Feb 26th
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What is transformation? And more importantly, how does it happen? The dictionary tells you that transformation is a change in form, appearance, nature, or character. Peter Senge, a faculty member at MIT and an expert on learning organizations, states, “as W. Edwards Deming says, nothing happens without “personal transformation.” And the only safe space to allow for this transformation is a learning community.”
On the final call of a four week Authentic Life Institute class, one participant, who had actively engaged with the reading material and phone calls, said that the course had transformed her. It was a powerful statement, you could tell it was true, and it filled me with gratitude that this learning community we’ve formed is making a true difference by creating the safe (and fun!) space for transformative experiences.
I think that, while transformation often happens subtly, so quietly that you don’t even notice, there ARE times when you are acutely aware that something in your mind has just shifted in a way that is more expansive, in a way that affirms your powerfulness, in a way that feels so true you wonder how you ever didn’t know this.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
While I don’t think you can “do” transformation in a step-by-step linear process, I can give you some ideas on how to cultivate the fertile soil of your mind, so you are ready to experience transformation when a new, expansive seed thought is planted.
1. Participate in supportive groups. As in introvert, I know this can be a challenge and a stretch. I’ve gone long periods of time without being in groups and have found that when I do, I begin to wither. You need to be listened to deeply and without judgment. This process allows you time and space to think. And in the right groups, you are asked questions to help you remove mind blocks and think of things that were unimaginable to you before.
2. Think of how far you’ve come. You are, by nature, always evolving. Take a look back at your life…how many different people have you been? I bet you can see tremendous changes that have happened in the way you view the world and yourself. Even though you may not have felt like you were changing -in the long view, you can see that you have.
3. Be a gentle observer of yourself and others. Letting go of judgment, of yourself and others, is a powerful way to experience transformation. The energy you create in yourself when judging is strong and negative. Know that in any given situation you are doing the best you can. If you are reflecting about something you’ve done and feel you could have improved on it -fine! Next time try something different to make it even better. But don’t beat yourself up about what is done. The past has no precedence. What do I mean by that? You can create your future, in the way that you choose, no matter what you have done in the past.
Watch for your own transformations. It can be as simple as using different words to describe your business that make you feel more confident and capable…and when you feel so, you are!
I would love to hear your transformation stories. Post one here. You never know who might be inspired by your transformation!
Feb 19th
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Do you find yourself caught up in a lot of “stinking thinking?” When you wishfully think of something, do you immediately stop yourself with a “I can’t have, do or be that!”
How about when someone presents an idea to you – a dream they have -and it totally seems off the wall. Do you say, “well, it won’t be easy.” Or, “you’ve got a long road ahead.” Instead, why not say “great! what would have to happen to make that come true?”
See the difference. Once you start thinking about what the outcome would be, your brain will start getting creative and will begin to draft out steps you’ll take. You probably won’t know every step needed to reach your dream. But if you start in the direction your wise inner self guides you to, you’ll be led to the next step, the next person.
This is the power of planning. To me making plans is like playing. And to be honest, many of my plans go out the window. The secret is, that while you’re following your initial plan, all kinds of unexpected and wonderful things occur.
You meet just the right person who can help you with the next step towards your dream. You stumble upon a book that has just the key you need to unlock some blocked area you had. You stop into the “wrong” office and run into an old friend who can help you.
Planning in this way, loosely attached to the exact outcome, is the only way your dreams become real. Action rocks. You don’t have to create your entire dream alone…matter of fact, you can’t. When you get in the game, and take action in the world, the world will meet you and give you more than you can imagine.
Would love to see your comments here. Post a dream you have! You never know who might have a missing link you need.
Feb 5th
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What do you do when you hit a problem in your business? Maybe it’s how to generate more income, how to build a client list or how to create an information product. Too often you might find yourself getting stopped by a problem and just giving up. Here’s what you can do to get past those problems and on to doing what you love to do.
Jim Rohn, the wonderful motivational speaker, said to go inside first and see if you can come up a solution. If that doesn’t work, go to a book or internet sources to see if you can find an answer. If that doesn’t work, ask someone else who is where you want to be. This is good advice. Let’s explore further.
1. Go inside. You have an extraordinary amount of wisdom right inside yourself –from your past experiences and from your natural preferences. One great way to get your answers from within is to take some time to get quiet. Make a list of teachers you’ve had that made a positive impact on you. Some may have been conventional teachers; others may be people you met who were not in a classroom. You can even consider famous people, people who have died or you haven’t met in person but you learned something valuable from them. Now choose one that jumps out at you right now.
Now write out a dialogue between you and this person. Ask him/her for advice. I can bet you will find some powerful insights into how to solve your problem
2. Get some more information. When someone tells me they’re stuck on a problem, I quickly assess whether it is a lack of information that is the real problem. It often is. I’m amazed at how many people don’t take the time to seek information through books and the internet. Often there is someone out there who has solved a problem similar to yours and you can quickly get ideas about how to solve your problem.
3. Ask someone else. If you still can’t figure out how to get past your problem after going inside and doing some research…now is the time to ask someone else. Most people are willing to share information and help you IF you show them that you have done some research prior to asking them. It’s startling how many people ask me for advice and information and when I ask them what they’ve done so far to solve their problem…they say “nothing”.
I’ll give you a concrete example. You want to run a tour business. You don’t know where to start and feel overwhelmed every time you think about this idea…but it just won’t go away.
First, you take time and journal with your teacher within. You have a dialogue and get encouragement from the teacher that you are on the right track. You even get some ideas about where you would like to lead tours and get a strong sense of the feelings of satisfaction and joy you’ll get when you achieve this goal.
Now you think, “I don’t know how to start. What insurance do I need? How do I hire a bus? What kind of outdoor microphone will I need so that people can hear me? How will I find people to enroll for my tours?”
So you go to Google and type in “how to lead tours”. You get nothing useful. So you try, “how to be a tour guide”. Bingo. You get a great article with lots of information and a link to an online course on the topic. You subscribe for the course. You then do an Amazon search and find a book that looks great on this topic so you order it.
After you’ve taken the course and read the book, you are about 100% confident that you’d like to achieve the goal of becoming a tour guide but you’d like to talk to some people who are actually doing it to get the real scoop on what it’s like and maybe ideas on how to break into the field.
Now, if you don’t already know someone in the field, it’s time to look up a few people in the field, approach them by email to request a 20 minute informational interview by phone. Send an email that says that you are interested in entering the field, you’ve taken a course and read about the field and now want to get some real world information.
Tell them that you’ll have 5-10 questions prepared before the call and that you’d be happy to email the questions to them prior to the call. You might want to ask what the best part of their work is and what the worst part of their work is. Don’t ask specific salaries, though you may ask what would be an expected range of pay for a beginner and for someone advanced in the field.
People are generally very happy to help out, happy to share information about work they love AND they will be impressed that you did your research prior to seeking them out.
So go ahead. What’s a problem you have? Try the 3 steps above and get unstuck now!
Nov 25th
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I’ve been following the relatively new field of Positive Psychology for the last few years –imagine studying people who are healthy and thriving and not just those with disorders and diagnosis –about time!
There are powerful research results coming out about the idea of gratitude. Findings say that gratitude helps maintain close connections with others. Gratitude is linked to more helping behaviors, high positive emotions, life satisfaction, increased hope and lower feelings of anxiety and envy. Who doesn’t want that!
In a research study on happiness, people in one group were asked to write a letter of gratitude to someone, a 2nd group was asked to write down five things they were grateful for each day for one week, and a 3rd group was asked to write down five things they were grateful for on a single day.
There appeared to be more benefit to listing your blessings 1 day a week rather than everyday (I wonder if it was because it was easier to remember to do it once!). All three interventions worked, providing people with increased happiness and hope. And even more impressive –the benefits lasted up to 6 months.
Of all the happiness interventions to date– gratitude gives the strongest effects.
The affirmative prayer method that I practice daily has a gratitude component to it. Being grateful for what is right now and feeling what it’s like to already have what you have asked for. When I practice affirmative prayer and get to the gratitude part, my heart always fills up so full…no matter what circumstances are appearing in my outside world…it is a wonderful feeling and always transforms me to a higher place.
Enjoy this season of gratitude, and post a comment on our blog about your experiences with gratitude…I’d love to hear them!
Oct 23rd
I’m walking my talk this week – you know the one where I say living a Life First/Work Second is an important value of mine and one I want to encourage others to go after if it rings true for them…yeah, that one.
I’m writing to you from my home state of RI where I’m visiting family. The purpose of the trip was “crisis” related…so I’ve been focusing more on family than work this week…
and I can do so and am glad!
In order to focus on what’s most important right now I’m going to forgo my usual weekly article ezine for this week and next week…
Watch for an article the first week of November.
In the meantime, I’m also helping my family (and myself!) remember that what you focus on expands…so if there is an area of life that doesn’t look so rosy right now don’t get consumed by it -take the steps you need to and don’t forget to enjoy all that IS good right now…you’re loved ones, the fall air, whatever makes you happy.
Knowing for you a prosperous and productive week while remembering what’s REALLY important.
Igniting your entrepreneurial spirit,
Ann
Jul 29th
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It’s one thing to seek out people who are ahead of you in achieving something you want. For example, if you want to reach a six figure income, working from home, it makes sense to find someone who has done that and to learn from them the systems they used. That’s smart. But what I see so many of my clients do is compare themselves to others and declare that they come up short.
I love Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings. He lived in the 1800’s and was a philosopher and essayist from Boston. In his essay, “Self-Reliance”, he says “there is a time in every (wo)man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.” I believe he was not speaking literally here about farming…but rather telling us to “till” the life and gifts given us in order to tap into that endless good.
He also says “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you” and… “nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind.”
A coach once gave me some great advice that I embraced. She said “flaunt your quirks.” The quirkier the better. What this means is that all the qualities and characteristics that make you unique are part of your essential, true self. And when you are being true to yourself you are attractive to others. You will attract just the right people into your personal and business world. Think of someone who you consider successful. Can you name some of their “quirks?” Chances are you can.
Being authentic doesn’t happen in one fell swoop. It happens daily in the choices you make – if a decision is based on what you imagine society thinks you “should do” or when you make a choice based on what you think will impress someone else…that’s probably not authentic.
When you have defined what’s important to you –where it is important to expend your time and energy on this planet –and you make your choices guided by that…you’re being authentic.
Learn from others. Sure. Take what you like from them and integrate it into who you are. Don’t imitate…that makes your soul wither…let your unique spirit shine in the world!
Jul 3rd
Did you start a business to gain independence? These folks did, and look what they achieved! http://budurl.com/26rs
Jul 1st
RT @TPEntrepreneur Still have that old bad habit? Here are 39 ways to finally bust through! http://budurl.com/njr9
Jun 22nd
1. Freedom! Set your hours to suit your natural body rhythms.
2. Money. There are no limits -I remember job “steps” that limited my income no matter how much I produced. No more!
3. Following my passions. I get to choose what I’ll focus on each day.
4. Multiple profit centers. Money comes from more than 1 stream -no need to worry if one runs dry – you develop another one.
5. Work from wherever. East coast visiting family, West coast home office, coffee shop. at the harbor -depends on the weather and my mood.
6. Work with people I like. I get to say “no thanks” to difficult people AND I’m not stuck in the cubicle next to them.
7. Teach others what I learn. I learn something new about business/marketing and then teach it to others -how cool is that?
8. Become slightly famous. I’m known in my community (and beyond) as the “go to” person when someone wants to become self-employed. It’s fun being a “celebrity.”
9. Help the economy. Entrepreneurs will be the key to building our economy -and I’m contributing!
10. Freedom! Did I say that already? Well it is the biggest benefit in my mind. Freedom to choose how I spend my days, where I spend them and who I spend them with!
Jun 18th
1. You’re breathing. You owe your life to the world not the other way around. How are you sharing you natural gifts with others?
2. You have a roof over your head. I’m guessing that you do if you have time to read Top Ten lists!
3. You have enough food in your stomach. Again, an assumption but if you’re reading this, I bet its true.
4. You have a computer. You’re reading this on it right?
5. There is something beautiful that you can look at right now. It may be in your home or outside -check out that flower or cloud.
6. You have online friends. You do, don’t you? If not, join us on twitter.
7. You have opportunities and possibilities. Yes you do. Unlimited. Really.
8. The sun will rise and set. And you don’t even have to do anything.
9. You can read -therefore you can keep learning. Life long learning rocks.
10. You’re able to read Top Ten Lists. Fun, huh?
