Successful Goal Setting Tips

...Why SMART Goals aren’t…. and BRAZEN Goals™ are!

It’s that time of year again where many of us are returning to work after a leisurely couple of weeks (or months) of festivities and then holidays. Are you ready to hit the year running, both personally and in your business?

Many of us have been seeking successful goals setting tips in the lead up to the end of December, so that we can begin anew in January.
Have you set your New Year’s Resolutions? I hope not. We all know that they don’t work.

When I was a teenager, I used to set New Year’s Resolutions, being revved up for a couple of weeks to lose weight or make more money. But soon the momentum was lost, as really, the resolutions were just words in my head, or occasionally on a bit of paper. By month end (at worst) or several months later at best, I had completely forgotten about my resolutions, having moved onto other things that were in my mind’s eye at that point in time.

Have you set SMART goals? You know, goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound? Again, I hope not.

After giving up on New Year’s Resolutions, I turned to SMART goals, and while they often worked, in recent years, as I have learnt more about goal setting, I have come to realise that SMART goals are potentially and often, limiting. When goals are immediately attainable or realistic, in my opinion, something is missing.

For me, goals need to be big and bold. They must induce some passion. They must be heart stoppingly exciting. They have to make me want to punch the air, saying: ‘Yes, I want to achieve that goal. I have no idea how yet, but it is really important to me that I do’. That’s what goals setting should feel like for me.

I want a ‘magical happening’ life, and I clearly understand, to achieve that, I have to create my own life, my way. I have a vision of sitting in my rocking chair aged 101 years and reflecting on the wonderful and eventful life I have had and continue to have – even at 101 year! There will be no stopping me.

What type of life are you creating for yourself?

So, I created the BRAZEN Goals System™, and that works much better for me. I love the word ‘brazen’ as defined in the Oxford Dictionary to mean: bold, shameless, unabashed, defiant, barefaced, cheeky.

BRAZEN Goals™ are:

B = Bold (and very big).
R = Ranked (for importance).
A = Accountable (specific, measurable, time-bound).
Z = Zealous (personally/professionally important).
E = Expedient (planned and actioned).
N = Nurturing (and empowering).

BRAZEN Goals™ in a nutshell:

B = Bold and Big

Think about a time when you achieved something that was initially out of your reach; out of your comfort zone. How did it feel to achieve the goal? On top of the world? Like you could conquer anything? Certainly that is how I feel when I achieve goals ─ both personal and professional ones ─ that are important to me.

Why settle for little or easily achievable goals? In my experience when we don’t have a tight emotional connection to the goal, we don’t achieve it. Make the goal matter. Make it bold and big.

At the start you won’t have a clue how you will achieve it, but don’t let that stop you, for if it is important enough, you will find a way!

R = Ranked for Importance

I believe we need to take time out to dream and to create a long list of goals we want to achieve. However, all goals are not equal. Some are more important than others. If we focus on achieving easier or lesser important goals, then at year-end we are likely to be disappointed. As well, often in achieving a big and bold goal, a number of smaller ones are easily achieved. So after the dreaming is done, then comes the task of ranking and ordering goals into priorities.

A = Accountable (Specific, Measurable, Time-bound)

After ranking the goals so that my top goals are the key ones I will focus on, I then get accountable with myself. I ensure each goal is specific, measureable and time-bound. If they are not, then it is unlikely I will achieve them as they are just ideas in my head until I start getting accountable.

Z= Zealous (Personally/Professionally Important)

I just love the word ‘zealous’ as it reflects me: someone who has great energy, enthusiasm and commitment. Therefore, my goals had better be zealous too, otherwise I know I will lose interest as time passes, and not focus on them.

So I ask myself various questions, including: Why am I focusing on achieving these goals? Why am I going to move heaven and earth, make big changes in my world and take massive action to achieve them? What happens if I don’t achieve them?

E = Expedient (Planned and Actioned)

Without planning for the achievement of the goals, accompanied by a set of actions, it is unlikely that much will happen. Meticulous planning and self accountability is important.

N = Nurturing and Empowering

Finally my BRAZEN Goals™ are in place, and I am on the path towards achieving them. It will not be a straight line towards their achievement. There will be bumps and bruises. There will be mistakes and failures along the way. BUT, as the achievement of these goals is important, it is equally important that I have a Nurture and Empowerment Plan to support my journey.

How will I continue to remind myself of the zealous nature of these goals along the way?

When I achieve milestones along the way, how will I nurture and pat myself on the back to acknowledge the interim achievement? That is important too.

When the going gets tough and I want to give up, how will I nurture and empower myself to remain focused?

What Next?

That’s it. I am ready to brazenly achieve in 2015. Are you?

If you would like to know more to help you set BRAZEN Goals™ in 2015 too, then please click here to receive my BRAZEN Goal System™, BRAZEN Goals Action™ template and other supporting resources. It’s all free – my New Year’s gift to you.

I hope my BRAZEN Goals System™ provides you with successful goal setting tips to ensure you have a magical 2015.

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.

Other articles on Goal Setting:

Goal Setting Tips #1
Goal Setting Tips #2
Goal Setting Tips #3

Business Success Tips : Meet Dr Jane Cox

Dr Jane Cox
Internationally renowned wealth psychologist and business growth expert

Do you have money on your mind in a good or bad way? What are your thoughts on money? Do you fear it? Many people do.

Why is it that some entrepreneurs make a pile of money in their careers, and others just get by? If you are an entrepreneur, what is your mindset with money? The psychology of money and why some entrepreneurs don’t make much of it is a fascinating topic.

Are you in employment? Are you earning the money you know you are worth? Are you afraid to ask for more money? Is so, why? If it is related to a discomfort you have around talking about money in a proactive way with your boss, then maybe you have money fears too.

Let me introduce you to my dear friend and business colleague, Dr Jane Cox. I am delighted that Jane is the first interviewee in my Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews… series. I will be undertaking fortnightly interviews with other business experts, who will offer their experience and wisdom and business success tips to support you and your success.

Dr Jane Cox is an internationally-renowned wealth psychology and business growth expert in constant demand as a speaker & presenter around the world on this fascinating subject for both private and corporate clients. Her workshops are always fully booked and have received universal “rave reviews” from thousands of delegates.

Jane is the author of the books: “The Fast Forward Framework” and “Eleven Letters to Change Your Life”, and is a regular contributor to MoneyMaker Magazine, UK newspapers: Financial Times and Metro, as well as several publications in Africa and the Middle East.

Jane is passionate about business growth and success, and the fears people have with money – whether they be self employed or in employment.

It was delightful to recently interview Jane on this challenging topic of money, and I invite you to listen to the interview. I hope you learn a lot and are inspired to think about any issues you may have with money, especially if you do not have as much of it as you would like.

You can listen to the original Interview with Dr Jane Cox here:

To connect with Dr Jane Cox:
W: www.drjanecox.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be art of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Entrepreneurial Success without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
Millionaire Mindset
NZ Entrepreneurship Success

Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!

Whew, it’s nearly the end of the year for 2014. And what a year it was! How was it for you? For me it ended up being a year where the theme was ‘change’, both personally and professionally. That certainly wasn’t how I expected the year to be when planning for it a year ago. Were there any themes to your year?

It’s really easy to look back on the year and ‘kick myself’ over all the things I didn’t achieve. You know, beating myself up for not ticking all the ’achieved’ or ‘completed’ boxes in my business plan or in my personal goal sheet.

Are you doing this? Reflecting on what you didn’t achieve in business or in life? If you are someone who sets New Year’s Resolutions, are you looking at the list you created on New Year’s Eve 2013 and beating yourself up for not achieving them in 2014?

If you are beating yourself up, how are you feeling? Grumpy? Disappointed? Probably! Certainly, that is normally how I feel if I miss a goal on my never ending list of things I want to do and achieve.

It is also really easy to reflect on all the things that went wrong in 2014, rather than those things that went well.

So I’m reviewing 2014 differently. I am not reviewing Q4 of my 2014 business plan right now, nor am I looking at my 2014 personal goal sheet. I want to end the year on a high. I’m reflecting on the good things; the lovely things – big and small – that happened this year. I am grateful for all that I have in my life, and all those people in my life whom I care about. It’s a much better feeling. It brings joy and happiness.

Don’t get me wrong. Soon I will be finishing off my 2015 business plan, personal goal sheet and accompanying vision board; that is important, as I do like to achieve things, and I have plenty I will be working on achieving in 2015. But for now, that can wait.

I’m feeling reflective. I’m feeling grateful. I’m feeling joyful. I’m feeling thankful. Life is not perfect. It never is. But life is good. Why? Because it just is. And life is short.

Right now, life is good because:

In early 2014, London was alive with Spring colour and floral aromas – daffodils and other intoxicating flowers. It was glorious.
We periodically played Bridge (card game) with close friends in 2014 and it was such fun (and competitive).
The British Summer was fabulously warm, enabling our daughter and her friends to play outside in the garden – just as kids should do in Summer – for a change there was little use of technology as ‘fun’.
We had loads of family BBQ dinners at our home, where friends congregated to catch up, and all the children ran wild outside.
Visitors from overseas came to stay for periods of time so they could also experience our beloved London.
I continued reinventing ‘me’ and my career for the next +51 years of life (I plan to live and work until I am 101 years old)… very exciting. 🙂
I have met loads of new and interesting people from around the world.
Our daughter was able to have several weeks in New Zealand in April, creating memories with her extended family, and particularly with my mother, her grandmother.
We got home to New Zealand in time to be with my mother before she passed over in October, and I was able to sit with mum through the night that she passed; I have unforgettable memories of that moment in time.
We now have both our children living with us…. and it is great fun being a family with an adult son (27 years) and daughter (12 years) all living together.
As a family we play lots of board and card games and table tennis together, plus we go on family ‘outings’.
I power walked around my local village most days for the last half of this year, swinging my arm weights with reckless abandon…. I even managed a couple of runs too.
In December, I celebrated being married for 14 years to David, the man of my dreams.
We enjoyed the company of a number of ‘elderly’ people who are in our lives, like my 100 year old relative in Scotland, and others who are a little lonely.
On 25 December, we are having a family Christmas at home; the first time in many years as a complete ‘nuclear family.

There is a lot more that I am happy about and grateful for. What are you grateful for? What puts the ‘smile on your dial’ as you reflect on 2014?

I’m loving the time where I am reflecting, smiling and smelling the Christmas lilies. And in smelling the Christmas Lilies, wonderful memories are flooding back. Christmas lilies (or Lilium Candidum) are one of my favourite flowers and will forever remind me of our wedding day as they were ‘our’ flowers on our special day.

Go on. Reflect. Smile. Smell the Christmas Lilies. Life is too short not to. Tomorrow is another day. 2015 will soon be another year where we can set more goals that we plan to achieve.

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success!
Success Secrets of Successful People
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life
Success Breeds Success – Tip #1
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?

What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?

We all know of great entrepreneurial leaders – current and past. What makes them great? What principles have guided them to achieve the beauty of their dreams; their big and magnificent visions?

Firstly, they have the ability to envision their future. They have the audacity and confidence to dream big regardless of how ridiculous their ideas seem at the time.

In my terms great entrepreneurial leaders are alive with possibility of creating something magnificent. I call it Vision – ALIVE™; envisioning the future; the possibility of creating and achieving something magnificent.

So, what is Vision – ALIVE™ in practical terms?

A = Accountable Enrolment: Great entrepreneurial leaders engage with others – team, stakeholders, business partners, community – to create enthusiasm and engagement in the big vision, the big dream they have created. They have such clarity over what is possible that those around them are enrolled in participating in the achievement of the vision. A vision cannot be brought to life by one person alone. It requires a fully enrolled team to transform the vision into a mission to a reality.

L = Living Embodiment: Great entrepreneurial leaders create the footprint for others to follow. They live and breathe the values the entrepreneur wants all others to embody; they lead by example, and as a result, others will want to follow.

I = Individual Empowerment: Great entrepreneurial leaders provides the environment for all to shine; to be accountable for their part in achieving the magnificent vision. They bring together people who are collectively focused and determined to win.

V = Validation and Encouragement: Great entrepreneurial leaders understand the need to validate, support and encourage all those who are a part of the journey towards the achievement of the magnificent vision. This is especially important during times of challenge. Future leaders are created when they are strongly led and encouraged.

E = Evaluation and Improvement: Great entrepreneurial leaders recognise that relentless execution, evaluation and improvement is critical towards making progress and eventually achieving the magnificent vision.

That’s it, the defining principles of great entrepreneurial leaders. How do you measure up? How can you improve your leadership style and skills in order help you achieve the magnificent success you are seeking in your entrepreneurial pursuits?

The most exciting aspect of great leadership is that is can be learned. I am firmly of the view that great entrepreneurial leaders can be bred and are not just born. So, go for it. Become a great entrepreneurial leader.

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Entrepreneurial Success Without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
NZ Entrepreneurship Success
Millionaire Mindset
7 Secrets of Business Success
Sir Richard Branson Asks…
Ordinary vs Game Changing
Thriving within the Juggling Act
Business Success and Cookie Dough
What Ice Cream Flavour is Your Business?

Increase Your Prices & Make More Profit

If your prices are too low, your market will label you a low-end player and you’ll attract bargain hunters who will invariably try to get you to discount your products even further. Lower prices also make it unlikely your business will build long-term relationships with such customers, who by their very nature will shop around to get the best prices on a product or service, not staying loyal to any one business.

Higher pricing raises customers’ expectations of a business, which can be a challenge. But if you constantly deliver on those expectations your business will usually enjoy customer loyalty, and you will attract a better quality customer that is willing to pay more for quality customer service.

Everything I do with my clients is about helping their businesses make BIG Profits. Remember, there are only two ways in which a business can grow its profit:

Increasing sales
Reducing expenses

Let’s take a look at the impact a price increase could have on the profitability of a business. For this simple exercise, business XYZ has 200 customers. The average value of a sale is $1,000 and the cost of goods sold for each product is $300. The business’s fixed costs are $90,000 per annum. The table below demonstrates the impact of XYZ increasing its prices by 2 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent.

In this example, when there is a 2 percent price increase, the business profit increases by $4,000 per annum or 8 percent in one year. With a 5 percent price, increase the profit increases by $10,000 or a 20 percent increase. With a 10 percent price increase, the profit of the business increases by a whopping $20,000 or 40 percent.

With all things being equal, increasing your prices by a small amount results in a compounding increase in profit. It is important to note that increasing prices has no impact on cost of goods sold, which is based on quantity of products sold not the sales price.

When considering whether to increase your prices, ask yourself, “Am I likely to be losing customers?” If your answer is ‘yes’ or ‘I am not sure’, then your customers are only thinking about leaving as they do not understand your value proposition for them, or you do not deliver enough value to your customers to justify the price increase.

It comes down to branding. What does your business, your brand stand for? What is the promise you make to your customers? Branding is about building a relationship with your customers, and over time they expect certain things from your brand, as that is what you have promised them.

What is your branding saying about you and your business in the market? Is your business delivering on its promises to its customers?
Dr Michael LeBoeuf, international business consultant, focuses a lot of his work on how to win customers and keep them. He created a matrix based on extensive research on why customers leave a business.

Based on that research, of those customers who leave a business, only 9 percent leave due to pricing, whereas 82 percent of customers leave because they are not treated as special or there is an unresolved conflict. In essence, they leave due to a lack of customer service.

Therefore, key to the success of your business is not worrying about the price you charge your customers, but concentrating on the customer value proposition you deliver to your customers to keep them happy and returning for more. It’s about going beyond the call of duty to provide value and service to your customers. It’s about creating customer cheerleaders, customers who will be loyal to your business for a long time, and at the same time, will refer their family and friends to your business .

Think about this second question: “If you do increase your prices, will you be the most expensive business in your industry?”

Your answer is highly likely to be no. If the answer is yes, then you are at the premium end of your industry serving the most discerning customers, and therefore price is unlikely to be the most important factor in their decision making process. Even if you are at the premium end of the market, there is a strong argument that you should still raise your prices, making sure your customer service remains second to none, as it is the value proposition your business offers your customers that they will be most interested in.

My approach to pricing is: charge what you and your business are worth. Don’t undersell yourself. Brand your business, deliver on the promise, and you will be able to easily increase your prices and no-one will notice as they will be rapt with the way in which your business delivers value to them.

It comes down to a simple equation. For every $1 you charge your customers, make sure you are delivering more than $5 in value to them. Consistently do that, regardless of your pricing in the market, and you will not lose customers…. and you will grow your business as your reputation for excellent value will precede you as your customers will become your cheerleaders.

Sound like good business practice? I think so. It is a win/win business strategy.

Other articles on Branding, Marketing and Pricing:

Do You Compete on Price? Bad Business Decision!!
Is Customer Service YOUR Key to Business Success?
Creating Superior Customer Value – do you do that in your business?
Which are Your Most Profitable Customers?
Finding Customers via LinkedIn
Using YouTube for Finding Customers
Who Wants High Customer Retention?
What is a Customer?
What is Business Marketing?
What’s Your Personal Brand?

Do You Compete On Price? Bad Business Decision!!

The price a business owner establishes for the sale of their products and services is arguably one of the most important business decisions they will make. And yet, pricing is one of the most feared elements in managing a business.

One of the many conversations I have with business owners is on pricing, and those discussions usually start with me saying, “Your prices are too low.” They look at me in shock and often respond with all the reasons why they cannot raise their prices:

I’ve lost jobs because I was too expensive.
I’m more expensive than some of my competitors.
I’m barely making enough profit as it is, and I can’t afford to lose customers by raising prices.
You have got to be joking— put my prices up in this depressed market?

Responses like that generally indicate those business owners don’t understand the impact pricing has on a customer’s perception of their business and its branding in the market. I have a business mantra: “Never compete on price”.

If your prices are too low, your market will label you a low-end player and you’ll attract bargain hunters who will invariably try to get you to discount your products even further. Lower prices also make it unlikely your business will build long-term relationships with customers, who by their very nature will shop around to get the best prices on a product or service, not staying loyal to any one business.

A brand can turn something that is pedestrian or homogenous into something that is unique and that stands out from the crowd, regardless of the market. If a business is branded it can set you apart from the rest. A strong brand builds respect, loyalty and retention, and allows a business to set its pricing strategy accordingly.
Dr Michael LeBoeuf, international business consultant, focuses a lot of his work on how to win customers and keep them. He created a matrix based on extensive research on why customers leave a business.

Therefore, key to the success of your business is not worrying about the price you charge your customers, but concentrating on the customer value proposition you deliver to your customers to keep them happy and returning for more. It’s about going beyond the call of duty to provide value and service to your customers. It’s about creating customer cheerleaders, customers who will be loyal to your business for a long time and at the same time, will refer their family and friends to your business too.

Pricing is not an arbitrary decision; all businesses should have a pricing strategy. When determining your business’s pricing strategy, the key is to determine your value proposition for your customers, rather than pitching your business against your competition and attempting to undercut them to win more customers.

Get that right and your brand will create an impression in your market, and you can price your products and services according to that positioning.

Never compete on price. That is a business decision that will see you, your business, and your staff and suppliers lose in the end. Why? Because, if you are prepared to discount your price once, you will do it again and again. At the beginning, in order to maintain your profits, you can create increased operational efficiency within your business to compensate for reducing your prices. If you continue to reduce your prices, then eventually you will need to reduce your staff numbers or their pay (or both), and no doubt you will also be asking your suppliers to reduce their prices to you. Do that for long enough, then your staff can’t afford to work for you and your suppliers won’t be able to afford to supply your business, so you won’t have a business. It is a lose/lose business strategy.

A brand is a differentiator. A brand is an image. A brand is a promise. A brand is an experience. A brand is a perception. A brand can move a business or a person from the ocean of obscurity to the river of relevance and riches. Focus on building your business brand, and the need to compete on price will be a thing of the past as will the fear of making pricing decisions.

Other articles on Branding, Marketing and Pricing:

Is Customer Service YOUR Key to Business Success?
Creating Superior Customer Value – do you do that in your business?
Which are Your Most Profitable Customers?
Finding Customers via LinkedIn
Using YouTube for Finding Customers
Who Wants High Customer Retention?
Increase Your Prices and Make More Profit
What is a Customer?
What is Business Marketing?
What’s your Personal Brand?

All Work + Little Play = Boring!

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for full on work in order to achieve goals, whether you are an employee or a business owner. However, I also know from first-hand experience as an entrepreneur that all work and little or no play makes for a boring and empty existence. Yes, when we are striving to achieve great things as entrepreneurs, it is tempting and often compelling to work vast hours to achieve milestones.

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Well, there are seven elements that contribute to being a successful entrepreneur, as I noted in my blog: Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs, including:

Self belief
Setting a goal and going for it
Standing out in your market
Seizing your market
Strong leadership
Sacrosanct: Time
Self improvement

Let’s look at self improvement as one of the keys to what makes a successful entrepreneur. What is self improvement?

Successful entrepreneurs spend time on improving themselves. They are attracted to ongoing learning and knowledge, be it books, learning programmes, conferences, watching videos, they soak up new knowledge. They also allow time to re-energise. They take time out with family and friends for recreation and holidays, as that in itself is a form of self improvement.

Often successful entrepreneurs are excellent at other pursuits. For instance, it is widely known that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are phenomenal Bridge (card game) players.

Many successful entrepreneurs also take their health seriously, and include exercise as part of their daily routine.

Truly successful entrepreneurs generally have fantastic live. Think about the life that Sir Richard Branson has, or Bill Gates (he made all that money, has all the toys and assets he could ever want, and now he is giving most of his wealth away, and having a great time doing it). What successful entrepreneurs do you know who are truly successful and happy with life?

So as we entrepreneurs plan for the success of our businesses, how about planning for the success of our lives as well? How about embracing the concept of self improvement in its widest definition to create a life we love? In business we plan for the results and success we want, don’t we? Can we achieve complete happiness and success in life unless we plan for it too?

Vision (noun) – according to the Oxford Dictionary this means: the ability to see; the ability to think about the future with imagination or wisdom; a mental image, dream or apparition.

Perhaps it is time for entrepreneurs to create a vision for our lives; to imagine our futures in life of which business is a subset. Perhaps it is time that entrepreneurs think about the answers to some important questions as we plan our 2015:

What do I want my future to look like, not just in business but in life?
What matters most in life?
My epitaph: what words would I like to be used in my memory?
What roles do I play in life? Mother, father, parent, friend, worker, entrepreneur etc.
What goals/desires/ambitions do I have for each of my primary roles?
What do I want my life to look like at age 50, 75, 100 – relationships, career/ business, finances, health?
What words do I value the most (create a list).
What matters most in life now both personally and professionally?

If success in our entrepreneurial life is our total priority then it is unlikely that many of the other important things in life will come to fruition. For me, what makes a successful entrepreneur is whole of life success, not one dimensional success.

So let’s get planning. Let’s plan for the creation of fantastic and hugely successful businesses, and let’s also plan and create fantastic and hugely successful lives that we share with all those whom we love. Now, to achieve that meets my definition of what makes a successful entrepreneur. I’m off to plan for a brilliantly successful 2015 in business and life. Are you?

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Entrepreneurial Success Without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
NZ Entrepreneurship Success
Millionaire Mindset
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
7 Secrets of Business Success
Sir Richard Branson Asks…
Ordinary vs Game Changing
Thriving within the Juggling Act
Business Success and Cookie Dough
What Ice Cream Flavour is Your Business?

‘To Give Is To Live’… An Early New Year Present?

Dear Friends

Wouldn’t it be great for 2015 to be the best year yet in your business? That is the goal all my clients have set for themselves, and I am guiding them towards achieving that outcome.

I have a gift for you. To help you plan for the success you are seeking in your business in 2015, next week I am offering you a FREE 30 minute Skype call with me, where I will help you in any way you request. I offer my +20 years of business experience working with large and small businesses around the world, giving you any tips and guidance you need to make 2015 your best year yet in business.

You are probably asking: “Are there any strings attached?” The answer is: No; there are no strings attached!

You see, I expected to be in New Zealand for around one month to be with my mother before she passed over, but sadly, she left us sooner than we thought she would, so I have come home early, and my work diary is empty next week. I am in awe of the love and support my mother and family received from mum’s community during the most challenging two years of her life, and particularly near the end of her life, so I want to ‘pay it forward’ to the business owners in my community around the world. I want to lovingly and unconditionally support you with my skills and knowledge.

What are your burning questions or issues that I could help you with? Make a list and throw them at me; I will do my very best to guide you.

The offer is on a first come first served basis next week, from 10am Monday, 17 November to 8pm Friday, 21 November. All you have to do is click on this link, and book yourself a 30 minute time slot with me. Please remember to include your Skype address too, so I can call you; we can’t confirm an appointment without your Skype address included in the booking request.

In order to accommodate as many people as possible across multiple time zones, most days I will host meetings from 6am up to 11pm (GMT). If you are keen to have a half hour Skype call with me and really cannot commit to any of the times available, then please separately communicate with me on email, and we will see what we can do to accommodate your situation.

So, that is it. My personal motto is: “To Give Is To Live”. In memory of my mum, that is my ‘give’ to my business community next week. I hope you take up the opportunity, as I would love to support you.

To recap, the offer is on a first come first served basis next week, from 10am Monday, 17 November to 8pm Friday, 21 November. All you have to do is click on this link, and book yourself a 30 minute time slot with me. Please remember to include your Skype address too, so I can call you; we can’t confirm an appointment without your Skype address included in the booking request.

I look forward to supporting you with your business success.

Adèle X

Entrepreneurial Success Without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Owning a big and financially successful business? Selling a business for a tonne of money? Having all the assets/toys that represent success? Having business and life choice?

Perhaps it is all of those. Perhaps it is none of those. In my experience an entrepreneur can have some or all of those achievements and still feel empty inside.

I have met and worked with many business owners whose businesses are worth millions, or they have sold their businesses for millions and as a result they have lots of money and choice, but still, they are not happy.

Why? Because they are not fulfilled! They don’t have a sense of purpose to their life that in some way is fulfilled through their business. Life is too short to live without fulfilment, don’t you think?

What’s another word for fulfilment? PASSION! For me, to live with passion is to live with meaning, purpose and fulfilment. That is what makes a successful entrepreneur. There are many examples of passionate and successful entrepreneurs…. they exude life, purpose and fulfilment within their business and that reflects in the quality of their life: Sir Richard Branson, Jamie Oliver, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg to name a few. How many can you name?

As we edge towards the end of 2014, are you planning 2015 for your business? I hope so. I also hope that you are planning your own life for 2015 and beyond too. It is never too late to plan your life. Start now if you have not done it before; create your life plan. How can you integrate your personal passions into your entrepreneurial life so that you get a real sense of fulfilment through your business?

Think about these important questions:

Who are you?
What matters to you in your life?
What are your personal values?
What do you want to do?
What do you want to share with the world?
Why do you want to share it with the world?
If you didn’t have to work because you had enough money to sustain your lifestyle, what would you be doing?
Where are you in life now versus where do you want to be?
What would make your life fabulous NOW on YOUR terms?

Take this exercise and thinking time seriously, and DREAM big. For me DREAM means: Destiny Represented Evocatively, Actively and Magnetically.

Then ask yourself the really BIG question. How congruent are your personal life goals with what you are doing in business? If they are congruent, then you will be feeling fulfilment in and passion for your business as you will be working with purpose. Plus others with notice it too. You will exude vitality and life.

If there is little congruence, then it is highly likely that you are not being fulfilled through your business and therefore, you are not living with purpose. You will feel underwhelmed with the outcomes of your entrepreneurial success and life, and quite possibly, you will feel overwhelmed by your day to day work.

In summary, you will not feel alive! And sadly, others will notice it too; your staff, your customers, your suppliers. You might have what looks to others as all the business and financial success in the world, but you will not feel successful. Live to be alive!

For me it is called VIVA Leadership™ – Vision Internalised is Vision Actualised™: internal clarity and ownership and achievement of our personal vision, and congruence with our business world creates purpose, fulfilment and a feeling of being totally alive and in command of our lives.

That is what makes a successful entrepreneur. That is the success I support entrepreneurs around the world to achieve. I hope you make 2015 your best year yet for entrepreneurial success and personal and professional fulfilment.

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
NZ Entrepreneurship Success
Millionaire Mindset
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
7 Secrets of Business Success
Sir Richard Branson Asks…
Ordinary vs Game Changing
Thriving within the Juggling Act
Business Success and Cookie Dough
What Ice Cream Flavour is Your Business?

The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life

In the stillness of the early hours of Tuesday 28 October, with Dad fitfully sleeping next to her and wrapping a loving arm around her; family and friends in the southern hemisphere holding her close to their hearts as they also slept; and family and friends elsewhere in the world praying for our family, I sat with our mother, wife, grandmother, sister, mother-in-law, friend – Margaret (Gretta) – during what I knew would be her final hours in this life.

Mum was in a peaceful coma; her body had closed down but due to a lifetime of keeping fit, her heartbeat was strong. The beauty of that night was a moment in time that I will never forget and that I now share with those closest to me.

A dim light provided some relief from the darkness so I could see mum, and with a local radio station playing suitably soothing music to mum and me through the night, we chatted. They say that hearing is the last sense to leave a dying person. From my recent life experiences with the passing of my father-in-law and with mum in her last hours, I know this to be true.

You see, the only way in which mum could communicate with me during those last hours was via her heartbeat. When she was touched by what I said, her heartbeat slowed and/or softened… and then her heartbeat would return in all its strength. Mum’s heartbeat slowed and softened many times that night as I had the most intimate of conversations with her.

As the first born to mum and dad, for three quarters of my life mum and I were tightly connected. Stuff happens and distance alters relationships; that certainly happened for mum and me in recent years. Notwithstanding, we had a deep understanding of and love for each other. We respected the way in which we were leading our respective lives and the life choices we had made; we were proud of each other.

So those last hours were a completion of this phase of our journey together. The future of our relationship would take a different form. Mum’s spirit and soul would soon soar above me and all others whom she loved.

Having been told on 1 October that there was no more that medical science could do for her, mum asked the Doctor who delivered the heart breaking news: “How is your mother, Doctor? You said she has been unwell”. Mum had weeks left in this life, but she loved and cared for everyone around her, always putting others before herself.

Mum was a deeply Christian woman whose faith had been central to her life, so the word JOY had a special meaning for her. She believed that one should put Jesus and Others before Yourself….. mum lived her life like that. Illness over the last two years had robbed mum of the lifetime of good health and vitality that she had enjoyed. Testimony to the JOY mum lived was the outpouring of love she received from her many friends and family around the world upon hearing of her life changing health challenges from mid 2012.

My daughter Gemma and I arrived in New Zealand from London where we live on Friday 24 October. As we were driving to see mum in her home town of Hamilton at what seemed like break neck speed in the hope that she was still alive, my beautiful and very thoughtful 12 year old asked what for me was the ultimate in unanswerable questions.

“Mummy, why is God being so mean to Nana, when for all of her life, Nana has been so good to God?”

Even with immense pain and suffering, mum wanted to remain living, and she had told those around her while she was still able to speak that she wanted life. However, in the last moments of her life that I shared, I believe I saw and felt mum experience a beautifully dignified peacefulness, calm and acceptance as she passed over.

And while I may never be able to answer Gemma’s question in any way that might satisfy her, what I do believe is that mum’s spirit is now being cradled in the arms of her beloved mother, Daisy ─ our Granny ─ something that mum will find comfort, happiness and peace with.

Mum will watch over us with a loving and caring heart; she will look after those who are special and important to us, and who departed before her. Because that is what mum did…. she lived for caring for others. She lived for JOY – Jesus, Others, Yourself… in that order.

Mum left us in the certain knowledge and security that she will be wrapped in the warmth of her God, the God she had cherished, respected and trusted ─ through good times and bad ─ for all of her life.

Personally, I am taking comfort in that knowledge, and I hope over time Gemma will do so too. I also hope that mum’s certainty over what was on offer for her after this phase in her life will be of comfort to all others who shared her life after the immediate feelings of grief, sadness, anger and loss have subsided a little.

Mum, you are and will always be much loved by many. Rest in Peace, my love.

She Is Gone – by David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone,
Or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her,
Or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her only that she is gone,
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what she’s want,
Smile. Open your eyes. Love, and go on.

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success!
Success Secrets of Successful People
Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!
Success Breeds Success – Tip #1
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?