Is it time for a new mindset?

What causes you to feel stressed, overwhelmed or guilty?

So many women struggle with feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and guilty over everything they feel they have to do, but aren’t doing. And it’s not because they aren’t trying, they are, there just isn’t enough time for it all.

Many of my clients are women business owners who are taking care of their homes, families, running their businesses, and saying yes to just about every request asked of them. And not one of them have ever said “I’m so excited I have so much going on.” No, what I hear is “I’m so stressed out.” Or “I’m so overwhelmed I don’t know what to do first.” Or “I feel so guilty because I can’t seem to get things done.”

And the first thing I ask them is always this: “how do you want to feel?” Because you and I both know no one wants to feel stressed, overwhelmed or guilty. What I hear a lot of is “I’d love to feel peace of mind.” I just love that. And I also know, that they can get there. How do I know this? I’ve been in their shoes more than I’d like to admit. But admit it I will. It’s often something that helps others see that they can turn things around in their lives too.

Imagine that you can change how you feel.

Close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like if you could create the kind of life that you love, one that you can say “I’m so excited to have so much going on” and have it be amazing stuff that you truly want to have going on.

Do you have that picture? Can you see yourself in the place that you imagine? Great! Keep that in mind and take one thought that stresses, overwhelms you or makes you feel guilty and then let go of the stress, overwhelm and guilt.

Here’s how:

  • Close your eyes
  • Think of that one thought that stresses, overwhelms you or makes you feel guilty
  • Imagine yourself in a place that feels really great to you
  • Breathe in deeply
  • Breathe out and say “I let go

Notice how you feel in the moment. I bet you’ll feel better than you did before. It’s a matter of practice and remembering how you truly want to feel.

Good Vibes Only

It’s easy to keep saying “I’m so stressed”, “I’m so overwhelmed” and/or “I feel so guilty” and it takes some effort to remember to choose to take a breath and let go. However, when you think and feel good vibes you will find yourself in a better mindset more often than not!

Have you given this a try and are still struggling? Is there something that is stressing you out, overwhelming you or making you feel guilty? Schedule a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and we’ll create some good vibrations for you right away! =)

How to get what you want

Over compromising almost always leads to you not getting what you want.

Do you pride yourself on being accommodating to others? Are you someone who will go along to get along?

Well, it could be what is keeping you from getting what you truly want. When you accommodate others over what it is you want, what actually happens is you are compromising yourself.

Now, I’m not saying a compromise isn’t a good thing. It often is a mainstay in a negotiation. Though when you compromise on many things in your life and your business just to accommodate others you will never get what you want.

Ways you may be compromising yourself.

Let’s say you have a client who is always asking for an extension of time. Your policies are that clients must complete their service by a certain date and that no additional extensions will be granted. Yet, each time this client engages your services they always ask for more time. And you say yes.

You have laid out your policies that you require a non-refundable deposit to begin working with a new client and they ask if they could roll that into their payment plan. And you say yes.

In negotiating to work with a new client you know exactly what it is you will say yes to and what will say no to and they ask for something you don’t want to do. And you say yes.

In each of these circumstances you are compromising yourself and in that vain you can never get what you want.

How to stop compromising yourself so you get what you want.

If you have kids or even a dog, if you always say yes to them when you mean no, then when you try to enforce “the no” you find it won’t work. I know, I have a Bernese Mountain Dog and as long as I do what I plan to do he’s awesome to train. The second I don’t (hey, he’s really adorable), all heck breaks loose. He’s not inclined to come when he’s called if I keep going over to get him. It’s the same with kids, they will wear you down and you’ll never be able to get what you want. Such as a well-behaved child or pet.

It’s really a mindset on your part. You have to be the one to say this is what I want and this is how I’ll get it. So when a client asks for something that you have already told them they can’t have (so to speak) and then say yes, why would they not push (I mean ask) for more?

Here are several ways to stop compromising yourself:

  • Honor what it is you want. It’s perfectly ok for you to say this is what I want. You don’t even have to have any reasons and you don’t have to explain anything to anyone.
  • Practice saying no. And again, you do not need to offer any explanation for your reason. Though if you feel better doing so, create several phrases that you feel comfortable saying. Read this is you would like some suggestions on how to say no.
  • Listen to your intuition. When you are asked to compromise on what you already said you didn’t want (or wouldn’t do), your intuition pops up. You may feel it in your gut or a little voice will say “ya but…” listen to that.

By accommodating what you want first more often, you’ll be able to get what it is you want for yourself and your business. And just to be clear, it’s not that you’ll never compromise with others, or give in. You’ll be more in tune to how your behavior hinders what you want for yourself.

I know this can be challenging, especially if you have been compromising yourself to accommodate others. So, schedule a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and we’ll create as way for you to be able to easily honor what you want, say no and listen to your intuition.

How to make things count

Kim RavidaAre you a box checker?

Meaning, are you a checklist maker and do you love checking things off?

I do! It gives me a lot of satisfaction to check something off. Kind of like a jolt of the happy drug or something. I love to make lists, agendas, and To Dos and even better I love to check things off.

If you are like me, you probably know exactly what I am talking about.

But…are you checking the right boxes?

Last last year I came to realize that while I was a rock star at checking things off my list, I wasn’t actually checking a lot of things off that really mattered.

What I mean by that is that I had loads of things on my list and got loads of things done, but not what truly would help me get to where I wanted to be.

It occurred to me that while I was checking off the boxes, I wasn’t checking the right ones off. Are you doing the same thing? And are you wondering what that means for you? It means that you won’t ever reach your goals in the ways you probably want. It means that you are wasting time, perhaps avoiding and definitely not making things count.

You are great at counting down the days and the To Dos yet not great at making the days and the To Dos count.

Ways to make your days count!

Before we talk about applications let’s take a moment to accept where we are and look to where we want to go. Let’s not beat ourselves up over lost time or any of that. We’ll start where we are and go from here.

Ready? Here we go…

  • Begin with a visualization of what you want. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Ask yourself what it is you truly want in your business and in your life?
  • Jot down your vision on paper. By documenting what you want you have your end game and you can begin to break that down to actionable steps.
  • Create a timeline for each goal. Some goals will be short-term goals and some will be longer-term ones.
  • Determine where to start. After you have created your timeline, you will now work backward. Write down the very first step you need to do in order to make your days count.
  • Draft a monthly, weekly and daily agenda. By looking at the month, week, day view you’ll know exactly what it is you need to do and by when to work on making things count.
  • Get busyIt’s time to make your days count! You have your visualization in your mind and on paper along with a timeline, you know where to start and you have your list!

Make your days count.

One of the best ways to make your days count is to do a daily and weekly review. At the end of each day and each week, take a look at what you accomplished and what you need to move forward. This gives you a nice road map to be able to see where you are at a glance and it also serves as a way for you to make sure you aren’t being too quick to count things down and are really making things count. Another thing it does is to help you see all you have accomplished!

By putting these strategies into action, you’ll soon eliminate those activities that are time wasters and energy drainers in your day and make every day count!

Would you like personal help making your days count by doing the right things? I’ve helped many business owners get clarity over their days so let’s do it! Sign up for a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and you’ll be able to make every day count!

Mistakes are what makes you the best!

Do you hate it when you make mistakes?

You may be saying, “what kind of question is that, of course I hate it when I make mistakes.”

And you wouldn’t be the only one. As human beings we quite hate making mistakes. It makes us feel useless, stupid, maybe even unqualified. It may cause us to think others will look at us differently and that we may end up losing out on something we want because of it.

Looking at mistakes differently.

But what if I told you that your fear of making mistakes could be the one thing that is holding you back? Back from getting what it is you really want out of life, and/or business?

When we are afraid to do something, we rob ourselves of the sheer enjoyment of doing something new. Of proving to ourselves that we can do something we at first thought we couldn’t. Look, before you know how to do something, of course, it’s going to be challenging. And that’s just great. Because if it wasn’t you wouldn’t feel such joy upon doing it and even mastering it. Cool, right? You bet!

Mistakes are what make you great!

Take a moment and look back at a past mistake, one that you know lead to you triumphing in your life or your business.

As you remember that mistake, how did you feel after you overcame it? What did you learn from it? How did it change you? How has it continued to change you? See mistakes, if you can embrace them, have the power to bring you to the best version of yourself.

Ever said “I’ll never do that again”? Sure you have, who hasn’t? Well, that’s because you have learned from your mistakes. Remember Yoda’s teaching to Luke? “There is no try.” And that’s because you must do, whether imperfect or perfect. In order to get something done, you have to do it.

How will you embrace your mistakes to make yourself great?

In the event you are still a little skeptical, here are a few suggestions to consider and even try out:

  • If I do this, what is the worst that can happen?
  • If I do this, what will happen for me because I did it?
  • Even if I do this and it’s not perfect, I am still doing it.
  • There is no failure in trying, failure lies in not trying.
  • What if I succeeded in ways I can’t even imagine?

Can you see how there truly is never any mistakes or even failure? And that your fear is really just holding you back from all the greatness you desire?

So tell me, how will you embrace your mistakes to make yourself great? I would love you to share that with me. Simply post below and if you’d rather share privately, my email is kim@kimravida.com. Here is to your mistakes making your great!

Still struggling with this concept? Did it hit a nerve? Would you like to break through what is holding you back? Let’s do it! Sign up for a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and you’ll walk away with the one thing you need to have the success you want!

A day in the life of a business owner

Kim Ravida

All business owners aren’t the same.

Let me start off by saying each and every business owner I’ve ever worked with or even met, are similar yet not the same. That’s a good thing and maybe not such a good thing.

How so?

When we look at role models or people to emulate, we often perceive them as what we think they should look like. A lawyer or banker may wear a blue suit. A hair stylist may wear colorful clothing. And a dog groomer may wear old jeans. But what if the dog groomer wore the blue suit? Would you think to yourself “that’s weird”?

And because each business is different each will have specific to them systems, processes and actions. If you are a lawyer, banker, hair stylist or dog groomer than perhaps you may do what they are doing but what if you aren’t? Well, you already know that answer, you’ll do what works for you.

When we look to others to mold our businesses, it can often help, and it can also hinder. So even if someone does exactly what you do, it’s best for you to do you. And that means creating systems, processes and actions specifically geared to you and the results you want to achieve with your business.

Stepping (and staying in) into your own shoes.

Speaking from personal experience as well as client experience there have been times when it is good to do what another business owner has done or is doing. Yet, remembering that all business owners have different need and wants and personalities is key to your success.

A day in the life of a business owner who is a dog groomer will be different than one who is a hair stylist. Yet, they may have similar operating systems, processes and the way they interact with their clients. And a day in the life of a career or business coach will absolutely be different from the groomer and stylist. So if you are trying to run your business like the way someone else has, you more than likely will struggle.

So then how to operate your business your best way? By knowing exactly the kind of day you need to have. A day in the life of your business!

What does a day in the life of your business look like?

Start at the beginning:

  • What is your business?
  • Who do you serve?
  • How do you serve?
  • What things do you need to do every day that keeps your business operating (marketing, admin)?
  • How do you do those things?
  • Who does those things?

Look at all the things that goes into you running your business (even if you have loads of help). Then you’ll have your day in the life of a business owner and that’s you!

Not sure about what it is you do, should be doing or could be doing to be the best business owner you can be?  Sign up for a 90-minute Business Success Blueprint Session with me so that you can get clear, create (or tweak) your systems, processes and actions to achieve your desired results easier and faster.

I’ll do just one more thing

www.kimravida.com

 

Are you that person?

How often do you say “I’ll do just one more thing?”

I used to say that daily and one more thing lead to one more and so on. Before I knew it I had added about 100 more things to my to-do list and it still wasn’t complete. And I was working way more than I had planned to. This is called the Squeeze In Syndrome. You know, like I’ll just read one more email, make one more phone call, write one more blog, do one more thing on my list even though I don’t have the time to do it. I’ll just do that one more thing anyway.

If you find yourself saying “I’ll do just one more thing” and often feel stressed out, overwhelmed and exhausted then I recommend you stop doing it right now. Essentially what you are doing is just too much and it’s not going to help you succeed.

I love this photo of the emails, because a lot of us get caught up in doing just one more email…let’s see how doing just one more thing can hurt us.

Hidden Dangers of Doing Too Much.

I live on a main street. It’s a busy street for periods of the day and lots going on. The other day we were at home relaxing when we heard a very loud crash. No screeching of the brakes to warn that something was coming, just a loud crash. Having lived here for some time, we knew what that meant. A car accident. My husband bolted out the front door to see what he could do to help and ended up helping the guy who drove his big F-150 right into a parked car (small compact car) nearly pushing it into a nearby house.

Thankfully everyone involved was physically ok. Though the young kid whose car was demolished probably wasn’t seeing it that way (side note: he said he just got the car – oh my heart breaks for him). Anyway, that aside, the driver of the truck admitted he fell asleep!

He said he’d been trying to do too much. He works as a local fire fighter and had just worked several long shifts and wanted to to spend time with his son and take his son to hockey practice when he fell asleep and ran into the parked car.

Now, I’m someone who can always empathize with others. It’s part of what makes me a great friend and coach. I so felt for each of the parties involved. The dad who was trying to do too much, work to provide for his family, be a good dad, take time to be with his son and the young kid that now has a totaled car because someone was trying to do too much that he ended up exhausted.

It’s time to stop.

This outside view gave me a big pause to think. I don’t usually fall asleep at the wheel as I don’t usually do a lot of driving, but I do often fall into the habit of doing one more thing that ends up sacrificing family time, self time, home time, etc.

It’s time for us as a society to stop doing too much. And to stop expecting others to do too much.

I write and coach my clients a lot about being productive and how to let things go and/or just say no so you would think I would find it easy. I know it isn’t. Yet I am committed to doing it. What about you?

How to just stop.

As you know I love to give practical steps to doing things and not just talk about doing them. Here are several steps to help you go from squeezing in things to do to actually creating a great, do-able to-do list and get things done.

  • Create a master personal to-do list. Do a brain-dump and get everything out of your head in one place [see this link].
  • Create a business/work to-do list. Same as the personal one, only this is just business tasks.
  • Start deleting. What on that list do you think you need to do but if you looked at it objectively you could just delete it, go do that.
  • Streamline your lists. What do you need to do this month, week, day.
  • Schedule it in your calendar. Create time each day in your calendar for you to spend time to get your action items done, then go and do them.
  • Ask for help. Whether it is help from your family or an assistant, sometimes things on your list aren’t really for you to do.

In order for you to be successful here, think about what is most important to you. Maybe your children, family, spouse, personal life. When you do one more thing that takes away from what is most important to you, how does that help you honor what is most important to you?

Hint:  It doesn’t and you end up sending the wrong message to both yourself and those you love.

Tell me what is it that is most important to you, then keep that in mind when you find yourself doing just one more thing.

I’ve been where you may be, having a hard time saying “I’m done for the day”. If you would like help here, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll get clear on your prioritized list, a clear schedule of getting things done and peace of mind about feeling ok with letting things go!

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The best time to do it is now

 

The best time to do it is now.

There is one thing I took a long time to get through my head and that was, just do it.

Yes, the Nike slogan that is as motivating as it is popular. Those three little words:

JUST DO IT.

And doing so can make such an impact to your business. I know it did to mine.

Truly, the best time to do what you want and need to do is now. As a former procrastinator, I know if can be hard to just do it. So her are a few tips to help you get going.

How to just do it.

First, what is it you need to do? Second, go do it. Easy, right? It is so you have no excuses. Comment below on what you just completed.

But…if you don’t know what it is you need to do here are your starting steps:

  • Do a brain dump. Make a list of all of the things you have in your head. Just start writing, do not worry about priority or order. The goal is to get it on paper or on an electronic list.
  • Classify business or personal. Go through and put a “B” or a “P” next to each item so you can easily see whether it is business or personal.
  • Delete as you go. You may realize as you classify your tasks that things you wrote out you either do not want to do or do not need to do. That’s awesome, just put a line through it.
  • Re-write your list. Get two pieces of paper or open a new window and mark one business and one personal and begin to write down your business tasks and your personal tasks on their own designated spots. Again, deleting as you go (yes, you will start to notice that lots of what you wrote doesn’t need to be done).
  • Prioritize your lists. This is where the just do it begins. I like to use $ for tasks that will help me make money (I am in business after all) so I go through and put a dollar sign next to the actions that will bring money into my business. Then I use the 1, 2, 3 system to help me see what is next. I also estimate as best as I can how long I think something will take – will it take me 30 minutes or less, 60 minutes or 90 minutes (I like to work in those 3 time blocks).
  • Schedule your tasks into your calendar. Once you know what you need to do and how long it will take you, you can easily schedule them to get done and then, you guessed it, JUST DO IT! =)

Use the motto: If not now, when?

I like to ask myself “if I am not going to do this now, when will I do it?” It gives me time to pause and to be honest, will I have time to do it and if not, perhaps it’s time to let it go.

You may gasp at that, a lot of my clients do. It’s hard to give things up, especially if we have talked ourselves into thinking we have to do it. Yet, when you do, guess what happens? You actually have more time to just do those things that will make the biggest impact to you.

So let me ask you, if not now, when?

Tell me the task that you have been putting off and what your next step for it is, is it to just do it or to let it go?

I’ve been where you may be, having a hard time just doing things and even being ok with letting things go. If you would like help here, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away with a prioritized list, a clear schedule of getting things done and peace of mind about letting things go!

We respect your email privacy.

Why it is so easy to pile things to do on our plates?

kim ravida

 

Have enough?

As business owners, it’s easy to have loads on our plates (er…desks). We all have enough things to do, places to go, and items to manage.

And why is it so easy to end up with our proverbial plates piled higher than we even stand? Well, lots of things and one stands out among them all…the inability to say no.

No is a single and complete sentence. Yet, so many business owners feel they have to offer more and more specifically, they have to say why they can’t or don’t want to do something.

So they end up saying yes, hence the high piles of things to do, places to go and items to manage. And no time for doing what they truly want.

How to say no.

If you found yourself saying “yup, that’s me, I just can’t say no.” Let me tell you that 1) it’s ok for no to escape your lips often and 2) no one will die if you do (not even you =).

True you might feel bad, but you’ll get over it and it gets easier. I was a serial YESer. I’d say yes to everything. I did it because I wanted people to like me and think I was helpful. Only a funny thing happened, I ended up not liking myself and I certainly wasn’t as much help as I could have been to those I said yes to because I resented saying yes.

That’s no way to be respectful of yourself or others. I discovered my reason for yes after working with my own business coach and the second I did, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I felt freer than I ever had.

How to say no easily is simple, p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e! You need to practice saying no. Here are a few for you to practice with:

  • Short response: No.
  • Feeling the need to say more: No, thank you.
  • Wanting to expand it a bit: No, I won’t be able to help you (do that for you) with that.
  • Said succinctly: No.

There is no reason for you to be sorry.

You will notice that no where in your practice material are the words I’m sorry. Because I’m sorry has no place here. We are accustomed to using “I’m sorry” as a habit. If you really, really, really want to offer a reason for your no, be honest and to the point. Here is the thing, you either DO want to say yes or you DON’T and when you don’t the respectful response is no (full sentence, end of conversation).

If you do feel sorry, why is that? What is it you feel you need to do or be for yourself to feel good about your saying no? Give some thought to that. My guess is you’ll discover what it is I discovered which for me was I wanted to be liked, ultimately that lead to a fear of not wanting to be rejected. Once I discovered that and knew that truly no one can reject me (that only happens because of how I feel), saying no became easy.

The result of saying no.

There are many benefits to saying no to things that are not for you to do, you have more time, you get more things done, you feel better, you truly enjoy what you are doing, you no longer need to complain, you no longer need to feel bad about yourself and not getting to the things that are most important to you. You get so many benefits.

What is one thing you need to say no to right now? Go and do it. And here’s a tip, you can say no even if you already said yes. It’s called “I changed my mind.” And like with no, it’s a complete sentence. and yes, in this case, you can say “I’m sorry, I changed my mind.” Because here it fits. Though you certainly do not have to say I’m sorry ever in these instances.

Give this a shot and I’d love to hear from you about how it goes, if you would like to share your experience here, post in the comment section below.

Are you having a hard time saying no? Let’s practice together, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away feeling confident about saying No without any guilt!

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How do you and your time get along?

 

Being purposeful with your time.

You and your time not getting along? Time can either draaaaaag or it can go like a snap of the fingers.

Are you among the many business owners that it just goes like a snap of the fingers? Do you often end your day thinking “wow, I never got to do everything I wanted to do? If you are there is a way to overcome that.

One of the most important things you need to do is to be purposeful with your time. In my last blog I talked about being purposeful in order to reach your success and how to stay on target when the going gets tough.

The next thing you need to do is be purposeful with your time.

How to make time stand still (or seem like it).

Let’s say you have 7 working hours and you have 10 things to do. How often do you take the time to write out how long each task will take? Probably not very often (for many of my clients, until they start working with me, it’s never).

If you were to take 5-10 minutes to give some thought to how long each task will take you, you will soon know if you’ll have time for all of them. And an added benefit to you is that you more than likely will decide that a couple of things don’t even need to be done now.

It’s time to make time stand still for you!

Do a time assessment of how long everything you do takes you. This may take about a week or so. Don’t despair, it is time well invested. Once you know how long things take to do and how many hours you have in a particular day or week, you can now easily schedule them to be done.

Give this a shot and I’d love to hear from you about how it goes, if you would like to share your experience here, post in the comment section below.

Still finding that time disappears on you? Schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away with a clear picture of how to be purposeful with your time to begin using it purposefully now!

We respect your email privacy.

Learn how to Design Your Success with Purpose

 

Being purposeful when planning for your success.

If you are looking to make this year the year for yourself and your business, there are several things you need to know. You need to purposely plan for it. In other words, you need to design your success. In other, other words, what is it you will do in order to get the results you want?

Three things that I consider important for a success formula are:

  1. Intentions
  2. Plans
  3. Actions

Each of them, if executed properly will always equal results. See it’s not the results that people struggle with, you more than likely already know what you want. It’s setting the intentions, creating the plan and then taking the steps to get them that is often the problem.

Staying on target when the going gets tough.

So often my clients tell me that they didn’t take an action or do something they said they wanted to do. It usually is because they got scared, didn’t know what to do or got caught up in “other things”.

When this happens, remembering your purpose for doing what you are doing will go a long way. Some people call it their “big why” and asking one of the following questions of yourself can help get you back on track:

  • Why did I go into business for myself?
  • What is my purpose for doing this?
  • What is my WHY for being in business?

Look, it’s easy to get pulled off target, especially running a business and having a life! It’s not that it won’t happen and what’s important for you is to go back to your purpose so you can get back on track. That’s how you design your success.

No one is going to give you anything, you have to go and get it.

One thing I know for sure is that no one will knock on your door or phone you up and say “hey, here is your success!”

You have to go and get it. You have to make it happen.

Here a several steps for you to take to help you design your success with purpose:

  • Write down your 3-5 business results you want for the year. This will be your purpose for the year. And it will be your guide so that you stay on target.
  • Set your intentions for the year. What is your purpose or attitude toward what it is you want to accomplish? Write it down. You could say this is your mission statement.
  • What is the plan for you to reach those results? Create a list of steps that you will use to achieve your goals. Make sure you put a timeline on each of the steps and then put that into your calendar so you stay on target. This is your business plan.
  • List out and schedule your daily, weekly and monthly actions. What is it you will actually be doing that will, in the end, mean you have accomplished what you set out to do? It’s key for you to schedule these in your calendar so that you actively see where you are and where you are going.

It’s time to make your success happen!

Now all you need do it take the actions! And as you do that, new information will come to you and maybe from that new actions. Keep moving forward with your plan and adjust as you need to. Remember, you are the one who is designing your success and since it’s with purpose, you get to course correct anytime you need to.

Give this a try and I’d love to hear from you about how it goes, if you would like to share your experience feel free to post in the comment section below.

And if you are pulling your hair out trying to put this success formula in place and would like help, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away with a plan (with immediate actions =) for you to get to started!

Bonus:  Watch my recent Facebook Live class on Design Your Success with Purpose for more tips and help with designing your success for 2018.

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