My challenge for this month is to wake up at 5am to write. 5am is extreme, but it’s peaceful. My mind is fresh and rested and I can work on my book (I’m writing a book about 30 day challenges) without interruption. No kids, no buzzing cellphone, no noise. The time allows me to be…

It’s hard to get up at 5am. Even after 15 days, I’m still bitter when the alarm clock goes off. I always contemplate going back to bed. But I still get up with the alarm and walk across the room to turn it off. I splash water on my face, do 5 jumping jacks and settle in…

At the beginning of the month, I set a goal of waking up at 5am to write. 30 days later, I’m happy to report that getting out of bed at that hour is no longer the struggle it once was. I’ve grown to love the quiet of the early morning and the time to be creative and…

I didn’t take on a challenge in April because I was hustling to finish up my “Big Book of 30 Day Challenges,” which turned out to be an intense, all-consuming process. I’m happy to report that I turned in my manuscript and am ready to tackle the month of May, AKA the fat burning challenge (or the slow…

For the past several weeks, I’ve been following the Slow Carb diet, a fat burning diet where you avoid foods that promote fat storage (white carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, dairy, fruits and sugar) and replace them with protein, vegetables, legumes and healthy fats. With strict diet challenges like these, I always advise people (and myself) to scale…

This month, I gave up grains, gluten and other white carbohydrates, fruits, dairy, and alcohol except for wine, but granted myself one cheat day per week (I took three total) as part of my 30 day Slow Carb Diet challenge. I weighed myself first thing every morning and lost 5 lbs total. The weight spiked following my three…

“You should come play tennis with me,” my sister said to me at a party a few weeks ago. “Sounds fun! I’d love to do that,” I replied. “How about Thursday? A group of us are playing at 9.” “Oh Thursday? I don’t know, I think I…” My sister cut me off before I could finish…

I write this from an indoor water park in South Dakota. It’s day 4 of our cross country family road trip. Between packing up 8 years of our lives, saying our goodbyes, driving, hiking, seeing friends, driving, working and more driving, I’m mentally and physically tapped out. This month (and other different circumstances) it would…

You may have noticed my absence these past few months. I haven’t posted an article or taken on a challenge since June and I apologize for this long stretch of silence. I took a break to focus on a few other (and all consuming) challenges. First, a monumentally stressful cross country move, and second, my…

Graduation season – it’s where some of the smartest and most accomplished minds return to college campuses to inspire the youngest crop of graduates as they head into the real world. But you don’t need to be 22 to be inspired; these roadmaps can help give new perspectives and ideas to anyone with an open…