I just read a great post today from The Mama Bee, a really smart blog that I hope all of you check out.  The topic was on child development and parent interaction.  One research found that educated, affluent working moms invest more in their children’s development than less affluent moms.  It’s not just that they have the money and therefore will spend it.  It’s that they actively choose to invest the funds in their kids versus other things

This made me think not only about what a positive force working moms are in today’s society, but also about our attitudes towards money in general.  I remember years ago attending a seminar on money management.  The person on stage asked the audience how many people wanted to have $1 million.  Everyone raise their hand.  Then the person asked, how about $5 million?  All the hands stayed up.  When he asked, “how about $10 million?”, hands started to go down. “20 million?”  More hands down.  By the time he got to $40 million only a few people, out of more than 500, had thier hands up.  Then the facilitator asked a question I will never forget - “Why don’t you want $40 million?  Do you think it’s more than you need?  How much more good do you think you could do in the word if you had $40 million?”

That experience totally turned my beliefs about money - it’s not OK for me to just strive to have enough so me and my famiy are comfortable - the more I have, the more I can do with it.  I immediately started thinking bigger and the impact I could have.  My book was born, and even bigger plans are in the works!  After all the vacations, new clothes, and multiple homes, what would you spend your $40 million on?

I got a big wakeup call today when I read Renee Trudeau’s post on creating an intentional summer on her blog, The Journey.  She asks a simple question - what do you want your summer to be like? 

That’s when it hit me.  The summer?  Is it summer already?  Good grief!  I am a business owner, master of my own destiny and manager of my own calendar… right?  So what’s with all these hectic days and crammed schedules?  Do I even have time to figure out what I want?

Luckily, for me, my kids, and my hubby, Renee’s post really hit me.  I CAN decided what I want and create a summer of intent.  I will be working on my list of things I want from this summer - not a to-do list, mind you, but what I want to create - this evening.  It’s going to be filled with SLOW times with my kids, reconnecting with friends, and enjoying this wonderful place where I live.  It will also consciously plan out what I need to do these next couple of months to make the rest of the year truly successful for my book, My Mommy’s on a Business Trip, and it’s soon-to-be-released partner, My Daddy’s on a Business Trip.  What can I do in the next week to kick-start this summer of intention?  I’ll let you know.  What about you?  How are you going to design your summer?