What a difference a year makes

February 28, 2016 By

This time last year where I live we had so much snow we could barely see over the snow banks and just try driving down the street! Our two way streets were turned into one way streets with all the snow fall we had.

2015-02-02 10.09.04

I have a Bernese Mountain Dog (Baloo) and he was in his glory, us humans were not! At first it’s nice but then it gets old, tromping around in the snow, slush, cold and freezing temperatures got old very quickly.

Today as I sit here writing this it’s a cold 35, sunny with bare streets and lots of brown grass but I’m not complaining. Baloo might be but I’m not. It got me thinking about what a difference a year makes and that got me thinking, what a difference a day makes for that fact. So if you aren’t happy with where you are right now, just know that tomorrow is another day, a different day and you have the opportunity for it to be different!

What a difference a day can make!

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The question is what will you do to make it different? Let me know! Email me at kim@kimravida.com to share or comment here.

Filed Under: Empowerment, Personal Development Tagged With: ,

The world will not fall apart if you do this…

August 20, 2015 By

ImagineLast month my article was about reaching for the stars.  This month it’s about not being afraid to run with the horses and step up your game.  What do I mean by that?  Well, quite honestly there are so many people who say that they want to do something, yet do absolutely nothing. Talk, talk, talk but no action.

Have you been there?  Have you ever noticed a time that you talked a great game, but didn’t follow through?  Sure, you have – we all have.  So what makes some people a “get-up-and-go, get it done” type person and others a “Yeah, right” person?  There are a lot of reasons but mostly it’s about fear… or lack thereof.  Fear of many things; fear of success, fear of failure, fear of what other people might/will say (I know that one very intimately), fear of feeling like a fool… you get the picture.

Well then, how do you run with the big guns feeling confident, self-assured and full of motivation to get things done to reach your goals?  It’s not as hard as you think.  No, really it isn’t.  I can speak from experience here that’s for sure.

For many years I wanted to make a career move and talked about it, but never did anything about it. Until finally one day I had had enough – enough of hearing my own voice talk, talk, talk.  What held me back was fear of what others would say… and also fear of making mistakes and feeling stupid.  One day I just said “I’m not doing this anymore” and there was no more worry about what if (the world came apart, I had no money, I didn’t have insurance).  All of those things ceased to matter.

So how can you make the changes that deep down you want, yet feel too much fear about doing?  First, there is a saying “Feel the fear and do it any way.” While I am not going to discount that, there is a little more to it than it sounds.  Here are several tips for you:

  • Imagine the best thing(s) that could happen for you because you had the courage to reach for your stars. Visualize how you will feel, what you will be doing and tap into all the great things you want for yourself, your family and your life (business too).  The great news is that our minds cannot distinguish from what is real or imagined – so imagine away!
  • Write out what you want on paper. Be super specific here and do not hold back.  I do suggest pen and paper because there is something special that begins to happen.  You really begin to tap into the feelings of what it will be like when you have your goals realized.  This part is a lot of fun.  Play up the ‘what if’ game and think about the amazing things that will happen for you.
  • Make a decision to do one thing that will move you closer to what you imagined. Then put that into an action-able form.  Being decisive is the first step to moving into action.  Once you decide, then you can easily create your next steps to reaching your goals.

These will help you get started.  And what happens once you get started?  Yes, a body in motion stays in motion.  The beauty here is that once you begin, you’ll want to continue. You’ll be in the feeling of possibility, and then opportunities will show up seemingly out of nowhere.  Then you’ll be taking actions that you might not have while you were in the fear frame of mind.

Get out of your fear and get into faith: faith that you can do it and you can have what you want.  Life is meant to be fun and enjoyable.  Think about it, would you rather be in fear, worry and dread or be in joy, excitement and courage?

As many of my clients know, taking action leads to results, the results lead to the success, and the success leads to happiness.  So my friend, by when will you sit down and go through the steps I gave you to do?  Make a date with yourself by the end of the month – do it this weekend! – and lay out your next grand adventure.  When you do, be sure to drop me a note at kim@kimravida.com to let me know what your next action is going to be for you to reach your goals.  Or if you wish to share with a larger audience, post below here on my blog!

Filed Under: Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , , ,

Reach for the Stars!

July 23, 2015 By

Young woman pulling bright starsI’d love to pose a question.  What are your thoughts on being realistic?

Many times in my past I was told, “Kim, you need to be realistic.”  And so I would be.  But what did I get?  Lots of nothing.  I never stepped out of my comfort zone.  It wasn’t until I recognized I was a people pleaser that I realized those people — who I was trying to please — were actually holding me back by telling me to be realistic.

So what is realistic anyway? Realistic is defined as sensible, practical, reasonable.

But sometimes you need to not be sensible in order to soar.  Be outrageous and think really big, abandon practical, and embrace what might feel like the impossible.  You need to break from being reasonable, and to be a bit awkward, in order to grow and do new things.

See, being realistic can hold us back.  Abraham-Hicks says that being realistic can root us firmly to where we are.  I truly do not know any person who wants to absolutely, without question, stay where they are.  Everyone wants more in and for their life.

Let’s say you have a goal of being a six-figure business owner and you are currently making $10,000.  If you think “Realistically, can I be a six-figure business owner?” you can easily determine that no, you can’t.  However, if you think “OK, I’m going to go for the moon here and aim for six figures and I’ll do this, this and this to get there” then you have successfully broken free of being realistic!  You allowed yourself to step into a bigger version of yourself and what is in store for you.

Being realistic keeps us in a space where often we do not want to be.  As Jack Canfield says you have to take 100% responsibility for yourself.  So I encourage you to stop being realistic about your life and your goals and go for what you truly want.  When you do that you’ll be thinking what is the best thing that could happen?

I don’t know about you, but I sure enjoy my life more reaching for the moon!

So what do you think?  Post below on my blog or email me at kim@kimravida.com to share!

Okay, I get it.  Sometimes reality does bite.  So if you are unhappy with the reality of your bank account balance and want to have more money to help you reach for the moon and the stars, my Grow Your Money Tree Program is for you.  Click here to find out more!

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Truly, it’s ALL an excuse!

June 25, 2015 By

I’ve always been interested in making things – life, business, health, etc. – better for myself and for other people.

Over the years I have worked with so many clients — and had lots of friends — who say they are going to make things better in their lives.  Things such as lose weight, get healthier, get a new job, save more money, stop spending, do a household budget, take a vacation, have more time to spend with kids, parents, family, friends.  Yet, they don’t follow through on what they say.  Why?

What I realized is that man, there are a lot of excuses out there!  Here are some of the things that not only my clients and others are saying, but I’ve said too:

  • I can’t.
  • I have no time.
  • I have too much to do.
  • I don’t have enough money.
  • I need to learn how to do x first.
  • The weather is too cold/hot/whatever (yes, I’ve heard this).

Well, let me tell you exactly what these are…these are just excuses – and we all make them.  Because when we truly want to do something, we’ll do it.  When we really, really want something, we find a way to make it happen.

Why, then, do we make excuses?

Many of us fool ourselves into thinking it will be hard or we don’t like change or it’s going to take too much time.  And oh yeah, there can be a lot of that “F” word – FEAR!  Fear of lots of things.

Some of us know underneath and down inside, though, that we can’t be trusted to follow through.

Ouch!

For years we have let ourselves down by saying one thing and doing another.  This creates not only a pattern of negativity but also sends a message to our subconscious that we can’t be trusted.  So why bother getting started, we won’t be successful anyway.  Right?  Let’s make it wrong!

Look, we all know people who are successful at whatever they set out to do, so what makes them different?  They trust themselves to do what they say they are going to do… even if it’s hard.

Here are a few tips to break the negative pattern so you can begin to trust yourself, too:

  1. Pick something small to do and when you’ll do it – like walk around the block in the morning or read for ten minutes this evening — and write it down. Then do it!
  2. When you’ve done it…do a happy dance and pat yourself on the back! Yes, reinforcement does work!
  3. Do this for several weeks and then take on bigger goals. Soon you’ll be proving to yourself that you can be trusted.
  4. Enlist the help of a trusted friend or hire a coach to help support you and keep you accountable to yourself. Often, just having an outside source is enough to keep the fire lit through completion.
  5. Keep a journal or list of how you are doing so you can see that yes, indeed, you are following through.

When you finally show yourself that you can be trusted, the sky is the limit!  You’ll be done with excuses and reaching your goals faster and with more joy.

When you do, post below on my blog or email me at kim@kimravida.com to share your success and elation!

 

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Lead Yourself to Mastery in Your Life & Business

October 10, 2013 By

MasteryAs business owners (and especially soloproneurs), it is easy to fall into this trap of “jack of all trades and master of none”.  Yes, it is a trap and no, it doesn’t have to be this way.  True, you don’t have to be a master at everything, but it is important to be a master at a few things that will lead and drive you to a successful and profitable business.

I love the word “mastery”.  It sounds powerful and it makes me feel good.  Mastery as defined in the dictionary means:  1) expert skill/knowledge or outstanding ability and 2) complete control.

Well, I don’t know about you, but early on in my life and business I had absolutely no control and did not feel as if I had any expert skill/knowledge or outstanding ability.  So, had I heard the term ‘mastery’ back then I would not have liked the word as much as I do today.

I was a jack of all trades doing everything by myself and also doing everything that sounded like a great idea.  And guess what?  Doing it all myself and doing everything that sounded like a great idea actually wasn’t!  When I decided to only work on things that I either had mastered (coaching my clients) or was in the process of mastering (networking/connecting), my life and business became joyful, profitable and fun!

I’ve recently titled a program with the word ‘mastery’ in it because it gives my clients a feeling of anticipation.  It’s the anticipation that will help them be motivated so they too can master the skills they need to be in complete control of their lives and businesses and to take action to reach their goals and have what they want for themselves.

Motivation is a key factor in running a successful and profitable business.  What it boils down to, though, is leadership of oneself and perhaps others.  So if we are to reach a place of mastery, what are some things that we might have to master?

I’m really happy to tell you that it is not as painful as you might think and it can be used for business owners as well as anyone wanting to improve their lives.

Here are three ways in which you can lead yourself to mastery in your life and business:

  1. Get a clear focus.  Decide what it is you want to accomplish.  When you know what your outcome is, it is easy to know what you need to do.
  2. Be specific.  Now that you have your focus, the next step is to decide how you will get there.  This is the time to be specific.  Is there something you need to do, have, or find in order to get started?  List out what you need and must do to reach your goals. Until questions are answered, it’s impossible to lead yourself to completion.
  3. Put your specific action steps in your calendar.  Without this last step, all the focus and planning in the world won’t help you, you need to set aside time to get it done.

When we master something we get a sense of satisfaction, we feel proud and we are excited about it.  I know I want to shout “I did it!”  It is such a great feeling.  That is why aiming toward mastery gives you the anticipation that you are working toward controlling your life, your business and ultimately your destiny.  Wouldn’t you want to hold the position of mastery in your life?  I know I sure do!

You know I love to hear from you, so please feel free to email me at kim@kimravida.com or share your thoughts, insights and revelations below.

 

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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