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Get to Know Evie – 21 Questions

Continuing last week’s theme of getting to know me, I’m answering 21 questions that it appears went around the internet/blogs in 2011.

  1. Are you named after anyone?
    Nope, my mom heard the name and liked it (and Dad liked it too).

  2. When was the last time you cried?
    Last week while writing, and then re-reading, the 9 People Who Have Influenced Me article.

  3. Do you have kids?
    Nope.

  4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?
    I’d like to think so.

  5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
    I used to use it a lot more. I don’t think I’m quite as sarcastic these days.

  6. Will you ever bungee-jump?
    Is everyone else doing it? Seriously though, probably not.

  7. What’s your favorite cereal?
    My favorite cereal really depends on what I feel like that day (and what I like now is a lot different than what I liked 20+ years ago). Generally though, I don’t eat cereal. I’m just hungry an hour later. Give me protein for breakfast.

  8. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
    Is it bad that I’m not really sure? It’s probably their face and hair.

  9. What is your eye color?
    Blue.

  10. Scary movie or happy endings?
    Happy endings (within reason). I don’t care for scary movies.

  11. Favorite smells?
    Newly cut grass. Baking bread. My husband.

  12. Summer or winter?
    Spring and fall.

  13. Computer or television? 
    Computer! I can watch television through a computer. And I can do a lot more stuff on a computer than with a television.

  14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home?
    The UK. Nate and I took a 10 day vacation there a few years ago and had a really great time.

  15. Do you have any special talents? 
    Hmm, does being able to sleep in a car even when I don’t think I’m tired count? I think one of the other things I can do is create a warm and welcoming group.

  16. Where were you born?
    Wisconsin.

  17. What are your hobbies?
    Church and reading (mostly business books these days).

  18. Do you have any pets?
    Not right now. I’d like a dog, but Nate isn’t excited about that 🙂

  19. Favorite movie? 
    The one that comes to mind is Stardust. If Nate starts it I will stop what I’m doing and watch the whole thing.

  20. Do you have any siblings?
    Yep, one wonderful sister (see last week’s article for a little more about her).

  21. What do you want to be when you grow up?
    Initially I read this as what did you want to be when you grew up. Which is a different question entirely. As a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian because I love animals. And then I had biology in high school and realized I did not want to be looking at animal’s insides.
    These days the answer generally boils down to happy.

Do you have any questions for me, personal or business, that you’re curious about? Ask them in the comments below!

Get to Know Evie – 9 People Who Have Influenced Me

Today I am at a loss for what to write. So, I decided to use this opportunity to share a little bit more about myself by sharing ten nine people who have had an impact on who I am today.

So, this post is a little bit, well, a lot different than what you normally see here.

Let’s get started!

  1. My Mom: Someone told me the other day that I had a very positive and uplifting personality. I told him that my mom is the reason for that. She is a very happy and uplifting person too. She’s always pointing out the good in others and ready to laugh with you, or comfort you. I know you probably think your mom’s pretty great, but my mom’s the BEST!

  2. My Dad: My dad is someone who plays after the work is done. Sitting still all day is just not how he’s built. So, to say that he has a great work ethic would be putting it mildly. Whether it’s going to work to support his family, taking care of the yard or supporting family (although he would argue that’s not work, that’s just what you do for family, blood or otherwise), he likes to stay busy. Don’t let all that fool you though, he likes to have fun too! And he loves his daughters tremendously.

  3. My Sister: She definitely works hard. She’s a successful lawyer in Chicago and works long hours, but she’ll drop everything for a friend in need. She’s taught me about trying out things you don’t think you’ll like and being open to the possibility of loving it (a small town girl happily living in downtown Chicago). She’s funny and goofy and a lot of fun to be around. And we just get each other (and we share our Mom’s goofy sense of humor).

  4. Nate: My husband. I do not think there is a more supportive husband anywhere on earth. Seriously! He’s been supportive though all the ups, downs, frustrations and excitement of my entrepreneurial journey. He’s been supportive; he’s listened to me talk about things he doesn’t really care about but knows is important to me; held me when I’ve cried; shared my celebrations. And he’s been my best friend.

  5. Nicki and Tina: They were my two best friends in college. We don’t talk much anymore, our lives have gone separate ways, but they taught me a lot about supporting and being there for a friend. And they taught me about gracefully being on the receiving end. They encouraged me to stretch my comfort zone and were a safe place to land. I can still hear the sound of their laughter in my ears.

  6. The HCC Gang: It began with Pete, Brandon, Marsha, Ericka, Sarah, Angie and Michelle and has grown to include spouses (JorjAnn and Jeremy) and now their kids. They were my first post high school friends and we stay in touch and see each other a few times a year. I know that anytime I need anything, I can call any of them. We’ve been friends for over 15 years. And I feel pretty confident in saying we’ll be friends for at least 15 more. They’re my second family.

  7. Intro to Religion Professor at NCC: Unfortunately I cannot remember her name! I do remember that for each religion we read about we had to write a one to two page paper prior to discussing it in class. Writing the papers took a lot of time, but in retrospect it was only because I thoroughly thought about what I wanted to say. I didn’t enjoy the process, but I loved the outcome. I had opinions! And the professor said she enjoyed reading them! I believe that class is one of the reasons I decided I could have a blog. I loved that class!

  8. Christine Kane: I really can’t remember when I started following her. It was before her last album came out, so probably 2007 or 2008. I wasn’t very happy at the time. I remember reading some of her blogs and telling Nate that sometimes I thought we weren’t living in the same world. Sometimes she wrote things that I just did.not.GET. A couple years later I was bawling after listening to a teleclass of hers because I just KNEW that I needed that program and it felt like a lot of money. With my husband’s blessing, I bought it. And things really did start to change. She gave me the tools and support that allowed ME to change them. A few years later I’m in another program of hers and there have been many Ah-ha moments.

  9. Darla LeDoux: In 2010 I realized I wanted to work for myself. Only problem? I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. I believe I came across Darla because of she interviewed someone I was following along that topic. I don’t remember the exact sequence of events, but I hired Darla to help me figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Darla was my coach for probably two years. I learned so much about business, and more importantly myself through working with her. She truly held that spot that all coaches hold for their clients, that space of believing that I was capable of soo much, even when I couldn’t see it for myself. I still follow Darla, love her to pieces, and consider her a friend. (you can find her over at AlignAndProfit.com)

Well, I’ve had a good happy/grateful cry while writing this. So, I’m stopping at nine.

Do you have any questions for me, personal or business, that you’re curious about? Ask them below.

I’m thinking about doing a 21 questions type thing next week (you get to know me, but it’s a different feel than this one). I’d love to add or replace some of those questions with ones from you!

The Feel Good File

Young woman holding a fileHave you ever had days where you just wanted to sit on the couch under a warm blanket and watch TV (or YouTube) all day?

Okay, so maybe your do-nothing inclinations look different than mine, but you know what I mean.

I’m not talking about the days where you just need a break and some personal time to yourself.

I’m talking about the days where you just are tired and don’t want to do anything. Those days when your business just seems like so-much-WORK.

Now these days can be a result of any number of things. Being overtired, coming up against your comfort zone, or it can be you’ve just ran out of oomph.

What do you do on those days? How do you get your momentum going again?

There are any number of things you can do. I even wrote a blog post a while ago on throwing yourself a pity party and there are a couple of great ideas there.

However today, I’m proposing something else.

I’m proposing a “motivation file” or “feel good file.”

Did you do the exercise in early December about where you’ll be in a year? Make a copy of it and put it in the file. (If you haven’t done that exercise, take some time and do it! And feel free to send it to me.)

Have you ever gotten a thank you note from a client or prospective client? Or maybe an email? The unsolicited kind are great mood lifters.

However, those testimonials that you’ve asked for are pretty great too (if you don’t have any you should! That should be part of your system with your clients).

Take those notes, print out those testimonials and put them in that file.

Now, anytime you’re find yourself with no oomph and want some momentum, pull out that file, read through it and remember that you have some pretty great goals and do some pretty great work. And you get to work with some pretty great people and they’re grateful that you’re there doing your work.

Feeling good? Heck yeah!

What else will you put in your “feel good file”?

Perfection and Failure

bright doorway

The person out there doing things imperfectly is always making more progress (and money) than the person sitting at home waiting for things to be perfect. – Evie Burke

Things don’t always go the way we expect. Waiting for something to be perfect won’t change that.

Failure only means that we tried something and it didn’t work out the way we expected.

And that’s okay.

I’ll leave you with a quote I’ve shared before:

So fail.
Be bad at things.
Be embarrassed.
Be afraid.
Be vulnerable.

Go out on a limb or two or twelve, and you will fall and it’ll hurt. But the harder you fall, the farther you will rise. The louder you fall, the clearer your future becomes. Failure is a gift, welcome it.

There are people who spend their whole lives wondering how they became the people they became, how certain chances passed them by, why they didn’t take the road less traveled.

Those people aren’t you.

You have front row seats to your own transformation, and in transforming yourself, you might even transform the world. And it will be electric, and I promise you it will be terrifying.

Embrace that; embrace the new person you’re becoming.

This is your moment.

I promise you, it is now, now, not two minutes from now, not tomorrow, but really now. Own that; know that deep in your bones. And go to sleep every night knowing that, wake up every morning remembering that.

And then… keep going.

– Unknown (emphasis added)

woman looking out window

Not Knowing HOW… and being okay with that

woman looking out windowLet me know in the comments below if this sounds familiar:

Last week you were in a magical place that felt somewhere in between 2013 and 2014 and everything and anything was possible there. And it was so much fun and exciting to be in that place and see the possibilities!

And then you were suddenly dropped squarely into 2014.

 
*THUD*
 

And all those possibilities are suddenly feeling drowned by the day in and day out of your everyday life. You already had full days, there’s no more time for new things, no matter how fun and exciting they (or their outcomes) are.

Does any of that feel familiar?

I truly believe that there’s a magic to dreaming what our business and our lives can be. We tap into something bigger than us. Something that takes us gently by the hand, lifts a curtain over a doorway we didn’t know was there, and allows us to peek through. While patting us gently on the back and whispering into our ear “it’s totally possible for you.” Then we’re given a hug and that person with the twinkling, knowing eyes leaves us. And we’re left with a wonderful vision that we know is possible. And we don’t know the HOW.

 
*THUD*
 

It’s that HOW that sometimes gets me. I love knowing HOW. It’s comforting to know the steps. I want to get from A to B and this is the map that will get me there in 3 steps and 2 hours. LOVE that.

And the vision, that dream of what can be, of what will be, is different.

We’re left to determine the HOW by ourselves. Sometimes it might feel impossible, at other times daunting and then there’s those really wonderful and cool times where it feels completely possible – no, even better than that, it feels like REALITY.

As someone who LOVES to plan, being okay with not knowing the HOW is uncomfortable and often just plain frustrating.

Knowing the next one or two steps I need to take IS actually enough and I’m slowly learning to be okay with that.

Does that mean that I’m not planning or making decisions? Of course I’m still planning! I know what my next big project is and I have rough estimates of dates and time reserved to map out exactly what I want to happen and want to do to make it a reality.

AND I’m okay with not knowing what’s coming immediately after that. 

I prefer to look at it this way: so much more will be opened to me in the coming months, new opportunities and directions, that I’d be doing my self a disservice by limiting myself to my current view.

I don’t know what the future holds. And for the first time in a long while, I’m okay with that.

And the path there, it’s going to be so much fun!