Christmas is all about joy and I’m all about positivity, optimism and joy so I absolutely love Christmas. However, one Christmas I will never forget is the Christmas after my daughter turned one.

She had a high fever and started getting spotty rashes. I have heard of Roseola rash it is a common viral infection that usually affects babies and toddlers around one year old, and indeed that’s what she had after our doctors visit. Although Roseola tends to be very mild and you can normally look after your child at home, they usually recover within a week, which meant my entire Christmas week was taking care of a sick child with red rashes all over her body.

A roseola rash starts on the body before spreading to the arms, legs, neck, and lastly on the face. It appears as very small pink spots that may be flat or raised. To be honest, when the rashes were on her torso, I was ok with the situation, however, the moment her entire face was taken over with pink rashes, I became very emotional and knew that my Christmas was ruined. Boy children’s immune systems don’t care about Christmas, and their antibodies definitely don’t believe in Santa.

Now that I think back to that ruined Christmas, I’m forever thankful for the health of my child and family and for the lesson I’ve learned through the process. 

What ruined that Christmas was not the rashes, it was me.

I was in an emotional turmoil for a week because I had doubts. Even though every Google search resulted that the rashes will go away after a week, my pain was caused by me visualizing the rashes being permanent and doubting they will never ever go away. If only I had the wisdom back then to stop those negative self talks on the spot, that Christmas would have been much different. 

This is why I’m all about spreading the message of positivity, because things happen in life all the time. But the circumstances are actually neutral, your reactions and thoughts will result in the outcome of the situation.

How we choose to approach what appears to be challenges will dramatically impact our experience.

I hope you can trust me when I say that whenever you feel you are experiencing a low point in life, have no doubt, it will go away, just like those rashes, there is absolutely light at the end of the tunnel and there is always a way.

Guest featured in this episode:

Amanda Boleyn is the founder and CEO of She Did It Her Way.

Shortly after two years in Corporate America post-undergrad, Amanda a leap, moved from West Des Moines, IA to Chicago, IL and became a full-time freelancer, traveling the globe delivering sales, marketing, leadership development and employee trainings with large organizations. Some companies include JP Morgan, att, Weight Watchers, Intel, University of Kansas Medical Center and others.

Amanda first launched She Did It Her Way podcast in January 2015 and has consistently been ranked as one of the top-resources for female entrepreneurs by Inc.com, Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Huffington Post and many others. She Did It Her Way has been downloaded over 2 million times and continues to grow every day. 

Amanda’s signature course, Ultimate Leap Suite Academy, opens for registration this month and it is designed to help women take massive action on their business idea, turn their passion into profits and create freedom in their life.

Things you will learn in this episode:

• How she dealt with imposter syndrome
• How she started She Did It Her Way
• Her favorite memories for She Did It Her Way
• Top tip for starting a business
• How she dealt with the low’s of her business
• And much more

Because this episode lands on Thanksgiving day, I thought what better topic to talk about other than gratitude. 

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness.

Gratitude is a practice. 

Gratitude is a choice. 

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”    – William Arthur Ward

We all have our busy lives and sometimes we don’t have the time to stop and be thankful.

However, it’s really worth taking the time to make a list of things to be thankful for, so that you can see just how much happiness there already is in your life.

I am thankful for:

1. My parents for giving me birth
2. Family members for love and support
3. The air I’m breathing to be alive
4. My heart that is still bumping
5. Sleep
6. Waking up in the morning
7. Head to think
8. Hands to type
9. Mouth to taste
10. Eyes to see
11. Ears to listen
12. Feet to walk
13. Nose to smell
14. Food on the table
15. Cup of tea in the morning
16. Clean water to drink
17. Car to drive
18. Bike to ride
19. Friends to talk to
20. Having a job or income
21. Youtube
22. Skipping the ad on Youtube
23. Wifi
24. No password needed for Wifi
25. The farmers market
26. Puppies
27. Microwave
28. Washing machine
29. Books
30. The local mall on rainy days
31. Sweater weather
32. Sunshine
33. Rainbows
34. The moon
35. Google map
36. Matcha anything
37. A la carte food
38. Delivered food
39. Snail mail from an old pal
40. A greeting card in the mail
41. Birthday coupons
42. Motivational mugs
43. THE recipe
44. Nature
45. Mason jars
46. Pinterest DIY’s of old items
47. Vacations
48. Nicely designed bowls and plates
49. Instrumental music
50. Thick long wool socks in the winter
51. A/C in the summer
52. Fireplace when cold
53. Air freshener
54. The quiet hours I’m up alone in the house
55. Gluten-free snacks
56. Sugar-free juice
57. Ketchup
58. Stationary
59. A thank-you note
60. A smile from a stranger
61. A good laugh
62. A wink from my child
63. Goodnight kiss
64. Hello from a neighbor
65. Double date
66. A 24-hour pharmacy
67. A scenic trail for walk or jog
68. The ocean wave
69. 10 minutes of “Me Time”
70. Toilet paper
71. Flowers
72. Picnic in the park
73. Desserts
74. Finding a plug socket in public
75. A nicely scented new candle
76. Airplane mode
77. Instant Oatmeal and everything else instant
78. A friend’s trust
79. Huggies and snuggles
80. Nonstick pan
81. Green lights all the way
82. UNO
83. Meditation
84. Well-learned mistakes
85. Changing Seasons
86. Comfortable clothes
87. A long bubble bath
88. Freedom of speech
89. Holidays
90. Teachers from childhood who remembers us
91. Freeways
92. Almond butter pretzels
93. Fries
94. Hot soup on sick days
95. Electricity
96. Each day is a new day
97. There is always hope
98. Emojis
99. The perfect playlist
100. Checking off a bucklist item

What are you most thankful for? Tag me with your gratitudes @mslucyliu 

I’m here with the most grateful heart.

Be blessed and well this week and always.

P.S. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. If you feel gratitude towards someone, make their day, express it to them. 

Guest featured in this episode:

Gemma Bonham Carter is a serial online entrepreneur, business strategist and podcast host.

After creating several successful online businesses, Gemma has made it her mission to help others do the same. She specializes in digital products and email marketing and helps solopreneurs rise up to create a bigger income and impact online.

When Gemma isn’t working with clients or hosting The Passive Project podcast, you can find her on adventures with her two young kids in Ottawa, Canada.  

Things you will learn in this episode:

• What is passive income?
• How she started with passive income?
• Why passive income is good for you?
• Biggest mistakes to avoid starting a course or online membership?
• How putting your business in autopilot is good for you if you are a mom.

This episode is for you if you are feeling like you need some motivation to rid your own excuses.

Life is a personal journey it’s different for everyone and it changes and evolves daily. 

We are our own worst enemy. 

self–sabotaging behaviors are procrastination, self-medication with drugs or alcohol, comfort eating, and forms of self-injury such as cutting.

Negative self-talk is something we have all probably engaged in at some time, it is our brain’s protective mechanism.

But engaging in these negative self talks and finding excuses is the less extreme form of self sabotage.

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

Let’s be that other one percent. 

EXCUSES ARE ONLY CONVENIENT STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES TO AVOID THE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL WORK WE NEED TO DO TO GROW. 

Now, don’t be discouraged that you’ve made some excuses in life, because we all have. 

Making excuses is an important talent that comes with our birth somehow. But, hopefully by the end of this post, you will be able to catch yourself the next time you make an excuse for your inaction. 

Here are some of the most common excuses:

•  I don’t have time

You will never ever have time. 

That is the truth if you keep on telling yourself this lie. 

We have time for what we truly want accomplished. 

For example, we always have time for that next episode of xyz, or that new youtube video from zyx. 

If you need to get something done, schedule it on your calendar. 

•  I don’t have the money

Who on earth ever have enough money? 

No one. 

Poor people got poor people problems. 

Rich people got rich people problems. 

Where you are in life has to do with your habits and mindset. 

Develop a growth mindset and work on your money mindset. 

•  I’m not ready

You will never be ready, so might as well start it now. 

You can be not ready for 10 years. 

Clarity comes with action, if you’re not sure what to do next, start doing and you will find the answer. 

•  I’m too busy

You are too busy if you are single, but you will be busier when you have five kids. 

You are too busy when you’re 18 and you will still be too busy when you’re 40. 

I think you get my point now. 

Everyone is busy and life only gets busier. 

•  I’m waiting for…

I’m waiting to buy a microphone to start a podcast.

I’m waiting to buy new equipment to record my YouTube video.

I’m waiting to propose to my girlfriend after I buy a house.

I’m waiting to travel after a good career.

I’m waiting to start a business 2 years later.

I’m waiting to start a blog when my child grows up.

This list can go on forever, you get the point, there can always be something missing.  

•  I’m not done planning

Oh how I love planning. 

We all love pretty planners and colorful spreadsheets. 

But after setting your 3 year plan, please make sure you get down to your monthly plans and actually implementing your daily actions. 

Do not let your planning stage be the final stage of your business or whatever project you’re working on. 

•  I’m working on it

Oh work in progress is great, but, please set a timeline. 

This one is a little better than planning, you are actually starting. 

But be sure to set a timeline or else you can be working on something forever. 

•  Life is too complicated right now

Life gets complicated for everyone at times, there is no way out of that.

Things always come up, probably inconvenient for you and always overwhelming. 

Believe that you have the ability to overcome these complications.

Believe that these things are merely the smallest inconvenience.

Believe that overwhelm is only temporary and you have the power to control your emotions.

•  It’s too risky

Planes crash I still take them to fly.

Cars crash too I still drive them to get to places.

We take risky actions on a daily basis, sometimes you just need not to over think too much.

If the risk is financial, make very careful calculations.

Evaluate the actual risks realistically. 

• It’s not perfect yet

I’m a recovering perfectionist, I admit it and I’m continually working on it. 

No body is perfect. 

It can never be perfect. 

There is always room for improvement. 

Simply make necessary adjustments along the way.