Sorry for the brief step away from blog writing – I have been creating like crazy! I promise I will improve my consistency.

Here are my latest activities for my September “30 in 30″, where I have committed to launching a new revenue stream every day for 30 days. I am finding the experience enjoyable and challenging. And, I hope it will give you a bird’s eye view into ways you can increase your revenue streams also.

• Day 5: Launched redesigned blog SmartWomanPublishing.com  (niche blog revenue site)
• Day 6: Added Jim Edward’s Ebook Fire Products in Product & Resouces (affiliate)
• Day 7: Added Amazon Book Recommendations in Product & Resouces (affiiate)
• Day 8: Launch of new blog RetirementForMen.com (niche blog revenue site)

You’ll notice, as you follow the “30 in 30″ project, that I am using several different ways to make money online with blogs, websites, and products. They all center around the concepts of passive, leveraged and residual income strategies. Here’s a brief explanation of each of those revenue sources:

Passive Income

Like it sounds, passive income is income you do not personally have to be involved with to make, or at least involved very little. You take a passive rather than active role. Example of this would be property rents, intellectual royalties, stock dividends, network marketing revenues, and ads on your websites. In my case, I own a rental home and have Adsense ads on some websites. That’s passive income.

Leveraged Income

Leverage income activities magnify your actions, usually through the involvement of others, so that a small investment in time equals a larger result. Creating products or writing a book is a good example of this. You only create a product once and then you can sell it over and over again, without having to invest any more time into creating that product again. Contrast this, for example, with a restaurant. You always have to remake the item to sell it. No leverage. Taking out a mortgage or buying stocks on margin is another example, where you secure a large asset with a relatively small investment. In my case, I delegated off the creation of my latest blog, RetirementForMen.com to Garry Conn. I was off doing other things while he was programming my site, essentially allowing me to be in two places at once, to leverage myself. Who doesn’t like that?

Residual Income

Residual income most commonly occurs with insurance agents. Once insurance agents sell you a policy, they get an initial commission, but then ongoing, even if they never speak with you again, they get a small fee paid to them, a residual fee.  It can also occur when you sell the rights to a product you own for an ongoing fee. It also occurs when an actor does a commercial or TV show and every time it plays, they get paid. Another example is oil, gas, and mineral rights on your property. Usually, this type of  income revolves around a small, ongoing payment in exchange for a right or access to an asset.

Often these three types of income seem very similar, and there are crossovers and various combinations. The idea behind them all, though, and what I really want you to catch and begin to incorporate into your business, is that there are many ways to make money without you having to put 1 to 1 time into it. The more often you can get 10 to 1 or 1000 to 1 returns (or more!) on your time vs. your profit, you are ahead. This type of income often survives your demise, as well, whereas your personal work hours do not. Look at all the books and movies that are still providing revenue for the family of the original creator decades past their death. That alone should be reason enough for you to start doing it – the legacy you will leave behind.

More on Tuesday!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Today’s activity in my “30 in 30″ project was tough for me, but I did it anyway. I added a “Donate” button to my blog. I’ve seen some very big and popular bloggers do it. It doesn’t offend me when I see it - I usually thinks it’s cool and daring. And, I certainly believe in what I am doing here at SmartWoman Guides, so it’s not that I don’t think it’s a cause worth supporting. I guess it’s just hard to ask.

Honestly, though, my main goal is not primarily to make money with this blog. I’d love to make money and I am open to it, but I mostly want to empower women to follow meaningful work with passion. I know how happy I became when I shrugged off the yoke of employment and began working for myself. It changed my life. And, I truly believe that women have an amazing amount of power to change the world and they need encouragement. Like watering an exquisite and rare orchid, I believe that it benefits the world now and for generations to come to nurture female entrepreneurs everywhere. I can only pray that I contribute to this cause with my input. I can think of very few things that I consider as important.

I keep my costs very low here and am doing all I can to build a loyal audience that wants to purchase products that I offer. Until that happens, I am opening my heart to receiving whatever assistance the Universe sends me. If you are moved to donate, your money will be used wisely and with much gratitude.

Perhaps my actions will encourage you to add a “Donate” button to your blog. It’s fair for you to get support too. I’ve seen the amazing work that’s happening out there in the blogosphere and it deserves financial attention. If you decide to reach out in this way, please email me when you get it set up and I’ll come to your site and donate. I am certain you could use the acknowledgment.

As always, I thank you for being part of this community. Please let me know if I can assist you in your causes. I am ready to serve.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smartwoman

Today is an exciting day! I put the finishing touches on a client site I have been working on and I am SO proud! I’d love for you to go check it out and tell me what you think: ThePublishedExecutive.com

Michael Levin, the CEO of BusinessGhost, Inc., is a celebrated author with 60+ books  to his name. He has worked with the highest levels of business people as well as sports stars and celebrities. If you know marketing giant Jay Abraham, you know Michael. If you know baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, you know Michael. And, on top of that, he’s a great guy. I simply love working with him.

I designed a site for him to integrate his business into the new blog and social media conversations as well as automate his processes and expand his leveraged products. Not only am I honored to participate, but I am also quite happy at the potential this project has for great success.

If you go to his site, you can download an extended audio interview of me speaking with Micheal about his patented BusinessGhost method of writing your own book. It will give you a very good sense of his personality and skill and motivate you to finally write that book you have within you.

Enjoy! Day 2 was a success!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter!

My love affair with John Cow continues. I am a staunch supporter of his blog and what he does. I encourage you all to fall in love with the CowBoy too. The site is actually a three way partnership effort from some of the best internet marketers in the business so their advice is totally worthwhile. They are generous with their support and advice and on the leading edge of what works and what doesn’t (without any of the bull, shady techniques of some other marketers). Yes, I am biased, but don’t take my word for it – find out for yourself!

I’ve offered this before, but if you haven’t already, get your 130 pg. free “Building a Business Not a Blog” ebook on how to start a new blog from the ground up. It’s straightforward and relatively easy. Like following a recipe! I can recommend it without reservation. (Hint- I also get amazing, high quality traffic when I post to the JohnCow blog with a link back – you could too if you just got involved!)

John Cow also has great resources to help you promote your blog once you get it going, so take a taste of their style by getting the free stuff and then see if it piques your interest for some of their other products, like CommentKahuna and TrafficKahuna. They’re affordable and effective – I use them and find them easy to use and very helpful.

Enjoy the goodies and contact me if I can help you further!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Today, I am launching a new fun project for myself. We talk about leveraging our time, being gutsy, building momentum and taking one small step here at SmartWomanGuides, so today it begins.

I will be adding a new revenue stream to my life (on this website or others) every day for the next 30 days. I will keep you posted on my progress.

The rules I will follow are simple:

Must be leveraged, passive, or residual in nature.
Must be something I believe in and can recommend with integrity.
Must be in keeping with my audience’s needs.
Must be fun, easy, and now.

I am open to your suggestions on what you’d like to see available here, so feel free to add your input in the comment section. And, if you’re inspired, do the same month of products for yourself and let us know about what you’re doing.

Wish me luck!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. If you want to keep posted on the monthly progress, be sure to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on twitter @SmartWoman

I am about to a launch a new blog and am researching information for it. As some of you may know, I am working to lower my high blood pressure. I am doing everything I can to use natural methods. And, in the course of my research, I have stumbled across some amazing information about the healing properties of food. Yes, the every day, ordinary act of eating certain foods can act like medicine, strong medicine. Hmm….

This discovery got me thinking – what other every day actions create extraordinary results? So, I have compiled a list for you to ponder. Please add to this with your own ideas and thoughts via the comment section.

Every Day Actions That Can Create Extraordinary Results:

1.  Generosity – How many times have you gone the extra mile and been more than rewarded for your extra effort? Myself, many. Microlending in third world countries is a great example. For less than $200, you can facilitate an entire lifetime of revenue earning potential for an entire village. Wow. That’s an extraordinary result. In business, when I have freely shared my knowledge, it always paid off, in both money and other intangible gifts. I have received free gifts, I have received new business, and I have received prestige and respect. If you are a generous person, the new kid on the block who can turn into the next big thing is more likely to show up on your door than someone else’s. If you were a publisher with a reputation for generosity, how would snagging the next Stephen King (because they knew you’d listen and give your time) affect your bottom line? Extraordinarily well, I suspect.

 2.  Kindness – Has anyone ever told you that you said just the right thing at just the right time to make them want to keep on keeping on? Or, maybe you demonstrated kindness to a stranger and someone saw you do it and became your dear friend? You were just being you, acting like you’d want to be treated, and goodness came from it. When you habitually do this every day, it comes back to you. As a child, the bible story about an angel of God visiting in disguise really stuck with me. I imagine that every person is God who is coming to visit, because you never know when an angel is at your door. And grace is an extraordinary thing. In business, being kind also builds in slack. People will tolerate errors more sympathetically if you act kindly toward them. Being mean doesn’t build you any credits for when things go wrong. Kindness does and that can literally save your business from disaster.

3.  Integrity – Some might argue that integrity is not an every day “ordinary” thing, but I disagree. I believe that people want to do the right thing as a natural impulse. They like the idea that they don’t have to hide behind a story and keep lies straight to interact. They like to feel welcome as they are. When you demonstrate integrity, having values and living by them, you demonstrate an acceptance of others. You tell them it’s ok to be themselves, that it’s safe to be with you. You tell them you are confident enough in who you are and grounded enough in what you believe in for them to be themselves too. It makes room for people to relax because they don’t feel they will be manipulated, or taken advantage of, or hurt. They put down their guard and extend you trust. If you’ve ever looked into the eyes of a widow or an abused child, you know the extraordinary potential of trust. In business, you gain lifetime clients who refer you and you alone to everyone they know. That can lead to extraordinary results, just by being willing to demonstate integrity, something you do every day.

Please understand that I am not suggesting you demonstrate these traits just for the sake of getting something in return. That’s not my point at all. Rather, when you are yourself, and you allow the every day things that are your nature to shine through, it does pay off. It makes it all the sweeter and more potent that you did them freely. A gift truly has no strings attached, or it’s not a gift. Give your gifts and you will have joy and success. It’s that simple.

Now it’s your turn – What every day actions do you do that have lead to extraordinary results? Let us know!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Deciding feels empowering.  When you finally make up your mind that you are going to achieve a particular goal, you are filled with a calmness. It’s only when I sit on the fence that I feel trepidation. A dear mentor of mine used to joke “Do you know what sitting on the fence will get you? (answer = splinters in your butt)”. There’s just something about making up your mind that helps.

Too often, though, the next stage is “but how do I do that?” and all kinds of personal doubt and fear begin seeping into your decision. The “who, what, where, when, how?”, creeps into your rosy decidedness and your calmness flies out the window.

When this happens, I do several things. First, I mentally stand firm – get determined – to take whatever actions it will require to accomplish the goal I decided on achieving. I commit to myself that I will go the distance. I act like a coach, telling myself I can do it, that I have what it takes, and that I’m “in it to win it”. Mentally, it sounds like a high school track meet rally. A little cheesy perhaps, but I would recommend you try it for yourself before you knock it. It works for me.

Next, I make a list of what I think it will take to accomplish my goal. I do this lightly and creatively, capturing all I can (see the project management 101 post to get more detail.) I include in this listing an honest recognition of my abilities. Just like the children’s story about the little engine that could, I tell myself “I think I can”. I don’t count on mantras or positive self talk to make me a gold medal gymnast if I can’t even do a cartwheel, but if I’ve done tasks before (or know someone who can do it for me), I mentally check off that part of it. By mentally setting it aside, the weight of the challenge lessens. I only really have to evaluate the difficulty of the unknown, of what I haven’t done before or don’t have a resource to do it. Usually about 75% or more is already a controllable and managable known item, so really it’s only the balance of the issue that needs to be investigated or resolved.

Secondly, I develop the habit of always returning to my decision. Not to reevaluate it, or question its validity, but rather to commit to it, again and again. Declaring your faith in yourself, in your abilities, and in your decision is valuable. It gives you and your ideas energy.

To declare my faith, I take some deep breaths and I say that I embrace and respect my decision. I claim my devotion to seeing my decision manifest. I reiterate that I stand willing and ready to be shown how my decision can come to be. I restate that I believe this can be. I use my spirituality here too, but you don’t necessarily have to do that if it’s not what you believe. It takes faith in yourself first and foremost but any help you can receive is good to get if it helps you.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. It can get tricky when you have to take action before you have the evidence or proof that it will work. And, faith won’t necessarily make it all work out how you think it will. But, it’s the engine of change. It’s the start button for new stuff. And, it helps reinforce your determination of action. So, start with faith in your decisions, have determination in your actions, and I have no doubt that it will work for you. Chime in here with any experiences where your faith and determination has helped you in your business. It always helps to hear how others do it.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

As some of you know, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure recently. Mainly because I had become rather overweight and sedimentary. Ok, I’ll be honest - I’d become a lazy lard butt. Although doctors cannot definitely say what causes HP, they do know that leading a more active life contributes to keeping it at healthy levels.

Since my situation arose, I have been doing everything by the book. Exercising, taking my medication, eating better, meditation, relaxation, and the best part – dark dark chocolate and a small amount of red wine every day. Pure torture, right? Believe it or not, it has all pushed my BP so low I can barely move, which is great, since my goal is to get off the meds and manage the issue holistically and naturally. I’m hoping I get reduced or removed from the meds on my next doc visit (wish me luck!).

I have learned some interesting things from this overall experience that relates completely to running a small business that I want to share.

1.  Everything is connected and important

I am not able to be the best business person I can be without good health. As much as I might push to get another to-do item done instead of go for a walk, it catches up and bites you if you don’t do what’s needed. Remembering to attend to your health is one of the most important ways you can ensure that what you are working for really does pay off.

Part of your commitment to yourself as a business person is treat your body with respect. I know I harp on relaxation and rest, but I do it for a reason. It works. It’s important. It’s connected. How would you feel if you had a million dollars in your bank account but died before you saw your daughter get married or a grandchild be born? How would you feel if you finally had the bucks to travel but couldn’t walk up the Great Wall of China’s steps because you lacked the energy? Money, success, and fame won’t comfort you in that, will it? Don’t wait for a wake up call – make adjustments now.

2.  Experts don’t know everything (and sometimes they know very little)

I had to get a general care physician because of my situation – never had one before, never needed one. And, as nice as this one is, as well educated and trained, he is not very helpful in offering suggestions on how to really manage my BP. As far as he is concerned, I am likely destined to be on medication for the rest of my life. Partly, his lack of help is because he is an allopathic doctor only, and gives relatively low weight to holistic methods. Partly, the entire state of the industry around BP revolves around the pharaceutical industry and ultimately an unknown condition. Some people take up to 9 different medicines, each one designed to counter balance the ill side effects of another. It’s a dangerous and precarious dance and doesn’t always result in a healthy BP level. Even holistic methods offer differing results. No one thing has been determined yet that “fixes” this. It’s an unknown.

I often feel like marketing is in the same boat. Lots of “experts”, lots of education, plenty of pseudo solutions, and no 100% reliable results. Like my BP, I have to test, try new things one at a time, monitoring the results, research for myself, and ultimately do what I feel comfortable doing. Like BP, marketing is a bit of a do or die situation. It’s crucial to business success. But, guru advice needs to be taken as one point of information, to be combined with your other knowledge, your intuition, and common sense, and then applied consistently and conservatively. You can pour a bunch of money down the drain and not really improve. Keep your eyes and mind open.

3.  Consistent and committed actions pay off

I am doing the right things to improve with consistency and commitment and it’s working. Every day, I do what I need to do. No, I haven’t started working out 7 days a week for 90 minutes. I take a vigorous walk for 30 minutes. Much more than that and I am too tired to do it again the next day. No,  I haven’t gone on some freak fad diet. I have added fruits and vegetables and cut down on empty calories. No, I haven’t joined an ashram and given up all stress. I have learned to relax at a moment’s notice by breathing deeply and getting in touch with my spiritual center. Stress is part of life, and it’s not all bad. The trick is to manage it.

When you’re the CEO of a small business, much of what you do cannot be done by anyone else. You are the imagination and heart of your dream business and no one else can step in to be that. Because of your vital importance, you must take care of yourself. You could say I am suggesting that you do as I say, not as I do, since I let my health go. You could also conclude that you should learn from other’s mistakes and not fall into the same trap. I am actively fixing my mistake. Are you? If not, why not? If not, is your why not really so important that you would risk your entire business on it? Take action – I’m going to step off my soap box now, ok? OHMMMMM! :-)

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

One of the challenges I see women entrepreneurs who work at home face is setting a work at home schedule. The TV tempts, the kids want attention, the dishes need to be done, and it can get difficult to stick to a disciplined schedule. Here are some suggestions to help:

1.  Honor your and your family’s natural personal rhythms.

If you don’t do well at math or accounting right after you wake up, don’t do it then. If you would rather talk to people after lunch, fine. If Wednesday is a super distracting and chaotic Soccer and Ballet class day, it’s ok to schedule a day off from work those days. Forcing yourself to do things against your grain will suck the very life out of you and you will resent your new business.

One word of caution here: if you naturally put off scary things (like closing a sale) or know you get bored doing repetitive but crucial tasks (like bookkeeping or web maintenance), you have to get help. Either get help facing and overcoming your fears or be woman enough to hire someone. Not doing them at all probably won’t work. If the issue is serious enough, you should probably reconsider if you’re even in the right business for you or if you should be in business at all. If you’re naturally an outdoor person and you’ve created an all-indoor business,  you are swimming upstream. Be honest with yourself about what you like to do and structure your business activities accordingly.

2.  Set weekly goals rather than daily goals when possible:

Of course, if the train leaves on Tuesday at 2 pm, you’d better be there. No avoiding that deadline. But, by lengthening your goal due dates where you can, you build in flexibility. If you arbitrarily say Tuesday at 2 pm this to-do item must be done, or….or what? You’ve “failed” if you miss the deadline, right? Isn’t that how it feels when you miss a due date, even when it was completely arbitrary? Why do that to yourself? How much energy are you going to have to keep working if you set yourself up to be a failure all the time? Don’t this to your psyche. Working for yourself is challenging enough without approaching your goals this way. It’s better to say this week, I will accomplish this task. You can schedule a specific proposed time to get it done, but the actual goal is more flexible. This allows for you to manage the unexpected and allows you to implement significantly more creativity into your days. It’s just so much more fun and satisfying, so you’re more likely to keep doing it. Keeping at it is the name of the game.

3.  Schedule your work to match with your client’s schedules:

If you have to talk with clients in Hong Kong, you have to talk to them when they’re awake. No getting around that. If your biggest client only works on Tuesday and Thursday morning, that’s when you will have to work too. If most of your clients only take calls to set appointments in the early AM before their day starts spirialing out of control, that’s when you will call, even if it defies your natural personal rhythms. I will repeat again because I feel it is super important – if your work schedule requirements go too heavily against your natural personal rhythms, don’t just try to grin and bear it – hire someone to do that work that loves working during those times. With virtual assistants available worldwide, there is no reason to not at least explore the possibilities. Your clients will know you hate what you’re doing and you won’t be successful at it. Don’t be a scrooge – be a boss. You’re the CEO of your company, so act like one. Solve the problems, don’t just suffer through them. Not loving what you do is a problem. Take action to fix it.

4.  Reward yourself by punching out on time:

Part of setting a work at home schedule is committing to a time when you will quit working for the day as well as how many days or hours you will work each week. In my opinion (and I know you will hear differently from others), hard work is not the secret. Focusing on your unique gifts and on the most important tasks are what’s important. Get out of the worker bee mentality and become a visionary. Visionaries take sabatticals, they go on vision quests, and they give their minds room to roam. That means they take time away from the office, for themselves, for their family, for their health, and for unabashed fun.

We all sincerely desire a life of meaning.  As the old adage goes, no one ever sat on their death bed wishing they had spent more time at the office. And, being off of work isn’t just about going to the next set of household tasks. It’s about resting, rejuvenating, relaxing, and recovering. Reading a novel, not another business education text. Eating good food, working in your gardening, traveling - all the finer things in life that don’t revolve around work. Go to a party in a gorgeous dress and don’t bring any business cards (they hardly fit into a proper evening bag anyway – there’s a reason for that…). Give yourself space to be a full person. You will get more done in smarter ways if you give your brain and body a rest.

I hope these tips work for you. I guess it’s easy to see that I believe in life balance, right? I do.  And, I wish you the best of successs. You’re invited to comment here on how you schedule yourself successfully.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Good project management is essential to staying organized. I’m not a fan of jargon and industry specific nomenclature, so here is a basic guide as to what it takes to really manage a project.

To start, what is a “project”? Simply put, it’s a grouping of activities that result in an end result. Getting your kids out the door to school can be a project, as can shopping, or building a website. Planning a wedding is a great real life example of a project (a REALLY big one!) so let’s use that for our case study. Here’s what you need to know:

First, make a complete task list: List everything, and I mean everything, you can think of that needs to be done, small and big. The minister, the church, the reception, the honeymoon flight arrangements, the shoes, the flowers, the dress, your attendants, buying your lacey negligee, etc., etc., etc.

Once you have the list, you can then group the smaller items under bigger ones. For example, the honeymoon would be the main topic and tasks like make flight arrangements, get passports, book the hotel, pack your suitcase would be sub tasks underneath it. By grouping you can not only see it all and be complete, but it also helps you see what you could delegate off. Delegating big chunks of your work is a way to get more done faster. Hiring a wedding planner is a great example of doing this. You hire someone to manage all the task groupings.

Set a proposed budget: This can be a money budget, a time budget, a resource budget, or all of the above. You need to be as accurate as you can. If a caterer normally charges $50 a plate for what you want to have, budgeting $5 per plate is just silly. Sure you might expect some discount, but don’t build your budget based on getting screaming deals that would make your grandmother blush in embarassment. Relationships need to be honored. Your partners are people who are feeding their familes and sending their kids to college just like anyone else. An honest pay for honest work is fair. Violating this will come back to bite you later on. I am not suggesting that you let yourself be taken advantage of, but if you’ve pushed so hard on the front end, you will have no goodwill left on the back end when you need it.

Next, set the preferred desired date for completion: This would be the day of the wedding, when everything needs to be completed. Much like catching a train, once you set the steps in motion for such a big event it’s relatively difficult (and expensive) to adjust the date, so either things get done on time or they don’t get done. You will be able to readily see, once you do the next step, if this desired date is reasonable. If it is, you can set the final date. If not, you either change the date, or alter the list of tasks you expect to have completed by that date. There’s no getting around this and it’s important to be realistic. Being late to the chapel just simply isn’t an option.

From this first proposed desired date, we back out all of the needed tasks: What I mean by that is, if it takes 10 weeks for your custom designer dress to be made, fitted, and ready, then you have to have that dress decision made no later than 10 weeks from the wedding date. If it takes 3 week to schedule the cake tasting and 3 more weeks for the cake to be ready, then you have to allow a minimum of 6 weeks from the wedding date for that task to be done.

Add some slack: When a task is crucial, it’s foolish to play things to the wire. Don’t overpad, but allowing 10-15% time allowance for the unexpected to happen is a good idea, because the unexpected will. No amount of diva bridezilla behavior is going to change anything when a hurricane shuts down the dress factory that is making your dress. Even if you’re accustomed to pushing to get your way, time is stubborn and has a way of pushing back. Adding some slack to your plan helps out.

Set priorities: Now, you take the task list and identify the drop dead, must have items. You are not getting married if the groom and minister doesn’t show or if you don’t get the marriage license. Those are must haves. The bubble machine with matching clown is not. Identifying must haves vs. nice to haves helps if you have to go to plan B or if you have to make an unexpected adjustment. It also keeps you focused and on time and on track. And, no, everything is not priority one. Give up that idea. It’s simply not true.

Setting priorities also includes identifying items that depend on another. For example, you can’t expect your bouquets to show up on wedding day if you never visited the florist (well, unless you were smart enough to tell someone else to handle it…). These dependencies are crucial, because if the first thing doesn’t get done on time, it cascades down the schedule to everything that depends on it. Be sure you are aware of these relationships so you can make adjustments as needed.

Implement, Adjust, and Enjoy: As you go through your plan, joyfully check off your completes. As you have schedule pushout in your completions, make the needed adjustments, always looking to see if something high in priority is in jeopardy of not getting done. Even though in this example it might be hard to stay flexible, in most cases, you can do that. Keeping your eyes on the true purpose of the project in the first place – in this case to marry the person you love – is the way to not only enjoy the result but also to enjoy the journey. You might only get married once but most projects will include people you want to work with again. Respect, realistic expectations, kind yet firm actions, and a sense of humor will go a long way to making this project and all the future ones successful.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman