The other day, a friend of mine made a beautiful proclamation: “Johanna, I don’t want my faith to be like a beautiful flower on a dining room table–something you appreciate as you pass by. I want my faith to be like the clothes I wear.” Sometimes, people say things, and I can’t help but to …
This morning, I woke up and got into my usual quiet time routine. As I’m getting in a better habit of doing, I got to a time where I just sat in silence. I’ve come to love this silence. Before, my quiet time wasn’t always so quiet, as I usually found a way to fill those precious hours …
This might be an extreme example, but it doesn’t seem unique. Our culture seems to have a fascination with death, horror, and the grotesque. At the core, there is fascination and perhaps a desire for some desensitization.
As I’ve been preparing for July’s in-person grief group here in Richmond, VA, I’ve been developing a new part of the facilitated content. The book we are discussing, “Grieving With Hope,” has hundreds of details about intentional grieving that comes with a multitude of lessons. Inspired by the knowledge of this book, one aspect I will add …
The first time I tried surfing, I was alone. While this may seem brave and fun, I would highly advise against this. I spent a full hour wrestling with the waves that just kept breaking on top of me. As they crashed down, my body would be twisted and thrown about. Often, I didn’t know which way was up. Sometimes, …
This week, my priest told me something that shifted my thoughts on healing. When there is a case open for someone’s sainthood, there is a requirement that at least three miracles are documented at the intercession of that person. What I didn’t know about this process, however, is that the investigators are often looking for evidence …
I wasn’t expecting to learn a profound message about grief from my Uber driver. When he asked me what I do, and I told him about my passion for serving people who are grieving, he was instantly ready to give me his words of wisdom. Jeff was 18 years old when he shattered his pelvis and …
When I began my grief journey years ago, I sat there, ready to dive into the depths of the deepest parts of my sorrow. I felt like my little boy, who is learning how to swim, standing on the second step and bracing himself for the unknown as he jumps and submerges himself underwater. Prior …
Over the years, my prayers were met with silence, and, after a while, I decided it was silly to pray for something so miraculous. I don’t remember the last time I prayed for sight, but as I closed off that prayer, a part of my heart grew hardened, and
I’m admittedly an admin addict—something I didn’t know the repercussions of until recently. Give me a big admin project, like taxes, and I push forward until I get that dopamine fix the second I complete the task. This can be a positive habit (like during tax season), but negatively, I didn’t realize that I was …
I’m admittedly an admin addict—something I didn’t know the repercussions of until recently. Give me a big admin project, like taxes, and I push forward until I get that dopamine fix the second I complete the task. This can be a positive habit (like during tax season), but negatively, I didn’t realize that I was …
When I lived in New York in the early 2000’s, I was perpetually single on Valentine’s Day. For a few years, I even started a little movement called S.A.D. (Singles Awareness Day). I figure if a group of us had t-shirts, it constitutes a movement, right? Either way, it definitely helped to lighten the mood …
The best advice I ever got from a priest was not to speak about my faith. It was a few years ago, and I had just started on a new and fruitful part of my faith life. There were things I was so excited about— things that were so beautiful—I was almost bubbling over with …
When I started to understand how to make money grow, I knew I needed to take the leap from “management” to “investment.” The same has been true with my time. Management, for me, means allocating the resources that are available to you. Investment is something different. Investment means making those resources work for you. My …
Every once in a while, I get myself so much in a rut it feels like a wartime trench. I’m busy fighting off the resources being sent my way to save me. It’s a cruel place to be, but it happens to the best of us. I’ve noticed recently how often the way out is …
When my little one was just a few months old, I could see the endless lists of roles I could play: cook, chauffeur, activities director, hygiene officer, etc. While I had many options at my fingertips, from early on, I found it was best to simplify my role and I chose to focus on just …
In the years leading up to having my little one, I was a full-on believer in the idea of “leaning in.” The concept, made famous by Facebook COO Sheryl Sanberg, speaks about not giving up on excelling in your job when you have children. I had absolutely no issues with the idea of being a …
What To Do When “Working Full-Time” & “Full-Time Mom” No Longer Work Read More »
As a life coach, I am constantly studying how to ask my clients better, more beautiful questions. This has led me to create a north star question to help guide my work: “Why do more people not pursue or live their purpose?” This will be a life-long study, but I already know four reasons because …
Four Reasons I Didn’t Pursue My Purpose – And What I Did About It Read More »
In the first few months after my baby was born, I kept hearing a similar story from clients, “I’ve lost myself in motherhood.” At first, I didn’t understand this, but slowly, I saw how my whole being began to mold around my child’s existence. As I dug deeper, I saw how much my child could …
How Your Children Benefit When You Follow Your Dreams Read More »
I know when a client is ready to work with me. They are ready to walk into their fullness, but they don’t know where to start. There is an almost audible groaning, a frustration that keeps them awake at night. They can’t live another day doing what they have been doing. They know something is …
I asked God for more doors in my life, and he gave me a reading nook by the window. Doors in my life have always meant a hunt for opportunity. A reading nook by a window is something different; it’s deeply restful. Yet, what I wasn’t expecting is how much I could create from …
I love when a good habit becomes so ingrained you forget you’re doing it. One of my biggest cheerleaders, my mother, told me this week: “It’s time you write about your morning routine.” My knee-jerk reaction was, “What routine?” Recently, people have been pointing out fairly simple things I do differently that seem to have …
Taking the Morning Routine Outside: The Key To Healthy Habits Read More »
A few weeks ago, I asked myself, “How is it possible I get more done in my baby’s nap time than I used to get done in a full day?” I’m a mother of an adorable 15-month-old little boy, I run my own coaching practice, and I am also a caretaker to two elderly parents. …
I’m no mathematician, but recently, I’ve been mildly obsessed with discovering the equation for determining my level of fulfillment. The idea is that if I can determine what goes into a fulfilling life (and what depletes the fulfillment), then I can cultivate a more fulfilling life. Easier said than done. While we all experience fulfillment …
When I moved to South Africa in 2010, people kept asking me, “Don’t you miss New York?” The truth is, I didn’t. At first I didn’t know why, then I put my finger on it: In New York I lived to work, in South Africa I worked to live. Like most, I got swept up …
How I shifted from “Living to Work” to “Working to Live” Read More »
I’ll be the first to admit, there is a certain allure to the idea of being a mother who can work with flexibility. Yet, one of the harshest realities I’ve learned is that flexibility is earned through trust – with no exception. Before my son was born, I had dreams of working for McKinsey as …
For years, when people asked about my specific talents, I would tell them it was “encouragement.” I even took an online spiritual gifting assessment once, and my second on the list was encouragement (my first was “living in poverty,” which still confuses me). You can imagine my surprise when I got knee-deep into my coaching …
I have this crazy goal that when the little one finally goes to school and someone asks him, “What does your mom do for work?” he will respond, “Her job is to play with me all day and love me.” The main factor in having this be the case is learning how to be fully present. …
Seven Steps To Finding Joy In Your Finances Choose Beauty – Gain Productivity What Happened When I Turned “I Can’t” into “Why Not“ If You Want Margin In Your Life Try This I Found My Purpose When I Figured This Out The Grass Is Greener On the Other Side Of Your Mindset Introducing the Wheel …
At the beginning of this week I was sitting with a much-too-long list of goals in front of me when a sense of overwhelm started to kick in. I managed to whittle it down to five (this about all I can do as a mompreneur and nap-time warrior) but I still felt quite flat about the list. I wasn’t excited. It was time for a little bit of goal innovation.
I have found many good uses through the years for the quotation, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Apparently, Winston Churchill said it long before Rahm Emanuel toward the end of WWII. As we inch toward the end of the pandemic of 2020, I cringe to think of how quickly we will go …
For years, I would write my thoughts down with no particular sense of direction or order. It was when I started to practice a few specific approaches that things really started to change.
As I watched my little one learn how to walk, I couldn’t help but notice some similarities between his walking style and my early entrepreneurial style – wobbly with lots of falling down. In fact, when I watched more, I saw there were quite a few things he could teach me. Recently, I was reading …
What My Infant Son Is Teaching Me About Entrepreneurship Read More »
I’ll be the first to admit, when I decided to live overseas in 2010, I was on a search for freedom. I thought freedom was the key to having joy in your life. However, my reasoning constantly left me coming up short on joy. Yet, since returning almost ten years later, I’ve realised what I …
It Took Me 10 Years to Learn This Lesson About Freedom Read More »
Recently, I did a little generosity experiment: a 30-day, self-lead challenge to test some of my beliefs (or rather misbeliefs) about generosity. I had gotten to a point where my ideas about generosity felt stale. I knew I needed a good shake at my foundation, and this challenge was exactly what I needed.
We live in a world that seems to constantly be sucking us dry of joy. If we aren’t careful we can get pulled into a downward spiral of bad news. Because of this, so many of us are not accessing the joy that is available to us. For this reason I have created the “Wheel of Joy”.
Sure, there are the obvious reasons “why not” but here are a couple reasons why you should start a business soon after having your first baby
This week, I was discussing purpose with a young person with high aspirations in the military. He has focus, direction, and a sense of purpose, but something was missing, and he couldn’t quite future it out. When he put himself in the shoes of the person he wanted to become, he got a new perspective. He saw tasks and discipline were not going to be enough – he needed a transformation. Ideas started to race about steps he could take to reach his dreams [see them below].
The last interview I participated in was a direct catalyst for my becoming an entrepreneur. What I’ve realised since is that I was using a narrative in the interview that is extremely common. The words I used were a simple and effective trigger to finding and living my purpose.
I remember sitting across from the interviewer at a very well respected advertising company and said, “I could probably do just about every job in this company, minus, perhaps, accounting.” Yes, perhaps I could do everything given a lot of hard work and a lot of misfits but what would that prove and would I really want to?
In the past, it was easy for me to look at other people’s lives and wonder if they have something that I should want. There was even a tendency to overlook my own heart’s desires. But the road to matching my life and lifestyle with my values has been marked by discovery and acceptance.
Last week, I was speaking with a friend, and at the end of the conversation she said, “Next time, let’s meet for drinks at an outside location.” I found myself paralyzed for a moment as I realised I had become much too comfortable in my pandemic chrysalis. I hadn’t given much thought to what re-emerging …
As soon as I became a mom, I knew I could never work the same way again. For years I did “good work” – some would say it was purpose-driven, but whose purpose was I driving? I worked with entrepreneurs and social enterprises who were truly changing the world, but I longed to see individual …
This morning, I was reading the account of Saint Peter stepping off the boat to walk on water – and quickly sinking when he is overcome by fear. Usually, I connect this reading to something personal that I’m going through, but this morning, I couldn’t help but make the connection with my business. Under any …
Why Christian Entrepreneurs Need to Walk On Water Read More »
Recently, I was speaking with someone about task lists. Since it was more of a lamenting conversation, I asked her, “Does your task list serve you well?” Based on her response, it was clear to me that it did not. Oftentimes, our task lists are like mean bosses. Some of the words that come to …
For years I found myself falling into a rut because of one simple saying: “I can’t do that.” I wanted more for my life, but each opportunity felt more like a mountain than a molehill. I knew I wanted more, but my mindset didn’t let me get there. It was two words that initially unlocked …
What Happens When You Turn “I Can’t” Into “Why Not?” Read More »
The other day, I noticed a major shift that had happened in the last six months – something I wasn’t expecting. I had become more productive than I had ever been before, and the only thing I had consciously done was choose to fill my life with more beauty. Beauty feeds my soul and leads …
Everything feels upside-down these days – especially my finances. There have been huge drops in some places on my budget and increases in other areas. Purchases have become a mechanical “want – click – buy” trio of actions.