You can have a really amazing personal life, full of family, space and downtime, as well as a thriving Early Childhood business, where, of course, you put in the time and you put in the work, but you don't need to work yourself to death.

It absolutely is possible for you to stop sacrificing your personal life and live the life you want, and it absolutely is possible to create a thriving, profitable, Early Childhood business that makes a difference in the lives of others without working long hours and more weekends instead of spending time with family and being exhausted all the time from your business.

Once we can pull back a bit and look at our Early Childhood business as the living, breathing, real thing that it is, we're able to boost new confidence into how we handle things. It takes bigger steps to get there, but with little tweaks here and there, we can breath new life back into our dream of living a time+freedom lifestyle with more gratitude and work+life balance than we ever thought possible.

As we look towards the new year and all that it will bring, to stop the hustle culture mindset it is important to set the tone for a successful year with more time+freedom. Keeping it simple with 3 things top of mind will create an intentional year filled with purpose and clarity and far less time needed spent hustling.

Gratitude is more powerful than one might think. Life is full of distractions and overwhelm. Developing a practice of gratitude will help you achieve your goals with more work+life balance and less hustle.

To fully experience the impact of gratitude you need to look at it in these 3 areas:

Pivot from your past
Conquer your present
Embrace your future

Today there's something I want to share with you. Something that I feel that I did wrong over the last 18 years and what I would do differently, because every time I give training and we get to the Q&A section, almost always I get the question “if you could do it all over again, what's something that you would change or do differently?” And the one thing I know, that's crystal clear to me, that I would do differently is I wouldn't have believed in the constant hustle culture and fought with sacrifice to get to where I am today.

I learned the hard way that I can have a different kind of life and still be successful.

So I've had to unlearn some of these things that I was raised with as a child about working hard and working long hours and very little rest. I had to teach myself that it doesn’t always have to be hard to be worth it. And hustling is not the only way to show you are worthy. There was so much to unlearn. And what I believe now and what I have seen from some of my mentors that I respect, is that you can have a really amazing personal life, full of family, space, and downtime, as well as a thriving Early Childhood business, where, of course, you put in the time and you put in the work, but you don't need to work yourself to the point of sacrifice, you don’t need to work late, you don’t need to work weekends in order to have a very successful, profitable Early Childhood business.

I now know that the people that are the most strategic and the smartest find a way to not work, work, work, work, work, but still have a thriving business and enjoy what they're doing and make a difference.

And I also had to take a leap of faith. It took some courage to say, “Okay. I am going to let go of perfection and hustle less.” It was time to put down the perfectionist crown. We know that, as Early Childhood business owners/managers, it’s an easy hat to wear, and it’s one of the easiest fallback excuses for not being “ready” or not doing the hard things to grow our business. We think there's this mythical level of “ready” that we'll somehow get notified when we reach it and then everything will be okay.

Pivot from your Past

One of the key strategies of gratitude to apply is reshaping your memory of the past. Your past is not objective. Rather, your past is entirely subjective. It's a meaning. Good or bad. Happy or sad. You are the person who gives meaning to your experiences. You are the one giving meaning and context to your past experiences.

It's highly likely that a great deal of your "past" is in the things you do not wish to remember category. Gratitude allows you to re-remember your past while being entirely focused on the gains you have from it. When you re-contextualize your past, you'll never be the victim of your past again. Your past does not need to be something you are the victim to. Instead, your past can be something continually inspiring you and propelling you forward.

Conquering Your Present

We all know that each day comes with different and sometimes challenging experiences. Not everything will go as planned. The challenge is actually the moment, but how you are looking at it. That is how you will learn and grow. Consciously discover and focus on the good. Have gratitude for the amazing people in your life, for the opportunities you currently have and all the wonderful things around you.

So, part one of conquering the present is appreciating it. It's not about your resources, but how resourceful you are. There are people with far less doing far more with what they have than you are. It's not your circumstances, it's you. Conquer your present through focusing on your capabilities.

If you focus on your circumstances, you'll find plenty to complain about. But if you focus on your capability, then your only option is to get moving. Your capability is always above your circumstances. There is always something you can do to impact and change your life and move in the direction you want to go.

Having gratitude for the opportunity to grow and move forward is how you change your present. You see all the beauty in what you currently have, and you recognize the amazing power you have to improve upon what you have.

Embrace your Future

“Gratitude for your future bolsters your faith” - Florence Shinn, American Novelist

You are the designer of your past memories, your present experience, and your future as well. Every day, you want to experience and fully embody gratitude for your future. It allows you to know that you'll succeed, long before you do. While most people are defined by experiences from their past, successful people are defined by experiences in their future.”

Being in a negative emotional state will stop you from the very things you want. Your emotional state is fundamental to what you create in your life and future. If you're at a place of acceptance, peace, and trust, then you'll be able to navigate the challenges you'll face toward your dreams. Every day, experience complete gratitude for the inevitable success of your future. Then, act the part, here and now.

I feel so strongly right now because it absolutely is possible for you to work less hours. It absolutely is possible for you to stop sacrificing your personal life and live the life you want, and it absolutely is possible to create a thriving, profitable, Early Childhood business that makes a difference in the lives of others without working long hours and more weekends instead of spending time with family and being exhausted all the time from your business. I know it is possible, and I want that for you.

At the end of the day, I just want you to appreciate that what you’re doing is worthy and it doesn’t have to be hard and there is no badge of honor for sacrificing the years with your loved ones. Once you legitimize this in your head, you’ll be able to achieve more of that Work+Life balance you deserve. We believe in your dreams, your ideas and believe you deserve so much joy.. We’re in your corner cheering you on.

We discuss this in details on the podcast episode so dive in to learn more

Resources

Around this time of year, we start thinking about what matters most, and I ask this for my business as well. What truly matters? I often think about the impact I have on my community and the families I serve. If you find yourself feeling the same way, you also might find yourself asking how you can help strengthen those relationships between your families, your team and your community.

With a uniquely designed planning process just for Preschool/Childcare/Play Cafe/Enrichment Program and other EC Businesses owners/managers our Time+Freedom Lifestyle Planner can help you build, maintain, and grow your EC Business, team, and customer relationships like never before.

The thoughtful planning process easily captures the feedback unique to you and your business, shares valuable insights with you, and helps you grow your understanding of how you can lead your Early Childhood business and not merely manage it. Healthy conversations about what matters and less about what doesn't.