I am the type of person who will try a little bit of anything and everything to achieve a goal. For example, I have a 3 1/2 month old son. I turned 40 just 13 days after he was born.  And I was 38 when I got married. Kind of a late-bloomer in the whole marriage and kid thing, but each of our lives unfold according to their own schedule.

During our engagement, Nathan and I agreed that we wanted to be parents. So having old eggs and being (as the professionals labeled me) of advanced maternal age, I decided that I should get right to work on my fertility. My regimen included about 18 types of vitamins, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, bloodwork, ovulation predictor kits, herbs, nutrition, exercise, visualization, and an OB/GYN who specialized in fertility (oh yeah, and the husband was helping too). I was pregnant in 7 months, which I thought was pretty darn good for these old eggs.

As you can see, my approach included Western medicine, good nutrition, Eastern acupuncture, and a little bit of woo-woo thrown in for good measure. Something in there worked. Because I now have a beautiful bundle of baby-boy joy (and some sleepless nights too)!

And in building my business, I have used many approaches as well. I’ve studied the masters of advertising, attended marketing workshops, listened to endless telecalls, had strategic meetings with my team, learned about the Law of Attraction, posted affirmations and goal cards, and visualized success.

And, as a result of some or all of these tactics I have a successful business. Which is wonderful. And I am so grateful for my business partner, my clients, my amazing team members, and the wonderful projects that come my way. And yet, as I mentioned in my New Year post, I am re-examining my priorities and my goals.

And what I am realizing is that there is an exciting new idea within me but it’s underneath the surface of my consciousness. I am feeling the “There’s Something More” itch but I can’t quite name it yet. It has to do with my business and how I work with people. There will be a new aspect to what I am offering. Isn’t creativity amazing in the way that it works within us?

So, to get to the bottom of this new feeling, I am tackling it it with my a “little bit of anything and everything” approach. I am journaling and talking to people and blogging about it. I also creating a vision board. Believe it or not, I’ve never done one before. I always thought a vision board had to be specific. But, I just read about a technique on Christine Kane’s blog called an “Opening and Allowing” vision board. Here’s what she says:

How to create this vision board:

Go through each magazine. Tear out images that delight you. Don’t ask why. Just keep going through the magazines. If it’s a picture of a teddy bear that makes you smile, then pull it out. If it’s a cottage in a misty countryside, then rip it out. Just have fun and be open to whatever calls to you. Then, as you go through Step 2 above, hold that same openness, but ask yourself what this picture might mean. What is it telling you about you? Does it mean you need to take more naps? Does it mean you want to get a dog, or stop hanging out with a particular person who drains you? Most likely you’ll know the answer. If you don’t, but you still love the image, then put it on your vision board anyway. It will have an answer for you soon enough. Some women at my retreats had NO idea what their board was about, and it wasn’t until two months later that they understood. The Opening and Allowing Vision Board can be a powerful guide for you. I like it better than the first model because sometimes our egos think they know what we want, and lots of times those desires aren’t in alignment with who we really are. This goes deeper than just getting what you want. It can speak to you and teach you a little bit about yourself and your passion.

Isn’t that cool? I can create a vision board as a guide for something I don’t yet understand. And so I’ve started to gather bits and pieces out of magazines and putting them into piles. Before baby, I would’ve spent an entire day making my new vision board. With baby, I am doing this in stolen moments when I can.

I am very excited about this experiment in Vision Boarding. Anyone want to join me in the journey? You can create your own board and we’ll compare notes on our discoveries. I will be posting a picture of the vision board on the blog when I am done. Something new and exciting is just around the corner for me. I will definitely keep you posted on my progress and my discoveries!

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I’ve admitted it before. And I’m not scared to admit it now. I’m a geek.

And as with most geeks, I like action figures. I don’t actually collect them. Although I do have a Napolean Dynamite lunch box and a Wonder Woman coffee mug.

But now, I’m actually considering my first action figure. Because it just doesn’t get any cooler. Move over Barbie, there’s a new kid in town. And his name is Obama. That’s right…I said, Obama.

And given all of the craze over our newest president, this thing will be selling like hot cakes. Because this is no ordinary action figure. This is an action figure Obama that is posable with interchangeable hands, katanas, 9mm gun, assault rifle, and a lightsaber.

Unfortunately, it’s only available in Japan.

Obama Action Figure from Japan

Check out Gizmodo for even more cool poses.

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This is a continuation from my first post on Blogging for Business with Flair - Part 1.

There is also a creative aspect to many business blogs that is missing. Let me explain…

Let me go on a tangent for a moment. There is another aspect to my life…one you may not know about. I love art. As you may imagine, I get to be around a lot of beautiful designs at my company, Kinesis. But, that’s commercial art. I also like to do my own. I love to paint and create mixed-media art (I’ll post one of my pictures here in the near future).

As part of this interest area, I read books and magazines on collage and mixed media. I also look at artists’ websites and BLOGS! And as I began to review more of the artists’ blogs, I knew one of the key elements that business blogs were missing!

Artists typically write their blog as a creative endeavors. They blog to change others’ lives AND their own. They write and post their art to become better at expressing themselves. They blog to become aware of what is beautiful (or ugly) in their lives and in the world. They connect with other bloggers to enrich their lives and friendships. They exude authenticity and inspiration. And they weave in visual eye candy - illustrations, photographs, and videos.

But, let’s not forget that artists are working to sell as well. Most of the art blogs that I visit have multiple streams of income to support the artist/blogger. The blogs ARE ultimately commercial endeavors. They have online stores, gallery shows, workshop offerings, affiliate products, and so on.

They also have a very loyal blog audience because their posts are so interesting, creative, and beautiful. And one of the amazing things is the high level of comments and sharing that goes on between the bloggers and their loyal audiences. And so this is an industry that I think most business bloggers can model.

A business blog can truly be inspired and inspiring - no matter what the industry. I’ve looked at amazing blogs by people in all types of fields. Some that come to mind immediately are a taxi driver, a tractor company, a geeky computer programmer type, and a London paramedic.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: people want to do business with other people. They don’t care about a faceless company. They care about you. They want to know why you do what you do, what makes you get up in the morning, and what really makes you dance in delight. They also are interested in learning why you love the color red, what cute things your kids did yesterday, and what really gets your goat.

And when you understand how to weave all of that back into your business interest, you’ll have a compelling blog that brings people back again and again. And when you have a loyal following, great things begin to happen. Tune back in for my third installent of Blogging for Business with Flair - and I’ll give you the details about my upcoming program (hint: the course will start in February.)

Best, Wendy

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Recently, Gina Bell of JV Mavens selected me for the Honest Scrap Award.

The rules are simple:

First, you have to list 10 honest things about yourself (and make them interesting)

Then, you have to present the award to other bloggers.

1) I always ask for my husband’s help on lists like this and he gave me this one.

2) I won awards in two lip-sync competitions - in high school as the lead singer of the Violent Femmes and in college as the lead singer of the Bangles.

3) I never eat the part of the bread I hold. It’s the “handle” and I leave it on my plate when I am done.

4) I can pick up things with my toes.

5) As a kid, I had every kind of pet I could talk my mom into letting me keep. At various times, I’ve had pet rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, spiny mice, a chipmunk, squirrels, a rabbit, dogs, cats, parakeets, assorted types of fish, and a Conure parrot.

6) I hope to have a hobby farm some day with llamas, pygmy goats, and pigs (see number 5 above).

7) I have a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies.

8 ) I went to nursing school for half a year but quit after I saw my first operation (blech!).

9) I played competitive Ultimate Frisbee for 13 years.

10) I train at aerial silks (Here’s a video of a very nice performance).

And now I’d like to bestow YOU with the Honest Scrap Award (consider yourself tagged). Post your 10 things in the comments below or on your blog.

Best, Wendy

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My company, Kinesis, creates branded blogs for our clients on a regular basis. We typically install WordPress software with selected plug-ins to allow them to easily accomplish their blogging goals. As part of our process, I tutor people on how to use the blogging software. And I provide recommendations on topic ideas and themes.

Using this experience, combined with my years of writing Kinetic Ideas, I am in the process of completing a program for entrepreneurs and marketing professionals to learn more about blogging for business. As part of my new program, Brilliant Blogging for Business, I will be teaching people how to use the software, build a blogroll, get your blog listed, use keywords, be well connected in the blogosphere, and all about the technology aspects of blogging. I’ll also be guiding participants on their blogging style, how to generate new business from their blogs, how their blog attracts visitors, and lots of new ideas for topics. (related post: How a Blog Can Help Your Business)

As part of the process of putting together this program, I have been studying many, many different types of business blogs. And the more I read business blogs, the more I realize there are many issues with them.

Here are some of the specific problems I’ve see on business blogs:

• Saying the same things as everyone else in your industry
• Not using a true authentic voice in the posts
• No pictures or videos in your blogs
• Writing posts that don’t engage your readers into a conversation
• No comments on the trends in your industry
• No posts that take a stand leading to a middle-of-the-road, hum-drum blog
• Talking too much about business and company accomplishments
• Selling to your readers in most of your posts
• Blog posts that are written like sales letters
• Simply posting an ongoing stream of articles

When a business owner begins a blog they have such an amazing opportunity. But when your posts have one or more of the above issues on a regular basis, you are losing out on this opportunity. You are missing out on most of the power of a blog.

You see, a blog is really a dialogue with your readers. Therefore every single post that you write should be intended to engage your readers, make them loyal to your blog, and keep them coming back for more. In addition, you have this tremendous opportunity to get your readers to start talking back to you via the comments section - this is something that isn’t an option with a website.

A blog allows you to get instant and ongoing feedback from your potential customers. This is a very underutilized aspect of many business blogs. Your posts allow you to establish yourself as an expert. And, you get to make new connections with other bloggers - done the correct way, these can become extremely powerful business connections.

In my follow-up post, Blogging for Business with Flair - Part 2, I’ll discuss the creative aspect that is missing from business blogs…

Tell me about your blog. What do you like about it? What are you missing? Why do you visit your favorite blogs?

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My New Year is starting off with a big old BANG SIGH….

Why a sigh? It’s a sigh of self-reflection….of bewilderment…and of surrender (but not of sadness).

Motherhood has really shifted me in a big way. I love motherhood. I love my 11-week son. And as my best friend and mother of four wonderful children, Tammi Brooks, told me, “Nothing in your life can prepare you for the randomness of motherhood.”

And it is true. With a young child, there is always change. And it often occurs within the span of seconds. He’s giggling and then screaming and then back to smiles again…all within a few minutes. And even with a schedule, what works this week or this day is not always what worked last week or yesterday- thus the randomness.

With the New Year and my new family member, I am realizing that my life as I knew it is dead. Along with Ripley’s birth, comes my rebirth. The curious thing is that I have no idea who I am now. I am examining my new self, my priorities, and my goals. And it is both frightening and exciting.

At 40, I am coming into motherhood with a well-defined identity. It’s an identity that says to me, “Wendy, you are an ENTREPRENEUR. You are successful when you are PRODUCTIVE. Success equals accomplishments and doing tasks and serving clients and being busy.”

Yeah, well tell that to my son, Ripley.

To him, success means hanging out on the floor, bouncing together on the yoga ball, staring into each others’ eyes, singing ridiculous songs, and laying on the bed making weird noises and kicking at the air. It’s not really about DOING…it’s more about simply BEING.

I tried to tell him that I am not very adept at simply being, but doesn’t listen very well. He just gives me more opportunities to try.

Motherhood has weaved itself into every other aspect of my day and night. And this is part of what my rebirth involves.

With my new-found BEINGNESS, I have a lot more time to reflect. I realize that I have defined success with a pretty narrow measurement. I have looked at other people - other marketers in particular - and I have used their lives and their accomplishments as part of my gauge. If I were as successful as Mr. So-and-So or Ms. Blahdy-Blah, I would have numerous published books, millions of dollars of revenue, a designer wardrobe, an international speaking circuit, and a hot little car that I show off in my ezine to my 100,000 subscribers. Oh - and I would always be delighted with life because the Law of Attraction brings me everything. (I’m a bit sick of hearing about the Law of Attraction - I swear, every ezine I read is blab-blabbing about it.)

And then there’s my life. Mark Twain said, “When in doubt, tell the truth.”

Well, here is the truth… I have 2 dogs, 3 cats, an infant, and a husband who is a Pro Downhill Mountain biker. This means that most days, my house is chaotic with hairballs and mud and drool. As a new mom, I barely manage to get out of my pajamas some days.I live in a small town in Oregon with an amazing community of friends who mostly wear fleece and yoga pants (i.e. no glamorous gowns). I co-own a design and marketing business that I run with my business partner of 9+ years with great clients and an amazing staff. I have an ezine and blog that enjoy regular readers.

The thing is… I LOVE my life (with all of its chaos and clutter). So, why have I  been measuring my success by others? It’s time to put on the brakes. Scrrrreeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!!!

As part of my awakening to the new 40-year-old mommy me, here are my intentions for the New Year:

1. Be even MORE authentic on my blog, in my ezine, and with everyone I meet.
2. Embrace and enjoy MY life as it is (not as I think it SHOULD be).
3. Surrender to BEING and not worry as much about DOING.
4. Worry less about what others think (I’m 40 - isn’t it about time?).
5. Embrace abundance in ALL of its aspects.
6. Tell the TRUTH - (i.e. tell my truth to myself and live MY truth.)

Are you measuring your success in life by others?

What are your intentions for the New Year? Tell the truth - your truth. Tell it on your blog, in your ezine, at coffee shops with your friends - or simply write it in the comments section below!

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