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As I was 'out and about' these past few weeks, visiting different networking groups in the local area, the first question that is typically asked is "Who are you and what do you do?" Now, that question can evoke a ton of emotion within us.
“If you ever watch ‘Dragon’s Den’ (on Canadian TV) or ‘Shark Tank’ (on U.S.A. TV), then you know that there are some simple rules for success. I had the pleasure of hearing one of the ‘dragons’ speak at a luncheon recently and want to share his tips for success with you. Jim Treliving kept it simple – which is totally in alignment with my own style – and was very inspiring to all of us in the audience.
I have been doing a lot of networking and public speaking these past months! It seems that, wherever I go, I am constantly asked about my daily and weekly habits – “What do you do on a regular basis to succeed?” For many years, I just assumed that what I did – everyone did! Well, you know what ‘they say’ about making assumptions. And ‘they’ are right! I want to talk about habits today – and what it takes to succeed. But, first, let’s examine what a habit is. Research shows that there are four major barriers to using all of our potential: Habits, Attitudes, Beliefs and Expectations.r
“Nothing is happening!” I have been hearing this from so many entrepreneurs, from all parts of the country. My response right back is ‘What are YOU making happen?” Success isn’t a magic pill. There is no magic wand. It is hard work, a daily effort, a full time job! Here’s what I think is happening for many of you. Keep reading and see what applies to you.
Do you remember this little chant from our earlier days? I can remember, so very well, a lot of the teasing that I took as a young child. I had reddish hair, a ton of freckles – I was shorter than most people, everywhere (it seemed). I can also remember how the teasing hurt. How we feel about ourselves - our self-esteem - our sense of self-worth – our self-image - this is all formed at a very young age. I know, from the many workshops that I have facilitated over the past 25 years, that we, as adults, carry these 'tapes' in our head right to this very day.
Easy? You want ‘easy’? Convenient? You want ‘convenient’? Then you need to get a job! How serious are you about growing your business? Who said it was going to be easy, or convenient? Being an entrepreneur is work – hard work, at times. And if you are one of the many who are out there ‘whining’ about wanting to be successful like ‘so and so’, or wanting to make more money like your competitors – then YOU need to give your head a shake!
I was attending a live event in Orlando recently and, boy, did I get ticked off! At the same time, I felt a deep sadness for many entrepreneurs who were there – all with good intentions – but with very bad ‘event etiquette’, as I call it. When you are invited to someone’s event, it’s their party, people! Unless you are a paid sponsor or exhibitor or speaker, then you are a guest. Which means, there are rules…… etiquette…… professional behavior that is expected.
My friend Kate and I were discussing milestones in life and, in particular, some of the questions we ask ourselves when we hit a certain age. Do you remember the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? Remember the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow and their journey down the yellow brick road, with Dorothy?
How many times, lately, have you told yourself, "I’m just having TOO much fun!"??? I don’t hear this often enough from women – in fact, many of us don’t even make the time for fun in our lives. We are much too serious! Our schedules are full. Business has taken over our lives.
My friend, and new coach, Suzanne Evans sent an ezine before Christmas with a very compelling title: “Gas, Groceries or Coaching?” I have no doubt she got a lot of feedback on that title/content because, just on her Facebook page alone, I saw a lot of comments.
I often encourage my clients to ask themselves the question “where am I stuck?”For many entrepreneurs, the answer can be as simple as ……..’behind my computer’. For others, it can be much more intense and answers can range from finances to networking to finding new clients. I had the opportunity, last week, to hide behind many excuses. I was faced (graced, actually) with the invitation to appear on TV in Toronto, to start work with my new (phenomenal) business coach and to participate in meetings (in Washington, DC) with my new master mind group.
Here we are, at the end of November 2009 already! Time flies! It seems like only yesterday that there was so much 'to do' about the new millennium and here we are, facing 2010 already! I used to set goals for the year but now, as I age (gracefully), I find that I am setting goals for the next decade. One year just isn't good enough for me anymore! I've had some interesting conversations with some of my coaching clients over the past month. In Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving in October and, after the holiday, my clients were sharing their holiday experiences with me.
As a woman entrepreneur, who seriously intends to succeed in business, attending live events is a MUST-DO activity! It is simply the best way to make connections and develop the know-like-trust factor. If you are one of those people sitting at your desk thinking and believing that prospects are going to find you there – well, you are seriously mistaken. You must get up – get out – and connect. There are some things to consider, however, before heading to that event in order to set yourself up for success. These are simple steps and they work.
Are you working in clutter in your office? Have you actually moved to a different working space just so you can spread out, breathe, think and function effectively? When there is chaos on the inside, there is chaos on the outside. For me, I always know I am facing a challenge of some kind when I stop, look around and realize there is chaos in my office. Chaos on the inside leads to chaos on the outside – but the reverse is also true, I find.
How would you answer that question? I have reflected on this quite a bit over the past year as I have made huge investments in my business. I have also reflected on this question, personally, as I have made major changes in my own life. What is too good for me? Now? Nothing! A few years ago, I would have answered this question differently. Life is an interesting journey and I can tell you, quite confidently, that I am happier at this particular stage in life tha I have ever been – both personally and with my business.
Are you feeling a bit jealous when you see your colleagues succeeding in business? Have you been wondering what it takes to get to their level? I know that a lot of people seem to think it is complicated to create a successful business. Well, actually, it’s not! It’s quite simple, really. I want to share a few ideas with you – ideas that have helped me to be on track for a multiple 6-figure business this year.
Do you have a dream – for your life, for your business? I dream all the time – the downside, in some cases, is that I did not put a time frame to each dream. I was in Chicago this week and finally got to visit Harpo Studios – a long-time dream of mine – the sad part was that Oprah was no longer there! Have you had that happen with any of your dreams? The reaso I want to write about this is because, sadly, I have spoken with many entrepreneurs who have not created a dream for their business – let alone their life!
Why in the world do so many brilliant, capable, educated women allow fear to hold them back? I totally understand the whole concept of fear – what I don’t understand is why we let it get in the way of living our dream life. I speak to a lot of women solopreneurs over the course of each and every week. And I have learned that there are many areas in which we allow fear to dominate – fear of success, fear of money, fear of travel, fear of public speaking, fear of networking, fear of conflict – the list goes on and on.
For many people, the day after Christmas Day is often a ‘let-down’. It seems like the hurry, the pressures, the deadlines, the joy, the gifts, the food – all that which leads up to Christmas just goes away after midnight – poof! Well, the very same thing happens in our business. When you have been working on a major project for any length of time and then it is complete, it’s that same tsunami of emotion that hits us.
Do you remember your mother telling you "birds of a feather, flock together!"? She was right! "Research confirms - and quantifies - it. Your chances of becoming happy increase by at least 15 percent if someone in your immediate social circle is happy." - Dr. Mehmet Oz You know that you are responsible for your own happiness. You also know that you must surround yourself with positive, up-lifting, happy people in order to reach your goals and/or to make a difference in life. Yet, the world is filled with people who are going around feeling mean, tired and ugly.
Have you ever worked with a coach and wondered why you didn’t get the results you expected? Having worked for many years as an Executive coach, a Leadership Coach, a Life coach and now a Business coach, I have heard every story (translation: excuse) under the sun when it comes to this mindset.
This is an interesting time of year – a time of Thanksgiving and celebration and early preparations for Christmas, too. For many entrepreneurs, this can be a time of frustration and panic if, in fact, you have not reached your goals for the year. What to do? In my conversations with many solopreneurs, in particular, I have learned that time management skills are an area for improvement. Time management and self-discipline are essential when growing and developing your business. Lack of focus can be the culprit too if/when you have not reached your goals.
It all has to match if you want to live a happy life! In my experience as a workshop facilitator, speaker and coach, over the past 25 years, this is the question that gets me the most blank stares from people! Geez, most of us don't even know what we want for supper tonight, let alone what we want for our lives! Are you just reactively going through life, from day to day, hour by hour, taking whatever comes your way? Is that good enough for you? What lessons are you teaching your children? Have you 'settled' because it's easy, safe and not as scary as living the life you really want?
It’s really easy for many people to fall into the ‘victim mentality’ and I hear it a lot these days! Now, please realize that I am talking about things over which you have control – like birthday celebrations, weddings, the way you run your business and so on. “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be!” – Abraham Lincoln
When was the last time you felt fear about something in your business? Have you ever really thought about where/how that might be holding you back? One thing you need to know is that we ALL feel fear about one thing or another but, as Susan Jeffers writes so eloquently ……’feel the fear and do it anyway’!
“I’ve done everything I can to grow my business! I don’t know what else to do.” Have you ever felt that way, especially as the summer months loom ahead? As an entrepreneur, it’s normal to feel stuck at times. No one is ‘on’ all the time. There are days and there are times when most of us just want to throw in the towel – we feel stuck! But it’s not ok to stay stuck. I find that, on days like that, it’s typically because I have isolated myself – ‘isolation is the friend of failure’.
Do you ever just stop, in the midst of your busy day, and ask yourself the question: why am I do this anyway?! Do you constantly think about the ‘why’ of your business – is it uppermost in your mind. Or, in the midst of chaos (mentally and otherwise), have you lost track of why you do what you do? As I listened to Bob Green on an interview recently, he was talking about what it takes to succeed at weight loss, in order to live your best life. I couldn’t help but relate his comments to what it takes to succeed in business as well. Let’s examine.
We're never too young, or too old, to learn. In this day and age of technology, we have so many choices and access to so much information. The questio I often ask myself is: "Are you really living your life?" "Somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision." - Eleanore Roosevelt
London. Phoenix. Rome. This has been my (travelling) life in the last 2 weeks. Wow – many of you say! How lucky you are, many of you also say. No doubt about it that I ‘get to’ travel to some incredible places in my life as an entrepreneur. And yes, there are many ‘up-sides’ to all this travel and to the experiences I have in each fabulous city. I’ve created this. I love this. There are tough times to this too, though. That comment may shock you. That is my intention. Because here’s what you are doing:
Kathmandu, Nepal This was a new stop on the tour for me and I was excited. I got to take a small Twin Otter plane and visit Mount Everest – Wow! It was a clear, sunny, perfect day for the flight and while life below was crazy chaotic and crowded, up in the air – it was BLISS! We were on Buddha Air – and had the best mountain flight in the world. The stewardess went out of her way to explain each mountain peak, help us take photos and ensure the flight was memorable.
Are you feeling lost these days? Were you ever a Brownie or Girl Guide? I recall that one of the badges I got was for camping – and learning your way around the woods. We learned to use a compass. Steven Covey often speaks about the difference between the clock and the compass. Have you identified the priorities in your life and do you have a life plan……….? Just as important is having a plan for your business – a strategy, if you will. Are you lost or do you have a plan?
I know that many women entrepreneurs work really, really hard in constant efforts to achieve more. I am often asked about my approach to this. The one habit that has served me well, both in good times and in bad times, has been to have an attitude of gratitude. With Canadian Thanksgiving just around the corner, I want to devote this article to the whole concept of gratitude – in efforts to shift some of your thinking to the present moment. Some of my habits of gratitude have included the following:
Are you feeling stuck when it comes to growing your business? Were you feeling frustrated with a lack of revenue and cash flow this summer? I like to keep things simple so here are 60 ways that you can grow your business before Christmas – it’s not complicated but it does take action. You may be familiar with some of these basic action steps and yet you just haven’t implemented; you may not have heard of some of these things – in which case, just be sure to ask.
Are you so bogged down in the daily detail of your business that you can’t breathe some days? Do you find yourself looking at the clock at the end of the day and wondering what you’ve accomplished? Of course you have! We all have – and that’s your first clue when it comes to making the decision to hire some team members. That’s also when the self-talk kicks in – ‘how can I hire someone when I barely have any revenue?”. Right? Isn’t that what you’re thinking right now? I know. I’ve been there.
This winter has seen a tremendous amount of snow fall in our area. I, personally, love it. That is why I choose to live in this part of Canada. I am in the snow belt. The interesting piece in this ‘equation’ is that I have my ‘outside/winter friends’ and my ‘outside/summer friends’ – the same holds true in business – I spend time with different people for different reasons. In business, when you examine your marketing pie, you are probably spending time with different people for different reasons. (You do have a marketing pie, don’t you?)
"DO you want to live an authentic life?" What would it take? What changes do you need to make? It all begins with the way we think. "If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting." You've got to change something for something to change. If you sincerely feel that it's time to remove the mask(s), then you must ask yourself some serious questions: 1. What mask have I been wearing when at work? 2. What mask have I been wearing when with different family members? 3. What mask have I been wearing when with friends? 4.
It’s ok to BE intimidated – but it’s not ok to STAY intimidated. This is an expressio I heard time and time again from my mentor, Lou Tice. And it was brilliant advice. I was a guest speaker recently at an event where I was scheduled to speak at the end of the day. That, alone, could intimidate just about anyone. But, the other piece to this is that my presentation was following some of the big names in the industry. And you can bet that I was intimidated at the start of the day.
Are you hiding behind your computer and thinking you can grow your business that way? Is that part of your comfort zone because you don’t really know where to go and what to do when you get there – when it comes to marketing your products and services? I am always telling my clients that they need to get ‘out there’. Easily said, I know. What I have learned, though, is that they just don’t know where and how. Here are some key tips for you – so you can develop the KLT fact (know, like and trust). People do business with people they know, like and trust.
Have you ever said to yourself, "Someday, I'm going to..."? Three years ago, I moved to London, Ontario from Edmonton, Alberta. If you check the map, you will see that I am now living in the southern part of the country, compared to Edmonton. It is so gorgeous here, that it feels a bit like Paradise to me. There are so many fabulous lakes and beaches, compelling fruit/vegetable markets, incredible bike trails, etc. etc.
I had a meeting with a client last week and the discussion centered around how busy we all are. We had a lengthy chat about some strategies for taking control of each day. Here's a note I got from her over the weekend: "Just thinking of you! Detoxing my office!!!! Big Time. Amazing how in front of my desk (where you access the closet & filing cabinet) was completely blocked with STUFF for over 6 months now. Almost like my road ahead was blocked! Now all my filing is done and I will start to implement my work week.
"There's Support in Numbers!" I'm serious about my living my best life and I am serious about being successful in business. What about you? I am in Florida for a whole week of meetings with my business coach and master mind group.
Who are you? What do you do? These are common questions as we go about our daily lives. These are very difficult questions for many people who are currently unemployed, newly retired, 'stay at home' Moms, and so on. In today's society, we place so much value on what we do - our label, if you will. As women, we typically grow up as 'people pleasers'. We lose sight of who we are, really; if, in fact, we ever figured it out! As women, also, we tend to compare the inside of us to the outside of everyone else. That needs to stop.
Does speaking in public scare the pants off you? Well, then, you are in the majority. Most people have a fear of public speaking and so, they don’t do it. When (notice I did NOT say ‘if’!!!) you are serious about growing your business and getting your message out there in a big way, then you must get out and speak on stages. There are some simple strategies that I have developed over the past 20+ years and I want to share them with you. WAYS TO FIND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
How do we make our dreams become reality? What do I do next? In my many conversations on this topic lately, I have been reminded that I 'assume' people know this information. I have been working with these techniques and processes for over 20 years and it has all become second nature to me. I need to be reminded to share the baby steps in helping people to move forward. So, what's next? Now that you have an 'image' in your mind of what you want your life to look like, it's essential to take action.
This time of year is not always happy and jolly for everyone. My Mom passed away last week and one thing that keeps me going is the fact I have learned to be resilient. You, too, must learn this skill to succeed in business these days. It’s not always easy – so, it’s not necessarily how hard you fall – but how well you bounce – and how well you bounce BACK! Tough stuff happens and you must equip yourself with the mental skills to cope and move on. I have learned a lot from the teachings of Dr. Robert Schuller. I want to share some of what I have learned with you today.
How often have you read a great magazine and realized that every article spoke to you? This doesn’t happen to me all the time but, recently, the issue of SUCCESS Magazine had that amount of great content. I love to read and SUCCESS magazine is one that I would recommend to all entrepreneurs. There is an overwhelming amount of information available these days – it is critical, as busy entrepreneurs, that we stay focused on what ‘matters’, on what is relevant, on what is meaningful. The rest will always be accessible in some form or another.
I facilitated a workshop last week and I can conclude that this was the theme of the day – being financially and emotionally stuck, as an entrepreneur!” It never fails that when you get a group of solopreneurs into one room, everyone has the same thing on their mind – how do I find new clients and make more money? I have the simple answer to that – get out of your own way! Whether it is because of your poor work habits, your conditioning and beliefs about what is possible or the fact that you are hanging around the wrong people – nothing changes until something changes.
To get things back on track, ask yourself the question: "What's one thing I want to have happen in my life right now that's not happening?" What spoke (on the Balance Wheel) does it apply to? Use that particular spoke, and begin by identifying 3 goals that you can accomplish to help bring some balance back into your life. You see, one of the reasons our lives get so out of balance is that we have too much on our plates; we are feeling overwhelmed. The way to take back control is to take baby steps. Set some small goals and, once accomplished, celebrate!
I continue to enjoy watching the Olympic games on TV – winter sports are a favorite of mine. Not only do I get much personal pleasure watching the x-country skiing, the figure skating and the snow-boarding, to name a few of the sports, but I really love listening to the athletes as they are being interviewed. These young people are in a class of their own.
Did you think that, when you left school, that is when the learning stops, too? I find it very sad that many entrepreneurs have stopped investing in themselves and in their learning. The beauty of technology these days is that there are so many ways we CAN continue to learn and grow and develop – and for F.R.E.E. I have an appetite for growth and wanted to share some of my favorite ways to stay current. TELESEMINARS