A
NEW YEA
R AND A NEW LOOK!
|
|
Welcome to the first issue of the newly revamped
Smart Women/Smart Choices
Ezine. We are moving into a monthly Ezine in order to bring you more content and to increase interaction among our readers.
Thanks to all of you who completed our survey last year, we are increasing hands-on interactive support, discussing topics relevant to your financial needs, and providing opportunities for you to chat with me and my guest experts. In addition, we will be taking you through our free course,
Unlock Your Financial Power
, with more support while adding new resources so that our course will grow over the year. We hope that you enjoy the new format and would love feedback and suggestions for both topics and guests.
This is what the new year brings:
- 1st Tuesday of each month: You will receive the Smart Women/Smart Choices Ezine.
- 3rd Wednesday of each month – 3 pm EST: Join me on Smart Women Talk. This interactive live interview provides opportunities for you to speak directly with me and my guest experts. This is an excellent chance to ask the questions you’ve needed answers to.
- Smart Women’s Empowerment Facebook Group: Those taking our free Unlock Your Financial Power course are invited to join this private, interactive Facebook group where you can ask questions, share successes, and connect with other members.
|
|
SMART WOMEN TALK RADIO
IS CHANGING!
|
Part of our 2018 change includes an
entirely
new format to Smart Women Talk Radio. Listeners will NOW take part in our live and interactive monthly show.
Every month, I'll host a special guest who will take your questions LIVE on-air. It's the perfect opportunity for you to speak one-on-one with me and my guests.
|
|
|
I’m thrilled to announce that best-selling author and financial guru,
Barbara Stanny Huson
, will join us for our first live and interactive
Smart Women Talk
show on
January 17
th
at 3:00 pm EST/2:00 pm CST/12:00 pm PST.
Barbara is world-known for her financial expertise and no-nonsense approach to money. I’ve known her for over 15 years, and throughout that time, she’s been my mentor, my guiding light, and my dear friend.
Join us in this interactive, live show as Barbara and I discuss overcoming fear of change, what makes a woman “smart,” and how to get clarity for making 2018 a powerful and prosperous year. This is definitely a show that you don’t want to miss.
|
|
START THE NEW YEAR
ON THE RIGHT FINANCIAL FOOT
January is the perfect time to reflect and reboot. Let’s start 2018 on the right financial foot
TOGETHER
! Every month, I will guide you through a different module of the
Smart Women’s Academy
’s free, online course,
Unlock Your Financial Power.
|
|
|
Unlock Your Financial Power
is so much more than simply a course about how to budget and save money. Throughout the course, you will gain a better understanding of your true gifts, dreams, and talents so that you can create a life you love that includes more money, a better job, optimal health, and true happiness. My six-step process will take you from your dream all the way to mastery.
Registered participants of
Unlock Your Financial Power
are invited to join me in our private
Smart Women’s Empowerment Facebook group
as I answer questions that you have regarding the different modules while I highlight important points from each lesson. Plus, I will host an interactive live call the 3
rd
Wednesday of every month where listeners can ask questions.
Are you ready to begin the journey to unlock your financial power?
|
|
SKIP THE RESOLUTIONS --
MAKE NEW YEAR'S
HABITS
INSTEAD
The beginning of a new year is when most people feel the need to create New Year’s Resolutions. The problem with most resolutions is that we start out excited with the best intentions only to lose momentum, and we quickly become discouraged and quit.
Instead of creating resolutions, I propose you consider creating habits to keep you on track for bringing those things you want into your life. I like to call these habits a
daily practice of little, tiny steps.
To create these new habits, I suggest you use my
Daily Perfect Life Practice
tool that follow a three-step process of Release, Receive, and Repeat.
Step 1: Release:
Your goal is to release the things that are no longer serving you so you can make room for the things you want more of in your life. Take out a piece of paper and write out anything that you no longer want, things that are draining your energy and confidence and holding you back from living the life you want. Examples might include lack of self-care, under-charging, over-giving, clutter, or extra weight. Go ahead and write down what you would like to release. When you finish, I suggest you fold your list and then burn it. Many women want to hold on to it and look at it later, but I want you to immediately destroy it in a little fire ceremony. I urge you not to go back and look at the list. By writing it down, you’ve already sent this message out to the Universe. This is a very powerful moment. So, before you move to Step 2, I want you to burn or tear up the list.
Step 2: Receive:
This is my favorite part! Take a new sheet of paper. Notice how you are feeling. You may feel a sense of openness and excitement after your releasing fire ceremony. You have just released a lot of baggage! Now it’s time to
receive
. What is it that you would like to receive in 2016? Is it more money, more love, more joy, simplicity, better health, or more fun? Take a moment to write out what you want more of in your life by writing “I AM RECEIVING” across the top of the page and then list all the things you want more of in your life.
Step 3: Repeat:
What I mean by repeat is, “What are the habits that you
repeat
on a daily basis that will bring you into alignment with what you want to receive in 2018?” To make this easy, I have created a tool called
Daily Perfect Life Practice
that you can download from our free online course,
Unlock Your Financial Power
. This form is meant to be printed out once a week in order to track your success. This list will be reminders of the
habits
you are trying to create. Some examples might include: take vitamins, drink 64 ounces of water daily, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, date with partner once a week, organize office – you get the idea!
Instead of creating resolutions, create
habits
that are simple things you can do
every
day. Track them daily and weekly for the next month and see what happens.
|
|
TAKING THE LEAP
“In the end everything will be okay, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” - Hanuman
I love this quote. It helps me remember that as humans, we create our reality through our thoughts and actions.
Earlier this year, I realized that it was time for change. For years, I have been struggling with my knees, and the pain was affecting the quality of my life. For one thing, I am married to a very athletic guy who is five years younger than I, and I want to be able to thrive as I age.
I just turned 59 in October, and I'm going to have to have both knees replaced this year. It's time; I am ready for my LEAP. I know it's possible to thrive after a double knee replacement because my sister-in-law had it done a few years ago, and it’s changed her life. In fact, she is running in the London Marathon in April!
You see, my story is not done. I'm writing a new chapter, and it begins with surgery, but it also begins with changing how I work. What you are seeing with all these changes at
Smart Women's Empowerment
is part of this process I'm creating in order to achieve simplicity, fun, and effectiveness.
On January 1st, my husband and I are taking off for an eight-week cross-country journey to tour our beautiful national parks while visiting family and friends. At first, I was scared to death that I couldn't do this; but I'm ready. When I return, I'm having my knees replaced; one in March and the other in August.
To make all this happen, I had to reinvent everything. I'm partnering with Lynn Abbott-McCloud and Tara Backes -- our
Smart Women
team -- and I'm excited about our new format. I'm so glad I faced my fears and took the LEAP because I am already seeing how much more effective, fresh, and fun this will be for all of us!
Please share our
Smart Women
Community with your friends by inviting them to visit
www.JoinSmartWomen.com.
I can't wait for our first live interactive
Smart Women Talk
call on
Wednesday, January 15
th
at 3:00 pm EST
. Mark your calendar and watch for an email with registration information.
May you have a wonderful and prosperous new year filled with the courage to make the changes that you need in order to grow. Happy New Year!
|
|
|
SELF-CARE
TIP O' THE MONTH:
What's Important in Your Life?
It's no secret. Women who take care of themselves usually have longer and more fulfilling lives. However, as a woman, it’s often difficult to find the time and energy for self-care. As the new year begins, I strongly encourage each and every one of you to take the self-care challenge. Every month, I will share a self-care activity. This month, the focus is on the question –
What’s important in my life?
To answer this question, we will use a tool I call the
Perfect Life Affirmations
.
|
|
I want you to imagine your ideal life three years from now and create goal affirmations for the three categories below. Each goal affirmation will begin with, "I am ..." I have included some examples to help you understand the process:
Your Mind, Body and Spirit (All about YOU):
Some examples might include exercising daily, eating healthy foods, or getting at least eight hours of sleep each night.
Goal affirmation example: I am exercising daily.
Family, Friends, and Fun (With others):
Some examples might include traveling with your family and/or visiting friends, making monthly dinner dates with each of your children, or taking your best friend to a concert.
Goal affirmation example: I am traveling with my family to New York.
Money, Career, and Legacy:
Some examples might include having more than enough so that you feel safe and secure about your future, changing jobs, or retiring without fear.
Goal affirmation example: I am looking for a new job with better benefits.
Be sure to print out your
Perfect Life Affirmations
. You can make a vision board based on it, read it daily, and/or meditate on it, but keep it where you can see it. This is a great exercise to help you stay focused on what’s important in your life.
|
|
CLICK HERE TO JOIN AND LEARN MORE ...
|
|
|
ABOUT KATANA AND SMART WOMEN
|
Over ten years ago, I started Smart Women's Empowerment, a nonprofit online resource center where I host Smart Women Talk Radio with over two million subscribers and lead our free online course for women,
Unlock Your Financial Power.
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, my mission for the last 30 years has been to inspire women to take charge of their lives and finances by preparing for expected and unexpected life events. These include reinventing after retirement, becoming a caregiver, and creating a legacy.
The Smart Women's Empowerment is a project of
United Charitable
, a registered 501(c)3 public charity EIN 20-4286082. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
|
|
Financial Empowerment is Every Woman's Birthright
The need is real. So are our results.
|
|
Thanks to your generous support and a matching grant from The Seed Foundation, we have reached more than one million smart women around the world. Help us continue our work. Make a donation today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|