Planning Parties.  Email me if you’d like to attend.  steffani@myhappilife.com And I have a 4 part audio series diving deep into this process even more.  The first 5 people to email me will get that $47 program for free.  Tis the season.

Wishing you ALL your dreams come true

Steffani 

What I am MOST grateful for…..you’ll be surprised by the answer
steffani

What I am MOST grateful for…..you’ll be surprised by the answer

Hi my friend,

With Thanksgiving around the corner we’ve been talking a lot about what we’re grateful for. We have a big chalk board in our kitchen above our sink and we’ve been writing daily what we’re thankful for.

I know I’m supposed to say I’m most grateful for my family. And believe me I am. I’m not THAT person.

But there’s something I’m even more grateful for. No, not my husband, (sorry honey) or my Mom (please don’t ground me).

It’s actually accountability.

Ok hear me out. I’ve been in masterminds and accountability groups for over 20 years. Most of them I’ve been running. Accountability has been ESSENTIAL in my success. It’s honestly made me who I am as a woman, and as a parent.

Sure my Mom helped with that too. But with that alone and no accountability I’d be a totally different Mom. And my husband is ABSOLUTELY responsible for the love and abundance I have in my life. But without the accountability and the groups and the people in them I don’t know that I would have been ready to be the person I am and therefore marry him and have kids.

So you see I LITERALLY have accountability to thank for EVERYTHING.

 

My first accountability group was an actors group that I started right after college. I majored in Theater and didn’t know any other actors in Chicago. So I started a group. This was before the internet. Wow, how is that possible.?! So I put up a sign at a local acting school and asked people to join my group. We met monthly and held each other accountable for things we wanted to accomplish in the business. It was a HUGE success. The biggest one had 30 people attending for a few months. And it’s still an active group now, over 20 years later. I don’t run it anymore. Or even attend. But it’s still a group, now on meetup.com, that I started in my living room. I still stay in touch with a lot of people who I met in that group. Many of who are still working actors. I started another mastermind group after I attended Afest in 2012. The group was made up of 12 of my favorite entrepreneurs. We had 3 things in common. We’d all been to Afest. We had all attended a program called Lifebook. And we all had an abundant mentality. That group was 100% responsible for me starting my coaching business. If it wasn’t for them I would still be saying “I should start my own thing..”

Through more accountability groups I’ve now started 3 businesses, I’m in the best shape of my life, I signed a big commercial deal, I completed a ½ ironman, landed my dream job, landed my next dream job, booked dream speaking gigs at conferences and retreats, filled my private client base, bought my dream home, and I can say I finally after 8 years and after massive accountability understand my kids and feel really solid in my parenting. What what?!

Needless to say ACCOUNTABILITY can completely change your life for the better.

Do you have one?!

You NEED one.

Now that you’re hopefully convinced let me share some simple steps you can take to

starting your own mastermind group.

Step 1. Find 3 or more people with a common goal or similar interests
2 people does not make a mastermind. You can have 1 person hold you accountable but trust me, it doesn’t create a mastermind dynamic. 3 or more is ideal. 20 is usually max.

Step 2. Choose the date and time
Will you meet weekly or monthly? I found weekly is ideal if you’re trying to create the most impact.

Step 3. Create an agenda
This is key. You need a productive agenda for the whole group to follow. Happy to suggest a few. Email me if you’re interested in hearing more.

Step 4. STICK TO THE AGENDA
Can you tell by the all caps that this one is important? 

Step 5. Celebrate your success.
Continue to encourage each other. Celebrating every little win along the way. Showing up for weekly meets is a win in my book. So CELEBRATE.

It’s really that simple. And it can create the most powerful positive change in your life that you’ve ever imagined.

I have a new OPRF Mom Squad accountability group starting in January. If you’d like to join us please email me and I’ll send you more details. This group will be all about community, accountability (of course), growth, support and happiness. You WILL come out on the other side of this group with more daily happiness than you ever thought possible. Hope to hear from you.

Holding you accountable,

Steffani