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The end of this month will mark the end of the first quarter of 2016.  How are you doing?  Are your goals and desires for your company beginning to feel like new year’s resolutions? Great idea at the time and now you're losing interest? You only have one month to complete your promise for Quarter 1.  Howver, all is not lost. There are several options. The number one thing to accomplish is to remove the negative self talk. I bet that every time you think about the target and where you are, you beat yourself up in some way or other.  Most of it around I should have…

Getting in action with possibility will begin to alleviate the negative talk. Take a good look at your target.  Is there any way possible to meet it?  Chunk it down to how many items you need to sell, how many phone calls you need to make to hit it. Evaluate if it’s possible. Maybe the goal you picked was too lofty. If it’s not possible, re-promise a lower target.  The key here is to feel good.  

What will happen if the goal is unreachable is that you will do one of two things, 1) get overwhelmed and stop or 2) keep going at same pace and just feel bad.  Neither of these things will help.  Step back and take another look.  In order to reach an outlandish goal, you have to be different that the person you have been being. Can you call yourself up to the task and be different? Do you see what it will take? If you can see it, you can make it happen.  Usually this involves checking in with yourself and getting reconnected with your why and your higher power.  

If you can’t see it, no worries.  The idea is for you to feel good.  Pick another target and get in action. Just so you know, it is impossible to be in action and feel bad at the same time. You got this.

Leave a comment below if this article has helped move you forward in meeting your goals.

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This week marks my daughter’s birthday. She has been my love and passion for everything I did and I continue to think of her in her adult life and am here when she needs me. As I reflect on her birth, growing up and her adult life I am reminded of how closely this process relates to business.

In starting my business everything I did, thought and prayed for was for the success of my business.  I was so focused on the business and it’s growth. Just as I was with my daughter. Everything was for her benefit in growing up.

As the business started to flourish, I was able to pull back a little and not be so hands on. I needed to keep my hands in most things, but I could delegate or re-purpose content and not be so driven.  I had set up all the parameters, safe gaps and measurements so it could run itself with my occasional interjections. This is like my daughter as well.  As she grew and became more independent, I was not needed as much to do for her, but I needed to have my hand in her life to guide her when needed.

One downfall of business owners is that they become complacent and stop keeping a hand in things.  They count on the systems and people to do the right thing.  They lose a handle on the temperature of things and business failings set in: spending too much money, “leaks” in time worked or project deadlines. Soon the business owner must step in 100% to salvage the business. This is like my daughter as well.  High school is a time when kids need the parent the most.  Not to spend time with or tell them what to do, but to be there for guidance and support. If left alone at this age, the slippery slope can set in for the kids as well.

Even as an adult being there when needed is paramount.  The same with business.  Even though the business has been in existence for years and is thriving your ability to take the temperature of what’s so is paramount.  Customers are fickle and go for the business owners they can relate to.  So your temperature taking and your ability to shift with what’s wanted is the key to lasting success.  An example is the Swiss watch makers.  They were the best in their field.  Their watches were in demand and, suddenly, the digital watches hit the scene.  The Swiss watch makers did not see this coming and lost almost all of their market share in an instant.  Taking the pulse of what is in the making and needed is a major job of a business owner and a mom.

The only thing I would add here is the passion.  Notice how a mama bear will do anything to protect her cub.  A momma person will almost always be the same way toward her child. Bring this passion and purpose to your business and it will thrive.

Leave a comment below about your thoughts on this article.

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All 5 of the secrets to achieving harmony in my life are important, however, the two that have altered my life the most are Self Care and Connection to a higher power.

My whole perspective on self care altered when I understood that the most important thing I could do in the domain of self care was discipline. Yep, it surprised me.  I thought self care meant a bubble bath, a walk in nature, clean teeth and plenty of rest. Nope. All of these things come under discipline.  It takes discipline to plan a bubble bath, take a walk, brush my teeth and go to bed at a decent time. It would be really easy for me to talk myself out of any of the above tasks.  However, with discipline I can accomplish them all and feel good about it. Discipline is a series of choices to get me what I want; whether it be rest or money or clean teeth. And when I get off purpose or my path, I make the choices that may not be in my best interest.

That’s where the connection to a higher power comes in.  I’m up to big things.  I am in the process of changing the conversation in the business world to one of compassion, truth and love in the workplace. This is a huge purpose.  I cannot do it alone.  I am part of a community that is up to the same thing and that isn’t enough.  My spiritual connection pulls me out of my human experiences to a higher vibration so that I can stay on track. The logic is the bigger the commitment the more I need to be connected to something bigger than me.

Whatever result we get in business or in life is due to a series of small choices that lead to that result. I need discipline and a connection to a higher power to make the best choices for me and my business.  Review your results and then look at the choices you made to get there.  Are there any tweaks (other small choices) that could improve your results?

Leave a comment about your discovery below. 

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You are at a networking event.  In hearing the brief introductions, you notice a woman that you might help in her business.  You strike up a conversation by asking a question or two about her business and her challenges.  You notice where you might help and you make an offer. ZIP your lip. Let her be the first to speak.  She will say something: yes, no, I’ll think about it, etc.  Whatever she says you must go into more questions and let her talk about it.Your biggest asset is the listening.  If she feels heard, feels “gotten” and likes what she sees, she will talk herself into it.

An employee asks if he can talk to you.  He is unhappy in his job. Ask questions about his situation, what is the problem, what has he done about it and what does he need? Then ZIP your lip.  He needs to know it’s safe to talk, needs to feel heard and understood so he can tell you what he needs. Make an offer to assist him and listen.  

In any situation that you want to move forward, mend, or enroll, listening is the way to that end. Most people don’t want you to fix the problem. They want to be heard and validated. When that happens, they can come up with the solution with little prodding.

Pay attention in your next conversations, be it sales, employee issues, or in friendships.  LISTEN, be interested in them vs your responses or actions.  You will be surprised at how easy it is to have them respond in a positive way.

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Picture yourself walking into a large group of business owners to network.  Not all groups are like this, but I envision driving down a busy street and seeing the eleventy-billion ads along each side. “Buy me”, “Have I got a deal for you”, “This is the best___ on the market”  and you are one of them.

Here is a hot tip: People do not want or need your product.

This week we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr Day. “ I have a dream…” Nothing stopped him from pursuing his dream.  It even lived on after he was shot. This is what you look for in a network meeting or sales conversation. What is their dream?

Everyone has wishes and dreams for themselves.  Your job is to give them an experience of you that triggers their experience of having that dream realized. Then they want what you have. They will buy your product  because of the experience of you that they have.  They are buying you.

So stop talking about how great your product is and what the benefits are. Start asking questions to uncover their dream. Ask them what they have done so far to actualize their dream. What will unfold is where you and your product can assist them to make their dream a reality. It’s all about them.  You are just a conduit to connect them to the possibility of achieving their dream.

Use this check in list while in a sales situation:

1. Who is doing most of the talking?

2. Are you asking questions or giving information

3. Is the person curious or are their eyes glossed over.

4. Are you discussing your product or them?

If any answer is about you vs them, STOP! Change the conversation to be about them. Keep getting curious about them.  You cannot say the wrong thing to the right person and you cannot say the right thing to the wrong person, so just be curious and present you. That’s what they will buy.

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We as human beings are naturally hard on ourselves when we feel that we don’t get something right or keep our promises.  How are you going to be with yourself about keeping your promises for the new year? Here is a hot tip! When you beat yourself up for not doing something, you miss out on the learning. You don’t discover what stopped you and thus continue to make the same mistakes.  What if you embraced your humanity and allow yourself to do the best you can and if something goes wrong, adjust?

When we put a man on the moon there were multiple adjustments. The course was charted and had to be adjusted.  If the rocket kept going on the original straight line, it would go off into space somewhere.  The scientists knew that to reach the moon the rocket had to go in an arc. The rocket can only go in a straight line so the path was adjusted as many times as necessary to make sure it hit the moon.

Reaching goals, keeping promises and daily life are like this. We make a plan, follow (or not) the plan and we get the results.  Some things that happen to derail us are:

1. Distract ourselves and not follow the plan

2. Something comes up that wasn’t planned and is important to us

3. We change our mind and do something else

4. Get a phone call

5. Check email

There is always a good reason that we didn’t reach the goal.  The key is to discover WHY we didn’t reach it so we can adjust. Most of the time we spend the energy kicking ourselves because we didn’t get there. When this happens we are looking at our “bad” self and not seeing a solution or a different way to be. We miss the learning, thus the necessary adjustments. The 2 most common reasons for not getting where you want to be are indecision and procrastination. When you get off track, embrace your humanity and then look at where you could do it differently with more success.

Sentences like, “ I shouldn’t have, I should have, that was a stupid thing," etc (any self effacing comment) is beating yourself up. If you change all those comments to, “how can I” the possibility of the learning and the success increases dramatically.

So, how will you be with yourself as you move toward goal achievement for 2016? I hope you will embrace yourself and ask, “How can I” ...To Your Success

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One of the most difficult areas for an entrepreneur is delegation. It seems so easy to the outsider: Just do it! However, to a true entrepreneur, there is only one way to do things: their way.  A major flaw in the human perception is that we think others think like we do and they don’t.  so, how can I delegate and get the job done as I want it to be done, you say.

1. Be very clear about what you want done. Encourage the employer or helper to ask questions until you are both clear. For example: I want you to write an email detailing what our clients will do for the next week. I want it to have a lot of white space and use bullets. You must mention the dates and times and the expectation of duration of each event for the week. Finally I want to have a link  for them to hear the recordings of any phone calls. (vs write an email about the weeks events)

2. Complete a request/promise log for each of you with clear descriptions. For example:

Is it a request or promise? What is the specific task? Who did I promise or request? When is it due? Is there a revised date and when did it get done.

3. Establish regular meetings with the employee or helper.  Weekly is best, but no longer than two weeks. Each bring their R/P log as the agenda. Add to it each week as needed. This will give the entrepreneur a sense of how the employee or helper gets things done and will be a track record of the project at review time.

4. Establish a communication routine about the due dates.  For example: Tell me as soon as you can when you cannot meet the deadline.  If the due date is Tuesday at 4pm and you know Monday at noon that you can’t make the deadline, tell me Monday at 12:01pm.  This way I can make adjustments on my end or reprioritize other projects. Do not wait until the due date to tell me it won’t be done.

5. Discuss what got in the way of keeping the deadline.  It might be that the employee or helper had too much on their plate and needed more time which means that at the time of the promise, other projects should be discussed in the meeting and prioritized. Or, it could be that some of the people that participated didn’t do their part on time. Explore ways to make it easier or better next time.  

If it’s clearly written down, discussed regularly, communicated before the deadline and continually looking for ways to improve the process, delegation is a snap. Try it. You will be amazed at how easy it is to delegate.

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One year ago I started oil painting. Now, up until then I did not consider myself artistic in any way. But, I have been walking my talk.  I’ve been writing blogs about being present, being kind to your little person inside of you, and being grateful for everything I have and will have in my life. Last year I began feeling like I wanted to be creative.  My friend suggested painting.  I signed up for a class and voila! I could actually paint. At first I thought the instructor should get the credit, but she never touched the canvas.  She showed me how to do the strokes with liquid on the newspaper. I actually created a beautiful picture.

Now, I’m not asking you to go out and take painting lessons. I’m asking you to look at your life.  Notice where you are totally present and where you are not.  Look where you are kind to your little person inside you and where you are not.  Look where you feel grateful and where you do not. In the areas “where you are not” pick one tiny goal each day.  For example, if you say unkind things to yourself because you think you are overweight, look in the mirror 3 times during the day and say, “I love me just the way I am.” or If one of your areas is that you feel pressure to meet the deadline you promised, give yourself permission to make this a priority and get it done, or renegotiate the due date. Notice how you actually feel better by saying the positive comment. The little unkind things we do to ourselves, block the energy flow of creativity.

Experiment with saying the positive and kind things to yourself.  The key here is to feel it.  So, if you say, “I’m grateful for the home I live in.” Really feel grateful. How you feel is a choice: a moment by moment choice. You can alter your life when you make this choice in favor of feeling good. Something creative might just grab you.