Taking Stock...

Hey Shining starrs. Last week I gave you a full run-down of what was happening in my world. Even since then, more things have popped up, gone away and shifted lol. But now I want to know, what have you done this summer?

Have you used this summer to relax, relate and release your stress, worries and anxiety from the fall, winter and spring? Have you ramped up your efforts and dream chased to ensure a kick-a** fourth quarter? Have you strategized your way into an effective year-end, out of the red and into the black? Or have you just lazed about this summer, allowing yourself a whole bunch of wishing, hoping but moping due to little to no results?

When we were in grade school, summer spelled vacation. It meant a little over two months of nothing but fun, late night TV and beach days. But as an adult, while vacations in the summer months—if you can afford it—or a stay-cation at least, is healthy and recommended... these are still work weeks for most. And if you are an aspiring whatever (fill in the blank), then everyday is a day that you can do something to excel your dream.

So for those that may have taken one too many down days, here's a few tips that you can use to re-energize your progress before the  foliage begins to turn and you're reminded the year is nearly done!

1. Take inventory!

Take a moment to see where you are. Emotional, fiscal and progressive inventory will aide you in being able to assess what you can and/or need to do in order to feel that 2016 was a fruitful year for you in some way. Whether it's owning up to those ten pounds you put on, that literature on your craft that you've yet to finish, or that savings account that seems to just vanish, be honest about where you are and what you want to do and make it happen.

2. Be kind...to yourself!

As dream chasers and aspiring moguls on a mission, when we fall short, we can sink into the depths of self-deprecation. We feel awful and beat ourselves up emotionally. But that's not going to help you improve. I have been a victim of my own harmful words and thoughts for much of my life, and it's not only been counterproductive, it also has made me lax in how I allow others to speak to me as well. Be easy...you are a spirit, inhabiting a body. But it's all for the purpose of living the human experience. So I encourage you to remember you are human...but the E makes the difference. Be HUMANE. Also be careful what you say to you...as you are always listening.

3. Create your Q4 restoration plan!

A restorative plan can be even more effective sometimes than an initial plan. However, this is not license to mess up just to fix it. We left breaking up to make up in our teens, I'd hope. So don't do it now! But if you have slacked a bit, get a pen and paper and create a renewed game plan to knock the fourth quarter of the year out of the park. In sports, what happened in the first half of the game matters, but it's how you finish that really can bring home the win. So own up to whatever shortcomings the year included, but then write down the antidote to that and make it happen.

4. Believe that you can do it!

No matter what, you are a winner. You have drive, desires, goals, passions and the will to achieve and prosper. So that makes you a winner. Your slip ups only serve to remind you that you are perfectly imperfect. But your will to achieve is what will get you there. Believe that you've got this. See yourself in the last month of the year smiling at your achievements. Visualize yourself with tangible proof of your progress. Know that you are going to crush it. And then...CRUSH IT!

5. Smile...it matters!

Look in the mirror, see all that awesome that is staring back at you and smile. You are the only you that exists. And no matter how many others do what you do, no one brings your brand of unique to the table. So smile, knowing that the world is yours if you make it so.

Keep up the great work Shining Starrs. This world is quickly becoming a cess​pool of hate, fear mongering and evil. So your brand of awesome is one thousand percent necessary, relevant and possible.

​Let me know what you are doing to shape up the last quarter or let me know if you need more tips, help, advice or just a listening ear.  I'm happy to provide any or all of these! ​

Yours in aspiring infamy...

~ Miss O