My weekly emails are for you if you want a transformational SHOT OF POSITIVITY that makes you think, gets you laughing, and sparks a positive change. Start each week inspired.
Am I a loser?
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Reader I'm celebrating Thanksgiving this week and in that spirit I want you to know how grateful I am for your support and engagement. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey and for being a part of mine. My word for 2025 is change. Selecting it was a breeze because my life was full of changes I knew where coming and I was preparing myself to embrace each one:
There were also sifnificant financial changes layered within the larger ones listed above. Fourth quarter of last year I was in full mourning after the death of my father and had no mental space to work on business development which meant I was starting 2025 with about 20% of the scheduled revenue compared to the prior two years. My husband's retirement added the expense of my health insurance to my ledger (and ouch! is it expensive). Launching the podcast was my creative salvation that lifted me out of my mourning stupor while also adding new business expenses. And oh, by the way, the overall economic climate tightened budgets and made investments in my services more difficult to secure. So last week when my husband asked me to give him my rough number for year end so he could make any necessary final adjustments to our taxes, I was unsurprised, yet still disheartened to see the drop in my year over year net income. My inner critic Miranda was stamping the big L on my forehead and questioning why I didn't give up and go work for a company like a normal person. Reader I'm not going to lie to you. I spent more time than I want to admit bought into Miranda's failure narrative and doubting myself. Then as I dug into the numbers, I realized that there was much more to the story than what is told by looking at my net income number. In fact, in the details were a lot of metrics that indicated success and growth I should be celebrating:
Digging in and shining the light on this list of accomplishments changed everything. I have a lot of good momentum that I need to harness and capitalize on going forward. Not every change fits neatly into a 12 month cycle. I choose to see myself in the messy middle of a change that is not yet complete, and to believe that the economic gains are still ahead of me. So I am not letting up on the gas. I'm leaning in and I'm inviting you to join me. Reader, we have aligned values which automatically means you are someone with whom I want to collaborate. So here is my offer. You can save twenty percent on my services in the first quarter of 2026 (that is $1000 savings when you book $5k). Here are some of the most common ways I deliver value that clients keep coming back for:
Reader I also want to remind you that as the year comes to a close and you start to assess your results that progress is not always linear and no single metric determines success. Make sure you acknowledge the wins and progress made no matter how small. One year may be a standard measure, but it is still arbitrary because not everything fits into a twelve month cycle. Cheers to you! Schedule Your 2026 Leadership Development Workshop with MeMy 5-point System applies the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology to deliver: LONG-TERM RETENTION: Retain the best people without the added cost of perks. COST SAVINGS: Retain institutional knowledge and reduce the expense of talent replacement. PERFORMANCE: Full discretionary effort from employees and resilience in the face of any challenge.
Catch Up on 'the story i'm telling myself' podcastGive us a 5-star review and share an episode with a friend: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music The Story I’m Telling Myself is for anyone who wants to overcome the limitations of self-doubt and live a life of purpose and fulfillment. Through candid conversations, you'll discover:
Real-life stories of courage and resilience: Gain inspiration from everyday people who overcame their negative self-talk to live a life of purpose and fulfillment. Listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music. |
Rita Ernst, Positivity Influencer
My weekly emails are for you if you want a transformational SHOT OF POSITIVITY that makes you think, gets you laughing, and sparks a positive change. Start each week inspired.
Reader I am my harshest critic. Or, the Miranda that lives inside my head is. You might recognize her Her constant refrain is "still not good enough." Reader, I'm curious. What challenge of your worthiness does your inner critic play constantly in your head? Shame Rejection Unworthiness I have considered myself a strong, confident, and accomplished person throughout my life. Yet, the smallest glimmer of negative feedback can unleash the look from Miranda and I am in a spiral of shame,...
Reader I had a profound moment over Thanksgiving thanks to my eldest daughter. It's after 8 PM on Thanksgiving. I'm in the front passenger seat. My husband is driving, and my daughters are in the back seat. We are in an upscale neighborhood where we've been enjoying our Thanksgiving feast at a friend's home. Many homes are already lit with Christmas lights. We turn onto the main thoroughfare and there are four houses in a row with the same commercial style lights outlining the front of the...
Reader I met my husband at my second job out of graduate school. I wasn't looking for a husband but there he was. Our first "date" was an after work meet up of the young professionals at the manufacturing plant where we worked. I wanted to resist the attraction because dating someone where you work is such a cliche. Truthfully, I don't think we would have been an office romance that lasted except for one agreement we made from the outset—we didn't talk about work. My time with Dave was carved...