What will this blog be about and what will YOU get out of reading it?

October 1, 2019

Here we go….

Starting this blog has been a goal of mine for a LONG time. To be honest I put it off mainly because of fear. Fear of what will others think, fear of failure, fear of the time-commitment, fear of being vulnerable, raw and real…None of those things have gone away, but I just choose to be bigger than them. So I welcome you with an open heart to join me on this journey. It’ll have ups and downs, pretty moments and not so pretty, but that’s life and that’s what I have decided to share with you.

Before we kick this thing off, I’ll tell you a bit what kind of wild-ride are you in for…

You might (or might not yet) have noticed that the MrsConnor logo is a hexagon, which refers to the 6 topics I will be writing about. During my 27 lived years I’ve had to face quite a bit adversity and I feel I have earned the right to share some of my thoughts about the following:

1. Health

On the 20th of June 2018, I heard the three hardest words of my life- “You have cancer.” The following journey has totally transformed my attitude, perspective, and habits. I have also had a miscarriage and gone through a bunch of other health issues. Although it has been a very tough road, it has also challenged me to learn and grow in ways I never imagined possible. These health-battles have challenged me to be a better version of myself- mentally, physically and emotionally. That is exactly what I hope to give you! You are going to find here motivation to be proactive and intentional about your health, take action on things that you might be scared of and ideas on how to come out of YOUR hardest periods stronger than ever.

2. Food

I have never been unhealthy, but I’ve never also been very conscious of what I put in my mouth. Cancer (and other diseases I’ve dealt with) have taught me to respect my body and its needs. Literally overnight I gave up meat, dairy, gluten, refined sugar, alcohol… anything that didn’t serve me and started learning to cook healthier. Thus far I had been the worst cook there is. No joke! I went from knowing how to put together an omelet, make a sandwich and boil potatoes for the first time at the age of 26 (terribly embarrassing!!!!) to having daily family-dinners and healthy breakfasts in a very short time.  Now I’ve gone back from the extreme diet to a sustainable one and cooking has become one of my favorite hobbies. Bear in mind- I’ve cooked for a year! That’s it! So this will NOT be a “Michelin Star-type” of recipes, but easy tips to help you in your everyday cooking. You will find here my latest experiments; dinner, breakfast, and snack inspirations; ideas for a healthier diet and overall fun, simple recipes to help you think less and cook more:)

3. Relationships

I married the man of my dreams on the 19th of May 2018. He is American, I am Estonian. He is 37, I am 27. I am as white as one can be, he has some Irish, some African American, some Spanish in him. We come from VERY different worlds but have managed to come together as one. We did long-distance (veeeery long- 5000 miles) for a while, lived a bi-continental life, resided in the US for an extended amount of time and decided to build our life (at least for now) in my home country. During 3,5 years we’ve been through a lot and we are not perfect by any means nor do we strive to be, but we put our relationship as our number 1 priority. We work hard to be intentional in it so that we can grow individually AND together. Relationships can be tough and challenging at times, so my goal is to share with you ideas to get through hard times without falling apart, to keep on growing and communicating and just do epic things together.

4. Career

I have never in my life worked a day at a job, that REQUIRED a 9 to 5 lifestyle. Me and my husband both work remotely, run our own businesses and help people achieve their goals in life through coaching. I’ve worked with the same company since I was 19. I cut my teeth in door-to-door sales, recruited and led teams, built organizations and now work one-on-one with salespeople, leaders, entrepreneurs. Having done this with hundreds of people I’ve seen what makes some more successful than others. As I am a practitioner of what I preach I’ll share based on my own AND other’s experience ways to be more efficient in time- and self-management; how to set goals, track and achieve them and how to hold yourself accountable for doing what you know you are capable of!

5. Lifestyle

To me, lifestyle is all about creating good habits. Habits can be our greatest helpers or our heaviest burdens. At the end of the day, the combination of our habits is what makes our life. My goal is to always focus on activities that will strengthen my body and my mind, including consistent workouts, affirmations, journaling, listening to podcasts, reading books, etc. You will find here encouragement to train your body, mind, and spirit consistently; to form habits that serve you and ideas on how not to go crazy under the pressure in the pursuit of all of it.

6. Traveling

During the last 2 years, me and my husband have traveled to 15 different countries and my goal is for the number of countries I’ve been to match my age (or surpass it). We believe that traveling and experiencing various cultures is one of the best investments in ourselves. We have visited some pretty cool places so far and plan to continue with that and I want to bring you along on those adventures. You will get the front row seat to these journeys with travel-recommendations; activity suggestions, and most of the time a good, hearty laugh along the way;)

Now that you know what you’ll get from there, the last thing I want you to know is why this blog name is MrsConnor. Other than it being my last name, it doesn’t really give any idea of the content itself. That actually is the goal. I don’t just want to be the “cancer-girl” or the “cooking-lady”, the “sales-coach” or any other specific label. I want to be me! I want to be Liisa-Maria Connor. And with that, you’ll get bits and pieces of all of it. If some topic is on my mind or heart from my own life and experience, I’ll share it, because the likelihood of you having the same thought or situation at some point is pretty high.

With all of this being said, I just want to say “Thank you.” Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and keeping me learning. Thank you for being a trooper and marching alongside with me. Thank you for investing the time to better yourself! Thank you and welcome:)