Stacy Klein's Blog

Let me ask you a question: How successful do you think you would be at driving forward while looking in the rearview mirror? If you’re being honest, your answer is most likely, not at all. No one would be.

That’s what trying to build the future you desire while dwelling in and on the past is like. You’re trying to complete an almost impossible feat. Marianne Williamson famously said, “we do not heal the past by dwelling there. We heal the past by living fully in the present.” 

Wrapped up in those powerful words are the great truth that we cannot change the past. No matter how much we scratch, claw, or complain, there’s no changing it. All we can do is focus on the present and building for the future.

Well, you can’t start building the future you desire if your hands are full of the baggage from your past. You have to let go of the past to free yourself up to construct your future. And in particular, there are three things from the past that weigh people down the most. To learn the three things you need to let go of from your past so you can break through, keep reading.

1. Let go of wrongdoings

If you’ve been around long enough, chances are you’ve been screwed over or wronged in some way. Sadly, it tends to just be part of life. And when someone wrongs us in some way, it becomes very easy to hold on to grudges. 

The problem with holding grudges is that they are some of the heaviest baggage you can possibly carry around. Grudges stay at the forefront of your mind and heart. They break you down mentally and emotionally, which eventually takes a physical toll. 

Grudges keep you stuck in the past and in a vicious cycle of reliving the wrong that was done to you. You’re essentially chained there. In order to move forward, you have to release and let go of those wrongdoings from the past. When you do, you set yourself free.

I love how Lewis Smedes described it when he said, “to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” You deserve the ability to create the life that you want. So go ahead and unchain yourself from your past by letting go of any wrongdoings that happened to you.

“You’ve got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old – whatever “the old” means for you.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

2. Let go of your limiting stories

I come from nothing, so I’m meant to be nothing. My parent’s relationship fell apart, so finding true love must be really hard. Only lucky people get rich. 

What do all of those statements have in common? If you guessed that they are all crippling limiting beliefs that people struggle with every single day, you’d be right. One of the biggest reasons people struggle to break through and create the life they want is that they’re being held back by limiting beliefs from their past.

The saddest part about it is that the vast majority of those beliefs were given to them without any say on their part. They were like terrible gifts that couldn’t be given back. 

What I mean by that, is that most of the stories we grow up believing about ourselves and life in general are ingrained into us prior to the age of seven, which is about the time that our conscious mind comes online. Prior to that, we are like a sponge, soaking up any and everything we experience in our world.

Our perception of what reality is gets created with little to no choice on our part. So if you grew up in a poor family, where money was talked about as something that’s extremely hard to make or something that corrupts people, then you likely grew up with many of those same beliefs. Same thing if you grew up with parents who had a dysfunctional marriage, you likely grew up with a certain set of beliefs about how hard having a happy, healthy relationship is.

That’s the unfortunate part of life, is that so many children are being handicapped with life altering limiting beliefs without even having a choice of whether or not they want them. They’re like the elephant who grew up attached to the rope. 

At first, the elephant fought to break the rope and run free, but wasn’t strong enough to do so. But after failing long enough, the elephant eventually gave up trying to break it. That’s how you end up with a full grown elephant attached by a measly to a tiny stake in the ground, not even trying to break free. The limiting stories of that elephant’s adolescent experiences forever shaped and limited the possibilities for it’s life. 

The good news is though, as adults with the conscious ability to choose what we hold on to, we get to decide whether we want to hold on to those beliefs any longer. If you truly want to break through and create a great life for yourself, you’ve got to be willing to snap the rope tying you to those limiting beliefs.

“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” – Oprah Winfrey

3. Let go of your victim mindset

The last thing you must let go of from your past in order to create an abundant future is your victim mindset. Piggybacking off of the last point about limiting beliefs, so many people have been conditioned to believe that they are a victim in life. That life is happening to them, and that they just can’t catch a break.

The problem is, if someone has a victim mindset, they are giving away their power to create the life they want. They are saying that they are not strong enough to actually achieve their goals or desired outcomes in life. If you didn’t have any say in this terrible life being created for you, why would you have any say in changing it and making it any better?

No one who has ever created anything great in their life did so with a victim mindset. Victims throw their hands up and give in when things get tough. That’s if they even get started in the first place. Those who win, on the other hand, take one hundred percent responsibility for their lives, and believe that they have the power to create anything they want.

Just like your limiting beliefs, your victim mindset was most likely given to you. You learned it from those closest to you at a young age. But, just like a bad gift, you can choose to throw it away anytime you want. And you’re going to have to if you want to break through in your life.

Like Steve Maraboli said, “Stop validating your victim mentality. Shake off your self-defeating drama and embrace your innate ability to recover and achieve.” If you can do that, you’ll be able to create the life you want.

“Ugh, I gotta get up,” I said to myself as another episode started within three seconds of the last one ending…without my permission. “Alright, I’m gonna go get some work done after this episode.” Of course, the episode ends on a cliffhanger that leaves me more motivated to find out what happens rather than go send emails. “Alright, when I figure out what happens, I’m gonna turn the TV off.” Geez, why am I still on the couch three hours later?

The Decision Train

There are going to be days when you really don’t feel motivated to do anything. Motivation sucks because we rely on it too much to get things done, which means when we don’t feel motivated, we don’t get anything done. Or, we need help to do it. On days when you feel like doing nothing, you can actually bypass your brain’s “need” for motivation so you can get things done regardless of how you feel. 

It all starts with a concept referenced as The Decision Train. The Decision Train goes like this:

Feelings → Decision → Action

People who have trouble getting things done because they lack the motivation, follow this train the way that you see it above. They wait until they feel like getting the task done, which leads them to (eventually) decide to do it and, finally, take action. 

Top performers instead, skip the feeling part of the train and go straight to deciding to get the task done. By doing so, they take action faster and, as a result, get things done faster. Now, this is more than a roundabout way of saying “just do it”. 

“Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, stupid people already have all the answers.” – Socrates

Another way of looking at this process is by using another variation of The Decision Train:

Inspiration → Motivation → Decision → Action

Inspiration is described as, “The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something.” Motivation is described as, “The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” So, in this decision train, the “Feelings” part is inspiration and motivation. People will wait until they feel mentally stimulated to get something done, which leads to motivation. The motivation serves as a reminder of why they wanted to get the task done in the first place or, in other words, the incentive(s) they would gain from completing the task. This leads them to, by the end of this long train, decide to take action and eventually take it.

By cutting out the feeling—the “need” for inspiration and motivation—you can decide to take action first. After having completed the task, the sense of pride you feel from having followed through on the decision—the mental commitment—that you made to yourself builds motivation to complete another task. To say this another way, taking action builds momentum that leads to the motivation to take more action.

Start Getting (Really) Motivated Today

That being said, no one is born a top performer, which means that you may need inspiration and motivation (the Feelings part of the train) to serve as a nudge every now and then until you can fully adopt this approach to productivity. So, for starters, inspiration is your WHY. It’s your purpose—your mission. By discovering and getting clarity on the mission that you’re on, you can more easily inspire yourself (as well as others on the same mission) to action.

As far as motivation, these are referenced as the Four Areas That Drive People: Advancement, Individual, Madness, and Purpose. People motivated by Advancement are motivated by reaching new heights (getting that next promotion, reaching goals as a team, and so on). People motivated by Individual, view and utilize their personal goals as their most effective source of motivation (achieving a certain lifestyle, gaining recognition, reaching full life security). People driven by Madness are driven by factors like opposition, competition, proving others wrong, and other unconventional elements. Lastly, people driven by Purpose are motivated by making an impact, helping others, being apart of creating change, and other drivers of that nature. 

You can leverage both of the elements of inspiration and motivation to become more productive, more focused, and a step closer to becoming a top performer. When I was struggling to stay motivated, I started by recognizing my WHY and all of the incentives I would gain from the achievement of my goals. 

“If something is important enough, even if the odds are stacked against you, you should still do it.” – Elon Musk

When I would come across any task that I didn’t really feel like doing, I would ask myself if they would help me achieve my mission—my purpose—or not. I would ask myself if getting that task done would help me get the motivating incentives I was working toward. If the answer was no, I would cut it out of my to-do list. If the answer was yes, I would make the decision to go do it and start working before I could talk myself out of it. Make that same decision to go and achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself and you’ll be scratching off your goals in no time.

The Last Dance of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s is a documentary that chronicles the life of Michael Jordan. It narrates the story of his final season with the Chicago Bulls and where it all started. Michael Jordan is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players ever and the documentary shares a glimpse into his greatness.

Here are 10 of the most powerful lessons from the last dance:

1. Coaching/Mentorship maximizes potential

The Last Dance documentary points out all the people that helped Michael Jordan on his journey to greatness. These include his parents James and Deloris Jordan, college coach Dean Smith, personal trainer Tim Grover and Phil Jackson the Chicago Bulls coach. Without those key relationships he may not have been as successful as he was.

I remember former players like Grant Hill saying in a post Last Dance interview how they wished they could have seen the documentary at the start of their career. They realized that they could have achieved more by learning from the best in the profession. Seeking out coaches and mentors can make a difference in your life as well.

2. Faith is essential

It’s a common pattern in life that in order to achieve anything significant you must first believe that you can do it. Faith comes from understanding what you’re capable of doing and honing your skills to achieve excellence. Michael Jordan’s game throughout his career evidently showed how much faith he had in himself.

There were many stand out moments where he did the spectacular, including multiple game winning shots in big moments. His belief was evident in the first episode when asked about his prospects with the Chicago Bulls.

This is what he had to say, “I just want the franchise and the Chicago Bulls to be respected as a team; like the Lakers, or the Philadelphia 76ers, or the Boston Celtics. It’s very hard for something like that to happen but it’s not impossible. But hopefully this team and this organization can build a program like that.”

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

3. One person can start a movement

Prior to Michael Jordan’s arrival, the Chicago Bulls were known as a traveling cocaine circus. The team wasn’t popular at the time with most Chicago citizens preferring to watch other sports. Game attendance for the Chicago Bulls games was about a third of the total capacity.

When Michael Jordan got drafted in the 1984 NBA draft, the narrative of the Chicago Bulls team suddenly changed. He brought a new energy to not just the team but the city of Chicago as a whole. Game tickets started to sell out from that season as the franchise realized they had one of the best talents.

4. It takes a team to win big

In spite of the shot in the arm Jordan brought to Chicago, his effort alone wasn’t enough to win championships. Talentwise, Michael Jordan was the best in the league as he won all individual accolades early in his career. His less talented counterparts like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were winning titles in the process.

It took Michael time to realize he had to trust his teammates and management to become a championship caliber team. General Manager Jerry Krause played a key part by getting the right players and ultimately the right coach in Phil Jackson. Some of the key players in the dynasty were Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant, John Paxson and Bill Cartwright.

5. Document your life

The documentary itself is a powerful illustration of documenting life and lessons learned along the way. Your life story is worth recording for future generations to learn from both your positive and negative experiences. This is how life lessons are commonly passed on from generation to generation to ensure continuity of a standard of excellence.

The documentary chronicles his life from the time he was a teenager in high school. We learned about his family, friends, agent, and coaches that made a contribution to his life. In the same way you must record life events and the lessons learned along the way for future generations.

6. Let your skills do the talking

Unlike average performers who talk more than they do, Michael Jordan did the opposite. He focused on developing his skills to earn his respect instead of just talking a big game. “From the first day in practice, my mentality was whoever is the team leader on that team, I’m going after him. And I’m not going to do it with my voice because I had no voice, I had no status. I had to do it with the way that I play,” said Michael in Episode 1 of the documentary.

In whatever you do in life, focus more on doing and less on talking. It’s the results you produce that speak loudest after all is said and done.

7. Explore your passions

Michael Jordan enjoyed all kinds of sports as a young kid. He tried them all and narrowed down to basketball and baseball which his father loved. During his first retirement from basketball after his father’s death, he went to play baseball for the Chicago White Sox.

Though he played for about eighteen months, he improved so much that he could have gone on to be a pro. In the same way, try out all the things you’re passionate about until you zero in on what you’ll be most successful at.

8. Practice like it’s game time

One of the things that separated those Bulls’ teams from other teams in the league was their dedication. For Michael Jordan and his teammates, practice sessions were more intense than actual games. Their reasoning was that by the time you got to the game, you would know instinctively what to do.

Practicing like they were in a real game put them way ahead of their counterparts. This is one of the most valuable lessons you can grasp from this team. Whatever you do in life, give it your best as though you were doing work for a client.

“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder the next time.” – Michael Jordan

9. Winning has a price

In the documentary Michael Jordan said, “Winning has a price!” For him that meant learning to trust his teammates instead of doing it all by himself among other things. Part of the price he had to pay was being misunderstood as a person.

By his standards, he wanted everyone on his team to win which meant pushing them hard. Some people saw him as a tyrant as a result because they didn’t understand what it took to win. The more successful you become, the more people will misunderstand you. It’s a price you have to pay.

10. Adversity can lead to breaking records

Jordan faced many obstacles in his career but most of them led to record breaking results. His team was the first to win three straight championships in 27 years and they did it twice in a decade. He set numerous other records throughout his career. Adversity has the capacity to influence that if you allow it to.

Which of the lessons resonate with you the most? Let us know in the comments below!

What if there was a way to turn 100% of prospect meetings into raving successes? What if you no longer dreaded them, but looked forward to them every time?

Imagine you are standing in front of your next perfect client. You have spent weeks preparing to get in front of them. You have put your heart and soul into this pitch. You know this customer better than they know themselves. You have even mentally prepared yourself by visioning this experience in your mind.

You give the best pitch of your life and you are waiting for the mental applause that you expect to come next. After a moment of silence, the prospect opens their mouth and a single word delivers the biggest gut-punch to your ego. Your dream client says “No.” The next step is the most important one to take, but the hardest to master. You need to understand why the customer said no. Beginner entrepreneurs and salespeople say, “thank you for your time” and then leave. This is your biggest learning opportunity left untapped.

Most people consider the word “No” to be a negative one. Entrepreneurs and salespeople starting out feel like their customers are rejecting them, not their offer. They blur the lines of the thing they sell and who they are. I fell victim to this in my sales career. Every time I heard anything less than an emphatic yes, I automatically considered it was my performance or my ability that was being questioned.

The reality is that they are saying no to themselves, not you. This simple mind trick takes away the pain while also refocusing you on the next step, which is unearthing the limiting belief or internal challenge of your prospect. Let me take you through the example above with this lens.

You know your customer well. You deliver the same pitch and they say no. Rather than taking it personally, you say, “I can appreciate and respect that, but do you mind if I ask a few questions to understand a bit more about why?” In most cases, the customer knows you have spent a lot of time researching their issue due to the depth of your presentation.

“You can achieve virtually anything you want–if you’re willing to hear ‘no’ often enough,” – Andrea Waltz

Now is the fun part, no pressure. They are not a client or prospect, but simply a willing research participant. So get curious and ask the next few questions:

1. You had stated that your goals are to achieve x,y,z, can you elaborate on that?

The goal here is to unearth their ultimate motivation. You may have focused on one goal that suited you, but leaving this open-ended will unearth some hidden motivations and gold. 

Don’t use this as a weapon against them or it backfires. Simply listen and then organically ask further questions. Be sure to read the room. The last thing you want is to trap an unwilling participant in an interrogation room while you suck the life out of them. Be sure to be curious and open. See all their challenges, not just the selective ones your company solves.

2. What priorities are competition with this project?

This can largely be the killer for corporate clients. There is always a tug of war between resources vs focus. If they don’t have the people, time, or money, you want to understand that. It will be invaluable once you begin to see trends from your customers.

3. What elements of the proposal resonated and which were a challenge for you?

Be sure to make this about them helping you rather than trying to re-sell them. Always ask why each piece did or didn’t hit the mark. This is where the gold is.

4. Could I get your advice? Based on what you saw/heard, do you have any suggestions for how I could improve the offering/pitch?

The key here is to shift into treating them like an advisor or friend. Using the word “advice” is a trigger word. This makes them feel valued and knowledgeable while also making them your advocate. If you can get them to guide you then they will be invested in your success in the future.

“Success Comes from listening to your customer.” – Richard Branson

5. Are there any specific folks that you think would get value from what we do or could help me refine our offering?

This is a question that gets omitted too often. People are afraid to ask it because it seems like the old question of asking for referrals. I challenge you to find the wording that works best for you. People will rack their brains to find someone that they think you should connect with and then you have a warm way to connect with that person. Be sure to make it a no-pressure situation and only at the end of the conversation.

After the meeting, be sure to follow up with a note thanking them for the meeting and their candid perspective. This is a relationship builder that is refreshing for folks who spend their days being pitched. Some of the best companies that did this with me are some of my biggest service providers. 

It is easy to stand out when the majority of your market is automated and robotic. Being a good human can go a long way and bring in more of your ideal customers. 

What do you do when you hear ‘no’ from your customers? Do you have any strategies or techniques to change their mind? Share your advice with us below!

Words are very compelling. I recently saw an advertising campaign for a makeup company which used only words. You would think that a company that sells makeup would add pictures of beautiful faces, lipsticks and eye-shadows to their billboards. Not at all. Their campaign used a combination of words which intended to get a strong reaction from the reader.

I was one of the readers, and I can genuinely say that I will remember those words for many years to come, and of course, the name of the makeup company. Some of the words used were these: “They say you are too much, maybe they are not enough.”

Women are often judged for being too soft, vulnerable, extra, and indeed too much. Reading this sentence is very powerful because it almost permits them to be what people have been telling them not to be. Those words give hope and pride.

The right words can indeed determine the success or failure of a marketing campaign and any piece of content you may use for your advertising online and offline.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Teresa

Let me give you some examples of powerful words and concepts to use to make your content well received by your audience.

First of all, you must use many positive words. Many entrepreneurs focus on the pain points of their clients too much. You must balance the negative or pain point with an optimistic scenario of what life and business could look like for your ideal client. Remember, people buy when they feel good or to feel good, so you must show them all the positive possibilities they could achieve when purchasing your products and services.

Avoid using words like “struggle” or “pain” as they are overused. You could replace the word “struggle” with “challenge” because it’s a more positive and encouraging word.

As odd as it may sound try to avoid the word “buy” when you want to invite your reader to buy from you. Make them see that your products and services are not just another purchase but an actual investment from which they will benefit in the long term. Replace the word “buy” with “invest.’

When you invite people to buy from you, be firm and assertive, avoid using words like “if” or “please.” Use words that show you strongly believe in what you are selling and that give a direct invite to the reader, such as “are you ready?” or “ It is time to…”

Use the word “you” more often than the word “I” to make sure the focus is on your reader more than yourself. Using the word “you” creates a sense of presence in your reader, like a tick the teacher makes while reading the classroom register. Your readers will feel that you are talking to them, which will help them be more involved and pay more attention. 

Do not use the word “should” too much. If you must use it, please do so, but only if necessary. Replace “should” with more gentle words which do not sound like a command, such as “ It is vital/paramount that you do x,y, z.” This sounds more like a piece of friendly advice than a bossy command.

I often see entrepreneurs using “fear of missing out” words too much combined with the idea that if they do not buy their products and services, they will not succeed or move forward. Using this type of language can sound desperate and does not give the reader the idea they are in control of the decision.

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” – Robin Williams

For instance, saying “if you do not invest now, you will… (negative consequences) is not a genuine way to persuade your audience to buy from you. Instead you can use the fear of missing out focused at positive consequences, and you may add a bit of humour to bring some lightness. Let me give you an example…” This is your last chance to invest in x,y, z, and create the business you desire.”

Finally, make sure to use words of motivation and encouragement. Make the reader see and feel that they can do whatever it is you’re asking so they can create the changes they desire and dream of making. You could use words such as “you were born to do it” or “you are capable of creating this” to give you some ideas. I call this type of encouragement the “chest building” words. Imagine how proud and confident someone can feel when listening to motivating words of praise. Their chest starts to lift, their head is high, and their look is more empowered and fiercer. Precisely the kind of feeling you want your reader to experience while reading your content.

In the end, always write with the highest intention, knowing that your words are ready to change someone’s life for the better.

How do you use certain words in your life to get what you’re looking for? Share your stories & advice with readers below!

Being a woman entrepreneur can be lonely in this traditionally male-dominated field. While the overall business knowledge is the same, the specific struggles that women entrepreneurs face is different than their male-counterparts.

Finding a mentor is a great way to get business advice but it can be hard to find someone whose advice you trust. Thankfully, living in the age of the internet removes location-specific boundaries. Many successful female entrepreneurs have started up podcasts to share their business knowledge. 

The following podcasts give the best business advice for women entrepreneurs making it easy to learn the skills you need to succeed:  

1. Goal Digger

The Goal Digger Podcast is hosted by Jenna Kutcher.  Not only does she cover ways to build your dream job from scratch, she also is an expert at growing social media. If you’re looking to expand your business using Instagram or other social media, you’ll find lots of actionable tips that work for growing these platforms.

2. ZenFounder

ZenFounder is hosted by Dr. Sherry Walling, a licensed clinical psychologist who works with her entrepreneur husband. This podcast helps entrepreneurs with the things no one talks about: being lonely and feeling stressed since it all rides on you. This is a different type of business podcast since it addresses the mental aspects of the entrepreneur’s life.  

3. Girlboss Radio

Girlboss Radio is led by Sophia Amoruso who sits down with a new trailblazing woman entrepreneur every week. During the interviews, they discuss the personal and professional issues that women face when running a business. The podcast is laid back and feels more like two women chatting over coffee rather than a formal interview which makes the episodes easy to breeze through.  

“You don’t get taken seriously by asking someone to take you seriously. You’ve got to show up and own it. If this is a man’s world, who cares? I’m still really glad to be a girl in it.” – Sophia Amoruso

4. So Money

The host Faroosh Torabi is a financial strategist who brings financial strategies, successes, and failures from some of the top business founders. While the So Money podcast doesn’t solely focus on entrepreneurship, many of the money topics covered affect both the personal and professional lives of business owners.  

5. The Marie Forleo Podcast

At this point, most female entrepreneurs have heard of Marie Forleo. Her business is built around helping women create businesses. One wing of her empire is her namesake podcast. Marie shares her own business savvy as well as bringing on guests to share their best tips for success, motivation, productivity, and happiness as a business owner.  

6. Biz Chix

Biz Chix host and founder Natalie Eckdahl has an MBA and is a successful “mompreneur.” She’s running her business with kids at home and is a successful business strategist and coach. Her podcast focuses on ways to scale your business through outsourcing and other effective business growth hacks. 

7. She Did It Her Way

Amanda Boleyn hosts the She Did It Her Way Podcast and focuses more on beginner entrepreneurs. If you have questions about starting your businesses or how to decide when to quit your old job and go full-time, this podcast is for you. Many of the podcast guests are successful women who have built their businesses solely online and are thriving.  

8. The Strategy Hour Podcast

The Strategy Hour Podcast helps women grow their creative business to a well-paying empire.  Instead of staying stuck in the mindset of “side hustle,” expand your business into a full-fledged 6-figure business. While not all of the guests are strictly women, the ideas for business growth and expansion hold true. If you want to learn how to diversify and build various income streams, then this podcast will show you how.  

9. Glambition Radio

Glambition Radio is an award-winning podcast hosted by successful entrepreneur Ali Brown. Ali interviews multi-million dollar business owners to find out their unique tips on leadership, productivity, making money, and building company structure. Glambition Radio also talks to entrepreneurs whose mission is to create positive lasting change in the world.  

“You’re going to often find that to step into your biggest opportunity, you’ll be asked to move through your biggest fear of insecurity.” – Ali Brown

10. Women Taking The Lead

Jodi Flynn hosts the Women Taking The Lead Podcast. She is an executive leadership coach who helps women leaders with relationship building, mindset, self-leadership, and communication.  If you’re having trouble with the people skills part of running a business or are filled with self-doubt, then this podcast will help you learn effective techniques to address those.

11. Being Boss

The Being Boss podcast is founded by two successful women business owners.  The focus is on creative entrepreneurs and covers many of the mental aspects of entrepreneurship and personal growth. The topics of mindset and intuition are not traditionally covered in other business podcasts but are here.  

Conclusion

No matter where you are in your business journey, there’s always more to learn and places you as a leader can grow. Many entrepreneur-focused mentorships are male-dominated, leaving women business owners unsure of where to turn to find advice.

With these women-led business podcasts, you’ll learn from successful female entrepreneurs and delve into the lesser talked about issues that face women business owners. By following even a few of the tips in these podcasts, you’ll be on your way to growing and expanding your business in a meaningful way.  

What’s your favorite podcast to listen to and why? Share it with us below!

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” This is one of the famous quotes from Confucius. And the success principle within this line explains how anyone can achieve anything they want if they are willing to put in small and consistent effort. 

You may have heard of the best-selling book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” written by Dale Carnegie. But do you know that the book started as a set of rules printed on a card no larger than a postcard?

Carnegie prepared a short talk where he called it ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ The short talk was well-received and was then evolved into a course. And he needed teaching materials for the course. And so, Carnegie wrote down the rules for his course on a card and delivered it to his fellow students.

And in the next season, he printed the rules on a larger card, then a leaflet, then a series of booklets, with each version expanding in size and scope.

After 15 years of teaching, research, and experimentation, he compiled his rules for his course and became the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. That was how the best-selling book was written. One step at a time.

Remember how Apple started? It began with Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak launching their tech giant in Job’s garage. The same went for Amazon. Jeff Bezos and his team started Amazon selling only books. But Bezos had a big dream and today, Amazon is a multi billion-dollar company.

As you can see, everything started small. Every big success you have heard of started as a series of small steps.

Therefore, the key to success is to start small. Below are the 5 reasons why you want to commit to taking baby steps:

1. It takes less time and energy

It is always easier to start small. Think about it, do you think it is easier to write a 300-page book or it is easier to write just 1,000 words a day? Of course, the answer is obvious. And because it is easier to start small, your resistance to doing the work will be lowered. You don’t need too much motivation or willpower to get small things done.

This is why it is so vital to focus on small victories. If you do only 5 small things a day, you will have accomplished 5 small wins. In a week, you will have produced 35 little wins. In a month, you will have 150 small wins. And within a year, you will have accomplished 1,825 small victories.

Do you think these small victories will accumulate and make a huge impact on your life? You better they will. 

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” – John Wooden

2. It prevents overwhelming

Another key reason you want to start small is that it prevents overwhelm. You see, one of the main reasons people procrastinate and put things off until a later time is because of the pain of doing the work.

They feel overwhelmed to do the work. They feel the pain. And hence, they choose to procrastinate and delay the work. However, when things are easy to do, you won’t feel overwhelmed by them. Again, it is easier to commit to writing just 1,000 words a day than to complete an entire 300 page book.

It is your psychology that is in play. When you look at the entire project, you feel like you need to spend a lot of time and energy to do it. But when you break down the project into small actionable steps, you can tackle one small step at a time.

You have to understand that every big thing once started small. When you try to do everything all at once, you feel powerless and overwhelmed by the scale of the work involved.

3. It grows your confidence and motivation

Imagine you have goals to pursue and you know what you need to do today to make progress, but you don’t do anything. By the end of the day, how will you feel? Guilty and not good, right?

But if you stick to your plan, take action, and make progress, how would you feel at the end of the day? You’d likely feel satisfied and motivated, right? Because you have done something, made progress, and are slowly moving towards your goals.

That’s what taking small steps will do for you. When you make progress, you feel good. It boosts your confidence and motivation level.

Here’s a great quote from Tony Robbins, “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

This is why you want to make sure you are building upward momentum. Take small actions and make progress to build your momentum. The more momentum you gain, the more powerful you become.

4. It gives you the ability to pivot

There is another essential reason to start small – it allows you to pivot. Let me give you an example. Imagine you want to write a weight loss book, but you have no idea what title to write. And so, you start with writing short articles with various titles across the same industry.

And then you notice that one particular article received the most engagements. People share the article, leave comments, and say how much they love it. And you decide to write a book based on the article.

That’s the pivot. You use feedback you get from the small actions you make and then grow it into something bigger. In business, it is called MVP, Minimum Viable Product. You want to quickly test to see if an idea works before you put in your time and money to develop the complete product. When you start small, it allows you to pivot by getting immediate feedback from your actions. 

“Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb 

5. It simply is the first step

Yes, no matter how big or small your goals or the success you want, you simply have to take one small step at a time. You can’t skip steps.

Just like if you want to lose weight through exercise, there is no way you can skip the exercise and get to the result directly. Taking small steps are necessary because there are no shortcuts to success.

Therefore, dream big, and start small. You don’t have to commit to taking big and bold steps, because all you need to do is take one baby step at a time. Be consistent, and eventually, you will arrive at your destination.

Do you believe starting small is the key to success? Share your thoughts with us below!

Are you struggling to let go of your past? Without letting go of your previously lived conflicts, struggles, and doubts you are left reliving the past. You must bring clarity into your life to start living presently. The present moment is where the magic happens and if you are stuck in the past, moving forward seems incomprehensible.

Everyone has a story they identify with. It’s the attachment to that story that inhibits you. Facing your soul on a deep, honest level is a tough act to do. But it’s required if you want to see yourself take action in the present, without the burdens of your past constantly over your shoulder.

You are a completely different person from a second ago. The atoms, molecules, and cells that make up your body are in constant motion. Life is in a state of change, with or without you. You are not the same person you were even a second ago, let alone years.

Letting go of your past is how you take a stand in your life. With courage and heart, you are capable of doing the impossible. You can let go of the past, once and for all. Healing your mind heals your present, it’s a requirement if you wish to live a fulfilling life.

Below are the 5 ways to begin letting go of your past, for good:

1. Meditation

At the core of your suffering is attachment. Meditation is vital for understanding that “This Too Shall Pass”. Observing your thoughts and beliefs lets you see them from a different perspective.

You don’t need to become a monk sitting in a cave to benefit from meditation. Even 5-10 minutes a day can drastically improve your life. Meditation empowers you to be present with your past, forcing you to look deep inside the psyche.

Your past will linger in your subconscious if you are unable to let go. Meditation allows your subconscious thoughts to come to the surface, giving you a chance to come to terms with them. By witnessing the present moment through meditation you are automatically letting go of the past.

“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” –Deepak Chopra

2. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not meditation but one cannot exist without the other. Becoming mindful of your thoughts is how you become conscious of the conflicts within the mind. When your mind brings up your past leaving you in a battle, you can utilize mindfulness like so:

Let yourself be with the thought. See how it makes you feel, what emotions it brings up. 

Ask yourself if this thought is you, right now, or if it is just a thought that is passing through. Try to be with the emotion as much as you can bear, that’s the key to letting the past go. If you get overwhelmed, feel free to take a break.

Meditation and mindfulness are not overnight solutions. They are incredibly impactful when used in conjunction with one another. Don’t expect to be cured in a day. With constant practice the impact they can have on your mental health is incredible.

3. Forgiveness

Forgive others even when they shouldn’t be forgiven. People we cross paths with can bring immense pain that lasts years. Whether it be friends, family, an ex, forgive them.

You aren’t forgiving them to help them, it’s to help yourself. Bottling up those negative emotions inside you has never been of any help. Letting anger fester is how you let the past control your present. 

Forgive yourself as well. You may have made some mistakes, it doesn’t mean you need to live IN your mistakes. Life has changed and so have you, it’s a simple yet powerful way of letting go.

4. Acceptance

Conflict resides within us when we are in disagreement with reality. This disagreement is what latches onto our psyche. Acceptance is a deceptively simple practice that is often overlooked. What would your life look like if you were in acceptance of the present moment? 

You wouldn’t have any internal conflicts, struggles, or doubts. There would only be the present moment left, letting you take charge of your life without anything holding you down. Freedom is found by accepting our past, who we are, and moving forward.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.” –Lao Tzu

5. Ask for Help

You don’t have to go through life alone. Some of my best releases in life was letting it all out and showing the emotions that were eating me alive. When someone is there to listen, it makes a difference.

If you don’t feel comfortable opening up to your family or friends, look into counseling. The stigma of therapy is long gone. Being able to open up to someone who isn’t involved in your life can be incredibly therapeutic. 

It’s your chance to be honest not only with yourself but the person you are talking with. Our family and friends are there to support us just as we support them in times of need. You aren’t a burden even if you think so.

Be open to experiencing the negative emotions that your past brings up. By facing your soul head-on you are letting your emotions run their course. You won’t be haunted forever. You have all the tools needed to let go of your past. Give yourself time, you won’t be cured overnight. With dedication, though, you will find the relief you are looking for.

The average person makes over 35,000 choices a day, leading to exhaustion and often questionable choices. These begin as soon as you wake up when you decide to hit snooze, then when you decide if you’ll pack a lunch or grab something to-go.

Of course, our daily decisions aren’t always so simple. Choices on who will be the best fit to lead an upcoming project or if your family should move to a new city, take a lot of consideration, research, and time out of your day. Each of these choices has specific conditions and requirements that can make it hard to come to a solid conclusion, but these same criteria also help you best evaluate your choices.

“Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision.” – Tony Robbins

This is where decision-making frameworks come into play. There are three key models you can use to help you make decisions:

The Rational Decision-Making Model is best for high-stakes and financial choices. 

The Bounded Rationality Model aims to satisfy a problem when you have limited resources or information. 

The Vroom-Yetton Model helps you determine which of the other 2 decision-making models is best for your situation. 

Learn more from CouponChief about these frameworks and other tips to help you make great decisions for your personal life, career, and finances below.

It’s no secret that the year 2020 has been the most trying year for the majority of us. Most of us had to pivot in our careers, professions, education, etc. At the same time, we’ve had to embrace a lot of changes from the way we shop, eat, communicate with our loved ones, colleagues, and even complete strangers. Most have had to try new things, learn to rely on technology and make sacrifices they never thought they would have to make.

With all of that taking place, the one thing we can’t lose is our determination to keep moving forward and achieving the goals that we have set out for ourselves. It is something that we can look forward to and keep our purpose in the “windshield” of our daily lives. Better stated is that we cannot sacrifice our daily commitments regardless of the economical and personal “climates” that are around us.

Here are three simple commitments that we can make right now that will change our habits for the better and, more importantly, for the greater good in our lives as well:

1. Make your bed

Perhaps the easiest and yet most overlooked commitment that we can make to ourselves every single day is to make the bed. This seems trivial to most; however, making your bed in the morning can have a major impact on your mental and physical health. Having that sense of accomplishment to start your day off is so important and according to a study done by CNBC, it showed that 82% of people who make their bed first thing in the morning felt productive all day because they completed that small task to start their day.

At the same time, 74% of those that make their bed in the morning felt productive at the end of the day as well as the 50% of non-bed makers did not feel accomplished at the end of the day.  According to the same study, those that make their bed were immediately productive when they arrived at work while those that did not make their bed did not start their work day productive at all.

“Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.” – Benjamin Franklin

2. Write down your goals

Writing down your goals everyday is not only an easy commitment to make to yourself but a very important one as well. If you polled the most successful business minds and entrepreneurs in the world about what their daily habits consist of, most would include writing down their goals as one of those habits. In a study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominica University in California, found that participants were 42% more likely to achieve their goals just by writing them down.

I personally write my goals down in the morning and then again when I go to bed at night. For me, writing down your goals is such a commitment of empowerment because you are not only taking the time to write them down but by doing so you are affirming to yourself those things that are important to you and have a bigger meaning for you as well. It is such an important habit to create for yourself because, in my opinion, writing down your goals every day is a way to measure your progress as well as give you a sense of purpose which serves as your daily “checkup from the neck up”.

3. Tell someone thank you

According to an article written in Forbes online by Jon Dwoskin, it was stated that the greatest gift that you can give someone is to show them that they matter. One of the ways that you can do that is to say thank you to them. This is also a commitment that you need to make right now to do every single day until it becomes a habit. This is a selfish habit because, for me it brings so much more than just a warm feeling of doing something nice.

It offers me a sense of accomplishment in knowing that by telling someone you know or even a complete stranger thank you, you are positively impacting that person’s current mood and mindset. At the same time, you never know how impactful those two words could be to someone.

For example, I remember a time when someone purchased my Starbucks for me in the drive thru and I paid it forward by doing the same for someone behind me. That person honked the horn at me then pulled up next to me at a redlight just to tell me thank you. That particular morning was not a great one for me and I remember how good I felt after that person took the time to go completely out of her way just to say thank you to me. It totally shifted my mindset from feeling down and somewhat depressed to being very upbeat and almost euphoric.

I now make it a habit every single day to tell at least three people thank you no matter if I know them or not because I want to be an agent of change in the world for good and I can’t think of a better habit to have in that regards than to tell someone thank you and be thankful for those opportunities to do so. 

“The soul, like the body, accepts by practice whatever habit one wishes it to contact.” – Socrates

These three simple habits are costly, they don’t require a fancy education, and certain places on the economical hierarchy but rather are free and easy to apply right away in your life. Previously in this article I paraphrased someone that said the best gift you could give someone is to show them that they matter. While that is right, I believe the best gift you could give yourself is to show you that you matter and in doing so it starts with the habits that you will create in your life. Start with these three and if you do them everyday just sit back and watch the impact that it has on your life and the lives of others that your example sets for them as well. 

For many years in my life, I fell into the trap of thinking that if I search externally, my purpose would come to me. It began during my junior year of college, when I saw most of my peers preparing themselves for interviews with consulting firms with the hopes of landing a summer internship, which would then convert into a full-time offer before senior year.

I thought that consulting was a good option based on its popularity on campus, in addition to how the consulting firms marketed themselves, “Consulting is like a continuation of your liberal arts degree. You’ll get a breadth of experiences across sectors and you’ll get a depth of knowledge by diving into each of your projects.”

At the beginning of my senior year, I landed a full-time offer as a consultant and I was over the moon! As a first-generation, low-income college graduate from an immigrant family, I was going to make more money than my parents and achieve upward mobility. However, it didn’t take long for the excitement to wear off when I discovered the monotony of my job. A year and a half later, I left my job and shortly afterwards, I took a sabbatical to work in Italy for a few months.

I had very high expectations for my sabbatical – I very much believed that working abroad, being surrounded by different people and living in a new environment would lead me to, one day, wake up and magically know my purpose. Spoiler alert: It didn’t! Although, I will say, the experience helped me realize what I enjoy, what I don’t enjoy and that my problems/existential questions will follow me, wherever I go, even if I’m halfway across the world.

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” – Viktor Frankl

With these experiences, I’ve learned that uncovering our purpose is more about turning inward – tuning into our inner guidance, something that is always available to us, if we’re able to quiet our minds and listen. I’ve also come to realize that our purpose encompasses much more than just our careers. Living our purpose means living intentionally – engaging in meaningful and worthwhile pursuits, both in and outside of work. When we can contribute to those around us in ways that feel true to us, we are then able to feel a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment that is hard to find elsewhere.

When you have a moment to access that quiet space within you, I invite you to reflect on the following questions to uncover your purpose:

1. WHO do you admire?

When you admire people, it’s usually because they embody certain qualities. Whatever qualities you see in the people you admire are qualities that already exist within you. Perhaps they just need to be given some attention and cultivated so that you feel like you are embodying those same qualities in your everyday life.

2. WHAT makes you happy?

Go and do the things that make you feel happy! (Even if it feels like you’re not being “productive.”) When we let our minds rest and feel happier, new ways of thinking are available to us. For example: I love being out in nature. One day, I went on a solo 2+ hour walk on a trail without listening to podcasts/music, which didn’t seem very “productive.” However, it was during this walk that all these ideas for my business popped up.

3. WHERE are you?

We are a product of our environments. When I was in a small town in India, it was so easy for me to relax and take each moment as it came because the people around me had a similar approach to life. However, if you asked me to embody this way of being in New York City, I’d have a much harder time because New Yorkers are always on the go. So, what this question is getting at is – are you surrounding yourself with people who support your dreams and aspirations? Are you in an environment that is conducive for you to reflect deeply and dream big.

4. WHEN were you happiest and WHEN were you most angry?

The first question will enable you to see the values that were being honored when you were happiest and the second question will enable you to see the values that were violated when you were most angry. Both questions will inform you of the values that you hold dear to your heart and when you’re aware of those values, you can use them as a guiding light any time you make a decision.

“Activity without purpose is the drain of your life.” – Tony Robbins

5. WHY do you do the things that you do?

Be honest with yourself. For example: Why did I choose to go into consulting? I went into consulting because I thought that it was the “right” path due to the fact that:

a)  most of my peers were going down that path

b) I was convinced that consulting would give me the “breadth and depth” of experiences

c)  I felt like I needed to earn a certain amount of money

However, had I been more honest with myself, I would’ve realized that what I cared more about than fitting in, having a variety of experiences and making good money was helping people. I did eventually come to that realization so when I was looking for another job, the main question became, “What are the job opportunities that will allow me to help people?” 

“The answers you seek are inside of you.” May you give them the time and space to come forth. 

On the journey to becoming successful, you will likely receive a lot of opinions about the best path to take. But how can you tell the difference between good and bad success advice? It’s an important question to ask, because it’s easy to be misled if you’re not guided by reliable sources. 

Here are five questions you should ask whenever you receive advice about life and success:

1. Who is giving the advice? 

Perhaps the most important question to ask when you receive advice is: “What is the background and track record of the person speaking to me?” Sometimes people have the attitude of “do as I say, not as I do”, i.e., they don’t even follow their own advice. 

When picking a mentor, you should look for someone who has actually followed the course of action they recommend to others, and has experienced good results. Too often, people who say one thing while doing another, have ulterior motives and may just be trying to make a quick profit. 

It’s also worth asking if the person giving the advice has ever done anything close to what you’re trying to do. People can have good intentions, but sometimes they will provide misleading information or unknowingly discourage you just because they have no experience in that area themselves. The most reliable advice comes from those who have achieved verifiable results and have documented the process to show others how it can be done. 

“The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.” – Oscar Wilde

2. Does it encompass every aspect of life? 

Advice that can truly make you successful touches every aspect of life, not just finances. Good advice encourages a holistic approach to personal development, and aims to make you a better person, inside and out. For example, any advice that involves compromising your health in order to work more and make more money, is fundamentally flawed. How can you enjoy the fruits of your labour if you’re sick and exhausted? 

You’ll feel more fulfilled in life when your success involves loving and helping others. As you strive to become financially stable and get your dream job, you should also strive to improve your relationships with others, and develop close bonds with your family and friends. If someone tells you that you should abandon everything to focus on yourself 24/7, that’s a glaring indication of bad advice. 

3. Does it push me outside of my comfort zone?

There are some popular phrases just as “you are perfect the way you are”, and “if it’s for you, it’ll come to you” that have sadly been misleading millions of people. You’ll hurt your progress if you think that everything will automatically fall into place, without any input on your part.

You have to put the work in. That’s the reality of life. When you talk to successful business people, you’ll hear stories of inspiring dedication and how they often poured blood, sweat, and tears into their business before it took off. Success is not handed to you on a silver platter. You’ll have to push yourself out of your comfort zone to reach or maintain good results.  

To reach your goals, you’ll have to break down barriers and build human capital. For example, if you’re a naturally shy person, you might need to learn public speaking in order to connect with potential business partners. If you want to start a website, you might need to learn how to code, or spend countless hours studying online marketing. 

Abundant knowledge is there for the taking, but you still have to reach out for it. Good advice is not always what you want to hear, but it will help you reach your full potential. 

4. Are other people successfully following this advice? 

Now it’s time to find case studies. You will need to do your research and find other people who have followed and benefited from the advice you’ve received. After all, if it works, there will be other successful examples. 

When you find others who are also following the advice, it can be very reassuring. It helps you to see that your dream can be a reality, because it has become a reality for many other people. This can also be an encouraging reminder on those days where progress is slow and you might be feeling lost. You may also be able to get support and additional tips when you speak with individuals who have already accomplished what you’re trying to do. 

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

5. Does it work in the long-term?  

Imagine the future: five, ten, twenty years from now. Will the advice you’re receiving work then, or is it short-sighted? Of course, advice related to specific technology and tactical strategies is designed for immediate application. But there’s also evergreen advice – advice that worked for your grandparents, and will work for your grandchildren.

Take, for example, the concepts of saving instead of spending all your money, and diversifying risk instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. This type of advice never gets outdated because they’re based on timeless principles. 

Any advice that’s supposed to be followed indefinitely, should really work indefinitely. So whenever you receive advice, you should consider whether it’s based on impulse and desperation, or whether it will truly stand the test of time. 

By examining a range of factors, you can strengthen your perception and make decisions based on solid advice. Even if you don’t have much experience, you can use the above criteria to analyze the advice you receive in life. As you do your research, you’ll be able to stay clear of false information, while taking advantage of wise words that can guide you on the path to success. 

Three years ago, I wrote down 100 goals in my journal. It was harder than I thought it would be. Among these riveting goals that my young brain came up with were “Go to Coachella,” “Climb Everest,” and “Cook with Gordon Ramsay.” Absolutely riveting, I know. 

Despite these brainless entries, I did come up with a few goals that shaped my life today. I wrote “Go to the Philippines” in my journal–I now live in the Philippines full-time. I wrote “Start a Youtube channel” as well, and now I have a bustling channel with 140,000 subscribers. 

The fact is, writing down 100 goals for my life three years ago gave me incredible direction. Given how much this simple exercise has helped me, I’m certain it can also help you, the reader. 

Here’s how to perform the “100 goals” experiment yourself:

1. Writing Down Your First 20 Goals Is Easy

Got a pen? Good. Got a piece of paper? Now we’re talking. Write out your first twenty numbers and get going on filling them with goals. Truthfully writing out your first twenty goals will be very easy. You likely know exactly what you want to do, right? Some big goals might be to buy a house, get married, start a side-hustle, learn how to speak Spanish, and other various things. 

Get those first twenty goals out and then brace for the worst case of writer’s block you could possibly imagine.

“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.” – Jim Rohn

2. How To Write Down Your Next 80 Goals

When you have writer’s block during this exercise, it’s likely because you’re being too picky. “Cook with Gordon Ramsay” is an absolutely ludicrous goal of mine, however I still wrote it, right? I wrote it because I was trying to get out of my own way. I trained myself to write absolutely anything that came into my mind.

I don’t care if one of your goals is to go play professional soccer and you’re currently 50 years old. Write it down. I don’t care if your goal is essentially impossible. Write it down. This will help you get the exercise done.

Here’s a list of my personal goals that I wrote down three years ago…

Go To Europe

Live in San Francisco

Start a Successful Youtube Channel

Write a book

Write an insanely viral article

Start a consulting/coaching business

Maintain a high level of fitness

Go to Coachella *Winces*

Write a screenplay

Get nominated for an award in entertainment

Out of these first ten goals, I’ve already done four of them. The problem is I have another 90+ goals on this list that I’m far from accomplishing. You may be feeling a little overwhelmed here. You might be saying to yourself, there’s no way I’ll ever get to visit the Pyramids or get elected to public office. Those thoughts may come to your mind. Banish them immediately. It’s normal to get those thoughts, but tell them to go away for just twenty minutes while you write your goals down.

3. Break Up Your Goals By These 5 Categories

For one, break down your goals based on five different categories: Work, Relationships, Location, House, and Hobbies. Let’s take a look at some of my goals for a second…

Go on a road trip out West with my Dad. That’s relationships.                                     Go to Europe. That’s a location.                                                                                     Run a marathon. That’s more or less a hobby or like a leisure activity.               Work on a movie set. That’s work.

When you’re writing down these goals and you’re at a loss for what goals to write down next, just think in terms of category. Think about a few goals you can add to your “relationships” stockpile, or a few goals you can add to your “house” stockpile. 

For instance, I want to build a house in beautiful Bohol, Philippines. I want to have a brick oven in my home, too. These could be categorized under a “home” goal. You can add categories if you wish, too. I saw someone write down “Faith” as one of theirs, so get creative–your list doesn’t need to revolve around the five categories I’ve mentioned here.

“If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” – Les Brown

4. Your Life Will Magically Follow Some Of These 100 Goals

Three years later, I’ve found my life has almost magically followed my 100 goals. So far, just three years later, I’ve accomplished sixteen of them. I’m convinced that simply listing down what you want in a journal can act as a sort of cosmic hand influencing you and pointing you in the right direction. You’ll subconsciously work towards many of your goals without knowing it.

Now, to be honest, many of my initial 100 goals are ones I’ll never accomplish. I have no desire to work on a film set right now, and living in San Francisco? That’s where rent prices are some of the highest in the world. What was I thinking?

You won’t bowl a strike every time writing down your goals, but that’s not the objective. The objective is to drain your brain of every goal you might ever want. It’s a 100 goal exercise on purpose–it’s hard to write down that many at one time.

Once you do, though, you best believe that every desire you’ve ever had is likely right in front of your face. You’ll be looking at a roadmap for your life, and that’s a pretty amazing gift to give yourself. 

What’s one of your main goals you’d like to accomplish in the following year? Share it with us below!

As an aspiring entrepreneur, business owner, or working professional, you don’t need a lot. You don’t have to come from money or have a million dollars to build your business. That’s part of the hype that most people assume. What does matter is having the mindset to get started. So, start by asking yourself questions to lead to building a solid foundation. You are your foundation and it starts with you.

1. Who am I? 

If you want to be successful, you must be willing to do the inner work and take a long, deep look inside to know yourself. You’re not what society or school told you who you were. You must look deeper than that. What do I like doing in my spare time? What are my core values? 

Who do I want to work with? What am I trying to achieve? What are my personal goals? How am I going to change the world for the better? Ask yourself these questions to better connect with yourself and learn how you’re most inclined to serve others.  

2. Who can I serve? 

Once you’ve established a solid internal foundation, you can now move onto the outside world and see how you can help with your skills. The world around you is a reflection of your inner world, and by knowing yourself, you can start to know how your strengths can serve others.  

Business isn’t about selling to everyone… if you sell to everyone, you are selling to no one. So, who is your ideal client? What knowledge or expertise do you have that will solve their problems? Why are they going to choose you over a sea of other qualified candidates? How are you going to connect with them so they can trust you? You must get deep and personal with yourself before you know how you can serve other people.  

3. What are my top strengths?  

Everyone is born with certain natural talents and aptitudes. Some people are introverts, and others are extroverts. There is no right or wrong answer; it’s a matter of who you are at your core. It’s being honest with yourself and knowing how you can best serve others. This is why it’s best to be honest with yourself. When you’re honest with yourself, it translates to you being honest with others. 

This relates to the first question. So here is where we can take it a step further: Do you like writing? If so, then you could be a copywriter, email marketer, editor, or content writer for a big company, or even your own.  

Are you analytical and strategy oriented? You could become an SEO professional or market research analyst. Do you have natural photography and video editing skills? Digital marketing has a major demand for video editing skills. Quality video plays a major role in marketing efforts, so video editing skills will always be in high demand.  

“Focus on your work. Do what you’re great at. Don’t compare yourself to others and or waste time criticizing the lives and work of others. Do what matters most to you and make a difference doing that.” – Germany Kent

4. Where is my ideal client located?  

Once you know your personal why and who you choose to serve, you can then perform your client research process. With millions of people using the internet to establish their presence, you have access to a number of potential contacts looking to connect with other business professionals. Social media is used for business nowadays with marketing efforts, so taking a look at companies and people you want to work with on social media is a great first step. 

If you want to serve customers, social listening is also a good strategy as well. You have to think strategically like the customer. Social apps like Reddit, Quora, Yahoo reviews, and Google Business let your customers do the talking for you. You can also interview your ideal client to build rapport and gain more insight into their wants and desires.  

5. Do I have the right systems in place to run a business?  

Running a business not only requires strategy and stamina, but do you have the right systems in place to keep organized when things get busy? Most things are available online. Which email service provider are you going to use for your email marketing strategy? Which web hosting service will you use for your site? What am I going to outsource? Who can I outsource specific tasks to? 

Those are a few of the many questions you must have answers for to get started on your business. After all, failure to plan is planning to fail. By having systems in place and knowing which tools you want to use, you can prevent most startup mishaps by being prepared.  

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

6. Which mediums can I use to reach my clients? 

So many people have an abundance of talent but unfortunately, may not know or have been taught how to channel it into business strategy. But with the proper research and knowledge, you can overcome this obstacle by studying market research. 

Currently, most business professionals utilize the LinkedIn platform to connect with like-minded professionals in their niche. This gives you the power to put yourself out there and connect with people in your industry. Facebook is also a place to connect with other like-minded business professionals, as well as create specific groups and communities of those who share similar interests and values.  

7. Are you ready to be the CEO of your life?  

The final and most important question, is are you ready to be the CEO of your own life? As an entrepreneur and independent professional, you must take charge and be fully responsible for your life. Now, I’m not about to say you have to wake up at 5am. What works for some people may not work for everyone. 

Being the CEO of your own life is knowing what works best for you and maximizing your full potential. So, you must be honest with yourself and ask yourself these questions to know yourself and who you can serve to change the world. You must also have confidence within yourself and know what you have to do to become successful.  

What do you believe is the most important characteristic to become successful? Share your thoughts with us below!

“Fire your boss. Follow your passion. Own your time.” These statements, inspiring on one hand, are capable of luring many away from working a regular 9-5 job to becoming entrepreneurs. Statistics show that 6 out of 10 employees are fully dissatisfied with their jobs. Reasons vary from having a terrible boss to inadequate compensation to lack of interest. This makes entrepreneurship an attractive alternative instead of working for someone else. However, starting a business is not all rosy.  

Having a Great Idea Doesn’t Qualify You To be a Successful Entrepreneur

Yes, I said it! And not just me. Steve Jobs said “Ideas are worth nothing unless executed; They are just a multiplier, execution is worth millions.” All the great entrepreneurs you hear of today didn’t get there because of the sheer brilliance of their ideas. They had to put in the work. Many people actually get confused at the difference between having an entrepreneurial mindset and being an entrepreneur.

Those are two different things because having an entrepreneurial mindset means you are visionary. You have great ideas and can think outside the box. It also means you are willing to take risks to reach a goal. You tend to go beyond your job description to get things done. You are able to see how actions tie into the business outcome and channel your energies accordingly. 

Being an entrepreneur, and a successful one, is a different ball game entirely. It is being a business owner. One who runs all the moving parts of a business successfully. It requires some very strong attributes which are critical if your business will not just survive but thrive. 

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

Here are the three things you must know/do before starting a business:

1. Conduct A Proper SWOT Analysis

You need to conduct reality checks for both you as an individual and the business you want to start. SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis will help you understand the business field you want to go into as well as what your advantages are. This can help you develop a strong business strategy that places you in the top percentile. 

Your strengths could be your knowledge, background, education, network, skills, or location. A question to ask yourself here is, “what competitive advantage do I have over other players in the industry?” Weaknesses are reflective of the areas where your business is not favorably matched to other competitors. You need to know them so you can have a developmental plan to eliminate these weaknesses. 

Opportunities are external positive factors that offer reasons why your business can/will flourish. Exploring these opportunities can help you stand out even in a crowded marketplace. Threats are negative influences that often are beyond your control but can affect the sustainability of your business. To be forewarned they say, is to be forearmed. Another critical aspect of a reality check is a personal psychometric assessment as an entrepreneur. 

The result of an entrepreneur’s psychometric test will show a summary of the individual’s strength of the characteristics they already have as well as areas where they need improvement. This is so they can have a successful entrepreneurial career. Attributes tested include passion, creativity, ability to take control, industriousness, knowledge/experience and pursuit of achievement. 

There are different tools that aid this kind of assessment. The result is not to discourage anyone from starting a business. Rather it offers insight as to what your personal strengths are and you can then make a decision as to how to proceed with your business goal.

2. A Roadmap for Getting Seen (or Getting Clients!)

Clients are the lifeline of every business. Without clients, you just have an expensive hobby. What is your plan for visibility? That is, apart from hounding family and friends. Some people actually are great at what they do, but suck at convincing others to pay for their expertise. 

Too many newbie entrepreneurs start a business and get stuck because they don’t have any clients and are trying every possible way to get leads both online and offline. This is not the time to run around trying different strategies. You might need to hire a business coach or get into a business mastermind to see what is working for others.

You will find out what works for you, but you need to get out there. The internet has made it a little easier by offering different platforms where you can share your knowledge and grow a community of people who know, like and trust you. 

Another quick method I always share with my clients is for them to explore sharing their message or expertise on other people’s platforms. When you have a solution, you are able to create valuable content for the specific audience you want to serve. You naturally show up as an authority and build your own audience from being featured. 

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney

3. Low Hanging Fruits – Results! Results! Results!

People are more comfortable trusting a business that others have experienced. It is the belief that if you’ve been able to achieve one result, then it can be replicated. What that means for you as a prospective business owner is that you need to quickly prove your idea and record results as fast as you can.

You cannot begin to think about a fancy website, business funnels and the whole works, when you haven’t tested your idea. It will be folly to think of quitting your job in this case. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you want to start, you can always start small. Get a client, do the work, then get a testimonial. 

This person can get you referrals and then you begin to scale from there. When your income from your business has matched or surpassed your 9-5 job then you can resign. This might be an unpopular opinion but it is valid. Your bills won’t wait because you’re starting a business, and you still need to eat. 

While you think of investing to grow the business on a large scale, do the work to get guaranteed results in the interim. Working your regular job can become an unpleasant chore especially when your heart is lit with the dream of running your own business. Take the time to prepare adequately and you can guarantee that your business will not be among the statistics of businesses that fail in the first 5 years. 

Have you ever thought of being an entrepreneur, or are you already an entrepreneur? Share your stories with us below!

There are many upsides to this interconnected, technologically driven world we live in today. We’re able to quickly and easily connect with people, literally, across the world. Business has become more globalized, and learning has never been more accessible or easy.

However, there are some downsides to our world as it is today also. There’s one in particular that I think is becoming a bigger and bigger issue by the day, and that is people losing themselves. 

You might be wondering what I mean when I say “losing themselves” so let me explain. Now, more than ever before, people are being influenced by outside forces through things like social media. And because of that, we’ve fallen into a culture of comparison, where everyone is seeking to be like those they look up to.

The problem is, in the process of doing that, people are creating lives they don’t truly enjoy and are void of true happiness and fulfillment. Lives that are out of alignment with their core values. That’s the reason why you see trends like the number of millionaires going up every single day, while the rate of depression rises alongside it. The good news is, it’s possible to find and reconnect with yourself again. 

If you’ve ever dealt with that feeling of being unhappy and disconnected from the life you want to be living, keep reading to learn four strategies to find yourself again:

1. Ask those who know you best

There are very few, if any, resources in this life that are greater than relationships. A life well lived is one filled with deep, meaningful relationships. One of the benefits of having those sorts of relationships is being able to have people to go to with things like finding yourself again.

When we go down this rabbit hole of change and transformation in the wrong direction, it becomes difficult to pull ourselves out on our own. That’s where those key relationships come in handy.

The first strategy for finding yourself again is to ask the people who know you best. These people tend to know the “real” you. They can give you insights into some of the parts of yourself that may have gotten buried under all the junk that got piled on over the years. 

Asking those who know you best questions about your strengths, values, and purpose in life can go a long way in helping you rediscover who you are, what you value, and what you were put on this earth to do.

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali

2. Get off social media

Like I mentioned above, social media is such an amazing tool that has so many wonderful aspects to it. But, it can also be prime real estate for an identity complex and someone really getting disconnected from themselves.

The comparison that comes from constant engagement and use of social media is a breeding ground for insecurities and/or lust of wanting to be like someone else or have their life. So, you can probably guess where I’m going with this, but a great way to reconnect with yourself is to get off of social media.

Think about it like this, if you were an alcoholic, you wouldn’t hang out in bars hoping to kick your addiction. At least not if you had high hopes of being successful. Well, if you’re struggling with feeling disconnected and are frequently on social media, maybe a good detox is in order.

It’s estimated that the average adult spends 150 plus minutes a day on social media. If you had that extra time to do the other strategies on this list, imagine how much good that would do you in finding yourself again.

3. Get into nature

If you’re feeling lost and disconnected, a great way to find yourself is to just slow down, be still, and go inward to reconnect with your thoughts and feelings. The problem is, we live in a hustle and bustle society that glorifies being busy. 

And since most people live that way, finding time to be still, get quiet, and go within for answers seems impossible. For most people, long gone are the days of having a quiet space for themselves to completely disconnect without distractions.

That’s why the next great strategy for finding yourself is getting into nature. Sometimes in life we’ve got to force ourselves to go to great lengths in order to get what we want. Well, if still and quiet in order to reconnect is what you’re seeking, there isn’t a much better place to find it than out in nature.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall the last time I was in the middle of nowhere and had great WiFi, cars whizzing by, or social media and tv’s to fill my head with nonsense. So much of creating a desired result in life is about intention. Getting yourself out into nature and away from the distractions of the world shows that you’re serious about creating the space necessary to find yourself again.

“We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us.” – Laurie Colwin

4. Attend a personal growth conference or seminar

Okay, this may be the coach coming out in me, but I truly do believe that a great place to reconnect with yourself is at a personal growth conference or seminar. And I’ll tell you why.

If you’ve ever been to one of these events, you know that the primary intention is to help people overcome some sort of obstacle in their lives or get to a new level. There are two great things about these events: 1. Being able to explore your deeper desires, and 2. Being around and connecting with like minded people.

Not only do personal growth events inspire you, but they also present an opportunity for you to do some deep work on yourself and your life. That’s why you hear people talk about walking away from these types of events feeling “transformed.” It’s because they were able to engage in personal growth work that they probably weren’t making time for outside of that sort of setting.

To be clear, these types of events aren’t a “quick fix” type of thing, and shouldn’t be relied upon to fix all your issues. But, they do present a forum for you to detach from your current reality and gain some new perspective on life. 

Plus, personal growth events offer great opportunities for connection. And, even better than that, connection with the right kinds of people. People who are all on a journey of personal growth and discovery. Relationships with the right people can be so catalytic in you finding yourself again, and you’ll be able to find those sorts of connections at personal growth events.

Putting it all together

Let’s be honest, having that feeling of disconnection from yourself sucks. It’s not a fun place to be. But, the good news is that there are steps that you can take when you’re feeling that way, to find yourself again.

If you do the four things I mentioned above, asking those closest to you, getting off of social media, getting into nature, and attending personal growth events, you’ll find it much easier to reconnect with who you are and get yourself back on track in life.

What advice do you have for people who are struggling to reconnect with who they truly are and getting back on track in life? Share your advice below!

Money is a cultural obsession. Whether we accept it openly or just silently nod, money is central to our life. Not in a binary sort of way, where when someone likes money, they don’t care about other virtues in life or if they never talk about money, it must make them a saint. But money as means to an end; A channel that takes you to a better place than where you were 12 months ago. As an input to your growth and a resource for creating an enriched life.

I grew up with a scarcity mentality believing that I had to relentlessly work until retirement and save enough money. This thinking underscored pretty much all the decisions I made in life. Decision fatigue before deciding how much to spend and what to spend it on – Expensive trainers to Peloton – and immense guilt for not using the purchase enough. This spin cycle calcified my growth for years.

Over the years I transformed my relationship with money. I am sharing 3 timeless principles that can help you re-evaluate your relationship with money.

1. Trade money to buy time

Our lives are busy and despite the pandemic, our to-lists are still as long. This makes time a premium commodity. Pick anything you are working on – a project report, a side hustle, designing a house, producing a song – often, it always takes up more time than we budgeted.

Can we buy back time? The goal here is to buy time back so you can use that time to nurture your priorities, creative pursuits or micro-goals for the day. I like to keep things in the realm of a day as that keeps things bite-sized and more relatable.

A 16-hour day can soon get chipped away with various things that come our way. Some of these things are on our to-do list and we know will need our attention but then there are a whole lot of unexpected things that pop up and hog our time like unexpected calls, emails, social media. All these things slowly add up & before you realize, an hour is gone.

So, if you start with the assumption that some unknown things will surely come up and allocate time for them, that makes a great starting point. You could look at the last week and assess how much time those things consumed. That helps you get into a pro-active mode. Start with the weekly unexpected ratio and your accuracy at predicting it will get sharper by the week.

“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” – Norman Vincent Peale

2. Find the source for the way you think

The relationship we have towards money is based on the behaviours we saw when we were growing up. How our parents, our role models and that favourite loopy uncle engaged with the topic of money. Was money discussed at all over dinner, whether it was scarce or in surplus? Or whether money often had to be borrowed or was lent to a friend or relatives? Was the lent money ever asked to be returned? These are just a few shades of how we sub-consciously end up absorbing money-conversations. Not just that we also absorb the emotions, the reactions & the statements that got spoken and lo & behold, they become our rules of engagement with money.

But not all viewpoints may fit into the architecture of our thinking process and ultimately our life. So, it becomes very important to pause & check about who you are taking money advice from.

Money is not an isolated topic but underscores the type of life we live, the books we read, the adventures we make and whether the tip we leave in a café is accompanied with a smile or a friendly wave.

If you don’t like the way money undergirds your life decisions, then ask yourself the question – how did you come to think this way? This question often takes you closer to the source of where the thinking took shape and that gives you the choice on whether you want to change your relationship with money or not.

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” – James W. Frick

3. Cost versus value

Over the years I started asking the question, “what value do I get from spending a certain amount?” Value = which problem of mine will get resolved. Cost = the actual dollars I dish out.

All this while I looked at things from a perspective of the dollar amount, I was paying. And the size of that figure was usually the deciding factor if it was a go or no-go.

You could argue that ‘value’ is the degree of improvement you get in your life. Would I pay almost 60% more for a pair of earphones, (not a fan of the cordless ones) because they don’t tangle up each time & travel well? Would I bother saving $100 on the best phone or laptop, something that I will use every day for a few years at least? Will I think twice about helping a friend’s fund-raiser? Not a chance.

Value is something that solves my problem and improves my life. I see it as removing irritants so I can stop jacking around and get on to things like working towards my goals or increasing my downtime.

Our relationship with money is lifelong. Re-hash it on your terms.