Why You Should Burn Dinner & Fail Your Next Launch

Dinner time has always been a sacred ritual for me. Just about every night of my childhood, my mother had a beautiful meal on the table, candles lit and relaxing music on the stereo, as we sat around the table, saying grace and reconnecting.

Dinners like these have always signified a feeling of home and love for me. They are everything I've ever wanted to create for my own family.

The only wrinkle is that, as a mother to a toddler, a business owner, a wife, pet owner, etc....I cannot seem to get out of my own way to make this happen with one iota of the elegance that my mother did. 

The typical scene over here looks like our daughter running around the living room with her fork in the air, screaming "Monkey! Peppa! Monkey, ELMOOOOOO!". The cat is undoubtedly on the stove sneaking nibbles from the pan and our two dogs are battling underneath the table for any little crumb that bounces in their general direction.

Mayhem would, most certainly, be an understatement.

The idea that I am even getting dinner COOKED over here, rather than out of a Chipotle bag or a mac & cheese box is revolutionary.

There are nights like tonight; however, where for a solid :30 seconds, we reach momentary levels of straight-up BLISS.

We say our grace, we hold hands and we giggle as we recite all of the things we are grateful for together.

Our girl takes her first bite of her dinner off her very own plate, closes her eyes and sings out, "Yummmmm!!!!"

The Windham Hill Artists track playing on the speakers is an iconic selection from my childhood and I begin to feel tiny tears of joy welling up in my eyes as I take a few bites from my salad in its very own salad plate.

We've got cloth napkins, real silverware, votives lit and we are doing it.

We are together.

We are happy and for a beautiful, blissful :30 seconds, I feel a sense of sweet joy that embodies everything I've ever wanted in my life wash over me.

And then...

Those :30 seconds are up and she's throwing her next 3 bites on the floor and the dogs are scrambling to recover them. The cat is knocking a plate off the counter and it shatters on the floor and my husband simultaneously realizes the salad dressing he just poured all over his salad says "Expiration date 1/14/15" not 11/14/15.

Now this is real life, my friends. 

This is what life looks like over here for me and my mamapreneur posse.

The to-do lists are huge and the projects and dreams are even bigger.

And that giant wall of "stuff" that has to get done in order to reach our goals feels impossible most days.

And naturally, there are others out there, who, like my mother, make it look easy with their snazzy opt-ins and slick websites and effortless email humor.

They make it all look so simple and of course, this instantly makes us begin to question ourselves and our own abilities. 

These women are a direct reflection of what makes us uncomfortable about ourselves and sometimes, their sparkle makes us want to throw in the towel (and all of the recipe books in the recycling bin, too).

But, here's what I beg of you...

Please don't stop trying. 

Please, don't give up on those dreams of candlelit dinners and wildly successful product launches and best-selling, world-changing books.

Please don't give up on your goal of hitting big stages and leading movements to help others.

And here's why...

It matters.

What you have to say matters.

And so do your dreams.

And there are former versions of you out there that are waiting for what you have to share with them. 

My mom wasn't an amazing chef overnight. 

And Marie Forleo's first episodes of MarieTV weren't anywhere near as sparkly as they are now.

But here's what matters most of all...

They didn't give up.

My mom and Marie. 

They kept going.

They worked through the burnt dinners and the failed launches to honor their bigger why. 

They believed in their purpose so hard that they kept on going. 

And you and me and Marie and my mom...

We're all the same. 

We may be at different points on our journeys, but we all started at our own version of the beginning. 

We all started with a recipe or a how to- video and a vision.

Keep going.

I believe in us. 

PS - Stay tuned over here for my upcoming release of my latest program, Brand You Breakthrough, a step-by-step guide to helping you discover exactly how to design, debut and position your brand to connect with your dream clients (and a whole lot more). The cart opens on November 2nd!