Marie, Josh, and me on the beach, Summer 2010

Two years ago I spent the summer living in Sag Harbor, NY to get out of the hot, smelly city.

One of the highlights of the summer was spending a ton of time at yoga, at the beach, and just plain hanging out with my friends Josh Pais and Marie Forleo.

Marie was in the middle of launching round two of a course I mentioned on Wednesday called B-School (stands for business school.) I got the blessed chance to absorb some of the mechanics behind the scenes of her seven-figure online business just by osmosis. It was awesome.

You see, Marie is a business genius. I don’t just say this because I love her and she’s my friend, though both of these things are true. I say this because every time I come to her with a business pickle she responds with golden nuggets, each of them worth thousands.

For example: The other day I had my panties in a wrinkle trying to fine tune a tagline for my new website (due to launch in a few weeks!) Her advice: a simple change in the order of the words that changed the impact of the copy immensely.

Lesson I learned: Make sure you put the words you want most emphasized first. Don’t put them last. Don’t put them in the middle. Put them right up front.

And this lessons is just one example from the treasure trove of Marie-Forleo-widom-land.

Elegance. Strategy. Heart. Proven business methods that work to make people tons of money while helping tons of people, too.

Why is this combination SO profoundly powerful when it comes to building a business that you love and that pays you well?

Because the times they are a changin’. The tactics that used to work to build businesses, on and offline, have to be updated to meet the demands of the savvy consumer who’s inundated with oodles of messages every day.

If we, as business women, are going to cut through the constant din of information overload that our customers are receiving, we have to be modern. We have to be smart. And most importantly, we have to care deeply about making our customers’ lives better.

This is where Marie shines the most. And this is why I’m telling you about her twice this week.

Not everyone will get the chance to learn from Marie by osmosis like I have. But, what’s great is that she’s packaged her best business wisdom into a free business video training series that just dropped this week.

Trust me, you’ll learn as much as I did that one summer in Sag Harbor from this series, if not more.

If you haven’t grabbed Marie’s new training series, go get it while it’s still up – it’s free.

Video #1 gives you a 6 pillar map that you can follow to start or grow your business online.

Video #2 gives you the inside scoop on a key to financial freedom that I haven’t talked with you much about yet, but that will make a HUGE difference in your bottom line and ability to move people once you get it.

Marie’s got one more training video for you to be released next week so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Once you watch the videos I’d love to know how you plan to incorporate the information that you learned into your business. Sharing the action you’re going to take is a public commitment that sets things in motion that wouldn’t have happened were you not to make that declaration. I’m excited to hear fro you and to cheer you on.

P.S. Full disclosure: I’m an affiliate of Marie’s course, B-School, because I’ve taken it and have received HUGE value from it. This course has helped me increase my reach by over 1,000% and go from being stuck at five-figures for years to popping right into the abundant land of six-figures. And the jump wasn’t even close to as hard as I thought it would be.

Marie taught me simple, time-tested strategies that worked like a charm to grow my business significantly. And I continue to learn from her curriculum every day. (You’ll see some what I’ve learned in action when I unveil my new website in a few weeks!)

I’m offering a bonus to anyone who enrolls in B-School through my affiliate link. The cart opens on Wednesday, February 20th. I can’t tell you all the details of the bonus yet, but it’s worth over $1,000 and it’s the PERFECT compliment to what you’re going to learn in B-School.

So, if you’re considering taking B-School this year, be sure you watch your inbox for the details of my bonus on Wednesday, February 20th. Use the link in the email I send that day to purchase the program. You’re going to LOVE B-School AND what I’ve been creating for you. This one has been brewing for 14 years. Seriously. It’s gonna be good.

Are you exhausted? Might be time to quit.

I remember when I was growing up, the other kids would tell me that they hated going to basketball or lacrosse practice, but their parents had taught them not to be quitters so they just toughed it out. I was always totally mystified by this. I had tried and quit just about every sport available and I had no problem with it. (The only thing I stuck with was tennis because I liked the skirts.)

What was the point in grinning and bearing it through hours of practicing something you had no intention of doing past graduation? What was the point of wasting hours of our precious childhood just so as not to be seen as a “quitter.” I just didn’t get it. It turns out, this same philosophy applies to my adult life (and perhaps to yours.)

I’m a quitter and proud of it. It means I’m in hot pursuit of my passion and purpose. It means I know what feels good and what doesn’t. It meant I value my time, my energy, and myself.

When I left on The Freedom Tour and told people I was going on an “indefinite road trip around North America” the most common question I got was, “For how long?” to which I would reply, “Until I’m done.”

In early September my man Mike and I decided not to go to Asia in Spring 2012 because it just didn’t feel right to either of us. So we decided to stay put somewhere for six months or so. We were already in Scottsdale, AZ and since I have family there and the weather is awesome in the winter, we decided that was our spot. We found a gorgeous apartment. We scouted yoga classes and rock gyms and juice bars.

Two weeks ago I was in NYC for Marie Forleo‘s spectacular event Rich, Happy, and Hot Live. I told my friends who I ran into on Friday night that I was moving to Scottsdale, AZ. Every time I said it, the response was, “Why?” And inside me every time I said I was moving there, I asked myself, “Why?”

Do you ever make a plan just so you can have something to tell people?

I called Mike that night and he told me my aunt and uncle were leaving Scottsdale and given that they were basically my only community there, it suddenly dawned on me that there was no good reason to move there. Moreover, it didn’t feel good, and quite frankly that’s all that matters.

Based pretty much all on instinct and what feels good, Mike and I have decided to move to Sag Harbor, NY. We’re actually going to sign a lease and stay put. I’m going to teach yoga. We’re going to eat vegetables, build solid businesses, and work out with consistency. (All of these things, and more, have been challenging on the road.) I’m going to write a book and hibernate.

Yes, it appears that that moment of “Until I’m done” has arrived. The Freedom Tour is winding down in absolute perfect timing.

Have I done everything I planned on The Freedom Tour? No. Absolutely not. In fact, the last nine months turned out nothing like I had imagined. They were better.

Those parents of my childhood friends might look at me and call me a quitter. This year I ended a business partnership that I’d invested three and a half years in. I ended another business partnership that I’d invested several thousand miles, several thousand brain cells, and several months in. I bowed out on an investment where I had a large chunk of change coming my way. I said no to a sponsorship deal with several zeros even though the paperwork had already been signed.  None of these things felt right anymore so I quit.

Call me a quitter. I welcome it.

Just like it makes no sense to spend an entire winter of beautiful afternoon hours in a stinky gym if you don’t even like basketball just so you won’t be a quitter, it makes no sense to keep doing anything that no longer feels right or feels good. Even if you’ve invested thousands of hours or thousands of dollars. Even if it will disappoint someone. Even if it used to feel like a good idea and suddenly it doesn’t anymore.

It doesn’t matter. I give you permission to quit. If you feel done, you’re done. That’s the only information you need. Let it go. Expand your expense allowance for “projects that I decided not to pursue further because they didn’t feel good” and simply write it off at the end of the year. Let it go. Move on. Quit.

There will never be a payoff after spending time, resources, and precious energy doing something that no longer feels good that will make it worth it. I promise. It just won’t happen.

So, I’m quitting The Freedom Tour as it currently exists. I don’t quite know what it will morph into, but I’m certainly not quitting on freedom.

Next up: an exploration of freedom within the structure of living in one place and having regular routines. Stay tuned.

What are you doing that doesn’t feel good anymore?

What are you doing that doesn’t feel right anymore?

What do you continue to do just so you won’t be a quitter?

Have you ever been called a quitter? Why?

What are you ready to quit?

What are you ready to let go of? Leave a declaration here!

Leave a comment. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say on this!