Not long ago, I got inspired, turned on the mic, and riffed about comfort zones. I think I started sweating even a little, not because I was nervous, but because I get FIRED UP about this stuff.

I go over what it is that keeps us stuck. Is it fear of failure? A habit? Fear of success? Is it our feelings and emotions that keep us from the person we want to be? I go over all of this.

Alas, I don’t have this episode in written format, but you don’t want to miss this. 

Also, I have ONE spot open for 1:1 coaching. Two options there: I take women privately through The Daring Way™ work, as well as do traditional life coaching where we basically get down to what you want, I help you get there (with a little hand holding and a lot of holding your feet to the fire) and VIOLA! You have Your Kick-Ass Life. Simply reply to this email and we’ll get you started with an application and a call with me to see if it’s a good fit. Okay? Okay.

http://yourkickasslife.com/257

The holidays are upon us! If you’re like me, you love to get your shopping done early AND you love to get just the right gift for that special someone in your life (and even if they’re not that special to you, I mean sometimes we have the obligatory gift to buy, am I right?)

Here’s a few of my favorite gift ideas as well as some nifty stuff we found on the internet to I like/love so you have a plethora of things to choose from! Happy shopping!

Pet stuff

Personalized pet socks. Y’all. YOU CAN GET YOUR ACTUAL PET ON A PAIR OF SOCKS. I mean, not the actual pet but their picture. You understand. Is this already a thing and I’m just learning of it? Whether it is or isn’t, it’s amazing.

If you follow me on Instagram and watch my IG stories, you know Dirty Baby. If you don’t, then this won’t be funny at all (but seriously, get in on the joke, go to my Instagram profile in the “highlights” and click on “#dirtybaby”. You’re welcome). So, for your dog (or cat?) they CAN HAVE THEIR OWN DIRTY BABY and we can be gross pet toy friends.

Barkbox is for those people who really, and I mean really love their dogs. They used to sponsor the podcast, so if you use this link you can get a free month. My dog LOST HER SHIT over their toys and treats. But, then again she eats rabbit poop in the backyard so she may not be a good judge of delicious things.  

Food stuff

Chocolate covered pretzels GALORE. I’m just sayin’ that if someone wants to buy me these I will NOT be mad. At all.

Fruitcake from Harry and David. For that person in your life who has everything and is also 137 years old, yes, fruitcake. My stepdad LOVES THIS STUFF and he’s only 76. But seriously, seniors love fruitcake and Harry and David know how to do it up. I can’t say I’ve personally tasted it, but we frequently buy it for Gene, the love of my mom’s life and he raves about it. Plus, super affordable. Also, their other food is delish.

Fairytale Brownies. This is for the serious brownlie lover (me). You can’t go wrong with fancy brownies. Trust me.

Tea Forte from Neiman Marcus. Fancy, but still affordable, for that person who doesn’t drink coffee (gasp!)

Gourmet cooking salt sets Darlene (YKAL podcast producer extraordinaire) knows this lady and recommends these fancy salts for the foodie in your life (if loving brownies counts as being a foodie, I’m IN)!

MISC:

Some Call Me Crunchy bath salts. I found these at a local boutique here in Greensboro and these bath salts are amazing. They always make a great gift! (I always put extra epsom salt in my bath when I use these.)

The Moondeck. Both for the serious woo-woo person in your life and the newbie. These cards are so gorgeous and perfect for meditations, mantras, and more.  

Anything from The Hoodwitch. From rose quartz crystals, to blue sage & sunflower, you’ll for sure find something for that “witchy” person in your life!

Cast Iron Cauldron (or this one.) A lot of people find it either hilarious or interesting that I have a cauldron. Maybe they envision a huge one brewing over a fire with chicken’s feet and the tears of my enemies in it, but alas, it’s actually a mall one that I use to burn paper that I’ve written things down on, or keep my sage in. This would make a great gift for your witchy friends!

Skylight frame. So apparently, this is an update to the digital photo frame that was super popular about 12 years ago. With this frame you can update photos for your parents or grandma or other loved one remotely. I think. I don’t actually know for sure, but I was too lazy to go and read all the instructions, but it seems like a great gift for your grandparents if they don’t like fruitcake (see above).

Postercandy family poster framed by Framebridge. Ya’ll. This is something I researched myself and did and it’s seriously the favorite piece of decor I have in my house. Full disclosure: it took me a while to put it together. You can choose how many pictures you want  and since I picked like 7,000, it was time consuming. I love this because it’s like a photo album spanned over 10 years in one piece of art. I often find myself and other members of my family just standing in front of it smiling. And everyone comments on it who comes over!

Okay, there’s about a bazillion journals to choose from, and I’m always a fan of having several I love this one from Uncommon Goods because there are prompts to write about your life. It think this would an especially great gift for a young-ish person (late teens/20’s).

Alex and Ani Wonder Woman inspired bangles. It doesn’t get much better than this. It really doesn’t, IMO.

Air plants. For the person in your life that can’t seem to keep plants alive, this is always a good option!

Fun friendship lamps. How cute are these? Have a loved one far away? Get a set of these lamps and you’ll always know when you’re thinking of each other!

http://yourkickasslife.com/256

This week I welcome Lauren Handel Zander to the YKAL podcast. Lauren is the author of, Maybe It’s You: Cut the Crap, Face Your Fears, Love Your Life. She is also a life coach, university lecturer and co-founder of Handel Group. She joins me to talk about the everyday shit that we do that takes us farther away from the person we want to be and the person we were meant to be.

We had an amazing conversation about her journey to becoming a life coach, what personal integrity means to her and her work, qualifying yes versus no, and the epidemic of lying.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Lauren’s path to becoming a life coach (7 minutes and 30 seconds)
• What is personal integrity and how she uses it to help people achieve their goals (13:51)
• One trick to keep you accountable when it comes to doing the work (20:17)
• Boundaries: Why people say, “Yes,” when they mean, “No,” and how to empower ourselves to say, “No”, when we really mean it (26:35)
• How to develop the awareness to stop the cycle of numbing out and isolating (35:12)
• The seven ways we lie, cleaning up your lies and telling the truth and how doing so can truly jumpstart your happiness (38:17)

💥 REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE NEW AND IMPROVED DARING WAY™ PROGRAM AND RETREAT! (Shouty caps on purpose!). LET’S CHAT ABOUT IT! Head on over here to check it out!  💥

http://yourkickasslife.com/255

This week my dear friend Kate Anthony is back on the podcast. If you are new to the show, I’ve started a new series where I’ve been talking with close friends about shit that matters. During these candid conversations, we take a big topic where we are not experts and unpack our own stuff around it and begin to make sense of it all. In this episode, Kate and I continue our conversation on rape culture and sexual assault. I highly encourage you to listen to part one of our conversation, if you haven’t done so already.

The reason I wanted to create two episodes on this topic is to shed light on stories of non-consensual sex, rape, and assault. If you feel your story is not important enough, something I believed of my own story for a long time, know that your story is important.  All of our stories are important and everybody’s story matters. That’s my why. And, trigger warning: Kate and I share our own experiences with non-consensual sex in this episode.

In this episode you’ll also hear:

• The moment Kate realized her sexual assault was rape (10 minutes and 1 second)
• Saying yes out of fear and coerced consent (19:03)
• I retell the story of when, at 17, my boyfriend videotaped us without my knowledge and I lost my shit (24:28)
• And then, I share my own story of date rape (27:53)
• The untrue stories we make up about the kind of men that assault women, like, “Only scary looking men or strangers in an alley assault women.”  (45:50)
• Kate shares a story about a man asking for consent (46:31)

💥🎉FREE LIVE TRAINING! 💥🎉

Okay, y’all-- there are two topics I’ve seen come up over the last few months during my retreats and programs. One is trusting women-- why do we have such a hard time with this and how do we overcome it?

The other is the concept of feeling “good enough”. Do we just decide this and wait for it? Is it a mindset issue? Or something else?

Join me on Friday, November 9th at 12:30 eastern time where I’ll break down these two topics and give you some tangible steps to take to make this happen in your life. As you know from my book HTSFLS, both of these topics are IMPERATIVE for you to stop feeling like shit and start living your kick-ass life. See you there! (And yes, a replay will be available)

No need to sign up for anything, just mark your calendar, and put THIS LINK in there. Then, on 11/9 at 12:30 eastern, click the link and join us! 😘😘😘

http://yourkickasslife.com/254