In the normal course of living, we sometimes feel "overwhelmed", "burnt out" or "stressed-out". I know I do, which is why I created this special list of things to do when I'm feeling less than peaceful. And around holiday time those feelings sometimes feel even more unmanageable.

As long as you're alive, life will bring us challenges to manage. That's why I created Serenity Self-Care Cards for myself. Really!

My holiday gift to the world? The messages below are from the cards, use them to your best advantage. And if you'd like to download your very own cards I've included a link for you to do that, too!

Remember:

1. We can do something about the feeling we call stressed-out.
2. Sometimes "doing something" looks like
• making a change
• doing nothing
• doing something totally different
• being with someone
• being alone
• being with a group of someone's
• forgiving ourselves for our mistakes
• being thankful that we're alive

Peace on Earth.....

• Ask yourself."Am I being too hard on myself?"
• Ask yourself."What do I have in my life that I can enjoy at this moment?"
• Ask yourself ."How important is it?"
• Ask yourself."What is my gut telling me?"
• Ask yourself."Are my goals or expectations realistic?"
• Ask yourself."Am I considering all my options?"
• Ask yourself."What is it about this situation that I can do something about?"
• Ask yourself."Who in my family or support circle can help me now?"
• Ask yourself."What is it about this situation that I can manage?"
• Ask yourself."What can I change about my attitude?"
• Ask yourself."Do I really want to be doing this?"
• Ask yourself."What needs to be done first?"
• Ask supportive family members for support.
• Trust that you know what's best for you.
• How's your integrity? Are your thoughts, feelings and actions matching? If not, what can you do about it?
• Forgive yourself...being angry hurts your soul.
• Buy yourself...some flowers or send yourself a card!
• Forgive someone...being angry uses lots of energy.
• Happiness is...enjoying what you have.
• Change negative self-talk into positive affirmations...I am ____________.
• Tell someone who cares about you what is bothering you.
• Call a friend to talk or go out for ________________.
• Call someone...to let them know that you are thinking about them.
• Call someone...Go out to lunch, for coffee or for a walk.
• Breath...take 3 deep breaths. Hold it to the count of 3. Slowly exhale. Do this 2 times or until you calm down.
• Go to the movies, concert or play.
• Call a friend for support.
• Find a quiet place to read a book.
• Get a ...massage, manicure or pedicure.
• Connect...Join a club or organization. Volunteer in some way.
• Make a list of the 10 things you're tolerating.
• Read a book for 30-minutes.
• Write a list of the things you are grateful for.
• Learn how to say NO! (without feeling guilty!)
• Do absolutely nothing!
• Sit down. Possibly listen to some enjoyable music with a cup of your favorite beverage.
• Rent a movie that makes you laugh.
• Speed up or slow down. Only you know which you need to do!
• Get enough sleep...take a nap if you need to.
• Exercise...go for a walk by yourself or with someone you love. Do whatever type of exercise you're willing to do.
• Spend 30 minutes doing something you really, really enjoy.
• Purchase something...that you can afford and want.
• Do something on your "To Complete" list... or start a list.
• Find a quiet place...go into the bathroom and lock the door if you must! Close your eyes for a few moments and think about something positive.
• Do something special for someone else...and don't tell them what you did!
• Draw or color. Remember that your children's books belong to them so ask permission!
• Meditate and pray... By yourself or as part of a group.
• Remember...what my life purpose is.
• Remember...that no one is perfect.
• Saying "no" to others often means saying "yes" to you!

Would you like your very own copy of Serenity Cards? Download your own cards at http://www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com/documents/serenitycards.pdf Don't forget to cut them out and put them somewhere special. Use them often! How? When you are overwhelmed or too emotional, just find them. Then keep picking up cards till you find one that you're willing to do!

? 2009 Maria Marsala is a Strategic Business Coach, Speaker, Author and former Wall Street Trader. We help high-achieving, big thinking business women expand their businesses strategically and get results -- faster. Get Maria's no B.S. advice today. Join MORE Business Newsletter and listen to your free business and marketing plan audio. Visit www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com

The term Virtual Assistant (VA) was coined sometime in the 1990's. I first heard the term used by Thomas Leonard, founder of Coach U. The first VA I knew, Staci Brice attended Coach U with me in the 1990's. And like me, she worked for Thomas Leonard. Staci started the first VA school, Assist U, now one of the many VA schools in existence today.

The VA profession was to online businesses what executive assistants or personal assistants were to corporate America. And since its inception, the industry has grown to keep up with all the home-based business models.

If I had to describe a VA, I would say it was like having your own executive assistant in the outer office, except you don't have an outer office! It may be best described as a consultant who could perform administrative, accounting, and marketing tasks away from a clients' offices.

It's not surprising that the VA industry has grown to be so encompassing. Home business owners of all sizes, from solo to micro-businesses to small businesses making millions of dollars out of their second bedrooms, can use help, daily.

VA Positives

Hire a VA to do the work you don't enjoy doing, don't have time to do right, and whatever work that's holding you back from doing what you love to do the most.

In most cases (check your state and federal government guidelines on employees) a VA is not your employee instead they are a consultant you hire to work "x" number of hours a month or on a project. They become part of your virtual team. Remember: consultants can be fired without the HR headaches of an if the relationship doesn't work out

If you live in a town or city where the residential codes won't allow you to have employees, you CAN hire a VA! On the other hand, you can also choose to hire a VA who lives in your community so that she/he can do tasks at your office when needed, too, like filing, or getting you ready for a speaking engagement or updating your database with business card information.

Each VA has a different skill-set to provide you and like every hiring, it?s imperative to create a job description. Also consider creating a wish list of tasks you want your VA to do now or in the future is extremely important in creating your Virtual Team.

You purchase a VA's time on a retainer basis, hiring them for a certain amount of hours a month. Most VAs will allow you to test drive them for a short time of 1-3 hours.

VA Negatives

There are some VAs that profess to do it all. And like other business owners, if they are doing it all, without their own staff, well, you know the saying, no-one can do it all really well. Nor does every VA like everything they do.

For VAs working on their own, there are just so many clients they can handle. I've seen VAs that took on too many clients and couldn't keep up with their work load. On the other end of the scale, I've worked with a few VAs that lost their one and only client and were left out in the cold.

Some VA's work individually and others may be part of a VA company. VA companies work differently. Sometimes the company owner "manages the project" by dishing out the work, then checking it before it's sent to you. Other times the owner will have, you work with different VAs in their pool. You need to determine your boundaries and do what you feel is best for your company.p>

VAs are people too, and you may not get along with every VA. Try to find a VA who understands you and how you like to work. It's not only OK to shop around you should shop around.

Hiring a VA

Below is a list of things to consider when hiring a VA:

1. It is quite likely a VA will not live near their clients; although some do live in the same city or state.

2. A VA will work with you when you need extra help even though you might not know how long you need that help. But expect to pay more for "per-hour" hires, than you would pay them on a retainer basis. Rush fees may also apply.

3. A VA might be the missing link in your business, and can be your eyes or ears on the Internet, even doing that time-consuming social networking for your company.

4. A VA can act as a sounding board for your ideas or plans.

5. They can coordinate your workflow, and your schedule.

6. A VA is an independent contractor, consultant, and a business owner, too. Most likely you'll need a W-9 form from them, and will be sending them a 1099 at year end.

7. You'll be charged extra for things that will cost them money, such as long distance phone calls they make for you, mailings, software, supplies, stamps etc. You'd expect that from a regular employee though.

8. Expect to sign a written agreement with your VA on the tasks they'll perform and time they'll spend on your work.

9. VAs may specialize in certain areas or they may generalize. They could be former CPA's, web designers, coaches, executive assistants, personal assistants or they may specialize in the type of client, preferring to work for real estate agents only or specifically for attorneys, etc.

10. A VA's hourly rates range from $25 to $175 per hour, depending on the services they are hired to perform. That may sound expensive, but remember, you are only paying for the time worked on a specific job. You are not paying for vacation time, sick leave, or employee taxes.

Hire a VA to be on your Virtual Team today and start focusing on the rest of your business.

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?2009 Maria Marsala, Strategic Business Advisor, Speaker, Author and founder of Elevating Your Business, helps high-achieving women who own professional service businesses to increase the value of their company by improving its systems, profitability, and performance. Will you be next? Visit www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com today!