Alright y’all!  It’s been WAY too long since I’ve shared a blog.  Last time I posted, I had big ambitions to post all the time in order to share my nuggets of wisdom and to grow the Willown community.  For many reasons (some of which I’ll share below), I decided to pull back.  I’ve spent the better part of the year defining (and redefining…and then maybe redefining some more) what I want Willown to be and how I can add value to the lives of others. I’m now relaunching Willown with greater focus, passion and purpose than I had before. 

So why am I relaunching now?  A couple reasons. 

Reason #1:  It’s the beginning of Autumn.

Autumn symbolizes the stage I’m at with my business and life in general. It’s a season prized for its vibrant changing colors of leaves and so it’s a season that represents transition. I’ve just spent the last year in transition with my business.  When I launched last year, I didn’t love my product.  And to be honest - my customers didn’t love my product either.  So I’ve redesigned what Willown can do…and I’m loving it more each and every day.  I hope you will too!  

Personally, the past few years of my life have also been filled with lots of transitions.  My husband and I sent our last kiddo off to college.  We then moved cross country.  Then my father passed.  Then we moved cross country again to be closer to my mom and to become her caretaker.  And now I’m experiencing the most personal of transitions - I’ve entered into peri-menopause.  And that means I’m in a new stage of life where my physical, emotional and mental needs look different.  I’m naturally slowing down, and that’s been hard for me to accept.  I’m a go getter.  I’m ambitious.  I’ve always known how to juggle a lot, get a lot of good quality work done and get it done quickly.  I’m coming to accept that’s no longer the case.  The pace at which I can work hard is slowing down.  My priorities are changing as I settle into a new chapter of my life.  Getting things done quickly or getting a lot of things done is no longer as important as it used to it.  But my drive for accomplishment is still there.  It might even be stronger than before because I want to make sure the remaining part of my career has purpose.  So I’m becoming more selective in how I use my time and energy these days.  And Willown is a big part of that.  

Autumn is also a season where we witness trees shedding their leaves.  You might ask…”Lisa…why would you want to launch a business during a season that reminds us of decay and death?” Well…my answer is simple.  Decay is necessary - vital in fact - to life.  The falling leaves nourish the soil below and they invite new life to grow.  Without autumn leaves, we’d never experience the blossoms in spring.  So autumn is an opportunity to embrace both the dark and light side of personal growth.  Personal growth can be difficult because we usually find ourselves outside our comfort zone.  Personal growth requires learning.  And learning can be fun and exhilarating as much as it can be frustrating and confusing.  But through the learning process is growth.  New life.  A new and improved version of yourself.  Autumn reminds us there are spring blossoms awaiting us. 

And lastly, autumn is another name for fall.  Over the past year, there’s been many a night when I felt like I was falling behind with my business.  Amongst rebuilding my business, I've been working my 9-5 day job.  So it took me longer to relaunch than I hoped.  I had to make some tough decisions to scale back and do less than I wanted to do.  But I’m not someone who gives up easily.  What do you do when you fall down or fall behind?  You get back up and you keep moving forward at whatever pace makes sense.  And that’s what I’m doing. 

Reason #2:  September is Self-Improvement Month

Did you know that September is Self-Improvement Month?  According to our good ole friend, The Internet, “September is a month dedicated to personal growth and development.  We’re encouraged to focus on improving ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. It's a great opportunity to reflect on your goals and make positive changes in your life.” 

Given Willown’s new focus, September is the perfect month to relaunch.

So What Is Willown’s New Focus?

Without further ado…I’m excited to share that Willown is committing to help you create harmony between your productivity and well-being.  And how do you know if you need the help of Willown?

Maybe you’re a hard-working, career professional, business owner or founder who is also taking care of family and you’re finding yourself burning the candle at both ends just a bit too much.  You’re constantly tired and feeling drained. Maybe you’re feeling like you’re letting others down by not showing up as your best self.

Maybe you’re spreading yourself too thin across too many projects or commitments  - whether that be at work or at home - and you’re dropping balls and feeling disorganized.  Maybe you’re finding it difficult to say “no” to your boss, friends or family.  And maybe you’re feeling exhausted from working 24/7, but you just don’t know how to pull back and do less.

Maybe you’re thinking to yourself that you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.  You want better for yourself.  

This is what I mean by having a difficult time creating harmony between your productivity and your well-being.  Maybe you feel like in order to get ahead professionally, you have to give away too much personally. But that doesn't have to be the case.

I’m blending together what I know best to help people stress less and thrive more.  I’ve combined proven project management and process improvement techniques into something I call the Stress-Less Success System.  And I’m delivering it through a community of practice I'm calling "I Willown My Stress-Less Success".  In this community, we'll come together monthly to practice using the system and you’ll learn how to:

• Spot and minimize sources of friction that cause you stress
• Right-size your “to-do” list 
• Protect your time and harness your energy
• Set and maintain boundaries that are important to you

My Stress-Less Success System is designed to help you get your most important work done, but not at the expense of your well-being. 

So…with Self-Improvement Month upon us, I ask you to reflect on how and how well you’re creating harmony between your productivity and well-being.  Is there something you’d like to improve upon?  I challenge you to think about how you WILLOWN your stress-less success.  If you’re ready to do that together, I’ll see you in the Willown community.