Summers Off Isn't Just For Teachers Anymore

4/9/2014

Jennifer Lee Interviews Alicia Forest

Okay ya'll, it's getting real over at the video summit. Seriously. Today's interview was ridiculously inspiring. Alicia Forest shared some powerful tips and strategies for building a priority based business. Jenn talked about embodying your core message using her ecosystem playsheet (get it here). Here is my start on my business ecosystem. And of course I have two of them. One for Giving Hands Creative and one for Generations Literary Press.

Now if you know me and you've been following me, then you know that I was a teacher for 20 years. I started out teaching pre-school and day care, then moved to middle school, then high school, and eventually college level. But even after believing all of those "teachers get their summers off" myths, I NEVER had a full summer off. Not one single year in 20 years of teaching. Clearly I was doing something wrong.

But after hearing how Alicia was able to break her 1 million dollar moola milestone while also taking the summers off, I now have a new goal:

I will take two months in 2015 where my husband and I have a few stay-cations and also travel to really warm parts of the world (Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Hawaii, etc.).

Of course, this is going to be tough for me because I don't really know what a true vacation feels like. I think I'm always working. Always planning the next thing, working on the current thing, and tweaking the thing I just finished. It's going to require me to let go. Whew!!! Let me say that again...it's going to require me to LET GO. AHHHH!!! Just typing it scares me. But the one thing I know is that my fears are really my inner critic telling me I can't do something. And to her I say -- WATCH ME!!!

Alicia has planted the seed and I know it's possible. Remember my quote from Monday's blog post? If one human can do it, any human can do it.

I wholeheartedly believe that and so with coaching from Jenn and the help of my creative cohorts, my team of amazing editors, my virtual assistant, and my spectacularly supportive husband, Damon, I CAN LIVE A MORE EMPOWERED LIFE.

How about you? What would you do if you had your summers off?