goals – Everyday Glam Guide

How to: Slay your Goals & Change your LIFE in 2018!

Hey babes! Welcome to 2018! I don’t know about you but I am very happy to see a new year. I just have a really amazing feeling that 2018 is going to top all previous years… I think that main reason I’m feeling so positive and good about the new year is because I have a PLAN. I know what I want, and when, and what my vehicle to get me there will be. I have a clear vision of how my life can change in 2018.

I have evolved so much as an individual, as a mom, as a wife, as a professional, since starting ‘Running with Strollers’, and I thank you for following on the journey. When I started the blog, I really wanted to write career/professional type posts, but at that time my career wasn’t inspiring me as much as I had hoped. I had just gotten pregnant and then had my son, so my focus shifted to everything #motherhood. I didn’t expect my perspectives, goals, dreams, LIFE to change as drastically as it did when becoming a mom. Everything I had come to believe about my aspirations, changed. I no longer wanted to drop my child off every day at daycare and sit at a desk to work on someone else’s dream. I had a strong desire to lead and inspire others outside of a 9-5. I needed FREEDOM, LIKE MINDED FRIENDS and EXTRA INCOME so that I could shift from a professional career to being a #girlboss entrepreneur on my own terms.

Most of you know that I started a business venture in the beauty industry in March 2017 that has been very successful for my family and I. In December, I came home full time to work my business and be a Mom to my almost now 2 year old. This week, I did a training for my team of 50 women on “5 Tips to Slay your SeneBiz in the New Year”… but I realized that these tips are really applicable to anyone who wants to accomplish big goals this year. I decided that I’d turn my “show notes” into a general blog post for even those outside of my team to read. I feel compelled and qualified to talk on this topic because I have watched my life change dramatically over the past 9 months. I truly feel if you can master and remember these 5 tips, the details will fall into place and you will always know what the next step towards accomplishing your dream will be. They are really the core of what I do every day, week, month, etc, to meet my goals. Without further ado – let’s get to some life changing realness…

#1 – You must determine WHAT you want, WHY you want it, and HOW you will get it.

So you want to change your life – what do you want to change, why do you want it to change and what will your vehicle be to get you there? For my team training, we obviously know our vehicle but I always encourage them to dig deep and find their “WHY.” Why are they doing what they’re doing? What was the root cause for them to start a business, become an entrepreneur (#mompreneur as I like to call myself) or add something “extra” to their plate? There has to be a deeper reason than just wanting to sell products. For me, I have a strong desire for freedom from a full-time job, I want to have flexibility, I want to see my child more than 2 hours a day, and I want to give my family an extraordinary lifestyle. No matter how hard I worked at my job, I couldn’t achieve that. Once you determine what you want and why, you HAVE to keep that in front of you. Slaying your goals and dreams isn’t easy – it often takes hours of additional work, there will be people who judge you or question what you are doing, and you’re going to want to quit 2, 3 or 10 times throughout the year. I once heard a quote… “if people don’t understand what you’re doing, you may be on to something.” God sized dreams are never seen or understood by the average Joe. Keeping a WHY (that is stronger than any outside force trying to destroy those dreams) in front of you is absolutely necessary and is the first thing you must identify before achieving a dream.

#2 – Write Down your Goals and Keep them in front of you!

How are you going to hit your goals if you don’t know what they are or if you aren’t looking at them every.single.day? Your goals and dreams are 100% more likely to come true if they are physically written down. Your goal boards can be electronic, on paper, in the form of words or pictures, just get them physically down! I have a goals board in my kitchen that I update on the first of every month. No excuses. I see it every single day and I post it as the background as my phone. We look at our phones what, like, 573 times a day? Now I see what I’m working toward every time I hit that home button. It’s important to remember that just writing them down isn’t going to make them come true, you have to take action every single day (more on that later) but you are sooo soo much more inclined to take that action when they are written down. Just do it. And thank me later. In addition to my monthly vision board, I had my team create vision photos with their faces like this:

#3 – Daily Self Development

There is sooo so much negative in the world today. In the news, on social media, with family and friends – we must rid ourselves of that negativity ASAP. Don’t be afraid of the unfriend or unfollow button. If something you are seeing or consuming daily is shaking your confidence or belief in YOUR path, stop looking at it. Basically you have to stay in your own lane, or else you’ll get run over. I think that is a huge part of self development – knowing what is affecting you and either ridding it from your life, or taking more of it in, if it’s positive. Another way I like to work on self development is through podcasts, ebooks, articles, blogs (such as this 🙂 ) or finding a positivity friend (someone I know I can always contact and we can lift each other up.) Instead of turning on pop radio in the car and listening to songs you have heard a million times and probably don’t even like, turn on an inspirational podcast. Be willing to put so much good in your brain that there is no option but for the negative to be pushed out. Your thoughts are like a muscle, they must be exercised daily in order to get stronger. Your business or goals will not grow or improve if YOU aren’t willing to change. Becoming an entrepreneur, a #mompreneur, or extraordinary, does NOT happen overnight -we must learn from those who have gone before us and found success. Lastly, I like to find or stalk, I mean STUDY, people in my line of business that inspire me. I can then replicate (not copy) or apply what I feel is drawing myself to them, in my own business. I often think about WHY I joined the team I did in SeneGence and try to remember that often so that I can create that same type of feeling with my followers. Here are some podcasts I like that can all be found on itunes:

The Skinny Confidential – Him & Her

I am not great at reading but REALLY want to be – I will work on that in 2018 and hope to have a list of reading material for you all soon. Or you can leave your recos below!

#4 Build Relationships and Tell your Story

In anything you want to accomplish in life, there’s a great chance you won’t be able to do it alone. You’ll need a network for a business, a goal, or a dream. You’ll need supporters, customers, followers, partners, employees, or encouragers. Whether your goal is to run a marathon or start a blog – you will need these people. My friend Kaitlyn of Essere Blog and Buzzed Bull Creamery is SO GOOD at doing this. She is a business owner, a wife, and a new blogger. She is constantly building her brand, telling her story, encouraging others, which I believe, attracts people towards her. I aspire to be more like her. Build relationships, tell your story, connect, and in turn you will make sincere friendships with others and find your “people” naturally. This can’t be a sometimes thing, this has to be a part of you – connecting with others needs to be a part of what you become great at. What you are putting on social media, or into the universe should be generally positive, honest, and things you care about that others can relate with. This helps to develop your “brand” which is an entirely different convo. Just know that you, are your brand, which is your business. It is all connected. We connect with people and why they’re doing what they are – not what they are selling.

#5 – Consistency ALWAYS Wins. Take Action Every Single Day.

Nothing you set out to accomplish can be a “when you feel like it” thing. Every day consistency will ALWAYS win. Although this is #5 on the list, I think it is the more important. You will see growth, change, and success where your thoughts and actions fall daily. Action inspires action – do you remember the theory from school, “a ball in motion stays in motion, a ball at rest, stays at rest?” It’s much harder to find motivation to take action when you haven’t in a few days, a week, or months. Once you get into the habit of taking action you will naturally want to stay in motion. Taking action yields results and eventually working towards your dream will become a part of your routine. You want to get to a spot where NOT taking action feels wrong, or makes you feel uneasy. Do at least one thing for your dream every.single.day.

Bonus Tip: Don’t QUIT!

The only way to completely fail at something you have a WHY, a PLAN for, and that you WORK at consistently, is to give up. THE ONLY WAY. Sure, some dreams and ventures will be more successful than others, but the only way to find no success is to STOP. Don’t quit your dream, and it won’t quit you (a quote by Whitney Bray.) BOOM.

If you want to chat with me, please feel free to reach out to me on here, via email (kayla.greenstone@gmail.com), follow me on instagram, or facebook!

Interested in a new opportunity with makeup and skincare? To join my team of badass boss babes, you can read about our January sign-up promo here or sign-up here with ID 330104.

5 Easy Ways to Set Yourself up For Success in 2017

The holidays have come and gone in what feels like a huge blur – it was an awesome time with family, time off work, and seeing the bright lights of the season through my babies’ eyes for the first time. This time of the year is stressful yet fulfilling, chaotic yet relaxing – and usually positioned as the biggest climax of the fiscal year.

And then…

JANUARY.

I don’t know about you all but I feel like January is the least exciting, roughest month of the year. We are back from holiday “break” and responsibilities of life start to set in big time. In the midwest, it’s always when it starts to get brutally cold, gray, and there’s really not much going on.

It’s also a time where expectations are high…aren’t we supposed to have huge resolutions and lose like 10 lbs in this month? It’s seriously overwhelming and such an anxiety ridden start to the new year you are supposed to OWN.

I have gathered here 5 small steps you can take to make it all seem less daunting – and allow you to kill it in the new year.

1.) Write down your goals

I have wrote about this topic when I hit 1 year of blogging and how it helped me, but I need to reiterate it again. Take 5 minutes, grab a journal and write down 5-10 small things you want to accomplish this year. It can be within your career, your family, your side hustle, your blogging/social media goal, your health. Just get it on paper, and make them specific! For example: don’t write “I want my blog to grow.” Write, “I WILL increase my following by 500 on X platform and post at least 2 times/week.” I’m no analyst, but pretty sure it’s scientifically proven that you’re more willing to stick to goals when you get them physically written down. By doing this, you are also putting into the universe that you want opportunities to come your way.

2.) Get moving!

Going to the gym after eating your body weight in Christmas cookies, candy and holiday ham is THE. WORST. Like on the level of vom – but you HAVE to get moving! The hardest part is getting dressed and going. Start small and work your way up. Just do a few minutes, if necessary. I went for the first time this week after about a week off and just did some cardio & abs to get myself moving again. Once the junk is out of your system you can increase intensity and set your gym goal for 2017 in which you will write down with the rest of your goals. See where I’m going with this?

3.) Determine the next big event to look forward to

This is so key for me. I am a big advocate of having things to look forward to. Not that I don’t look forward to every day with my babes but after Christmas, Hanukah, NYE is over, find another big event in the NEAR future to look forward to or prepare for. For example, my birthday is 2/4 and Calvin’s 1st birthday is 2/18 – 2 events that I will look forward to and get excited about!

4.) Find something that inspires you

What inspires you or keeps you going? It is a book, a podcast, a friend, a child? For me, taking action is what inspires me to keep going. I want to grow my blog because it is my favorite thing I do for ME – if I don’t write for a few days, have an idea brewing, or post something, I honestly get anxious (what am I doing with my life?) and antsy. That’s how I know I should keep going. Maybe action is uncomfortable for you but you get inspiration by reading from your favorite author or listening to a podcast on your commute – keep doing those things.

5.) Buy or do one small thing that makes you happy

Alright – materialistic Kayla is coming out. I’m not saying you have to go get a $150 massage or buy a new Michael Kors purse – but go do something small or buy something small that will make you happy. I know we just got holiday gifts but let’s be honest – the holidays are all about the kids now. Go buy something you maybe didn’t get and enjoy it. For example, a new coffee/tea mug, a pair of warm gloves or a comfy blanket for relaxing at home. Maybe you should go get that hair trim or color that you’ve been putting off due to little time. Tell your significant other that getting out for an hour or two would help you and go do what you want. It’s the little things, ya’ll.

What are we wearin’?

Calvin

Kayla

My navy sherpa coat is originally from GAP and is completely sold out! I’m so sad – I searched the internet high and low for some similar options.

We are in Cincinnati until Sunday and will spend New Year’s Day heading back to NJ. What are your plans? Have an amazing New Year with the ones you love! Talk soon, Friends!

Don’t forget to find me on my socials as I would love to connect!

Snapchat @ greenskm

Looking Toward your Amazing Future

I told myself I was going to hold off on any new posts until the baby was here, but ever since I started this “hobby” of blogging, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing, posting, and being able to connect with so many of you through the process that I just couldn’t wait. I figured I’d give both a personal update and talk about the idea of looking toward the future with optimism in our lives.

I definitely thought my next post (this one) would be the announcement of our little guy – turns out he’s keeping everyone on their toes as we are now almost a week past original due date! This is super common for the first born, but we got our hopes up when one of my midwives said he’d be likely here by the end of the first week in Feb! I’m pretty sure my parents’ car has been packed for a full 2 weeks. There’s finally a light at the end of the preggo tunnel as we’ve scheduled induction for Thursday, 2/18 at 7am (watch him come tomorrow.) We had an appointment yesterday that ended up taking about 1.5 hrs and I’m pretty sure baby was visibly moving for all 90 minutes we were there…it was pretty cute.

The idea of being induced is so weird to me and something that didn’t cross my mind until yesterday, as I’ve basically been told he would be early the entire pregnancy. When it’s a surprise you have no choice but to accept that labor is starting – now that’s it’s planned I’ve gone from being frustrated it hasn’t happened, to excited we have the final date in which our lives will change forever.

As we’re about to enter one of the most exciting times of our lives, I can’t help but look to the future and all that it holds. I think having something to look forward to in life is the key to moving ahead with certainty and making each day the best you possibly can. Right now my “something to look forward to” just happens to be an extremely life changing event. I’m not naive to the fact that there are a lot of tough challenges ahead, just as there has been in the past – I am just choosing optimism and prioritizing what I want to focus on.

“Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.” ~ Seth Godin

Being optimistic and hopeful for the future can be something as small as treating yourself to Starbucks on a rough Monday morning, or after a tough workout, or planning that vacation that you just can’t wait for. I’ll share both some small and large milestones that I’m excited for and if you’re feeling the winter blues, or “blah” in your daily routine, it’s time to reflect on your own milestones and future. What are you optimistic about for tomorrow, next week, or even next year? What can you focus on to take on each day with positivity? All of our futures are bright, we just have to find what inspires us to move forward.

Meeting our Son & Seeing the Joy he will bring to our Loved Ones

Not only will this be super monumental for Craig and I – but I am just as excited for our families and friends to see and meet him. I didn’t realize how excited everyone gets about babies until we had one on the way. Never again will it just be the two of us – we will be going everywhere as a family. Here is a photo of a very excited set of grandparents:

Those Post-Workout Endorphins

After working out or exercising almost every day for 20 years and then suddenly becoming limited in what I can do physically (for the past 4 months), I’ve definitely had the urge for that post-working feeling. You know what I’m talking about – feeling healthy and good about yourself leads to so much productivity in so many other areas of your life. I can’t wait to run, do jump squats, or bicycles – I also can’t wait to post some of the past workouts I’ve created, the new workouts I’ll be creating, and to stop talking about McDonalds & Cookies 🙂

PS- does carrying a baby in my belly give me unlimited approval of selfies? Cuz I’ve been doing way too much of it lately

A Nice Glass of Merlot

I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory. I really just want to enjoy a large glass of red wine, even if it is from my couch in comfies, while watching Netflix.

Visits from Friends & Family

Many of my friends and family have not made it out to the East Coast for a visit just yet, but there are several scheduled for this spring and I just can’t wait. I don’t even care if they’re just coming to see Baby C…what a way to lure them in.

Professional Growth

This one is super on-going and likely won’t be a huge focus again until May. I’m just really feeling like I’ve been given great opportunities in my professional career to date – I enjoy my company, my co-workers, my team, leading them, and seeing all of us grow together. For every ounce of professional growth I’ve experienced, I have felt the personal growth, ten fold. Receiving great opportunities into your life takes commitment, sacrifice, and a lot of hard work…they do not happen by chance.

Family Travels

We have several trips planned for the rest of this year and I can’t wait to experience them as a family. I know that traveling with a baby is going to be much different, but I’m willing to learn how to do this best through on-going experience.

The Growth of “Kayla Marie”

Putting myself out there and writing is all very new to me – and blogging has a much higher learning curve than one would think. I’m excited to grow this site, my personal brand, take part in some brand and individual collaborations, and give my readers some entertainment & inspiration from time to time. I’m not going to lie, the 4 adjectives that describe my blog have been constantly changing as I am continually discovering what this blog will actually become.

I encourage you to think about, get a notebook, and then physically write down what you may be looking toward, working toward, or moving toward in either the near or far future in your life. What keeps you going? I’m really interested to see what you all have planned for the upcoming year – comment below and let me know!

Love you all!

❤ Kayla