CLICK HERE TO WATCH

It’s a delightful reminder of how, as children, we are so full of self-esteem and confidence. It’s just a natural part of childhood. But for most of us, [...]]]> A private small business coaching client gave me the head’s up about this short little video and I want to pass it along to you.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

It’s a delightful reminder of how, as children, we are so full of self-esteem and confidence. It’s just a natural part of childhood. But for most of us, something changes as we grow older. We start to doubt ourselves. We develop fears and insecurities.

Where did that confident and self-assured little girl (or boy) go? And, more importantly – how do you get her back? Although the description of the video talks about the power of affirmations – I don’t think that’s enough.

One of the concepts I like to share, with my clients and in the Magnetic Goals Home Study Course, is the how you progress from a thought (affirmation) to a strong belief. The difference between having an idea that you can do (or have) something important to you and the strong belief that you can – is evidence.

It’s true that you choose your thoughts, but it’s only when you have evidence to support what you think that it become a strong belief.

Most of us seem to just let our attention wander at will but our mind is actually continually seeking evidence to support our strong beliefs. If you believe you are not good enough – your mind will seek out evidence to support that belief – and you will find it. You see, as humans we just plain like to be right about what we believe and so we go about unconsciously proving it to ourselves over and over again, all day long.

If instead, you actively and deliberately look for evidence to support some other belief you would like to have, perhaps a belief that you are capable of doing the most wondrous things – you will find that.

Decide what you want to believe then get busy consciously collecting evidence. Try it. It works!

Answer: They both take about six days to go from ripe to rot.

It’s no accident that cold remedy commercials on TV give way this time of year to resolution-related sales pitches, most notably for weight lo**ss and fitness. The resolution season is in full swing by late [...]]]> Question: What do Resolutions and Bananas Have in Common?

Answer: They both take about six days to go from ripe to rot.

It’s no accident that cold remedy commercials on TV give way this time of year to resolution-related sales pitches, most notably for weight lo**ss and fitness. The resolution season is in full swing by late December even though the flu season is far from over.

Many people are really good at creating resolutions and even those who decide not to risk any more self-inflicted broken promises pon der what they might improve, eliminate, or create in the upcoming year. Advertising agencies know that, even though we might resist participating in the annual resolution craze, the majority of us do think about the areas where we want to see improvements in the upcoming year.  The enthusiasm of a fresh new year is contagious.

For the vast majority of folks I know resolutions are like bananas – really delicious and appealing for about 6 days after which point they both get pretty rotten.

The reason resolutions don’t really last is because they are often expressed as some sort of wish and they are not coupled with effective goal setting to help them become a reality. Making a resolution without goals is like dropping a coin in a wishing well. We make a wish, drop in a coin (not a really big investment – is it?), and walk away hoping our wish will be granted.

If your resolution is to have any hope to last beyond the “rotten banana stage” you really need to invest a bit more time by getting out a pen and paper and creating some goals and some action plans to support it into reality.

If you are thinking “well I don’t really have a resolution but I sure would like to see some better business results this year” try this resolution on for size: “I resolve to get really good at goal setting”. Sure, I know I sound biased but it is only because I am. Goal setting works for those who learn to do it well.  I’ve yet to have a client or student tell me that goal setting was a waste of time or that learning to become really good at goal setting was a waste of effort. It is the single best investment you can make and the one with the biggest short-term and long-term payoffs.

If you are looking to make big changes in your business this year (more profit anyone?) I recommend you resolve to get very good at goal setting.  But mo re than that – get really good at using goals in ways that can super-charge your small business success. Knowing how to set and use goals can mean the biggest difference between having a year much like last year and making 2010 the year of your dreams. What’s more, Magnetic Goal setting is not boring, doesn’t mean tedious hard work, is as tasty as a ripe banana, and never goes rotten.

To learn more about Magnetic Goals register for the upcoming complimentary teleseminar on January 12, hosted by my friend and mentor Kathleen Gage, by Clicking Here.

(note: if you are a member of Kathleen’s VIP program we will be announcing something special for you on January 12. If you are a not a member please check it out by Clicking Here)

For information about the Magnetic Goals for Small Business Owners Home Study Course Click Here.

When I ask my clients what is the biggest challenge they face in building their businesses I commonly hear that their biggest challenge to the success of their businesses is lack of focus. Coping with the endless stream of wonderful, exciting, interesting, and enticing bits of information, ideas and opportunities can be a very [...]]]>  

When I ask my clients what is the biggest challenge they face in building their businesses I commonly hear that their biggest challenge to the success of their businesses is lack of focus. Coping with the endless stream of wonderful, exciting, interesting, and enticing bits of information, ideas and opportunities can be a very big problem for many small business owners. Often hours, days and even weeks can go by with very little significant progress made even though they have been busy, busy, busy.

Our email in-boxes are literally jammed with email that promises to hold the key to the actualization of our dreams. Fascinating articles beg to be read, promising books are everywhere, new technological solutions are around every corner, interesting people pop into view, invitations to explore beckon constantly. The myriad of ways to spend our time and energy is never ending and constantly growing.

And so, left to our own devices, we can go down one “rabbit hole” after another as we click on link after link, only to find that we have spent much of our precious time and energy chasing yet another BSO (bright shiny object) rather focusing on just those areas that we are certain will move us closer to the business success we crave.

What is the solution to fortifying our resistance against chasing those BSOs that really do little more than satisfy our curiosity and leave us with a profound sense of frustration with our lack real tangible results? Successful people do not have fewer BSOs to contend with – they have a strategy that allows them let the BSO fly past barely noticed and rarely chased while they select only those bits that will are truly worthy of their attention.

How can YOU stop yourself from following those BSO’s, like Alice in Wonderland, down yet another “rabbit hole” only to realize that you have been distracted and precious business-building time has passed that can never be recovered? The solution is not fortifying your will power. The minute you relax your will power – poof- down another rabbit hole you go. The solution is in your brain.

I’ve written before about the remarkable benefits of deliberately training your brain to draw your focus, your energy and your decision making powers to only those bits of information, ideas and opportunities that best serve you and your business.

Your RAS (Reticular Activating System) is the part of your brain responsible for filtering the millions bits of information that bombard you at any moment. It is the best tool you have for selectively focusing only on what will best serve you and your business. It is infinitely easier to train your brain to flag only those bits of information that are in your best interest than it is to use your willpower to ignore most of what flies past or to try to assess each and every bit of information as it arrives.

There are many ways to train your brain, your RAS, to do the work of filtering so you can stay focused on your priorities. By far the most effective method is setting magnetic goals and keeping them top of mind.

All those stodgy business consultants who tell you that you need to set goals so you know where you are going are missing the most benefit of goals – goals help you GET where you want to go by helping you every minute of every day to stay focused and choose only those bits of information and opportunities that will directly contribute to your success.

I’ll write more next time on how magnetic goals are your best tool for staying on focused and on track all day every day. Or, you can read about how “Magnetic Goals for Small Business Owners” will dramatically improve your ability to focus on what’s important and making it easy and natural to avoid distractions by clicking here. I assure you…it is not a BSO!

photo credit: Greg Veen

Not long ago a good friend of mine gave me this book as a gift: The Millionaire Women Next Door – The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen by Thomas J. Stanley, Phd. I guess [...]]]> “If you want to become wealthy to consume, you are unlikely to ever be rich” Thomas Stanley

Not long ago a good friend of mine gave me this book as a gift: The Millionaire Women Next Door – The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen by Thomas J. Stanley, Phd. I guess she thought that I could relate to much of it and that I’d find it interesting. Right on both counts. Thomas Stanley interviewed women who are millionaires to find out how they are different from women who remain poor and from the millionaire men he had surveyed in the past. I think you will find what Stanley found out interesting as well.

This book is an interesting, enlightening and inspirational read for women who would like to join the ranks of the millionaire women, and for both men and woman who would like to include them as clients and customers.

One of the sections that immediately caught my eye was is titled “The Meaning of Being Rich”. In it he explains that “hyper-spending” is at odds with the goals and motives of millionaire women and that nearly all of the women he interviewed had independence, not spending, as their primary motivation for acquiring wealth. And, while they didn’t spend large sums expensive clothes and luxury cars, they never felt deprived. In fact they would often go out of their way to not put their wealth on display. For most part these millionaire women were what many men would call “a cheap date” in they did not require “goring themselves on expensive homes, custom vehicles, boats, showy jewellery, designer furniture, and other luxuries. Thomas found that even when these women had accumulated millions they continue to be quite frugal and are astoundingly charitable. For every 1 woman he interviewed who thought it was unimportant to support charities and noble causes 75 thought it was a very important goal. They have a strong sense of community and natural empathy.

What else does Stanley tell us about the women who are the millionaires living among us? The majority are business owners. This one statement seems to sum up best what sets these women apart “Happiness, pride and a high-self esteem are qualities possessed by the majority of women profiled (in the book). How did they attain these qualities? They set certain goals for themselves, such as becoming financially self-reliant and financially independent through owning and operating a business.”

Here are some other interesting facts Thomas also learned about the Self-Employed Millionaire Business Women he interviewed (based on averages or medians):

• They average 52 years old and 81% are mothers
• They wake up a 6 am and retire for bed at 10:30 pm and get 7.5 hours sleep
• They work 49.5 hours per week and exercise 3.5 hours per week
• Median household net worth is $2.9 million (40 times the median net worth of the average American household)
• Only 1 in 20 has never been married and of those who are married half have been divorced at least once
• 60% are college graduates and less than 20% attended a private school but over 50% have paid for private school for their grandchildren
• Nearly all (98%) are homeowners and 34% have no mortgage on their homes
• They are supporters of noble causes and donate 7% of annual incomes which is 2.5 times higher than the average household in America
• They are significantly more frugal than men (more likely to change phone companies or have clothing mended to save money)
• Almost all have had some adversity and reversals in life but only 20% ever spends time thinking about how things could have been
• They are highly goal oriented and persevere

Want to preview the book for free? I found almost the entire book (with only a small number of pages inaccessible) HERE. I am certain you will find a lot more interesting and valuable information in this fascinating book about the millionaire business women who are  living right next door to you.

87% said they did not…87%! That’s astounding!

I admit I thought the [...]]]> Many business people I know don’t really set goals of any kind, or at least not to the degree they really should. In fact, in December of 2008 I did a survey in which I asked small business owners “did you have a plan for 2008?”

87% said they did not…87%! That’s astounding!

I admit I thought the number would be high because often, when my clients come to me they are teetering on the edge of business failure, and worse, personal burnout. Soon I discover that they have not been setting goals, magnetic, or otherwise. But the number of people trying to build successful businesses without clearly defined goals surprised even me.

There are lots of reasons so many business owners resist setting goals. If you are not setting goals for your business, see if any of these are your favourite reasons why not:

• You don’t like to be wrong about your assumptions. Goal setting requires making some educated guesses about what is attainable, often based on pretty sketchy information. There is a high degree of risk of being wrong when setting goals.

• You don’t want to be disappointed in yourself or disappoint others if you set goals and don’t achieve them.

• You think goal setting has to be a long complicated, tedious or hard process (which it doesn’t).

• You see goals as somewhat limiting or stifling of your creativity. You take the position that if you commit to a goal you must stubbornly pursue it and close the door to other opportunities.

The reasons for not setting goals, even though virtually every business book or coach would caution us not to take a step without defined and written goals, are almost endless. I even had one lovely lady tell me that she didn’t set goals because she was afraid that if she wrote them down she would jinx them if she did, like it was bad juju or something!

Read any book on business development, or ask any business consultant and they will tell you that you need to have a clearly defined set of goals to ensure success, and without them you risk failure. But I think these authors and consultants, and I can’t think of a single exception, are missing a vitally important piece of information about goals … goals have a magnetic quality. The number one reason people don’t set goals is they don’t realize the power and full benefits of Magnetic Goals.

Once you understand the power of Magnetic Goals, and you define your own set of Magnetic Goals, use them as a tool, rather than just a “have to do because smart folks tell me to” exercise, you will see for yourself the awesome power of Magnetic Goals to draw success to you. To learn more about defining and achieving Magnetic Goals get the e-report: www.magneticgoals.com