Just think about all the blood, sweat and tears that went into creating your book. The sleepless nights as you wrestled with the revisions and the breathless anticipation as you waited to see your book cover. Let’s not forget, the proud moment when you first held a copy of your book in your hands or saw it for sale on Amazon and B&N.

You may think your roller coaster ride is over but believe it or not, the journey with your book is not even close to being finished. Thanks to the internet and social media, you’ll be doing marketing and promotions for your book before, during and after, long after, publication. (Read more)

Whatever dreams, hopes, and waist-size you had has fallen by the wayside as you’re consumed with potty training, milestones and the hunt for the perfect preschool.  How much of your dreams do you sacrifice for the needs of your family?  Of course, being moms, there’s pre-bundled guilt that accompanies those thoughts – am I neglecting my family, not spending enough time with the kids, etc.

Let’s face it, as exhilarating and life changing as motherhood is, sometimes it’s just not enough (or maybe it’s too much). Of course, it goes without saying many women (show offs) have been able to juggle the two with panache but I believe there are just as many who are struggling to find a balance, a sense of purpose outside of motherhood.

And in the book The Mothers of Reinvention: Reclaim your Identity, Unleash Your Potential, Love Your Life, by Jennifer Pate and Barbara Machen (also known as Jen and Barb), not only do they assure you that you’re not alone and it’s ok to feel this way, more importantly, they give you a plan of action to reconnect with your goals and dreams and incorporate them into your life.

Inspiring to say the least!

“I think we have a hard time with the role of [what] being a good mom is,” says Barb via telephone, “and I think we need to realize that being a good mom means, as Jen said, having something for yourself, it makes you a better wife, it makes you a better mother and this whole notion of giving it all to your family is really, it’s a crock, it’s not healthy. It doesn’t make you a good mom, it makes you a mean and angry mom.”

Jen and Barb met like many moms do, in some type of kid-related activity. In their case, it was eight years ago in a Mommy and Me class for their toddlers and they quickly connected. Both women call Los Angeles home, but Jen is a Chicago transplant and Barb migrated south from northern California.

Through their friendship the idea for the web series Mom Life was born.  Their web series covers everything from cooking to lifestyle to health and beauty, all with the mom in mind – single or married. Coke recently came on board as a sponsor and 92 episodes later, they’ve now birthed a book giving mothers a blueprint on how to reinvent their lives.

Creating the book seems like it would be a natural progression. They spent a year writing, talking to other women, going through the experts they had had on previous shows and looking for those life-changing moments.

“We really started talking about the steps and the process we took to reinvent ourselves and the amazing part for me was that when we reached out to these other women for their stories, we learned they had gone through a similar process and we were like wow! There are real steps to take, there is a real format to reinventing yourself,” remember Jen.

The result is a book that is part inspirational, part self-help and part workbook; a recipe for success when used correctly. I love the chart for age-appropriate tasks for kids. It’s a reminder that kids are very capable of helping out and that chapter guides you into creating a dialogue with your family to make the reinvention process a joint venture.

There are also other chapters on building your village, getting your house in order and putting that much needed pep back into your step.  There’s no magic bullet or “secret” to attaining the life you want to live. What Mothers of Reinvention shows us is that if we roll up sleeves, make the time, and put in the work, it can happen. There are examples through out the book of women who made the leap of faith and landed in the middle of their dreams.

If there’s one take away from the book, it’s “to have something that their [women] are passionate about in their lives, outside of the role of a mother and a wife… to have a piece of the pie for themselves,” says Jen.

Bon appetit, Mama!

Sibylla Nash is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and author of the novel Bumped.

While this piece is all about living life on your own terms, finding passion and taking control of your life, I need to start with reality. While I hope that anyone can take away something from my little pearls of supposed wisdom, this is geared towards Moms: women who have more than just themselves to deal with.

When you think “living life on your own terms,” you start to imagine a fantasy. “While I find my passion and bliss, my family is so going to love the new me so much that life is just going to fall into place. My happiness will be so contagious that everyone around me will change.” WRONG! You cannot change anyone else. Hopefully your attitude can affect others around you, but you cannot actually change anyone.

Another fantasy, “living life on my own terms will take away all the financial stress in my life.” WRONG. While you may find a job that you are excited about and make some money, it doesn’t mean that the realities of trying to raise a family in today’s economic times are going to change or that you are going to win the lottery. It could take away some of the financial stress (mine did), but once again, let’s deal with reality.

You are probably wondering then, how is living life on my own terms actually going to help me and how do I do it anyway? Okay, let’s roll up our proverbial sleeves and get started. Our goal is a redirect if you will; subtle changes that will lead to a more fulfilled you.

I want to take you back to a time in my life about 6 years ago. At that time I had a 2-year old girl and a 3-year old boy. I put my career on hold to be a stay-at-home Mom and I had temporarily moved from Los Angeles with my husband to North Carolina for his job. This was a difficult time for me. I do not regret one second of staying home with my children until they were in school (I will never get that time back) and I do not regret for one second traveling to wherever my husband needed to go for work (it is important to stick together as a family), but I was lost. I gave up anything and everything for myself. In retrospect, it didn’t have to be this way. I was living a life that I thought I was supposed to live: loving wife (not always so loving, but I tried), doting mother (I actually did that maybe too much), and home-maker (always a hot meal, but not always with a smile on my face). Once again, I am so glad I made those choices, but if only I had known then what I know now.

I know that so many of you can relate that all it takes to be a mom and wife (or single mom for that matter without support of a husband). I know that all of you understand the there are only so many hours in a day and with all that we have to give to others, there just isn’t time to give back to ourselves. That needs to change. Right now. I am going to tell you how.

10 tips to living life on your own terms:

1. See The Signs. Are you stressed? Impatient? Feeling like you lost your identity?

2. Find your passion: What do you love to do? What would you do for free? What did you used to make time for in your life?

3. Make the time: Look at how your day is structured. Where can you find some wiggle room for YOU? What can you say “no” to in your life? Whether it is an hour a week or 8 hours a day, find the time. Now!

4. Strategize: Who can you delegate some of the tasks in your life to? Are you looking for a job, a hobby? Get your plan together

5. Get your spouse on board (if you have one): Time to let your spouse know that you need something for yourself. You may get some resistance (change often brings that about), but let him (or her) know this is going to bring you more happiness and therefore you will be a better wife and mother.

6. Get your kids on board: If your time for “you” is going to affect your time with your kids and they are old enough to understand, let them know that mommy is a person and that she needs something for herself. They may not like it, but you are showing them happiness in adult life. A lesson that you cannot teach without actually living it.

7. State your claim: Don’t say, “I am thinking about going to a painting class to start painting,” say, ” I am an artist!”

8. Reach out now: Do you have a friend you can buddy up with if you are thinking of starting a business? Are you looking for a job and know a friend of a friend who is in that field? Call! Email? Facebook? Reach out to your “village.” You may be surprised how big it is.

9. Try, try and try again! Do not give up. What you think you wanted may change and that is okay. As long as you are looking for something that fuels you and that you are passionate about, you are living life on your own terms.

10. You’re on your way: You are doing it! You are starting to live life on your own terms; finding something you are passionate about and applying it to your every day life. You may find that you have a just a little more “pep” in your step.

For more on living life on your own terms, please check out my new book, “The Mother’s of Reinvention” Reclaim your identity, Unleash your potential, Love your Life!

© 2012 Jennifer Pate, co-author of The Mothers of Reinvention: Reclaim Your Identity, Unleash Your Potential, Love Your Life

From Oprah Winfrey to Steve Jobs to J.K. Rowling, entrepreneurial success stories are the stuff from which American dreams are made. Much like these famous names, the six self-made millionaires we’re profiling have one thing in common: Thanks to hard work, determination and sound advice from mentors, friends and family, they’ve been able to build thriving businesses from the ground up.

The rise to the top can be bumpy. In fact, some of the entrepreneurs we talked to were homeless during the early years of their companies. That’s why they all agree that it’s important to help others in need. All, including Radio One’s Catherine L. Hughes and Life is good co-founder Bert Jacobs, give back to the community by volunteering time, donating to charitable organizations or running their own charities.

Learn how these six diverse entrepreneurs — from a t-shirt designer to a media mogul — turned meager beginnings into multimillion-dollar success and what advice they offer to budding business tycoons who hope to follow in their footsteps.  Read full story here.

“I just started making up a song to distract him,” remembers Georges.  It was a wet and dreary day in 2006, they were running late and the last place he wanted to go was school. She sang a little melody encouraging him to look forward to the weekend.  It stopped his tears and was the genesis for what was to become the Kidz MusiQ Club album.

Singing comes naturally to Georges. She grew up in southern California in a house full of music. From gospel to jazz, it was always in the air. She knew she wanted a career in music and she found one. She spent nearly a decade seeing the world and performing with Ray Charles as a Raelette.

After becoming a parent, Georges knew she wanted to create music that would not only appeal to kids, but to the caregivers who would be stuck listening to the songs…over and over again.

“I wanted to simply have a moment of peace while driving with my pre-schooler, but also be able to share in his musical experience and enjoy the journey,” says Georges.

After the reaction of her son to “The Calendar Song,” which she recorded on her cell phone, she knew she was on to something.

Following in the footsteps of many entrepreneurial mommas before her, most notably Baby Einstein’s Julie Clark, Georges added a few more hats to her wardrobe: executive producer, conductor, caterer, talent wrangler and illustrator as she wrote and produced her first album.  Georges made the endeavor a family affair, enlisting the help of her musician husband, trombonist DuPor Georges and their son, Alston.

The resulting album, Kidz MusiQ Club: Jazzing Up Learning released in December 2010, combines six jazzy up-tempo tracks sung by Georges and a group of DC-area children ranging in ages from six to ten. Her slogan?  Kidz + music + education = Jazzing Up Learning!
Think: Kidz Bop with original music and an educational component.

Georges’ goal was to help foster early learning in infants through first graders through music. Fun and catchy titles such as, “Junk Food Blues” and “Choo-Choo Cha-Cha” are addictive and invite you to sing along.

Songs like “The Calendar Song,” introduces the days of the week, sequential time and encourages group play, while “The Spanish Numbers Song” teaches kids how to count from one to ten in Spanish and develop or improve listening skills through call-and-response.

“Kids learn through music, and music that’s fun cultivates the mind,” says Georges, who researched early-childhood learning and music education in order to create the album. Being a big fan of jazz, she also wanted to instill an appreciation of jazz in children and introduce them to acoustic music, which can be overshadowed in an over-synthesized, pop-infused world.

Georges says the “Q” in Kidz MusiQ Club, available through many online outlets, comes from her desire to produce quality music for children. Necessity may have been the spark to kick the project into action, but it was a labor of life that carried it through. Parents and educators alike will find themselves humming along to the melodies of Kidz MusiQ Club.

Has your life felt a little empty since Oprah went off the air?  Miss her daily doses of advice and empowerment tips?  Well, cheer up, Oprah’s determined for you to “live your best life.”  She’s teaching a new life class:

Oprah is back on the air starting October 10 – only on OWN! Oprah’s Lifeclass on weeknights at 8/7c. Oprah’s Lifeclass – all of Oprah’s lessons, revelations and aha moments over the past 25 years broken down to help make your life better, happier, bigger, richer – more fulfilling. Oprah.com will have an online class for an even more enriching experience.

Sign up for the class here and also receive a free journal.