I realize that I’m a never-ending project.  And really, I think it’s true for all of us. As I work through the spiral of my life and work,  I’ve reached another level of understanding. I used to focus on helping entrepreneurs position their businesses and develop strategic marketing plans. I still do that, but that’s the 3rd step, two important steps come before it.  These steps – the prequel steps – are about “seeing yourself, talents and possibilities” clearly, and then positioning yourself to share your best, and then applying that to your work or business.

What I’ve discovered in my work with clients is that all the strategy and tactics in the world are useless if you can’t truly see yourself, your calling and your path. When you don’t see things clearly, you make decisions and take actions that require more effort than necessary. The extra effort leaves you and your resources exhausted, wondering how you got there.

I greatly recommend spending more time in the prequel stage to maximize clarity and vision as you think about your work or business. It’s foundational and soulful work. It’s easy to dismiss these stages because they don’t appear to generate tangible results, but the greatest success, sense of well-being, and contribution start with you; what you perceive, receive and envision for yourself.

Are you exhausted and overwhelmed, wondering if things will ever get better, and how?

No doubt there’s a lot going on these days, plenty of worry, concern, fear, and uncertainty. It’s everywhere and it’s draining.  Low vibration emotions zap the vitality right out of us. Low vibrations also set up a kind of filter or veil which may keep us from making decisions for our highest good.  So, what ends up happening? We work like crazy for a desired outcome, only to come up short.  What can we do about it?

1 – Start living YOUR life.    

Take a “Truth Inventory” – a list of what’s working and what’s not. Don’t leave out anything! Include all aspects of your life including work, hobbies, volunteer activities, relationships, health, finances, etc. Lay it all out.  Sometimes we just really need to SEE it in order for it to register that something needs to change.

2- Make a change to anything (or anybody) that no longer serves your highest good.

Yep, I said it. Clutter or diminishment of any kind – emotional, physical, mental – is a killer. It destroys inspiration, clarity, possibility, health.  Purge it.

What was true one year, five years, or ten years ago, may not be true today and yet, are you hanging on? Hanging on takes up space in our lives and anything that takes up space, takes energy.  I think Steve Jobs says it very well,

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. ~ Steve Jobs

3 – Make no excuses. Start today. 

Start small, that’s fine, but starts today.  Your life is too valuable to make excuses for why you’re coming up short on your personal goals and expectations.

There’s a lot of talk about the importance of discipline. We need it for work, we need it for raising kids, and we need it to lose weight. But the word discipline is one of those heavy resistance words – a word that creates an immediate negative reaction, consciously and subconsciously.  It sounds like pain, difficulty, punishment.

I’d like to turn that around. Try this on instead: self-love.  Think of discipline when applied to self, as self-love. Do you have the self-love you need to do your best work, raise your children with love, and stick to a program for your health? In the end, you must do this for you, no one else. If you make it about anyone else, you’ll end up with lackluster results and disappointment.

Let’s face it. The business will always need something else. Just like there will always be people who will ask for your help. Where we get caught is when we begin to believe that we can actually bring the

“need” to a close. “If I can just make another $50 grand, then I can invest…” or “If we can just get 3 more clients, then I’ll hire the support I need…” As they say, tomorrow never comes.

Holding off on beginning to take the steps you need to stay fresh, supported and out of overwhelm is not a good idea. Because in reality, most of us needed the help long before we actually got it. The next time you find yourself saying, “I can’t do this until…” Ask yourself the following questions:

1)       If money were no object what would I do next? Write it out as if you had all the resources you needed. The answers will tell you exactly what your true priority needs to be. Do what ever you need to do to get moving on that priority, not something else  simply because its cheaper to do. Once you know what you want to do, ask yourself this…

2)       I wonder who would be willing to support me in this? Then surrender it for a day or so. If you believe that what you need could show up in any kind of package, interesting coincidences are likely to occur.

Remember, you don’t need to know how it will show up. Your job is to remain focused on what you’re creating.  We don’t get a vision before we’re prepared to begin working on it. It could come through a friend of a friend. Before you make a pitch, ask this….

3)       What is the best summary I can prepare about what I need and why its important? Then write that down. You’ll want to be concise and coherent when its time to share your ideas with others. Finally, ask this…

4)       What am I willing to share in exchange? Whether it’s a fabulous environment, a paycheck, a chance to be part of something bigger, my services in exchange, whatever, just be clear on how you could support someone else. It may be conventional, or it could not. Remember there are a thousand ways you could help someone else.

And at the same time, set your boundaries and restore some control

Take a moment and think about how much complaining goes on in your world, directly related to your life and then the things not directly related…children complaining about TV time or not enough game system time; co-workers complaining about the company where you work; spouse complaining about taxes, TV commentators complaining about Washington, on and on and on… Oh yeah, and you may have a few complaints of your own that you’re throwing into the mix.

It takes a lot of energy to complain. And if you’re a Return On Investment (ROI) person, this is a negative return.  It gets you nowhere.  It may take some of the steam out of the situation because it feels good to complain, but really all you’re doing is masquerading the low vibration as relief. Would you like to actually create some change and reserve your energy for moving your projects and your life forward?

If you want to restore your energy and empower yourself try the following actions. Here’s a bonus, this process works great on other people! If someone shows up at your door complaining, follow the same steps. It will protect your precious resources (time, and energy) while empowering you and the other person into positive action.

1) Draw 2 columns on a sheet of paper. In the left column make a list of your complaints

Go ahead, get it out. In the left column write down what’s bothering you. This actually begins the neutralizing process and puts the brain on alert that something important is happening.

2)  In the right column write down what you would prefer and who could help you with it.

Writing down what you’d prefer gives you back your power to affect a positive change.

Now get moving with asking for help.

If someone comes to you complaining try this script.

You: I know that this is really bothering you. Have you been able to identify what you would prefer?

Then you let them think about it and hopefully answer you.

You: Ok, now that that’s clear, how is it that you would like me to help you with that?

Once they’ve answered, you are now in a position to accept or decline the request. If you decline, you may still be able to point the person in the right direction. Now, instead of spinning by complaining and using up your valuable time and energy resources, they have an action step.

_______________________________________________________________________________

You’re welcome to use this article.

When you do, please include my name as a bi-line and the following statement with it:

“Would you like to learn more simple ways entrepreneurs can experience greater passion, profitability and peace-of-mind by delivering unique, indispensable and highly-sought-after value? Visit my website,  http://BeyondBlindSpots.com,for more articles and resources from my Signature System.”

Award winning small business expert Karyn Pettigrew offers greater Passion, Profitability and Peace-of-Mind for the entrepreneur who’s willing to create unique, indispensable and highly sought-after value in their lives, in their business and for their customers.”

There’s a lot of talk about knowing how your product or service feed the client. You know, “What’s in it for them?” But rarely, does anyone ask, “What’s in it for you?”  If you’re losing steam around your work or business, here are a few questions you can ask yourself to catch a second wind and put some punch back into your work.  

Nothing zaps the attraction factor out of your life faster than mediocrity.  Here are three questions to ask yourself so that you can turn that trend around:

1.) What have you established as your priorities?

Are they still valid priorities or are they aging and obsolete?

Are they ranked properly?

The best thing to do, is to do the least attractive priority first. The things we dread doing, carrying the greatest baggage; both emotional and intellectual.  Deal with the least attractive one first (unless there’s a time or money reason to do something else first). This often lightens you emotionally, which seems to make everything else move faster.

2.)    Who is benefitting in the end? How does accomplishing this serve them?

Ok, so this is really 2 questions but they relate to each other.  Who are the stakeholders in these priorities? What happens for them when these priorities are accomplished? Get that clear so that you stay on mission.

3.)    Now ask yourself, how does accomplishing this priority serve me?

Really think about how your success with this priority will help you accomplish your vision, your financial goals, your personal development goals, your Understanding this will help provide the fuel you need to get it done.

Do this assessment for your top 3-5 priorities. Don’t worry about the rest right now.  In all likelihood, you don’t have the capacity to address much more than that right now. So rather than frustrate yourself with a long list of “to do’s”, show yourself a little loving kindness and just deal with the top 3 for now.

Doubt, fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, not good enough, more fear…Yes and Yes, these things, and many others show up at our door and stand in our way. But here’s an interesting angle, who opens the door? What would happen if the door didn’t open? If the stuff on the outside, the ICK, went away? Awesome right? If it went away, everything would be better, perfect even…Are you sure about that?

If the ICK went away, by some miraculous method, would you be bold and step out into the world? Would you take a chance? Give it a try? Or might you be stuck in the inertia of the old condition?

What has to happen for this to truly go away and open the pathway for your greater success, is for you to consciously choose to step beyond the ICK, even if you can still feel it. You must consciously choose your strength, your vision, your belief – beyond all of the naysaying you may hear.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself daily, to help keep you on your conscious path beyond the ICK.

1. How did you show extreme self-care to yourself?

2. What did you let go of that no longer serves you? (Thoughts, behaviors and attitudes count)

3. How did you honor your truth?

I’m in process on my vision board for 2011. I’m so happy because there’s so much to look forward to this year. In just a few days my 90 Day Platinum Express program kicks off with some fabulous entrepreneurs who are just raring to go! If you’re just hearing about it, or still thinking about it, go to this page “Count Me In!”

My radio show has broken the 6 month mark! WooHoo! I have such a blast interviewing these amazing entrepreneurs and specialists. Every week they share a piece of their hearts and expertise to help us all move forward.  You can listen in to any of my previous broadcasts or download them to listen later from the site or itunes.  Click here to listen now.

Struggle is manufactured by your perspective on things. What do you see in the situation? Another failed attempt or possible protection from a colossal mistake? It’s hard to view being blocked from something we want as protection. Perhaps you’re just not ready for it yet. Perhaps the other elements needed to make it a success are not ready yet. Struggle is all about attitude. Do you have a receptive attitude or do you hear yourself saying things like,

• The economy is too tight
• There’s too much competition
• I can’t afford it

We don’t receive anything without being open to it vibrationally. So ask yourself, “Can I stand here, regardless of my past experiences, open to possibility?” If your answer is no, then struggle is still on your horizon.

24/7 Wall St.  recently published an on-line article that lists the” 10 brands that may disappear by 2011.” There are some big names on the list, all of which you know, one of  which has been around for over 100 years.  What do they have in common? They all fell into one or more of  3 deadly blindspots for business: Handcuffed to their history, Underutilizing the power of Aspiration, Not playing to their Strengths. Following are a few examples from the10 companies listed:

-          Handcuffed to their history

• Reader’s Digest – continued to broadly target “general interest”  with primary distribution in printed material. They are now trying to survive in a digital maelstrom where special interest, not general interest,  rules.
• Blockbuster –  has over 6,000 brick and mortar storefronts that no longer meet their customers needs.

-          Underutilizing the power of  aspirations

• Blockbuster –  weren’t the innovators in the category and then they were slow to respond to convenience competitors like Netflix and redbox.
• Moody’s – scandals about the company’s rating of mortgage-backed securities and allegations that the firm compromised it ratings process to get business says to me there was a critical lack of inspiration and vision.

-           Not playing to strengths

• BP – apparently BP has a successful refining business but its exploration business has been significantly less so.  Poor performance can be a strong temptation for short cuts.

This is a partial list. To see the rest of the companies on the list, click on the link above.  Incorporating customer feedback that’s based on what they say or their demonstrated needs, and  not what we think they need, will lead us to changes that keep our businesses relevant; not handcuffed to our history or underutilizing our strengths.