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If you’re volunteering, meal-planning and shuttling like mad,

if you’re trying to maintain a hot bod and a clean kitchen,

you might be suffering from PMD

(that’s Perfect Mom Disorder)

As women, we celebrate our individuality.  We have different strengths, talents and passions that make us unique and fascinating.  Then we become moms, and suddenly “unique” somehow means “less than”.  The books and experts all guide you toward the “one right way” to raise your children, and if you’re not following the pack, your parenting comes under fire.  So many moms buckle under the guilt and pressure that our culture puts on us to mother “perfectly” (meaning, by OTHER people’s rules), and they abandon their own judgment and passion as a result.

Perfect Moms Finish Last is about moms helping other moms reclaim their individuality and trust their own intuition.  It’s about illuminating the path for moms who feel trapped in the “Good Mom” box, and want to pursue their passions and interests, but have been told that they’re selfish.  It’s for moms who have a suspicion that being truly fulfilled as WOMEN will be the ultimate legacy for their kids, not how posh a stroller they sat in, or how many after-school programs they were shuttled to.

I wanted to start a conversation. I wanted to hear from exemplary, visible moms who are showing up in the world in an impactful way, leading the way for moms who need to rescued from “PMD” (Perfect Mom Disorder).  I have hand-picked women who I feel have created a lifestyle that allows them to be EXACTLY who they are as individuals while raising their children, and I want to have candid conversations with them about how they make things work, where they feel stuck or pressured, and what they do to stay true to themselves.

• How they decide how much (or little) to work
• How they course correct when they make mistakes
• How they battle guilt and judgement
• and how they fold what they love into everything they do as parents.

Don’t get me wrong!
None of these women claim to have it all “figured out”.  They don’t have all the answers.  But their candor, and their transparency about what is often a hush-hush topic (especially among successful women), will give you so many ideas and new perspectives about yourself as a mom and a woman.  Some of them are even nursing while they’re doing the interview– if that’s not a case study, I don’t know what is!

Who am I, anyway?

I’m Carley, mom to two of the coolest kids I know and a rambunctious puppy. I have a wonderful, tolerant husband who is my best friend and a darn good pancake flipper. We all live in the sunny suburbs of Los Angeles. Did I say sunny? I meant sweltering.  I’m also a life coach obsessed with helping moms simplify their lives, prioritize what’s important and get a HEAP more done in a day.  I eat, sleep and dream this stuff. Mostly happy dreams, except for one recurring nightmare about a pile of laundry that chased me down the street while my neighbors clucked their tongues. (True story.)

If overwhelmed is your default state,

if you’re always wondering if someone is out-mothering you…

get some inspiration from some of these amazing women.

Carley Roney

Wedding Whisperer. Magazine Mogul. CEO Mom.

Carley Roney is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of TheKnot.com, a hip one-stop wedding planning solution, and its sister sites, TheNest.com for newlyweds, and TheBump.com, for first-time parents. She is the author of 10 books including inspiration guides and how-tos for those getting married, setting up a home, and having a baby in “the real world”, including the recently released, The Knot Book of Lists. She appears regularly on Oprah, Today and The View, and has been featured in InStyle, Vogue, The New York Times, and USA Today among many others. Carley lives in New York with her husband and three children, ages 1 to 11.

“The ‘beating yourself up’ thing? It’s taken me 12 years, but I’ve learned that nobody wins.”

Romi Lassally

Dirty Domestic Secret-Keeper. Hollywood Refugee. Real Mom.

Romi Lassally is the founder of Truuconfessions.com, a website that opened the floodgates for moms to confess their deepest (and often darkest) thoughts about motherhood. Inspired by the website, she also wrote the best-selling book True Mom Confessions: Real Moms Get Real. Prior to this, she was the founding editor of the Lifestyle Section of Arianna Huffington’s popular Huffington Post. She is a writer and contributing editor to several Los Angeles-based parenting magazines, and before all this, had a life in Hollywood has a film executive and producer before she made the difficult decision to stay home with her kids and leave her Hollywood life. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children, ranging in ages from 8 to 18.

“I had fun being home with my kids, but I was mildly depressed for much of it.”

Pamela Slim

Business Blogger. Pied Piper. Martial Arts Mom.

Pamela Slim is the author of the wildly-popular Escape from Cubicle Nation blog and podcast and now the eponymous book, Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. She’s a certified master coach with Martha Beck, and the pied piper for first-time entrepreneurs who want to break free of the corporate grind and start their own businesses. She’s frequently quoted as an expert on entrepreneurship in everything from The New York Times to Forbes and Money Magazine. She lives in Mesa, Arizona with her husband and three children.

“It’s a huge myth that any of us have it all figured out.”

Alexis Martin Neely

Holistic-Business Coach. Straight-talker. Intrepid Mompreneur.

Alexis Martin Neely is a serial entrepreneur and a mom of reinvention. As “America’s Favorite Lawyer”, she helps busy parents navigate the world of legal planning in her bestselling book, Wear Clean Underwear! and as a regular commentator for Fox and CNN. She writes a revealing blog called The Intrepid Mompreneur about how she manages to raise her children, build her businesses, and live her dream life, all while “being afraid and doing it anyway.” Currently, as a business consultant and coach, she shows her clients how to build business empires of their own. Alexis’ children are 7 and 10 years old.

“I mostly did not take good care of myself until about 8 years ago. There were always excuses.”

Beth Feldman

PR-Pro. Harried Blogger. Role Mommy.

Beth Feldman is the creator of Role Mommy, an online community and events company that inspires, entertains, and informs busy moms. Role Mommy is full of reviews, humorous essays and podcasts featuring women at the top of their fields, all who are managing to pursue their passion while raising their children. Formerly the Vice President of the CBS Communications Group, where she crafted publicity campaigns for dozens of hit television series and movies, Beth has now launched her own entrepreneurial venture, Beyond PR, where she focuses on campaign building and brand identity for business large and small. She is also the co-author of Peeing In Peace: Tales & Tips for Type A Moms, which offers an unconventional and candid look work/life balance for working moms, and is now a contributor to See Mom Run: Side-Splitting Essays from the World’s Most Harried Blogging Moms. Beth lives in Westchester, NY with her two children, 7 and 10 years old.

“I always joke that when I left [my big job] it became, ‘Sorry, do I know you?’”

Stacey Smith

Role Revisionist. Mothering Ambitions. Hybrid Mom.

Stacey Smith is the founder of Hybrid Mom, a magazine that helps moms pursue their personal and professional goals on terms that don’t compromise their families. Hybrid Mom is not only a publication, but it’s a professional consultancy, a marketplace, and an online community— an invaluable resource for moms who want to grow their business, support one another and make it all work. Stacey has a degree in Marketing and is proud mom to 3 children under 7.

“Maybe once a week, try to shut your phone off and really be with the kids. I never do it, but I think it’s a great idea!”

Jane Buckingham

Future Forecaster. Trend Translator. Modern Girl.

Jane Buckingham is an author, TV show host, and one of the foremost trend and youth experts in the world. As the president of Trendera, an innovative marketing and media consulting firm for Teens, twenty-somethings, kids and parents, she shares valuable trending information with big brands and entertainment companies like Levis, Microsoft, Nike, NBC, Fox and Paramount Pictures. Jane is also a multi-published author, penning the Modern Girls Guide to Life, The Modern Girls Guide to Motherhood, and the upcoming Modern Girls Guide to Sticky Situations. She’s a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, a contributing editor for Cosmopolitan, and a regular contributor to Good Morning America. She’s also the host of the Style Network’s show Modern Girl’s Guide to Life. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

“This generation of women are over-achievers. The idea of asking for help is not really in our nature. We don’t realize how much parenting, in the past, did ask for help.”

Amy Swift Crosby

Smarty Mom. Copy Queen. Means Business.

Amy Swift Crosby is the founder of SMARTY, a community for entrepreneurial women. SMARTY helps small businesses connect, share resources and support one another as they grow and scale their businesses. Her background as a copywriter enables her to help upstarts find their voice as well as big businesses speak loud and clear. She’s worked with Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren and MGM/Mirage to name a few, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, LA Mom’s Blog and many more print and online publications. Prior to SMARTY she was editor-in-chief of Ladies Who Launch, and she co-authored the eponymous book, Ladies Who Launch, Creativity and Entrepreneurship As A Lifestyle. Amy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and one year-old daughter.

“There are definitely things I wish I could do, trips I could take, and casual long lunches I wish I could grab… but that’s not the reality of my life right now.”

Alicia Rockmore

Accidental Organizer. Compulsive List-Maker. Ditching Perfection.

Alicia Rockmore is the “Queen Bee” and co-founder of Buttoned Up, an organizational lifestyle company that helps busy women get more done by helping them organize less. The company currently has over 55 organizational products on the market, available at Target and The Container Store to name a few, and she’s the co-author of Everything (Almost) In It’s Place: Control Chaos, Conquer Clutter, and Get Organized the Buttoned Up Way. At home in Los Angeles, she manages her disorganized husband, her 7 year-old daughter Lucy, and her 88 year old mother.

“I am strong at organizing the important things in my life. I am not an organizational freak.”

Heather Cabot

Recovering Newsie. Digital Diva. Well Mom.

Heather Cabot is the founder of The Well Mom, a truly guilt-free zone for moms who want to spend some of their “me-time” reading thoughtful and inspirational articles about food, fitness, work and life as a modern mom. Heather is a former ABC News anchor and correspondent who took a detour from the fast-paced world of network news to the nuttiness of being a full-time mom to her now 3 year-old twins. She is also the Web Life Editor for Yahoo!, sharing tips and tricks to navigate digital life both on and off the web. She is a regular contributor for The Martha Stewart Show and The Early Show.

“Figuring out what the right path is, is so personal. I could not have told you before I had the kids that this is how my life was going to be.”

Kathy Buckworth

Smartphone-dependent. Celebrated Writer. Funny Mummy.

Kathy Buckworth is a prolific author, and the only two-time winner of the Excellence in Humor Writing award given by the professional writer’s association of Canada. Her monthly Funny Mummy column appears on numerous websites, and she has penned many books that debunk the myth of the SuperMom, including The Secret Life of SuperMom, SuperMom: A Celebration of All You Do, and Journey to the Darkside: SuperMom Goes Home. Now her fourth book, The BlackBerry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood chronicles her life with toddlers, technology and Seamus, her smartphone. She’s a mom of four and lives in Missisauga, Ontario.

“Show me one mom whose plan has gone according to schedule, and I’ll be quite surprised.”

Liz Gumbinner

Curator of Cool. Advertising Defector. Still Figuring It Out.

Liz Gumbinner is the publisher and editor in chief of Cool Mom Picks, a website that scours the web for cool indie and emerging designer finds for mom and child. Liz has had a successful career as a creative director in advertising, and has contributed to several parenting anthologies, including Sleep is for the Weak and 42 Rules for Working Moms. In 2009 she was named to the Nielsen “Power Mom 50″ list of online influencers, and cited on Forbes.com’s list of 10 MommyHood Gurus. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, two children and her English Bulldog.

“They way I look at it is, I’m just learning as I go along.”

Kendall Rhodes

Film Fatale. Hip Video Guide. Visionary Mom.

Kendall Rhodes is an accomplished Internet, television, and feature film producer. She is the founder of Spin and Stir Productions, a boutique Internet video and marketing company that provides their clients with high-impact videos to help them communicate on the web. She is also the founder of SpinDaily.com, the first all-video magazine for Los Angeles girls “in the know.” Prior to these projects, she was co-founder of Cherry Road Films, where she produced features starring Mandy Moore, Richard Gere, Emilio Estevez, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, among others. Before her feature film career, Kendall worked as a producer in television for A&E’s Inside Story and CNN’s American Edge. She and her 1 year-old girl live in Los Angeles.

“I can role model whatever I role model [to my daughter], but I’m not perfect. Her knowing that is a good thing.”

Dee Dee Abdur-Rahim

Prodigious Philanthropist. Legal Eagless. Advocate Mom.

Dee Dee Rahim is a practicing attorney, whirlwind of philanthropic work, and a board member of multiple charitable foundations. She’s the co-founder of Oakland Natives Give Back, a movement that reconnects Oakland natives to their city through acts of giving. With The Future Foundation, she helps to improve the lives of disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Metro-Atlanta. And as a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, she helps inform parents about the importance of timely vaccinations. She is married to Shareef Abdur-Rahim, former NBA superstar for the Sacramento Kings and now Assistant NBA Coach, and they have two children.

“When you’re doing something for you, you in turn make your family life better. If you’re happy, everything else feels happier— your kids, your interactions with your husband… everything.”

Jodie Patterson

Style Muse. Shop Girl. Groovy Mom.

Jodie Patterson is the co-owner of Georgia, a Soho boutique and salon, with everything the selective woman needs for healthy and beautiful maintenance of her hair, body & soul. Jodie is an arbiter of style and has worked in the fashion and entertainment industries for 10 years with clients like Zac Posen, Nike, Russell Simmons, Teen People, Virgin Records and Sean John. At Georgia, she curates must-haves that make her store the ultimate boudoir for the modern woman. Jodie has four kids, ranging from 10 years to 3 months.

“My philosophy has been that ‘everything is everything.’ It is what it is, and then it morphs into something else, and you have to go with that. In life and in business.”

Sadie Lincoln

Barre babe.  Fit Mom.  In Pursuit of Balance.

Sadie Lincoln is the co-founder of Barre3, a family of exercise studios and a fitness program combining the grace of the ballet barre with the wisdom of yoga and the strength of pilates. Sadie spent 10 years at 24 Hour Fitness running the group exercise program and developing global sales, marketing and brand communications strategy. Working directly with the founder and CEO, she helped grow the company into the largest chain of health clubs worldwide (that same CEO is now a co-founder and advisor). Sadie raises her two children and runs her company from Portland, Oregon and BALANCE is a core value of her business, practice and life.

“When I eat chocolate to soothe myself, I just let myself do it, and I don’t give myself a lot of anxiety about it. That kind of mindset just helps. “

Liane Weintraub

Organic Evangelist. Backyard Gardener. Gastromom.

Liane Weintraub is the co-founder of Tasty Baby. Tasty Baby makes 100% certified organic frozen baby food and a range of other food products for babies and toddlers. Their array of wonderfully natural products are available at a growing list of grocery stores including Whole Foods, Target, Krogers, and Amazon.com, and they’ve become a favorite of celebrity parents. Liane’s commitment to the environment and to children’s causes is an integral part of the company, and they passionately support a number of charities with their time and energy as well as financially. A self-taught cook, Liane has a passion for food and good nutrition. She and her husband live and eat in Los Angeles with their two children.

“My dinners at home are pretty simple. We tend to eat good, clean, healthy things. Our meals tend to be very straightforward.”

Stephanie Chandler

Business Brainiac. Entrepreneur-obsessed. Self-published Mom.

Stephanie Chandler is an author, speaker & internet business guru. She spent a decade in Silicon Valley before fleeing corporate America to pursue her business and writing goals and has never looked back, starting myriad businesses and becoming an noted and quoted expert in the fields of entrepreneurship, internet marketing, self-publishing and social media. Her many books include Leap! 101 Ways To Grow Your Business and The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams! She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, as well as Inc.com, Business Week and More magazine, to name a few. She is a proud working mom who says she is grateful to have the best of both worlds: a vibrant young son and a fantastic career.

“I feel no guilt for doing what I love and showing my son how to create a really fantastic life.”

Julie Buckner

Yogi. Politico. Zen Mama.

ulie Buckner is the CEO and a founding partner of InYoga Center, a new yoga studio, boutique, and café that will open its doors in January 2010. She is also recognized as an accomplished strategist and spokesperson for corporations and executives, political campaigns and candidates, and public officials at the national, state and local levels. She has appeared on national TV, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and has been quoted in numerous publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. She’s a single mom to two children, 12 and 7 years old.

“You don’t have to do both [career and motherhood] perfectly. You don’t have to get to the whole list. When we release ourselves from that pressure, this whole world opens up.”

Katherine Ellison

Author. Mythbuster. Pulitzer Mom.

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist, former foreign correspondent, writing consultant, author of four books, and mother of two sons. Her work has appeared in publications including Smithsonian, Time, Fortune, Working Mother, The Atlantic Monthly and Conservation in Practice. In her latest book, The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes Us Smarter, she draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to demonstrate that, contrary to what we all might think or even feel, raising children may actually make us moms smarter.

“I think we all downplay just how much we’re learning as mothers. We call ourselves ’stupid’ a lot.”

Sign up here and you’ll get 20 exclusive interviews with fascinating women who talk candidly about the pressure to be a “perfect mother” and share from-the-trenches tips on how to stay true to who you are. Download them all FOR FREE!

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You can unsubscribe at any time.