Look at this! + Trust yourself

Here it is! I have two advance copies of The Simple Life. It will be published on 25 March. They arrived yesterday so I quickly took a photo, no makeup, just as I was, old T-shirt and all. I'm sure you won't mind. When I have more details about the new books, I'll let you know. This print book is also in ebook format and after this, there are six other ebooks on Down to Earth subjects. All these books can be sold internationally but I don't know the exact details yet of where you can get them. I'll have it for you soon. :- )

♥:::♥:::♥

I get a lot of emails from readers about various topics and also a lot from people who thank me for motivating them towards the changes they've made. In with all those emails are  quite a few that are full of uncertainty and indecision, so today I'd like to talk about confidence and trust. Let's be clear right up front - if you're living like we are, you're living outside the mainstream. What we do is seen as unusual and sometimes, odd.

The light rye I baked a few days ago.

There is nothing wrong with anything unusual or odd but when people who live in a more conventional way start to criticise or question the way you live, you have to be strong enough to ignore them or to stand up for your choices. Confidence often comes when you do something often enough for it to be easy, but when you're new to this lifestyle and you're trying to convince your family and friends, and maybe yourself, that what you're doing is good for you, sometimes that confidence takes a back seat. Of course, you don't have to explain anything to anyone if you don't want to but if it's going to be easier for you, explain it in a way most people will understand. They probably won't understand the need to pull back from spending but they will understand paying off debt, so tell them that - you're not doing the things you used to do so you can pay off your debt. If you want to add anything to it, say you're trying to get healthy and cutting back on the chemicals in your food and your home. Most people understand success when they see it, so if you've got a great vegetable garden, or you're making soap or bread or knitting, show what you're doing.

My new girls learning to eat real food - watermelon and grapes.

This life isn't easy. Often you'll be making what you need, be it clothing or food, and while that ends up being beneficial, choosing convenience is easier in the short term. Look at it this way. Picking up bread, soap, cleaners and prepackaged or pre-cooked meals at the supermarket is easy, but whatever you make yourself will be better for you and will usually fit well in your budget too. Convenience comes at a price because you're paying for someone else to make it for you.

Making fresh cheese from yoghurt, homemade chilli jam and Welsh onions from the backyard.

Given time, your confidence will increase. Trust yourself to know what's good for you and your family. Others don't know that. You do. And when you're sure that living a more simple life will make you happier, when you know that you'll be able to reduce your cost of living and start paying off debt, when you feel that ever-present feeling of satisfaction in knowing you can look after yourself and your family, you will stand rock solid and you won't care that you're not the same as everyone else. In fact you might just be proud of that difference.

There is a very interesting conversation about this topic over at the forum, click here to go there.