I have a new friend to share with you today. She is Chanelle Neilson and she is a life coach who helps women and particularly moms with a side hustle who want to organize their day and find balance between family and personal goals. As a mom of 5 kids, Chanelle knows that motherhood has its challenges—that’s why she is passionate about helping moms simplify so they can prioritize what matters and define success for themselves. She is the former host and creator of the popular Moms Who Know Podcast and the author of Parents Who Know, which has been translated into Chinese. LOOK! I arrived home and found a small package from Chanelle. She sent me her favorite dark chocolate bar. You can learn more here. When I got home today from a long drive and found a package from Chanelle—with dark chocolate inside—I knew that I had done a very good thing in bringing her on the show, ha! But, in all seriousness, I’m a BIG champion of the recommendations that Chanelle makes during our conversation. Here are a few that really jumped out at me … You must begin any endeavor—especially where balance is important to you—with your own declaration and definition of what success looks like! Get rid of distraction. When you are working, work. When you are with your family, be with your family. Chanelle uses the Facebook News Eradicator which replaces your entire news feed with an inspiring quote—how cool and freeing is that? Create memorable moments with children and family members. No one can realistically be available to others 24-7, but you can in very intentionally ways create focused moments that send the message, “YOU matter to me!” “When juggling as much as you are, remember that some balls are glass and some are rubber. You can’t drop the glass balls. ” — Nora Roberts Of course the main take away—that I can’t seem to take away enough is that I need to take care of me first. Always. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that actually always and empowers me to be more generous and giving and better equipped to do the things I’ve been called to do. The things that I’m passionate about. I think after listening you’re going to want to get to know Chanelle even more and you can do that best over on her Facebook page, Chanelle Neilson Coaching. Chanelle also mentioned Jessica Jackson’s podcast, Thriving in Motherhood which I will be checking out very soon!