bonitarichter.com

Only 2 seats left!  To register visit http://www.BonitaRichter.com/rediscoverretreat

‘Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier.  The way it actually works is the reverse.  You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young

By guest author, Ken Carlson

So…I’m a recovering achiever. You know the type. The kid that sits in the front row in every class in high school and college. The adult that goes shopping for the perfect shirts and ties for work so the boss is impressed. The never miss a deadline type—even if it means staying up until 3am and getting up at 4am to get back to work. Some of you might have called me a kiss up. Whatever—I got A’s and I got promoted.

I still think sitting in the front row is a good idea.  I’ve got a kid in high school and a kid in college and I would definitely encourage them to sit as close to the front as possible. Why?  Because when you sit in the front row you A) have to pay attention and B) you get a much better idea of what is most important to the teacher; we all know that only part of doing well in school is knowing the material—to get A’s, you have to know what matters to the teacher.

Somewhere along the way though—I decided that sitting in the front row wasn’t giving me everything I wanted in life. It certainly gave me nice paychecks. I got to drive a nice car, live in a nice neighborhood, have nice friends, go to a nice health club. All so very NICE.

The new question. The one that kept me up at night was this: What was it all costing?

I could clearly see what I was getting. Stuff. Lots of good stuff. Travel. Fun. Some financial security. A great lifestyle for my wife and kids. The ability to retire at a reasonable age. I was also getting accolades from bosses, my family, and my friends. All good things.

It was costing me a lot more though. Mostly, it was costing me my days. I was spending at least 250 of 365 days per year inside and I absolutely adore being outside. It was costing me sometimes three hours a day behind the wheel of a car. I was helping corporations make money and making very little tangible difference in anyone’s life. I certainly wasn’t passionate about the work that my company did.

So, I decided to get in the front row again. This time though—I wasn’t in a college classroom or a corporate boardroom—I got in the front row of my own life.   I started going
to therapy. I started reading all sorts of books. I hired a coach. I started talking to my best friends regularly about what was next in my life. I wanted to figure out me. I wanted to take charge of my own life and my own future. So I did.

Right now, it’s several years later and sitting in the front row of my own life is the best decision I ever made. There is definitely a cost to living my dream. A cost to doing what I most love. A cost associated with leaving the corporate world and starting my own business. However, for me, the cost is worth it to have the things that I most want for my own life. I want to make an impact on people every day. I want to spend time outside every day. I want to be creative. I want to be present for my children.

Here is my challenge to you: What is it that you want for your life? What cost are you willing to pay to have what you want? I have yet to meet anyone that has regretted the choice to get in the front row of their own life and do the work.

Ken Carlson is a life coach, father, business owner, athlete, and 40-year old from Geneva, IL with clients all over the world. He specializes in working with individuals that are successful in their lives and career and are looking to fully follow their dreams. He named his company Authentic Development because he believes that entering into our true selves is really the only way to fully come alive! Website: www.authenticdevelopment.com

I see a lot of women entrepreneurs who are busy ’doing’ a lot of different activities to grow their businesses.  On the surface this seems all good because they’re investing energy and time. 

The problem is too many times they’re not getting the results they desire for all their expended energy.  This keeps their business and income stuck at the same levels, or they experience small amounts of growth.

How can you tell if you’re not getting adequate results for your invested efforts?  Here’s a list of two ways to tell:

1. Your income in 2011, compared to 2010, either decreased, stayed the same, or grew less than 20%.  (no whining about the economy)

2. Your hourly fee rate decreased or did not increase (annual revenues ÷ total hours worked)

The bottom line is if you are working harder, and not gaining significant forward movement toward your goals, you probably need to change what you’re doing.  

Here are 3 ways you can “change up” your activities to ensure you reach your 2012 goals:

1. Review 2011 and determine 1) what went well and CELEBRATE!, 2) what didn’t go as planned, and 3) why things didn’t go as planned. 

Were you lacking support or some skills and know-how?  Or, did you simply not invest the time into certain activities you could have?  Diagnose the reasons so you can course correct in 2012.

2. Create your 2012 vision and goals – what do you want your business and personal life to look like 12/31/12?  What personal mastery skills do you need to develop?

Be very specific.  Without specifics, you may be wasting time and energy doing activities that will not move you closer to your vision and goals.  Example: Are you part of a networking group that has few of your ideal clients?  This time may be better invested doing something else.

3. Create your plan to make it all happen!

Your business plan needs to include an income goal and key strategies you must implement to make it all happen. 

For example, this year my income goal is $300K.  Key strategies I will implement to make it happen are:

1. Become more visible to my ideal clients

2. Increase traffic to my website and subscriber opt-ins

3. Increase marketing activities

Then, for each of the above three strategies I will create objectives, identify activities to do, and put a timeframe to reaching the objective.

For example, to become more visible to my ideal clients I could, 1) lead one teleseminar every week, 2) be a guest on someone else’s teleseminar every 2 weeks, 3) speak to live groups one time per week, and 4) attend two networking meetings per week.

Then, I will keep track to make sure I am investing the required time and energy to get the results I’m seeking.  In my case, I am tracking achievment of my $300K income goal.

Now is the time to evaluate and review what you’re doing so you can be proactive about making necessary course corrections to achieve your 2012 goals!

Prefer to listen to this week’s article?  Click the link below.

Every year I create a “Dream Theme” for my business. This theme keeps me focused and on track, propelling me forward to achieve my vision and goals for my business. This year, my Dream Theme is “Leverage.”

Every decision I make about the services and products I offer are measured against this theme, and if they are in alignment with my brand. If a decision I am about to make is not in alignment with my theme, I make the necessary adjustments, make a different decision, or discard the idea.

An example of how I put my theme of leverage into action is, I already have a lot of knowledge and intellectual property developed around the topics of marketing, branding, and business growth. So, am I fully leveraging assets I already have? Or am I spinning my wheels creating new material over and over again? The intent here is to maximize and leverage what I already have, rather than creating more busy work for myself.

The results aren’t just good, they are spectacular! I’m making lots more money as a coach, and I don’t feel the overwhelm I used to, because I was constantly creating something new, when what I already had was great.

Having a dream theme keeps you focused, motivated, and increases your confidence because you know you are on a path of achieving the results you desire in your business.

Know it is also common to feel a certain attachment to every idea and dream you create. Instead, I invite you to say “thank you” to the Universe for the idea, then decide if the dream is worth putting any more energy into. You can do this by comparing each idea and opportunity to the “Business Return on Investment.”

How do you decide which ideas and opportunities are the right ones? Your Business Return on Investment is five or six criteria that must be true in order for you to say “yes” to a new idea or opportunity. Here is an example of how to use your Business Return on Investment criteria:

• Does the opportunity perfectly align with your PASSION, and unique talents, skills, and knowledge you already have to offer?
• Will it pay $200 per hour (or more) within six months?
• Will it be profitable in six months?
• Is it in alignment with your 1-2-3 year vision?
• Will it be fun to do?

Each of these questions must have a “yes” answer in order for an opportunity or idea to qualify. If not, drop the idea. Express your gratitude to your creative self for the idea to keep creative channels open, and to know that you are open to receiving future creative inspirations!

So what is YOUR dream theme? What word or phrase embraces the direction you want to immerse yourself in this year? Remember, “first thought, best thought!” so don’t second-guess yourself.

Your dream theme will keep you and your small business growth plans on track, keep you from getting distracted, and propel you effortlessly forward into a successful 2011 and beyond.

Have a beautiful and prosperous week,

Bonita