Archive for the ‘Author Spotlight’ Category
Posted by admin on
September 16, 2009
Being an entrepreneur is just a big, fat pile of “firsts”! Sometimes you think they will never end – especially in the beginning years. It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed with the unending litany of new and uncomfortable tasks; business plans, sales, accounting, bookkeeping, websites, creating products, packaging services, renting space, social networking…the list goes on and on.
All we want to do is practice our craft, yet in order to get people into our practice and do just that, we are forced to do all of this other “stuff” to get there. Hmmm, does it sound like I’m speaking from experience? Let me share with you what I’ve learned about pushing forward when all you want to do is pull back…
Here are 6 steps you can take today to get you through your “Why the &%$# am I doing this!” moments:
- Big Picture: Revisit your vision. Remember why you decided to start your business in the first place, and focus on the results you are working to realize. Look at the big picture. Also, connect with something bigger than yourself and the knowing that you will be ok. This too shall pass. (…and it will pass faster after you do it!)
- Cry it Out: Sometimes you just need to curl up in a ball and cry “Why! Why! Why!” Then you wipe away your chocolate-tinged tears and get back to work! It’s your life and it’s your business. Allow yourself time to express your frustrations in the way that works for you, and then move on.
- Take a Step Back: Avoid leaping to drastic conclusions like assuming that just because you haven’t had any new clients this month, that your practice will fail. Challenge any limiting beliefs and do a reality check on what’s really true about this situation and review what makes you so brilliant!
- Get “Quality” Support: Imagine having someone who can either do the work you hate and are avoiding, or someone who has a formula for doing what you struggle with? Your struggle is someone else’s talent – find them and ask them to help you. Find someone who specializes in the type of support you are looking for. In today’s entrepreneurial world the resources are abundant – VA’s, coaches, home study programs, books etc. Plan, interview and do your homework so that you are working with the resource that will serve your needs the best.
- Get Over It! Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Step up to the plate, take responsibility for the choice you made to go into business for yourself. You are stronger, more talented, gifted and brilliant than you give yourself credit for. Only by stretching and doing the uncomfortable will you be able to know how strong you really are. Flex those business muscles!
- Take Action: It’s imperative to take the steps you need to move forward in creating the business and life you want to have. YOU WILL NOT GROW YOUR BUSINESS HIDING IN YOUR OFFICE, BEHIND YOUR COMPUTER OR BURRIED IN YOUR 100TH SPIRITUAL GROWTH COURSE! You know what needs to be done to grow your business – and if you don’t – ask someone who does!
Remember, when it comes to firsts, after you’ve done it once, you’ve overcome not knowing how to do it, and it’s not a first anymore! Add one more thing to your list of things you know how to do.
You went into business for yourself to serve the world in a way that only you can. You have all that it takes to live your dream!
Kimberly Martin is a Certified Executive Coach and Principal of Martin Business Leadership, which creates custom business relationship strategies for health and wellness providers. They’ll help you grow your business, bring in new clients, solidify existing relationships and have enjoyable, authentic, effortless selling interactions! Visit www.MartinBusinessLeadership.com
To enjoy more writings from Kimberly’s writings and the other Overcomers, Inc. authors CLICK HERE for our free E-Book “Overcoming Adversity With Grace”.
Technorati Tags: adversity, how to overcome adversity, Overcomers
Posted by admin on
September 9, 2009
Just today, I heard a song on my car radio that reminded me powerfully of a time when I was listening to that very song in my car, and praying desperately for the hand of God in my life. Back in the early 80’s, I was married, pregnant, diabetic, nauseous, and fearful. Every day while driving, I played my one tape, Anne Murray, and listened to her sing, “I Want To Sing You a Love Song”.
As I sang along, I felt such a mix of emotions – love for my unborn baby, worried about the impact of my diabetes on his or her health, and dread that my husband’s drinking, which had escalated tenfold since I became pregnant, would ultimately destroy our new family. Much as I wanted to be a peaceful incubator for my unborn child, I could not control these disturbing thoughts. I prayed constantly for help – that labour would go well, that the baby would be well, that my husband would be well, that ALL would be well.
Within a short time, my son was safely delivered, but my husband was gone. Reluctantly, I started a life very different from the one I had dreamed of, and very similar to the one I had feared. At the time, I remember thinking that my prayers must have fallen on deaf ears. But looking back now, I think that the problem lay with the prayers, not with the answer or lack of it. My prayers had a demand quality that I did not see at the time. They included requests that my husband stop drinking, that he get a new job, that he step up to the plate as a father. But in fact, he did none of those things; he just disappeared. And I survived anyway.
To be truthful, I did more than survive; I flourished, and my son flourished right along with me. Once I accepted that we were not doing Plan A, but had moved to Plan B, I was able to get with the program. I started to lose my fear and access my internal resources. I wrote a plan of the goals I had for myself as a parent, what I wanted to teach my son, and how we could have fun together. I created a home for us with our own picket fence. And I changed the way I prayed. I had grown up and so had my prayers. I no longer gave God his To Do list. Instead, I started to hold the possibility that God WAS there all along; was always there; and my job was to trust that. Now, I have both certainty and uncertainty in equal measure in my life.
I am certain that there is a plan, and that it is for our ultimate good. I am uncertain how the plan will unfold. But I don’t worry about it as much. I accept that our lives move us into the mystery and while we may try to discern God’s will, we cannot know the mind of God. I still pray for others, and myself but I leave it to God to figure the “how” since he seems to have a better handle on that than I do. And my prayers are often prayers of gratitude, for the beauty and peace in my life, and yes, for the adversity and uncertainly that I now understand is a hallmark of the human journey.
Margaret Sarkissian, M.A. (Counseling Psychology), Certified Coach, is a skilled consultant, trainer, and business/life coach. She has worked with 200+ managers helping them address serious workplace problems and has developed and facilitated hundreds of workshops on coaching and communication skills, diversity and inclusion, building respectful workplaces, strategic planning, and appreciative living.
www.ClearPerspectives.ca.
Technorati Tags: adversity, how to overcome adversity, Overcomers
Posted by admin on
September 5, 2009
Years ago, when I was at the bottom of the pit, in a place of real despair, I remember listening to a song called Help is On the Way. I remember playing that song over and over again driving in my car, oftentimes with tears streaming down my face. I thought I would wear out the CD, I played it so many times.
When I didn´t know what to say to God, that song was my prayer. It expressed my fears, my hopes, my faith and my feelings of overwhelm. I still can´t listen to that song without feeling a sense of hopefulness that everything is going to turn out just fine…because help is on the way..
Prayer doesn´t need to be anything formal. We don´t need to be in a certain position or have any special wording. Prayer can be as easy as one word – “help!” It´s amazing what a relief that one word can feel.
Prayer is simply a one-sided conversation with God,. But just think about how rare it is to have someone listen to you without interrupting! What a treat! So relish that one-way conversation and take full advantage of your opportunity to speak your mind and heart. Even if you don´t believe that there is anyone “up there” listening to you, getting your feelings out in the open is a release and can open doors to answers.
In the song, Perry Dickison sings, “don´t give up your dream, even though you may be thinking it never will come true. Life has its own ideas of how it comes about. If you just hang in there, life is going to work it out.”
And really isn´t that true? We can be looking at the adversity we are facing with dread and hopelessness because it seems like a dead end. But we don´t know what doors will magically open or who will show up in our life as a guide.
Perry continues singing: “You don´t have to know where the path you are on is leading. You never can go wrong. If you have faith that things are happening as they should and just believe that every step you take is leading you to something good.” I love those words of encouragement – I can´t go “wrong”.
So open your heart and mind to the endless possibilities of how things can work out for you. Ask for help! Trust that you are being guided every step of the way. And then expect the best!
Jan Janzen is a non-denominational minister, healer and business coach. She is the author of two books and 8 CDs for the spiritual entrepreneur. To receive Jan´s complimentary ebook: 10 Secrets to Living the Life of Your Dreams, visit www.janjanzendaily.com
Access your free copy of Overcoming Adversity with Grace at http://www.overcomersbook.com/grace
Technorati Tags: adversity, how to overcome adversity, Overcomers
Posted by admin on
August 30, 2009
Recently I went to a new hairdresser for a cut and colour. “Not too short”, I said, “or you’ll cut off the curl (my one remaining vanity) and not too dark, please. Just give the current colour a bit of a boost.” Through one of those inexplicable vagaries of communication, she must have heard, “Please cut my hair very short and mannish, eliminate all curl, and then colour it so dark that I’ll look old and ill.” So she did. I left the shop hoping that my alarming hairstyle might possibly look better in the daylight, away from fluorescent lights, but this was not to be. I owned this hair for at least another month until I could afford to do it all over again.
But I was very upset. I was mad at the hairdresser and mad at myself – I should have known that she was cutting too much off; I should have stopped her. I should ask for a colour correction; I should demand a refund. But I knew that the refund was unlikely and I was unwilling to put myself at risk of further disfigurement.
Once I realized that focussing on what was wrong with my hair was increasing my unhappiness, I knew that I needed to change the way I was thinking about the problem. I needed to change my perspective. And then fortunately, I remembered something that was helpful.
Several years ago, I saw an IMAX film which opened with a scene of St. Mark’s Square, in Venice. It was an idyllic picture of people drinking coffee in cafes bordering the square while children chased after each other with balloons, in the Venetian sunshine. The camera then pulled back to show all of Venice, then all of Italy, then Europe, coming to rest finally on our astonishing blue sphere, our galactic home, spinning in blackest space. The camera withdrew even further to show us that this blackness sparkles with millions of galaxies, many containing over 200 billion stars. Our human imaginations can barely comprehend the vastness of this cosmos.
By contrasting the small scale of St. Mark’s Square with the magnitude of the universe, the camera offers us a whole new perspective of the troubling events of our lives. It helps us to see the adversity we all have to deal with through a wider and wiser lens. From trivial concerns (my hair), to unbearable tragedies (detailed in daily newspapers), we are called to pull back, see our situation from the eagle’s view; pull back further and see our lives from the moon’s perspective; and then pull back further still so that we can see ourselves as a part of the twinkling universe, moving in harmony with a Divine order that we cannot see but which nevertheless, is manifesting into Infinity. And while this new perspective does not change the facts of the situation, it allows us to let go of what is insignificant, and to trust that there is a rhythm, an order, and an eventual peace lying behind the current chaotic or painful situation that is overwhelming our hearts and minds.
Margaret Sarkissian, M.A. (Counseling Psychology), Certified Coach, is a skilled consultant, trainer, and business/life coach. She has worked with 200+ managers helping them address serious workplace problems and has developed and facilitated hundreds of workshops on coaching and communication skills, diversity and inclusion, building respectful workplaces, strategic planning, and appreciative living. www.ClearPerspectives.ca
Access your free copy of Overcoming Adversity with Grace at http://www.overcomersbook.com/grace
Technorati Tags: adversity, how to overcome adversity, Overcomers
Posted by admin on
August 29, 2009
Being a Spiritual being having a human journey, focus on the Light at the end of the tunnel as you:
-Acknowledge the Present experience.
-Be with a loving community of support and healing
-Go deep within your soul and spiritual journey
-Do lifestyle changes as eating healthy diet, meditate, praying,
-Develop healthy and healing habits
-Open your heart to a healing partnership
-Become an intimate Human Being and less of a human Doing
-Engage in the forgiving process of self and others
-Reclaim your Essence of love, peace, joy
Philip Belzunce Ph.D., ND, LSMFT, RPE, CPC, MH, integrative psychologist, naturopath, holistic life/relationship coach, marriage/family therapist, diversity consultant, international lecturer, energetic bodyworker, hypnotherapist, iridologist, martial artist, Taoist teacher, married priest, is an eternal student of life. He authored What Really Matters is the Heart, and Heart Shadows. He derives great satisfaction in serving with a Higher Purpose, facilitating individuals, couples, families and groups through life transitions and transformations for growth, healing, and well-being, . To know more of his collaborative teamwork with his wife/partner, go to www.tenpathwaysofhealinglove.com, www.phillalei.com to find out how to reconnect with your body-emotion-energy-mind-soul-spirit (BEEMSS) Life Journey.
Access the FREE ebook, Overcoming Adversity with Grace; Secrets to Rise Above Virtually Any Obstacle Life Puts in Front of You with insights from over 30 visionary experts at http://overcomersinc.com/grace
Technorati Tags: adversity, how to overcome adversity, Overcomers
