Day 22: 10 people that made an impact in my life

List 10 people who made an impact in my life and why.

1. My aunt Edna. She showed me the way to Christ through her actions and not just her words. 

2. My friend Jemine. She inspires me to sing without fear. 

3. My friend Etta. She inspires me to keep working on my entrepreneurial dreams, no matter how difficult the path becomes. 

4. My husband. He inspires me to always have faith and to trust in God. 

5. Malia. She encourages me to grow deeper in my roots with God. 

6. My dad. He taught me everything I know about money, and he inspired me to go into personal finance. 

7. My mom. She is always there when I need her. 

8. My children. Wow, they teach me how to be patient, how to love and how to embrace the present moment. 

9. Dr. Diase. She's perhaps the most patient and caring Doctor I've ever had. She delivered all three of my children, and each time, she took the time to see how I was doing and how I was feeling. It encourages me to know that you can have a tough and hectic job and still maintain your peace.

10.  My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Abbott. There are very few teachers that I actually remember, but Mrs. Abbott is one that I will never forget. She was incredibly kind, compassionate and extremely patient. I rarely saw her get upset, no matter how rowdy our class got. Fun fact: her husband was a judge back when I was young. Now he's the governor of Texas! 

Day 21: 10 Ideas of Book Titles

I'm about to be transported to another planet and I need to write a book to leave my wisdom behind. List 10 ideas of the book titles I would write, with three items that I would go in the table of contents. 

1. The first book I would write is called "The Last Woman Standing." The table of contents would include a.) how to roll with the punches, b.) how to know when it's time to chill or when it's time to hit back, and c.) how to get back up when you get knocked down. 

2. The book title would be, "Being a Mom," and it would include everything I learned about being a mom. Patience, love, and prayer -- those would be the three parts of the table of contents. 

3. The next book title would be "Nurse Like You Mean It: The Benefits of Breastfeeding." The table of contents would include the scientific benefits of breastfeeding, the personal benefits of breastfeeding, and my opinion on breastfeeding in public. 

4. I would love to write a book called, "It Is Well With My Soul." This book would include all of my favorite scriptures on different topics such as marriage, parenting, and having a relationship with God. 

5. My next book title would be Acceptance: Embracing Who I Am as a Black Woman in America." It wasn't that long ago that I finally learned to acceptance and embrace my skin color and who I am as a black woman. The table of content would include a.) my struggles in childhood with not wanting to be black and just wanting to fit in with everyone else; b.) my journey of discovering and embracing who I am as a black woman with brown skin and curly hair; c.) what I learned over the years and how so could have saved myself some heartache.

6. Another book title would be "Overcoming Perfectionism." Three items in my table of contents would be a) what is perfectionism, b) why do we have this need to be perfect and c) 10 ways to overcome the desire to be perfect.

7. I would love to write a book called "Put Down That Remote: 30 days without television". I'm somewhat of a TV addict. One of my favorite things to do in my free time is watch television. I enjoy it so much, but I also realize that it hinders me from getting my personal projects done. I would love to write about the downsides of TV, the upsides of putting down the remote control and how living without TV for thirty days changed my life. 

8. I would love to write a book about my experience with the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up book by Marie Kondo. My book would be called, "A Day in the Life of Marie Kondo." I was so inspired by her book, that I would love to shadow Marie for just one day to see how she handles different experiences with grocery shopping, shopping for clothes, and shopping with her kids. I would include a background of Marie, how she handles different shopping scenarios and what new lessons she has learned after working with thousands of clients. 

9. The next book I would write would be called "The Favorite Child." Sometimes I wonder if having multiple children is a good thing. I'm a mom of three, and it's incredibly difficult to devote specific time to each child. Plus, it's hard not to have a favorite, and I don't want to have a favorite. I love all of my children with a tremendous amount of love, and I love them all for different reasons. In this book, I would discuss how it was to be an only child growing up, the pros and cons of being the automatic favorite child (since I was the only child), and then how I made the decision to have three children and how I work to not play favorites. 

10. The last book I would like to write is a book about the power of names. I would like to call it, "What's in a name? Everything." In this book, I would discuss the history behind name meanings, why it's important to think about the meaning of your name and examples in history of people with specific names and how that was a sign of who they would become. 

Day 20: 10 Ways to Improve My Daily "Spiritual" Practice

List 10 ways I can improve my daily "spiritual" practice. 

1. Wake up every morning and spend at least 5 minutes reading from the Bible. 

2. Pray throughout the day, for everything. 

3. Say what I'm most thankful for, starting with my health. Lots of things may be stressing me out, but I'm grateful and thank God for supernatural health. 

4. Bring my tithe check to church on Sunday's. I am a cheerful giver! 

5. Thank God for settling me in my home as a happy mother of children. My children are a gift and a reward. 

6. Write out scriptures about my finances and hang them in the hallway so that I can see them and say them every day before I leave the house. 

7. Thank God for a blessed, happy and faithful marriage. What God has put together, no one can separate. 

8. Listen to worship music when I'm feeling anxious. 

9. Write one short poem a day about one aspect of God's character. This will help me to remember who God is because my memory is short (especially in dark or difficult times). 

10. Talk (not in a venting way though) to a trusted friend when I feel like I want to keep silent. 

Day 19: 10 Ways to Improve My Daily "Mental" Practice

IList 10 ways that I can improve my daily "mental" practice. 

1. Keep up with my daily productivity planner. I feel like I'm on top of the world in productivity when I maintain this daily practice. 

2. Notice when I'm about to complain (or if I'm in the midst of complaining) and turn it into a positive instead of staying focused on the negative. 

3. Write down my 10 ideas every single day. No excuses! 

4. Do simple math in my head instead of running to use my calculator. 

5. Start memorizing people's phone numbers instead of relying on my phone to all the memorizing for me. 

6. Get back to reading my one book a month routine. I can tell that my vocabulary increases when I'm reading more often because I have a plethora of words to choose from. 

7. Write an article a day. 

8. Rest! Specifically, get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. This is not only good for me physically and emotionally, but it's also good for me mentally. 

9. Before I spend a given amount of time on anything, I can be more mindful about it, setting an intention before I spend the time instead of wondering later where all of my time went. 

10. I read an article that says that exercise is good not just for your physical health but that it's also good for your brain. So during my morning routine, adding yoga and Pilates is also good for my mental health as well! 

Day 18: 10 Ways I Can Improve My Daily "Emotional" Practice

List 10 ways I can improve my daily "emotional" practice (the emotional leg of the daily practice has to do with the people I surround myself with).

1. I find that my emotions are out of control and sometimes unpredictable when I don't get at least seven hours of sleep, so the first thing I would do is get my seven hours of sleep every night.

2. Do things that I feel genuinely about, even if it means upsetting other people. This is so true for me, especially around the holidays. I didn't want to give in to the obligation of buying a present for everyone, so I just decided not to do it. 

3. Make peace with everyone. This doesn't mean I have to be BFFs with everyone, but I can be at peace with them. 

4. Smile at strangers, with no expectation of them smiling back. It feels good to be the first one to smile. 

5. Be the first person to say "I'm sorry."

6. Be thankful in every situation, and share that gratitude with others when I have the opportunity. 

7. Be kind, even when someone else isn't. Treat others how you would want to be treated instead of only worrying about how they are treating you. 

8. Have boundaries in friendships. In the past, I had to separate myself from people who only called me when they wanted to call me, but weren't there for me when I needed to call and talk to them. 

9. Always speak the truth in love. It's painful to hold in a lie.

10. Listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. He never steers me in the wrong direction. 

Day 17: 10 Ways I Can Improve My Daily "Physical" Practice

List 10 ways I can improve my daily physical practice. 

1. When I get to work in the mornings, I can park toward the back of the garage instead of trying to find a spot right in front. 

2. I live in a two-story house. It would be good if I could run up the stairs every time instead of slowly walking up them. 

3. During my break at work, I could go for a walk around the building. I've done that a few times before and it's so refreshing. 

4. I can walk up/down the escalator everyday instead of just standing on it. 

5. I don't have too much time in the mornings, but I can still stretch and do 5 minutes of yoga. 

6. Where there is an opportunity, I can take the stairs instead of getting on the elevator. 

7. When I become a stay-at-home mom, I can walk my son to school on nice days. 

8. When I get home in the evenings, I can get on the floor and play with my children instead of sitting on the couch. 

9. I can do 10 push-ups in the afternoons when I get home from work. It's a good way to increase my daily physical activity and switch my mind from work mode to home mode. 

10. On the weekends when I take my kids to the park, I can run and play with them instead of sitting on the bench. 

Day 16: 10 Risky Things You Could Do To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

List 10 things you could do this week to get out of your comfort zone. 

1. Apply for an external position that I have been wanting to apply for for a long time. 

2. Strike up a conversation with a stranger, someone that I wouldn't normally talk to. 

3. Wear a tight maternity dress minus the big slouchy sweater that I would normally try to cover up with. 

4. Wear my white knit tights that I bought two years ago and still haven't had the courage to wear. 

5. Make my own Christmas cards and mail out to family and friends. (This is something I'm working on now.) I'll also be letting them know that we won't be buying Christmas presents this year, so the card will be their one and only gift. 

6. Quit my job! 

7. Sing outloud where people can actually hear me. 

8. Share photos of my wall art prints on my regular Facebook page. This would be a step out of my comfort zone because I normally keep my business stuff only on my business page, but I want people to know what I'm working on. 

9. Raise the prices for my envelope addressing service. 

10. Smile and say "Hello" to someone whom I think doesn't like me.