Stop Comparing Yourself to Others #SelfLove

At the start of the year, I was a woman on a mission. 2017 was going to be the year I got my mojo back, the year I would feel normal again, and the year I would dedicate to the personal development of my mind, body, and soul.

I’ve already made positive progress towards nurturing my mental and physical health. However, during my mindfully-infused sessions where I take the time to learn and grow, I’ve noticed an uncomfortable trend – comparison. We all do it, but it’s in varying degrees of intensity. I’ve often wished that I could live in a warm country like my hugely successful cousin, Becky. Or that I drove a super sexy Land Rover Evoque like my bestie, Liz. These are the kind of comparisons that are merely fleeting thoughts rather than crippling destruction for our self-esteem. I love these thoughts because they shape my ambitions. I want to earn enough to buy a lovely car, and I want to travel to interesting places.

In January I bought a

Top 5 Tips for Small Business Networking

Networking is a relatively new thing for me. When I ran my holistic health business, I worked five days and two evenings a week, so any spare time I had I divided between family, friends, and my writing. Attending any of the networking groups in my local area was an impossibility. Once I closed that business and focused on my books and blog content, I discovered a necessity to get out from the home office and speak to another human being.

Working from home, in any capacity, has a host of benefits, from holding a conference call in your pyjamas, to saving hours on a long commute. Many mums are starting small businesses from their kitchen table to enable them to keep childcare costs to a minimum and reap the advantages of being around for their child’s early years.

With the influx of mumpreneurs, the need for friendly and supportive networking groups is more important than ever. Women empower women; it’s a beautiful thing to witness and an even more satisfying thing to do, or indeed, receive.

The groups I attend primarily are targeted

What Does Happiness Mean To You? #MondayBlogs

I was invited to do a talk for a motivational group recently on the theme of ‘Heaven on Earth.' I spent a long time thinking about what that meant to me.

Eventually, I decided that happiness was the one thing that gave me contentment. But sometimes we think that happiness is out of our reach – it’s something to work towards – a goal if you like.

When I’m at home, and I talk about setting goals, I can see my kid’s eyes begin to glaze over. ‘Oh god, she's off on one of her hippie trips again!’

That’s okay; they’re young. Goals aren’t as important to them. For them, happiness is already a huge part of their life; they don’t need to think about setting goals to achieve it.

What's Your Favourite Inspirational Quote? #wwwBlogs

If you scroll down any social media feed you will find an abundance of memes with a variety of quotes – some are inspirational, some humorous, and some are very thought provoking.

I share quite a few of these on my Resolution Challenge Facebook page. Not because it fits my personal needs – although, some days these affirmations have been spot on! – I share them in the hope that they’ll help someone else.

When I ran my holistic health business, my clients were always at the forefront of my mind. If I read an inspiring article, I would save it as I knew it might resonate with one of my ladies. When I heard about a new meditation class or spiritual workshop, I would forward the details to the people I knew would enjoy these events.

Real Women, Real Lives - Meet Heather Von St.James, Mesothelioma Cancer Survivor

Real Women, Real Lives

We are surrounded by inspirational women on a daily basis, they are on the television the radio, or they've written the books we buy or the articles/blog posts we read.  It's easy to put a celebrity on a pedestal and desire their lifestyle, power and determination, but we don't need to turn to the glossy magazines, or the big screen, to find inspirational women who can motivate us to succeed.  They live next door, work alongside us, talk to us at the supermarket.

I wanted to highlight these incredible individuals on my blog.  Women who have succeeded on their chosen path, or turned misfortune into positivity.  Ladies who have conquered illness or gone above and beyond to help others and make a difference.  They are your friend, co-worker and neighbour.  I am honoured to be able to introduce a host of remarkable women for my new feature, Real Women, Real Lives.   Women who are happy to share their motivational journey and the inspiration behind their success.  I hope you enjoy this feature, and as always please feel free to leave us a comment below.

Meet Heather Von St.James, Mesothelioma Cancer Survivor.

For many of us, February is a cold and miserable month that must be suffered through to reach the bounty of Spring that follows.  Today, on my new feature, Real Women, Real Lives, I am joined by a special guest who has this February marked on her calendar as an exceptional month.

Taking Comfort from an Inspirational Quote

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  It’s a quote we have all heard a million times over but when your life has truly given you lemons, it can be quite comforting to read.

Last week I shared '7 Inspirational Reads' with you.  For this week’s post, I’m going to share some of the most amazing quotes and affirmations that have got me through some of the worst days. 

Feel free to share your favourites in the comments below.

Interview with Peter Jones, author of How To Do Everything And Be Happy.

Last week I spoke about using self-help tools to heal yourself, and in particular the use of motivational and inspirational books.

On occasion you will come across a book that has the potential to change your life.  I have a shelf full of self-help books, but there are the odd one or two that I recommend to everyone I know.  Why?  Because these books changed me at my core and made me think about how I live and what I can do to improve my environment/life/career.

Today I am joined by Peter Jones, author of How To Do Everything And Be Happy - one of the outstanding books that changed my life.

Who Said That?

From the old wives tales that our grandparents taught us, to a business mantra that is tossed around the boardroom, we all know one or two quotes that have inspired us.


For me, a motivational quote can be used to boost my own self esteem, or passed on to one of my holistic clients.  Enhancing well-being and inspiring someone to succeed can be as simple as passing on a brief sentence.

We all know that words can harm or heal, I choose to live my life on the healing path and as such I pass on the inspirational quotes and mantras that I've collected over the years.

How To Live a Life Full of Motivation

Life can swerve in a different direction at any point, sometimes you are ready for it but more often than not it flings you unceremoniously from a moving vehicle.

This is what happened to me, but as I look back I see that it wasn't a sudden swerve, more of a winding road that I didn't realise I could get off.

Getting back on track took a huge amount of patience and dedication but with the support of my family I did it. 
For seven years I was trapped in an emotionally and physically abusive marriage.  I was overweight, exhausted and miserable.  In 2004 I found the courage to leave, packing my two, three and five year old children in the car and driving away.

How To Stay Motivated

With the recent launch of my latest book and the success of my Motivate Me Workshops for Women, I have been asked the same question over the past couple of weeks, 'How do you fit it all it?'

The honest answer is, 'It just happens!'

I have always been able to multi-task, I think this is the Gemini side of my personality, and having multiple projects on the go keeps my mind active and (hopefully) keeps me young!  This question did make me think hard about how I manage to motivate myself, and I wanted to share my findings in the hope it may help you to stay motivated.

First of all I revisited my story on the Female Entrepreneur Association website.  This was an interview about how I motivated myself to start my own business, 'Body & Soul Holistics'.  I was so proud of this feature and received some amazing feedback.  You can read that interview here.