September 2015 Brags

This is probably the latest I’ve ever been for my monthly brags. I was pretty much completely bedridden from October 1st through October 15th due to a very bad case of vertigo.

I probably won’t remember everything but I’ll do my best to remember the big things. Sometimes I don’t feel like continuing to do these brags, but then I remember it’s very nice at the end of the year to look back and celebrate things I may have forgotten, so onward I go. :)

If you’re new to my brag posts, the gist is, around the 1st of every month I write down some of my big wins – personally and professionally – from the past month. I invite YOU to do the same thing too, both in the comments here and anywhere else you want. Life happens very quickly and it’s nice to slow down and celebrate yourself.

Here, in no particular order, are some of my September wins:

1. My sweet nephew who never says anyone’s name (everyone is pointed at or called “mommy”) said “Rachel”. I didn’t hear him but when my sister asked him to repeat it, he said it again. It was such a sweet moment and put tears in my eyes.

Up until that point I hadn’t seen him that often, since I lived cross county, and it was always on a very random basis. I think we have a special bond though and to me, that proves it. ;)

2. I got to treat Don to a NYC vacation. He’s always so generous with me and it was nice to be able to treat him back. We were in NYC from August through September, then I went to PA, then we both went to Wichita to hang with family and friends there. I had a very good time seeing them.

3. I promoted a product called Five Dollar Posts (great product on Facebook advertising) and ended up selling 207 copies. That was nice, but I was mostly excited about the conversions. 34.85% of the people who I sent to the sales page ending up buying which lets me know that people trust my recommendations.

4. I made a big move in my personal life that I think will end up impacting my future for the better in a big way.

I’m usually pretty transparent and would share details but since this affects more than just me, I want to be considerate. The main idea, though, is that I made a huge decision that took a lot of courage. It was a long time in the making and something I know will pan out for the better, but that doesn’t take away that it was a VERY tough call. It took me several months to be ready for it.

5. My social media presence went from a total of 84,605 followers on August 30th on social media sites like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook to somewhere around 88k by the end of September. I didn’t track it (grr) but that’s a pretty educated guess. There was an estimated increase of +3,395 followers/friends/fans.

6. A Better Life ® (my podcast) was downloaded 14,632 times in September. I wasn’t as consistent as normal with my shows so the numbers were down, but I’m still celebrating a lot of listens.

7. I helped refer hundreds of people to UseGearBubble.com. It felt great to support my boyfriend AND share an amazing resource with people. Many people are already making sales with it. :)

(If you’d like to learn more about this, check out this blog post: What can I sell online without spending money upfront?)

8. My Shopify store netted 4 figures with minimal involvement on my end.

9. I put $5500 (the max) into a Roth IRA. I’m proud of myself for my long-term planning! This was one of many steps I’ve been taking to invest into my future.

10. I decided to partner on a business with my sister. She’s making personalized items like stickers, mugs, magnets, pillow cases, shot glasses, etc, and my marketing knowledge + her discipline + love for what she’s doing is going to make a great combination.

11. Every once in a while I get the bug to go on Single Mom Facebook pages and see if my intuition “pings” at anyone. I found someone in September who was sharing how she was exhausted and just wanted to be able to take her kids to the movies. I messaged her and ended up sending her some money which she seemed very grateful for.

My giving isn’t entirely selfless – I’m addicted to the buzz of joy that comes with giving – and it felt really nice to support this woman.

12. I posted about #11 on Facebook and got some very strong hate from people saying I should keep stories like this to myself.

This bothered me a lot more than it should have, but probably because it happened around the same time as the personal item in #4 was going on.

The reason I’m counting this as a win is because a lot of people, both online and off, supported me and told me that my stories inspired them and to keep going.

Sharing these stories helps me feel expressed, so it was nice to hear encouragement. I don’t post the stories to get accolades (though I’m sure a part of me enjoys them). I mostly post because I love inspiring people.

One of my favorite life moments was hearing from someone who told me that he paid the toll for 5 people behind him after being inspired by one of my posts. After we talked a little bit, he sent me this:

I think about that a lot and it inspires me to keep posting my stories. When I first read the criticism I wanted to just delete my Facebook account, so getting that support felt really good to me.

13. It was my birthday on the 25th. I got a ton of love from friends, family, and Facebook (which was especially nice since I was banned last year) and spent the day at an amusement park with my nephew, sister, mom and stepdad. We had a great day.

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Okay, I think that’s it for September. I can’t remember anything else right now. Usually I keep a “wins” file on my desktop but I’ve been lazy at keeping it updated the past few months. I also checked my calendar and Facebook for any other prompts.

How about YOU? What do you want to celebrate from September? Brag on, I’d love to celebrate you!