The other day, a friend of mine sent me this video. I was amazed at this wonderful lady and all that she has accomplished and the beauty she has created in her life with the immense challenges she faces. And she handles it all with one of the most positive mental attitudes I have ever witnessed. Kind of made me think twice and even a third time about my complaints I make on a daily basis. It’s nice to have a “splash of cold water in the face” from time to time to get your thoughts and priorities in place.

Enjoy this wonderful, incredible video!!

Odds are you made one or more New Year’s Resolutions with some or all of them about improving a part of yourself, life or business.

And, odds are you have done this before with less than hoped for results!

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Most of us at one time or another have dreamed of owning our own business and being our own boss. We love the thought of working on our schedule, not someone else’s. We can take vacations when we want or spend time with the family in the middle of the day. We want the satisfaction of creating something that is ours and succeeding at it.

But the one thing we don’t often fully understand and think through is it takes a lot of time, investment, and hard work to get to the point of being able to do these things. It can take years of working seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours or more a day, spending less time with the family and going on less vacations just to make a sustainable business and living.

So why do we do it? Why do we want to be an entrepreneur so badly?

Well I already touched on a couple of reasons. One is money. We hope and dream that we will become so successful that we can afford to have whatever we want. Money is so seductive, it draws us in to pursue as much of it as we can or as much of it as we need. The world runs on money and we have been led to feel it gives you more power and control over and in your life and business.

Our society instills in us that one goal for success and a happy life is money and plenty of it. We are brainwashed to an extent and will pursue it whenever and wherever we can.

Secondly, the independence and flexibility factor is so enticing. We all want to work our own hours and not account to anyone else. If we want to get up in the middle of the night and work and go to the beach during the day, we can make that choice. If you have a family with young kids, you can choose to spend more time with them and not have to pay for daycare or a babysitter. Whatever you wish to do, at whatever time, fully becomes under your control.

Lastly, and this is a very big one, probably the single biggest reason for entrepreneurship is passion. You have an interest or hobby that you so love, you want to immerse yourself in it and make a living from it.

Just think, if you don’t love what you are doing, then how are you going to spend long days, weeks, months and years working your business? How are you going to succeed if you start slowing down or putting off work because you’re not liking what you’re doing or it has become boring?

Whatever your passion is, from an interest or hobby to just loving the fact of running a business whatever the business is, passion is your motivator, you’re driving force to succeed and have the previous two goals happen for you in your life.

There are other reasons to work for yourself but these three are the biggest. So, what’s your passion? Who knows, you may decide to become an entrepreneur yourself.  

Do you find yourself frustrated in your progress toward whatever goal you have set for yourself? Does this lead to you pushing forward to the point of forcing this goal to happen only to have the outcome not be what you wanted or expected?

Here is a simple analogy. I have often been in backed up traffic on the highway and saw a person switching lanes to move forward more quickly. It usually happens however, that I get to where they are going just as fast by going with the flow and not forcing the outcome. The other person, upon seeing me, usually just has their frustration doubled and they get angry for all their wasted effort.

It is the same way in life as on the highway. Yes, you need to purposefully move forward to achieve your goal but do so in a manner that does not force the outcome. Often when you have a goal, there are pieces of information and/or things you need to do, or learn how to do, to fully achieve the goal. Rushing forward, getting ahead of yourself, can cause you to cut corners or totally overlook this needed information. In turn, it may seem as if you reached your goal but, because you have not set up a firm base and learned along the way, it has a greater chance of not lasting and being all it could have been.

By forcing, you are setting up negative energies and possible blocks that will only drain you and cause more discomfort and frustrations along the way. If you stay in the flow of events and be aware of all that is happening around you by paying close attention, you will learn more along the way and have more ease in getting there.

Take the time to flow and learn through your process to be more successful and better prepared when you reach your desired outcome.

When you have decided to start your own business, one of the necessary steps in starting is writing a business plan. This can prove daunting especially if it’s a small, at-home business or you are a solopreneur. Who wants to write a multi-page document with projections of future income and products when you have not even sold anything yet?

Up until now, I had never found a shortened version I cared for. But thanks to Tory Johnson, workplace contributor on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, that has all changed.

In her article, “Skip the 40-Page Business Plan”, she outlines 10 questions to answer to give you the copy to create a one-page business plan.

While I strongly suggest reading her article for all the information and explanations of each question, here are the 10 questions:

1 – What primary product(s) or service(s) will you provide?
2 – What will you charge for your products(s) or services(s)?
3 – What does it cost you to deliver this product or service?
4 – How many pieces must you sell or how many clients must you secure to generate the revenue you desire?
5 – Who is the target market for your product(s) or service(s)?
6 – Why will they buy from you?
7 – How exactly will you reach your target market to sell to them?
8 – How will you get going right now with your currently available resources? What do you absolutely need that you’ll need help with?
9 – What could stand in your way of generating sales—and how will you overcome such obstacles?
10 – What benchmarks must you reach to qualify your business as a success?

These questions not only give you a structure for your business but ask you other very important questions such as who your target market is and what obstacles could stand in you way of success.

This last one about obstacles, question 9 and additionally, question 10 are real sticking points for many!

In being in business for yourself, you have to do everything, at least at first, until you can afford to hire help. If you don’t know how to do something related to your business operations, this can hamper your success. If you are having difficulties working with customers or other service providers, i.e. personality conflicts or you are shy or introverted, this affects your success.

Quite often the reason for failure in a small or solo business, leads back to the owner. Answering these questions by a thorough, honest exploration of yourself, will help greatly in having the business and success you desire. If you need assistance with this exploration or with answering any of the other questions, this is where I can help you as a Business Coach. Just contact me to schedule a complimentary conversation.

My wish for you is to have a happy, joyful, passionate and profitable business or career!

(I found this article the other day and was so impressed by the simplicity of its message, I wanted to post it here for your review. Enjoy!)

When entrepreneurs first get started, they usually ask a lot of questions. Everything from how to get started to the best way to hire employees. These questions are imperative in helping them get on the right course and get started.

But something happens not long after that—they get comfortable, and stop asking questions. By not asking questions your business is suffering, especially if you are not asking the right questions. And in these difficult times there are two questions you must be asking yourself every 90 days.

Self-evaluation

Most entrepreneurs fall into a trap of doing the same thing over and over. This can be problematic. Every business should be asking a couple of questions in order to make sure they are on the right track. Not doing so could be holding you back from growing your company, or it could be sending your business down the wrong path.

Here are the two questions:

What have I done in the last 90 days that is bringing in results?
What have I done in the last 90 days that is not bringing in results?

It is just that simple, and is tremendously important. Put it on your calendar as a reminder, and then every 90 days ask yourself those two questions. Be honest in your assessment so that you really gauge where things are going and where they need to go. Look back over everything you did over the last 90 days, such as advertising, promotions, projects, etc. Determine whether these things helped your bottom line, did nothing for it or even hindered it.

Action from answers

Once you have a good assessment of these questions, you are ready to do something with the information you have discovered. With the answers to these two questions, instead of staying stuck in a routine of just working harder on both, take these new actions:

Start doing more of what is working. You want to really amplify this.
Do what you can to do less (or ideally none) of what is not working. Try to alleviate this.

When you do this, you will help keep your business on the right track. Every 90 days you will determine what is working, what isn’t and make some adjustments that keep you on the right path.

Right routines

As a business owner there is no doubt that you get into routines. But a lot of those routines just keep the status quo, rather than actually doing something to make things better or further your success. No matter where you are with your business, you can always benefit from asking yourself the questions above and taking action from the results you learn.

Rather than getting into routines of just doing the same thing over and over, get in the routine of doing this evaluation every 90 days. With a routine like this, and putting it into action, of course, you can’t go wrong. Think back to the beginning with all the questions you used to ask. Now it comes down to two important ones that will help grow your that business, which you asked so many questions to get started.

This article is by Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The tell-it-like-it-is guide to cleaning up in business, even if you are at the end of your roll.

Mike Michalowicz is an entrepreneur, 3 times over – building 3 multi-million dollar companies over 15 years. He is the author of the “business cult classic” (per Entrepreneur Magazine) The Toilet Paper Entrepeneur, a small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and President of Obsidian Launch a behavioral web design firm.

I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Marcy Neumann on her PWRN Radio Show called “Mastering the Art of Becoming”. The show each week takes you on a journey through the process of expanding your consciousness and intentionally becoming the Master of Your Life! Each segment brings timely, useful information, to help you hone new skills and hear from experts that are dedicated to providing quality information that supports a positive transformation.

Marcy Neumann is a registered nurse, spiritual minister, certified hypnotist, Reiki Master level teacher, dynamic speaker, radio personality and author. She is the creator of CELLpH (Self) LOVE, a unique and cutting-edge ‘self help’, health and wellness program. In addition, in 2007, Marcy created her company, Heartlites Incorporated, which manufactures her award winning spiritual/personal development products, programs and educational materials based on the ‘Law of Attraction’ principles.

I invite you to take a few minutes to listen to this broadcast entitled ” ‘School of Hardknocks’ Becomes Honors Program for the Right Students!”. In the interview, I tell how I learned at an early age that the ‘school of hard knocks’ can be demanding, demoralizing and destructive. However, I also learned that these lessons have hidden agendas and serve other purposes as well. They can also be utilized to transform and strategize the creation of new life and productivity, and the choice to do so is one we make daily.

You can also access this interview at pwrnradio.com/?p=15074  and while there, please check out some of Marcy’s other stellar interviews.

Have you triumphed over struggles or overwhelming odds in your life? Do you have an inspirational story to tell? Please share your story with us here in the comments so we all can learn from you.

If you prefer not to share it publicly, please contact me at elaine@elainelockard.com . I am always interested in hearing stories such as these.

If trying to maintain balance in your life makes you feel like a tightrope walker, you’re not alone. Most of us have so many demands on our time and energy, life can feel like a three-ring circus. Take this quiz to see how well you are meeting responsibilities, while also recognizing and fulfilling personal needs and wants.

Answer each statement below with True or False as it applies to you:

1. The only way I can successfully manage my life is to take care of myself physically and emotionally.

2. Nurturing myself enlarges my capacity to help others.

3. I eat healthfully and exercise regularly.

4. I get check-ups, go to the dentist, and take preventative precautions.

5. I set aside personal, quiet time for myself, whether I’m meditating or simply letting my thoughts drift.

6. I experience the gifts of each season: ice skating, sledding, bundled-up beach walks; gardening, hiking, more time outside; camping, swimming, barbeques; harvesting the bounty, gathering wood, spending more time inside.

7. Creativity nurtures me, too. I do what I love, whether that’s cooking, drawing, painting, writing, dancing, singing or another creative pursuit.

8. Reaching out to others enriches my life. I spend quality time with family and friends.

9. Contributing to the world provides connection and purpose, so I give my time, energy and experience where it is most useful.

10. I notice and heed the emotional signals that tell me I’m out of balance: irritability, overwhelm, resentment.

11. If I feel that I’m catching a cold, I realize I may have stressed my immune system with overactivity, so I stop and take care of myself.

12. When I need or want to, I say no to requests for my time.

13. I listen to and honor the requests my body makes for such things as a nap, a walk, green vegetables, hot soup.

14. If I have something planned for myself, I don’t just toss that aside when someone makes a request of me.

15. I’m busy, but I find time to do the things I want to do.

16. I’m happy. I regularly experience well-being, contentment, even joy.

If you answered false more often than true, you may want to take a look at the statements to which you answered false and see if you can incorporate something of its message into your life. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to explore this issue further.

Author’s content used under license, © 2011 Claire Communications

In this article, “6 Powerful Ways to Squash Negative Thoughts” by Simon Lim, he goes into detail how negative thoughts can affect you and gives 6 easy ways to get rid of them and take back control of your life.

They are:

1. – Immediately change your state of mind: Whenever you start to feel negative or down in any way, you need to be able to change your state of mind. Do something immediately to get out of the negative thinking.

2. – Focus on what you want to achieve: You should always be focusing on the goal you want to achieve. By focusing your mind, you’re giving yourself a clear direction for your thinking. You are telling yourself to think constructively and positively.

3. – Identify and eliminate what causes your negative thinking: A lot of the negativity we experience comes from external influences. You need to identify what causes your negative emotions and cut them out of your life.

4. – Ask yourself questions to keep your thinking sharp: When your favorite excuses and complaints about anything start to arise, turn them on their head. Instead, ask yourself questions that force you to come up with solutions to these opportunities, instead of just giving in to the situation.

5. – Install positive influences around you: Think of the things that make you smile, get you motivated, or inspire you to take action towards your goals.

6. – Be inspired by others: You’re not the only person in the world who has negative thoughts – everybody does. Reading about how others overcome their own challenges can inspire and motivate you to make the same changes in your own life.

I recommend reading the entire article to get a more detailed explanation on how these 6 ways can help you.

They are out!!

What a wonderful sight as each miner was brought to the surface at the San Jose Mine in Chile.

Many stories of bravery and courage and hardship. Everyone wanting to know how they made it through. One miner said they got through by “internal energy and prayer” and that they “talked a lot”. They talked it out whenever someone had a problem. They prayed, sacrificed and endured together.

Their struggle is a testament to human physical, spiritual and emotional inner strength. That inner strength that is always there but we rarely tap into until we are in a dire situation. It is an example of what we can accomplish not only individually but by jointly working together.

Oh, what a world we will have when we as a species finally get it! Finally know that working together is the only way we will make it in this world; the only way our world will survive!

Bravo to all who participated in this huge joint operation!

Bravo to the governments, companies and people who put their issues aside to do the right thing!

What a wonderful world we live in!

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!!!!