Teaching Girls to Step Towards the Moon

In September The Next Steps, LLC had the distinct pleasure of providing onsite logistics to Girls to the Moon's inaugural campference. Girls to the Moon focuses on "surrounding the next generation of girls, specifically ages 8-14, with truth and education on topics ranging from creative writing and coding to healthy relationships and sex." The company aims to be "a catalyst for conversation about how girls should love themselves, feel comfortable in their own skin and become the best humans they can be."

(some highlights from the camperference from top left to right: Sponsor banner; t-shirts for attendees; amazing program design and host sponsor; registration desk; co-founders Courtney, Knight and Courtenay talk GTTM for a podcast)

One of the first logistics that The Next Steps, LLC has officially assisted with, by far this will have the most special place in my heart. Full preparation for this event was done by the three amazing co-founders: Knight, Courtenay and Courtney. Their vision was brought to life by their hard work, dedication and passion to this project.  

Day before prep was full of stuffing attendee bags with all kinds of swag, organizing t-shirts, and setting up sponsor table areas and classrooms for concurrent sessions. This was truly an all-hands on deck event. I joke that normally people need to be "voluntold" to do something however no one needed to be told to do anything, all of the volunteers on prep day and day of stepped up to the plate and made it happen.

I haven't felt such an amazing vibe in so long handling on-site logistics and most specifically registration. The children (all ages truly) and their caregivers were so excited to be there and partake in a day for each to learn separately and together. i got high five's at the registration desk!

The day was spectacular and as with all events--exhausting at the same time! I was able to sit in on several sessions myself to monitor. Sessions that were popular for caregivers included talking about social media and what it's all about these days. Some of what they mentioned even I wasn't aware of! My favorite piece of info to share for everyone of all ages that is on social media for personal or professional reasons would be to always remember the following:

THINK before you post (is what you are about to post): true; helpful; inspiring; nice or kind?

Sessions on engineering for the teens were standing room only! Some of the girls were inspired by local owner of The Cupcake Collection, Mignon Francois who spoke about how to become an expert in your field and if you think you know the answer I will challenge that! What was so powerful is that it resonated not only with the younger generations but the older as well to realize that it's never too late to do what you truly love and feel passionate about.

I look forward to seeing this amazing program grow by leaps and bounds and hopefully be in every major city and state so that more girls can partake in the brilliant aspect behind Girls to the Moon. To read more I encourage you to visit their BLOG post regarding the campference and to also check out GIRLS TO THE MOON on their website!

Thank you Girls to the Moon for having The Next Steps, LLC there to assist in such a fabulous event!

Celebrating

I LOVE AUGUST....It's my birthday month and I love to celebrate. Who doesn't love a good celebration? So I share my top 5 reasons to celebrate this month and I'm sure each of you can celebrate something within each area and if not consider it a challenge!

1. HEALTH: I am healthy and fit. It has taken me years and more to realize that it doesn't matter what the number on the scale says at all. It matters how I feel. My clothes fit; my skin is in good condition, I have energy and can keep up with my two beautiful girls and I am committed....FINALLY. This month my husband and I have started on a new workout regime and I am happy to say that I haven't given up yet (funny right it's only day 4). This truly has taken years on weight watchers and several exercise fads and finally meeting the right women (Shannon with Stroller Strides and Erin with Worlds Best Boot Camp, Fairfax) to truly ingrain in me how good I can feel no matter what! To go with that the other moms and women I have met through these two programs are some of the most inspiring and awesome ladies and my friends.

I adore this pic it looks professional! ps: that's Erin on the right! 

amazing mamas in Stroller Strides and yep that Cecily and Emma in the top! 

2. WEALTH: My adornable.u business is beginning to flourish along with my first client event through The Next Steps, LLC happens this month. I am thrilled to be working for a woman (through AU) who believes in empowering other women and building them up. By no means am I in a fantastic wealth position but you know what? I have happiness and man that costs way more than one could ever make! I will say that I adore working for myself. I read something lately that is going around about direct sales and why it's such a wonderful business and couldn't agree more. Here it is: you know you buy that can of coke because it has your name and then you share a pic of it and your friend goes and buys it or 20 friends do? Well guess who made that money? COKE. Or the picture of an awesome meal at a restaurant....the restaurant thanks you for sending them more business. You get the point. For me I am sharing my love and earning enough to pay my daughters school each month. That's a win/win for my family.

3. NEW BEGINNINGS: It's the end of summer this month and we all start new this fall: school, work routines, sports, football season you name it. How great to celebrate something new? We all look forward, albeit a bit anxious at times, to what's ahead of us but it's like the arrow represents for me with AU: pulling it back is only going to launch us forward into greatness. So, cheers to what's ahead.....

4. FAMILY/FRIENDS: I think this part always makes me emotional. My family and truest friends mean the world to me and I would literally do anything for them. You know those friends that you can call no matter what or when and doesn't matter how much time has passed? Well, recently one of them was telling me that there is a reason and season for friendships. As I reflect and realize how mine have drastically changed over the past year I am so happy that to have been given the gift of newer friends. Though these amazing ladies haven't been around as long as some others, they GET ME and are here for me no matter what. It doesn't matter what jobs we have, what we look like, what our status in life is, if we are single or married, have children or not. My longstanding best friends (my bridesmaids) you all amaze me with what you have gone through and continue to go through in life and I am beyond proud to call you my best friends.

Clearly this one deserves two paragraphs as this month I have to celebrate my family...most importantly I have to thank my parents for giving me life! Thanks for such an awesome upbringing. To my best friend and mom Barbara. I love you more than life and can't imagine where I would be without you. Thank you for being my sounding board, therapist, friend, mom, personal shopper and amazing grandma to these girls! My immediate family you know I love you all. To my hubby Dan, thank you for supporting our family and allowing me to fully Pursue my Happy! We are all so much better off in the long run and I know that and could only get through this with you by my side. I am one lucky in love girl!

My amazing family on 4th of July

5. OURSELVES: This by far is the most important in my opinion....we should celebrate ourselves! My mom friends and I always say how we are our own work enemies and it's true. When was the last time you said to yourself: Way to go.....keep up the great work....you did it! It's time to ramp it up. For me especially as I turn 37 this month I am starting to celebrate the little things I am learning and doing. I am going to say way to go for each day I workout and complete that run (one step closer to my goal of 10K in October). I'm going to say: you did it it at the end of the night when my beautiful girls go to bed happy and healthy. Everyday I'm going to be GRATEFUL and that is KEY!

How can I NOT be grateful? 

Two Women who ROCKED the Next Steps this month!

WOW, can I just say WOW.....Today I am FLOORED by the steps that some of my friends have taken in their lives that I have to share. I talk about the Next Steps and this goes for all things in life so let me 'introduce' you to Courtenay and Keysha.

Courtenay is my best friend, has been since we were in high school. So, when I say best friend I mean she knows all in my life the good, bad and ugly and vice versa that comes along with being friends for over 22 years. She lives in the wonderful town of Franklin, TN where their education system is ranked #1 in the state. This is why she lives there for the education her daughter will receive. Lately however, there have been some rather odd political situations arising and she has taken the steps to see change happen. Literally in one day she had a change.org petition up and running that garnered more signatures to seek a resignation of a school board member than said member had received in the election. She had facts and figures behind her statements and she did it, went before the board this week with the petition. I single her out because she is fighting on a community level to make things better and doing the next steps that many of us only talk or gossip about in our communities. Way to go Coco!

Keysha.....we met as fellow direct sellers if you will and I don't even remember how but she has been to my Annual vendor each December. Keysha is one of those dynamo women....great connections, supportive family, amazing spirit and outgoing personality. On top of this one heck of a mom, friend and wife. She hasn't been so happy recently in her 'full time' job and literally just made the decision to QUIT her job....OH MAN know how happy this makes me?! The Next Steps, LLC was born out of my quitting a job as well and a lot of the same reasons apply so I feel we are 'sisters' in this. She has a great blog (PLEASE READ IT) about why she chose to do what she did and I couldn't be more excited. Way to go Keysha!

Pursue Your Happy is a trademark to my new adornable.u accessories line and it's so true we should all focus on happiness. Life is too short. The Today Show recently did an entire series: In the Pursuit of Happiness. I encourage you all to think about what it is that makes you happy and go for it!

Our family decided that my focus on the kids and what makes me happy business wise would be the focus. My husband has also gotten in on the act and found a new position back in an area that he is passionate about and I've never seen him more excited for the pursuit.

So, moving forward I am going to share with you my newest adventures and this will include my next steps in several journeys. If you have one I'd love to hear it along with follow and support you so share with me!

Stepping Up

When was the last time you stepped up? Are you sitting there wondering, what do I mean? Well for example when the last time you:

Volunteered to run a social event (work, school, moms group)?
Went on a class trip or helped out at school?
Showed support for a friend in need?
Took on a task at the office even though you weren't thrilled?
Were vocal about an election or wrong doings in the community?
Went to a HOA or civic meeting?
Decided to take a leap of faith on yourself and do what you love?
Completed that exercise program you had wanted to try?

Maybe for some of you these come naturally and for me sometimes too much! If you go to freedictionary.com you will see that when you enter stepping up a list comes up about what it means:

To improve one's performance or take on more responsibility, especially at a crucial time. 
One of a series of actions, processes, or measures taken to achieve a goal.

So where do we all want to step up to this year? We've talked about stepping out of our comfort zones and taking a step back to see where we want to be now let's try to put that to great use with a favorite exercise of mine.

Visualize this circle is 2015 and I want to know the following:

1. What do you want to BE in 2015?
2. What do you want to HAVE in 2015?
3. What do you want to DO in 2015?
4. What do you want to GIVE in 2015?

Pull out your phone put on the stopwatch for 5 minutes and just write down everything that comes to mind in each of those areas (use a different quadrant for each area). When you are done take a look at all you want out of life! Maybe you have overlap in some of the quadrants. I encourage you to choose just 2 or 3 of those and focus on STEPPING UP and doing them! Hold yourself accountable by taking action and if you need someone to help, let me know! I will gladly check in with you if you share your goals!

Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone

Do we know what our comfort zone is or do we just assume? Sure, it's comfortable to go to a job day to day that you know how to do with your eyes closed. It becomes familiar and routine and for the most part we crave routine. However, when that routine starts to become less than ideal it's time to start making some changes. I have always believed that you have to LOVE (did you hear me scream that?) what you do to do it every day. So, do YOU love what you do? I can honestly say that today in the here and now I am in love with my job. My husband joked last night that he is so in love "with the maid" and those of you who know Dan know it was a joke and I did laugh! I have never felt more complete stepping out of my former comfort zone.

I knew what time the kids had to be to school and daycare and what time meetings were and that dinner needed to get ready and that we would all be home and eating together at dinner. I knew the extra events that we had. Today though, I know when we have school and I know the few hours of daycare and the time that I have for me but other than that it's a crap shoot as a SAHM. It's all up in the air based on how the kids slept or mommy for that matter. What is the weather like? How are we all feeling? What's going on in town today? Is Daddy traveling? More importantly, is Grandma around to help?  We have no particular schedule other than to spend time with one another, do some 'school work' and projects and just be. So, yep that's out of my comfort zone but brings pure happiness.

Setting up my own business was also something different and for me the greatest decision. I enjoy helping others find their footing with their events and meetings. Being able to be a sound board to flesh out ideas is fun and always different. And now I have my adornable.u. Being a Founding Leader and part of a start up is exciting. Yes, there are challenges and kinks along the way, but we work through them. All of these steps outside of what I'm used to have helped me to take a deep breath, relax, have more fun and go with the flow.

The poll I asked at the launch of my business was what step are you taking. From those who responded three were popular but one of which was ME time. It's not always easy to find that time. For me with the support of my family I have found that with an amazing boot camp that I joined called Worlds Best Boot Camp Fairfax County. Yep, making a plug alright!!! I had no strength or desire and let's be honest those who know me know I'd rather not exercise (unless I can dance). I have seen such tremendous growth in my spirit and change to my body that taking this HUGE step outside of what was comfortable has been a motivator. I see the physical and mental transformation and in just 6 weeks. I dedicated 6 weeks to a better me and I can't wait to continue.

So, I challenge you to take a look and ask yourself are you stepping outside of your comfort zone? If so, I want to hear about it! If not tell me what one small thing can you do today to start to make a change in something that matters to you.

Until next time.

Taking a Step Back

To move forward sometimes we must take a step back. I have been very fortunate for the past 14 years to have been in the Association Industry. I started my career back in the day in High School as the editor of a standards engineering publication that my father was a part of. From there I spent a few years in TV which I loved, but hated the hours! My first job in the Association industry was as an event planner organizing education programs, fundraisers and conventions for a local bar association. A few years into that position knowing there wasn't much room for growth I made the jump to national association in DC working again as the education and meeting planner but on a larger scale. I loved the event planning and the education sessions were always intriguing to me. Again this fit was good but there was no room for growth. I was then hired by a former colleague to handle his public relations, communications and office events. This was the perfect transition that I needed to determine what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. I then found my way back to VA and with a national association where I was hired as the Director of meetings. About a year into this our Executive Director left and I was asked to step in during the interim. That interim turned into 7 years as Executive Director. The experience I gained is invaluable. I was honored to be among the less than 2% who earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designate under the age of 30. I continued to work on the meetings (my true passion) while also taking on the roles of finance, human resources, communications, membership and marketing. The hardest part was working with a limited budget and staff.

So taking a step back in 2014 I decided to resign from this position to become a stay at home mom to my 2 beautiful girls, Emma and Cecily. In dong so I also decided to start my own company, the Next Steps, LLC. This company provides event planning consultation, association management assistance, leadership training and hopefully more in the years to come. What I do know is that I am the happiest I have ever been and I have always said you have to love what you do to do it every day--and I do! So stepping forward I hope to gain new clients and grow this company while helping them take their next steps.

Health, Wealth & Prosperity

Welcome to The Next Steps, LLC. This will certainly be my year of 'next steps' and I'm excited to bring you on this journey.My next steps are going to be many and along this journey I plan to focus on family, health, happiness and prosperity. Stay tuned as I get setup to start this new adventure! So, what is your next step?