Thanks again for a great article.

For the past year I have been reading several books and e-newsletters on personal development and business. All have been written by successful men. There have been principles suggested by these men, that have me thinking, how am I going to do that with a 2yr old? I do not want to delegate her away to a daycare.

I am so happy to have found you. I enjoy reading your letters and am left wanting more. I am eager to find out how you handled working and raising toddlers.

Thanks for your hard work.
Noreen

I think you are a God sent. That was an amazing post. I have refused to believe that it is impossible to have a well balanced family life and a successful career. It is simply great to have someone show just how possible this is.

Having mentors is like having a short-cut to success because you get to learn from their mistakes and the experience that they have gained over years of hardwork.

There are a lot women out there who can really benefit from this.
I’m so glad to finally have a mentor in this regard. You are a trail blazer and I think that what you are doing is awesome.

You hit the nail on the head. I avidly read Michael Masterson and Clayton Makepeace and Bob Bly . . . and all these successful businessmen’s blogs, e-newsletters, etc. And I’ve always found that big empty gap: Few of them really put as much time and priority on family – at least in their discussions.

So it’s always been a struggle to align their advice with some of my priorities. I’ve relished the posts on Clayton’s blog from you and Carline Anglade-Cole that bring more of that synthesis into it. And so glad to find you devoting your space here to this craft.

I also bring another wrinkle – while I’m not knocking big money and someday it may be in my life, it’s not a huge goal for me.

My husband and I long ago focused on living with limited means. We’ve gone through quite a few challenges – major illness, no income, etc. but never felt poor even though we’ve fit in that income bracket at times. We taught our kids to always be thankful for what we have. To understand how wealthy we are when we have food on the table, time together as a family, education, safety and health.

We have a small farm so even with limited money, we always ate like kings (nothing like blackberries in August or maple syrup in March!) and experienced a level of security not everyone can have. But the most important thing that helped us savor what we had (and have) is perspective and a clear sense of priorities.

I don’t think making lots of money negates a strong family life – MaryEllen, you exemplify this achievement. But I also want to encourage finding the freedom in self-employment and the security in not making tons of money by living carefully and valuing what you have.

Because too often we think that financial security will solve our problems when we sacrifice all the other securities – health, relationships and sanity for something that may not solve anything.

I’m happily on the road to making a lot more money as a health copywriter, internet marketer and self-publisher (added to our small farm income). Money is nice to have. And I’m certainly enjoying the expanding financial horizons I have as I build my skills, build my businesses and make plans. But I also want to give encouragement to readers setting goals for what is enough money to feel secure and have the freedom they want to live they way they want.

As you, MaryEllen have revealed through your posts, us mothers (and many dads!) understand that the journey is just as important – if not more so – than the destination.

P.S. It would be great to have a teleseminar with you, MaryEllen, to ask specific business questions and marketing questions.

awesome post! I think we all need to have mentors and often they come when you less expect because you also learn to let of need but fire that passion inside of you that opens your heart to receiving what your need to grow as a business woman and just a human being.
I have homeschooled my kids and I do not believe in a nanny. For some it is fine and it is not for me. They are little and they need to be in the right place and raised and molded by me.

I agree what you said about mentors. Yes the best mentors often charge a lot and we do get scared for while but usually we get good intuition of moving forward and then we see it all happened for a reason. It sets our business on fire and propels it to the next level.

Thank you for great post!

Tatyana Gann

I resigned myself to the belief that “You can have it all, you just can’t have it all at one time” and decided my success might have to wait until they’re older.

So it’s such a treasure to be a part of your community, Mary Ellen. I’ve learned so much already… and have been passing your emails along to working women who don’t have kids, because the principles you share are universal.

BTW – Sounds like Sandi is one of those Moms we should hear from! We’ve only connected recently, but I’m so inspired by her story and the idea of involving your children IN your business.

I had tears because you hit a very personal issue with me. After
19 yrs of homeschooling & 14 yrs of building businesses all out of my home & many of the 7- figures I’ve also never had a Nanny raising my kids for me or a team of people working with me doing these Mommy tasks.

I did train my kids who now at 22,16 & 14 to work with me however. Everyone doing chores, everyone pitching in with laundry, we all did the groceries together & we
are very family centric.

You hit a real soft spot for me because to truly TRULY impact my kids & groom them I had the conviction that I wanted to be at the heart of it. Even thru life threatening illnesses we’ve done it as a family team, my husband and I.

I too long for a good ole fashioned mentor who isn’t chasing both worlds & at the heart of it have a ‘staff’ in her home. I’ve had amazing female Mom mentors who even helped me become a better Mom & wife but they’ve always had the Nanny, cook, cleaning lady, driver lifestyle even without working at home or homeschooling.

You are onto something BIG MaryEllen & I’m so grateful to have you as a Mentor
thru this newsletter & website!

Blessings to you-
Sandi Krakowski