Is Your Life In “A Place of Yes”???

There was a time in my recent past where many days were not quite filled with rose peddles and butterflies, it was more like dead shrubs and wasps. While I’m pretty sure everyone goes through a “shrubs and wasps” time in their life, it doesn’t really make it any easier to keep getting stung day after day! Being the persistent, determined and down right stubborn girl that I am, I was not about to allow shrubs to block the view of roses in my future! The actual, physical “little leopard book” came in very handy at this time in my life. I began to write down productive things I did throughout my day, projects I wanted to start working on and goals for the future. This really helped me to see that there would be days filled with butterflies and roses in my future!

(And if it comes in the form of cupcakes, even better!)

I also began to read the book A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel. While I found the whole book entertaining because I just love everything about her (sarcastic, inappropriate humor, amazing business ethic, dedication to her friends and family, what’s not to love??) my absolute favorite chapters of the book were those on business, “Everything’s Your Business: Finding My Stride As an Entrepreneur” and “All Roads Lead to Rome: The Rise and Fall of BethennyBakes”. I pulled many quotes, thoughts and messages that I enjoyed from the book and passed them on to my two best girlfriends for some entrepreneurial inspiration and today I will share them with you!

Treat everything you choose to do with as much importance as if your career depended on it.
Treat everything you do as if it is an essential part of your business or an important step forward in life.
Know how to delegate!
Don’t wake up one morning ready to retire with the realization that you never went for it!
The need for money NOW should never eclipse your vision for your life.
Hardship is better than regret.
Don’t think of all the ways you CAN’T do something, think of all the ways you CAN!
What is your purpose? What do you want to accomplish? What’s important to you?
The best ideas are the simple ones that solve a problem.
Look at your life. Look at what you want to celebrate or improve or repair, and then think of ways to do that.
“There are two types of people: The ones who give you 50 reasons it can’t be done, and the ones who just do it!” Hoda Kotb
Don’t think about how much you have to do all at once, just do one thing at a time.
When starting your own business the upside can be enormous, the downside is minimal.
Every part of your life can benefit from attention to detail and a high standard for quality.
“There’s nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing anyway.” Mark Burnett

I hope some of these thoughts from Bethenny will help inspire you all as much as they inspired me and I highly recommend reading the entire book “A Place of Yes” for even more inspiration.

Another idea if you’re lacking in the inspiration department. The almighty Inspiration Board! My BFF showed up one night carrying in a large black poster board… I knew she had something up her sleeve when she said “I come bearing gifts”! A black poster board and an Elmer’s Glue Stick were my gifts. While I’ll take a gift in any form it comes with great appreciation, I was a little confused. She explained that these items were the beginning of my inspiration board. Everyone’s inspiration board is going to be different because what inspires everyone is different, while it may be a career goal, a dream car, inspiring quotes or something you’re personally working towards in your life, whatever inspires you can be put on the board!

While I already had a “Wall of Happiness” which consists of a silver magnetic board from Ikea where I currently have a baby announcement photo from the Smith-Haynes family, my letter of admission to Cal State Northridge and my Group Training Certification all clinging to the board with my Colorado Moose magnet! The wall of happiness is ever-changing and more based on the present and what happy things occur in my life each week, where as the Inspiration Board is more based on long-term goals and things that inspire me to start making things appear on the “Wall of Happiness”. They’re all interconnected and all bring me to “A Place of Yes”!

My name is Whitney Bond and I’m a little girl with a big appetite. When people ask  what kind of food I make, I always say “experimental”. I love coming  up with new ideas for classic favorites or turning a generally  unhealthy ... (read more!)