LIVE LIFE UP HIGH

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How are you living?

Many entrepreneurs are living their personal and professional lives in a cloudy haze. They don’t have clear written goals and plans to achieve them.  They really don’t know where they want to end up in life so they live their lives without a clear strategic plan, a winning personal culture and definite concrete actions to take them to this destiny.

You are destined for something great.

Some entrepreneurs are even waiting for their destiny to smack them in the face. They don’t know that they must discover the destiny that is already in them. There is a saying I heard recently,  ”destiny is not a matter of chance it is a choice”. This is very true. You have the right to choose your best personal and professional life. You have the right to move towards a destiny and to live a great life. Obviously there are some things you must do to reach this destiny but you can reach it.  

Let’s begin moving towards our destiny.

My fellow entrepreneurs, over the next few posts let’s take the time to explore some of the best information on effective goal setting, effective planning and goal achievement.  I will pull from some of the best thinkers and writers on the subject and synthesize this information for you in a way that you can take action on it right away. Step by step we will move towards your best life.

The power of choice.

If you want this life your first step is to make a choice. Decide today to be the best you can be and to live the best life you can live. Decide today to do whatever it takes to be your best, give your best, and have the best business and professional life you can have. Choose to have a great destiny and to leave a great legacy. I challenge you to choose greatness today.

Please join me over the next few posts as we move closer to our destiny and live our best lives.

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In this post we continue our discussion of Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book Who Switched off My Brain?: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions. We are specifically looking at the steps she recommends for detoxing your brain. In the previous post we discussed the first five detox steps. In this post we continue by briefly discussing steps 6-9.

Detox Step 6 – Think Forgiveness – Much has been written about the importance of forgiving yourself and others in order to acheive success. Dr. Leaf  joins these writers in expressing the power of forgiveness on your mind and body.  She says forgiveness is like taking an “emotional shower”. Forgiveness allows you to let go of toxic emotions and memories and build new and better memories. Make a decision to forgive and release those who have done you wrong in business and in life. This will add years to your life and life to your business.

Detox Step 7 – Love – Tune Into Your Heart -  Did you know that your heart considers and “thinks” about the information the brain sends to it. According to Dr. Leaf, the heart has a “mini-brain” that functions like a conscience.  She suggests that when you practice love and appreciation many of your internal systems are positively affected and help you live longer and healthier. The key thought here is to tune into your heart and practice love, kindness, gratitude and appreciation. These emotions help eliminate toxic thoughts. These emotions also help you to get more business and serve more customers.

Detox Step 8 – Monkey Hug- Therapy – Touch has long been touted as having a powerful affect on human beings (and others). Dr Leaf relates an interesting story in the book about a study conducted with baby monkeys. This study clearly shows the power of touch. It is a must read.  Caroline also mentions various studies that show that touch releases powerful chemicals from the brain that breaks negative feedback loops. The message: take time to hug and be hugged.

Detox Step 9- Play and Laugh – This one is self-explanatory. An interesting point here is that laughter releases feel-good chemicals that boost the immune system and does other great things in the body. To be a successful, well-rounded entrepreneur you must take time to play and laugh. Entrepreneurs by nature are driven to succeed. We must be reminded to take time and enjoy ourselves. Our lives depend on it. Consider this your reminder.

Check our Dr. Leaf’s book and as always I look forward to your comments.

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In my last post we discussed Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Who Switched off My Brain?: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions . In that post we discussed some of the dangers of toxic thinking. In the next three posts we will briefly discuss the 13 steps that Dr. Leaf suggests for detoxing your thought life. If you follow these steps, you will definitely think better, feel better and perform better. Ultimately, you will dramatically increase your level of success and the success of those around you.

Detox Step 1 – Consciously Control Your Thoughts – The key idea here is to pay attention to what you are thinking. Are you putting unrealistic expectations on yourself and others? Are you thinking fearfully? Do you have specific positive written goals that you are focusing on or are you just drifting through your day. Dr. Leaf suggests that you engage and analyze thoughts that enter your mind and make a conscious decision as to whether you want to accept or reject this thought.  Step 1 is an important step with several important sub-steps that you will want to read in the book.

Detox Step 2 – Frame Your World With Your Words – Most of us have heard that words have power. This is shockingly very true. As, Dr. Leaf explains, 

The words you speak feed back into the magic trees of the mind, reinforcing the memory they came from. When you make negative statements, you release negative chemicals. These lead to negative memories that grow stronger and become negative strongholds that control your attitude and life.

An important point here is that it is not just positive talking that is important, it is positive talk that is congruent to your positive thoughts that is important.

Detox Step 3 – Express those Emotions – The key here is not to deny what you feel. You need to express your emotions at an appropriate time, in an appropriate environment, in an appropriate way. When you repress your emotions you make yourself sick. Eventually these emotions will manifest themselves anyway and usually not in at an appropriate time or way.

Detox Step 4 – Take Responsibility and Take Control – In this step Dr. Leaf discusses the importance of being aware of what’s in your mind in terms of past experiences and conditioning. What are your memories and emotions? Once you are aware of these thought patterns you can begin to deal with bad memories by growing good ones. Also, be responsible enough to seek extra help (prayer, meditation and counseling) if you have long standing emotional strongholds.

Detox Step 5 – Dream On! – According to Dr. Leaf when you dream, important psychological and physiological processes happen in the body-mind connection. Because dreams give you clues as to what is happening in your thought life she suggests that you make a conscious effort to remember and record your dreams. Some experts believe that when you dream, the body can discuss its condition with your mind. The key is to decide to remember the dream.

I know many of my readers may be wondering what all of this has to do with entrepreneurship. I understand the hesitation but please remember proper thinking helps you to excel and take advantage of opportunities. Without proper thinking you will probably never fully realize your entrepreneurial potential.

As always I welcome your comments.

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Gratitude is a powerful tool for attracting great things into your life and your business. When you practice being grateful your life and your business improves.

Gratitude is defined as ” the state of being grateful; thankfulness”. Let’s dig a little deeper. To be grateful is to be “warmly or deeply appreciative of the kindness or benefits received”. So we can define gratitude as the state of being warmly and deeply appreciative of the kindness or benefits received. This may sound hokey but it is true, when you live a life of deep appreciation everything in your life improved.  Here are 3 great quotes about gratitude:

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

Johannes A. Gaertner

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melodie Beattie

So how can we practice gratitude as entrepreneurs. Of course, there are a lot of ways to do this but below are three ideas that you can implement right away. Try these and let me know what you think.

• Express gratitude to your clients. Send out a letter or an email to all you clients letting them know how grateful you are for their business. You can take it a step further by offering them a free gift.
• Keep a gratitude journal. At the end of each day write at least 10 things for which you are grateful. Do this every day for the next 30 days and see what a difference it makes in both your business life and personal life.
• Send handwritten notes. When an employee or a business associate goes out of their way to help you or a customer write them a special note expressing your appreciation.

If an employee or business associate does anything for you send them a handwritten thank you note and express your gratefulness.

Begin practicing gratefulness until it becomes a way of life. You will be amazed at how your whole life improves.

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Why do it today if you can do it tomorrow?  Thinking like that is the beginning of the end when it comes to getting anything done — work or home chores.  The key to being more productive at work is to stop procrastinating before it gets a foothold in your thinking process.

Why do you procrastinate?  There are several reasons and some might surprise you.  Fear of failure is one reason.  No one wants to be make mistakes but they are a part of life and they do happen to everyone. 

Fear of success is also a reason why you might procrastinate.  Here is the rationale:  If you succeed you will be expected to do so all the time.  The pressure alone can stop your work.

Stress causes procrastination, too.  It is easier to deal with a problem by hiding and pretending it will go away than meeting it head on.  The problem is that the day you are ready to deal with it never comes.

Use the following tips to stop procrastination from hindering your work.

1.  Make a list.  Use dashes instead of numbers so the items on the list aren’t ranked in any particular order.  Add deadlines so that you can prioritize the list.  As you finish a task on the list, cross it off with a colorful pen.  Every time you look at the list you will get a sense of accomplishment.

2.  Set aside time for other tasks.  All work and no play, as they say.  Sometimes when you work, you’ll notice your mind thinking about taking a break and doing something else.  We’ve all done it.  Avoid those breaks in productivity by scheduling time to get away and take a break.  Knowing that you will get a break makes you want to stay focused on your work until that time.

3.  Don’t overload your schedule.  If you have too much to do in a small span of time, procrastination will surely creep in.  No one wants to slack off at work, but biting off only as much as you can chew is not the same thing.  You are more productive when you can manage your tasks instead of drowning in them and missing all of your deadlines.

4.  Find coping mechanisms.  Stress can lead to procrastination.  Deal with the stress before it affects your work.  Learn breathing techniques; take an exercise class; chant a mantra.  Whatever will relax you can also keep you working. 

5.  Stay organized.  A desk piled with papers, folders, and sticky notes is not what you want to see every morning you walk into the office.  Keep your desk neat and everything where you can find it when you need it.  Organization stops you from abandoning the task at hand because of a misplaced file.
Procrastination is hard to beat because it comes from within us.  Use the above tips to regain your level of productivity in the workplace.

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Stress can kill you.  Most people think this is stretching the truth a bit, but it is not.  Stress causes unhealthy changes in your body and makes you less effective. Most entrepreneurs are faced with lots of stressful situations. As entrepreneurs, we must manage stress before it gets out of hand. In this post, I present four simple stress-busting techniques to help the entrepreneur live longer and more successfully.

Stress is our response to outside forces exerted on us.  For example, if an employee makes us angry, how we handle it affects our entire life.  Some entrepreneurs hold it in which puts pressure on their minds.  Others let the anger dissipate in order to keep it from affecting their lives.  You want to be the latter. 

Have you ever noticed that you get headaches when dealing with certain situations?  How about that stomachache that comes on when your client calls on the phone to demand that past due project you promised?  My entrepreneurial friend,  learning to manage these stressful situations makes all the difference to your body and your health. Holding things in can make you sick and kill you so don’t keep it in. You want to be around to create your next entrepreneurial venture. Learn how to get it out of your life in an appropriate manner.

Stress-Busting Technique #1 – Take a time out.  No, we are not talking about sitting in the corner facing the wall.  Time out means distancing yourself from the situation in order to get a fresh perspective.  People have many different ways to take a time out and you can choose a few that work with your schedule and lifestyle. Here are two good ones.

Go for a walk.  If you work from home, going for a walk can break up the work of the day.  Getting fresh air and sunlight, as well as exercise, increases the oxygen flow to the brain.  Working an exercise session into your day on a regular basis is the perfect time to sweat out all your problems and increase the feel-good endorphins in your system.  A body in good shape can combat physical changes due to stress.   In fact exercise reduces stress levels.

Pray. Praying is a smart way to deal with stress because it gets the focus off of you and puts it on God. Most people who pray sincerely notice a sense of peace after they pray. There is an old adage that says “prayer changes things”. I think it is also true that many times “prayer changes us” and equips us to change things.

Stress-Busting Technique #2 – Communicate with others.  Some stressful situations are caused by what we perceive to be the truth.  We do it all the time.  Interpreting a look or a gesture without verbal confirmation leads to trouble.  If you think your client is unhappy with you, go and ask her.  She may be having a bad day which has nothing to do with you, but you are getting a stomachache because of a faulty assumption.

When you are offended or have a problem, talk it out with the appropriate person.  Clearing the air goes a long way to clearing the mind of toxic thoughts and the body from harmful effects of those toxic thoughts.  Also communicate positive words to others to create a sense of well being for yourself.

Stress-Busting Technique #3 – Spend time doing something for yourself.  Every person needs to have time to pursue their own interests.  Maybe you like to sew, read or paint. 

Whatever your passion, it is an important part of who you are and it is important for maintaining your sanity.  When the pressure gets to be too much, making yourself the number one priority can soothe your soul.

Stress-Busting Technique #4 – Focus on generating solutions instead of  focusing on the problem. What you focus on tends to expand. If you constantly focus on the problem not only will your stress levels increase but the size of the problem will increase in your mind. It will appear a lot larger than it really is and this will increase your stress. However, if you focus on generating solutions and thinking about solutions, the solutions will swallow up the problem along with the stress that came from the problem.

Entrepreneur, stress is manageable with a few techniques.  Before you head towards the deep end, keep stress under control:  communicate, incorporate “me” time, keep your body healthy and focus on solutions.  You and your family will be glad you did.

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Networking is a fantastic way to build your business, not only by expanding awareness and your customer base but also by giving you professional resources to enhance and strengthen your skills and knowledge. 

Not only should you network with other professionals in your field but you should network with your customers, your suppliers and people who can provide administative support.

Networking actually takes many forms including offline networking with local associations and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce.  You can also network online in forums, chat rooms and social networking sites.  Here’s how:

Step One – Understand what your networking goals are.

For many, their social networking strategy evolves around building relationships – and there are many different relationships networking can create and build including:

* Joint venture partnerships
* Vendor relationships
* Mentor relationships 
* Friends and resources
* Customers
Whether you’re creating a social networking strategy to find new customers or you’re seeking partnerships or mentors, or a combination of the above it’s important to have your strategy mapped out before you begin networking.

Step Two – Create Your Networking Plan

Answer the following questions:

* Who is your target audience?
* What relationships are you looking to find and build?
* What do you have to offer them?
* What networking sites or organizations will you participate in?
* How are you going to represent yourself online?
* How often are you going to post/participate? 
* Will you create specific promotions and offers for your networking audience?

Step Three – Choosing your networking mediums – websites and organizations

Whether you’re looking to join a local networking organization or an online website, the most important thing to keep in mind are your goals.  Determine if the organization is going to be able to help you reach your goals before taking steps to join.
For example, if you’re looking to create joint venture partnerships then a professional networking site, forum, or chat room devoted to your industry may be exactly where you need to be.  However if you’re looking to build your customer base and expand awareness then a popular social networking site would fit the bill. 
Often, networking sites are valued by the number of members they have however it’s also important to make sure the audience matches your audience.  For example, if you’re marketing to seniors or baby boomers then MySpace is probably not the right social networking site for you since it caters to younger people.

Step Four:  Participate

Networking is only effective if you participate.  Here are a few rules of interaction when it comes to online and offline networking.

Get involved. Networking is about connecting with others. This means communicating with your audience in a manner which they will respond to. This is accomplished by using their language, addressing issues which they will be interested in or concerned about and providing them with information and resources which they will benefit from.

Update frequently. Online, in order to develop a following and to stay connected to your audience, it’s important to update regularly. Because many people have made a habit of networking online at least once a day (some people maintain access to their social networking site of choice all day long), it’s important to stop in and say hello. If your time permits, update at least once a day. If you don’t have time to commit to updating daily, consider outsourcing your social networking.

Be professional. Networking is about giving and receiving – not selling.  Keep the sales pitches to a minimum.  Networking is more about offering benefit to others than making sales. 

Networking, whether online or off, is a valuable way to grow your business.  Create a strategy and goals and remember you get what you give – become active in the right group and you’ll reap the rewards.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

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The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for lists.
H. Allen Smith

I love lists. I think lists have great power. We have heard a lot about to-do lists and places to-go lists. I would like to suggest another great list. This is a to-give list.  This list would outline all the great things you would like to give to others and to yourself.

Why a List

Most of us know the power of giving but so many times we get busy doing other things during the day that we forget to give.  Would you agree that most of us want to be consummate givers but many times our days go by so quickly it just seems like there are no opportunities to give? I believe a to-give list can help us alleviate that problem. If you have a master to-give list to work from you can use this to add  giving opportunities to your daily to-do list.

How to Create

Creating a to-give list is very simple.  You can start by sitting down and thinking of the people closest to you. What are some of the things you would like to give to them or do for them? What things would bring joy to their lives? Go ahead and write those things down. Please don’t limit the list to things that you are able to do right now either. Include big and small things. Things you can do right now and things that may have to wait until the future. Write both.

Next expand the list to the community in which you live. What are some of the things you would like to give to the community? It doesn’t have to be just money. It could be time helping someone learn something.

Next let’s make this bigger; what kinds of things would you like to give to your country?

How about the world? Is there something you can do to make the world better?

Don’t forget about yourself. What are some of the things you want to give to yourself?

Example of a Master To-Give list

1. Write an encouraging note to my friend.
2. Teach a group of young people about success.
3. Do a walk for the Breast Cancer Society.
4. Sponsor a needy child.
5. Teach someone to read.
6. Speak a kind word to someone in my family.
7. Forgive someone who has done me wrong.

These are just a few examples. Be creative. Simply creating this list will empower you. Make up your mind to do the things you have put on your list and you will not only feel great but you will begin to see great things come back to you. Your business will do better because you are not just focused on yourself, but you are concerned about others.

Additional Resource

Check out this blog for more information: www.everydaygivingblog.com.

I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think about this post. Thank you.

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Is anyone else tired of hearing about how bad the economy is faring? I mean I know we as a country are having serious problems economically. I get it. The news media has made it abundantly clear that things are going really badly. I personally think the amount of negative rhetoric is helping to perpetuate this situation. It is like someone being sick and a crowd of people gathering around that person reminding him or her how sick they are and how bad they look. The crowd constantly reminds the person that no one knows whether they can ever recover from this sickness. It is no wonder that the economy is getting worse. It is almost as if the news media is deriving a morbid sense of pleasure from reporting this bad news.
Anyway, I believe that while the economy may be bad, you don’t have to do bad financially with it. Below are 3 things you can do to help you thrive in these economic bad times.

1. Look for opportunities within problems

“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” – James Francis Byrnes

Instead of being problem-focused be opportunity focused.  There are opportunities to prosper all around you.  Many times these opportunities are found in the problems others are having. There are answers that you have that no one else has.  Solve a problem and you will increase your value. Get in the opportunity mindset. Look for opportunities that only present themselves in a weak economy. Believe me, the opportunities are there if you look for them. Once you find the opportunity, go for it. Don’t let fear or doubt stop you. You can do it.

2. Get rid of unnecessary things in your life.

A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can’t do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do.
Chuck Norris

When times are tough it can be a great time to get rid of excess baggage. It is a great time to change. Here are some things you can do:

Review your mental attitude.

Get rid of attitudes and modes of thought that are negative and wasteful. This is also a time to get rid of your negative beliefs about yourself and your potential for success. You are successful. It is in you now.  Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You were designed to be great.

Review the people with whom you associate

Separate yourself from negative people. Get rid of people that suck energy out of you. These people are more expensive than you know. Let them go and get stronger. Stop hanging around the nay Sayers. Hang around people that believe they can succeed even in this economy.

Review your budget

 Are there things that you no longer need that you are paying for? Get rid of these things. Go line by line and eliminate wasteful spending in your budget.

Refuse to participate in the recession.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I have several stands around here.
James Brady

This has to do with attitude. We know the facts and the numbers about the economy. Let’s decide that our right attitude, faith, skills, ingenuity, determination and the great people around us will not only cause us to survive but to thrive in these times.  Let’s refuse to focus on all the negative things going on. We are aware of them but we know we have what it takes to make it. Don’t spend a lot of time talking about how bad things are. Expect to prosper.

Please share other things that we can do to thrive in this economy. I want to hear your thoughts.

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I was laying in bed the other day thinking about things I had achieved in last year and those things I had not yet achieved. What happened to those goals that I said I wanted but had not yet achieved them? I started doing some soul-searching…Why hadn’t I achieved these goals yet? After thinking about this for a while I asked myself three important questions. I would like to share these three questions with you. Go through the process of answering these questions and you will move closer to the fulfillment of your goals.

Question 1: Do you really want to achieve this goal?

Is this your goal? Are you sure? I mean, does this goal come from inside your heart or is it something someone told you that you should do? Many times we are pursuing a goal that is not ours. It is not in line with who we are and who we were created to be. If you birthed this goal from your heart, you are more likely to achieve it. If you deeply desire it you are more likely to manifest it. As a first step, I would encourage you review your major life goals and determine the origin and authenticity of each goal. Is this really my goal? If it is not truly your goal, you may want to get rid of it so you can focus on the goals that are truly your goals.

Question 2: Why do you want to achieve this goal?

Once you determine that a goal is truly your goal then next question is answer is why. Why do you want to achieve this goal? What is your motivation?  This is important because when you reach a point of homeostasis, knowing the main reasons why you want this goal will help you keep going (I actually recently read a great blog post on The Positivity Blog that describes homeostasis.). I would suggest that you write down 2 or 3 key reasons why you want to achieve each goal. Determine the benefit of this goal to you and others.

Question 3: Are you willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal?

This is an important question. Many times we don’t achieve our goals because we are not willing to commit to doing whatever it takes to achieve our goal. Now I want you to understand that being willing to do whatever it takes doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have to do whatever it takes. Most times just being willing to do whatever it takes knocks down barriers.

Further, the one thing that you are not willing to do to meet your goal will probably be the thing that comes up to test your commitment. Once you make up in your mind that you are willing to do whatever it takes it won’t matter if that thing comes up or not. You have already conquered it.

Please keep in mind that being willing to do whatever it takes doesn’t mean you should be willing to do immoral things or things that hurt others. Remember you goals should be uplifting to you and to others.

Put your goals through the test

I encourage you to put your goals through the test.  Sit down for 30 minutes with a pen and paper (or your computer) and write your answers to the three questions listed above. These answers will give you greater clarity and you will begin achieving more of your goals.

If you want to know more about setting and achieving your goals, a great book that I recommend is The Power of Focus: What the Worlds Greatest Achievers Know about The Secret of Financial Freedom and Success . This book will take the serious goal-setter through a process that will help you move forward to achieve your most important goals.