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"Four essentials of work/life balance" by Christina Weber (CatholicMom.com) Photo by Bruce Mars (2018) via Pexels.com, CC0 Public Domain[/caption] Around five to six years ago when I started my coaching practice, I downloaded PDFs and white papers from experts who were where I wanted to be. As I’m in the process of cleaning out my basement, I am discovering these hidden gems. One such rock star is Jeanna Gabellini, who wrote a great article on how she “nailed her first six-figure year (and had a grand time doing it!)". I am happy to share the takeaways from that gem I found plus I'm adding some of my input:

1) PHILOSOPHY - Simplicity and Clarity on What You Really Wanted

So many people achieve their revenue goals at the expense of their health, relationships, and peace of mind. Jeanna described the new philosophy that led to her doubling her revenue as “relaxed.” She described her main focus to be asking these two questions:
  • Am I enjoying this?
  • What do I feel inspired to do?

2) ACTIONS - setting boundaries around work and fees

Jeanna tripled her one-on-one coaching rates, cut back on the number of coaching clients, and created very clear hours of operation. I’ve heard many Catholic business owners struggle with the congruence of raising their prices with their Catholic faith. Raising your prices and working with fewer clients for your premium services and rates, like one-on-one work, allows you the time, energy, and resources to create multiple price points for a variety of individuals at different income levels to access your genius. You get to perform at your best because you are not spread thinly trying to serve too many people. This frees space to create great free resources, subscription services at lower price points, and group coaching programs that allow clients at different levels in their businesses to work with you. This is true charity to your ideal clients and to you at the same time. The clear hours of operations open your creativity. The best inspirations and insights I get aren’t when I am sitting behind a computer. It happens when I am on a run, sitting in my backyard, spending time with loved ones, or just reading a non-work related magazine or book. With this space, you give the best everyone around you, including your clients. Jeanna made a decision to stop living in overwhelm and stop doing things she “should” do because she thought they would be good exposure. Every choice she made was based on how good she felt and if it was going to give her more time, freedom, and money.

3) ACCOUNTABILITY - letting 'yes' mean 'yes' and 'no' mean 'no'

In addition to having her coach help keep her accountable, Jeanna creates posters that say “say NO to anything that doesn’t give me more time, freedom, and money”. Being a Catholic is about living in gratitude and being a cheerful steward of the gifts God has given you. You can still honor your primary goals and do service when you ask yourself what service is best aligned with your talents, your vocation, and your unique God-given mission, and enthusiastically say “yes” to those opportunities, while you politely and firmly decline those that don’t fit.

4) RESULTS - being present

Jeanna described developing a daily practice of being present in the moment, which is a core component of the mindfulness movement. Even when she created a goal, she stopped putting anything on the list that creates adrenaline. The goal had to give her peace. When you put goals on your list that are aligned with your talents and missions, they will feel peaceful. For example, a mentor is encouraging me to write my second book sooner rather than later. For me, writing is cathartic and enjoyable. For someone else writing a book feels like a stress-producing chore. Going inside and not comparing what does and does not give you peace compared to someone else appreciates your unique gifts and mission and is another mechanism for proper discernment. Jeanna described becoming more consistent with everything she did in her business. Paring down to the essentials and what brings you joy allowed her to create freedom-giving systems. She described being obsessed with LIVING the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction operates on the principle of you get back what you put out there. If you are stressed, harried, and overwhelmed, more people, places, and opportunities like that come into your world. But if you internalize your peace and become more and more aligned, others striving for peace and alignment will come your way–along with the money. Jeanna also described having specific intentions for every portion of her day and every action she took. She talked about being intentional about how she wanted to experience work and play. Her mission was peace, and prosperity became a by-product. She was relaxed, not over-focused on money goals. Money became a non-issue.

Catholic Biz Owners on Fire Twist

So I say, “Amen, Sister!” In Catholic lingo, putting God and your vocation first is all about being in the present moment, living your purpose, not trying to be everything to everybody, finding and experiencing true peace, and not giving in to the frenzy of hectic secular culture that says you have to and be everywhere. Catholic Entrepreneurs Biz and Life Tip: Have the courage to be counter-cultural, learn from the best, but always put it through your Catholic-filter of what priorities to have and how to live life the way God lovingly prescribes in his fatherly way, and you will experience peace, love, and abundance.