December Booster: Life is Short
Use the Good China!

It was 1993, and I was 24 years old, having what I now call my “quarter-life crisis.” I was a physical, mental and emotional mess. I went to the library and took out every book I could on self-help. I sat on the floor of my run-down rental house, stopped drinking and partying, and I read one book at a time to help move me forward in a positive way.
I remember the Saturday night I stayed home to read Living, Loving, Learning by Leo Buscaglia. I was sitting on my couch, and though I didn’t have any money, the money I was saving not drinking all the time, gave me a little extra money for a small pizza. I remember that day. It was one of the many that set me on my path to wanting to be a better person, and the author Leo Buscaglia sounded like the kindest man in the world.
I saved that book, and last weekend I read that book again. It took me right back to being that brave young woman who wanted to change. I underlined this part of the book, and I remember reading it and thinking, I want to be that person. “You are all you have. Therefore, make yourself the most beautiful, tender, wonderful, fantastic person in the world. And then you will always survive.” I wanted to survive. I wanted to take better care of myself and live a wonderful, fantastic life.
I finished the book, and on the last few pages, there was a stain where I dropped pizza on the book. I touched the page and smiled. My life is 100% different than I ever thought it would be. Since that day, I have made small choices to love the woman in the mirror. To believe I was worthy. No one taught me how to do that. I learned how. Let’s spend this fall learning how together.
I am pulling the following quote from my latest book, Embrace the 90%, as I think it helps relay the message.
“Let’s stop passing a mirror and seeing what we don’t like, and instead look right into that mirror and say, “I love you” to the person who stares back at you.”
You are worth it.
As I walked into the hotel lobby for an event this week, it was full of people. There were people smiling, some were crying, and some had blank stares.
As I waited in the hallway for my client to arrive, I chatted with the hotel staff and asked them why the hotel was so busy. I learned that the hotel was full of people who had to flee their country with only the clothes on their back.
As the day wore on, I met some of those people in the hallway. I watched their sweet children running around the hotel and wondered what they thought. One man shared with me how sad he was to leave his family pictures behind. “No memories,” he said, “no memories.” What really got me was when a woman told me they had to leave behind their family pets. I hugged a few strangers and prayed Canada would be a fresh start for them.
I came home that day extra grateful. Grateful for my home, my family, our pictures (ok, a hard drive full of pictures) and my sweet pets.
I know we all have full lives with 10% mixed in. Times like this really reset me. My stresses are so small in comparison.
I hope that in a world that has 10%s you are able to wake up in the morning and put your 90% magnifying glass in front of you and see what is good and what you can control every day, something that has radically changed my life.
Now I just finished my fourth book, finally! My fourth book, Embrace the 90%, a book for women, is out today and I am so grateful for this book. You know, yesterday I was listening to a podcast with Michael Singer, the author of The Untethered Soul, and he just finished his second book and he was explaining in the podcast how the book just needed to be written, and I can resonate with what he said. I needed to write this book. Though I have three books already, honest and vulnerable, authentic me explaining the 10%s I’ve been through, this is even a deeper dive.
This book is called Embrace the 90%, How to Slay Fear, Defy Your Labels and Love Yourself. And I am going to explain a very lengthy process I went through to overcome fear and trauma in my life. Then I want to talk about our labels because we were given labels as children. We’re told things by exes and coaches and people we love that just aren’t true. And if you can learn to see what you’ve been told through a 90% lens, you’ll learn that it made you resilient and made you powerful. And then the last chapter is about loving yourself because some of us didn’t learn how to do that, and I’m going to mentally, physically and spiritually fill your self-love toolbox full.
Thank you for all of your support, thank you for being a part of my newsletter, thank you for being a part of my social media. I can’t wait for you to have this new book. Take care.
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/RLE_6eSXNbs
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed today ! So much going on with the launch of the new book and not enough balance.
So I pushed away from my desk, grabbed Holly’s leash and we went for a long lunchtime walk.
Did I have time, no. Unanswered emails, yes!
Laundry and dishes to do, always.
That hour totally reset me.
Rather than reaching for your phone, sugar or caffeine – go for a walk
Fresh air = fresh perspective.
As a mom, I want to be around for my kids and my grandkids. I want to have the energy to play with them and be present in their lives. That’s why I’m careful about the choices I make. Every choice I make as a mom determines the kind of mom and grandma I will be.
As a mom, I know that every choice I make determines the kind of mom and grama I will be, so I need to make choices that will allow me to have the energy I need to be there for them. I’m not being selfish when I choose to take care of myself. I’m being selfless!