Your Next Chapter

Today’s podcast is a discussion of how we talk to and about ourselves. We’ll often disparage ourselves when we talk about ourselves with others. For some reason, we’re comfortable making negative comments about ourselves. Negative comments that if someone said them directly to us, we’d be completely crushed. Yet, we do it to ourselves.  Then there are our private conversations we have ourselves, t...

Moving back to Boston after three years in Minneapolis took some imagining and envisioning. I had so many lists and ideas of what I wanted! To make that dream a reality, I had to think through some things. When you think about possible dreams…what would you like to be doing…what would you be creating and what specific passions do you want to pursue? Are there skills you can bring forward into this...

My Paris experience is similar to your path as you march towards creating your dreams. Some days it all works…it feels perfect. Other days, you will question every aspect of that dream and your abilities. Like me, you might have had your dream for a long time. What I learned though is that thinking about a dream and actually living it are two entirely different experiences. How big of a stretch is...

Unless you have been holed up in a cabin in the woods with no Wi-Fi, we all are now very familiar with what’s going on in the work world and they are calling it The Great Resignation or The Big Quit. Some industries are impacted much more than others but regardless of the industry, women, especially working mothers are overwhelmingly part of great resignation. Covid changed us. All of us. We all f...

It’s fun to imagine ourselves walking around in the dream we have mapped out for the next stage in our life. We are told by many in the field of self-improvement to do just that. I love it. I can see where I am, what I am doing, what I’m wearing and even imagine that it all goes smoothly. Yet, something often gets in the way, and I start to sabotage myself. Can you relate? If not, yay for you but...

Some of you might be very clear on the business or project you want to start. But for many of us, it takes some deeper soul searching as we struggle through figuring out what business or project we want to start. We brainstorm, create mind maps, draw out options. We ask questions like what will be the product or service of my business? How will I bring that product or service to potential clients?...

But…. there is always a, but right? Well, I don’t know about you, but what often happens to me is that I start out with a bang and then junk starts to get in the way. By junk, I mean that same old stuff that I keep trying to manage but always seems to get in the way of me making my dreams happen. And…. because I want this year to be the year YOU get started on turning your passions and interests i...

But why is acknowledging our accomplishments so important before creating our plans for the coming year? Acknowledging what we accomplished actually adds to our self-confidence. Most of us spend lots of time thinking about what we didn’t get done today, yesterday or at this time of year, the past year. At the end of almost every day, we are almost conditioned to think about what we didn’t get done...

No matter how hard it is. We MUST behave as the leading ladies of our own lives. I want you to ask yourself that question over and over this week. If you were writing the screenplay of your life going forward AND you’re the leading lady, what would you be doing? Would the dreams you have remain in your journal, in your head? As the leading lady would you be trying on some new experience or explori...

Frankly, ladies, none of us has any idea of how long we’re going to be alive, so we might as well get going on whatever it is that we want to create or dream of creating in this lifetime. Right?? I had to share this because something fabulous happens when I use the five-second rule to count down. I launch from a negative, self-doubting mindset to the why not? mindset . Try it yourself. 5-4-3-2-1,...

Some of you have artistic gifts, maybe organizational, writing, cooking, design or people gifts. These are all presents or gifts that you received when you were born. No one has the same combination of gifts! Well, I took out many of my gifts when I was a child, but somewhere along the way, I re-wrapped them and put them back into my closet. I’m sure some of you can relate.

MICHELE LEMAITRE is an award-winning artistic entrepreneur, Michele INVENTED a new process and style of 2D & 3D Sculptural Mixed Media, representing the surface of bodies of water, with bold COLORS THAT CHANGE with the movement of your body. The artwork is a metaphor for resilience, self-reflection of changing one's own perspective to open up to new possibilities.                         ...

I finally took in all the input I could hold and sat back and realized, I’m doing this my way …. it may not be perfect, but it must have my stamp on it, otherwise what’s the point right? We always, always have to return to who we are at our core and do what makes sense for you- and that may not make sense to anyone else but you. You. The fabulously unique you.

Krystal Kenney is an American living in Paris for the past ten years. She is a photographer and author, as well as the host of a popular podcast where she interviews creatives connected with Paris. Krystal loves starting new projects and recently started helping others grow their businesses and bring their projects to life. Learn more at www.missparisphoto.com

Our little stretches, our little pushes to do what we really want to do, are so important because they get us ready. Those little stretches are what prepare us for the transformation, the bringing the dream into reality. Yes, learning, exploring, imagining, mind mapping, and planning…. you name it, is all super fun and can even be quite energizing. But the real stretch only happens in the doing.  ...

If we learn to savor and value our time, suddenly it becomes very easy to prioritize how we spend our time. As for people- I think you’ll feel just as I do. If you want to make moments count, make the time, you’ll find yourself becoming super vigilant around who and how you spend your time. Saying no to the lunch you really didn’t want to attend or the coffee chats that are rehashing problems or t...

I am in the middle of planning out this holiday, which is going to be very different for me than in previous years, not the least because I’m in Paris. I began by asking myself, what is it I really want for this holiday season? I think most of you are in that same place. I don’t know about you, but I want calmness, and nothing rushed.

Yes, today people love being labeled as a Creative. In the past creatives were a little odd, a little different … people such as painters, sculptors, writers, designers, and even architects. Now though being labeled a creative has expanded to include almost anyone who has unique ways of thinking such as creative thinkers, creative problem solvers, and even creative leaders. And frankly, don’t we n...

This week, I’m talking about hobbies …. actually, I’m going to do a series on hobbies in Extraordinary Women Magazine. Why? Hobbies are important to have. Hobbies are about trying on new things with absolutely no expectation of mastery … just fun.

It isn’t in your head. Women are like emotional sponges. You really do find it harder to switch roles without having the emotions from one role spill over into another. For example, if you’re a mother, your mother emotions naturally spill into your role at work or your emotions around work can affect how you interact with your partner or children. Time with yourself matters. It is time with yourse...

Today’s conversation is about making a house a home and does that even matter? Making a house a home is one of my favorite things to do. I should have been a designer. I love houses … all sorts of houses. When I was a young girl, I had a paper route. The fourth week of every month, I was out at night to collect the fees from subscribers. It was usually dark outside, and with lights on inside, I co...

As babies, we had no doubt that we’d master the art of walking, even though we only took tiny little steps to accomplish that feat. Why not give yourself the same amount of faith, acknowledge your tiny step of accomplishment and reinforce your belief and sense of knowing that you’ll get to where it is that you want to go. It’s the habit of trying every single day and consistently embracing the tin...

Because Fall is actually much more of a new year, new beginning shifts than January 1st ever is. Like every new year reset, this is when we ask ourselves the hard questions and my question this week is how can I feel happier? I want to feel happy. Not just a little happy, but I want my happiness cup to be overflowing.

Let’s Imagine a ballerina. En pointe is the classic ballet position when the ballerina is up on her toe shoes.  She appears weightless, floating and perfectly balanced, yet if you had the ability to zoom in and take a closer look at her feet, and every ballerina will tell you this, her toe shoes are actually vibrating, as she makes tiny, tiny adjustments second by second to maintain her balance. S...

But what connected ALL of the women was that they are hands down extraordinary. And ladies, so are you. We are a tribe of extraordinary women … whether you own a business, or your one thing is your family. Whether you are retired or just starting your professional career. So, if you hadn’t guessed it - the magazine’s new name is Extraordinary Women. Going forward, my focus will be this podcast and...