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Hey friend,

What are you up to? I know several of you are at a conference, and some of you are riding out the hurricane, and others are settling into the routine of the school year starting.

Well I am doing none of the above. The hurricane kept me from attending the conference, keeping me from traveling but not hitting my city. It also got my kids out of school for the entire week, so routine is not back yet. However, I have a strange sense of peace and gratitude about the entire week, tainted only by my concern for friends currently riding out this crazy hurricane.

I am happier about quitting my job and being on this biz-entrepreneur journey with you, than I am sad about missing the conference – disappointing as that is, or worried about the hurricane when it was forecast earlier this week to get much closer to where I am.

So I guess my point is that perspective is huge, because your thoughts determine your feelings, and obstacles become what you make of them.

I hope you are all safe, productive, happy, or all of the above.

Here is a list of some of what I’ve been up to, and things I recommend for you to try this week:

1. Find Consistency – I have to celebrate that this is Issue 10 of this newsletter, which means I have done something consistently for 10 weeks in a row. After re-branding twice in the past year and taking a few months off multiple times, that feels like a huge win.
   
   
2. Use Your Name – If you have a lot of ideas, and you’re trying to narrow down and pick the first thing to focus on, or you’re trying to pick a biz or domain name (maybe none of you are, but I know many of us are tempted to rebrand from time to time) – I just have to say that it’s ok to just use your name. In my experience everything but the domain is easy to change. Keep tweaking your tagline and your branding elements until they fit you. But so much technical and historical data hangs on the domain it’s best to commit to one. So for me, I’ve decided the one thing I know is that I am me, and I like to switch up what I’m doing. So with a bit of technical difficulty, including my site not working without www for a few days, energyformompreneurs.com is no more, and aliciaeichmann.com is now live and will be more site for the foreseeable future.
   
   
3. Be Happy – I read The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks, recently. One of my biggest takeaways was that it’s ok to be happy, and that it’s normal to need to fight our natural tendencies to do so. He talks about how we have an upper limit that is our own natural roof to our happiness and that there are ways we can intentionally raise it and thus increase our own ability to happier, and happier more of the time. The simplest action to take is to simply consciously practice being happier more often, looking for reasons, and then giving yourself permission. If this intrigues you, read the book, it’s awesome. And then I’d love to hear what you thought about his Einstein time theory.
   
   
4. Niche Down – You might here me say this at least once a month, and you might hear everyone else say it too, like I did. But it’s just true. If you want help on this shoot me email. But let me just say it took me a year and a half to narrow down my focus from helping moms have energy, to helping mompreneurs have energy, to helping mompreneurs with marketing, to helping online biz owners use analytics and their traffic data to identify the right actions to take in their business. And I’m doing adwords tutoring and consulting on the side to help bring in money. So just keep. narrowing. down. You won’t regret it. For an amazing resource on this, check out the book Stand Out, by Dorie Clark. Another good one is Known, by Mark Schaefer.
   
   
5. Tutoring – If you’re looking for a way to make some money right now, consider picking a topic you enjoy and putting out the word that you can tutor those who want to learn it. Right now I’m doing adwords tutoring and consulting on the side to help bring in money.
   
   
6. Try Upwork – I’m also going to try getting jobs from upwork.com, in the spirit of trying things and having options while I’m building my core business. I’ll let you know how it goes!
   
   
7. Next on my Reading List – Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way, both by Ryan Holiday
   
   
8. Find Unique ways to Provide Value – I’ve created a set of customized analytics dashboards as my freebie to get on this list. I’ll be sending the links to you sometime next week. With a couple of clicks you’ll be able to add these templates to your google analytics account. It will populate them with your data, and you’ll be able to see more quickly at a glance, and in plain English, strategic info by category for your business. And then I’ll be following up with tips about how often to look at them and how to use them to make decisions for your business. Cool, right? I hope you love it, watch for them next week.

Quote of the week

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

– Albert Schweitzer

Blessings,
Alicia

This post has affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission if you follow the link and make a purchase. This is always at no additional cost to you. I’m so grateful for your support. Learn more here.

I am so pumped up! It’s the day I’ve been working toward for over a year, it was the last day at my job. I’m entering a new season and I don’t know if there’s anything quite like a new season when that is what you need. It’s reminding me of when I moved across the country for school, and to follow my now-husband, and when I quit my daycare job to be a Research Assistant while I got my Masters degree, and like when I got married and we moved into our new place together.

Some experiences just become watershed moments where your life is fundamentally better because it’s more aligned who you are, and so you’re happier and the grass really is greener because you’re in the right place for you to be.

Anyway, that is where I am and my hope for you is that you are able to be you wherever you are, and to enter a new season whenever the time comes. And seasons can come with subtle changes such as a change in mindset, it doesn’t have to be about big moves or life changes.

Ok, so on to the list. I don’t know if I’ll always do lists, but it’s working right now so I hope these are helpful. Here are some things I’ve been up to and stuff for you to try.

1. You can be a Boss Mom – I started reading Boss Mom, by Dana Malstaff, and I was immediately impacted by the first section where she talks about love. She says when we view love as abundant and a resource we can always create more of, and we view life as a bucket instead of separate work and home buckets, we can let ourselves love our kids/family and our business, and prioritize in a way that is authentic for ourselves, and find a place where we have love for all of it, and so we find a way for it to all work together. Totally what I need right now. And if you’re not a member, I recommend her facebook group, Boss Moms, I really love it.
   
   
2. Keyword Browser Tool – If you want to more easily get keyword info as your browse the web, go to keywordseverywhere.com and install the browser addon. Just try it, it’s fun.
   
   
3. Experiment – I changed the subject line of my newsletter last week, and the same percentage of people read it, which tells me you’re either reading or you’re not, and that makes me think I don’t need to think of a fancy subject line when I’m not feeling it.
   
   
4. Consider Your Automation – On that note, I have to say that I’ve heard some interesting debate/conversation on how to address your email list, and I wanted to tell you that I decided to use a generic ‘hey friend’ or something similar, because I’m going to reserve your name for when I’m actually emailing you personally. It’s another reason I like having a name for my newsletter. I hope to continue to regularly email many of you, and I want you to know when it’s personally from me and when it’s not. Anyway, food for thought. (I also really want to address it ‘hey guys’ but that seems weird because we’re all girls. Maybe that’s from how I grew up. Will that be weird if I start saying ‘hey guys, I just realized such and such’?)
   
   
5. Focus Your Marketing – I got some advice that I think was good. If you’re in services this will probably seem obvious. But they said to have a single focus in your marketing, but then take on clients or business that is not directly related if it’s something you want to do or someone you’re glad to work with. I think this will help me focus my marketing, which is really hard for some reason.
   
   
6. Steven Pressfield is amazing – I keep coming back to Steven Pressfield’s books. I read Turning Pro again last week as I was working up the courage to have my exit interviews and be professional through the process. And now I’m rereading Do the Work, again because it’s just so good for getting you in the mindset to embrace the creative process and push through barriers like writer’s block. Next is The Artist’s Journey.
   
   
7. Watch for New Opportunities – I got a referral from a friend of someone who wanted help with Adwords (now Google Ads). I’m not close to having a course done, but I offered to tutor her. It turns out she needs to learn it for job, and her company ended up paying me, and I met her boss too, and their company is bigger than I realized. (First call was this morning.) And a few hours is turning into more hours. I’m really excited about the project and I’m the perfect person to help them, even though it’s totally not what I thought I was looking for. So don’t be afraid to give things a shot when they don’t line up with what you were expecting.
   
   
8. Thank you – On that note, thank you so much, to all of you for reading and being my community. Several of you have reached out to me with potential jobs, or to refer friends. I appreciate it so much. If you know anyone who wants help with analytics or adwords (google ads), let me know.
   
   
9. Analytics – Since you’re on my list, if you have a few questions about your analytics account, I’d be glad to set up some custom reports for you for free, just shoot me an email about it.

Can thinking like a leader help me lose weight?

I’m going to find out, I’ll let you know. (Forgive me if that’s not where your focus is. Feel free to skip this one and wait for the next post if you want.)

I’ve been through the baby weight loss journey twice, after boy 2 and boy 3. My baby (#4) is 16 months old and to the discerning eye I still look pregnant. It really bothers me but I have not managed to align enough elements of my life for long enough to continuously make progress. I’ve actually lost ground over the last 6 months.

So can thinking like a leader help me with this? (and maybe help you with whatever your thing is right now?) I’m not sure.

But here is what I do know. Leaders take ownership, and they don’t have a victim mentality. They know what is important, what matters and they take initiative. They think creatively, out of the box. They major on the majors and minor on the minors. They have passion and vision – in a way that is contagious.

I want that, all of that. I want to be that. I want to stand up straighter, feel confident in my clothes, and be an example of self-control and healthy living for my boys. And most of all I want to take all of that for granted and move onto the other things that I want to focus on in life.

But sugar is my friend.

I know right, sounds like a personal problem. A habit that I need to kick, again.

But my job is stressful.

And I’m also blessed to have it, and my health, and a wonderful family. I’ve been reading authors like Tony Robbins and Brendon Burchard and I know I can choose to take ownership. Of my life, my attitude, my perspective, my gratitude, my habits…. my weight.

But will I?

I believe I’m meant to be a leader. And a leader is someone who takes ownership. And can prioritize long term gain over short term temptation, especially as it lines up with their vision and their values.

That is going to be me. And no joke there are cookies downstairs in the oven right now…. and I am not going to eat one.

Instead I’m going to make a menu plan for tomorrow.

— [ insert life happening ] —

I drafted that yesterday afternoon, and the act of writing it got me eating healthier for the rest of the evening, which was a big win even though I didn’t actually make a menu. Now I’m up in the middle of the night having trouble sleeping after my toddler went back to bed. And I’m thinking about how to create momentum with this. I made a connection yesterday with a nice lady who was telling me about a program she used to lose 10 pounds in a month. It costs $260. And I’m considering it, because with that much money on the line I would stick to the plan. And losing the weight is definitely worth that much money to me.

But then I think about other options that could be just as effective. My husband would be glad to have $200 in return for keeping dessert out of the house. I looked at the food plan for the program, and it’s pretty close to what I know I should be doing, dressed up in fancy language about detoxifying your body. And I’m sure it does. But I know I could make substantial progress if I just literally did what I know to do.

Do you have something like that in your life? Where you know you could really change your life, and get closer to a quality of life you really want, and you even know what you’d have to do to get there? And nothing is stopping you except you – and you just don’t, you don’t take the action you could take?

I blame my kids. This was easier when I just didn’t buy unhealthy food, and my little guys were eating bananas and avocados and didn’t think anything of it.

But leadership is about taking ownership – which is probably the opposite of blaming others and making excuses.

And ownership involves self-awareness, and I’ve realized I just really need external accountability in this area, even though I think I shouldn’t need it.

So I may form a small weight loss Facebook group (let me know if you’re interested), and until I figure that out I may just post what I ate every day at the end of each blog post, because that is where I’m at.

Where are you at?

This post originally appeared on energyformoms.com.

2017 LIEBSTER AWARD

EnergyforMoms has recieved a 2017 Liebster Award!

The 2017 Liebster Award is an online award that gives recognition to new bloggers. Created by bloggers for bloggers, it’s a great way for new blogs to be discovered and promoted. Writing is just all the Social media managing, promoting and technical work can actually be quite hard. And this award recognizes this and provides bloggers a means to connect with other bloggers and help promote each other.

Who nominated me?

I was kindly nominated by Pennie from “Nature Mama”. Her goal is to help busy families find easy, healthy answers by writing about everyday tips, “real food” recipes, tutorials, health remedies and much more. I love her story about how after struggling to become a mom, she switched her focus to a healthy lifestyle, and then had a natural, healthy pregnancy!

Pennie thanks so much for nominating me! The recognition is so motivating, as is the opportunity to connect and network with other bloggers. Since I now get to nominate 5 other blogs myself for the award, I found other new bloggers who are working hard on an awesome topic and could use a little encouragement to just keep going.

My Nominations

Each blogger must nominate fellow bloggers with less then 200 followers. Here are my choices – Go check out their wonderful blogs!!!

Alicia – “Born to Freelance”

Layne – “Crafting a Beautiful Life”

Congratulations to you both! Now it’s your turn to nominate 5 bloggers for the 2017 Liebster Award.

Questions for my Nominees

• What has been your biggest challenge with blogging?
• What is your number one tip for other bloggers?
• What are your hobbies other than blogging?
• What successful entrepreneur do you admire and why?
• Who is your favorite blogger and why?
• Tell us about your blog and why you started blogging.
• Item you can’t live without.
• What and who motivate you to write?

Here’s to spreading the blogging love and building our tribes!

2017 Liebster Award Rules

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you for the Liebster Award.
2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
3. Upload the award to your blog. It can be done as a blog post, on your sidebar or both.
4. Answer the questions
5. Provide 10 random facts about yourself (this is optional but helps you to engage better with your readers).
6. Nominate 5 blogs with followers less than 200 that you believe deserves to receive the award. If you feel others deserve the award, then you are welcome to nominate more.
7. Notify the nominated bloggers so that they can accept the award. Bloggers can be nominated more than once, giving their readers more chance to learn about them.

My Answers

Which of yours, is your favorite post – and why?

This is such a hard question! I guess I’ll say What really matters in order to have a successful yard sale, because it is the first longer, comprehensive guide that I’ve done. I tried to create a resource for readers that would help them address a practical challenge, deciding why and whether to do it, and then focusing on the most important elements for feeling good about it afterward.

What/who inspires you?

Laura Vanderkam, Ruth Soukup, Amy Lynn Andrews, Tsh Oxenreider, James Clear, Seth Godin

What do you feel most grateful about in your life?

4 healthy boys, an amazing husband, and stable employment

What has been your biggest challenge with blogging?

Balancing how I spend my time on all of the different activities that are involved.

What are your hobbies other than blogging?

At home: reading, baking, gardening, building legos with my boys; outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and boating

What is your number one tip for other bloggers?

Know your primary purpose and motivation for blogging, make sure it aligns with your core personal values, and get your close friends and family on board. This will enable you to do it for the long run, and help maintain balance in your life.

Items you can’t live without

Can I say my book shelf with all the books on it? And my foam roller, the most essential part of my home gym, because I need it even when I don’t work out. Who knew kids could give you sore muscles!

What and who motivate you to write?

I’m inspired by the moms in my MOPS group, all of whom have pre-school age kids and many of whom are military with frequent deployments. They love on their kids and support each other through all the ups and downs of young motherhood.