I have a successful business because I know what to do and I do it. I make a good income, I work with clients I enjoy, I get to be creative and I get to do all of that in a way that serves my family and my life.
So when I attended a small intensive led by Laura West, my intention was not to get more strategies or techniques, but to truly shift the way I envision my business as I reinvent it in these shifting current entrepreneurial waters. And that’s exactly what I got – here are just four of those shifts:
1. Money comes from working within your creative power centers
Laura’s created this powerful body of work around the ‘creative power centers’ that crystallized where I needed to spend my time and energy on to evolve my business in the way that honors my life and my own strong boundaries around that life.
For me that means really listening and following my intuition more, taking care of my personal energy more, hiring a higher level assistant, and adding a whole lot more ‘Alicia flavor’ to the mix.
2. Always come back to what I want
When the thoughts get muddled and the confusion sets in with all the choices of what to do in my business (and my life), I will keep coming back to this single question:
What do I want?
And I’ll keep asking it until what I want is crystal clear. Then I’ll know exactly what to do.
3. Systems and structure equals more freedom
I’m great with systems – we have one for pretty much everything in my business – but structure is lacking a bit, and that’s because I can operate well on the fly. However, just thinking about how a little bit more structure would benefit me and my team and how that would lead to more freedom for me got me excited about actually putting that structure in place right away.
4. My non-negotiables are my success
I’ve been looking more closely at this and with the focused time at the intensive, I realized that a big attraction piece for my audience are my non-negotiables (family first, summers off, etc.). From that place, I was able to draft the new design of my business and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come.
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, we’ll focus specifically on creating your detailed plan that will show you exactly what to focus on during each step of your business building so you stay on track to move much more easily from where you are to where you want to be.
You can get your ticket right now for the lowest price available here.
I love to know how this resonates with you – share your thoughts with me below…
What’s a Niffler, you ask?
Well, if you’ve read Happy Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you might remember that a Niffler is a critter that hunts treasure. Once it finds one treasure, it moves on quickly in search of the next prize.
Do you do the same thing in your business? Meaning, are you a constant gatherer of the things that you think will move your business ahead, but not so much the implementer of them? Do you get distracted by anything and everything that’s new in your industry? Do you come up with one great idea after another, but you never fully commit to completing one of them?
Yes? I hate to break it to you, but there’s probably a bit of Niffler in you! You could also call it distractiblity-disorder or failure-to-follow-through or fear-of-success/failure, or focus-challenged… but personally, I like having a bit of Niffler in me. It means I’m still passionate about what I’m doing, I’m still excited about learning new things, and I’m still interested in what’s happening in my industry, which lends to my ultimate success.
But what can happen is that all those ideas and thoughts and half-completed projects don’t move my business forward. For example, when I started my own business over 10 years ago, there was about half the business-building technology and tools available that there are now. And it’s so easy to want to jump on the cutting-edge bandwagon. But at some point, if I didn’t focus on actually completing things, I’d still be spinning my wheels instead of driving in the fast lane.
So, how do you tame the Niffler in you?
The strategy that has worked the best for me (not 100% of the time, but close enough) has been to keep an Idea Journal. Whenever I have a new idea or thought about something I want to do related to my business, I just jot it down in my Idea Journal. Then I go back to working on my current project that I am commit to completing. I know my ideas are saved there for me so I won’t forget them, and eventually I do go back and refer to what I’ve written and choose some to work on.
What this also does, besides helping me to maintain my focus, is it stops me from wasting time on ideas that ultimately don’t fit into my business. Many ideas end up almost self-selecting themselves out by virtue of time. So by keeping my focus on the ultimate treasure, I don’t get side-tracked by fool’s gold… đ
If you think you have a little Niffler in you, try this idea and enjoy a dramatic increase in your own productivity!
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, we’ll focus specifically on creating your detailed plan that will show you exactly what to focus on during each step of your business building so you stay on track to move much more easily from where you are to where you want to be.
You can get your ticket right now for the lowest price available here.
I love to know how this resonates with you – share your thoughts with me below…
My good friend Marney Makridakis (truly, she was the first person to meet my daughter after she was born in 2005) has written an incredible mind-shifting and life-altering book – and I’m honor to share an excerpt of it here with you…
Try this: Imagine who you would be if you didnât worry about time. How might your life be different? I surveyed fifty-two people, and the results revealed that 90 percent felt âsomewhat anxiousâ to âsignificantly anxiousâ about time. Whatâs even more startling is that these results donât even seem all that surprising. Anxiety about time is very much a part of most of our lives. Think back to a time when you greeted a casual acquaintance and asked how he was, and he said, âGreat! Things are fantastic!â It can be almost jarring when someone responds so positively. Somehow weâre more conditioned to expect to hear people complain that they are tired, or sigh that they are busy.
Itâs helpful to dig deeply to figure out what is at the root of our problems with time. Why do we overschedule ourselves? Why do we want to be so busy? Why are we so consumed with time? Why does it seem so ânormalâ to worry about time so much? Why is it easier to be caught up in a drama about time than it is to be released from it?
In short, what is the payoff for worrying about time?
When I examine this question myself, I can recognize that the more I complain about time, the more I block my ability to accept and express love and connection. Violette Clark shared, âI suppose not having enough time, or the illusion of believing this, makes us feel important. I also realize it keeps me safe. There have been a lot of dreams that Iâve accomplished, including publishing a book, but there have been a lot of balls that Iâve dropped, too, in the name of ânot having enough time.â Putting myself out there more fully means more potential for rejection. Sometimes not âgoing for my dreamsâ is safer.â
Similarly, artist Peggy Lynn boldly admitted that time complaints are related to ego: âThe âIâm too busyâ implication does stroke the ego: âOh, look at me â busy, busy, busy!ââ A workshop participant shared that her worries about time give her an excuse and an outside source for not following her dreams. She said, âIâve never been someone who likes to blame, but now I suddenly realize that Iâve actually been blaming time. I donât have enough time, and so thatâs why I donât go after this dream, or thatâs why I havenât tried this or followed up on that. Then itâs not my fault. This was a big discovery for me!â
Here are some examples of payoffs that people might receive from worrying or complaining about time.
⢠Time is a good catchall: if I can complain about being busy, then I donât have to look at other areas in my life.
⢠Worrying about time gives me something to talk about with other people.
⢠Worrying about time is a convenient excuse for not following my dreams.
⢠My schedule is wrapped up with my self-esteem. Being âtoo busyâ means that Iâm successful.
⢠I donât plan things that I might enjoy because it is too scary â it just feels safer to be bored.
Do any other payoffs come to mind? Which ones resonate as possibly being true for you? For further reflection, refer to the questions in the sidebar âExploring Your Time Anxiety.â
Once we can identify the payoffs that we get from worrying about time, we can see them for what they are: illusions that keep us from living our true potential. Simply being aware of what we are getting from our time worries allows us to make a different choice. Choice is one of the nine ARTbundance Principles, which are building blocks to self-awareness. Making new choices is one of the best ways we can explore new layers of freedom with time. Dana Sebastian-Duncan, a trainee in the ACT program, put it nicely: âWhen I really think of the Principle of Choice as it relates to time, it reminds me that I have the freedom to create my life and my own âreality.â My daily choices add up to my life, and that is empowering.â
Buy your copy here: http://tinyurl.com/marneysbook
Watch the trailer here: Â http://www.bit.ly/creatingtimetrailer
Marney K. Makridakis is the author of Creating Time. She founded the Artella online community for creators of all kinds and the print magazine Artella. A popular speaker and workshop leader, she created the ARTbundance approach of self-discovery through art. She lives in Dallas, Texas. Visit her online at http://www.artellaland.com.
Excerpted from the book Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life Š2012 by Marney Makridakis. Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com
Did you know there’s a super-simple way to leverage your gifts, talent and know-how into lucrative, highly leveraged income streams?
It’s your Signature System, and it’s your step-by-step formula for multiple streams of revenue success.
So, what exactly is a Signature System? It’s the work you’re already doing with clients, packaged into a highly marketable, step-by-step system they’ll want to buy.
If you’re thinking you can’t create a system because every client is different, think again. Every service can be transformed into a simple, repeatable system clients will happily say yes to – yes, even yours!
I figured this out early on in my business and this one signature system has help me create every other offering I’ve made and turned into over a million dollars to date.
Specifically, here are the top 10 reasons why having a Signature System is a must to add to your business model, transition out of 1-on-1 work fast or to even completely replace it.
1. Your clients LOVE systems.
They’re so overloaded, they can’t even stop to think. Your system tells them “I’ve done the work so you don’t have to.”
2. Your clients can practically predict their success.
When they see the results others have achieved, clients feel very reassured… and start to picture the results for themselves.
3. Your Signature System sets you apart.
It’s as unique as your signature, after all – nobody else has it!
4. Instant credibility.
Without a system, your services can appear all over the place. A system instantly elevates you to expert status.
5. Quicker, easier sales.
Your clients “get” what you offer much quicker and are ready to buy much sooner.
6. Your clients get better results…
…when they follow given steps in a given order, instead of blundering around trying to find their way.
7. Your clients get results faster…
… because they’re not wasting time on needless “stuff.”
8. Your clients come back again and again…
…because they’ve had such success with you the first time!
9. You’ll help more people…
…because your Signature System (or key elements of it) can be “bottled and sold” at different investment and commitment points.
10. And best of all, you’ll see just how easy it is to create 3, 4 or even more lucrative income streams that will deliver a steady and predictable flow of cash into your business. And you know what that means? Peace of mind. Priceless.
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, we focus a whole session on creating your signature system. This is one of the most popular sessions because every attendee walks out of OBBW with their own signature system in hand, most of them completely surprised at how simple it was!
If this was the only solid piece of content you got from OBBW, it would still be worth 100xs your small investment.
You can get on our early bird reservation list here to get the lowest ticket price available.
I love to know how this resonates with you – are your thoughts with me below…
While I had many shifts, fresh ideas, and validations that I’m on the right track while attending Andrea Lee’s Wealthy Thought Leader event, I wanted to share with you three of the a-ha’s I had during the event’s three days.
1. It’s time to strengthen the underpinnings of my business…
Not one, but two, of the sessions at WTL reminded me that I need to go back to the beginning and strengthen the underpinnings of my business. Hey, we all get complacent with some of the mundane tasks in our business, even when we have a team to implement them, but one of these in particular really made me smack my forehead.
2. Video isn’t all that and a bag of chips…
Tipping my hat to Michele PW for that chuckle… but it validated that while only 50% of your market will actually watch your videos, the fact that I’m offering multiple ways to consume my content is spot-on.
3. Following my intuition will never lead me astray
During a recent program launch, I struggled with the logical sense of ‘repeating what’s worked’ and the intuitive sense that it was time to do something radical. I decided to listen to my intuition and it paid off in spades.
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, I’ll be sharing much more about what it’s taking today to bring in revenues, attract new clients and customers, and keep them coming back for more.
You can get your ticket right now for the lowest price available here.
I love to know how these aha’s resonate – share with me your thoughts with below…
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