CAREER

I am a big believer that every woman needs their own toolbox. I’m not talking about the metal kind that most men have in their garage. I’m talking about a skill tool box that we keep at our side to help us do our jobs and tackle challenges that we face in our careers and lives. Women need different tools than men to be successful, but once we recognize what these tools are and put them in our toolbox, the sky is the limit on what we can accomplish.

As a Human Resources Executive and business leader for over twenty years, I have had the unique experience to watch and help women navigate career decisions and personal challenges both in and out of the office. Through this great experience and my own journey of trial and error, I have learned what tools women need in their toolbox and when to use them.

One of the most important tools we can have in our tool box, but sometimes forget to use, is the Power of “What if?” It’s understandable, as life gets busy, and balancing careers, motherhood and families is a tough job that takes all, or most of our energy every week. But, what if we took a few minutes once in a while to ask ourselves “What if?” when we were navigating through career and personal decisions that have a direct impact on our success and happiness?

#ThrowbackThursday to #Blogher14. I just stumbled upon my the #TimelineProject photo I took last year. The Timeline Project was all about declaring your dreams and goals to the world (or just yourself), physically writing them down, and then keeping the photo visible to constantly stay motivated.

But sometimes we experience setbacks or slowdowns.

I’m 40 1/2 (not 39 3/4), and still haven’t launched yet. But it hasn’t stopped me from working and going and doing. I almost see the finish line (or shall I stay, the ‘starting from scratch’ line).

The point of today’s post? Don’t let setbacks throw you completely off course. Embrace the setback, honor the setback, and then get back on the horse and keep trucking. No one says you have to abandon your dreams just because your #TimelineProject is a little off.

The 9 to 5 lifestyle is slowly fading into oblivion. With the blurred lines of office hours at work, options like telecommuting and flexible work hours, doesn’t necessarily equate to shorter work days. Most American’s work days stretch from about 9 a.m. until whenever they get their work completed (which is well after 5 p.m.). People are hardly taking vacations anymore and quite often are making work decisions out of fear. Even millennials are worked to the point where the thought of starting families, or taking decent time off to rest their bodies and minds is ludicrous.

Tory Johnson, long distance friend, rockstar entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and Contributor to Good Morning America is a force to be reckoned with.

Here is Tory and I when I spoke at her Spark and Hustle conference on entrepreneurship and sales strategies.

Keeping in the spirit of Wordless Wednesday, today will be brief.

Many of you have asked me about my new product invention launch. Truth is, we have been working on it for two years. It isn’t easy to create something from scratch that lives only in your mind and bring it to life that simply. I am excited to say that the #Hadry Brand is well under way.

I was honored to be spotlighted on the Canadian local show Couch Talk on Bell Media. The…

Congratulations on potentially starting a new blog! It’s a bold step to share a part of yourself and experiences as a mother with new readers. There are so many important details to figure out as you begin this unique content journey. What will your unique contribution be in the Mommy Blogosphere? Will you share photographs of your children? How will your partner respond to the content you write each week? Sadly, I can’t advise on these very important matters (only you can really answer them and maybe even then, the answers can evolve and change over time), but I can lend a helping hand on creating a fabulous brand without breaking your budget.

Girls, I am taking my annual July blogging break, only this year, it’s only going to be the last two weeks of July. I do this every year for my mental wellbeing, and for the quality of this blog. It is my gift to myself. It is not easy to continuously keep things fresh, relevant and interesting, so every July, I rest my blogging brain to come back recharged, refreshed, and ready to give you more.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be working on my upcoming women’s lifestyle invention, coaching, doing my weekly Global TV parenting segments, and relaxing.

We will also be picking the boys up from sleepaway camp. That’s it, the party’s over! I can honestly say I am going into this weekend with mixed feelings… I cannot wait to hug and squeeze them. I cannot wait to hear about the past few weeks, learn about what THEY learned, and share all the stories. But my husband and I have honestly had the month of our lives. For the first time ever since having children, we experienced what it felt like to be selfish, wake up and care ONLY for each other.