Lara Casey

Remember January 2013? Ya, me neither...

That month I posted a blog post titled 'Making Things Happen' (Part 1 found here, Part 2 here). I also started a pinterest board with inspirational words and photos to help me throughout the year. 

Following the wedding, honeymoon, and now the pregnancy I haven't visited this goal setting exercise much. 
However, I did come away with my 2013 vision which is: There is no right time to do the right thing.  Translation: JUST DO IT! I can confidently say this stuck with me, subconsciously, throughout the year and I've done a lot of "good for me" things that I am proud of and less of those things I'm not so proud of.

I'm writing today to share more about Lara Casey. I stumbled across her blog and just fell in love. It might have been a Holy Spirit moment she is a true positive influence in my life.

Things I love about Lara:

1. She is a spiritual woman who has a relationship with God...As she wrote throughout the years her blog began with her struggles in business and personal life. Her blog has since transitioned and she is constantly quoting the Bible, confident in her business and thriving in her personal life. The power of blogging!
2. She runs a magazine out of her home - her staff works upstairs and her garage turns into a loading dock once a month. See her office tour here
3. She never gives up: Read about how she wanted a URL that was used by another company and with persistence...I won't tell the end of the story. Be inspired here
4. She gardens here
5. She is all about motivation, organization and Making Things Happen! <-- that's a link to her very own conference in North Carolina...can I please attend?!?! It is VERY pricey because they only accept 70 participants. So TONS of one-on-one time with a personal life/business couch! 
6. She doesn't blog daily or even weekly - in October she posted 4 blog posts. I'm striving for once a week and beat myself up when I don't do it.  (Her posts are VERY long so I'm sure they take more than a few hours to write)
7. You can surround yourself with all things Lara Casey and motivation by visiting her shop full of FREE downloads and printables and some inexpensive luxurious prints such as:

This is the backdrop on my office computer
You can download one of her many desktop backgrounds on her website

"Done is Better than Perfect" as mentioned in previous blog posts, this is my new mantra. I am VERY productive with this saying in the back of my head. I was married in February and kept putting off changing my name. I couldn't decide if I wanted to keep my middle name or my madian name. I was stressed about the cost of all the paper work and the time I would spend away from work standing in line in a lovely government office. I finally bit the bullet and did my research. In the end, it's free to change you name (In your lifetime you get 10 free social security cards!). The office was incredibly efficient! With touch screen check-in and over 20 'tellers' I was in and out in 20 minutes. And in the end I got the name I wanted. I guess that was Done and Perfect. I'm extra thankful it's done before tax season and our son is born.

In closing I encourage you to do Lara's CHALLENGE. Step 1 in her challenge guides you through picking 3 action items for the day - just three things you want to get done. And then the three steps it will take you to get those done. I thought I could change my name in three steps and in one day, but that didn't happen. However I was able to JUST DO IT!

This week I'm on part 2: Where am I in control?

• I am in control in my car (is it clean? do I take care of it? do I have road rage?)
• I am in control at my home desk (is it clear and organized? Does it help me function? Here is where I pay bills, if I find myself behind on bills I know where the real mess is)
• I am in control at my office desk (is it organized? If I am out of the office can someone find what they are looking for? Does it help my efficiency at work?)
• I am in control in my bedroom -NOT LIKE THAT! (are my clothes in proper dressers and closets? How will I function in bed with a baby? Do I really need 10 books on my nightstand?!)
• I am in control of my e-mail inbox, my facebook, twitter and blogs (Is this a bunch of digital clutter? Am I distracted? What can I unsubscribe from or unfollow to help me spend time away from the screen? What can I start following that will help motivate me to be the Best Version of Myself?)

I'm using the Lara's FREE eBook found here to guide my journey. I've written and highlighted all over this workbook like it's a university final exam. I highly encourage you to at least read through step one - it WILL help you. 

If you haven't clicked on any of the links above you are doing yourself a disservice. Come on! Try something before the end of the year! If it works, make it your New Year's resolution!

High Heels!