Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Title: Smart Women Getaways Retreat – Pura Vida Goddesses!
Location: Costa Rica
Link out: Click here
Description: Are you ready to experience 8 days of total adventure, awakening and rejuvenation? If so, then we created this special Costa Rica retreat experience just for you!

Start Date: 2012-01-17
End Date: 2012-01-24

Title: Katana and Vicki Interview with Maryanne Comaroto
Location: Smart Talk Radio
Link out: Click here
Description: Katana and Vicky will be interviewing, Maryanne Comaroto, an award-winning author of the books Skinny, Tan and Rich: Unveiling the Myth and Hindsight: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers. She is a national speaker and clinical hypnotherapist, relationship coach and radio personality.

“Certification of Responsible Relationships!”

Join us as we’ll discuss:

*The number one reason most relationships end badly
*How to experience true love
*What a relationship tool belt is and why you need one
*How being “internally referenced” will change your life

Listen to Smart Women Talk Radio “live” at 11 am EST (8 am PST)
with Katana Abbott and Vicky Trabosh!

Start Time: 11:00
Date: 2011-06-28

Experiencing Joy in Panama with Mark!

I had such a fabulous evening last night when I attended the Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert with my husband, Mark.  He plays the French Horn, and this weekend is the last concert series for the year. 

The concert hall was packed with lots of young people and I was thrilled.  It must have been because they had this 16 year old boy soloist named Peng, Peng playing a List Piano concerto.  He was fabulous.  He started taking lessons at 5, and did his first recital at 8!  Then at the end of the concert, they played Stravinski’s Firebird Suite.  (click on the link and you can actually here this pieces…you will recognize and know why I was brought to tears when it finished!)  Every time I go to a concert with my husband, I find myself in this state of joy and gratitude and this energy stays with me for days.

What are you doing every day to create a state of Joy and Gratitude in your life?  I ask this because our mental, emotional and spiritual state will have a direct effect on how much wealth and happiness you have in your life.  I have created a daily series of rituals which I call, My Perfect Life Practice.  By scheduling these practices into my Perfect Life Calendar, and following them daily, I am able to stay rejuvinated and operating at a whole new level.

My morning Perfect Life Practice includes yoga, riding my bike along the wetlands (this is the best!), reading spiritual books (right now, I am reading Awakened Wisdom by Patrick Ryan), and enjoying my morning coffee next to the lake every morning with my husband, Mark.  What is it that you do to raise your energy vibration and and help keep you in a state of joy and gratitude, so you can attract more abundance into your life?  Share you Perfect Life Practice with us below. Thank you!

You can take my free 7 part audio mini course, Your Perfect Life Focus, where I share the entire process I use to create My Perfect Life!  Enjoy!

My dad was a war hero who received two purple hearts.  The army was his passion and he was great at doing what others only feared. 

This is what his Commanding Officer, Captain William R. Carey of the Sixth U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Fort Lewis, Washington had to say about him in a letter my mom received on December 29th, 1964:

“I would like to express my deepest sympathy for you in the loss of your husband, Staff Sergeant Huotari.  His death came as a terrible shock to me and it was hard to realize such a tragic accident had occurred.

I had the greatest amount of admiration and respect for Staff Sergeant Huotari, his personal attributes as well as his work, and considered him as one of the finest persons that I have ever known.  The contributions he made to the young men that we teach here at the Academy will long we remembered, and his personal qualities and polite attitude will never be forgotten.”

I have often imagined how life could have been different if my father had not died and had been there to protect me, to offer his advise and to love me.  Instead, the Universe had another plan.  I had a dream that I could go back and change the past, so things could have been different, and then I realized that everything that had happened was really perfect and as it should be.  I finally found peace in his death.  He was not supposed to raise me, just give me life so I could experience my unique journey. 

I know there are so many other men and women who have lost their loved ones during war time and my heart goes out to all of you.  My dad had a wonderful and happy life.  Although his time here was short lived, his legacy lives on in the hearts of all those who were touched by him. 

Please share your story of your loved on here with us now.  My heart goes out to you.

Looking back over the last 25 years, it’s exciting to see how far we have come as women. I was watching Meet the Press on Sunday and was thrilled to learn about the new report just released by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress called, A Woman’s Nation, showing that women now make up 50 percent of the workforce and are the primary breadwinners for the family. (Four out of ten women are the primary breadwinners, while an astonishing 62.8 percent are “co-breadwinners.”)

We have been aware of these issues here at Smart Women’s Coaching and invite you to participate in our poll by telling us, “What is the Single Biggest Challenge Holding you Back from Living Your Perfect Life?”

In fact, we are just now launching our new Free Video Training and invite you to sign upto receive your free Twitter training video and Brian Tracy’s free report, The Way to Wealth.

The Smart Women’s Café is a forum where women can receive live coaching on their most pressing issues related to life balance, finances, time management and creating lifetime passive income while following your passion. Visit the Café now to learn what’s new!

 

I just finished the book called, “How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free.” In this book, Zelinski suggests retiring as soon as possible while you are still young and healthy and then finding ways to enjoy your retirement more by discovering your life purpose, pursuing hobbies and enriching your life. If you do work part-time in retirement, he suggests doing something that you love regardless of the pay.

While his book is focused on how to enjoy your retirement more, I have been inspired to use some of his suggestions for women in midlife who are still working but feel that they are really ready to write that next chapter of their lives. I have found that often when a woman has reached 40-50, if she has not found something that she is passionate about in her career; it begins to affect her entire life. Imagine what it would be like if you could create the ideal life of your dreams working at something that you love.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you crazy about your job?
• Do you wake up excited every day — passionate about your life?
• If money and time were no issue, would you still be doing what you are doing?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you may be ready for a major change. Zelinski states, “A few individuals are lucky enough to have had their career work and some passionate pursuit be one and the same. Thus, they can continue happily working part-time in their field well past retirement, without having to discover their true calling. Unfortunately, this is not true for most of us.”

Whether you are looking to retire early, change careers, start your own business or just want to make your life more interesting, consider doing some soul searching or assessments to discover your true passion in life.

There was a point in my life when I was working in a regular job, working 60 hours a week, day after day doing the same thing over and over. I hated it. I used to wake up and look at my husband and say, “Gotta make the donuts.” I cannot imagine living that way again.

How many of these statements reflect the way you feel right now about your work?

• I hate going to work and cannot wait to retire
• I spend everything I make and refuse to look at my investment statements.
• I hardly ever take a vacation. When I do, it takes me a long time to relax.
• I have no hobbies or interests outside work.
• I have no time for exercise or taking care of myself.
• Most of my best friends are from work and I don’t even like them that much!
• Most of my social functions are work related.
• I am proud to be a workaholic even though I know I am not that productive
• When I am home, I am restless or exhausted and can’t even imagine starting a hobby.
• I have a book in me that I would love to write some day, but know that I will never have the time.

If your work is running your life, consider the idea of reinventing your life to one filled with passion–where you can wake up every morning excited to start the day! It is possible, but it will take some work on your part to make it happen. Two years ago, I too was stuck and finally made the Leap and Retired To Something that I was Passionate about and started the Smart Women’s Virtual Coaching Café.  It’s been an amazing experience and I have met so many amazing people from all over the world.  They are now all part of our community as Contributing Experts!

Life is too short to live without passion and purpose. I have seen too many individuals work right up to 60 or 65 only to discover that their health is gone and with it–their dreams. One of my neighbors had been working overtime, six days a week, to maximize his pension. He was going to retire at 60 only he never made it—he died of a heart attack while driving home from work. He and his wife had a financial plan and she will be fine financially, but what good is a bunch of money if your dreams are crushed? Could he have retired 10 years earlier; could he have found something else to do for the last 10 years that was good for his health — that he loved doing and perhaps could do for the next 20 years if he chose? I believe the answer is “yes”.

Since it is very difficult to spend your last nickel with your last breath, it’s important to have a plan. I love the idea of retiring as soon as possible to pursue your passion and even earning an income from this passion! I have discovered this secret for myself and am in the process of creating multiple streams of passive income. In fact, I am teaching these principles for free to our Café members in my monthly Chat with Kat coaching call, as well as our Idea Lab entrepreneurial Think Tank and Joint Venture call.  It’s really amazing to be able to make a difference this way!

Begin to envision your ideal life…what would you do for free…what gets you excited and how would you like to spend the rest of your life? You are invited to experience two weeks free membership in the Smart Women’s Coaching Café where you will have a chance to learn, explore, grow and connect with some amazing people.  There is free, monthly, live coaching, resources, support and you even receive an audio CD by the De-Stress Diva and $875 in wonderful gifts when you take the trial membership!

We hope you join us in the Café!

~ With Gratitude,

Katana