This made me want to cry. Or vomit. Or both.

I read gazillions of articles about anything having to do with business and entrepreneurship. And I’m especially fascinated by articles with tips on what it takes to be(come) successful and grow your business. And 99.99% of those articles used to leave me feeling frustrated. The ideas it gave me about what it takes to be successful made me want to cry. Or vomit. Or both. Because the impression I got from most of these articles, was that in order to be successful and grow your business you have to: Work your ass off 24/7; Be focused, productive and efficient 24/7; Plan every second of your time (of your life!!!) to be able to do everything you must do (which doesn’t leave a lot of time for fun or relaxing); Be outgoing and network all the bloody time; Be LOUD in your marketing so everyone notices you both on- and offline. And just be LOUD in general; Adjust who you are and learn to play the role of an entrepreneur – bringing your whole self to business is not that appropriate or smart. And not even possible. I’m exaggerating a bit here. But you know what I mean. I have no doubt these things are a way to success. The problem is, that it doesn’t work for me. This is not how I want to live, want to work, or want to be. To me, this is old school creating that needs to change. It’s too serious, boring, and hard. Unbalanced. And lacking heart & soul. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Lots of people, especially women, don’t feel good about this. They don’t want to change who they are or compromise what they believe in to grow their business. But if you don’t want to do it this way…how CAN you do it? That’s a question that took me some time to answer for myself. These tips helped me find my own way in business. (And helped my clients find theirs.) They can help you too: Tip #1: Know that there’s always a way to do it your way Even when you don’t know what that looks like right now. It’s not always easy. It doesn’t happen magically overnight. But you WILL find it, step by step, when you commit to finding your own way. There’s ALWAYS a way to do it your way. Make it your mantra. Believe it. Even before you see it ;-) Tip #2: Be very clear on what you want. Know how you want to work and how you want to live. Know what makes you tick. Know who you want to be, in business and life. Know what truly matters to you. Create the picture of your ideal business, and your ideal life. Once you know what that looks like, you can start creating the business that makes this picture real. Create the picture first though. And don’t compromise on it before you even tried to make it work. (Remember: there’s always a way to do it your way.) Tip #3: Learn to trust yourself above anyone else You are the only one who knows yourself from the inside out. You are the one who knows yourself best. And you are the only one who knows for sure what is best for you. Learn to hear, trust and act upon your intuition. It will always tell you what’s best for you – and for your business.