But I have to treat my business seriously! Seriously?

September 17, 2015 By

Goofy businesswoman talks on her phone headset. I often get asked if I enjoy working by myself and my answer is a resounding YES!  Then the next thing I get asked is who do I have fun with at work.  Well, myself!  Doesn’t everyone know how to have fun on their own?

Right now as I am writing this, I’ve put on an Amazon Prime 80s radio station and am having fun listening to Foreigner, Dire Straits and other 80s bands.  I couldn’t do that when I worked in corporate. 

Now, that’s not to say I didn’t have fun working with other people, I sure did, loads of it.  Just recently I met with a friend whom I worked with in corporate and we were cracking up over all of our “work” shenanigans.

Many of my clients, before they began to work with me, were not having fun in their business.  They were struggling, frustrated and often in tears.  I’m not saying I don’t have those moments, because I do.  As a matter of fact, I just had one.  Then I remembered my objective: to have fun in my business.  See, at the end of my corporate career, I was miserably unhappy so I vowed I would never find myself in that situation again.

So how can you have fun while running your business?  Here are a few tips:

  • Determine that you want fun in your business.  One client said to me, “I can’t have fun in my business; I have to take it seriously.”  Seriously?  Fun also means amusing, enjoyable, pleasurable, and entertaining.  I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be in an enjoyable place than in a somber, solemn, grave place (yes, those are other words for serious).
  • Decide what fun looks like for you.  Fun for everyone is different.  What do you think is fun?  Is it fun to come into the office and declare the queen has arrived, wear funky clothing or jewelry, and drink from a fun cup?  I am always accompanied by one of my dogs and I joyfully declare the “office is open” and it cracks me up.
  • Incorporate fun daily.  Maybe you call a colleague and have a laugh, watch a YouTube video or read a joke. What matters is that you put fun into your daily schedule. If you’re getting to the end of your day and realize you haven’t had fun yet, jump up and dance, sing to a song, be silly.  Trust me, it works (I’m bee-bopping to Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” – think that’s not fun?).  What will you do?
  • Remember that fun IS #1!  This comes in handy on those days that you are pressing to get projects done and tasks are coming at you faster than you can imagine.  Or on those days where you are overwhelmed and feeling like you want to go and get a j-o-b because this business building thing is freakin’ hard!  Stop and remind yourself that Fun is #1 in your business and then go and have some – yes, right then – whenever you feel that frustration, struggle or hopelessness.  When you do, you’ll not only feel instant relief but you’ll also discover how easy things come together simply by taking a moment and having fun!

Life was made to be enjoyed.  Let’s face it, in business there are many things that can be depressing; not enough clients, not enough money, having to do a lot of things you don’t like or do well.  I’m sure you could rattle off a quick list, but you can’t fully enjoy life if you’re not also enjoying your business.

Whether you are entertaining yourself (like I am today =) or are with others where laughter abounds, incorporating a little fun into your business day is an amazing way to create a lot of uplifting energy that will have you attracting the right kinds of people, experiences and success in no time!

If you already are making Fun #1 in your business or if you decided to incorporate it after reading this, I’d love to hear how.  Be sure to drop me a note to let me know what you are doing for fun!  Or if you wish to share with a larger audience, post below to my blog!

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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!

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Do you like your box?

March 27, 2014 By

Woman in red in box.jpgI just came back from a trip to Aruba.  I’ve been there before and love it so much, I’ll go again.  I’ve stayed at the same hotel the past five times but this trip I was at a different hotel.  That’s because my regular hotel — the one I liked and felt comfortable at — closed!  Oh the horrors!  So I put on my big girl pants and embarked on a trip that felt “normal” and comfortable but would be different.

It occurred to me that the same ole same ole, while it is comforting, can work to my disadvantage by keeping me in a comfort zone — aka a box!  I hate being in the box.  But I like my box!  Yet it also means that I’m not living my life and seeing and doing new things!  How did this happen?  Well, for one, I was happy at the hotel I stayed at.  I knew the people and what I’d get, and I liked that.  AND guess what?  That is a good thing.  Just like I create the “know, like and trust factor” for my clients.  Once they get to know me, they like me and then they trust me and stay with me, investing in themselves and getting great results and support.

So then how is this different?  It isn’t really.  My hotel created an experience that I really enjoyed and, truth be told, if it was still open I’d have stayed there this time!  I was happy there, I liked it there and I got what I wanted there.  Just like my clients stay with me.

What I noticed was that the idea of the change was something I didn’t like.  It was because I had to stay at a different hotel; it wasn’t my choice.  I hate that!  Don’t you?  Yup, there it is!  It’s the fact that I didn’t have control of the change.  I had to do it.

Thinking about this though, I see that there is value in having to make a change in your life.  It means that you must come out of your box and do something different.  I know from experience that there is such growth and happiness in coming out of the box and doing something new.

I have a few tips for you as you either choose change (i.e. get out of your box) for yourself or find yourself in a situation such as mine:

  1. There are no mistakes.  If you embrace it, you will soon see that no matter what it is that changes for you, there are opportunities for you to see something different, experience something new and become a more diverse individual.
  2. Every experience is an opportunity for a new beginning.  If you look at change as an opportunity then it no longer is a negative experience.  This viewpoint gives you the chance to behave differently and have an amazing outcome.  It becomes positive and increases the likelihood of having it turnout even better than you imagined.
  3. Embrace change.  Fighting it creates stress and frustration.  Embracing change gives you peace of mind.  And as mentioned above, the opportunity for having an outcome better than you imagined is possible when you embrace change.

In case you are wondering, I had a fabulous time.  I met amazing people whom we wouldn’t have met if we had been at the other hotel.  I got out of my comfort zone and had to navigate the new hotel.  My eyes were fresh, I was more alert and reminded that when I get out of my box, my world is so much more exciting and so much more fun!  Since I’m all about having fun, it’s a great reminder!

Let me ask you this: if you were to let go and trust that things will work out exactly as they are supposed to, wouldn’t you feel more relaxed?  Wouldn’t you be open and receptive to what comes to you?  I think you would.  I’d love to hear your experiences, please feel free to write me personally or post your comments below!

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Are you going backward more than you are going forward?

February 27, 2014 By

hopscotch I am back here at square one!  Now, just how did that happen?  I thought I was going forward until I realized I was doing it again.  All the stuff that I do that holds me back or puts me back at the beginning.  It’s frustrating, aggravating and downright depressing.

So what happened this time?  Well, I realized that the old gremlin reared its ugly head again. I faced it before and won so… why is it coming back again?

Have you had this problem before?

I get really upset when the gremlin shows up and this time decided to do something about it.  It took courage for me to do this but I decided to face it — and I mean stare it in the face!

I asked my gremlin; “Just why are you here now?” and the conversation went something like this:

Gremlin:  I’m here to keep you safe and protect you.

Me:  Great, thank you but safe and protect me from what?

Gremlin:  From getting hurt.

Me:  Ok, I understand but what is going to hurt me?

Gremlin:  Everything.

Me:  Ok, I get it that you’re worried, but if you are keeping me safe and protecting me from getting hurt by everything, how am I supposed to live my life?

Gremlin:  Oh, well I didn’t think of that.  But it doesn’t matter because I still don’t think you are good enough anyway so why bother?

See, the gremlin is the part of us that has the doubts, the fears and the concerns.  Only ‘playing it safe’ doesn’t get us anywhere.  I was tired of never taking any chances!  I was willing to step up and out of my comfort zone because I knew the reward would be oh so great… and it is!

Let’s get back to the gremlin.  Once you know what the gremlin is protecting you from, you become aware of what is holding you back.  Then you can use your gremlin to provide the strength to move forward!  In my case I asked myself “How true is it that I’m not good enough to make money in my business, get clients, live healthy, and have great relationships?”  And I soon saw that none of it was true at all… and courage showed up!  I turned that gremlin into my motivator to take chances to be confident and bold in my life and got such great results.

Let’s go back (yes, pun intended) to you.  Are you going backward more than you are going forward?

Here are a few tips to help you face your gremlin:

  • Stop being so emotional.  When we are in our emotional thinking it is hard to see our options.  We only see fear, what ifs, and negative outcomes.
  • Start using your logical thinking.  Using your logical thinking, you can ask questions like:  “What am I afraid of?”  “What really could happen?”  “What do I know about myself that will help me take a step forward?”
  • Look at the bigger picture.  There is always more going on than we can see.  If you take a step back (this is when it’s good to step backward) and say “Ok, what exactly is going on here?”  Look at the emotional side and the logical side of your situation so you can see it with different perspectives.

Remember, examining from more than one angle often takes out the fears, the worries, and the doubts… and opens up a new view of what is really ahead of you.  If your two options are not being good enough or being even greater than you imagine, which will you choose?

I’d love to hear your comments and how you have overcome your own personal gremlin.  Please post your thoughts below!

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

The Secret Behind Big Success

January 30, 2014 By

child with gold medal (428x640)What’s behind the big successes of our lives?  Do you know?  If you said “lots of little ones” then you are likely on the right track to your success.  Whoohoo to you!

There is an awesome commercial on television that features U.S. Olympian Snowboarder Louie Vito, the current Gold Medalist of the 2013 Winter X Games Europe. It runs videos of his life from winning medals backwards to when he was very little.  It ends with “Behind every big moment, there are lots of little ones.”  My point, exactly.

However, when we are running our businesses we tend to think of the next big thing.  The big client we sign that pays in full, selling out your latest awesome program in one day and so on.  I’d like to remind you that before every big success, there are lots and lots of little ones that happen first.  So all those little clients are preparing you for the big one and having any people in your first program is preparing you for the sell-out later on.

While we do not necessarily celebrate the small achievements, they are the backbone to us reaching our goals.  They have to be.  I have yet to meet or hear of someone who is successful who did not have any small accomplishments!

Along with those successes are some small and big struggles, too.  I live by the mantra, “There Are No Mistakes.”  One of my mentor’s says that no matter what happens, there are only opportunities for breakthroughs.  She says:  “You didn’t meet your goal, opportunity for a breakthrough.”  “You didn’t get the client, opportunity for a breakthrough.”  The lesson in that moment is I have the choice to look within and see what I can do differently to move forward toward my goal; I have the opportunity to do something different.  And let me tell you, it’s an amazing feeling to have.

Did Louie Vito get to where he is now by not taking advantage of the little moments, both successes and struggles?  Of course not!  He got there by taking advantage of the opportunities along the way – the good ones and the not so good ones.

I invite you to look at everything happens in your life as opportunity to learn and grow and to mold your life into exactly what you want.  Remember that you are the only one responsible for your successes and your struggles…because there are no mistakes.

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

The success and accomplishment component

January 30, 2012 By

The word success means different things to different people.  Success often means an attainment of something big: receiving a promotion, losing a lot of weight, completing a degree, or having well-raised children.  Yet, what about when attaining something small?  How do we view that?

I recently added a component to one of my group programs – a success/accomplishment component.  Each week my clients take a look at what they have done in order to acknowledge and celebrate them.  It does not matter if an accomplishment was big or small, what they focus on is the success of their actions.  Many have a bigger goal in mind, yet by focusing attention on the actions that they are taking consistently and getting results from, they see their success every step of the way.

So, when you think of success what do you think of?  I challenge you to look over your week, and even your day, to see where you have had success.  You will be amazed at how much you had for which you didn’t give yourself credit!  How you think often gets in your way of success.  Let’s say you realized your health was important and you decided to cut back on sugar, and in place of cookies you would eat one piece of fruit.  And the next time you craved cookies, you did just that – you chose the fruit.  That, my friend, is success!  Or maybe you decided that you want to get more exercise and said, “I’m exercising one hour every day”.  And you do exercise, but it isn’t for one hour every day, it is for 20 minutes three times a week.  That, my friend, is success also!  I know what you are thinking, “You said one hour every day and that’s not what happened.”  However, if you look at your goal — wanting to get more exercise — and ask “Did I accomplish that?”  YES, you did.  You exercised.  That is your success.

Simply by shifting your thoughts of what success means to you, how you go about reaching your goals, and whether or not you recognize yourself for your accomplishments along the way all make a difference.  Congratulating yourself for your efforts and dedication now will lead to future successes… and reaching them joyfully.

We often forget that it is the smaller steps that bring us to our ultimate goal and what we perceive as ‘the success’.  There is a saying, ‘”Don’t sweat the small stuff” – and it’s true, yet the small stuff can be just as important in our journey.

So, I’m curious about your thoughts on success, even just “Success to me is________” – please share them below!  I love to hear from you!

 

© Copyright 2012 Kim Ravida Coaching. All rights reserved. Feel free to use the material from the article in whole or in part, just makes sure you include this complete acknowledgement including the live website link and let me know where the material will appear: “Kim Ravida, owner and founder of Kim Ravida Coaching, is a Certified Professional Coach and a personal and professional motivation mentor. In essence, she motivates people to stop beating themselves up and helps them get off their butts so that they maximize their time and energy to quickly get what they want in their lives… and love their reflection! Kim produces a weekly ezine where she shares insights, inspirations, tips and ideas for setting and reaching personal and professional goals. To get more information or sign up, please go to www.kimravida.com.” 

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Start planning to be who you say you want to be

January 16, 2012 By

Isn’t it wonderful?  Over the past couple of weeks you have acquired determination and made decisions!  Way to go!  Now it’s time to create your plan.  A plan is the number one tool you can use to reach your success.  The purpose for creating a plan is so that you know the steps to take to achieve your desired results… and often in a shorter amount of time then you might expect.  Without a plan, essentially you have no map of where you are going and that makes the journey more of a challenge than it needs to be.  We have all heard the Proverb quote:  “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  Your successes aren’t easy to come by when you have no plan.

Weight loss is top of the list for New Year’s goals for many – ok, ok, it’s usually top of the list all year round!  While it is a great goal, I find that many of my clients haven’t planned out how they are going to do this.  They show determination in saying, “I want to lose weight” and they make the decision to make changes, yet never create a plan for them to succeed. Then they become frustrated and disappointed because they don’t meet their goals.

Awareness is the first part of the process to creating individual plans that succeed.  For example, you hear yourself saying “Boy oh boy, food keeps going in my mouth and I want it to stop if I’m going to lose this weight.”  This is a great place to start; you’re aware of the problem you want to address.  From here you can create a step by step plan: how much weight do you want to lose, by when, what steps will you take to do this, what will you continue to do, what will you stop doing, and what will get in your way and how to address those situations.  This will help you say, “I’m losing this weight no matter what and here is how I’m going to do it!”

My clients sometimes allow themselves to be pulled in whatever direction that happens to come to them at the moment.  A good example of this is:  it’s someone’s birthday at the office, and guess what comes with a birthday?  Usually a cake – and cake is yummy!  So they allow themselves to be sucked in and they end up eating the cake.  Yet, if they had a plan for this type of situation — how to gracefully decline the offer without offending anyone or getting into debates — they would have a much better chance of saying no to the cake and yes to staying on target to lose weight.  It’s easy to see how a plan can help you reach your goals!

So when will you start planning to be who you say you want to be and do what you say you want to do?  I would love to hear from you below.

© Copyright 2012 Kim Ravida Coaching. All rights reserved. Feel free to use the material from the article in whole or in part, just makes sure you include this complete acknowledgement including the live website link and let me know where the material will appear: “Kim Ravida, owner and founder of Kim Ravida Coaching, is a Certified Professional Coach and a personal and professional motivation mentor. In essence, she motivates people to stop beating themselves up and helps them get off their butts so that they maximize their time and energy to quickly get what they want in their lives… and love their reflection! Kim produces a weekly ezine where she shares insights, inspirations, tips and ideas for setting and reaching personal and professional goals. To get more information or sign up, please go to www.kimravida.com.” 

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