Become a Hot Entrepreneur

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

Day 9 without my laptop. Working from an iPad, and I’ll remind you it is version 1, is better than having nothing to work from, so I’ll count my blessings. I am discovering little tricks, like tapping the shift key twice…it locks in the uppercase key. And after twice deleting a long message in Notes, I searched and discovered you can shake the iPad and the undo selection appears. It works in other applications too. Magically the whole message came back. That’s about the only magical thing about this…so far.

While on a coaching call the other day, my client asked me if I’d received my laptop back yet. My response, as you can guess, was no, although I had put a command out to the Universal Manager to find my MAC and return it to me. She asked me by when? I’ve been writing it down on my list and handing it over to the Universe, but totally didn’t think to assign a date. Who knew? Monday, January 30, 2012 is the date FedEx will be knocking on my door with my silver MAC in hand. First thing this highly productive Entrepreneur will do is write to you. Do you think the FedEx guy will be ok with me hugging him?

It’s closing in on the last week of January, and lots has happened to you already. Or is that for you? When you take inspired action, you can live the life you dream about. You are the creator of your life, and you make things happen for you. 

Alternatively, you simply don’t know you have the opportunity to seize hold of your life, or don’t know how to get it, and life happens to you. 

My friend, choose to be the creator of your life, and let 2012 rock for you. 

WHY?

As a coach and entrepreneur, I have my own awesome coach. He keeps me on track, helps me clarify my business values and goals, and brings me back to the crucial question: WHY? When I look back at the end of my life, who do I want to be? What I do I want to do? What do I want to have? Why do I want these things? When we can answer these tough questions, we gain clarity, and the clearer we are about ourselves, the better we can serve others. I’m here to do ask the same questions of you.

Dream Big.

Step 1 – Allocate time to design your life
You are about to design your life, so make a plan, and take action. This takes a couple of hours, so you may want to set aside two hours in your schedule. Imagine what your life can look like at the end of your life, because you took this challenge and you took inspired action. It took me about an hour to think about my lifetime dreams and write down what I wanted to be, do and have. And then another hour to finish the process.

Step 2 – Write Your Lifetime Goals
Write a list of what you want to be, do, and have in your lifetime. Yes, that’s your lifetime. Think about it. What do you want to accomplish by the end of your life? Dream big.

The first time I went through this process, I wrote a story. As any good coach would do, I was sent back to my iPad to create a list…a very long list.

Why a list works best.

1. Once you start jotting down what you want to do, be, and have in your lifetime, the ideas flow.

2. Later you can group ideas together that are related to your relationships, life work, and health and wellness. Wait until you see all of the things that will become your personal accomplishments. You will be so excited.

3. It’s easier to see your amazing list when you put it up on your bulletin later, and be inspired.

4. It’s a simple copy and paste process when you create your lists for year three and one.  

Add Clarity

Step 3 – Three Year Goals
Yup you got it. Create a list for where you want to be three years from now. As your future becomes closer, you become clearer. This should be quick as everything is on your first list. You may find things pop into your head, so add them to both lists…your three year list and your lifetime goals.

Step 4 – What do you want to be, do, have this year?
Repeat the process for what you want to accomplish this year. Again, add in any new ideas you have to all three lists.  

Step 5 – Immediate Focus
Now, what are you going to do immediately: this month, week, today?
What can you focus on right now that will help you get from where you are today to where you want to be at the end of your lifetime? Keep writing.

Take Inspired Action

End your day by celebrating your wins, big wins and small ones, too!  Write your top six tasks to accomplish tomorrow on an Action Sheet. You will wake up tomorrow morning ready to take inspired action.

Wake up declaring ‘I love my life’.

When you wake up in the morning, throw your hands up in the air and declare, ‘I love my life’. Trust me, it’s an amazing way to start your day.

Even though I just started my list on Friday, my end date is still December 12, 2012. Once you have gone through this process, the following year will be a breeze. Celebrate your accomplishments, and add new goals into your timelines.

New to my one-year list today…I want to have ‘a Mac BookPro’. DONE (as in added to my list…not delivered to my door)

Day 4 and still no word about my laptop left in LAX security.  It was a holiday Monday, Martin Luthur King Jr. Day. I’m hoping that’s why it’s taking so long to hear back. As an Entrepreneur, can you imagine how long that would feel? Three days without your computer would feel like three weeks, don’t you think? It does for me.

Why is the popular silver Mac the exact same colour as those bins? Does this occur to you every time you travel, as it does to me? As a Business Attraction Coach I can only chuckle, send my request out for its return, and know it will find its way back to me.  My Fellow Traveler be aware! 

I know it’s there. Someone else, who later saw me at customs in Vancouver, Canada, heard my name being paged back in LAX. Did you know there’s a special phone number to call…just for laptops left behind in security? The amazing crew on WestJet did everything they could to track it down, although information can only be released to the owner. Having a number to call, their heart-felt sympathy and suggestions, gave me hope.  

As you can imagine, I spent the first couple of days recovering, not only from shock and inertia without a computer, but from participating in two intense conferences in LA over 11 days. This “downtime” turned into a blessing, as I absorbed my latest experience on the support squad at Click and Be Free’s ‘Ultimate Membership Site Seminar’.

Finally, waking up energized and realizing this was a great opportunity to jump back into the game challenged…I took advantage of the time to write out my life goals, clean up my office, clear out my file cabinet to create space for new files for my ideal clients, and start to write my new book. Who knew a day without a computer could be so productive. 

2012 is going to be an awesome year…do you feel it too?

Ah, you ask how am I surviving and still doing business…my baby tech toy…the iPad. Will let you know when my computer makes its way back to me and just know much business can be accomplished on version one of the iPad. Just don’t ask me to print or fax something to you, or watch a video. It’s definitely not the best path to being a productive entrepreneur!

Reading posts on Twitter and in blogs clearly shows the holiday season is depressing for millions of people. It is evident, and very sad, that many people look outward for their validation and compare themselves to their friends and families. They believe others are happier and live better lives than they do based solely on what they see others doing and saying.  They believe others are better off than themselves. They believe they are better, worthier, wealthier, happier….  When people compare themselves with others they will always feel they are less than the other person, and less than who they truly are. They do not realize there is this joyful, truly awesome person inside…waiting to be noticed.

There is this great story about appreciating what we have, and I apologize for not knowing where this originated from. Its truth resonated for me, as I hope it will for you: “If everyone was to throw their stuff into a great big pile, and we looked at what everyone else had to deal with, we’d quickly see ours wasn’t so bad and would gladly pull our own stuff back out of the pile”. We know there is always someone else worse off than ourselves. The opposite is also true: there are others better off than ourselves. That’s the way it is. The magic comes from being grateful for what we have and for who we are.  Every single one of us is unique, and has a gift to share with the world. As we learn to look within to examine our inner self, our heart, we see and feel the joy that already exists within us. Happiness is not something that comes if, or when, this happens or that happens. It is already present within ourselves. Ask yourself, “In this very moment, what is truly right with my world?” Breathe it in, listen for your joy. I believe it is already there for you, just as it is for me, and just as it is for all those unhappy people who compare themselves with others.

We have no idea what is going on inside the mind and spirit of another human being. Appearances are often far from reality. In other words, what people show and say to the world (their outer reality) is actually in conflict with what’s going on inside (their inner reality).  I can personally attest to this, as I once told myself the biggest lies…about myself, to my self. Our work on ourselves is never done. When we start to realize that we do create our own reality by looking inside, we begin to make the shift to living in joy. There was much inner work that I needed to do to realize this.

One shift for me came when I re-read my notes after hearing Dr. John Demartini speak for the first time. ‘Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world’. We already “know” this, although hearing someone else say it seems profound. Sometimes it needs to be explained. Our inner world is what’s going on inside of us: what we think, how we feel, our beliefs, our mindsets, etc. Our thoughts trigger our feelings which make us respond and become our actions. This leads to our results.  Simply put: thoughts + feelings + actions = results.  The results of our thoughts and feelings (our inner self) appear as actions reflected in our outer world.  Another critical point here is that we have the ability to choose our thoughts. We need to train ourselves to pay attention to the thoughts we have running through our head. We may give ourselves permission to change those thoughts that don’t serve us (and actually work against us). A shift in our inner thoughts, mindsets, and recognizing our true feelings will guide us to our inner desires. And, what we truly desire we can manifest in our physical, outer world.

May 2012 be your year…where your inner desires match your outer reality.

I’d love to be of service to you in 2012. Would you be willing to fill out a short survey (completely confidential) to share what obstacles stand in your way…what area of your life you could use a coach on your side…what are your dreams and aspirations? Click here to take survey.

If you’d like to comment below, I’d love to hear from you and what your plans are to take yourself to the next level in 2012. Merry Christmas to you. Wshing you much joy, love, and laughter this holiday season.

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” ~ Paul J. Meyer

To become an entrepreneur: Be present. Be focused. Be very kind to yourself. And do whatever it takes.

To successfully work at home, and to become an entrepreneur, you may need to acquire some new habits or new ways of thinking. You may need to start new daily rituals to improve qualities like self-discipline, willpower, focus, and persistence. And new mind-sets such as working in a home office instead of a corporate office, and shifting from an employee  mind-set to an entrepreneur. Remember, you can acquire any skill, improve any quality, and introduce a new ritual to change your habits. If something is not working right for you, it just means you are missing a key piece of knowledge. It doesn’t matter what IT is; you can learn it. We are all leaders. Even if we don’t believe we are, perhaps a shift in our mind-set is needed.  Maybe we haven’t found our thing…our joy. Once we do what’s in our heart, we will be able to lead in that field. Okay, so this is a little bit deeper than some simple tips for working in your home office… Read the rest of this entry »

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to hear Dr Demartini speak in Palm Desert at Peak’s “Master Your Mind” conference in October, although I couldn’t write fast enough. As you will hear in this interview by Loral Langemeier, he has so much wisdom to share his speech comes out with rocket lightening speed. He is an inspirational thought leader, who has dedicated his life to assisting millions of people, myself included, to live our most inspired life.

Dr. Demartini has an incredible story, and was first inspired by Paul Bragg who said, “We have a body, we have a mind, and we have a soul, and the body must the guided by the mind, and the mind must be directed by the soul to maximize our potential and live an amazing life.  You must set goals for yourself, your family, your community, your city, your state, your nation, your world, and beyond for 100-120 years.”

One of Dr. Demartini’s daily declarations, which he’s said for 39 years, is: “I am a genius, and I apply my wisdom.” It is evident that he is a genius and has generously shared his wisdom, despite being told by his elementary school teacher that he will never learn to read, or write, or ever amount to anything. He shares that your declarations, or affirmations, must be congruent with your highest values.

Sheryl Sandberg confidently shows her vulnerable, naturally feminine side. She is authentic and powerful. Our energy is different: Women are collaborators, men are competitors. She leads with ALL her strengths. “It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution…a clear path to happiness.”  We can be leaders in whatever we choose to be: lead a company, work in a job that fulfills us, or raise your family. The key is to make it our choice, and to “Lean in to your success.” Live your joy.

During her commencement speech at Bernard College this year, her keynote speech was inspirational to not only the graduating class but to the women of the world with advice such as:

“A world where men ran half our homes, and women ran half our institutions would be a much better world.”

“Choose a job that is compelling. Do not leave before you leave. Do not lean back, lean in.”

“I promise that you will never know what you’re capable of unless you try.”

Posters around the Facebook office, inspire the staff to think big and dream big. One poster reads, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”  What would you do?

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Entrepreneurship Lessons Learned with Jamie Lerner