confusion

Posted on by JustAskMaia

Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday. Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Why am I saying this? Because all day today I have been working on my business. I mean I dove in this morning and went full force. I was setting up emails, following up on phone calls, I even grabbed a new client today! Today!

Today is Monday.

Yesterday, although I connected with some great people, I went to an event for my business. I learned some things and even helped some people. I ventured downtown, something I have never done alone and I showed up to show out! and I did!

Yesterday was Sunday.

I locked my babies out my room which doubles as my office when I work and I got busy, reflecting on what I learned yesterday and implementing some new found knowledge to my business. McRush took over for the day and then jumped right in and helped me out with the consulting firm. We completed our tasks at about 5:30. I am so proud of my family today because we worked together to get it all done, including homeschool work.

Now here is the problem with today and yesterday.. I was supposed to be off. smh.

Of course.

-Rush

them

Dreary days

Posted on by JustAskMaia

Today is one of those days. No, not THOSE days. Its one of those days when you feel defeated but there is no one there to vent to, yeah, those days.

I may not blog a lot about it but I assure you that I definitely have moments when I just want to throw everything I ever worked for in the trash.

As a mom, we give up so much of ourselves until we cycle through and have to either reinvent ourselves or find our old self just to have the desire to keep pushing.

No, I am not going through postpartum depression, we all go through moments like this whether we admit it or not. I’m just going to allow myself a few moments to cry it out and then these emotions can kick rocks honey because I do not have time to be wallowing in sadness or stress. I have too much to do.

I write these blogs to give you a look into my life as a business women, wife and mother. How honest would it be of me to allow you to think it was all peaches and cream?

I don’t even like peaches.

-Rush

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Naughty by nature.

Posted on by JustAskMaia

Why are my children running around here cussing Y’all?

I mean like pros! It’s the littles. They get mad and spew out the “b” word in a hot flash. and don’t let them get hurt. They drop the “f” bomb in a way that would make a sailor proud. I can’t really say I am mad about it because there are times when I want to throw out a few explicit of my own, but alas, here I am trying to set a good example for these knuckleheads.

We are probably the most unholy holy people you will ever meet. We don’t cuss (at least McRush and I don’t), smoke, drink, party, or have unfit company, shoot we don’t even get out much. But not for reason of religion but reasons of choice. The RushBunch are not even allowed to watch television and when they do as a treat it is definitely a G rated movie, okay maybe there have been a few PG in there but you get my point.

Yes, I correct and chastise them but who chose these particular words as cuss words? My mother used to teach us that any word used out of anger or to humiliate or degrade someone was a cuss word so why these particular words?

Behind my closed bedroom doors, I laugh at their ability to grasp the context of the word to use it in a proper manner. Hmm, maybe I AM doing a great job homeschooling.

Or perhaps they overheard me listening to Cardi B.

-Rush

View More: http://foreverinamemoryphotography.pass.us/rushfamily2017

Reconfigure your life? hmmm

Posted on by JustAskMaia

#6 woke up this morning and strolled over to my side of the bed as they always do. “Good morning,” I said. She just glared at me. I found myself in a moment of, do I tell her to say good morning back or just let her be?

And there it is, the point we all come to in life. Reconfiguration for someone else’s gratification or remain true to ourselves. I am sure many of us, myself included, would be surprised at just how much we do it.

If I tell her to say it back, why? Is she having a good morning? What if she is not in the mood to speak or smile or be cordial. What if she doesn’t like me in the mornings. If all these things are so, why should she say good morning? To appease me?

By letting her choose whether or not to say good morning back, I am showing her that she has options. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to. I can hear you guys saying, ‘But it’s rude.’ To that, I ask you to ponder this, and I do welcome feedback, Should you be polite even when you don’t want to for the sake of someone else’s happiness? Sure, she can say good morning because I made her but then, if she was not in the mood, albeit because she is not a morning person or she wasn’t quite having a good morning, the start of her day is unhappy because she was forced to do something she didn’t want to and worse, I am teaching her to adjust her desires to suit someone else’s.

Something so little can trigger your entire day. We are around people we don’t want to be around. We work for places we have no desire to be. We even date people that we long ago lost interest in and it could all have started with a forced good morning.

-Rush

View More: http://foreverinamemoryphotography.pass.us/rushfamily2017

deprivation.

Posted on by JustAskMaia

It is forty minutes after midnight and I am still up! I have been up since 5:30 this morning after going to bed past midnight AND getting up for a 3:30 a.m. change and feeding.

While I managed to get a lot done today, I think, I am so tired I doze off every time I stop moving. But alas, here I am blogging like I have no desire to go to sleep.

I did manage to force myself not to work on anything business today (although I did tweet twice) since technically we are closed today. I am trying to better focus on myself a little bit instead of always hustling and going. I did not do my best today but I am proud to have made an honest attempt. We celebrate the small victories too in this house.

#10 is smiling and giggling but heck, I would be too if someone carried me around 21 hours out of the day and had me latched onto a feeding tube, better known as my breast.

In my attempts to organize our new classroom, I forgot to teach, yes I get sidetracked sometimes. I am sure the children do not mind until they find out makeup day is Sunday which would bump house cleaning to Saturday.

I am in the process of making changes to the business and boy is it scary but it is time for me to take the leap. And by leap I mean dump more money into it in a more strategic manner.

I must admit that now is kind of tight. Its funny that although we do not celebrate holidays, no I am not a Jehovah witness, we still seem to feel the same financial drain as those who do around Christmas. Food stamps would be nice or a go fund me for some groceries. With 10 children to feed and a husband, I could only imagine our bill if we were not vegan. I have gotten to the point where I have a love-hate relationship with food. Mostly, I just don’t want it. I literally cook every meal, except on cheat days when they get a peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a piece of fruit for lunch but even then I am making almost two loaves worth of sandwiches.

I also need a go fund me account for the childrens activities. Ballet, soccer, gymnastics, karate, music lessons, and that’s only to name a few. I think at this point I can start my own recreation center and get funding for it.

Anyhow. Not much to check in, just trying to get a more consistent flow of blogging going.

-Rush

View More: http://foreverinamemoryphotography.pass.us/rushfamily2017

Be BOLD honey!

Posted on by JustAskMaia

Can I be honest with you guys? I know I don’t have to ask that question because everyone who knows me, from clients to friends, know that I am an open book. You can literally ask me anything. I do not have time for secrets or facade. And I can honestly say that I have never said this before but 2018 is my YEAR!

Let me just toot my horn for a minute. I give phenomenal coaching advice and I am an awesome consultant. I don’t say this just because I believe it; because I do. I say it because I have coached and consulted hundreds of people and I, to date, have not had a single complaint, ever! Now here is my issue coupled with my transparency.

I suck at taking my own advice. Like literally. I will give out tips tricks and ideas for my clients to implement and next thing I know, they are calling me telling me how wonderful the outcome was and while I am completely happy for them, I could slap myself for not following suit. It’s ridiculous!

The problem is, I believe, my time. While my clients may be just starting their business and have none to maybe a couple of children, I have 10 so my structure is a little different. But you all know how I hate excuses so this year that is unacceptable. In addition, I am one of those people who hates to delegate because every time I do, it goes wrong. I have attempted at 3 virtual assistants and even hired one on but it just never seems to work out. Can a sister get an honest worker?! But this year, I am going to lose some of these time-consuming tasks and enjoy my business. I am going to shoot my shot and go big! You will be surprised at some of the things I have in the making for my company and my children!

Of Course, this means I will be blogging more so I am excited about that as well.

So share this blog and subscribe and let’s enjoy 2018!!!!

-Rush

View More: http://foreverinamemoryphotography.pass.us/rushfamily2017

Back in the swing of things.

Posted on by JustAskMaia

What does that even mean?

Closing out last year was pretty tough for me, my family, and my business. But alas, here we are in 2018 running free.

I stopped working on Rush Consulting Firm on November 1 in preparation for #10 within the coming weeks; unbeknownst to us, he would make an early arrival.

In that time things got tight and hectic and I realized the time I dedicated to taking off, albeit unwillingly, was much needed.

I have notes everywhere! In notebooks, post-it notes, whiteboards, notes on the fridge, on my phone, and on my laptop. I am finally sitting down and compiling them into the form necessary to build a prosperous brand in 2018.

What that actually means, although it sounds great, is late nights, early mornings, busy days, and long nights.

While on my break I have managed to mentally compile what will change for the businesses. I will utilize Heels & Hustle more, I will be scaling way down on Slips Socks and Bows, I will be pushing my erotica, and I will only work my set hours of Rush Consulting Firm. The children will go on a more structured (un)learning schedule and I am planning a vacation.

Now, while I have set all that in motion in my mind it is time to put in the hard work to make this come to fruition.

#1 has also decided to jump on the YouTube bandwagon and he wants to drag me along with. I do not mind because we have an awesome relationship but I do wonder how this may conflict with my plans. We shall see. I already told him he can not prank me in any way. I don’t like pranks or surprises… or gifts or being put on the spot but that is a list for another day.

I am excited that we have finally gotten our family pictures back but I cannot say I am 100% satisfied so since I am in the business of promoting businesses with my complete honesty, I will leave that alone.

I look to bring you bigger and better things in 2018 with the iRush Brand which include more youtube videos and more check-ins. Greater encouragement and maybe even a short summer tour as requested, but only for the east coast because Y’all not funding us….yet!

-Rush

View More: http://foreverinamemoryphotography.pass.us/rushfamily2017

Happy New Year.

Posted on by JustAskMaia

It is after four thirty in the morning and I have, unintentionally, spent my entire day doing what I do best, everything. 

I should have known the day would end like this.

I took off from working my businesses, aside from a few clients, starting November 1 with the intention to return January 2. It was definitely hard to do since my brand is my life. But, I am proud to say I did it, for the most part. I set up my automated platforms to post for me and I just enjoyed doing nothing. That’s not to say my mind obliged because I had to keep a notebook handy at all times to write down plans and ideas I couldnt wait to implement. 

Today was full of work. I updated my website, reset my rates, created a new speaker sheet, consulted two clients, revamped my marketing plan, made adjustments to my Facebook business page, answered emails all while managing to cook all meals for the RushBunch, breastfeed on cue, spend time with my birthday boy,  and get in some exercise. Now I am here blogging at 4:43 a.m. like my eyes are not yearning to close as I rock #10 back to sleep. 

I am so excited for whats to come this year for my family, my business, and my clients. It is going to be a spectacular year! I hope you all have made progress to see the positive change you desire in your life and if you haven’t yet, its okay! Don’t wait to get started. This is your time. 

-Rush