Do you agree that the road is never straight as we work towards achieving our goals?

The bigger our vision, the mightier the challenge, the twists, turns, and frustrations as we navigate the journey to realise our dreams.

Some days or weeks it feels like two steps forward and five back, right?

Or worse, one step forward and 10 back. And you just want to scream (or cry… or run away).

My clients have big goals for their businesses, and I’m always on hand to guide and support them when the going gets tough.

Well, the coach/mentor (that’s me) has her own challenges and curve balls happening at present… so I’m practising what I coach. (Note to self: Stop. Breathe. Think. Smile. :))

Like many others, I’ve created an enormous vision for my business of supporting people around the world to achieve extraordinary success in business and life – as they define it.

Yet, right now, it feels like I’m constantly being slapped in the face. Not much is going to plan at the moment.

Does any of this sound familiar?

It’s uncomfortable, frustrating and energy zapping… each day. But I’m feeling determined, so here’s what I’m doing to get through it all.

9 top tips for staying sane when business/life is tough
I hope you find them helpful for when life throws curve balls at you.

1)   Stop. Breathe. Think

This is ‘code’ for reconnecting with our vision and passion. What am I going to achieve and WHY?! Why do I want to achieve this big vision? Is it important enough for me to push on?

For me the answer is yes. (Smile)

2)  Do one thing

What’s the one key thing that will make a difference now? Work it out and focus on it. Do it!

If you have a team, what can you delegate for others to focus on?

3)  Get support

There will be others who can guide and support you. Ask them to help. Don’t go it alone. Don’t pretend to be the expert – surround yourself with great people who know more than you.

Confide in your closest allies – let them be there for you. They’ll be feeling your pain too, and let them know how they can support you. It might be as simple as a shoulder to cry on, a dinner out, a glass of wine, sharing the load at home….

4)  Learn from the difficulties

If we’re willing, there’s growth and learning from every experience we endure. Ride it out, but look for lessons – new knowledge that you can use and perhaps share with others at a later time. It’s always there – if we look for it.

5)  Tweak the strategy (if necessary)

In our excitement, often we give ourselves a lot of work to cut through. Sometimes it can become overwhelming, then we procrastinate, live in fear, or do it badly.

Rethink your strategy. Can certain deliverables be moved to another time? Can anything be simplified or removed yet still achieve the goal and the vision?

6)  Be kind to yourself

We can be demanding of ourselves – I know I am. So be kind – give yourself a break – cut yourself some slack. Give yourself some credit for how far you’ve come. Believe that you will achieve the goals and the vision – as it means so much to you.

7)  Nurture yourself

Stress can make us miserable and sick. What’s the point of that? Look after the fundamentals in life – your wellbeing and vitality. For me that means exercising, re-doubling my efforts to eat well (as I can dive for the sugar at these times), and sleep (as much as possible).

8)  Don’t give up

Believe in yourself. Believe in your passion and purpose. Believe in your vision.

Know that the universe is throwing this hard stuff at you to test your mettle – it’s checking whether you’re really committed to your goals and vision. When you’ve achieved them, the warmth of success will be greater because of the difficult journey (you may doubt this right now, but it’s true).

9)  Gratitude all the way

Be grateful for the small things in life. Be grateful for the big things in life. Be grateful for the most important people in your life. (Smile)

Be grateful for the challenges (even when they suck). You’ll be the wiser for them and you will become a teacher because of them. You’ll be able to pass your wisdom to others, as a servant leader. Do you like the sound of that? I certainly do.

Stop. Breathe. Think. Smile. It will get better. I believe that to be true!

QUESTION: What do you do to look after yourself when life and/or business isn’t going to plan? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

2016 is just around the corner…. Yet, if you’re like me, there’s still loads you want to get done, to get achieved before the end of 2015.

At this time of year, it’s really easy to get distracted and to drop the ball and say, ‘Oh, there’s only two weeks to go. I’ve missed achieving my goal – better luck next year’. I know as I’ve done that in the past, and then regretted that decision and lack of action.

This year I’m remaining totally focused on getting over the line with some goals I set that I’m yet to achieve. After all, there’s still two weeks to go until Christmas. Plenty of time to nail my goals!

It’s all about perspective. 🙂 Only two weeks to go or still two weeks to go?

I study the world’s big achievers, people who do the most amazing things with their lives, people who live at full throttle. Many are names we all know, yet there are others who live under the radar and just get on with their lives, achieving greatly and living their dream.

Do they give up before the finish line? Heck, no! They’re blasting it right up to the end.

Here are the five keys to what they do. I’m taking a leaf from their books and living in full throttle until 23 December, and then it’s family and holiday time. Oh, and don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be ‘all work and no play’ either. I’m going to loads of Christmas celebrations along the way too. Balance is key to our vitality in life.

Key 1: 100 percent accountability
Life is full of tough bits, but big achievers find ways to get around them or over them. They’re 100 percent accountable and responsible for everything in their lives. So even when the going gets tough and they are up against it, they remain accountable for their actions and for the achievement of their goals!

Key 2: Steadfast focus
As Shakespeare said: “Nothing comes from doing nothing”. One of the fundamental traits of big achievers is their ability to deploy laser like focus on achieving their goals, no matter the distractions or challenges. For as long as the goals remain relevant to them, successful people remain focused.

Key 3: Planning and prioritisation
The key is prioritising, planning, scheduling and persistent action. In order to achieve a goal, it needs to be prioritised as important. Other things that are not so important can be put to one side for a bit – until next year, perhaps. Act on the ‘must do’ activities now. The rest can wait.

Key 4: Focus on your strengths
We shouldn’t try and do everything. We must play to our strengths and let others play to theirs. Big achievers know and do that. What are your strengths? If you focus on the work that uses those strengths, delegating all else, you’ll be a lot more energised in the work you do.

Key 5: People are paramount
Big achievers are inclusive of others. They draw people to them and involve them. They also empower others to work with them, to help out in getting the job done. They delegate work to others – particularly the parts that don’t play to the strengths of the big achiever.

So that’s it. The 5 keys to getting ‘stuff’ done and achieved before year end. I hope you’ll take up the challenge to nail those final goals this side of Christmas. Your personal satisfaction will be immense and you’ll be cracking the champagne (or beer, or in my case, sparkling water) in celebration.

But if things don’t quite go to plan and those goals are missed, here are two other keys that big achievers live by.

Key 6: No such thing as failure
In all that we do, we risk failure, which is very often painful. But failure is a fact of life for anyone who is dynamic, and failures are fast tracks to growth. Big achievers don’t view them as failures. They see them as opportunities for learning. How about ‘failing forward’ as I call it?

Key 7: Everything happens for a reason
As much as this is hard to take, we are where we are in life right now, for a reason. There are lessons and learnings to take from our current experience and situation. When we learn the lessons we move forward, often in new and unexpected ways. Big achievers understand that, and look for the lessons in all dimensions, so they can move forward, fast.

ACTION: I’d love to know what you’re doing to hit those outstanding goals by the end of the year. How about sharing them and inspiring others in the comments below?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Perhaps I was tired. Or busy. Maybe it was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. I really don’t know. I just remember the volcano of anger (and a string of ‘naughty’ words that I don’t often say – eekkk) erupting from me!

Those around me were probably as astounded as I was by my outburst… my fury knew no boundaries. And for a while, I couldn’t stop it.

What happened to cause that massive and unexpected outburst? It takes a lot to tip me over the edge, to knock me off balance. Yet, in that moment, I was off the chart with rage!

After removing myself from the situation, I’ve taken some time to reflect.

Have we lost the art of the small things in life? Small but important things like courtesy, respect and generosity?

That’s a question I found myself asking. Deep down (and after cooling off), I suspect that was the root of my outburst.

We’re all busy in life. Many of us are on the hamster wheel too, building our careers, our businesses, focusing on our social lives, our relationships, our kids… and much more. The balancing act we live with each day can be a challenge.

Sadly though, we can get so focused on the importance of ‘us’ and our lives – our ‘stuff’ – that we forget what’s happening around us.

We forget to notice and acknowledge the things that happen around us, and at times, for us.

We forget to give of ourselves – just a little bit. Perhaps a little more often we could say ‘thank you’ or ‘I appreciate you’ or ‘can I help you?’ or ‘I’m sorry’, or simply, ‘I love you’.

And it might not be ‘said’ in words… actions speak louder than words. Always!

It’s in those little moments when we acknowledge others around us with words or actions, they feel appreciated. Special, even! And as the giver of that small gesture, we feel good too – perhaps even better than they do. Who knows? It’s a win-win for all.

Determined against the odds…

Last week as I was leaving the supermarket, a very elderly woman was struggling with her trolley which she was using for balance (her two walking sticks were hanging off the trolley so she could push it). She was very bent over with age and probably illness. Her support person (who turned out to be her husband) equally elderly and bent over, was behind her trundling their basket of supermarket goodies.

As she inched out of the supermarket hall, everyone else rushed in and out around her…. they were in a hurry, and this woman was in the way.

Even though I had my own hands full with shopping, I asked the woman if I could help her.
To my surprise, she stopped, turned her head to look at me while remaining bent over, gave me a big smile, and said ‘No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine, and my lovely husband is here to support me’. The joy on her face that I’d stopped to ask her was heart warming, as was the determination I felt in her spirit.

I walked slowly alongside her – her personal traffic warden – if you like, causing all other human traffic to slow down. In doing that, people observed this determined woman. For that fleeting moment, they were taken out of their own lives into the life of this elderly, frail woman. They acknowledged the situation and smiled too. Very briefly, we all connected with that bent over woman. It was really beautiful.

Leading from the front

As we enter the festive season, I’m going to lead by example and re-double my awareness of being present in the moment. I’ll acknowledge those around me more. Be more courteous. More respectful. More giving of myself.

In doing that, perhaps I’ll make a little difference in the life of someone around me. Maybe they’ll simply smile.

But you know what? I can’t predict or control what they will feel or how they will react. I just know I’ll feel great and it’ll augment my happiness in life even more. That’s my Christmas present to me. 🙂

ACTIONS: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the importance of the ‘small things’ in life. What’s important for you?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Many of us know what branding means when it comes to company or business branding.

But what about personal branding?

“What’s that?” you might ask. You might also say, “personal branding is for the ‘big wigs’ of business – people like Bill Gates, Oprah, Jamie Oliver”. Or you might think that personal branding is for celebrities and sports stars.

You’d be right in thinking all that, but in business and entrepreneurship, as scary or as challenging as it might seem, we must embrace the idea of being a personal brand ourselves.

That doesn’t mean we need to aim for global domination or celebrity status. To the contrary! Personal branding is about YOU – and connecting you to the niche market you want to attract.

People buy from people, so personal branding is about you being you – your style, your signature image or look, your unique voice, your story, your experience and knowledge….packaged together in a consistent and recognisable way on a range of marketing platforms so that you get noticed.

Over time some people will come to know, like and trust you. Eventually they may buy from you too, and/or refer you to others. Remember, you and your personal brand won’t be liked by everyone. Be yourself and there will be loads of others who do like and want to follow you.

So, whether you’re a consultant, freelancer, entrepreneur, business owner, company executive, get focused on your personal brand. Here are 3 tips on how to get your personal brand underway.

Tip 1: Be clear of and passionate about your business expertise
What do you want to be known for? And why? Niche yourself. Make sure you’re really passionate too, otherwise no-one will want to work with you as they’ll feel your lack of authenticity and enthusiasm. The narrower your niche, the more easily you’ll be found.

Tip 2: Get your marketing platforms nailed
There are so many ways to be ‘seen’ – both online and offline. Very importantly, you need to do both. Decide on where you’ll spend your efforts. Here are some of the many options:

• LinkedIn – a fully optimised profile is NOT NEGOTIABLE if you want to be ‘seen’ within the world’s largest business social marketing and sales platform
• SEO/Keywords – a must for Google searches
• Networking – always a must so long as you ‘do’ networking properly
• Blogging – great for many business people
• Webinars, podcasts etc – they’re all the rage at present
• You Tube – videoing is the way of the future and a great way to ‘teach’ your content
• Social media – in all its varieties – pick the platforms you like the most (Twitter? Business Facebook? Instagram? Pinterest, Periscope? etc etc)
• Public speaking – get on the stage if it suits you and your expertise
• Write books, e-books, white papers

… and so it goes on.

A word of warning… don’t try and appear on all platforms, otherwise you’ll never get any work done. Select those most appropriate to your industry or niche and those which you feel most comfortable with.

Tip 3: Know why you want to be ‘seen’
Fame for fame’s sake is a waste of time and money. Why do you want to get ‘seen’? Is it to draw customers to your business – to your sales funnel? Is it to get opportunities to be a keynote speaker?

Is it to get a book ‘deal’ with a major publishing house? Is it to get a promotion or a new job if you are in employment?

Your decision as to why you want to be found will help you decide how you take your audience – your niche market – on a journey with you, so that can demonstrate your expertise and authority in your subject area time and time again.

What happens when you’ve been found by someone in your target audience? How do you nurture and build a relationship with them? What is your communications strategy and products and services journey with them? These questions determine your business model for your personal brand. Creating a systemised and automated (at least in part) business model will support you to achieve your key goal in why you want to be seen.

Well that’s it for now. Personal branding is one of my favourite topics in business for entrepreneurs, business owners, company executives… watch out for more blogs on this fantastic and very important 21st century business topic.

In the meantime, get your personal brand underway….overtime, you’ll reap the rewards of doing so.

ACTION: What are your thoughts on personal branding in business? I’d love to know more about your own personal branding story or journey. How about sharing in the comments what you’re doing to grow and develop your personal brand?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.