Greetings from California: Things are Happening Personally and Professionally!
Written by Lisa Montanaro | August 8, 2012

Quite a few things are happening to me and LM Organizing Solutions right now. This is definitely a time of personal and professional change, for sure!

On a personal note, I just finished a 3,600 mile, 13-state cross-country road trip with my husband and our 2 dogs. What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience! Some highlights were visiting family in the Midwest, hitting the big city of Chicago (picture to the left), crossing the majestic Mississippi River, seeing the patriotic masterpiece Mt. Rushmore, getting up close and personal with buffalo, bear and coyote in the amazing Yellowstone National Park, hiking a ski mountain in Jackson Hole, and enjoying summer fun on Lake Tahoe!

Right now, we are staying with colleagues about a half hour away from our new town in their lovely home overlooking vineyards and fruit orchards, complete with 2 reside nt goats. Yes, the adventure continues!

As of August 11th, we will be settling down in this cute California ranch in the town of Davis, CA. We will be there for 3 years as my husband, Sean, does a residency in veterinary internal medicine. To be honest, I can’t wait! I am looking forward to living on the West Coast, and in Davis in particular, which is known for its stellar university, amazing farmer’s market (great for Sean and I who are vegetarians), and bike-friendly roads and lifestyle (there are approximately 60,000 bikes in town — 1 per person — and they are used as a means of transportation, not just for leisure or exercise). Sounds like a recipe for a healthy, balanced lifestyle if I ever heard one!

And thanks to the relocation, I have already been booked for a few speaking engagements in California. I start with attending the NAPO-LA Organizing Awards on October 20th (something I’ve always wanted to do!), and then presenting Bold Business Moves for NAPO-LA chapter members on October 22nd and making myself available for private coaching sessions while I am in LA on October 23rd. I plan to see my Dad while there, as he lives in Long Beach in the LA area, and it is his birthday that week! It will be such a treat to be closer to him the next few years and get to see him more often!

Then, drum roll please… I will be presenting the closing keynote for the NAPO-SFBA Regional Conference in Sonoma, CA on November 3rd. But wait, it gets better — I’ll be sharing the spotlight with none other than Julie Morgenstern, who is doing t he opening keynote. Now that’s coming full circle! I heard Julie speak at the little old 92nd Street Y near my apartment in NYC back in 2001, and went up to chat and tell her I was planning to leave my law career and become a professional organizer. She was super-supportive, and we chatted about our shared background in theater. Over the years, she has popped in to hear me speak at the NAPO Conference and always graciously said hello. Little did I know that I’d be sharing the same stage with her someday keynoting for my esteemed peers! What an honor!

The other really exciting thing happening is the rebrand of my business. LM Organizing Solutions will become a division of my new larger umbrella company, Lisa Montanaro Global Enterprises (LMGE). I will run LMGE from the California headquarters that you see above in the photo, and LM Organizing Solutions will remain a thriving residential organizing business in the NY area, tended to lovingly by my hand-picked associates. The rebrand will finally allow me to “catch up” to the more holistic work that my clients rely on me for: coaching, consulting, speaking, training and writing to help people live successful and passionate lives, and enjoy productive and profitable businesses and careers. I am over-the-top excited to launch the upcoming new website, blog, and ezine very, very soon. So stay tuned!

I appreciate you sticking with me as I go down this path of personal and professional change. Hopefully, it will motivate or inspire you to make a change that you have been dreaming of. Let me ask you…. What would you love to do if you had more courage? What seems really exciting? If something gives you some fear and a lot of excitement, that’s the thing to follow! It will make all the difference in your business and life. Check out my blog post all about how to Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!

If you want to s hare any of your dreams or plans with me, I’d love to hear about them. Just send me an email and fill me in. 🙂

Meet the Author

Helping others be the best versions of themselves gets me jazzed!

I’ve worn many hats in my lifetime—often at the same time—while enjoying fulfilling careers. I’ve been a performer, teacher, sign language instructor, lawyer, career counselor, law professor, coach, consultant, mediator, entrepreneur, speaker, trainer, writer, and author. 

I’m an eternal optimist and life-long learner, constantly researching ways to improve personal and professional effectiveness. And it brings me great joy to then pass on the results of that persistent curiosity to my clients and audiences. 

Of all the career hats I’ve been privileged to wear, my favorite is owner of this business since 2002. Why? Because it provides me the opportunity to work with wonderful organizational and individual clients. On any given day, I get to connect deeply with audiences, work with dedicated teams, improve workplaces, watch clients have a-ha moments, and know I’ve made a difference in their lives and careers. And that is very satisfying.