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“Everyone knows something you don’t… learn from them.” It’s a simple phrase, but one that’s resonated with me for decades. I’m not even sure where I first heard it, but it’s become part of who I am and how I approach life. Long before Blue Gypsy. Long before I was speaking at conferences or teaching classes. Before I ever became an Online Sales Counselor. It’s a mindset I’ve carried with me from experience to experience…country to country. I learned it years ago while traveling the world. Every place I visited…
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We live in a business world that often rewards the illusion of perfection. You’ve seen it. Polished LinkedIn profiles, shiny headshots, carefully curated captions that make it look like everyone’s got it together all the time. (I mean check, check, check I have all those things going on!) It’s like we’re all somehow superheroes in blazers…well not me, I don’t think I own a blazer. It seems like we are dodging failure, fear, and insecurity with a winning smile and our own business taglines and philosophies. But let’s get real…
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Let’s talk about something not often discussed in professional circles, but very real for so many of us, especially those of us who seem like we’ve got it all together on the outside. High-functioning depression. It sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Functioning. Depressed. But it’s not. Is it a clinical term? No probably not. (Well definitely not…I looked it up!) What does it mean? It means showing up to work, meeting deadlines, staying upbeat in meetings, helping others, being productive, and all the while, carrying a quiet, heavy weight…
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I remember the first time I used AI to help me write and organize something. It was June 2023, and I was finally thinking seriously about putting my house on the water in Virginia onto the short-term rental market. My dad and I bought this house while I was still working on wooden schooners, and it was my place to go between boat jobs. Up to this point, I was an expert at couch surfing. Later it became my peaceful retreat, and I even lived there the first year I…
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Let’s pick up where we left off. In Part 1, we explored the idea that we naturally value what we prioritize. Our calendars, to-do lists, and mental energy are often the truest indicators of what really matters to us. But if that’s true… what happens when we feel like we’re stuck between two values? Welcome to the tug-of-war between professional growth and work-life balance. This is one of the most common internal battles people across all industries are fighting quietly, every day. Two Good Things, One Big Tension “I want…
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Lately, I’ve swapped my mindless Facebook scrolling for something a little more intentional, LinkedIn. Fewer ads, more inspiration, and the chance to connect with friends and colleagues in the industry. So when I came across a post from Morgan Lurz, President of Cannonball Moments, I had to stop the scroll. She wrote: “Forget work-life balance—what we truly value is what we prioritize. I’ve been knee-deep in interviews lately, and nearly every candidate brings up that elusive ‘balance.’ But here’s the truth: balance is a myth. Progress happens when we go…
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In face-to-face communication, body language accounts for a significant portion of how we understand each other. According to one of the most often-cited (though frequently misunderstood) studies by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, communication is broken down like this when expressing feelings or attitudes: 7% is the actual words spoken 38% is the tone of voice 55% is body language (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc.) Now, important context here: those numbers apply only when a person is communicating emotions or attitudes, not all forms of communication. If you’re giving directions to…
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Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away. It’s a good time to remember the importance of gratitude—not just for the food and fun… and hopefully days off, but for the people who make our journey meaningful. At Blue Gypsy Inc., Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the abundance in our lives: the opportunities we’ve embraced, the challenges that have made us stronger, and the partnerships that continue to inspire us. Gratitude is at the heart of what we do. It fuels our purpose to help Online Sales Counselors…
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You may or may not have noticed that I didn’t create any new blog posts in October or November… for those of you who follow me on LinkedIn or social media, you know I lost one of my greatest mentors at the beginning of October. My father. From an early age, my dad taught me the value of hard work, perseverance, and kindness. He led by example, demonstrating the importance of integrity in everything we do. His unwavering support and encouragement gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams and…
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Marketing, sales, and online sales are all on the same team. We need to put that into practice, especially when it’s easy to slip into a scarcity mindset. Recently I heard two different stories that inspired this blog post. One was of someone at leadership level disparaging OSCs and what they do…because numbers are down. The other was of salespeople disparaging OSCs and what they are doing…because numbers are down! In the first case, I don’t have access to current numbers, but in general if this sentiment is coming from…
November: Two Powerful Days of Reflection
In November there are two very powerful days of reflection. One just passed, Veterans Day. And one coming up in 10 more days. Thanksgiving. The following video drives home some powerful points to reflect on for both. These are secular holidays. These are days that effect all Americans and have so much to do with how we came to survive in this land, and how we continue to do so thanks to those who make…
Ya Gotta have A Plan: Goal Setting and Business Planning
To expand on my last blog post about creating a vision, the end of the year is always a good time to examine goal setting techniques, business planning, and creative visualization. This is true both for our personal lives and for our business lives. And the techniques are surprisingly the same. There are a couple of key points to include when creating business and personal goals for yourself. This is part of the road map…
Don’t Know If You Noticed But…..
I took about a month off of blogging, and clammed up on tweeting as well. I’m not going to lie, the bluesfest took a lot of energy out of me. Doing it all was exhausting and I’ve taken the last month to regroup. The Bluesfest went from vision to reality because I set a goal for myself to do it, and then progressed through the process of visualizing it, and creating it. While it was…
The Energy Is Building! Can You Feel It?
It’s amazing, the positive things that can happen when people come together under the umbrella of a great cause. Blue Gypsy Bluesfest is almost here. I can’t believe this event that started with me saying, “Let’s Have A Party and give back to Habitat for Humanity” Has taken on such a life of it’s own. It’s funny. I’ve had people ask me if I’m the Promoter for the event. Well, I guess so…I mean I…
Gaining Momentum: Positive Energy Creates Positive Results
I’m a true believer that positive energy creates positive thoughts, positive thoughts lead to positive ideas, positive ideas produce positive actions and positive actions garner positive results. That’s the operating principal behind Blue Gypsy Bluesfest and my efforts put for this charity event taking place on September 25th at Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach to benefit Habitat for Humanity and the Nachel’ Blues Network. I’ve been making calls, sending email and talking about this…
From The Archives: A little Inspiration "Remember to Say I Can"
Youtube is crowded with entertaining mindless videos of cats caught on ceiling fans, manatees bumping into aquarium glass, and giant slides that will land you in a kiddie pool of water…but every once in a while you come across a gem that brings tears to your eyes and teaches you real life lessons. This is why social media can have such an amazing impact on our lives. I used to teach kids team building, leadership…
The Power Of Positive Thinking: How Are You Going To Use It
If you knew you couldn’t fail, what is one thing you’d like to do in your life? The power of positive thinking and positive energy is a real element in the universe. I truly believe this. I’ve climbed mountains with this energy, I’ve jumped out of planes with this energy, and sailed around the Caribbean with this energy. These are just a few of the many achievements I’ve attained by implementing this method of positive…
Goals: You Can’t Set It And Forget It!
Goal setting is something I used to teach teenagers on sailboats in the summertime. Goals are important and more importantly they need to be attainable. Most of the time it’s about incremental changes to reach your goals, and it’s about focusing on mini goals that help you reach the final target. It is so easy to make excuses on why we can’t achieve our goals but really at the end of the day…they are excuses.…
Passion: For WordPress, Websites, and Water Treatment
I love enthusiasm! I’m actually pretty excited because I’ve caught some amazing energy from Valerie Cudnik, the owner of Computer Design Graphics. I’ve been waffling on my website for Blue Gypsy, Inc, and Valerie is propelling me forward toward getting it up and running. I know I need to get cracking because www.bluegypsyinc.com is my online office, but I’ve been in a quandary about the idea of paying lots of money to have someone design…
Values and Goals Go Hand-in-Hand
Since my last post was about values, I wanted touch on goals. Goal setting is always something I’ve felt passionate about. Values and goals go hand-in-hand and make up who you are. Once you define your values, the things that make you tick and how you want to operate your life, your business, and your online presence, the next step is to use those values to define your goals. Whether they are social media goals,…