A group shot of all of my Sister-friends!

I have spent the past year with 8 amazing women.  Women that I would have never been connected with if it wasn’t for being part of a Mastermind program that was put together by Tonya Leigh.  I now feel like I have 8 other sisters for life.

Investing in your self is something that you hear everyone say – but I want to tell you what it has done for me.

You must be open to trying new things!

• Allowed me to take not one but two all-girl trips.
• Tasted and loved oysters.
• Sipped new wines.
• Tried foreign beers.
• Discovered I didn’t like crab cakes.
• Had my first tarot card reading.
• Laughed until I cried.
• Cried until I laughed.
• Discovered my self-worth.
• Modeled nude for a self-portrait painting.
• Realized how comfortable I am with me.
• Traveled several times alone.  Something I deeply feared before.
• Took road trips by myself.  Something I deeply feared as well.
• Spent 8 hours in a car laughing and chatting as we winded around some scary-ass mountain roads.
• Fell more in love.
  

  Touching gift & note from one of the Mastermind women.

• Had my first private chef experience. Realized I want that more.

None of these things would have occurred had I not invested in myself.  Yes, it was for my business but I became a better woman as a result of it.

I hold my head higher.

I communicate what I want.

I hold my knife and fork like a lady.

When you invest money – it makes you push yourself more.  You shouldn’t be spending money just to be doing so.  No, I don’t believe in “You have to spend money to make money”.  I DO believe investing in yourself to grow and achieve what you want. I don’t think it is a choice.  It is a necessity if you want to grow as a person and as an entrepreneur.

Have you been complaining that you are unhappy where you are at?  Or do you want to add new offerings but are stuck in where to even start?

In the past year, I set goals to:

• Speak at 1 event (I spoke at the Spark & Hustle Finale)
• Create a kick-ass program (The Geek Labs is totally kick-ass. And sold-out of seats on the advanced training.)
• Become clear on my message (Wait until you see my 2012)
• Create a consistent marketing plan (The Scoop, each week)
• Buy a Macbook Pro to add to my collection of Macs (Purchased in October)
• Bring on team members (I have three VA’s and two Interns)
• And many more…

I successfully achieved pretty much every goal.

Plus an unexpected bonus – I doubled my income.  Not too bad for one year!

I accomplished more in one year than I had in five years of being in business.

Everybody can create what they want. It takes hard work but investing in yourself will help you achieve what you want.

Here are a few ways you can invest in yourself:

• Investing in a coach.
• Investing in a mentorship or mastermind program.
• Increase your skillset with a training program.
• Website cleanup or redesign.
• Hiring a photographer for updated headshots.
• Working with a wordsmith or copywriter to speak your message.
• Adding more room to your computer.
• Investing in wall calendars to plan your year out.
• Treating yourself to a massage, manicure or pedicure monthly.
• Upgrading software programs.

Make a list of what needs to change to get you to the next level. You can’t get there if you don’t know what needs to happen.

Leave your biggest goal below in the comments.

What is mine?

I want to host an in-person event in 2012!