☕ Coffee by the water has a way of slowing life down just enough to ask the questions we often avoid... What if helping other people achieve their dreams could bring you closer to living your own designed life? It's an interesting thought, isn't it? For years, I poured my time and energy into caring for others. As a nurse, a foster mum, and a carer, helping people wasn't just something I did—it was who I was. What I didn't realise was that there was a way to continue making a difference while also creating more freedom for my own family. That's what this journey has taught me. When we help someone gain confidence, learn a new skill, start a business, or believe in themselves again, something unexpected happens... We grow too. Our confidence grows. Our purpose grows. Our friendships grow. Sometimes, so do the opportunities that allow us to design a life with more choice, flexibility, and time for what matters most. Maybe living a life by design isn't about choosing between serving others and following your own dreams. Maybe it's about discovering that the two can beautifully work together.

Today I am writing this post in my "between time". What is "between time"??? What I mean by this is this morning as a mum and as a foster mum to my daughter who has Cerebral Palsy and brain injury, and as a grandmother - babysitting my youngest grand son. My day started with bouncing out of bed at 6:15am to be ready for my daughters caretaker to arrive at 6:30 am to assist me in our morning routine. - out of bed, toileted, dressed, fed, and dogs fed, and ready for an equipment trial at 9:30am. . my grandson arrived at 6;45am - earlier then usual.. which we totally managed to make him feel welcome in the midst of the activity. My husband arrived home from his night shift at 8:00... and settled in to get some much needed sleep catch up whilst the mayhem continued on around him. here I am at 11 am, My daughter's equipment trial completed and now left for an outing with her support caretaker, my grandson munching down on an icypole and watching cartoons, my husband asleep on the lounge next to him and here I am after spending the last 20 mins answering requests from leads and writing this post. This is what I mean by a business that fits around my family. Thank fully we have alot of automation working in the background that provides information for my potential new mentees and customers, keeping my virtual "shop" open. I am grateful that I stumbled across this system when I did - now 7 years back. I have grown so much within this time. You may ask why would I do a business when I obviously have my hands so full at times. I have goals for my family that include being able to travel, and that included living on the coast - and I knew that if I kept going with my normal day to day - these new goals would never come to pass. You need to do something different to get a different result then what you are currently experiencing. When I look at some of the results that my mentees are having - @Nicole Masseque travelling so much now with her role in the Gather and Grows business events - all of these nice little additions that make our lives enjoyable... are happening because I have said yes to fit a business into my day. It feels good. It feels right.

Have you had moments when you see an article and think of someone. This was me this week. I saw an article about a Castle in France, where 300 Women had collectively invested in the castle and they hold camps at the castle through the year. Why did I think of @Mark Lawrence Mark also has a cottage in France that he invites people to have respite in the cottage on his property. (Did you know that). Mark has a beautiful community here on the Skool platform , where you can connect with him and learn from his wonderful wisdom. Check out The Peaceful Path

What’s something life has reminded you NOT to take for granted lately?

Do you have a back up plan? In the past I have never really been that person that strategises for a Plan b, c, and d. I once tried to do a live for this page to share a travel experience with you all. I forgot to hit record on the live and I lost the experience (which was a shame as it was beautiful). however I did do a quick live on my facebook business page and I have just had a prompting on fb that it will be deleted from the platform soon - On this particular day - my actions created my Plan B in this case. So here is the video - Today I am grateful that I thought to do this live... 1. as a reminder - we can have a plan b. and sometimes our plan b becomes plan A.