Time to Say, "I Do"

OK, I haven't blogged in a millenia but I've experienced many changes in the last few months...bought a new house, combined and moved 2 households together, got married. You know, the usual stuff.

(That's me with my new husband, Mark, on our wedding day, lucky 8/8/08.)

As a small business owner, can you identify with life getting in the way of your business?

Getting off track is one thing. Staying off track, quite another.

At some point you have to ask yourself, "Do I want to get back in the game?" If the answer is "I do!" then make a plan and get into action.

That said, I hereby renew my commitment to this blog and all the readers who have supported me over the years.

Stay tuned for lots of fun stuff, including free webinars and trainings and a name change for me at some point. Whoo-hoo!


All the best,

Kim

Do You Have Exit Mentality?

I am fresh back from a rejuvenating vacation at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. That's me all bundled up to ward off the bitter cold, probably around 38 degrees. (We Californians are such weather wimps!)

We stayed at the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and were actually there for the closing day of the season. Although I'm not complaining about the service we received, I have to say, it was clear that nearly every single staff member we encountered suffered from a huge bout of Exit Mentality. And they weren't shy about it. We asked each employee how they felt about leaving for the winter and what their upcoming plans were until May when the lodge reopens. Their response could usually be boiled down to 3 words, "I am DONE."

Do you know that feeling? When you are just so over working with a difficult client who is getting ready to wrap up their current contract? Or you can't wait until your membership runs out with a particular networking groups or organization? We have all experienced this phenomenon at some point.

So what's the solution? Or is this truly a problem? How does this mentality affect you and your business? Does it impact your performance, ability to generate new business, or attitude? Only you can say for sure.

Or maybe you see evidence of this in your own team members or staff. How can you lovingly or curtly, depending on your personal style, call this to their attention and address it in a productive manner?

If you discover that you have momentarily checked out and are just going through the motions, make the time to recharge and get excited again about the vision for your business.

For the notes to a recent training I led at the Results Mastery Club on strategic planning and refining your vision, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all our friends in Canada who celebrate Thanksgiving Day today (and to everyone else as well):

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.”

--Kahlil Gibran

Quote of the Day--Responsibility

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
--George Bernard Shaw

Question: what do you take responsibility for in your business and life and where do you routinely pass the buck?

The Greatest Success Characteristic

Dan Kennedy is a marketing and advertising master who has been around since well before the dawn of the Internet. In fact, he continues to create extremely effective direct mail and print advertising campaigns that put most Internet marketers to shame.

I have subscribed to his No B.S. Marketing Newsletter and most recently, his free Successful Marketing Strategies Online Course. The latter is delivered in a series of emails with links to the course via web site. You can sign up by visiting his home page. Scroll down a bit and look for the sign up form on the right sidebar.

The last few lessons have spoken to Kennedy's belief that the greatest success characteristic is the ability to handle a crisis. He goes on to say, "Now I want to point out a related characteristic that is perhaps even more important which is you need to fine tune the ability to such a degree that the recovery takes place in the blink of an eye. You can't go somber and be in depression or irritation or frustration for a day or a week or a month or a year. It's like this and then you're on to the next productive thing and that's the characteristic of these highly successful people that we observe."

I have to tip my hat to Kennedy for saying it so frankly (definitely his signature approach).

On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your ability to bounce back from a setback or failure? Do easily roll with and respond effectively to the unexpected in business? If you are less than a 10, (and I'm sure most of us would say so and the rest, perhaps aren't being honest), what would it take for you to advance at least 2 more levels in the next 48 hours?

Quote of the Day

"I cannot give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time."

--Herbert Bayard Swope, American editor and journalist and first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize

Quote for the Weekend

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
--Mark Twain

The Power of Intention?

Coaches, including those who focus on sports, business, or life, are often fond of having clients cultivate a powerful mindset that pulls them forward to success. Whether the goal is sinking a long putt, nailing a job interview, or closing a once in a lifetime sale, coaches usually prescribe positive intentions.

Now I personally can see how some people might view "positive thinking" as flaky, touchy-feely fluff. Just think of Al Franken's character, Stuart Smalley and his Daily Affirmations from Saturday Night Live and you'll know what I mean. That's his book above, titled with his immortal intention, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." Ugh!

Intentions can only take you so far. At some point, you must translate thoughts into action.

However, since it is Friday and the weekend is a stone's throw away, I want to offer one of my favorite humorous intentions by Groucho Marx to brighten your workday. To see exactly what the host of "You Bet Your Life" had to say, visit the Free Stuff page on my web site where you can download wallpaper for your computer with Groucho's immortal words. Scroll all the way down to the bottom for the free download. Enjoy!

Quote of the Day

"Are you being busy or are you being productive?"
--Timothy Ferriss, author The 4-Hour Workweek

The Power of Discernment

I'm reading a lot today, filtering out the fluff, and passing on the good stuff to you. Another respected business coach, Melanie Benson Strick of Success Connections had this to say in her newsletter, "You must choose to focus on and remind yourself that being an entrepreneur is about honing the skill of discernment between what has profit potential…and what is just a good idea."

Does this strike a chord with you? I know many business owners who begin to implement a new project without fully evaluating and measuring whether it's the right project. Let's face it, if you are a creative individual, and most entrepreneurs are, you will have more ideas than you can ever realize in your lifetime. It's your job to pick, or as Melanie says, to discern the winners from the losers.

Extra Padding for Your Business

I recently returned from my first camping trip in many years and I have to say, technology has helped to vastly improve the comfort level of sleeping under the stars. Not only are the tents a snap to set up and break down, but the options for a little padding under your sleeping bag such as air mattresses helped me redefine the term "roughing it" and gave me a great night's sleep.

How does this relate to business? Stick with me a moment longer....I also returned from a grueling business trip last week and I had all these grand ideas about what I wanted to accomplish when I got back to the office. I even scheduled a workshop just a few hours after my arrival time back in town. I pulled it off, but just barely. I definitely needed adrenaline to carry me through trouble-shooting a technology snafu and by the next morning, I was toast for pretty much the rest of the week.

What does that have to do with this sleeping bag? Well, my rocky performance happened because I didn't allow any extra padding for my schedule or energy level. I went bare bones and paid the price. Now sometimes in business, we have to make do with what we got. But if you have the option to plan ahead and insert a little padding so that you consistently under-promise and over-deliver, I say, go for it. What are your thoughts and experiences?

Freedom From Doubt

Here is a wonderful quote from the Bard himself, William Shakespeare, that speaks to the peril of giving in to self-doubt and fear:

"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt."
Measure for Measure (1.4.87-9)

Thanks to Client K for using this quote in context during a session!

Q: What does doubt cost you?
Q: If you had a complete absence of doubt, what would you accomplish this week?

Half Full or Half Over?

Yes, we have officially turned the calendar page to July and we can't escape the fact that 2007 is half-over. How are you doing with the goals and objectives you set for this year? Are you on target? Are you seeing the results you predicted? If not, are you tracking your activities so that you can determine whether you're hitting the mark and need to re-strategize vs. falling short and need to step it up?

Can you step back and review your performance and that of your business with an objective and curious eye, constantly asking, "What's working? What's not?" and then adjusting your game plan accordingly?

Do you see the year as truly half-over, full of opportunity, or a little of both? How does your viewpoint affect your actions?

Personally, I used the first half of '07 as a time to experiment and make some major shifts in direction. Now I'm driving forward with purpose, completing tasks I used to avoid, getting absolute clarity around the message I want to transmit to the world. My written goals are posted on the wall so that I only have to flick my gaze to the left of my computer to see my targets for July and every month until January 2008. Whatever works for you, get it done. Don't just sit around on auto-pilot or write off the rest of the year, which I know some people tend to do if they haven't gotten the results they expected.

Stand up. Stretch. Move. We're just getting started.

It's Your Choice

I like to challenge clients who feel stuck to check in with themselves about what experience they currently choose for themselves.

For instance, one client is going through a big transition with a move that involves finding a new place to live and a new job while starting over in a city where he has no contacts and few prospects.

I asked him to sum up the attitude he chooses as he launches into this journey in one word.

A bit stumped by the condition that he could only use one word, he paused for a few moments and then said, "Enjoyment."

Ah.

I asked him to say it out loud.

"I choose enjoyment."

That means he chooses to enjoy the complete experience from going on job interviews, carrying boxes of stuff up and down stairs, and finding something to eat, to dealing with unfamiliar people, getting lost, and setting up a new bank account.

Much better than choosing frustration or irritation, don't you agree?

You are at choice at all times.

You may not be in control of all variables, but you can always choose how you respond to any given situation.

What do you choose today?

Great Expectations

I recently heard an extremely successful business owner, Christopher Howard, say this: "We don't get in life what we want. We get what we expect."

What do you expect for yourself and your business?

How do those expectations narrow or broaden your vision?

Something to think about on your drive home tonight.