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This time last week I was down at McCormick Place loading my final goodies in for the Black Women’s Expo.  Today I am processing Registrations and doing follow up calls to get Divas Registred for    Last night I got my very first registrant, Ms. Crosby and this mroning I got Diva #2!

I set a goal of a 25% conversion rate from leads to clients so we are going for 95 new clients in one way or another from the expo.  So far we have

• 1 My Goddess Retreat Registration
• 7 Intro Class participants
• Stats 8/95

A secondary goal is 45 women registered into My Goddess Retreat as a result of the Expo

• Status: 1 /45

My Sorors in the ATL!

I am so proud of myself and my Team  for making this happen.  I am proud of myself for giving up control and going out of town EVEN THOUGH I really wanted to stay and make sure everything went right.  I made a commitment to live a balanced life so eventhough I pushed back my departure date a Day and a Half to set up and train the team, I still went to the ATL and had a blast!

Was I a little concerned? Yes, but I was able to be in the moment and just enjoy the opportunity to kick it with some of my favorite people on the planet.

When I got back I got back to work and as a result we have 2 Divas registered AND Call parties set up so we can knock this out the box and get the rooming list to the hotel ontime! (well maybe a day late )

Lakeysha aka Lioness Jade held it down, but now  I know there was no need to worry.  She is a superstar and if she wasn’t, I wouldn’t have on the team!  I make good decisions when I follow my instinct spirit and don’t second guess myself (Yes I know that’s what the Angels keep tell me).

So what’s up next is facing down the next demon of getting a memorial for my Mother’s graveside.  I finally went back for a visit during my July Trip home and now I want to have it down in time for her birthday.  That may not be  a realistic time frame, but who said I have to be realistic?!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s hard being a Diva, but still much more fun than just being normal!

Stay Fabulous!

Yoga Diva!

I so did not feel like getting up and going to Yoga this morning. Here’s the thing though, you get SOOOO much out of being your word vs. your feelings. It’s 11:00 and I now feel wonderful both because I started my day with integrity AND because my mind is clear and body refreshed from a great class!

As my friend Mr. Mogul said owning your own business does not mean you get to sleep late, it just means you have to be disciplined enough to get up early b/c there is no boss to report to!  It also means I have to be disciplined enough to go to bed earlier (notice I didn’t say early ) so that your body is not struggling to get up.

You have to go to bed early EVEN THOUGH you have a FANTASTIC NEW PROJECT to work on and want to stay up all night to work out the details.  Simply jot down your most excellent ideals and have faith that the universe will have it all ready for you again in the AM.

In other Diva news, last night I went to my first SAMBA class and I LOOOOOVED IT!  I have to admit I was really nervous b/c they are in the middle of a 5-week session and I have never done that style of dance before, but it was cool.   Trust, I messed up, a lot, but this ia s lesson in not taking myself too seriously and being okay with not looking good all the time.  Tonight is cha-cha and I am looking for a great belly dancing class too! I know it seems like a lot, but I have a company that teaches dance, so this is all part of R&D (see how my classes are now a tax deduction!).

Don’t be jealous, just be in action, you to can live your dream life today!  I suggest you start with getting clear on what you are passionate about and then see what happens next.!

Alrighty, I just finished my smoothie and its time to hop into the shower to get fresh and clean.  I have much to do on that EXCITING NEW PROJECT!)

New Divas,Gemini Blaze, Lioness Jade, & December Sun!

What a weekend!  I just completed my First Exoticise Instructor Training in over a year and a half!  This was a brand new format developed out of the reinvention of Exoticise/E-Fitness.  This new format was intense, but quite effective!   It took a lot out of me, physically AND emotionally!

It’s hard to think that just last December I was sure that Exoticise was a done deal.  I was so frustrated with the lack of growth and progress that I was ready to throw in the towel.  I didn’t want to go into another year of hard work with no payoff.  I wanted to stop worrying about money and trying to figure out how to make my mission of empowering women to be fit, fabulous, and financially empowered come true.  It seemed like no matter what I did, I could not get people on board and acting right!

A brief talk with a friend helped me see that stopping Exoticise would be like killing off a piece of myself and I wasn’t ready to do it.  So I took a little time to see what was missing and what I could create to change the direction the company was going in.

What I found was that I needed to take some time to take care of me and to balance my responsibilities with my desires.  I needed to have some fun again!  I needed to relax and not be so consumed by work. I needed to be honest with myself about everything that had happened and what baggage I was carrying after 10 years of businesses that have not produced the results I wanted.

As last weekend approached I found myself distracted and unable to focus.  I honestly could not seem to wrap my head around how to do this.  After some great coaching from my fabulous Diva friends it was clear that my confusion and feeling of being overwhelmed was a result of fear!  I was afraid that this next group of women would betray and use me like so many other business partners/associates had.  Once I got clear about what was in my space, I was able to get in action and do what I do best!

Saturday was awesome, we danced, we talked, we created!  From 9a – 9p we lived in a world where all women are beautiful goddesses just wanted to be released.  I got re-present to ALL the reasons I started Exoticise in the first place and the reason I loved teaching aerobics and dancing in the first place.  These three women each had their own reasons why they where there, but at the same time we shared one overall vision.  It was like a dream!  By Saturday night after 4 hours of dancing and 6 hours of discussion I was exhausted physically, yet my mind was ablaze with possibility!  When I got home and was preparing for Day 2, the universe had more lessons in store!

I needed to finish preparing their completion packets and my technology was not cooperating.  I came home a hopped into the hot tub to give my muscles a little TLC and when I got upstairs to finish printing everything and burning the multi-media pieces I realized: I loaned my DVD burner to my ex-roomie!  It was Saturday night and he was nowhere to be found!  I realized that my new Lap Top could burn DVD’s, but the data was on my old desktop!  What ensued was 3-hours of transferring huge data files and even having to re-format part of my instructional DVD!  On top of that I was so fatigued I was itching and could barely keep my eyes open.  Then my computer started acting up, with programs shutting down, printing errors and more.  Finally I had to call it a night.  I just went to bed and said whatever happens will be fine.

When I woke up early Sunday after 4-hours of sleep for the 2nd night in a row, everything worked.   I  had to give up my perfectionist tendencies when I couldn’t find my custom labels for my DVD’s, but that was a great lesson to learn to.  It doesn’t always have to be perfect to be effective.  Sunday was great, everyone returned energized (although a little sore) and ready to rock!  We completed a wonderful weekend and have exciting plans about what comes next for the group.

As I thought about next steps and talked with the Divas about where we were going I found that fear creeping back up.  A talk with Ms. December Sun helped me get that , what I really had to see that although I was not happy with how any of my prior business experiences went down.  I was really disappointed in myself.  I was beating myself up for not holding these people to account for their actions.  I know that they were not trying to “betray” me and that from their point of view their actions seem quite justified, but at the same time they signed contracts and/or  agreed to do or not to do certain things and if was up to me to hold them to account when they did not  follow through.  I got it and plan to take actions to handle any outstanding monies owed to me and/or obligations not fulfilled.  I am creating myself as a business woman who demands that the people I work with be accountable and who will not hesitate to verbalize my concerns and if necessary, pursue legal actions if they are available to me.  I don’t have to “let it go” and there is no such thing as “to little money to make it worth my while.”  If someone does business with me they need to know that if they do not fulfill on their agreements there are consequences.

I am empowered, excited, and honored to have a new group of Party Divas and friends here in Chicago.  On an even better note, I already have 3 more Divas ready to be trained AND will be expanding to Los Angeles and Atlanta by the end of the summer!  I have to give a special shout out to Thomas, LaKeysha, Tameka, and Colleen, because without their sound advice, generous listening, and belief in me as the fabulous woman I am, I would not be sitting here today writing this entry and looking forward to a future of FUN, FITNESS, FABULOUSNESS, & SATISFACTION!

The past 7 months have been a trip.  I just completed the Introductions Leaders Program of Landmark Education this weekend and it’s hard to believe I’m done.   First I have to say that our completion party Saturday night was crazy fun.  I forgot how much of a good time you can have when you just relax and go with it!  Video Games, Music, food, drink, twister, and more! This group of people I spent almost every Friday with are fantastic and there was no where else I wanted to be.

The program itself is amazing.  It’s not a common thing to put yourself into an intense environment like Landmark, but then again most people aren’t out to have an extraordinary lives.  All I knew is that I was out to achieve huge goals and I needed a breakthrough in my life to make it happen.  The ILP has been that.  I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know and/or had forgotten!  I have a new lease on life and am ready to take on everything I have always said I want and more.  What’s even better is that I have a whole class of people doing it too!

I have to liken this program to pleding my sorority in college.  The process was tough and many times I asked myself “What the hell am I doing ?”  I never thought about quitting seriously, but I did think about doing “just enough” to get by.  What I realized is that I am not that person.  I strive for EXCELLENCE in all I do and just making it over the fence would NEVER satisfy me.  So I’m back in business in more ways than one.

I have introduced this work to soo many people I can’t remember them all.  Some have taken it on, others have resisted,  and eventhough I am  complete with this program I will continue to share.  A lot of folks think I make money off of registrations or even say its a “cult” and I laught b/c if they only knew what I really get out of it, there would be no question in their mind about it.  They would be a YES and put themselves into the next course without fail.  I can only continue to move foward and let people know what I am up to and why.

So I’ve got my Friday nights back and I am ready to hit the town this spring and summer for fun fun fun!  I have a business to promote, and event to promote, and a relationship of my dreams to  be in.  I am training for this triathlon and will be traveling the country training Exoticise instructors.  I’m up to big things and have the tools to make it all real.  Life is great!