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Do you have enough time? Are you always trying to manage your schedule so you can squeeze a little more juice out of the few extra minutes and hours in a day? Do you feel like your schedule is driven by the demands of others, or worse, unrealistic expectations you hold for yourself? Do you have the need to know all of the answers NOW?

As a Life Coach, I often hear about my clients’ frustrations over not having enough moments to do the things they really want to do because they have so many other obligations and demands. They are in a hurry to do more, be more, achieve more. They have fewer occasions to do it and they engage in more distractions than ever. They want to find the answers quickly to resolve problems, to understand each other and to know outcomes; yet, many people do not understand how time can work for them, not against them. Does this sound like you?

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Do you have a budget- a way to allot your resources for a given period of time? Does your plan line up with your inspired goals, authentic values, true desires and expansive dreams- or do you stay stuck in survival mode, just trying to make it and hoping it will all work out? When you hear the word, “budget” do you get excited knowing you have a plan in place and feel positively confident that you make strong choices? Or, does the idea of a budget make you cringe with the negative thoughts of fear, guilt, doubt and uncertainty, making you feel like you are being held back, restricted or put in a box?

Discussions about how time and money are spent are everywhere, and for most people, it conjures up mixed reactions, good and bad. Many people are financially savvy, yet might be challenged with how they manage their time. For example, they work hard and make plenty of money yet they don’t indulge in the things that bring them joy such as playtime, downtime, enough time with people they love or even fully using their vacation time. Others might be efficient with their time, and but lack the resources or the confidence to create more abundance in their relationship with money, and thus feel vulnerable in life. 

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What makes you feel good? The fleeting moments, the guilty pleasures, the favorite activities, the silly amusements, the little indulgences? There are many things that you can do to make yourself FEEL better in the moment.  Sometimes those things are only temporary or fleeting. But what if those things stop working? 

What makes you feel good are your authentic preferences. You must search inside, find your inner truth and make conscious choices. Are you fulfilling your soul’s deepest longing and purpose? If your answer is no, why not? Feeling good is a choice AND knowing and believing you have options.

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Women, generally speaking, are kind, compassionate, patient, nurturing, generous, sweet (most of the time) and tend to provide unconditional love. Yes, we are the soft souls that provide the heart-warming gentleness to our families, friends and partners. Yet, we can be doormats, suffer in silence, become martyrs to our circumstances, and tend to put our lives on hold–all for the sake of others. Don’t get me wrong, I think women are amazing at juggling it all, and mostly being successful at it. Yet, we sometimes lack the drive, self-confidence and gumption men seem to pull off so easily.

This leads me to ask the questions, what can you learn from your male counterparts?  How can you aggressively go for what you really want and vanish the victimization? Isn’t it time to stop over-analyzing and get going? I think some of the answers can be found in lessons you can learn from guys, thereby, “embracing your inner dude.”

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How are you feeling today?  Happy? Sad? Glad? Mad?  Can you actually name the many swirling feelings that are often going on at the same time? Women are seen as the emotional ones, the backbone of families and organizations. Yet the paradox is that when they fully express those same emotions that make them sensitive, feminine and loving, they are seen as the weaker sex or even incompetent. Women, as well as men, are taught to believe that if they cry then they are not strong, and worse, are seen as feeble, needy, dependent or even fragile. Further, people are often encouraged to suppress their feelings, to toughen up and to ignore their own needs for the sake of appearing stable and consistent.  Is that really an authentic way to live?

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It’s almost Memorial Day weekend and summer is upon us… a typical time for creating new adventures by taking breaks, visiting relatives, entertaining friends, taking up new hobbies or athletic endeavors, beginning home projects, playing outdoors, attending concerts and enjoying all life has to offer while the weather is warmer and there is a vibrant energy in the air. It is often a time when people can take time off from the day-to-day, and do something different and fun-filled. Summer also offers us the chance to fulfill our dreams.

So, what is your heart’s desire, and have you started making plans? Are you dreaming big and have you begun taking steps to make your life vision a reality?   If not, what are you waiting for?

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Do you spend time thinking about what you don’t have and what others do have? Do you imagine “the grass is greener on the other side?” Consider what life might look like if you ended up with another person, could be just like so-and-so, could live somewhere else, or perhaps had more money to live a decadently free life? In other words, do you find that you are at times “green with envy” of other people, places and things?

To some degree, I believe most people want more of something they do not have whether it is materially, relationally, spiritually, financially, emotionally or physically. If not, where would the motivation come from to do better, become better, and accomplish more?

What makes a person powerful? Is it her money, fame, position, charisma, social status, or expertise? While some of these are strong characteristics, a true powerful person has the ability to use not only her external resources, but also activate her internal gifts and talents. Powerful people put their stakes in the ground on what they know to be real, and continue moving toward the greater good of self and others.

Do you feel powerful in your life? If not, why?

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In thinking about space, my first thought was to write about cleaning out the clutter in your physical spaces; getting rid of the things and stuff that no longer work in order to make room for something else. Often when people want more, new, different or upgraded things, they believe they need to make space first, only to realize months or years later, they have simply accumulated more unwanted or useless material goods that are collecting dust and encumbering a room. The cycle continues, and another clean out is needed.

Space is most often perceived in the physical realm, but I believe there are other areas of life where clutter is held.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the adage that “failure is the key to success.” There are countless stories of people who have been rejected, lost their fortunes, or were told they would not amount to anything, only to overcome the obstacles and find enormous accomplishment in the aftermath. So, if failure is part of the formula for success, why are people so afraid of getting busted?