My Interview with CQ Researcher

This month I was interviewed by the CQ Researcher for their issue on teen pregnancy.  I was able to put a real face to the discussion, as someone who has been in the shoes of a young person dealing with motherhood.  The reporter, Marcia Clemmit, asked me what I thought would really help prevent teens from becoming pregnant, and my answer was that it begins in the home.  Policies that educate parents about how to create loving, effective, and communicative homes are going to make the biggest difference regarding teen pregnancy and a host of other issues that young people face today.  

To read the article, click here.  I'm on pages 278-279.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Nicole 

Top 5 Priorities in Life

Last week's Mantra was about simplifying life by setting priorities.  This method has proved effective for me.  Yesterday, I was telling my husband that I was going to have to say "no" to a worthy cause if I wanted to stay sane.  Bottom line?  It's not in my top 5 priorities right now. 

Nicole's Top 5:

1) God
2) My husand and family
3) My friends
4) My work
5) Chocolate chip cookies (okay, okay, this one is really "experiencing new things")

So I asked some Facebook folks what their top 5 priorities are, and here's what I got:

1) God 2) my family and my puppies 3) work 4) my boo and my friends and 5) my car -- Kathy

1. love, 2. relationships, 3. education, 4. exposure to new things, 5. travel -- Dena

1) GOD!! 2) My family 3)My career/money 4) Planning this wedding..LOL!! and 5) Just trying to live better and be the best me I can be. -- Sylvia

Set your top 5 priorities and see how simple life becomes!

Nicole

Monday Morning Mantra - 3/22

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed some of this spring weather that has come our way! 

As I grow my business and take on new projects that allow me to work with more and more people, I'm learning a thing or two about effective leadership.  I'm not an expert, but there is one thing I know for sure - a great leader is someone who doesn't care about the limelight.  So this week's Mantra from Nelson Mandela (an AMAZING leader) is about that very thing:

"Guide from the back and let others think they're running things from the front." -- Nelson Mandela (from his new book, Mandela's Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage)

Often we think we need to be right in the forefront to lead, but our most effective leadership can come from letting others step forward. This week, think about how you can apply this advice to your leadership at home and at work.

Want to receive our Monday Mantras in your inbox each week?  Click here!

Have an awesome week!

Love,

Nicole

Monday Mantra - 3/15

Hi dears!

Have you ever heard the expression that if you figure out what's important to you, everything else will just fall into place (or something like that)? I've found this to be true. So many of us are overloading our schedules and cluttering our lives with things that really don't meet our end-goals. I find that when I focus on what's most important, I "trim the fat" out of my daily life.

For example, when I was in college, I'd just gotten out of a really turbulent and unhealthy three-year relationship with Nerissa's father. I was so happy to be on my own, free, and in school. My priorities were clear: 1) raising my daughter and 2) earning my diploma. Anything that didn't fit in with those priorities was at the very end of my to-do list each day. This system saved me from spreading myself too thin and trying to do a lot of things but not doing any of them very well!

"In a way, I have simplified my life by setting priorities." -- Karen Duffy

We can't say "yes" to everything. There just aren't enough hours in the day! So this week, list your top five priorities and plan your schedule around them. You'll be amazed by how much simpler life becomes.

Want to receive our Mantras in your inbox each Monday? Click here!

Nicole

PS: I talk about how important it is to set priorities in my new book, The Gloriously Simple Guide to Getting What You Want! (Should be out any day now! I'll keep you posted!)

Why I Love "Precious"

On Tuesday, I finally saw the movie "Precious," and I was completely blown away. If you are the only person on the face of the earth who hasn't seen it, please rent it. It is a painful and touching look at the realities of physical and sexual abuse that so many children face today. Mo'Nique won a well-deserved Oscar for her role as a very disturbed and sick mother, and within the first few minutes of the movie, I forgot that she is normally the fun-loving sidekick in so many comedies.

What did I take away from "Precious"? So many things, but most importantly that the role of Parent is both an honor and privilege, and our effectiveness as parents can either breathe life into our children or completely devastate them.

After watching the movie, I just wanted to hug and kiss both of my babies. Make sure you do the same.

If you want information on effective parenting, check out these resources:

http://www.kidshealth.org/

Healthy Place

Family Education

Love,

Nicole

The Superwoman Syndrome

This week, we're supposed to be thinking about not overloading ourselves - not taking on too much. My husband would say that I am not an expert on this issue. He constantly asks me, "How are you going to do all of that?" and my response is usually, "I'll make it work." I definitely suffer from the "Superwoman Syndrome" that so many of us suffer from. I think and want to do it all.

I like what our Mantra for this week says. Majora talks about a more strategic approach to things, one that will help us achieve the same results without eating up all of our time and energy. I remember when I decided to tell the world about Glori. At first, I wanted to write a screenplay, but that just seemed too overwhelming because I didn't know the first thing about writing movies! So I decided to write a book instead, and in the end this was the better approach. I was able to get my story out there, into the hands of people who needed it, and now I can use the book as an outline for my screenplay (which I'm working on now, with the help of a book about how to write movies!). This is a great example of thinking of a more strategic approach to our goals.

Let me make it even simpler. I love to cook, but between a growing business, writing movies, two daughters, a husband, and a house to keep up, cooking gets squeezed in. I've learned that my crock pot is my friend. I love putting all of the ingredients in, and then walking away only to discover hours later that there is something delicious in there! Again, a more strategic approach!

This may be something you struggle with as well. So I hope you're thinking of ways to approach your goals more effectively. You can still be Superwoman - you just have a crock pot under your cape. ;)

Nicole

Monday Morning Mantra - 3/1

Happy Monday to you!

What a whirlwind weekend. I was out on Friday and Saturday night with friends and soon realized I'm too old for late nights. On Sunday I took a two hour nap!

This week's Mantra is about making sure we don't overload ourselves, which is really important if we want to achieve our goals:

"When in doubt, I ask myself, Am I biting off more than I can chew? Is there a more strategic approach to the issue? It's a way to gain perspective, to step back and chill." -- Majora Carter (Founder of Sustainable South Bronx)

I have a tendency to overload my plate so this Mantra resonates with me. As I prepare to launch and market the new book and dabble in some new projects, I need to ask myself if there are more strategic approaches to each so I can make sure I'm not overdoing it.

This week, think about whether you've bit off more than you can chew. Is there a more strategic approach to your gaols and dreams?

Want to receive our Mantras in your inbox each Monday? Click here.

Nicole