So many women have fears around money, their ability to make and manage money, and their relationship to money in general, and these fears often serve as a block to truly living a life of purpose. On today’s podcast I am thrilled to welcome a very special guest, Tonia Gaudiuso, an expert in money management and the relationship that women in particular have with money.

Tonia begins by addressing a very challenging and current issue in wealth management and gender equity: The pay gap. Part of the issue is that women need to learn to ask for what they want and what they deserve. There’s a fear of rejection, but hearing “No” means that you went for it! Also, many women have feelings of shame around money, fear that they don’t know how to manage it appropriately.

In addition, studies have shown that men negotiate raises far more often than women; they tend to ask for what they want more often, and if you don’t ask for something you’re not likely to get it. In Tonia’s experience, a major reason why women don’t ask is a lack of clarity on what it is that they actually desire. What’s the dollar amount that they really want? And a closely related issue is, how much do they value their own time away from work, perhaps their time with family? Once they have clarity around these issues they can ask confidently for what they truly want.

When Tonia helps women determine what to ask for in negotiations, she often alleviates deep-seated fears that what they need in order to have the lifestyle they want is too much to ask for, but with all the advertising and messages in the media telling us about all sorts of expensive things we need in order to live a happy life, Tonia helps women realize what they actually need in order to live the life they want, and far more often than not, it’s less than they think.

Next we discuss the idea of the “money story.” Everyone has a story about money and their relationship to it that, for some, plays in the background and we’re not fully aware of it, and for others, we’re very conscious of it, but in either case, it has a strong influence on our actions. This money story is formed in part by the messages that bombard us, and in part from our upbringing. We need to get clear on our own money story before we can understand what will make us happy. Money is simply a tool that allows us to do certain things. What is it that we want the money for, and how will that make us happy? What is our relationship to money? What are the stories that we have about money, and how can we frame them in positive ways?

Tonia helps her clients think thorough all of these questions and many more when they come to her for help around their finances. She helps them with basic knowledge, but more than that, she helps with their mindset, beliefs, and emotions around money. And Tonia shares with us a very interesting way to reframe our way of thinking about money, explaining why money is love and gratitude!

To learn more about Tonia Gaudiuso, check her out at CutChaos.com, and on Facebook.

A few books were mentioned in this episode. Here they are, with links to Amazon, in case you're interested in checking them out:

Women Don't Ask

The Soul Of Money

Think And Grow Rich

The Alchemist

It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow!

Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren’t following me already, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter.

May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life.

Bye for now!

The primary definition of “goddess” is typically given as a “female deity.” But the term is also defined as being a woman of extraordinary beauty and charm, or a greatly admired or adored woman. With that meaning in mind, shouldn’t we see ourselves and other women as goddesses?

To say that we are divine, sacred, holy, does not have to mean that we are better than other women; we could and should see all women as sacred. And we can look to some of the great goddesses of antiquity to see the facets of the divine in ourselves. From Aphrodite to Artemis to Kali and Lakshmi and more, I discuss some of the characteristics of a number of goddesses, their particular talents and gifts that they offered the world as a part of their own purpose, and how we as women have a sacred purpose of our own. By learning to value our own talents and strengths, we can start to see the divine in ourselves and treat ourselves like the goddesses we truly are.

Everyone, regardless of gender, has traits that are considered masculine and traits that are considered feminine, and both kinds are important. However, we live in a male-dominated society that undervalues the feminine traits and overvalues the masculine traits. Plus, women are bombarded with images and messages in the media that hold up a certain idea of beauty that is unattainable for just about every woman, which only serves to demoralize women and make us feel even less attractive, less worthy. But we get to flip that. We get to decide that we are goddesses worthy of adoration and admiration. We have a choice. We can choose what messages to internalize.

And as I often do, I end this episode with Purpose Power Tips.

During this episode I referred to an upcoming retreat in Greece, which you can learn about here.

It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow!

Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren’t following me already, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter.

May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life.

Bye for now!

As women we thrive, we flourish, in sisterhood. We need close connection with other women. For centuries women have worked closely with each other and supported each other, we’ve raised each other’s children, it’s in our nature. And yet, today, far too many women crave that connection and feel so isolated. We compare ourselves to and compete with other women instead of lifting up other women, and we hide behind computer and phone screens.

But it’s natural for women to come together with other women, especially in times of stress. In fact, recent research has shown that when stressed, women secrete oxytocin, known as the “cuddle hormone,” which, from an evolutionary biology standpoint, counters the fight-flight response and encourages and allows us to protect our children and to come together with other women for support. This is known as “tend and befriend.”

A number of research studies have shown that the more close girlfriends a woman has, the less likely she is to develop certain ailments as she ages, and the more likely she is to have positive outcomes from certain types of cancer.

One of the special things that happens when women come together in sisterhood is that we share our truth, we really open up and share our deepest feelings. And when we share our truth, our sisters hold us and embrace and support us, and we really need this in our lives.

Research is clear that the number one predictor of happiness is having close relationships. So, where is sisterhood in your life? Who are the women you can count on, you can open up to, you can call at 3 in the morning if you need to talk? If you’re not sure, then get working on it! Find a women’s group that you can join, maybe a MeetUp, ask friends if they know of a women’s group in the area, go on a retreat with women… Find some powerful container, a safe space for you to be your true self with other women who will support you.

I’ve seen time and time again that women who choose to be in sisterhood accelerate their success in so many ways. Having a close group of women who say, “I hear you, I see you, I’m with you, and I believe in you,” who hold each other higher – this is incredibly powerful.

Practice being the sister to other women that you want them to be for you. Make it a daily practice to compliment another woman. When we see other women being awesome, get in the habit of letting them inspire us instead of feeling like we need to compete with them. Uplift other women, because as we help other women reach their goals, we all rise higher.

It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow!

Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren’t following me already, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter.

May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life.

Bye for now!