How To Be In Control And In Charge Of Your Business

June 17, 2020 By

Be in control and in charge of your business.

As a small business owner, as the owner goes, so does the business. This is why it’s important for you to be in control and in charge of your business.

I adapted that from a saying I once heard: “as the leader goes, so goes the followers.” I’m not sure who said it but it stopped me in my tracks.

As a leader, if I’m floundering and failing so then are my followers. That could mean my staff or it could mean my clients. See how it has a big meaning?

It made me realize that as a business owner, I need to be in control and in charge of first myself and then my business.

In our world today where things change very rapidly and our feelings are often hung out to dry it is so important that as a business owner you are in control and in charge of your business.

What does being in control and in charge mean?

Above all, let’s dispel that being in control and in charge is a negative thing. It does not mean that you are the Devil Wears Prada. It means that you are the one making the easy and the tough decisions that keep your business running.

Things like, you are offering services to those who need it at a special price. Or you are hiring a new team member to help with your increased work.

Whatever it is, and it will be very specific to each business owner, it means you are in control and in charge of what is happening and what will happen.

Essentially, you are coming from a place of order. From there you will create peace and prosperity in all meanings of each word for yourself and others.

“Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” — Pat Summitt
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Taking charge inspires confidence for others.

As a business owner, you are a leader. Demonstrating being responsible for your business empowers others. Seeing you taking charge inspires confidence for others.

For instance, in the past, I was part of a networking group and somehow it turned into more of a support group. At first, I fell right into the “woe-is-me” theme that presented itself. Instead of creating connections, sharing business ideas, referrals and making offers, it turned into a meeting where everyone talked about how bad things were going for them.

We were in an economic downturn and as you can imagine, there was a lot of businesses affected. What I soon saw was that the other women business owners were being led to think about all that was going wrong and not about what was going right and/or what they could do to help turn their experience around.

After that meeting, I decided that I didn’t want to be in that energy.  I wanted to show how (aka lead) by taking charge of my situation I could inspire confidence in others.

It took about two meetings of me coming from and showing up from a place of being in control and in charge (and yes I used those very same words to my group) to help shift that group. Soon the other business owners saw that they could also be in control and in charge of their experience.

I’m happy to say many of them turned their businesses around very quickly. They had decided to step into a place of taking charge.

How to have a sense of mastery over yourself.

There are so many things I can share with you to be in mastery and in control and in charge. One thing that I want you to embrace is to simply ask yourself: “what does it mean for me to be responsible for and to myself?”

Once you have that answer the next question is: “what is one thing that I can do that will bring a sense of grace and power to my business?”

You will easily answer those questions because you already have the answers inside of you. It’s through your Unique Brilliance that your answers and you will shine forth.

From there, you then implement business strategies, tactics and actions into your day-to-day operations, are able to look a little more long term and start seeing amazing results.

Remember everyone wants to feel successful. So first you feel successful and then you can lead others to feel successful.

In what way can you as a leader of your business inspire confidence for your customers and clients?

Begin now…

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure all this stuff out on your own can be challenging. I offer a free 30 minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now. You will walk away knowing exactly how to be in control and in charge of your business.

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Life is for living, are you living your life?

September 11, 2019 By

Urgent or Important, where do you spend your time?

Where do you spend your time? Are you doing the urgent things in your life like putting out fires and jumping up every time someone asks you for something or you hear a ding announcing a new electronic communication?

Did you answer yes? Well, then you are attending to the urgent in your world and your life should be about doing the important to you (and your family) stuff first.

If you have ever read Stephen Covey’s book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you understand the Time Management Matrix. It will also help you see where you spend your time.

It is in the Principles of Personal Management chapter. 

If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it. It is both a book for your personal growth as well as your professional growth. It is full of amazing concepts, thoughts and actions for you to try out.

What you do each day makes up your results so if you are running around putting out fires (and you aren’t a firefighter), it’s time to rethink what you are putting your attention on.

You actions and behaviors create your life, are you living the life you want?

How to make an impact on your life.

If I have a dollar for every time a client told me that they “had” to do something because someone else wanted it or thought that they should do something, I’d be rich.

In order for you to make an impact on your life, you need to impact your life and spent your time on you.

What do I mean by that? If you are always running around in the urgent section of your life, listening to and doing for other people how does that help you create a life for yourself?

How are you able to do the things you want? Or how are you able to take care of your wants and needs so that you are happy?

It doesn’t. Recently I read a blog and the writer said she wanted to “change her narrative” of her life.

She realized she had been living according to what she thought others wanted from her rather than what she wanted for herself.

In order to make an impact on your life, you need to take action that leads you toward your dreams, wants and goals. Yes, even if that means disappointing someone or having them be mad at you.

Are you living your life in a way you love?

I know, that’s a pretty big question isn’t it?

So…what is your answer? A long while ago my answer would have been no. It was actually a question a coach of mine asked me. And when I said no, she asked “why not?”

I had lots of answers, many of them focused on the external. Here are a few (maybe you recognize one or a few):

  • Everyone else expects me to do things a certain way.
  • My family will think I’m crazy (if I did what I wanted which was quit my corporate job and go to coach school and open a business).
  • There is too much to do and I don’t have time.
  • My credit cards are too high right now and I don’t have enough money.

She simply asked me “if these reasons were no longer true, and you did what you really wanted, would you be living a life you loved?”

I answered YES.

“Don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do.” —Ella Fitzgerald
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Let’s live a life we love, shall we?

And that started my journey of eliminating a lot of my internal feelings (my so-called external reasons were really internal feelings) and external items. It also helped me see where I spent me time.

After I cleared all of that clutter I had space to breathe, to see things clearly and take time to begin to lay out my plan to live a life I loved.

Where are you so busy with the urgent that you forget about the important? What about letting each day go by and settling for a just so life?

For today, let go of one thought, feeling, emotion or physical item that just does not give you a great feeling (forget the spark joy for now, let’s focus on the things you really don’t like or want).

Then, tell me, just comment or email me privately at kim@kimravida.com, what is one thing that you want to do, but maybe are hesitant, that if you did it, you’d start to live a life you love?

And tell me also, when you will actually do that one thing. It’s the best way for you to know where you spend you time.

And heck, I know this is simple but simple doesn’t always mean easy. So my gift to you is to spend 30 minutes with me to get started. If you want more after that, perhaps we’ll work together. But say yes to putting things in place for you to live a life you love.

Schedule a free Design Your Success with Purpose free session with me. Schedule your free 30 minute session now.  When you take advantage of my free gift to you, you help me live a life I love!

 

Filed Under: Clutter, Empowerment, Environment, Reaching Goals, Self Worth Tagged With: , , , ,

How Your Negative Experiences Can Work For You

August 28, 2019 By

Negative experiences lead to your greatness.

What if you were to take a moment and thank the people in your life that have upset you?

Hold on, I can hear you screaming (uh, saying) “What? Are you crazy, why would I want to do that?”

My question to you is why wouldn’t you want to thank someone who perhaps challenged or pushed you outside your comfort zone?

In your life you probably have many people who have supported or challenged you in a positive way.

And you probably have some that have pushed you in ways that you might not have felt or feel were/are positive.

All of your negative experiences have helped you to become the person you are today.⁠

True, there are many people we are happy to have in our lives, and there are those we never want to see again. ⁠

And the truth is that every single one of those people should be thanked. You are who you are because of them. ⁠

Yes, even those you don’t ever care to see again. Think of a past experience that you have negative thoughts or feelings around.

Now, look at the present, what did you learn from that experience? Was it to not be pushed around so you drew some boundaries? Did you see how it shaped a new empowering behavior? What was it that you got from that experience.

You are who you are because of all your experiences positive and negative. Learning from the positive doesn’t always give you the magic to boldly step into who you are meant to be.

Recognize that negative experiences help you grow as a person. Negative experiences actually become positive ones when you learn from them.

Learning from your negative experiences.

In junior high I had a typing teacher, Mrs. Caldwell. She was tough and demanded a lot. I did not like her one bit at first.

Well, do you know what? In the end (three years), she was one of my favorite teachers. And I realized how much I learned from her.

This was important since my first career was a legal secretary. And my equipment to work on was an electronic memory typewriter! 

Because of Mrs. Caldwell, I excelled in typing and in life. Fast forward to 2019 and all we do is type! Because of her I was able to type 120 wpm (words per minute).

Had I not realized how that initial negative experience helped me become who I am today, I might never have become a legal secretary which lead me to working with the executive coach which lead me to becoming a coach.

When we shift our perception, our experience changes. Lindsay Wagner
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How to learn from your negative experiences.

One of my clients was finding she couldn’t get out of overwhelm with all she had on her plate.

She wanted to know why when she cleaned and organized her office it was almost exactly in the same state two weeks later, which was a mess.

During one coaching session she burst into tears. She said she was a mess and so was everything else around her. In corporate she had a boss who told her a neat desk was the sign of someone who didn’t have enough to do.

Interestingly, she did not much like said boss and felt a lot of animosity toward him before this comment. You can imagine how she felt after it.

Huh? At the time, she had taken great pride in keeping her work space (and home) neat and optimally set up for her to work efficiently.

Ask yourself, what negative experience am I currently holding onto that, if I recognized what I learned from it would enable me to reach the successes I want.

And from now on, when you have an experience that feels negative to you, ask yourself immediately “what can I learn from this?”

Do you need to clear some clutter, physical or mental? Would you like help getting clear on how you can use your negative experiences to your advantage? If yes, schedule a free Design Your Success with Purpose free session with me. Schedule your free 30 minute session now.  You’ll walk away with at least one (if not more) things that you can start doing now will lead you to create exceptional success in your life.

 

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It’s important to put your peace of mind first

August 14, 2019 By

Put yourself first.

The reason to put yourself first in your life is because being the best for others begins with being the best for and to yourself.

When you fly what do the the flight attendants tell you on every flight? Put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then help others.

It’s the same in our own lives, but do we do it?

Not all of the time, and for some, never. Believe it or not, I had a male client who struggled with putting himself first. He gave of himself to his work and to his family. When he came to work with me, he wanted to start doing things that would make him happy.

He told me it was a long time since he had been happy and liked his life.

You could say he was successful in many areas of his life. My client had a wife and two teenage children, took care of his ailing and aging father,  his sisters and his extended family. And as a successful building engineer, was well-liked at work.

Recognizing that all of his time was spent on taking care of other people, he felt a lot of anger about it and toward them. Because it didn’t leave him any time to take care of himself or do something that he wanted to do.

Your emotions tell the truth.

The feeling of anger that he had was a key piece. The anger was the catalyst for his change. It helped him to decide it was important to put his own peace of mind first.

He realized that in order to be able to take care of those he loved, being angry about it or angry at them was not going to get anyone anywhere.

It’s true for all of us. In order for you to be the best of yourself, you need to take the time to take care of yourself.

And just how do you do that?

How to be the best of yourself.

Trust me, this eluded me for a long time. Anytime someone in my life asked me to do something be it going to a social event, help them move, watch their pet or children, help them with a work project or whatever need they had, I said YES, BUT OF COURSE.

I’d even ask if they needed help if I even thought they might need my help. Talk about putting yourself last.

I soon realized that there were things I said yes to that I realized “no, I do not want to do that” and felt angry. Think back to my client. These feelings of anger did not serve myself nor the person I had said yes to.

So I decided that for a little while, I would say no. In order for me to be the best of myself, I needed to take care of myself. For me that meant not doing for others before I did for myself.

I discovered that it was not hard to say no. And I discovered that when I did, I gave myself time and space in my own life to be my best self.

What saying yes to you does.

When you say yes to you, you give yourself time and space. It’s like clutter clearing. You have room in your physical life and in your head to do what would help you live the life you want to live.

And you get to say yes to others when it is appropriate to say yes. You say it from a place of love and caring.

When my client got to this place, he saw some pretty cool things happen in his life.

His family began to ask him what they could do for him. Because he had let go of the anger, they found him to be more approachable and loving.

Interesting right? They had been keeping him at a distance because they could tell he was angry. And when they needed him, he lovingly said yes and would do for them in a caring way.

“All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” — Michael John Bobak
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Your peace of mind creates ripple effects.

My client ended up getting a promotion at work, started taking ballroom dance classes and even ended up entering dance competitions. He said he finally felt like he was living his life rather than giving his life to everyone else.

And the best part of my client recognizing and taking steps to put his peace of mind first was that everyone around him was happy just because he was happy.

How’s that for creating a powerfully happy life? By making one change he created a ripple effect for all of those around him.

He was willing to do what it took to get what he wanted. Truth be told, there were some things he wasn’t fully on board with when we worked together yet he was open to giving them a try.

He found out that those are the things that made the biggest difference for him in his results.

Moving outside your comfort zone.

Sometimes we need to let go of (or as I like to say it, clear the clutter of our minds) thoughts that have been keeping us from moving forward and think and do things that are a little different or outside our comfort zone.

Because, all of what we want is always outside our comfort zones.

Do you need to clear some clutter, physical or mental? Schedule a free Time & Space Assessment with me. Schedule your free 30 minute session now.  You’ll walk away with at least one (if not more) things that you can start doing now that will create your own ripple effect for your life.

 

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Why it’s important to let go of unwanted things

July 17, 2019 By

Unwanted items get in the way of your success.

Your unwanted things often impede your success.

Most of the time, it is because when you have lots of unwanted things (including to dos) they clutter your space and your mind.

I love working with my clients. It is especially great when they email me a success or something they are happy about or when they are on their coaching call and can’t wait to share something they have accomplished.

The reason I enjoy it so much is because what had been their “normal” before was struggle, frustration and overwhelm. 

My clients are not lazy, and neither are you. They are/were however, inundated with stuff.

Once they get rid of the unwanted stuff, things take off for them. And they will for you too.

Creating space around you creates space within you. –Kim Ravida
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The importance of letting things go.

When I begin working with clients, one of the first things we do is an assessment of their time and space. We often find they have hardly any time nor any space (physically and mentally) to get to what they really want to accomplish.

It’s from there that they start letting things go. It’s important for them to have the space in their minds and in their environment in order to create the success they desire.

Once they have cleared the clutter of their living spaces, working spaces, vehicles, and minds, a number of things happen for them.

More opportunities come to them. They have more time for themselves and their families. Projects get accomplished, income increases, health improves and relationships prosper to name just a few.

Can you see why it is important for you to let things go? I hope so.

Let go now.

You need to start letting things if:

  • Your calendar is always jam packed
  • There isn’t any place to put things in your office
  • Things seem to “go missing” a lot
  • Forgetfulness is part of your daily life
  • People are annoyed with you
  • Email is overflowing
  • Messages are getting lost or unanswered for days

If you said yes, to even just one of those scenarios, it’s time to begin to let things go. In order for you to optimize your life and your work, you need to create space. 

Take action now.

This is a big topic, and I like to break things down. So, just for this week, start by noticing the things around you. You can focus on the list above if that helps.

When you see something that is unwanted, not being used, in the way or gets under your skin, move it, donate it, throw it out, recycle it or put it away.

Do that a little each day throughout your office, house or in a specific room. Believe it or not, my clients do not always begin in their office. They begin (as you will) in the place that is causing them the most annoyance.

If you aren’t sure where to begin, start with what you can see. Letting things go will clear your space, clear the air and clear your mind. 

And that’s a wonderful thing.

Want to do a Time & Space Assessment? Schedule your free 30 minute session now.  You’ll walk away knowing what to start letting go of immediately.

 

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You can, it’s just that you won’t!

June 19, 2019 By

I won’t because….

In my last blog I wrote about how just when you think you can’t, you can.

And I also shared with you my experience when I went to a conference where Jack Canfield was presenting and he gave us an exercise that had us change what we said when we said “I can’t”.

He told us to replace I can’t with I won’t. Boy did that change things for most everyone in the audience.

First, when he told us to do that there was a collective gasp from about 500 people in attendance. Second, we all laughed, like “ya right, that’s not true.”

And then we did the exercise as pairs and you could hear this nervous giggling and murmuring around the room.

Because it WAS so true.

I won’t:

  • get my finances in order
  • make more money
  • pay my bills on time
  • improve my life
  • exercise
  • improve my health
  • lose weight
  • get organized
  • make my marriage better
  • make friends
  • improve my relationships

Did you come up with one that wasn’t listed? I wouldn’t be surprised if you did. There are so many!

When we change I can’t to I won’t it’s a whole different ballgame. It changes everything.

You begin to look at things in a new light. This is good. But it also is a bit of a shock too as you now need to even do something about it.

A new spin on things.

I shared in the previous blog that for some of the things that I was saying “I can’t” to really was an I won’t do.

Which is the upside of shedding the light on the “I can’ts”. It’s where you can get clarity and be able to let things go.

Here is an example. I was saying “I can’t grow my business.” And what I really meant after I said “I won’t…” was that I was finding it challenging to do all of the things that I felt I needed to do to get to where I wanted to go.

Once I shifted the statement I realized it wasn’t that I couldn’t because let’s face it we all can do the things we WANT to do, it’s do we WANT to do them that’s the question.

I realized that my I won’t grow my business really meant I won’t grow it the way I had been thinking I had to.

So this helped me look at it all differently. 

You do not have to do something you don’t want to do. (Because, spoiler alert, you won’t!)

When I did that it was freeing. It freed me to take a look at where in my life and business was I thinking I had to do something or do something a certain way when I could change it.

We get stuck when we are off our course. When we think we need to or have to do something. To do something a certain way or because someone told us to.

And when you don’t want to do something, you usually don’t do it. Then it turns into you feeling frustrated because you don’t seem to be able to get things done.

You begin to feel bad about yourself and you think “I can’t”. But it isn’t that.

So when you can say “I won’t do [insert what you won’t do], you essential give yourself the freedom to make a new choice. With the new choice, you get to say what it is you will do!

Doesn’t that feel nice?

Making success happen the easy way.

As I said in the previous blog, once I said “I won’t grow my business” it was a whole new ball game. Or, business, if you will.

The beauty of this was things became not only clearer, but easier! 

Where might you be in the same boat? Is there an area of your life that you keep saying “I can’t”?

Go ahead and change it to “I won’t” and see what happens.

Of course, you can also then ask yourself “why won’t I” because you’ll more than likely get an answer that can help enlighten you to 

“You must take responsibility for removing I can’t from your vocabulary.” ― Jack Canfield

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Just when you think you can’t, you can.

June 5, 2019 By

I can’t because….

Just when you think you can’t, you can.

How often do you hear yourself say “I can’t”… and the other word that follows is often …because…

  • I don’t have time
  • It’s too hard
  • I’m not sure I can do it
  • I can’t figure it out
  • I am afraid
  • It will take too long
  • It is too much money
  • And so many more I’m sure you can fill in the blank

I really could go on and on though you get the point, I’m sure.

We find it very easy to come up with ways to hold ourselves back, sell ourselves short and live lives that aren’t very fulfilling.

We have so many “reasons” why we can’t do something it would take days to list them all.

I once went to a conference with Jack Canfield and he said instead of saying “I can’t” say “I won’t”.

Such as:

  • I won’t improve my life
  • I won’t lose weight
  • I won’t increase my wealth
  • I won’t get organized
  • I won’t improve my relationships
  • I won’t find work I love

It takes a whole new spin on it doesn’t it. It did for me that day. And I’ve got news for you. For some of the things that I was saying “I can’t” to really was an I won’t do.

Well, well, well.

We’ll talk about that in the next blog but for now…

You are stronger, braver and wiser than you think.

And so why was that I asked myself. In fact, one was “I won’t grow my business.” I had been saying “I can’t grow my business” after a few things didn’t go as planned and I felt frustrated and thought I can’t grow my business.”

Once I said “I won’t grow my business” it was a whole new ball game. Or, business, if you will.

The “can’ts” come from lots of places. People in our past who maybe had good intentions and didn’t want us to “get hurt”, “fail” or “be disappointed” so they may have told us we can’t do something.

Yet, look at where you are today. Have there been things in your life that you thought you couldn’t do and then did?

Did you take an action even though you felt scared?

Did you emerge stronger just from taking that action?

What about making some really great decisions that lead to something even better than you imagined?

Yes, you are, as Christopher Robin says in Pooh’s Grand Aventure “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter thank you think.”

You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin

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Is your life headed where you want it to go?

May 8, 2019 By

Understand that you are in the driver’s seat of your life.

Are you doing things that will get you to where you want to go in your life? Or is your life really someone else’s life?

You and you alone are the one to drive your life to where you want it to go. But have you taken the time to look at what road you want to be on? If the answer is no, you may be on a road leading to nowhere you want to be.

A client of mine was unhappy with her life. Her “whole” life as she told me in a coaching session. And please “help me”. While I’m all about help, I’m not about bailing my clients out and for a lot of people that’s what we really are looking for. Someone to “fix” things.

I’ve got news for you and you aren’t going to like it: I told her,  “you are the one causing this. No one else.”

How did I get here?

After I said that there was silence. I waited because I know she would get what I meant and when she did, she’d be on her way to fix it.

I asked her exactly what was one thing she was unhappy about right now. She said she felt defeated and depressed.

These are two very big deals and while I absolutely refer my clients to therapists if that’s what they need. I’ve worked with this woman for a year and a half, so I had an idea where to start.

I had been noticing that each session she’d come complaining and belly-aching over something someone said on Facebook. She took lots of offense to posts by her friends and family and strangers.

We looked for what was specifically causing her offense. Why did she feel offended and how was her Facebook feed feeding her offense. We delved into that. Soon she came to the conclusion that she didn’t even want or need to see it.

How do I get to where I want to be?

She had been taking offense because her values were being bumped up again. She didn’t feel the same way the other people in her life felt and she took offense that they were invading her Facebook and triggering her values.

Values are a unique thing for us and when we don’t see eye to eye or share similar values, well, a lot can happen for us.

She decided to unfollow and unfriend those that really pushed her buttons. It’s interesting to note, that when she saw her friends and family in person, she never felt offended by what they said or did. It was strictly a Facebook thing.

She did this and within two days she sent me an email to say how much better she was feeling. And that lead to her seeing that she didn’t need to “fix her whole life”. Though what she did want to focus on during our next session was ways she could uplift others in both person and on her Facebook feed.

“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.” ― José Ortega y Gasset

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Look at what you are putting out in life, is it what you want to get back?

She also realized that she too had posted several negative, snarky comments and posts and she was the one who brought this negativity into her life.

If you want to see where your life is and/or where it is heading, take a look at your own Facebook feed. Are you posting life giving posts or are you posting life sucking posts? Are you positive or negative? Do you get caught up in all the waaa, waaa, waaaa that people post or can you easily move on?

Maybe it sounds silly to say that your Facebook feed is a reflection on you. I do believe that it is. And is it who you really, really are? I’m going out of a limb and say that yes, it is but it isn’t who you have to continue to be if you don’t want to.

It’s all up to you. Your life, your happiness is in your hands.

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It’s not really that hard

April 25, 2019 By

It’s too hard, but is it really?

Recently in my group fitness classes we did a plank challenge.

The challenge was to hold a plank starting one week at one minute and adding an additional 30 seconds each week.

When I first said we were going to do the plank challenge I got a lot of eye rolls and groans. Yet, I’ve got a hardy group of over 50 and beyond participants so they went along with me.

One woman said she couldn’t do it for one minute because it was too hard. So, no problem, hold it for as long as you feel you can.

Which by the way was one minute. Then she proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t really too hard.

Things are not really that hard.

If we are what we think about then what we say is even more impactful.

My fitness participant, who told me she couldn’t hold plank realized that she could and that it wasn’t that hard.

See, she had told herself and then she told me and the rest of the room what she couldn’t do.

And what I teach is to ask yourself “what can I do?” and go from there. I’m a trainer, not a torturer (though I’m sure if you asked some of the members of my group they may tell you otherwise). I set them up for success.

I knew the response I’d get when I told them about our challenge, and I also knew what would happen along the way. That they would learn that things (not only the planks) aren’t really that hard. It’s just how we think and talk about them that can make them seem hard.

You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can. Jimmy Carter

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What can I do?

We are always telling ourselves stories and usually they are negative. Things such as: “I can’t do that because it’s hard”. Or “I’ve never done that before so I’ll never be able to do it.”

Notice the language. All negative I can’t, it’s hard, I’ve never, I’ll never be. One of the things I know is that in order to succeed in anything, big or small is to change the story you tell yourself and others.

When setting my group up for their planks, I always tell them that this is something that we always do. I remind that they have been doing this for a long time. And I give them permission to take a break when they need to, which means they need to listen to themselves. And I remind them to ask themselves “what can I do”.

And you know what? Everything single one of my group by the end of a month’s time did a complete plank for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

The best is yet to come.

The best part of it all was when one of my ladies who can often give me the “you have got to be kidding look” said to me “That was easy”. I nearly fell over. I had to ask her to repeat it.

By the way we had already done a good back/shoulder/arm workout which I did purposely to exhaust their muscles at the beginning of the class. She was astounded that after doing the arm work she could still do the plank for the whole time.

When you challenge yourself, when you stretch outside of your comfort zone both physically and mentally you grow in ways that you couldn’t even imagine.

So in order to be the best you can be, ask yourself “what can I do” and then just do it.

Looking for more?

I’m always happy to help others who are looking for more in their lives. If that is you, set up a free session with me!

Filed Under: Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Planning, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

What Really Is There To Be Fearful Of?

January 30, 2019 By

Fear, it is said to be false evidence appearing real.

Or another way to look at it is something you have made up.

Does that feel radical to you? Pretty much everything you may be afraid of you are making up.

Stay with me. Let’s say you want to start a business but you know someone who’s business just closed and so you are fearful that your business may close too. Just because something happened to someone else, doesn’t mean it is going to happen to you.

Same story with just because something happened to you in the past, doesn’t mean it will happen to you again.

Using stories to keep us from reaching our potential.

I work with a lot of business owners who also want to have a great life. They want to have great relationships with their family, be healthy and fit  and they want to be able to do what they want in their personal lives.

Do you know that the number one thing that comes up for just about all of my clients is they are afraid that they won’t be able to reach their goals.

They tell themselves stories. Stories that end with “I won’t be able to do that because…” The because is open ended since there are many reasons (ahem, excuses) that they use.

Ultimately though, it is a story that they have created or worse, bought into that keeps them in fear and from reaching their potential.

Don’t let yourself make excuses for not doing the things you want to do. Sam Altman

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It’s time to tell a different story.

Here is an exercise that I do with my clients. We play the “what if” game. We keep asking “what if…” questions. Questions such as “what if you were able to create the business of your dreams?” “What if you were able to live the life you want for yourself?” “What if you could have…?” By doing so, they begin to see how a different story (or looking at things differently) can help them get to where they want to go.

Look, it’s super easy for us to be negative, to take the easy way out and to make tons of excuses (showing up a “reasons”) for why we haven’t realized our dreams. Our brains are actually wired that way!

What if…

Your turn, what if you were to go through the “what if” exercise and keep asking yourself questions until you could see yourself different, your business differently? What if you were able to notice where you were holding yourself back from realizing your dreams, heck, from even beginning your dreams? Would you do it?

I challenge you to take at least 15 minutes (though it won’t take you long to realize you are beginning to think differently) and take yourself through some “what if” scenarios. You can even have someone do it with you. Have them just keep asking you “what if…”

Need help?

Would you like someone to help you with your “what if…” exercise? If yes, I’d be happy to be that someone for you.  Set up a free session with me and we’ll go through the exercise. I promise you’ll walk away seeing things differently and you’ll be on your way to realizing your dreams!

Filed Under: Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Planning, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,
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