Live Your Best Boss Lady Life!

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions.

Despite much of the island still rebuilding after being devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017, we found St. Martin to be beautiful and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  The people are warm and friendly and despite having recently been hit by the worst hurricane in a century, they are incredibly resilient. 

St. Martin is made of two separate countries. The French side, known as the quieter side, is called Saint-Martin and the Dutch side, with more activity and nightlife, is called Sint Maarten. 

We arrived at the island by boat from Anguilla and made our way through customs before getting into a prearranged van to The Belmond La Sammana, where we were staying on the French side of the island.

As it turns out, there was some confusion and the van took us to the airport and then was not immediately able to reroute to take us to our hotel. After waiting about fifteen minutes, our driver and another van driver were able...

First off, let’s start with me sharing what I mean by “power word”. For me, a power word is a word that defines how you want to show up for your life for a period of time. Some people identify a power word for a year, while others may change their power word throughout the course of a year, depending on what is happening in their life. What is important about a power word is that you connect with it emotionally. It is a word that you feel when you use it to describe yourself and how you want to show up in the world.

There is no right or wrong way to have a power word. What is important, is that you connect with the word. You feel it. It inspires you. It helps you keep going and it helps you keep showing up as the person you want to be when it gets hard, when you are tired, when you feel defeated or when you want to give up.

Some people who are chasing a dream may have power words like driven, relentless, determined, focused, fierce or committed. Some...

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions.

This boat trip, my friends, is one for the books.  We went to so many places, had so many laughs and were entertained by the crew throughout the entire trip.  Because with the Billy Bones Boat Charter, we were on a high-speed powerboat, this six-hour trip allowed us to stop at five different locations including having a sit-down lunch at a beachfront restaurant along the way. 

We felt like we were able to do and see a lot in a relatively short amount of time which was great.  While we wanted to see a much as possible while in St. Martin, we also wanted to be sure we had enough time to enjoy The Belmond La Samanna, the beautiful resort where were staying.  To learn more about this amazing resort, check out my blog post St. Martin – The Belmond La Samanna.  

We started out by cruising along the coast which was absolutely beautiful. Looking out we could see Saba and St. Barths islands.  We...

Hi!  It's Karen, from Karen Vincent Solutions.

Have you ever gone to the grocery store hungry?  Yup…me too and it never turns out well. There you go…tip #1, never go to the grocery store hungry!  I will say more about this in the tips section below, but I wanted to just get that out there right away so that if you don’t read any further, you’ve heard that critical piece of advice.

Whether you love to grocery shop or hate it, a trip to the store can result in your leaving with a cart of very healthy foods that set you up for success or a cart with foods that will tempt you throughout the week and make it hard to stay on track with any health goals you may have.  The easiest way to “shop healthy” is to follow the 7 tips below. It takes a little preparation but if it sets you up for success for the entire week, I will argue that it is worth it.

7 tips for shopping healthy.

1. Never go to the grocery store hungry. I will say a...

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions.

Since I grew up sailing all summer, I am always looking for a good boating adventure when visiting warm, tropical places.  Our day trip on the sailboat Tradition to Prickly Pear Cay, one of Anguilla’s protected offshore cays, did not disappoint!  Prickly Pear Cay is a pair of uninhabited islands divided by a narrow boat channel. 

The Western cay is mostly rocky coral reefs without easy access, while the Eastern cay has a large white sand beach with beautiful blue/green, clear water for both swimming and snorkeling.  Our sailing trip on Tradition took us the to the Eastern cay where we enjoyed snorkeling, time on the beach and a delicious lunch at the Prickly Pear Bar and Restaurant. 

We started our adventure at Sandy Ground on Anguilla, which is where most, if not all, boating trips depart from on the island.  We were met by Captain Lauri who arrived at the dock with a huge smile and welcomed us...

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions.

How many times have you really wanted something, had a plan, started…and then you quit? Maybe you started over and quit again…and then again. Or maybe you never started over at all.

Most people can relate to this in some area of their lives. Was it a healthier eating plan, increasing your exercise, learning something new, pursuing a hobby, working on something that would help you get a promotion, starting a business, increasing quality time with your family or some other area in your life? Whatever it was, most of us have experienced this more than once or twice. 

Why do we do this? We want something for ourselves, we go for it…and then we quit.  Why?  Usually it is because we are having to give something else up in order to pursue our new goal.  If you can relate to this, let’s dig in a little deeper. 

Maybe you need to watch less television to work on a career...

Hi!  It's Karen, from Karen Vincent Solutions.

I have seen many instances where someone is promoted into a leadership position and given a new title, however, they are not provided with any guidance and support about how to be a good leader. Often, the skills that make someone successful at their job which results in a promotion into a leadership position, are significantly different than the skills necessary to be a successful leader. 

What is important for all of us in leadership positions to remember is that we need our teams. We cannot do it all alone and therefore, we need our teams to be energized, engaged and efficient so that we can reach our goals. Sometimes I have seen leaders feel threatened if they have an employee who really shines or has a skill set they do not have. This does not make sense to me.   

I have always wanted to give every employee on my team an opportunity to shine and to grow. I believe that “great leaders make...

Have you been eating more than you normally do or eating less healthy foods during quarantine? If you are, you are not alone. The sale of snacks, alcohol and the demand for processed “comfort” foods, like mac and cheese, have increased significantly since March.

Why is this happening?

• Emotional eating. This is when we use food to numb our uncomfortable feelings in an effort to feel better. We are experiencing something we have never experienced before and therefor there is an increase in some challenging emotions such as:
  • Stress
  • Anxiety
  • Worry
  • Boredom
  • Frustration
  • Uncertainty
  • Loneliness
  • Disappointment
  • Anger
  • Sadness

• Less structured days. Work and school help us structure our days, so we only eat at certain times. With so many people home and/or not working, the structure is no longer present, and it is very easy to just walk to the kitchen and pantry and grab something without even thinking about it.

• More access to food throughout the day. This is like the...

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions.

“A settled tendency or usual manner of behavior” is a definition of habit according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.  When we think of the word “habit” we often think of only “bad habits”. These could include smoking, biting your fingernails, always being late, hitting the snooze button, drinking, checking social media without even thinking about it, eating unhealthy foods…the list could go on forever.

What we don’t talk about or highlight as much are the “good habits” we have.  These could include brushing our teeth every day, making sure all the dishes are done before going to bed, putting gas in the car before the empty light comes on, going to the grocery store and buying healthy food each week, calling a parent or good friend each week to check in…this list could also go on forever. 

What is important to keep in mind, is that habits can be both...

Hi!  It's Karen from Karen Vincent Solutions. 

Some people suggest that we make 35,000 decisions per day.  While that does seem like a lot to me, I do know that we make many, many decisions each day. Some of our decisions require a lot of thought and intention however, many are made while we are running on autopilot. 

What is important to remember is that each decision has a consequence.  Some large and some seemingly inconsequential…but are they really inconsequential?  The reality is, the decisions and actions we take each day either move us towards our goals, or away from them and often we are not even aware of this. 

We are also often not aware of the ripple effect of our small actions because when they are small, we don’t have any noticeable consequences or results…until one day…we do.  All the sudden we realize we gained ten, twenty, thirty pounds but we don’t know how we got there.  All the sudden...