MOMGOALS: Martine de Luna

Martine de Luna is a woman who seems to have it all, meeting every modern mom goal imaginable.

She is a wife to Ton and a homeschooling mom to two beautiful children, Vito (8) and Kristia (2), whom she exclusively breastfed for a year. And while she does not have any household help, she somehow manages a successful online career….imperfectly, yet blissfully so.

Martine is a former award-winning blogger turned digital media consultant for women-centric brands and businesses. She manages a number of online communities, conducts writing & branding workshops, and aspires to help individuals to live healthy, wealthy lives.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is drink a glass of tepid water and then do a “gratitude energizer,” which I learned from Dr. Majdi Obaid, one of my mentors in life coaching: Think of three things I am grateful for, and then declare my success for the day.

My typical day looks like… I make breakfast for the family, then start checking the updates on my business app from my biz partners. I have a short homeschool time for Vito, while Krista plays on her own, then I do phone calls and appointment setting for my business. We have lunch together, or with the in-laws or my mom, who all live nearby. In the afternoons, I typically have business meetings or client work until dinner time.

My roles are… budget manager, professional grocery shopper, official cook, chief motivator!

My goals are… early retirement and to set up our businesses to run on their own, if and eventually our children take over them. My ultimate goal is I really want my kids to find something purposeful to do even before their college years, do it well and help others, so that they can also retire early so that they can live their lives fully.

My children are… my source of grace! Haha!

Before I become a mom, I wish someone told me that… Motherhood would be an uphill climb, forever.

I think the best thing about motherhood is… being able to raise up crazy people who you hope will be good, kind and compassionate when they grow up.

I think the hardest thing about motherhood is… having your heart pulled in so many different directions and trying to be 100% focused on all.

I deal with stress by… going for a massage, a facial, a hair treatment, and getting my nails done, all in the same day ideally, so that I’ll be out on my own for at least a whole day, haha!

I believe that balance is… learning to say ‘no’ when you must, and saying ‘yes’ to things that will actually help me and my family live according to our ideal life.

I admire author, family man and financial guru T. Harv Eker, because he keeps it real when it comes to achieving your dream life. He talks about money the way people are afraid to, and he teaches us how to make more of it so we can give bigger, live healthier, do more to change the world. A lot of people just let life happen to them, not really aiming for anything better, or not seeking to look beyond “trabaho-kita-gastos.” But I am thankful to Harv for having taught me to really design a life I love, not just let life happen to me, not just work because we need to earn, but create opportunities so that we can live well and teach others to do the same, too.

I can’t live without… time for myself, vacations with family, iced coffee, good food and podcasts.

One thing people don’t know about me is… I am also a book author (about to be this 2017!), and a trained track & field 100-m sprinter in my teen years.

My life motto is… make life blissful.

My favorite book is… The Magic of Thinking Big

My dream is… running the country’s first chartered, democratic school, where teachers and kids have equal say, where education is not academic but passion-led/concern-led (depending on what solutions the world needs). This would be a place where everyone has the opportunity to learn how to become an entrepreneur-for-social-good. That, and to elevate my blog to be a hub where women can read encouraging stories on how to be successful in their own right.

I end my days by… drinking tea while listening to meditative music after putting the kids to bed.