Chiczofrenia Stops Here TODAY!!

Laina Turner stops by today to talk about her new book, Chiczofrenia. Now, if you want to follow her tour, click here. You could win one of four $40 Visa Gift Cards. So come on! Comment!!!

I got to sit down with her and here's what she had to say about this book with the crazy title.

In the world of business, work/life balance is a buzz word. It seems so simple. Like it’s just a balance of two simple things. Work and life encompass so many different facets of your life and what you have to be to yourself and to others. It’s not a wonder most of the women I know are always in pursuit of this elusive work/life balance because it’s so freakin’ hard to find, if it even exists.
I believe you can have a good work/life relationship but sometimes the balance part throws me. Though it’s just a word so maybe I’m being too literal. When a woman has a full plate what often happens is we let go of what we should do for ourselves to stay mentally, physically, and emotionally fit.

Why? Because we feel guilty for taking care of ourselves first. We’re supposed to be the caregiver and put everyone else’s needs first, but we must make ourselves a priority and not feel guilty about it and still get everything done. My ex used to say “If mommy’s nothappy no one’s happy” and it’s true. If we can’t be the best version of ourselves how can we take good care of others?

By definition, balance would be a division of some proportion that makes up a whole.
When I talk about this in seminars I get asked a lot if work/life balance needs to actually be a fifty-fifty proposition. I say no. I mean how many things in life get split evenly? Life isn’t a teeter-totter. It’s more about where we each feel comfortable with where we spend our time. Most of us may not have much of a problem with that aspect as a standalone concept, but where we can run into trouble is comparing ourselves to others. How your neighbor spends her time is not how you should measure how to spend your time. Everyone is different and you don’t want to constantly compare yourself to someone else or measure your ability to balance, or how you balance, on how someone else does. You are your own person. You’re not that other person. I struggle with balance, mainly because I’m greedy, and I want to do it all. I try to figure out how I can do it all, but there are only so many hours in a day.

Life is too short, and I have so many things I want to accomplish before I’m dead that I don’t want to let any opportunity pass me by. It can make the frantic pace worth it but can also make you question your sanity sometimes and with that your mental, emotional, and physical health.

You are important! Remember that and show it.

Want the blurb for the book? Here it is!!!
Chiczofrenic is the term for the woman who is purposeful and intentional in how
crazy her life may be. The goal with this book is to recognize many women drive
themselves crazy, intentionally, by trying to be all they can. I firmly believe we
can have it all. A great relationship, being a great mom, keeping a good house (if
that’s important to you), being a career woman, following your dreams, working out, eating right, and many more. Women seem to have the knack for how to manage it all and not go crazy. Women seem to always take on more and more…and are successful at it.

Women have tried forever to pretend they fit in the norm even when the norm wasn’t what they wanted. I want women to embrace that more - without caring what anyone thinks. Learn to laugh at your own craziness and be cool at the same time. Be the strong individual you want to be while looking like a million bucks.

Being a woman is difficult and is a constant evolution and journey of self discovery. It’s not always an easy journey and through the process you realize everyone has her own issues. Her own brand of crazy, which is my own kind of normal. Crazy but embracing it.

You know you want an excerpt. I've got one...right here!

We all know there’s crazy and there’s holy crap crazy. While we may all have our holy crap crazy moments, hopefully, most of us average out to moderately crazy. I like the phrase crazy is an art form because to me it’s about embracing individuality even if it’s outside the norm and others might think it’s nuts. Like everything else in life, you need to excel at your individuality.
You need to feel confident. Look at women like Madonna and Cher. They’ve led colorful lives because they didn’t conform to “normal” by others’ definition. They embrace who they truly are, their “normal.” It has pissed people off or made others question their values or morality, but who cares? Cher and Madonna have the right to be how they want without others judging them. And so do we.