We are in the last few days of January! How did you do on keeping your New Year’s Resolutions? Or even better, sticking to working towards your 2012 goals? It’s a great time to check in, make sure you are on track and re-focus as need.

If one of your goals was to lose weight and eat healthy, here are a few tips to help you stay on track for the next 30 days (or 29, since Feb only has 29 days!):

1. Keep your heart healthy this month – it’s National Heart Health Month. Simple things you can do include – 30-60 minutes of exercise a day, quit smoking and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
2. What does a healthy, balanced diet looks like? Think of a dinner plate – half of it should be vegetables (salad, stir fry, raw veggies for example), 1/4 protein (size of the palm of your hand) and 1/4 whole grains (barley, quinoa, brown rice).
3. Drink water. Lots of water. Juice has no place in a healthy diet, especially for kids. There is no fibre in juice and it’s high glycemic so it tends to spike blood sugar levels.
4. Enjoy your 1-2 cups of java a day though! Coffee has many anti-oxidants and even Dr. Oz recommends it. Just remember to balance out your coffee intake with a good quality calcium supplement!  I choose USANA Health Sciences pharmaceutical grade products for myself and my family.
5. Give lots of hugs and kisses! This helps you stay in a happier mood, and it’s easy to stay on track with your healthy lifestyle when you’re happy. In fact, it’s recommended that you give at least 12 hugs a day. The bonus is that you’ll receive 12 hugs in return.

What do you do on a daily basis to stay on track for your health? Is there anything in particular that you do to keep your heart healthy?

Last week I had a great opportunity to spend some time with a number of amazing leaders, including the President of USANA Health Sciences, Kevin Guest. I spent much of the weekend reflecting on this amazing week and all of the people I connected with. It got me thinking about some of the qualities that these leaders all shared and I wanted to share them with you.

Passion – Not only are leaders passionate about what they do for a living,  they are passionate about life! They are also committed to helping others find their passion as well.

Faith – There are many ways faith can be defined. It can be faith in God, the Universe, Allah, Buddah – or even just a very strong faith in yourself. All leaders have faith in themselves, their teams, their goals and their dreams. And this unwavering faith is a key to their success.

Humility – The greatest leaders are the ones who rarely toot their own horn. In fact, they are the ones that will be rewarding and thanking everyone else – they are the first in line to offer congratulations and the first ones to send flowers.

Perseverance – Amazing leaders realize that there is no such thing as overnight success. To be successful at anything takes years of dedication and practice. They have been through challenges and made mistakes, but they stick to their plan and continue to work towards their dreams.

Ability to Inspire – A true leader does not motivate people, rather they inspire people to take action, to make a difference, to follow their dreams, to set goals and to live the life they have always dreamed of. The lead with their actions, and these actions are what inspire others.

Lifelong learning – They are never satisfied with what they already know. They are always reading, listening. learning and watching. They understand that the world around them is every changing, so they must continue to learn and adapt to stay ahead.

And finally, a true leader is not afraid to love. To love what they do, to love the people they work with, to love every situation they end up in – even the most difficult ones.

I would to hear from you about any qualities I may have missed!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012 with open arms! I am very excited for this year. There is a definite energy shift that seems to happen between the end of Dec and the beginning of January. Have you had a chance to write out your goals for 2012 and beyond? Did you update your vision board recently? What do you have in store for 2012?

A great way to get your plan into action for this year is to start with a review of 2011 by asking yourself a few questions:

• What did I accomplish in 2011? Take a look at all aspects of your life, including health, family, business or career and finances.
• What key learnings did I have in 2011? Did you go through a particularly challenging experience? Or perhaps learned a new skill?
• Is there anything I would do differently this year?
• Who did I spend my time with in 2011? Who would I like to spend my time with in 2012?
• What habits or behaviours did I choose to do in 2011, that might not serve me in 2012? For example, checking email before getting out of bed in the morning.

This activity should take about 45-60 min to complete. At that point it will be easier to start building a plan for 2012. I promise that if you take the time to create a vision and plan your goals for this year (and the next 5 years), that when you look back at the end of 2012, you’ll have accomplished most, if not all of the goals you set out.  If you’re still not sure how to do all of this, that’s ok! Send me a quick email at julie@inspiredbyjuliecaroline.com and we’ll set up a coaching session.

My top goals for 2012 include:

1. Buying a home
2. Doubling my income over 2011
3. Competing in triathlons again this summer

Share your top 3 goals for this year in the comments below! Making your goals public is a great step to success.

Ever watch a movie or tv show that made you cry? How about one that scared you or even gave you nightmares? Or even more fun, one that gave you an idea or sparked a dream? Did you know that our minds think in pictures? Our brain doesn’t know the difference between what is real (happening in our REAL lives) and what is not (happening on television or in a movie).  If you stop to think about it for a second – why do we cry when a FICTIONAL character is sick, injured or dies in a book, tv show or a movie? Sure, part of it is that the background music is often heart-wrenching but beyond that, we have created a REAL connection between the characters and ourselves.

What does this have to do with this time of year? Soon, Christmas and Boxing Day will have passed and it’s time for everyone to create New Year’s Resolutions. This year, I suggest create a few “NYR” that are visual and create pictures in your mind. This is one of the tricks to helping your NYR stick! Here are a few suggestions:

• Create a Vision Board
• Write a movie script of your own life, what you would like it to be in 5 or 10 years
• Make a video with your family, talking about Christmas 2012 and how your lives are different (speak in the present tense)
• Find images on the web that inspire you and make a screen saver or background for your computer
• Create a photo album (yes, print photos) of your NYR goals – so if you want to lose weight, put a photo of yourself at your ideal weight (if you don’t have one, find someone who looks like you!). Or if you want to exercise more, put photos of people hiking, playing sports and exercising. Look at it every night before bed.
• Take a HUGE Post-it note and write down (in the present tense) all of the NYR you have and post it on your wall. Use words that inspire you – “I feel amazing now that I have quit smoking”, “I am inspired by my daily walks in nature”
• Or anything else that inspires you to be creative with your NYR!!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!! See you in 2012!

Do you make the same tired resolutions every January and by January 15th, you’ve already given up? Would you like to learn how to create goals that are achievable and how to stay focused beyond the middle of January? What if you could create a vision and design your life for the next 5 years and beyond? Let’s face it – the next 5 years are going to pass us by and it’s what you do TODAY that determines what that future will look like.

From now until Friday, I’m offering a very special coaching and mentoring opportunity for a few select individuals who would love to really change the course of their lives over the next 5 years. We’ll work together on creating your vision and translating that into 1, 3 and 5 year goals. I’ll provide you will the keys to making them stick over the long term.  And I know from experience how powerful and effective these strategies can be.

As a bonus, you will also receive a bonus gift to kick-start your Wellness Program in 2012. All of this for only $199! Register by the end of the day on Friday and book your session during the week of Jan 2-5th.

If you’re tired of waking up to the same results every day, frustrated because you’re not making as much money as you’d like, disappointed that you still haven’t reached your wellness goals and just plain fed up with being average, email me today – julie@inspiredbyjuliecaroline.com

To your ultimate success in 2012!!

This past month, I achieved one of my life goals. I became a Gold Director in Usana Health Sciences.  For those outside of Usana and networking marketing, this is the first step in our Leadership levels. Simply put, it’s a matter of achieving a certain sales goals (with my team) every Friday, for 4 weeks straight. Every Saturday, we started again at 0. It’s a kind of business marathon. This is a goal I have had ever since I started my business almost 6 years ago.

I wanted to share with you some of the amazing things I learned and saw during these 4 weeks. One of the most challenging things I have come across over the past 6 years, is learning to have patience.  I have been confronted with many challenges to try my patience and often, I would not be able to deal with it. It has been said that the only way to build patience is to be giving trials again and again, until we finally develop it. That is what happened over the month of November. There were so many moments where I had to be patient, waiting for a call back, someone to enter an order, a credit card number, a follow-up call, a scheduled appointment – and what I found is that I was finally able to deal with the waiting, by remaining calm and centered, and having FAITH.

Faith is something else that I have really struggled with for many years. This past year, I started attending my local French church. And even though it has only been a year, I have noticed that it is easier for me to have faith. Going to church isn’t required to build faith, because you can have faith in any number of people or deities – it’s really up to you.  Having faith in God or the Universe or whatever it may be, that is what is most important. And for me, it took going to church and developing my faith in God in order to have faith in all of the aspects of my life.

Most importantly, what I saw was an incredible amount of personal growth and leadership from my team. This is the first time where a team is ESSENTIAL for success, in fact, it’s not recommended to even attempt this challenge without a solid team. I saw my leaders step up into their greatness, many of them creating orders out of thin air (or so it seemed). They took on the role of leadership within their teams as well, and inspired a collective moment to succeed together. Many of them also achieved new levels and other recognition. And those who were really by my side the whole time, well, they are now ready to achieve some of their major life goals as well.

This is only the beginning of something truly amazing. I love what I do and the people that I do it with. I am excited to get up in the morning to work with my team. It energizes me to work with like-minded people who are working towards new goals every single week. We are caught up in an amazing momentum right now, and it’s really fantastic. I am so grateful and so honoured to be a part of this. And I am inspired by my team and all of their successes.

When was the last time you achieved a life goal? How did it feel for you? Please share with us in the comments below.

Some of you may have noticed that I have been a little bit MIA on my blog this month. I promise to reveal all after tomorrow!! I will share this – I have learned more about myself and my teammates this month then I ever thought possible. I have been blessed with a few little miracles here and there, and my faith has been tested. And I have never felt more gratitude in my life then I have over the past month.

It all culminates tomorrow – and many of you who are reading this know exactly what I’m talking about and have a been a huge part of my success.

I’m looking forward to sharing it will all of you over the weekend!!

Last night I took a business call after 10 pm.  I immediately regretted it because I have a hard and fast rule never to take any calls after 10 pm.  Whether it be friends, family or business, my rule is that 10 pm is too late to be on the phone.

This is just one of the strategies I use on a daily basis to manage my energy.  You may be thinking why do I need to manage my energy? What does that even mean? Think of it like this, you body can store a certain amount of energy every day.  When you wake up after a good night’s sleep, your energy fuel tank is refilled and you feel refreshed. As you go through your day, many things will take your energy – and for many people, their energy fuel tank is depleted even before they finish breakfast.

Here are some examples of things that can steal your energy

• email
• the internet
• Facebook
• the news
• lack of focus
• other people
• not being yourself
• poor nutrition
• lack of exercise/over exercise
• not enough sleep
• STRESS

How many of these do you experience before breakfast? As you run into each of these throughout the day, you energy fuel tank gets more and more depleted. Unless you are doing something throughout the day to refuel, you end up feeling completely exhausted and depleted at the end of the day.  Do this day after day, and eventually you get sick – maybe just a cold, possibly something more serious.

What can you do to replenish and refuel your energy fuel tank? Here are few suggestions:

• 7-10 hours of sleep
• meditation/quiet reflection
• optimal supplementation to keep your cells fueled
• regular cardiovascular and resistance exercise
• create a vision board to inspire you every day
• drink lots of water
• breathe deeply once or twice a day
• de-clutter
• spend your time with people who fill your tank!

A few of the things that are also important to me to manage my energy include shutting off my phone and laptop at 10 pm every night and not turning it on til I’m out of bed for at least 15-30 min. Taking a half hour before bed to unwind (not in front of the TV) by writing out my 3 gratitudes for the day, reading a bit or maybe watching The Secret to You video – I love falling asleep with that music in my head. I also take some time to breath deeply and pray before I fall asleep.

What strategies do you use to manage your energy?

About a month ago, I mentioned that I was going to apply one of the keys to happiness, as outlined by Shawn Achor in The Happiness Advantage. I was going to write 3 things that I am grateful for, every night before going to bed.  The stipulation is that they have to be different every single night and that they have to be written or typed, so as to keep a record. I chose to write them on my Playbook right before I go to bed.  I also added one more thing, I express gratitude for one thing in my life that has not yet come to pass, such as a major business or personal goal. I will continue to add this until that goal has come to pass.

It’s been almost a month since I started and I haven’t missed a night.  And this month has been really amazing. So many positive things have happened in my life. I’ve rekindled some old friendships, reinforced many relationships, strengthened and grown my business, and have even had more fun with my daughter. Taking the time to reflect on the day is a very positive activity, as I’m always thinking about what can I choose to be grateful for today.

This is such a simple thing to do, that can have a dramatic effect on your life in a very short period of time. If mornings are better for you, do it when you first wake up.  I like doing it at night, since it gives me a  chance to reflect on the day. My best friend, Lee-Anne, has been sharing her 21 days of gratitude on her blog. I’ve noticed differences in her as well, in a very short period of time. It’s pretty amazing!

I encourage you to start your gratitude reflections tonight! Let us know in the comments if you’re planning on giving it a go for 21 days.  After that, you won’t want to stop!

I attended an amazing event last night, Wealthylicious Burlington.  This very special event is put on a few times a year by some amazing women I know, who are radiant, confident and successful and their passion it to help others to realize their true potential and to mentor them to success too!

I was reminded of a concept that has really changed my life and that is the difference between Linear and Residual Income.

What is the difference between Linear and Residual Income you ask? First, let’s review Linear Income. Linear Income is what most people get. You exchange your time for money and you get paid once for that time. Think about your salary right now, for those who are working at a job, and break it down to what you are paid weekly, then hourly. Likely it’s somewhere between $10 – $50 per hour. Perhaps you’re a self-employed professional, like a doctor or a lawyer – then we’re looking at $300 – $500 per hour. Even as a real estate agent you are still earning linear income. Here’s the challenge, your income will always be capped by the number of hours you can physically work. And if you are sick or injured (or are taking care of someone who is) then your income stops.

What really excites me is talking about is Residual (or Royalty) Income.  Here’s how it works – you do something once, such a record a CD, write a book or sign up a customer who enjoys your consumable products. Every time that CD is played, your book is purchased or that customer orders again, you get paid. The beauty is your income is not related to how many hours you personally work. Let’s take a look at how it really works.

When you begin building a residual income, at first there is a much larger time investment versus what you are earning in income. Then when you reach the crossover point, your income starts to increase rapidly and the time investment begins to decrease, until you reach a point where you can walk away and still enjoy the income.

Think of the example of rolling a car up a hill – it’s very labour intensive and difficult at first, but when you start the reach the crest it gets easier to push the car right over the top and then it races down the other side with very little effort on your part. Most people quit before the car even gets halfway up the hill.

Which income would you like to have? For a long time, I lived on Linear Income, but since I’ve discovered Residual Income, my goal is for my family to live off of all of the Residual Income I’ve created and to help 1000s of other people to do the same! Simply put, once you get the money thing out of the way, by have a monthly Residual Income that is GREATER than your monthly expenses – you can spend all of your time doing what you REALLY LOVE!! And that is how we’re going to make changes in our world.

If this makes sense to you, check in below or email me and we’ll connect – would you like to be one of the 1000 people I help to create a Residual Income?

Have you checked out my new website or my latest Success Tips?