I just finished reading a great blog post by Tim Ferris (of 4-Hour Work Week fame) about a contest called Build-a-Business. Here is the full blog post.  It was a fantastic contest, “ The Shopify build-a-business competition was a financial carrot for anyone who’d dreamed of starting a business but hadn’t taken the jump. Each person had six months to build a business, and their two highest-grossing consecutive months would be matched against everyone else.” (taken from the original blog post).

It was very inspiring. Now that my life has taken a few twists and turn, I feel like it’s time to be creative, delve into my entrepreneurial spirit a bit more and re-connect with things I am passionate about.  I haven’t been blogging as much these days, mostly because I have been absorbed in baby preparations and research but also because of a lack of motivation. And she’s on her way, which adds a bit of time pressure to the whole situation !

This is a shout out to those who are reading my blog, to connect with a few of you who might be interested in a brainstorming session – others who like me might be in an interesting situation of change and may not be sure what the next 6 months to a year will bring.  I’d like to brainstorm for ideas, talk about our strengths and passions, share our challenges and possibly review what some other successful people have been doing (especially mompreneurs). I feel I have a lot to learn and am looking for a small group of 3-4 other people who might like to work together.  Should this work out, we could start meeting regularly.  I might need a break for a month or two in October though!

Message me on facebook or twitter, or leave your info in the comments.  If we can find some local people, great, and if not, we can do it virtually on Skype. If you’re looking for a group to brainstorm with, to tap into your creativity and talents and possibly find a business partner … let me know!

Have a beautiful summer afternoon!

An article was published in the Globe and Mail on Monday – and the headline immediately caught my attention: “The face of heart disease gets younger”.  To summarize, the number of young adults (20s – 30s) who have high blood pressure has doubled in the past decade.  This means that more and more younger people are at risk for heart disease and stroke – high blood pressure is the #1 risk factor for strokes and a major risk factor in heart disease¹.

Even more troubling is that these elevated blood pressure levels seem to come from high stress levels.  Stress is a natural part of our lives, and there are both positive and negative types of stress. Over the past few decades, the amount of negative stress that most people experience on a daily basis has increased tremendously. Common sources of stress include:

• fighting traffic
• conflict at work or at home
• deadlines
• moving or changing jobs
• fear of losing your job
• financial troubles

More and more people are dealing with most or all of the above stressors on a daily basis. It’s no wonder our blood pressure has been increasing!

Why Postpone Life?

Back to the title of my post – Why postpone life? I have been re-reading Timothy Ferriss’s famous book, The 4-Hour Workweek. An expanded edition has just been released, so his book has caught media attention again. Whether or not you agree with his 4-hour work week, he brings up some very relevant points.  Why do we work for 30-40 years, doing the same thing everyday, commuting, putting in over-time for free just to hopefully have two days off a week?  And what do we end up doing in those two days a week? Often it’s really NOTHING – chores, laundry, groceries, errands, maintenance, driving the kids to all of their activities. When do we actually have the chance to LIVE?

Seriously, just take a closer look at what you do every single day.  Many of you will tell me that you love your job and you would do it for free – and I am certain that just as many of you would tell me that you love your job because it pays your bills and puts food on the table – nothing more, nothing less. I’d like to paint a picture – let me know if you know someone who might be stuck in this cycle:

Wake-up at 6 am. Shower, get the kids up and ready for school, make lunches and out the door without breakfast. Eat breakfast in the car, drop the kids off to school or daycare, commute another 20-50 min to work. Work 8 -9 hours, sitting at your desk, maybe taking your hour for lunch (perhaps even a short work-out?), leave the office exhausted. Pick up the kids from daycare, make dinner (or reheat something in the microwave), take the kids to evening activities. Come home, put the kids to bed, spend 20 min with your spouse before getting back on the computer to finish a few things before bed. Hit the sack at 11 pm, and have trouble falling asleep because you have too much on your mind.

Lather, rinse, repeat, 5 days a week for the next 20 years.

Do We Live in a Matrix?

Ever heard of the movie The Matrix? It’s not a work of fiction . The Matrix IS what the majority of people do for their entire lives.  Timothy Ferriss calls us out – he shows us that this is not the only way to live – in fact, he explains that it isn’t really living at all.  And saving it all up for your Golden Years of retirement just doesn’t cut it, since most people are expected to retire and live on LESS money than they had when they were working!  Ferriss’ book suggests a whole new life plan, including enjoying mini-retirements throughout life, instead of waiting until the end.

One of the questions I am often asked is “How do you fit everything in? You do so many things!” True, my days are very full (and yes, I don’t have kids yet, so it’s not possible for me to understand how much my life will change when we do have kids), but there is a reason for everything I do.  Right now, my teaching job and tutoring business pay the bills.  Yes, I do love what I do – but I also realize that in order to have the chance to really LIVE my life, I have to find a way to create passive income.  It’s the only way.  That is why I chose network marketing, and even more so, why I chose Agel. I am true believer that life is meant to be LIVED.  Really LIVED – not just spent trapped in the Matrix of everyday being Groundhog day – there are so many things that I want to see, do and experience, while I’m young, fit and ALIVE.

I began this post by sharing a very timely article.  People my age are at increased risk of heart disease and stroke.  This is serious news.  This is a WAKE-UP call for all of us.  What are we doing with the gift of our lives? These are preventable diseases – lifestyle choices that lead to unfavourable outcomes. It’s time to take a much closer look at our lifestyles and to figure out what steps to take in order to be FREE in the next 3-5 years. These next 3 years will go by – and it’s up to you to decide whether you are still in the same place or that much closer to freedom.  I’ve taken the road that leads to freedom, care to join me?

If this post made sense to you, please pass it on to others who might need a wake up call. It’s time for a revolution!!

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. – George Bernard Shaw