The CPA MOMS Podcast

Every CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Caroline Van Wassenhove, CPA, a member of CPA MOMS for over 3 years. Caroline reached out to CPA MOMS CEO, Mayumi Young, CPA for some guidance on expanding her small practice and never anticipated how much she and her business would be able to grow in such a short amount of time. Take a listen to Caroline's story, the most important shift she made in her business with the guidance of CPA MOMS, and her advice for other accountant moms.

Have you ever noticed that you gravitate towards articles, stories or shows that promise to teach you how to do something. You may not know this, but when creating a title for a blog, podcast or anything else that you want to capture people's attention, using "How" in the title is highly recommended. The reason is because we all have the desire for more, especially more knowledge when it comes to being an accountant. We value expertise, how to service our clients and businesses at the highest level possible and how to achieve professional success. As working moms we also have the desire for more for ourselves and our families, and we want clear cut instructions on getting the results we want. Seeing a picture on Pinterest of a beautiful water feature in someone's yard is interesting, but add the title "How to create this in a day" and we are hooked. From the desire to be a solopreneur, to wanting to finally get all the family photos digitized, it all sounds exciting and compelling, but then comes the question of "But how?". That one question can seem like a big letdown, taking the wind out of your sails and making it seem too big and complicated, so you end up saying "Why bother". The tricky thing about wanting to know how, is that your brain will automatically resist any idea it's unfamiliar with and will transfer responsibility for the "How" to someone or something outside of you. Even with clear cut steps on how to do something, it's important to understand what will actually gets you the results you really want. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss why we have such a strong need to know how and the 4 step process to help you when you want to know how.

I don't know one person who isn't being affected in some way or another by the current social and economic challenges we are facing. As the saying goes, the one constant in our lives is change, and it seems like we have all been thrust into a giant wave of change lately. On the one hand, I don't think any of us were truly prepared for such immediate, drastic and unwanted changes. On the other hand, I also think that change can be a good thing when you understand how to manage it. As working moms, we are all facing a lot of challenges that are being forced upon us, adding to our overwhelm and constant struggle with balance. Just when you think you've got a good handle on having a career and being a mom, a massive wave of change comes crashing into your life like a tsunami. Even though it may seem like things are just too much to handle, when you learn how to manage unwanted change and how to create wanted change, life just gets easier. When you have the right knowledge and tools, there's nothing stopping you from building the career and the life you truly want. This week on The CPA MOMS Podcast I discuss how to handle unwanted change, and the process to make a wanted change.

If you have a desire to leave your job and be your own boss, you are at the right place and time in history. Never before have there been so many opportunities to go out on your own, especially as an accounting professional and working mom. Just the thought of not having to deal with a difficult boss, having your own clients to service and being able to make your financial goals a reality can be exciting. But, there's also a harsh reality that you might want to consider - most of your formal education has prepared you to be an employee, not to be self-employed. One of the most important factors when making the transition from employee to self-employed is brain management. Brain management is the key when you: Are afraid to make a big leap Need to quit your current job Are afraid of what other people will think Don't know how to manage your time Are overwhelmed with all the decisions that need to be made Miss having coworkers to bounce off issues with Don't believe you can do it Need to get work done and your child is home sick Are suffering with imposter syndrome Have an unhappy client Aren't making enough money Are afraid to ask for more money Want to give up This week on the podcast I discuss what brain management is, why it's so important if you want to be self-employed, and the best way to make the transition from employee to self-employed.

Do any of the following sound familiar? It's probably not going to happen, so why bother I don't know if I can do it I just can't take the risk I can't handle the disappointment if it doesn't work out What will people think? I'm going to wait to see what happens before I do anything Things like this just typically don't work out for me For busy, often perfectionist, accountants like us, it can be very challenging to do things outside of our comfort zone. There are often, what appears to be, very valid reasons in our minds for not making a change, being vulnerable or believing that something big or new is possible. It's as if there's a valve in our minds that allows just so much possibility to drip out, before the handle is quickly shut closed. There seems to be this general resistance by women to accept that something great could happen, so instead we wind up psyching ourselves out, all in the name of protecting ourselves from disappointment. We are smart, capable women but unfortunately we tend to have such a collective fear when it comes to failure, that we actually wind up failing ahead of time. This week on the podcast I discuss why women have a tendency to fail ahead of time, why there's no upside to it and some tips to help you stop.

If I asked you what you want right now, how easy would it be to give me an answer? Would it be easier for you to tell me things you want for your children, for your family, for others or for the world? When we become mothers, we are so strongly conditioned to make sure our children are taken care of physically and emotionally, that we can wind up one day having no idea what we want for ourselves. When this happens, we have an even harder time allowing ourselves to want more. Unfortunately there is also so much added shame for working mothers when it comes to wanting more; whether it's more career success, more money, more prestige, more time alone or more love. The idea of women wanting more is frowned upon by society and sadly, we get the message loud and clear. The issue is that if this message is not addressed, it can become an issue of worthiness that gets passed down, from generation to generation. I truly believe that we can want more, and that we owe it to ourselves and our children to live our lives as an example of what's possible, especially as working mothers. This week on the podcast I discuss why you should want more, figuring out what you want and how to get it.

How's your bank account balances right now? Have you looked at your 401k lately? Are your clients freaking out, scrambling for help with loan options? Right now many people are understandably experiencing a lot of fear around money. The economy is going up, down and all around, like a vomit-inducing roller coaster that we never asked to get on. We are all looking at our 401k's, investment accounts and bank balances and experiencing a range of emotions from low level concern to full-blown panic. For most of us, life was moving along relatively smoothly before this worldwide pandemic came sweeping in, like a cold fog covering everything in sight. The issue with times like these is that no matter what your money beliefs were before the pandemic, the volume is being turned up. If you felt a lot of fear and scarcity around money before, then you will experience those feelings now more than ever. Even those who felt fine around the subject of money may be triggered with money insecurity with the current economic climate. Depending on what you read, who you speak to and how you handle the challenges you're being faced with, no one is immune to money insecurity at this moment in time. This week I'm going to discuss the cause of money insecurity and what to do about it.

What happens when you become the main breadwinner in the family whether by choice or not? How is this current pandemic affecting the typical roles of caregiver and breadwinner? In this fascinating interview with award-winning journalist, Jennifer Barrett, we discuss the shift in the role of breadwinner, how mom guilt needs to be addressed more than ever and how we can redefine what being a "good mom" means to us. Jennifer Barrett has been the Personal Finance Editor at CNBC, Senior Vice President and Editor in Chief at Daily Worth as well as General manager at Hearst Digital, overseeing the magazine sites for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Good Housekeeping and Seventeen. She is currently writing a book about women and breadwinning that will be released next Spring. She recently wrote an article featured in Forbes titled "How Economic Fallout From The Coronavirus May Disproportionately Affect Women" This week on the podcast I have the pleasure of talking with Jennifer about being the breadwinner in the family and the gender role shifts that will hopefully come out of this current pandemic.

As a CPA in public accounting for over 30 years, I have lived through many financial crises; some were blamed on accountants, while others were helped by accountants. However, this current health and financial crisis is like nothing many of us have ever seen during our accounting careers. This pandemic is being felt by everyone, no matter where you live on this planet, or what you do for a living. As accountants, we are needed more than ever to help keep the ship steady during this perfect storm of financial and emotional upheaval. However, if being an accountant during a financial crisis wasn't enough, many of us are also mothers concerned with the safety, health and well-being of our children and families. As mothers, we already have these priorities to consider, but add a world-wide pandemic into the mix, and we can all be stretched pretty thin. When tough times like these are thrust upon us, we have two options - fall apart or get stronger. I hope you choose the latter because the businesses you work for, the clients you serve and the family you support, need you to steer the ship through these rough waters right now. This week I'm going to discuss what's within your control as an accountant and a mom and how to take back control.

How's your level of anxiety right now? If you are like most people, this COVID-19 pandemic is not making it easy to keep calm, feel safe, take care of your family or get your accounting work done. Everywhere we turn, we are being updated with statistics of people getting sick and dying, of businesses closing and of stricter precautions to take in order to keep our families safe. The planet is being affected by a virus that those in healthcare are struggling to manage, understandably creating a lot of fear and anxiety. Right now I want to help you, my fellow female accountants, to not be completely burned out once this pandemic is over. As accountants we are already susceptible to burnout on a good day, especially during tax season, but throw a worldwide crisis into the mix, and you could have the recipe for a total breakdown. Author and successful business strategist, Dan Sullivan, has lived through his fair share of difficulties during his 75 years, but after the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th, he decided to create The "Scary Times" Success Manual for his entrepreneur clients at the time. It was so helpful that word spread, and businesses were asking for millions of copies to pass along to their clients. What began as a way to help his entrepreneur clients to deal with fear and uncertainty after September 11th, has now become a manual for anyone during challenging times. Although these tips were written almost 20 years ago, they are as relevant today as they were then; maybe even more so. This week I'm going to discuss the 10 tips from The "Scary Times" Success Manual and how you can apply them, personally and professionally.

Why does it seem like some people can take life's challenges in stride, while others are brought to their knees? Life can seem like a series of blindsides, but what makes it possible for one person to cope calmly and rationally, and another person freak out over the same situation? The key is resiliency and it's never too late to learn the skill. No matter what challenges you're facing, resiliency has the answer for coming out the other side with your mental, emotional and physical health intact. You will always face challenges both professionally and personally, but how you handle those challenges will make all the difference for your future and your family's future. Normally, most people fall somewhere in the middle between reactivity and resiliency. However, since what we are experiencing right now is not "normal", it's even more important to know where you gravitate towards and to get clear about how to shift towards resilience. Join me for this very important topic where I discuss the difference between reactivity and resilience and how to build emotional resilience.

What's it like to be a 2nd generation CPA mompreneur? What does it take to never give up on getting the designation of CPA, even if it means achieving it 15 years after you passed the CPA exam? Every female CPA has a story and Heather's is fascinating. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Satterley, CPA. Heather is a second generation CPA mompreneur and shares her unique journey to becoming a CPA as well as how she supports CPAs in understanding the technology that is available to make their jobs easier and provide essential value to their clients. Heather was also recently named one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting 2019 by Practice Ignition. In addition to her 100% virtual consulting company, Heather has a YouTube channel called the "Appy Hour". She and her co-host have free webinars, discussing various technology apps and programs available for accountants, helping them to feel competent and confident with the ever-growing technologies available. Join me for a fascinating interview with Heather and her wonderful words of wisdom for all working moms. You can find out more about Heather at https://satterleyconsulting.com/ or at https://www.theappyhour.com/

Whether you feel stuck in your current job, your marriage or in indecision about a host of other things, feeling stuck is a very common problem, especially for working moms. The struggle to make the right decision for yourself and your family can create an overwhelming sense of pressure, confusion and frustration. Saying things like "I don't know what to do" or "I'm not sure about this" is so common, that it can seem like the only possible way to respond to life's situations. It can often feel like you're standing in quicksand, unable to do anything to get out of the stuckness. Unfortunately, feeling stuck can then appear to put a dark, ominous cloud over so many unrelated things in your life. It's as if being stuck can leave sticky residue on everything you touch. Learning what's really going on when you feel stuck and what to do about it, is some of the most freeing lessons to learn. When you know how to get unstuck, there's no telling what could be possible for you and for your future. This week I'm going to discuss the truth about being stuck and the secret to getting unstuck. If you are interested in attending the webinar on the opportunity to franchise with CPA MOMS, please click HERE

Have you ever woken up and just felt off? Or you've woken up in a fine mood and then all of a sudden you're feeling blah, and you can't put your finger on it other than to describe it as being in a funk? As working moms, we all go through funks now and again. Sometimes you start off the day feeling tired, checking your phone and seeing 20 emails waiting for you and the kids aren't being cooperative; other times your clients are badgering you, traffic was insane and your husband didn't empty the dishwasher like he promised. It's easy for working moms to get into a funk because we tend to neglect our own needs for the needs of others. When you are more concerned with making everyone else happy, the string of days and weeks where your needs went unmet, can eventually turn into a never-ending funk. It doesn't even have to be when something isn't going your way; it can also happen after some big goal is accomplished or a special occasion has passed. When you are no longer focused on something exciting like achieving a promotion, your child graduating from college or taking that dream vacation, you may find yourself in a funk afterwards. This week I'm going to discuss what causes a funk and three simple things to do to get out of one.

As accountants we know all about managing other people's money, as well as how to help them make more and keep more of it. But what about you? Would you like to make more money? That's not a trick question - do you honestly want to make more money? The reason I'm asking is because I can show you how to make more money, but you first have to be clear about why you have the money you currently have, and how you really feel about making more money. What do you believe about what it will take to make more money? Do you believe you need to make sacrifices to make more? Do you have the ability to HAVE money, as opposed to spending money? There are three shifts that need to happen in order for you to make more money, but once you make these shifts, you will understand how to have a much better relationship with money from now on. After making these shifts you'll discover that making more money is easier than you think, especially when you learn how to change the way you think. This week I'm going to discuss the three shifts that are necessary to make more money - your money beliefs, time versus value, and learning how to ask. If you are interested in attending the live, informative webinar on the franchise opportunity with CPA MOMS, please use this LINK

Have you ever noticed that your female brain likes to talk A LOT! The constant conversations going on in your brain are mostly unconscious, but are as busy and noisy as Grand Central Station in Manhattan at rush hour. On the one hand, there's nothing wrong with having an inner dialogue because it's just your brain's way of interpreting and processing your daily experiences. It's the way your brain makes sense of your unique life, making it possible for you to function in your world. On the other hand, if it goes unnoticed and unsupervised, it can be like mindlessly getting on a bus everyday, not knowing where the bus is going, and winding up in undesirable destinations. This is when self-talk and an unmanaged mind can hurt your accounting career as well as keep you from being the mom you want to be. Although relationship experts suggest that it's important to learn to listen more and talk less, when it comes to self-talk, the opposite is true. In order to have what you want in your life, you need to learn how to take charge of your self-talk by consciously rewriting and directing the conversation. This week I'm going to discuss why you should talk more and listen less when it comes to your female brain, and how to take charge of your self-talk. If you are interested in attending the FIRST EVER Live Webinar about the opportunity to franchise with CPA MOMS, click this LINK. Even if you can't attend live, we will be sending the recording to those registered for the webinar.

Every female CPA has a story - we all have a journey we've taken to get us to where we are now. Not only is Jen's CPA journey fascinating, but she has a lot to share about how CPA MOMS® works and how it can help talented CPA's as well as the businesses that want to work with them. Jen didn't have a "typical" road as a CPA. She didn't start out thinking she wanted to be an accountant and didn't initially go to school for it. But somewhere along the way, all that changed. Her unique CPA story took her from the United States to Australia, to Mexico and back to the United States, eventually ending up at CPA MOMS®. This week on the podcast Jen and I discuss how she came to be a CPA, what she's learned along the way, what she wishes schools would integrate into educational programs and all the amazing things she does as Placement Manager at CPA MOMS®. You can check out all the pathways to become a part of CPA MOMS® by going to www.cpa-moms.com Jen Bastian, CPA can also be contacted at [email protected]

On the surface it would appear that self-confidence shouldn't be an issue for accountants; the inherent combination of intelligence, respect and professionalism, should make self-confidence a non-issue. As an accountant and a mom, you should have even more to be confident and proud of, and should be strutting around like a proud peacock. So, since on the surface it would appear that self-confidence wouldn't be an issue for you as a hard-working accountant and mom, then what's the problem? Learning how to build self-confidence is some of the most life-changing and career-changing work you can do as a working mom. Unlocking the secret to building self-confidence means there's nothing standing in the way of creating and having the life you want. This week on the podcast I discuss how self-confidence works, and the key to building it. As mentioned in the podcast, CPA MOMS is franchising! If you want to have an entire community at your side to support you as you build your own practice, and you want an experienced team to build a bridge from where you are to wherever you want to go, then fill out the 1 minute interest form to learn more about franchising opportunities at CPA MOMS (click HERE)

Is it just me or does it seem like wherever we turn, there's another story of tragedy or loss? Whether it's news of accidents, children being mistreated or animals being abused, my mind seems to be having a battle between finding gratitude and allowing gut-wrenching sadness. Unfortunately, no matter how positive you may try to be, pain is just part of the human experience. There are going to be breakups, endings and losses no matter how hard you try to bubble-wrap yourself and your family. By understanding the difference between clean pain and dirty pain, you will no longer be at the mercy of the natural ebb and flow of your life. Marriages end, jobs are eliminated and good people die; being able to distinguish between clean pain and dirty pain will help you navigate those storms. This week I'm going to discuss what clean pain is, what dirty pain is, and how to deal with both. As mentioned on the podcast, we are excited to announce that CPA MOMS is franchising to meet the ever-growing demand for our talented CPA mompreneurs. We are seeking individuals that desire to own their own practice or want grow their existing practice by leveraging our entire eco-system and joining forces with our CPA MOMS brand, proven business building systems, marketing services, technology platforms, and other industry specific resources. We are currently working with a small group of hand-picked candidates to become our early adopters. Please let us know if you are interested in attending a confidential overview live webinar with Founder & CEO, Mayumi Young, by clicking HERE. (link to short registration form)

For accountants, busyness seems like a necessary part of the job; like having a computer and a calculator. An accountant who isn't describing themselves as busy is looked upon as either lazy or in trouble. A typical busy day as an accountant and a mom often starts with waking up and already dreading the busy day ahead, walking into the office and getting hit with other people battling busyness and then working through it all in order to get home to keep being busy. It's no wonder working moms experience burnout at such a high rate! But somewhere along the way, accountants seemed to agree to believe that busyness was a fact and that stress was the fuel necessary to get everything done. If you believe in the formula "accountant + mom = busyness", then I have a much better way to help you battle busyness, to feel much better and to be more effective. The heavy weight associated with busyness for accountants and for working moms doesn't need to be "just the way it is". You have more power than you realize to win the battle with busyness, without sacrificing anything in the process. This week I'm going to share what busyness really is, why it's a problem and what to do instead.

If you've ever been told that you think too much, but not in a good way, there's a reason for that. Your female brain is significantly more active than a male brain, especially in the areas involved in impulse control, focus, mood and anxiety. So it's not just your roles as an accountant and a mom that causes you to overthink; your female brain is wired for it. This can make it difficult to recognize when you are spiraling, because your brain may convince you that worrying and ruminating is helpful. In this age of information overload, it can seem normal, and even necessary, to overthink. Plus, the field of accounting demands thoroughness, thinking through all possibilities and avoiding mistakes. While everyone overthinks in certain situations, chronic overthinking may be hurting you and your accounting career more than you realize. Here's a simple equation for how: Overthinking -> Pressure -> Stress -> Mistakes/Anxiety/Thought Loops/Unhappiness This week I'm going to discuss what it means to overthink, symptoms of overthinking and how to get control over it.

As an accountant you deal with risk and uncertainty every day as part of doing your job. You are called on by bosses and clients to make predictions about how various trends will affect their financial success, based on constantly changing information, in an ever-changing world. As a mom taking care of your family's needs 24/7, you also have to deal with countless things that you are unsure of. With every new stage in your children's development, comes even more uncertainty about how to handle your role as mom. It's not just death and taxes that are certain; uncertainty is also a certainty. Since you will always be challenged by things outside of your control, I suggest that you learn how to master uncertainty, in order to bulletproof your career and manage your life. This week I'm going to discuss why your CPA Mom brain hates uncertainty, what creates uncertainty and how to master it.

Last week I discussed the increase in women-owned businesses and some challenges for CPA Mom entrepreneurs. Many smart, driven CPA Moms are choosing to go out on their own for various reasons and creating businesses that are a reflection of who they are and how they want to be of value to their clients. But even with the growth of CPA mompreneurs, the vast majority of CPA Moms are employees, myself included, working for public accounting firms or private companies. If you are one, and feel like you don't have much control since you are an employee, I'm hopefully going to help you see things differently. You are much more valuable than you realize, especially as a highly intelligent and professionally trained woman. By taking a more intentional approach towards your accounting career, you can improve your skill set, add even more value and advance in whatever way you choose. Modern-day businesses need supportive accountants and you are an important part of a company's growth. Don't underestimate the significant part you play, as an accounting employee, as a working woman and as a mother. This week I'm going to discuss 6 ways to advance your accounting career as an employee that will benefit you as much as your employer.

Have you seen the latest statistics for women-owned businesses? The US has 12.3 million women-owned businesses. US women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year. 40% of US businesses are women-owned. There are 114% more women entrepreneurs than there were 20 years ago. Over the years the growing trend of hard-working female entrepreneurs, who also happen to be moms, has warranted the phrase "mompreneur". Entrepreneur Magazine's website even has a dedicated section just for mompreneurs. Since this growing trend is found in the accounting profession as well, you may be considering being a CPA mompreneur or perhaps, you already are one. As a smart, driven CPA, choosing to go out on your own may make sense for various reasons. With all the advice out there vying for your attention to help you market and grow your business, it can be difficult to figure out how to successfully navigate entrepreneurship. Even if you're in the early stages of considering leaving your job and going out on your own, there are some challenges that CPA mom entrepreneurs need to consider. This week I'm going to discuss three challenges for CPA mom entrepreneurs - failure to launch, failure to lead and failure to look up.

Whether you are in public or private accounting the accountant's mantra is "Get more done in a shorter amount of time", whether it's busy season or not. When you add your accounting career to your job as a mom, having a 26-hour day would be super helpful in order to get everything on your to-do list done. When I practice what I'm about to share with you, this is my typical day - wake up early, sit with a cup of coffee, research my next blog, reach out to at least 20 CPA moms on Linkedin and Facebook, read a chapter of a marketing book, make lunch for my husband and myself, feed the dogs, get ready for work, write more for the blog, go to my accounting job for 6 hours, run errands, relax with dogs, check Facebook and Linkedin, make dinner, answer client's emails, coach clients, spend time with husband and go to bed by 9:00 pm. I'm not sharing this to brag; I'm sharing it because I know how to maximize my productivity and I want to help you as well. By mastering the secret to productivity you will get more done in less time so you can do those things you love rather than being chained to your desk. This week I'm going to discuss the secret to productivity and how to get better at doing it.

As a CPA and a mom, you have a lot on your plate both at work and at home. Unfortunately we aren't taught how to create a system that makes it easier to get it all done and are often tossed into the deep end of the pool with other working moms, struggling to stay above water. Without an easy to use system, you can become stressed, overwhelmed and easily experience burnout. If your current system consists of post-it notes, scraps of paper or a running mental list, there's a much better way. Managing your workflow and your lifeflow just takes a minimal amount of effort in the set up stage, but will pay huge dividends, giving you back your most precious commodities - time and peace of mind. This week I'm going to discuss why having a system is important and how to create one that makes it easier to get it all done with less effort and more productivity.

If you work in the corporate world, you are probably no stranger to receiving and possibly giving year-end reviews. If you are a mom, you are also no stranger to molding and shaping your children with expectations, feedback and critiques. Whether you are on the giving end or the receiving end, feedback and criticism are unavoidable whether it's personally or professionally. Hearing potentially negative things about yourself or telling someone else how they need to improve can be awkward at anytime of the year. No matter how hard you work, it's uncomfortable to be evaluated by others as the reviewee or to have to assess someone else as the reviewer. It puts you in a vulnerable state and can often create a "vulnerability hangover" where you are completely drained emotionally and physically. Even if you consider yourself someone with a "thick skin", the subtle art of giving and receiving criticism is still a skill that's worth learning. Whether you're on the receiving end in a formal review from your Tax Manager or on the giving end trying to help your child edit their English paper, knowing how to be the giver and receiver is helpful. This week I'm going to discuss the difference between feedback and criticism and the subtle art of being on both the receiving end and the giving end.

So before you ask your family for their holiday wish list and start trying to squeeze trips to the mall into your hectic schedule, I first want to help you out with the best gift you can give them this year. This gift is what they want and need more than anything else but probably don't realize it. What your family wants and needs is a mom: who knows how to be happy who loves herself and her body who loves her life even if it's not perfect who knows how to be present who allows herself and others to make mistakes who is emotionally balanced who knows how to handle stress and drama who sets healthy boundaries who knows how to manage her mind so she can manage everything else This is the best gift you can give them and yourself. It doesn't require wrapping and the minimal investment will pay huge dividends in the short and long-term. This week I'm going to discuss the best gift you can give your family, what they really want and need and how to get it.

Did you know you that you can be a perfectionist and not have a perfect life? It's true! If you know the difference between a debit and a credit, you just might be a perfectionist. This week you'll learn that: The accounting profession is a breeding ground for perfectionism. Perfectionism isn't about arrogance or a lack of humility, it's about the fear of not doing enough or being enough. Whether it shows up in your tendency to procrastinate, your lack of self-confidence or the feeling of burnout, striving for perfection as a female accountant mom is a much bigger issue than you may realize. Taming perfectionism doesn't mean giving up on success or settling for mediocrity. The key in taming perfectionism is understanding how your negative-focused brain has been judging you like a drill sergeant who never has anything nice to say about you because they think that's the way it will motivate you. The best thing you can do is to manage your mind, take back control of the script and write a story that feels better to tell yourself and share with others.

Did you know that you can actually misuse gratitude? I didn't either. Because of the self-help movement as well as the science to backup the power of gratitude, more and more people are becoming aware of the impact that gratitude can have on them professionally and personally. However, with all the wonderful ways that gratitude can be used to create a happier life, it can also be misused. Gratitude can unknowingly be used in a way that is actually more harmful than it is helpful. This week I'm going to discuss how gratitude is used as an asset, how it is used as a liability and how to stop misusing gratitude.

Author Richard Bach famously said "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours". Repeatedly saying "I can't" can create such a strong habit of thought, even when faced with the possibility of "Maybe I can". The more you practice believing that things ARE what you believe them to be, the more evidence you will find to back up that belief. Before you know it, you are in a cycle of arguing for your limitations and believing you are just a victim to the circumstances in your life, or worse, that those beliefs are true. This week I'm going to discuss why it's so easy for you to argue for your limitations and how to stop.

While the conversation about mental health is becoming less and less taboo, it's still an issue for many people, especially in the accounting profession. The subject of workplace well-being is being addressed more because it's becoming an even bigger issue in the accounting and finance professions. In one study, 30.4% of accountants admitted to suffering from mental health issues and 51% admitted that depression and anxiety leaves them dreading going to work. When you add the anxiety accountants feel in their professional life to the guilt, anxiety and exhaustion most working mothers experience, you have a recipe for disaster for female accountant moms that is often suffered in silence. Since there can be a lot of confusion and shame when dealing with anxiety, it's important for you to understand why you feel this way. There is nothing wrong with you if you feel anxious or overwhelmed, you just haven't been aware of how your problem-solving brain has been creating your life. This week I'm going to discuss how your accountant's brain causes a lot of your anxiety and what you can do about it.

Women have made incredible strides professionally and personally in the past century. We are all benefiting from the positive changes women before us fought for, whether it's the right to vote, to be educated or to work outside the home, among many other things. As a female accountant in the 21st century you are among the most educated and skilled women on the planet yet… You may still be settling for: Unfulfilling relationships Less pay or advancement General feeling of stress and overwhelm Less self-confidence Unmet goals Lack of self-care If the women who came before us fought so hard to have the right to have the life they desired, then why do we still settle for less than we want or deserve? Why is settling still such a problem for working mothers? This week I'm going to discuss what settling is, why you settle and how to stop.

Someone dying too young, senseless crimes and innocent victim's stories are in the headlines on a daily basis. It appears to be getting more and more difficult to stay positive in a world that seems so out of control. When bad things happen to good people it can make you question why things seem to be so unfair. Even seeing someone get an advantage over someone else can trigger a reaction that "life's just not fair". Although something might seem unfair and you may have many people who would agree with you, you always have a choice. You can't predict or control situations but you can decide what to think about them by learning how your mind works, how to manage it and how managing it puts you in control. This week I'm going to discuss why things seem unfair and how to change that.

As a woman balancing your work life with your family life, you probably have your hands full with many different relationships to nurture and manage. But whether it's with a romantic partner, your mother, your child, or someone you work with, relationships can be challenging. Between movie scenes where you get the message that someone is supposed to "complete" you, the pressures of the modern-day parent/child relationship and issues with working in "toxic" work environments, it's no wonder you may be confused about navigating relationships. Unfortunately this confusion can often add just another layer of overwhelm to your life. This week I'm going to discuss what actually makes relationships challenging and how to improve any relationship.

One of my favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle, is quoted saying "Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose". The first time I read that statement I was confused and excited at the same time thinking things like: As a mother, isn't part of my job to worry? Isn't it naïve to assume everything will be fine and that there's no need to worry? If it's true that worry isn't necessary then why am I doing it all the time? How will problems be solved if I don't worry first? How can I learn to stop worrying? First, it's important to understand that the human mind is a problem-solving machine. Every invention you have the privilege of living with was created by the power of someone's problem-solving mind. However, there is a big difference between problem-solving and worrying. Problem-solving invites answers and solutions to questions and worrying invites pain and discomfort in addition to more questions. Second, worry is focused on things that could happen in the future. For mothers, worry is one of those emotions that we tell one another we should experience without realizing the ramifications. This week I'm going to discuss what worry really is, why you worry and how to stop.

If I put a bubble on top of your head so everyone could read the thoughts you have about yourself, what would we see? If you are like most women, your inner critic probably says things like: You really have everyone fooled, don't you Here you go again, not following through with what you said you were going to do Honestly, when are you ever going to figure this out No wonder he/she behaves that way towards you Like most women you probably compare yourself to others and beat yourself up with self-judgment. It just doesn't seem like anything you do is good enough or once you have achieved some goal you are on to the next thing that is lacking and needs improvement. Wanting to improve your life is a wonderful thing; I'm all about self-growth, setting goals and wanting to become a better version of yourself. The issue is when you believe that you need to beat yourself up in order to feel motivated to take action. This week I'm going to discuss why you beat yourself up and how to stop.

It's almost unavoidable - there are going to be times when you need to have difficult conversations. Even though it's unavoidable you still may be tempted to dance around something or avoid it altogether because you are uncomfortable with confrontation or conflict. Whether you have to deliver some unpleasant news, discuss a delicate subject or talk about something that's gone wrong, almost everyone dreads having these types of conversations. It seems better to put it off or ruminate some more before taking the leap to discuss something that makes you feel dread. If you are someone who is uncomfortable having a difficult conversation it's because you were never taught the skill of how to have a difficult conversation. It doesn't require you to be negative, forceful or dramatic; it only requires you to be open to learning a new way of communicating and managing your mind. This week I'm going to discuss the steps to having a difficult conversation and share examples so that, no matter what the outcome of the conversation, you will feel better for having learned this new skill.

Since you spend so much of your time at work it seems like a good idea to try to work in the best environment possible. You most likely spend at least 40 hours a week at work so it makes sense that you would want to make it a place that inspires and nurtures you, that makes you feel valued and happy. However, what can you do if you aren't happy with your current work environment? If you are a boss/leader, you may want to create a better work environment because you noticed employees not getting along, complaining a lot lately or gossiping about you and each other; maybe you feel frustrated with the lack of productivity in the office or the lack of professionalism. Or maybe you are an employee and not in charge so what can you do to create a better work environment? What if the workload, your boss, your coworkers, the commute or anything else is making it difficult to be at your best? This week I'm going to discuss how to create a better work environment when you are the boss/leader and when you are an employee.

Do you ever feel like the day just got away from you and feel even more frustrated and overwhelmed than you did the day before? Distractions could be the culprit. When you are constantly being driven by distractions it feels like you are the adorable dog named Doug in the 2009 Disney movie "Up". Whenever Doug saw a squirrel, regardless of what he was chasing, he'd immediately be distracted and go after the squirrel. Your "squirrel" is usually anything new because new always seems better. Whether it's a new book, a new exercise routine or a new outfit from online shopping website you were looking at, you can be driven to distraction and chasing squirrels in your professional and personal life all day long. This week I'm going to discuss why you get distracted and how to get back on track.

As humans we all desire to have the feeling of hope sometimes. Like when there's been a tragedy somewhere in the world and you hope everyone affected will be ok, then hope can be comforting. The word hope has such a nice ring to it. So if the feeling of hope indicates something positive, then when is it not helpful? Aren't we taught at a young age to wish upon a star and hope for things? The issue with being hopeful is that it is not a strategy that gets you what you want and really negates your power. The feeling of hope can be a problem because it's passive and doesn't inspire action. It's often masking a negative emotion that you want to feel better about in the future. By hoping and wishing, you don't have to challenge yourself to face things like fear, doubt and uncertainty. Instead you put hope out into your world and you sit back and wait. This week I'm going to discuss why being hopeful isn't always helpful and a better alternative.

Many women believe they need to either hire an accountability coach or partner with someone in order to take certain actions. They have a certain goal in mind that they haven't yet achieved, they don't feel motivated and they look to work with someone else to hold them accountable for reaching their goal. In essence, if it wasn't for someone or something else in the equation, they would feel less committed to take action. If this rings true for you, it's not your fault. It's the message that a lot of women get when it comes to making changes or improvements in your life. This week I'm going to discuss the mistake most women make with accountability, a new way to look at accountability, and how to get the power of personal accountability. This is an empowering episode...enjoy!

While the term Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD may be familiar, the less familiar term Intention Deficit is something I believe we all suffer with to certain degrees without knowing it. Intention Deficit is when you are living your life unconsciously as opposed to living on purpose; when you aren't clear on the direction you want to go and are stuck focusing on what you don't want rather than on what you do want. Living with intention can show up in "big picture" decisions like what you want your career to look like in 5 years and taking steps to make that happen as well as "small picture" decisions like getting clear about your intention before calling that friend to complain to them about something they did. Living with intention means the difference between blaming people, places and things for your life versus taking responsibility for your life; it puts you in the driver's seat of a beautiful Italian sports car with the top down as opposed to a rusty old mini-van. This week I'm going to discuss what it means to live with intention, why it matters and how to get better at it.

In the last few decades more employers see the idea of offering to meet their employees need for more work-life balance as a win/win situation. They believe that if they create an environment that their employees are happy working in, they will stay longer and be more productive. It sounds like a no-brainer from the employee's and employer's point of view. Achieving balance seems simple – the employee negotiates spending X amount of hours at work and Y amount of hours at home and wha-lah! They are happy, fulfilled and living their best life. If only it were that simple! I've worked with women who changed their work situation by getting a different job which would allow them more flexibility yet they still didn't feel the balance they were seeking. I've also worked with women who work 60+ hours a week, only see their children on the weekends and have no issue with work-life balance. So why is there a disparity? If it's not about the number of hours you spend in each area of your life then what is it that creates balance? What's the "magic formula"? This week I'm going to discuss what you really want when seeking balance, what balance looks like and the best way to achieve it.

Why is that you can make certain decisions all day, every day yet agonize over making other decisions? Some decisions are a no-brainer like deciding to not roll through stop signs on your way to work but then some decisions seem tortuous like whether to eat what you brought for lunch or order in with everyone else. Have you ever gotten so caught up in the fear of making the wrong decision that you made no decision at all? Most people experience this trap, agonizing over what to do or not do, and then ultimately doing nothing other than spinning in confusion and fear. What I often see when coaching clients is that decision making issues come in "before and after" stages. The before stage is the period when indecision and hesitation take over and you can't decide what to decide. The after stage happens once the decision is made and you experience doubt and possibly regret. This week I'm going to discuss where confusion comes from, how to make decisions in the before stage and how to not regret decisions once they are made in the after stage.

One of the most challenging and rewarding roles you can have in life is being a parent. I have yet to meet a parent who wasn't surprised at what parenthood required of them. With each new stage in your child's life it seems like you have to learn a whole new language. There's the language of early childhood, of toddlers and adolescents, of the teenage years and of adulthood. Each stage offers its own unique opportunities to learn and grow along with your child. In order to successfully parent your children it's important for you to manage your own mind first. Parenting with a managed mind means the difference between stress and peace, control and acceptance as well as fear and courage. This week I'm going to discuss parenting with a managed mind at various stages of your child's life and offer examples of what a managed mind looks like at each stage.

According to Wikipedia the definition of the term compare and despair is "to distress oneself by comparing one's own situation with others who are more successful" however I believe it's more far reaching than that. When you compare and despair you can be judging yourself, your situation, your choices or your worth as a woman, mother, employee, friend, spouse, etc. The tendency to compare yourself to others and then despair about the comparison can come in the form of believing you aren't as (fill in the blank) as someone else like when you look at a high school friend's Facebook page and feel horrible because their house is so much nicer. It can also come in the form of comparing your past to your present and wishing you could go back in time like when you leave your job and start regretting the decision because the new job is more challenging than the last. On the flip side, sometimes you may compare yourself or your situation in order to feel better like when you hear about someone struggling with their child's grades and you silently think "At least my kid isn't getting grades as bad as hers". You may believe there's no harm in comparison when it gives you a fleeting sense of validation but it is still part of the same problem. Both sides of the comparison coin are an issue because you are still criticizing yourself and looking for relief in the form of more comparisons. You start by comparing yourself or your situation and feeling bad which then leads you to compare yourself or your situation to feel better. This week I'm going to discuss why you compare and despair, why it's a problem and how you can learn to stop.

In 2013 the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association (CABA) reported survey results showing that around 30% of accountant participants admitted to a drinking problem. The key is the word "admitted"; if 30% admitted to having an issue, imagine how many were unwilling to. Unfortunately this isn't just an issue for accountants. In a 2016 study of lawyers, nearly 3 out of 4 participants reported problematic use of alcohol and drugs to cope with stress starting as early as law school. It doesn't matter whether you are an accountant, a lawyer or in any other field of work, stress, long working hours and imbalance between work life and family life can be a breeding ground for overusing things to cope. It could come in the form of sitting with a pint of ice cream once everyone's gone to bed or needing that second glass of wine after dinner; the inability to handle stress has become a bigger issue than ever. This week I'm going to discuss what contributes to you overeating or overdrinking and how to manage the desire to overeat or overdrink.

Before I explain why believing new things is important, I would like you to consider something for just a minute: Everything that we have created in the history of human existence started with a thought Nothing has been shipped from another planet All the materials for everything we have has always been here Really consider that Whether it's a candle or a lightbulb, a piece of paper or an iPhone, everything that surrounds us, other than nature, has come into existence because of a thought. First comes the thought then comes the thing. Whether you realize it or not, you are also a creator. Your brain is filled with sentences that are creating how you feel, fueling the things you do which then culminates into your experience of life. You are the inventor creating your life. This week I'm going to discuss why believing new things is important and the process that makes it possible.

As a working mother you are probably juggling more balls up in the air than most circus clowns. If you've ever done a Google Search on how to multi task you probably discovered over 6 million hits offering to help you figure out how to get everything on your to-do list done. If only there was a way to focus on one thing at a time that would actually shrink your to-do list. It would be great to have a way to know exactly what to do in each moment that would create a domino effect and help alleviate overwhelm and stress while increasing productivity. The NY Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book "The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan teaches just that. It teaches you that when everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equally necessary. The authors explain that multitasking is a lie that has become a strange badge of honor and is actually a quality that employers mistakenly target. Of course humans are capable of doing two things at the same time like walking and talking, but you actually aren't capable of focusing on two things at the same time which is costing you more than you realize. This week I'm going to discuss how to decrease your to-do list by asking a powerful focusing question and how to apply it to any area of your life.