Thinking Big While Staying Purposefully Humble…
With all the publicity around Michael Port’s new book: “Think Big Manifesto“, it’s hard for me not to write about what I so believe in. Never before (thanks to readily-available technology) have we seen this type of equal opportunity for business success.
I realize more and more that the degree of success, impact and passion ONLY depend on me, my thoughts, my habits and ability to tolerate perceived risk. The moment I decided that it’s time to stop playing small, the world opened up.
Profit, Creativity, Joy, Passion, Love for my work, it all skyrockets because of the way I think.
Don’t believe it? Well, I didn’t either. Why? Because in my eyes, thinking this big took a BIG ego, a big self-centered, idea of the “magnificent” ME. Over the last year or so, I realized though that the only reason I could not think big AND be authentic to who I am, was that I didn’t integrate both aspect of myself.
I didn’t allow myself to have fun, to create outside the box, to be rebellious, to challenge the norm without feeling like a huge “showoff”.
Lesson learned:
You can be both humble and high-achieving. It might take a bit of practice but I can tell you that it’s highly rewarding.
I (and my faithful team) have been tirelessly working on brainstorming and creating a huge launch event (stretching over almost 4 months) for our new Global Association of Conscious Women Entrepreneurs.
It is fun, creative, joyful, will put my business, my staff and me on the map…
…all while I take some time every day to make sure that my focus is on YOU, not me (even though I have a blast working for you)…and that is really the beauty of all of this:
You CAN have fun, do it differently from everybody else, enjoy your gifts AND be of service.
So, action step for today: Ask yourself these questions:
1. What do I want to be remembered by? What is my destiny?
2. What habits would I need to cultivate and what would i have to jettison from my present life to live out my true life purpose?
3. What are the most important personal accomplishments I can image in my life?
For me, question 3 really got me. I realized right then and there that I was stopping myself from dreaming bigger. At first, I couldn’t really come up with anything…and when I did, I felt selfish, grandiose and ego-driven.
But then I thought again…and I realized that my biggest wish is to speak and to connect with 1,000+ women at a conference as the keynote speaker on “How to transform marketing into the highest acts of self-expression” and how I would love to see the audience faces light up, sighs escaping their lips, shoulders dropping into relaxation because I just took a HUGE burden off their shoulders.
And then, right then, as I envisioned the audience, I knew I HAD to think this big.
I had to do whatever it took to get there. I had to transcend my own fears because if I didn’t, who would? My coach recently called me an “Inspired Rebel” and I think that fits. I am inspired, inspired to help, inspired to empower and a rebel because I refuse to market like everybody else. A rebel because I refuse to fit the mold, a rebel because I push myself beyond the self I am today.
Come join me (and Michael Port) to think bigger, to transcend your limitations and to maximize the good you can offer the world, all while you have FUN, FUN and FUN.
Ok, enough cheerleading for today (even though it felt great 
)
Send me your thoughts or comment on the blog,
Love you all,
Christiane
Fierceness versus Resilience
Resilience versus Fierceness:
In the past, I recognize how I flip-flopped from under-resilience to over-fierceness. I would be so kind and open and then when I got hurt, would fire back and hold my stand rigidly. Often feeling like a doormat and then retaliate when I got hurt.
This counts for business also.
I would give away my gifts, my advice, my time only to find myself resentful towards the clients and fearful about my financial future.
Today, I feel much more balanced in those two areas.
In working with Lydia, my beloved business partner, I will take a stand, especially when it’s an educated one but will make huge efforts to hear her point of view and to make her feel valued and honored. I am often able to calmly discuss with her until we come to a point that we both feel good about.
In the past, I often would try to just “forget” my hurt feelings, avoid an honest discussion but then later stubbornly hold my opinion in some weird attempt to regain “status”.
Again, this applied to my work. If my webdesigner didn’t do what I told me to, I would get angry and demanding, holding my opinion without any ability to hear his point of view.
“Willingness” versus “Willfulness”
I have to think of a book I read about “willingness” versus “willfulness”. It seems to me to describe the relationship between resilience and fierceness. I have tried for some time now to be more willing and less willful.
Willing means for me to have patience, staying power, faith in the outcome without have to force anything. Willfulness seems to represent more the need to be right, on my schedule, on my terms. Kind of like banging my head again the wall. Never worked well!
Isn’t our economy showing us how this is not working today?
Today, I am finding myself more resilient with my work, my home, my partner, my practice. Not letting myself be sucked into the illusion that my desire for external outcomes (as I define them in the moment of impatience and self-protection) is making me happy.
“Winning” is not happiness, it’s ego satisfaction.
Resilience is more like the peaceful warrior, full of inner strength, based on inner values and vision, having staying power to make a lasting impression.
Ok, a bit of wandering of my thoughts but good stuff. In a couple weeks I am taking my “official” Bodhisattva Buddhist vows and I have taken much time to study, reflect and meditate on my innate desire for rigid fierceness, this desire for a certain outcome even if this outcome is only temporarily satisfying my desire.
My intention this week:
This week I would like to continue reminding myself of staying mindfully productive in the service of others. Staying strong to my values, my virtues and not giving in to quick fixes that are so easily obtained with enough fierceness.
May your week be calmly productive, steeped in faith, calmly abiding in knowing that being of service is the best, absolute best “marketing” strategy there is.
Love to all of you,
Christiane
Distraction: The Silent Business Killer
As I was helping my daughter with her math yesterday, she was thinking about the school play, her upcoming birthday party and playing a game of Sequence with her grandparents. In other words, her mind was on anything but making a chart to plot the coordinates on the graph paper. The end result was total frustration for her and using up most afternoon doing math rather than having time to play outside.
Are you staring at your computer screen wishing you were outdoors or at the beach? Are you zipping from task to task without finishing any of your goals for the week? Are you feeling internally frustrated that your hard work is not coming through in your business?
In this noisy world of ours, focusing and concentrating are very challenging tasks! It is so tempting to answer email while writing an article or answering the phone whenever it rings. Facebook, Ning and Twitter give us immediate information gratification but they are like a black hole in terms of our time management.
Having the discipline to stay focused on the path is critical to business growth. When we are sidetracked mediocre work results and business stagnates. Mediocre work does not attract new clients, inspire creativity or lead to focused business growth and an internal feeling of satisfaction.
In order to know where you are getting stuck, answer the following questions:
1. Where are you losing focus?
2. What gets you sidetracked?
3. How do you refocus?
4. What good focusing habits do you do now and how can you strengthen those?
Think of your favorite actor before and during an amazing performance in a play or movie. They are striving for excellence and have a laser focus during the performance. I believe Anthony Hopkins in “Silence of The Lambs” as Hannibal Lector is a perfect illustration. He embodied a serial killer with each movement and his focus was palpable. Now, sustaining that intensity is not realistic for hours on end but at the critical points in your day extreme focus may be necessary.
Commit to observing yourself for a few days and if you feel inspired, recording when you are most distracted. Also, pay closest attention to when you are very focused and accomplish a great deal. Plan your work accordingly; whatever requires intense focus such as writing an article needs to be done during the focused time of the day.
Next, challenge yourself to pick 3 things for business growth that happen first in the day before anything else gets done. What about finding a new joint venture partner or co-sponsoring an event with another business? It is exciting because you are visualizing the future for your business and trying something you have never done before. Business growth and stategy won’t get lost in the mix of a busy day when they are done first.
I wish laser focus as your business blossoms,
Lydia
3 Steps to Creating A Huge Impact With Your Business
Lately I have been thinking a lot about our main desires for our businesses. I realized that all my clients (including me) want the same:
We want to:
- create financial peace-of-mind
- balance and mindfulness in our lives and…
- making a difference in this world
…all in alignment with your values of integrity, honesty and authenticity
I am correct so far?
Well, I have a few solutions for you today. They all boil down to this:
In order to create profit, balance and profound meaning, you need to make an impact with your business. So, today is about how to make just that.
Step 1: Your business needs a VOICE! It needs you to dig deep and define who you serve with what for what outcome. Makes sense, right? If I know immediately why your business is the only one I can go to in order to get my problems solved, then I’ll come AND I’ll stay.
Let’s take Inspired Business Resources, my company, for an example. There are many business coaching options out there. Most of them promise you this: “Work less, make more”. Some will promise you this: “Work less, make more, reach more”. Ok, now they have covered 3 out of your 4 needs.
Now, here is Inspired Business Resources saying: “Work less, make more, reach more and do all that with integrity, honesty, authenticity and a sense of service to the world.”
Ok, you decide…
Step 2: For maximum impact your business needs a PLAN! It needs you to find out how to “stack” your services and products up so that all your marketing efforts will be maximized. Every effort in terms of client-attraction is leveraged to the max.
Meaning that every new client will become a life-long customer, worth so much more to you and your business than he/she would have been if you didn’t have the right offerings at the right time for the right budget.
Step 3: Your business needs a lot of BUZZ! To create buzz your business or a product/service within your business needs a powerful LAUNCH! It needs you to find out how to create promotions even if you don’t have a mailing list that create a lot of attention. As you have followed my little mini, mini launch last week, you could see how much buzz a large launch can create, especially once you get connect with others who will gladly promote your product.
Just as an example, the email I sent out on Friday announcing the videos, had a 147% opening rate, meaning that many of you opened it more than once. Now think that this email would have reached 10,000 excited followers……..
Can you do the math? And no, you don’t need a huge mailing list to start a launch.
So, 3 steps to making a huge impact:
1) authentic, powerful branding
2) a business model that maximizes your marketing efforts
3) a product launch that creates some real buzz
Results:
1) work less
2) make more
3) reach more
4) love more
Ready to learn how to do that?
I am still standing to my word. Our 3-month tele-coaching course “101 Days to A Business That Matters” (maybe I should have said: “…that Buzzes” or “… that has Impact”) will teach you all of that and more and starts on…
Tuesday, May the 5th at 10 am
…and yes, it really is by donation ONLY. That means truly, if you only have $30, then you send me that. If you have some more and you have been thinking of joining, then do that. I need to take care of my staff but I also really want you to be part of it.
Love you,
Christiane
P.S. if this speaks to you but you haven’t watched the videos yet, they are at http://www.inspiredbizsuccessblueprint.com/beta-test-coaching-class/
P.S.S. all you have to do is send me an email, telling me you’re in and then you can send what you can.
P.S.S.S. please know that the deadline is TOMORROW (Wednesday). So, sign up NOW!
LET’s MAKE AN IMPACT, shall we?
What Does It Mean to Be A Conscious Entrepreneur?
My friends,
over the last two weeks I had over 20 conversations with people about consciousness. I asked every single one of them what it meant to them to be a conscious entrepreneur.
The answers were so varied that I felt shocked. I realized that consciousness is such a broad term, open to interpretations and world views.
Here are some definitions I got:
- I am aware of my inner gifts and I want to bring them out to the fullest
- I feel guided by God and don’t have the need to be in total control at all times anymore
- I work more in harmony with the world, aware of the consequences of my actions
- I work from my soul first, then align my actions with my soul’s desire
Now, this is what I consider a conscious entrepreneur:
Somebody who is committed to aligning their every action with their end goal of contributing to the world.
All of the above show a desire for all of us to combine logic with heart, spirit with commerce, feminine energies with masculine, profit with contribution, basically we are moving towards integration.
Now to you. I’ll set up a little incentive for you to participate:
Anybody who contributes an insightful comment to this discussion, gets a whole 30 minutes with me, 1:1 coaching on subjects of mindset, branding, leveraged business models or marketing.
Also, the winner (as determined by Lydia) will be featured on our blog, Facebook and Twitter and this community in the beginning of May.
Deal?
So, go for it, let’s get a discussion going, shall we?
What does it mean for you to be a conscious entrepreneur?
Being of Highest Service! An Uncommon View of Info Products
Most of you know all about info products.
How they make your life easier, free up your hours, make you lots of money, leverage your time and so on.
As that is all true and I love them for all those reasons but I also advocate that we start looking at creating a series of info products with a different INTENTION, one of service.
Let’s say we have spent lots and lots of hours integrating all our knowledge into a system. A good system (I, for example, have spent over one year (ok, maybe I am a bit slow) to create our 6 Steps to Enlightened Entrepreneurial Success) can be of tremendous help for so many people.
Whether you are a therapist with a system to save your marriage, or a weight-loss coach with 5 steps to losing weight the natural way, you now have used your gifts fully by taking seemingly unrelated ideas and assembled them into a cohesive course. WOW!
Your intention will now depend on how much you are able to cherish others.
If being of service is your primary motive (even though it will also take really good care of you), you can now put yourself into your clients’ situation. Some of your clients may be on a small budget, some want to work independently, some have little time (I find it hard to identify with that one ;-)), some might want all you have to give them.
So, create 4-5 versions of your program. From an ebook, to a set of streaming audio, to a set of CDs, to a multimedia package. Price them accordingly and you can in effect serve so many who desperately need your work. In meantime, you will be rewarded with love, gratitude and a respectable profit.
If you haven’t taken the time yet to create your unique program, the one only you can create, do it now for the benefit of all.
Should you desire a systematic and yet heart-felt course to guide you, check out our “Inspired Business Success Blueprint” at www.InspiredBizSuccessBlueprint.com
As we will create our next 2-3 versions of the course, the price of this 6-part video series will double, so why not give it a shot now while we are still working on the other versions?
Love and peace,
Christiane
Why This Crisis Is Good For US (and what this has to do with branding)
Ok, everybody. Here it is….finally…our discussion about branding.
I posted this discussion over on our social networking site at www.InspiredWomenEntrepreneurs.com
Log in or sign up and scroll down to DISCUSSION.
So, why do I believe that this crisis is good for us? (ok, I “borrowed” the title from the latest Time magazine headline)
1) if we don’t want to “swallowed” by this crisis, we need to become innovative, big-thinking entrepreneurs which means we need to find our voice.
2) task-workers are being outsourced more than ever and it will take an “artisan-entrepreneur” (again taken from Time Magazine) to succeed with logical, creativity and heart
3) we have to stretch and reach the limit of our imagination to become somebody of great value to others
4) the world needs solutions like the ones we can offer more than ever to heal their fears, limitations and change the focus of life’s meaning but consumers need leaders, not fellow-sufferers.
Ok, enough of me. I am challenging you to think about what branding means to you.
Are those points obvious to you but you are struggling with accessing your unique gifts in a way that they make sense to you AND others?
Are you having difficulties with the word “branding”? What word works better for you?
Finally, post your brand (where your gifts meet the needs of a specific group of people) + your unique personality. We want to hear about you and I will definitely help as much as I can.
Love Christiane
Are You Naturally Curious?
Curiosity is critical for an entrepreneur. With increasing competition and tight financial times, it is the unique character trait of curiosity that allows a leader to shift as the world shifts and to keep her business fresh and exciting to the consumer.
My family has many curious individuals and natural leaders. My Dad is one of the most curious people I know who taught me to question everything. He was an Episcopal priest who burned every sermon after giving it to avoid the temptation of recycling one and becoming stale. Currently, I am married to a curious man who creates a unique and fresh look for each film he shoots. However, the most curious individuals that I know are young children. They consistently question the world and wonder why things are a certain way.
Taking time to nourish curiosity is important for business growth. How do you nourish your curiosity? What fresh ideas do you have? What new paths for your business do you plan to explore?
Here are 5 ideas for boosting your natural curiosity:
1. Read. It challenges you to think and gives you new ideas to try for your business.
2. Travel. Meeting new people and getting out of your workspace immediately breeds fresh curiosity.
3. Meditate. Listen to your intuition and inner voice of curiosity without your brain talking you out of it!
4. Write. Free flow writing or journaling will help you to get the many ideas in your head in a more logical form on paper.
5. Spend time with and observe young children. They are free from self-imposed rules and innately curious about the world. Think of Tom Hanks in the movie “Big.”
“Curious is the key word…It has to do with a desire to understand, a desire to try, a desire to push whatever envelope is interesting. Leaders are curious because they can’t wait to find out what the group is going to do next.” Seth Godin, Tribes.
May you feel inspired to question,
Lydia
5 Easy Habits To Make The Most Of Your Day
Good habits create successful businesses. What success strategies are a part of your routine?
“Habit: a tendency to do something as part of a routine.”
After interviewing Misty Gibbs of www.myinspirationlounge.com yesterday, I realized again the importance of daily routines as a way of not only meeting business goals but leveraging your effort and time.
Misty just naturally incorporated a few of the following habits into her work every day and is receiving the benefits in the fast-paced growth of her business.
1. Focus on 3 tasks that must get done everyday for the business to grow. Do these first so your day does not get away from you! Maintenance tasks like checking email, checking stats for your business and keeping up with Facebook and Twitter can easily use up your work time. They are important to keep up with so schedule 15-30 minute increments 2 times per day so you don’t get caught in the time terminator!
2. Be aware of when you are the most creative and use that time to write or plan new initiatives for your business. Think boldly and visualize by taking time away to dream and step back from your work. It does not happen in front of a computer!
3. Read, research and connect with others outside of your office space. It will help your creativity, keep you up on current trends in other businesses and give you the opportunity to better serve your clients. Be sure to choose people that are positive and passionate or online destinations that inspire and are free from negativity.
4. Ask for support from friends or a business partner to brainstorm new ideas or create synergy in a new joint venture project as part of your marketing strategy and outreach plan. Women are extending themselves and giving of their knowledge and time in unprecedented ways. Connect with other feminine leaders to find out new trends and feel inspired by their energy.
5. Stand in your truth and value yourself! Every business is unique and the way that women juggle work and family is awe-inspiring. Look at what is working well in your business and put your energy and time in that direction. Don’t drain your energy on what is not working. Let it go! Celebrate the small successes and be able to honor yourself and your gifts.
Take a bird’s eye view of your business and observe what good habits you have in place. Focus on what is effortless and makes work joyful!
Lydia
The Cure for Facebook Overload (cost $2)
The way I maximize my efforts to make connections on Facebook and Twitter is to set up appointments over the phone with people who I want to get to know better. The hardest part about this is the difficult task of deepen the budding friendship with follow-ups. As my list of friends and contacts gets longer, many slip through the cracks and I don’t like leaving people in the dust.
So, I finally remembered what I did when I tried to keep up with networking in the past. After I had bought expensive software and finally learned how to use it, I ended up using an index card box !!! Yes, not too hightech, but sometimes it’s just nice to get away from typing.
So, here is the deal.
1) When you make a contact, type in all the information in your contact management software like Outlook or Entourage.
2) Create a subfolder under your inbox.
3) Then buy the 31 divider-pack for a small index card box and create a card for each new person you just contacted, got to talk to etc.
4) Fill out the card with name and phone number (remember you have the rest handy in your mailing list) and mark down the last activity. If it was an email, say so. If it was a call, also and if you sent something worthwhile, mark that down too.
5) Then decide when you want to contact the person again and simply place the card under the appropriate date. Then every day just look under that day, and do what you have set out to do last time.
I hope that works. I really liked this simple system when I used it.
Committed to your business success and life sanity,
Christiane
