by Linda
The Risk-Taking Business Owner
We’ve all heard the old saying “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Like most old sayings, there’s a strong element of truth in those words. Are you a risk-taking business owner? Maybe you are and you don’t even know that you are one. Simple to find out though, take a look at this definition.
Definition
Definition of risk-taking: the act or fact of doing something that involves danger or risk in order to achieve a goal Starting a business always involves some risk-taking.
At the risk of following one old saying with another, without risk, there is not, and cannot be any reward. There is an element of chance inherent in every venture and unless that chance is recognized and faced, the venture will never become reality.
A Natural Risk-Taker
There are people who are natural risk-takers, as well as people who are very risk-averse. Do you find that to be true? The key to success when it comes to risk-taking is understanding what type of person you are. Take this quiz here ⇒ Quiz and see how you fare.
How does this personality trait affect your business when it comes to dealing with risk? It is important to keep in mind that the secret of success when it comes to business risk is mitigating potential damage in favor of potential gain.
Is it a Risk or a Danger?
Therefore, neither type of risk personality, in and of itself, provides an advantage over the other when it comes to risk management. A risk-taker can just as easily overreach themselves as a risk-averse person can underreach themselves. Interesting yes?
When faced with a situation that offers reward and risk, the key is to coolly and impartially assess the potential positive and negative outcomes. And then decide accordingly. No danger there right?
Being a Successful Business Owner
Successful business owners are sometimes seen as risk-takers simply because they understand the danger in a situation better than anyone else involved. So, while it appears that they are courting disaster, the reality is that the risks involved have been managed. This allows them to control negative consequences.
The Scenario
The successful business owner who takes a risk is very much like a professional tightrope walker. To the observer, it looks death-defying and, perhaps, frightening. To the performer, it is simply another day at the office. Their skill, training, and preparation sufficiently offset the inherent risk to make the feat only appear to be remarkably dangerous. What do you think?
In your own business, don’t be afraid of risk but, at the same time, don’t take the risk lightly. Weigh your options carefully and, when you arrive at a prudent decision, move forward with confidence.
And speaking of confidence, I have a great course on confidence.
You can access it right here ⇒ The Lady Boss Confidence Course
by Linda
There are a lot of different factors that come into play when it comes to being successful in business. Today, let’s focus on two of them, how to be on time and organized.
These two factors can make a HUGE difference in your day-to-day life. Once you have mastered these, you will be able to move faster in your business because they are a major stumbling block for new business owners.
Successful People
Think back on some of the most successful people you’ve met in your own life. The chances are they were good at both of these – being organized and on time. There’s a reason why both of these factors will make such a big difference when it comes to being successful. Can you name at least one or two?
How Being On-Time And Being Organized Can Help You Succeed
Both being on time and organized can help you make the best possible use of your time and energy. When referring to energy, it includes both mental and physical energy. We all have a limited supply of both, along with being restricted to 24 hours on a given day. In other words, both time and energy are limited resources. What being on time and staying organized helps with is making the most of those resources and focusing them on tasks and activities that help us reach the goals that define success.
There are two different ways in which being both on time and organized will help you succeed. Let’s look at both of them and then briefly discuss how to get better at them.
Being On-Time And Being Organized Saves You Time
So, how much time have you wasted this week looking for a misplaced item or a file on your hard-drive? How about your car keys? And, how much time have you wasted because you didn’t show up on time for an appointment and ended up having to wait? Making an effort to be on time and staying organized helps you save precious time and energy.
Being on time is all about time management and awareness. Work will always stretch out into however much time you give it. Becoming more aware and better at time management will help you work more efficiently.
The same is true for being well organized.
Being Organized and On-Time Helps You Look Professional
Showing up late for an appointment or interview makes you look bad. So does not being prepared or having to dig around for a few minutes to find something needed like a pen or a notepad. This is particularly true when it comes to first impressions. Work on getting better at both by trying harder to be prepared.
It will help you get the chances you deserve, and people see you as the respected person or expert in your field that you are.
How To Get Better At Both
You now know why it’s important to work on getting organized and being on time.
So, let’s look at how we can improve both those skills.
What it comes down to is getting into the habit of being conscious of time and staying on top of organizational tasks. Yes, if you’re exceptionally disorganized, it will take some up-front work to clear things up. Once completed though, you have to make an effort day in and day out to put things back in their place and stay organized.
That is true for physical items, digital items, and even thoughts and ideas. The short answer then is to practice both being on time and staying organized on a daily basis until they become habits.
It’s said that it takes 21 days to make a new habit stick. Here’s a free tracker to help you master your new habits.
And if you need additional help, I’m always available to chat with you to discuss how you can master your habits. Book an appointment with me here for a free 15-minute chat.
by Linda
Expressive journaling can be your road to de-stressing and re-energizing your mind. It can help you declutter your brain and your soul, and help you get feelings out on paper where they can be examined and interpreted. Today’s discussion is all about What is Expressive Journaling?
Do you even know what it is? Journaling like this can help you live more of your life in the moment, as you deal with the past and future in your journal. You’ll feel more secure in your daily life without all that hanging around in your brain, and you’ll find yourself enjoying your days with less worry and pressure.
Here are lots of different types of expressive journals, and each of them can be used exclusively. Or you can mix and match what you want when you want it. We’ll talk about several of the most common types of expressive journals in this article.
- Art Journal – Whether or not you are artistically talented, an art journal is an excellent idea if you love to doodle and sketch. What are you feeling? Turn that into a sketch. Draw an outline and then color it in with colored pencils or gel pens. If getting better at art is your goal, make the page opposite your creation where you write about how you feel about what you’ve created and how your progress is coming along.
- Gratitude Journal – There’s no better way to increase positive feelings in your life than with a gratitude journal. Each day, reflect on your experiences, what you’re thankful for, and lessons that you want to remember for the future. And then take it a step further and let the people you’re thankful for know about it!
- Dream Journal – Each morning, grab your dream journal and write down your dreams from the night before. Leave room after each dream, in case you come back with different insights later on, and you want to record them. Your dreams can tell you a lot about your waking life when they’re interpreted correctly!
- Creative Writing Journal – If stories are your thing, try a creative writing journal. Write a short story every day, or challenge yourself to write a short story in just 100, 200, or 300 words. Challenge yourself and hone your skills!
- Positivity Journal – Each day, pick something positive that happened that really inspired you. Write about what happened, the people involved, and how it made you feel. This can help you see more positive things in life overall, and helps decrease negativity.
So, don’t overthink your journaling – just get started and try!
We are now beginning our series on the topic of journaling. There will be several articles on the whys and the hows so this will be really interesting You might want to read these all at the same time or even save them in a file you can go back to and read from time to time.
At any rate, this is a topic of discussion and you’ll be happy to know that even the most famous people write in a journal. Try it, you might even like it!
by Linda
Today we’re discussing Why Writing Down Your Goals Boosts Your Chances of Success. Setting goals is an important part of life. Without them, you won’t know how to recognize success or achievement. By knowing your goals, it tells you what you want to achieve and why it’s important to you. While not all goals are equal they do all deserve the best chance of achievement.
What’s in a Dream?
In life we all have dreams, ambitions we want to achieve. However, it is entirely in your power whether they remain dreams or whether you will actually set out to make them a reality. If you think of a dream, then it is more like a hope; a wish not yet fulfilled. Perhaps your ambition is to be promoted to director in your company. That’s great but just having that dream won’t actually help you achieve it.
Writing it Down
Writing your dream down can help increase the chance of it becoming a reality. The very act of committing it to paper makes it more real and concrete. You can see it. In black & white! However, there is more to making your dreams turn into reality than merely writing it down. You actually need to flesh it out. You need to give it substance and to create a goal. By turning your dream into a goal you are further committing to its ultimate achievement.
Your Focus
Your goal is the end-point. It is what you want to achieve and how you will know you have been successful. The key to success is to write down the steps you will take to get there. How you will turn that goal into a reality. What do you need to focus on to create it? It is important to know why that goal is one you want to achieve. So you need to write down what achieving it will look and feel like to you. How will your life change? By making your visualization of your success as descriptive as possible and by writing it in the present tense as if you are living it now, you create a connection with your subconscious mind.
Visualize It
Additionally, writing is a right-brained activity. It is part of your logical and analytical mind. However, the very act of writing keeps the right-brain occupied and allows the more creative left-brain to be accessed. This will let you begin to create and visualize the future you want. Setting that vision down on paper is a record that you can refer to again and again. It will remind you why you want to achieve the goal you have set and how you will know you have achieved it.
The Ultimate Goal
Adding the steps to achieving the goal provides you with a to-do list. You can tick off each step as you complete it and see your progress. This can be very motivating especially if you find yourself struggling. Acknowledging how much you’ve achieved can strengthen your resolve and provide motivation to continue.
Has The Goal Changed
Alternatively, by having a written record of your goal and the steps needed to achieve it you will be able to see if your mind has changed. Often you’ll find that your actual goal changes. Where you started as wanting to be promoted to Director you may find that you actually want to be promoted to Director of a different division or department or maybe even a totally different role!
It’s Not Written in Stone, Y’all!!
Goal setting is not something that is written in stone. Your written goal, visualization, and plan will not only be a record and guide but a working document that can be changed as your vision of your future changes. Having it written down enables you to track your progress and any changes. You can evaluate as you progress and by ticking your achievements off as you go you’ll be able to celebrate your progress along the way.
Did you write that all down? I hope so! The next article will be the cherry on the top of this whole journaling thing. So make sure you come back to read the next tips about journaling. You’ll be glad you did!
by Linda
Setting your Goals
In other words, HOW TO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE. So, how then do you live your best life? This is what you need to do. You need to set goals for your personal and professional lives. Yup, the secret sauce to living…create it!
Here are a couple of pointers:
Having goals will allow you to measure your achievements and your success.
They will help you to improve those aspects that need to change.
Use this Goal Setting Worksheet to start yours…like right now!
But…before you begin to set your goals, you need to identify what your best life looks and feels like.
There are lots of ways to do this. Below are a few ideas you could try:
- You could write it down being as descriptive as possible and using the present tense as if you are living your best life right now.
- Or you could create a vision board with lots of pictures, words, and quotes.
- If you really want to attract a successful outcome you could do both. Try it and see what works best for you.
One important thing to remember about visualizing your best life is that it needs to inspire you and to be fulfilling. Nelson Mandela said, “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
So dream big.
Think about your life purpose.
What makes you happy? Inspires you?
What legacy do you want to leave?
Finding your passion and purpose is the crucial element to living your best life.
Once you have found them you can then set your goals and create your plans.
Optimism: as you set goals, create plans and implement them you will see and feel yourself creating change in your life. These changes are positive and achieved by taking action. Each step is another towards your goal. You will feel proud of yourself as you achieve goals, reach milestones and see the changes you have made. These positive emotions create optimism for the future and help build strength and resilience to cope with change and any challenges you may encounter along the way.
Wellbeing: taking control of your life, deciding what you want to do with it and what you want to feel is incredibly empowering. Instead of feeling listless, unmotivated or depressed and anxious you will begin to discover a sense of excitement, curiosity, creativity, joy, passion and purpose. As you take action these positive steps will create positive emotions and the desire to continue to progress towards your end goal. You won’t want to settle for a humdrum existence when you have found the power to create the best life for you.
All of these positive emotions will reduce stress, anxiety and even depression. They will also affect your physical as well as your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Control: an often overlooked result of goal setting is control. By taking control of your life, envisioning the future you want through following your passion and purpose, you are acknowledging that life doesn’t just happen but can be shaped by you.
Your life is in your hands. You have the power to shape it to what you would like.
However, to create your best life you first need to discover your passion and purpose. Only then can you set your goals and plan how to achieve it. Without those goals, you reduce your chances of success as you won’t be able to recognize it when it happens. So…what are YOU going to do?
Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear what you have to say.
Stay tuned for my big ANNOUNCEMENT in April. I’m starting a new service called:
The Mentorship Project – Do I Need One?
