Are you taking you and your life seriously?  What, you’re not!  Then you are not putting yourself Front & Centre.  It’s time to get serious, put on your best pumps and stand tall!

We wouldn’t think of implying that you aren’t serious about everything you do in life (some of you even get seriously serious about playing) but really truly, we know your natural tendency is to make sure that everybody else has everything they need and want before you consider yourself.   That’s why we want you to take pride of place, Front & Centre, in your life.

Are there advantages to being Front & Centre?  Oh Darlings, let us count the ways…

…following your dreams, finding your interests, acknowledging your needs, knowing what you want, enjoying healthy relationships, respecting and honouring your creativity & quirkiness, and falling in love with the gift of being highly sensitive.  

Sound too good to be true?  What’s the catch?  Seriously, there is no catch!

Life only gets better and better when you choose to put yourself Front & Centre.

The only thing that will get in your way (ok, maybe a couple of things) is listening to other people who like you putting them first (I’m sure you all have one or two in your life) or listening to the Mind Chatter that is going on right behind that pretty nose of yours (shhh listen…)

• I can’t put myself first I have kids!
• I’m being selfish.
• It’s not nice to be self-centred.
• I don’t want to be a nuisance and ask for something.
• Who do you think you are putting yourself first?

That’s your Mind Chatter whispering or shouting at you to get back in line (that would be in line behind everyone else in your life)!

You have been told for years to put yourself first, put yourself at the top of your To Do list, make yourself Numero Uno, and get to the front of the line.  Can we chat about this because we think there has been a big misunderstanding.

Women really don’t like to put themselves first etcetera (read above please). It really does feel self-serving to women and more importantly women’s lives rarely allow for this.  So,we nod our heads in agreement, we acquiesce, “Yes, you’re right, I need to put myself first” and then we carry on doing what we have always done.  We totally get it.  So then, why are we asking you to consider being Front & Centre and directing your life from that place of honour?

We see it differently.  We don’t believe that you should, need to, or have to put yourself first at the exclusion of everyone else (that’s the universal glitch).  We believe that you need to stand proudly in the centre of your life making sure that you are in touch with your Self (big S), your life, your dreams, and all those  in your life who are important to you.

If you ensure you are strong and healthy in all ways, if your needs are being met, you will happily care for all the people you love in your life and then some.

Play with us here for a minute or two (oh come on humour us!).  Imagine a big ballroom and at one end is a gorgeous velvet and gilt throne.  Now see yourself striding, gliding, sashaying down that red carpet (8-inch heels?  No problem!), taking your seat (sorry, throne), and donning your tiara!  Settle in and make yourself  at home.  Own it!  This is where you need to be.  This is where you belong!  From this place of honour you will direct your life.

Being Front & Centre calls for a new awareness and a new attitude, a Burnout Queen attitude.

One shift in thinking, one shift in belief followed by new choices, decisions, and behaviours.  Oh yeah, and a few revolutionary ideas!

• the only important opinion will ultimately be your own,
• stop trying to see yourself as others see you,
• look at all situations involving your life, your dreams, your goals through your eyes only.

Being Front & Centre means ‘more you’ for you and ‘more you’ for the other important people in your life.  It’s a win-win all around.

Choose Front & Centre and show up
in your life BIG TIME, crown and all!

PS.  The BOQs would love to hear from you!  Leave your wisdom and comments in the box below.

One of the things that leads to burnout faster than a snap-of-a-finger is being in a lousy-fit job!  Many of us have been there at one time or another in our working careers (I know I sure have).

How do you know if you are in a lousy fit job?  Easy Darling!

• You feel exhausted before you even start your day.
• You wake up with Monday Blues or butterflies in your stomach.
• Your gut tells you that work shouldn’t feel this way.
• You feel trapped and stuck.
• You find yourself close to tears at times.
• You fantasize about strangling your boss.
• You are close to giving-up on finding ‘work’ that makes your heart and soul sing.

So what happens when you keep finding jobs that cause blisters like a bad pair of sandals?

You feel miserable!  You feel like you are failing.  You even feel embarrassed when you try to explain to others just how bad work feels.  Oh the memories of trying to explain how unfulfilling work was only to hear some variation of “but it’s a good job!”.  Super, terrific, fabulous for someone else, anyone else, but me!

Being stuck in a lousy fit job is soul destroying for creative, intelligent and sensitive Burnout Queens!

We stay in lousy fit jobs for many legitimate reasons like paying bills (that’s a big one), not knowing what else to do, not having support or encouragement to chase your dream, or ending up there because you were young and hadn’t figured it out and with time you got stuck. There is one reason that trumps them all, not believing you have the right to pursue work that brings you meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

Now, we can say quite confidently that some of you will have a track record of changing jobs every 2-3 years (I know my hand is raised) and we congratulate you on your unending optimism, no sarcasm intended.  It takes optimism to keep trying. You seriously believe that if you could just find the ‘right’ job all of your dissatisfaction, disappointment, and exhaustion would fade and you would find the happiness that you know intuitively should come from work.

It is so discouraging to start a new job with every best intention, sure that this one will be better than the last, they will ‘get’ you, you won’t be bored, only to find in 3 months the lustre is wearing off.  With each new job that doesn’t work out your disappointment deepens, you feel disillusioned, worn-out, depressed, & even physically sick.

I was stuck in lousy-fit jobs for so many years that the end result was migraines, depression, even ulcers.  Finally I got savvy, gained courage, and changed directions, after I had figured out that it wasn’t me that was ‘the misfit’, it was the work environment that was a bad fit.  (Ok, it took some hours ‘on the couch’ to figure this out, but I have never, ever looked back.)  It’s time for you to get bold and brave, because…

Any job, regardless of title or salary, can be ‘just a job’ if it’s a bad fit for you.

We could share case study after case study of highly sensitive, intelligent and creative women who went from lousy-fit jobs or careers to pursuing work that had ‘the sparkles’ for them.  Their life work: work that feels meaningful, purposeful, engaging, challenging, and creative.

Look, we’ve been there and done that (over and over again) but you don’t have to!  Stop listening to your inner critic that tells you all number of things from “it’s too late to change”  to “it’s work, it’s not supposed to be fun” and start listening to the voices (you can count on us!) that say you can absolutely change it!

Here’s what you need to do Darling…

• Make a list of all the reasons (yes, even the embarrassing ones) why you do not deserve a ‘good-fit’ job.  Now’s not the time to hold back.
• Then blow those excuses up one at a time!  Destroy the ‘reasons’ you tell yourself you are not worthy of a job that makes you fulfilled.  (A little daydreaming or fantasizing work wonders with this step!)

So, we are in agreement, no more blisters ‘cause the time is now for you to stop settling for that lousy-fit job.

PS.  The BOQs would love to hear from you!  Leave your wisdom and comments in the box below.

You are the boss.  You have your hands full.  Everything falls on your shoulders: the successes, the worries, the deadlines, the cash flow, and the creative flow.

There are oh so many ‘perks’ to being your own boss, but Darling, some of you sensitive solo-preneurs have totally forgotten the whole point of running your own business!  Between the work load and the pressure you may have forgotten that, once upon a time…

…you decided to work for yourself to enjoy the freedom, flexibility, independence, power, and creativity!

Many women solo-preneurs underestimate, ignore, or downplay their freedom and flexibility.  They treat themselves as if they still work in ‘corporate-land’.  You know what happens then don’t you?  Well, my dear, you turn into a very buttoned-up bossy boss lady indeed! 

You have rules!  All kinds of rules and half-rules; discipline and punishment that you pile on your employee (aka…you!).  Confession time!  How many of these have you ‘heard’ lately?

• I need to be at my desk by 8am.
• I can’t leave till everything is done.
• I couldn’t possibly drop work to meet a friend for lunch.
• I can’t take vacations, who will run things while I’m gone?
• I’m too busy to take a ‘sick’day.

You chose to live your work and love your work on your own terms, so embrace it.  Don’t cave-in to old patterns, behaviours, pressures and certainly stop following all those out-of-date and misplaced rules and regulations.  (Gentle tap on the shoulder…)  They don’t need to exist in your realm!  You are the boss.

You can cultivate a more flexible Inner Boss; a more creative, supportive, powerful, productive, and effective boss than you ever imagined.  Now show her your appreciation and loyalty by taking her out to lunch!

The joys of being on the ‘good side’ of your inner-boss are many: you can work at any point in your day, in any fashion you want, with anyone you want, and in any environment you choose.

You can be flexible.  You are allowed to be flexible.
(In fact, you can decree it, you are a Burnout Queen!)

You can work in the park, in the local caff, or at the beach; you can work in your jammies, in your skinny jeans, in a power suit, or even in your Birthday suit (although we don’t recommend meetings on Skype this way)!

You can work in your own unique way.  You are the boss!  You don’t have the restrictions corporate ladies do.   After all isn’t that a huge reason you opted-out of the rat race?

So, to all our super-wonderful sensitive solo-preneurs, there is just one BIG question left to pose to your inner boss:

Are you going to make work a pleasure or a misery?

Right answer!  So, this week shake up your inner boss and see how much more brilliant, fun, creative, and powerful she can be when she flirts with the freedom of flexibility.

PS.  The BOQs would love to hear from you!  Leave your wisdom and comments in the box below.