Archive for inspirational
Can FUN increase your bottom line?
Posted by: | CommentsSome of you definitely know, and other’s of you may not yet, but I am a HUGE fan of Abraham-Hicks. Their work has been instrumental in changing my life in so many ways, it’s more than I can even get my head around. I know that my life is certainly more joyful, more love-filled and more fulfilling as I learn and grow more and more through their work.
The reason I bring it up is they have a daily quote email that goes out to which I am subscribed. It is one of the few emails I am sure to read just about every day…. I relish the little tid-bits of brilliance, and once in a while come across one that I want to tattoo on my arm, so I get to look at it hour after hour and day after day. A reminder of what I believe is ‘real’ to keep me from getting pulled into the quicksand of the ‘regular’ thinking I’ve practiced for most of my life.
I’m practicing something new through their information, and I love it… here is just a teeny, tiny sampling of what is so amazing about their work – one quote that I hope you will allow to sink in, to begin to shift the way you think about your day, the way you think about your business and the way you approach every experience in your life.
“Reduce your workload by 30% and increase your fun load by 30% and you will increase your revenues by 100%. And you will increase your productivity by 10,000%. (If there could be such a percentage.) More fun, less struggle — more results on all fronts.” ~Abraham
Take this to heart. Have the courage to really embrace it and give it a chance to work it’s magic in your life. Lay down your ‘work’ and do something JUST for the fun of it, JUST because it thrills you or simply gives you some peace and some ease. Give yourself that gift, and have the strength to do it for a few days, then a week, then a month and more.
The old saying goes, “stop and smell the roses”… if you don’t you may find that another month, or another year has gone by, you aren’t where you want to be and you have spent all of your time running around after the ‘dream’ or the ‘goal’ of getting something so that you can finally feel happy, or finally take some time with your family, your partner or simply to walk in the park. Don’t wait. START NOW!
As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens as you’re making other plans.” Start living your life today, you’ll be amazed to discover your business grows faster and easier than you could have ever imagined.
Avast Ye Scoundrels!
Posted by: | CommentsOr should I say, me hearties…?
‘Tis that time of year again… Arrr!
Talk Like a Pirate Day is Monday, September 19th!
And, if I had a team of graphic designers on beck-and-call there would be a dancing pirate corn-dog here to signify it’s Corn Dog Friday time too!
Seemed like the perfect fit for a corny duck like me (now, is corny duck a gourmet dog, or… sorry, I digress) – and if you are new to Talk Like A Pirate Day, you can learn all about it here. And, if you need a quick lesson in Pirate ‘Lingo’ so you can yammer like a pro try this from Ol’ Chumbucket and Cap’n Slappy:
So, don’t be a bilge rat ya’ lubber! Grab yer grog and hornpipe and come play with us pirates, beauty! (Translation: Don’t hide out in the dank, nasty under-belly of the ship you land lover you. Grab a rum and coke (or other intoxicating beverage of choice, just not beer) and play with us goofballs, beautiful lady!)
Here’s where I’ll be on Talk Like a Pirate Day… might even go for a dip. Aye-Aye Cap’n!
Putting on your ‘confidence coat’ when you don’t know where the frick it is…
Posted by: | CommentsSome days are just kinda sucky…
Come on… admit it. You have those days too. And how we deal with those days is a very important piece of our success.
Those days can really shake us at our core, making confidence hard to come by…. and, confidence is one of those keys to getting where you want to be – whether that is closing a client or getting yourself out the door for a networking event. If you don’t have confidence, very few other things will fall into place in your world… it seems like the people who have the most confidence have those ‘golden’ experiences, where everything seems to go their way.
What to do when you’re feeling crappy
So, what are you supposed to do when you’re feeling a bit crappy (or maybe even a whole lot crappy), but business, and life must go on?
Here are a few of my thoughts, feel free to add your own in the comments section – always interested in new ideas!
- Get quiet for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths. Think about what you would really like to do for the next hour or two – not what you SHOULD do (stop shoulding all over yourself!
) – what you WANT to do. Give yourself a break and go do what you want for a bit. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you feel your confidence come back, and the inspiration (and desire) to do some more of what you ‘should’ do. - Go for a walk, run or bike ride – whichever you prefer. The process of moving our body changes your physical state and will change your emotions as well. You could even throw on some tunes and dance like a maniac all over the house… whatever floats your boat!
- Collect the wonderful, kind, generous, beautiful and lovely things people say about you – whether it’s testimonials about your work or a sweet comment from a loved one – if you keep a special book where you have those things just for yourself, when you need a ‘pick-me-up’ they’ll be right there waiting… the real challenge is remembering to read them when you need to!
Those are a few things to get you started… and which will hopefully help that coat move itself to the front of the closet, so you don’t have to go rooting around in the dank, dark and dusty back corners. Not much of a coat if it’s down there anyway. You deserve better!
If all else fails…
And, if all else fails, you can always turn to someone in your life who supports you and loves you for who you are. Confidence comes from understanding your value and self-worth… knowing that just who you are is just right and that your brilliance will shine through when you are just being you.
(Here’s a picture of me and my Dad from a few years back – he’s one of those people for me… nice pants, eh? I do like that coat my dad has on… may have to get me one of those…)
When Life Hands You Lemons…
Posted by: | CommentsYou Make Lemonade!
Sometimes things don’t go quite as you plan… and how you handle life’s little SNAFU’s translates into a good small business marketing strategy…
On May 20th I headed to Newark Airport, bags packed, super excited to be going to London, then to northern England to visit with my parents who were headed to meet us at a rented cottage in Clitheroe – a tiny, rural area just north of Manchester, England.
Alas, our trip was not to be… as life would have it, a snag interrupted our ‘check-in’ process. As the interruption hit, I framed the only question I knew would get me the ‘cut to the chase’ answer, “What can we do about this?” (This is a great question when you are faced with something you want or need to work on changing… helps get everyone thinking about a solution.)
The answer? Nothing.
Deep breath.
30 minutes with the nicest, sweetest Continental employee ever, and we had information in hand to help us remedy the problem within the next 3 days… which kind of ruins a 10 day excursion. And, must say, I love my smart phone… quick message and email to my parents, sleeping 5 hours ahead, “We didn’t fly to London,” quick call to a close friend who knows everything about travel, “Can you check to see if there are any other options?” And, finally a call to the car service, “Can you pick us up at Departures?… Yes, departures…. I don’t have an arriving flight number – I just arrived in one of your cars.”
A full 4 hours and several hundred dollars later, we were back at home, ordering a late dinner and trying to figure out what to do next.
We woke up the next morning, thinking we would just resume ‘life as usual’, but after some conversation we decided we really did need that vacation. Within minutes I’d found a great website on house rentals in the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX for short – I’d never been and thought it would be fun), contacted the rental company and made a low-ball offer (heck, it was already Saturday, not likely they’d get anything for the week, so thought it was worth a shot).
Not even an hour later, with the offer accepted, we were tearing around, yanking fleeces out of our suitcases and shoving in shorts and bathing suits. Not even 24 hours from our original ‘SNAFU’ we were on the road to Rodanthe, NC!
So, what does all this have to do with your small business and your life as an entrepreneur? Sometimes life is going to throw you a curve ball… and when it does, how you respond will have a lot to do with your overall success.
You can have your moment of disappointment and grief over what might have been, but keep it brief. Then, it’s time to take those lemons and make lemonade…
So, while we were supposed to spend 10 days in England, instead we had a blast on a road trip, spent the week hanging out at the beach (incredible Sound front house for less than a bargain-style hotel for the week!), and I got to try Kite Boarding – something I’ve wanted to try for years (there’s a picture below of me and my instructor Sarah from Kitty Hawk Kites). It was relaxing, refreshing and a total blast.
Not at all what we’d planned, but worked out beautifully just the same.
Now, take a look at your business and your life… what lemons have shown up lately? How can you find a way to turn them into lemonade?
Here are a few pics of the view, the house and the kite boarding…
This one is from the back deck, looking north.
The back deck at sunset – you can see the walkway out to the sound.
The view of a couple of the kite boarders from the houses nearby.
View of the house from the Sound.
It’s hard to tell, but that’s me holding the kite. Didn’t quite get up on the board during the lesson, but will definitely be trying again – it was so much fun!
Persevering in the Face of Resistance: Doing the Work
Posted by: | CommentsThe Domino Project (one of master marketer and brilliant author Seth Godin’s projects) is sharing a free e-book right now (and, you can get a free digital book (Kindle, Nook, etc.) in addition to the free ebook if you check it out before May 20, 2011) that is incredibly inspiring and motivational. So much so that I wanted to dedicate this week’s blog post to a quote from the 5th page.
It’s a remarkable collection of entrepreneurs’, artists’ and individuals’ stories about doing their important work, regardless of the obstacles and in the face of tremendous resistance – the things that stop most people, most of the time.
Here’s the quote:
“Everyone has their walls to scale, hills to climb and hurdles to leap. We’ve all faced struggles that would seem to be the end of us, times in life when we literally fall on bended knee, certain that we have no more to give. The facing of hard times and overcoming is relative. But I’ve had it taught to me that the strength, the dignity, the integrity and the success of it all is in the attempt. You don’t have to be better than everyone else. Truth is you may not be. But the “trying” is noble.” – Steve Gordon Jr.
This practically brought tears to my eyes (yeah, I’m a softy…).
Check out this amazing free gift, there’s no sign-up or anything – it’s just yours for the taking. It has the capacity to completely change your life if you give it the chance.
From the new FREE ebook from The Domino Project: http://www.thedominoproject.com/2011/05/no-idling.html
