Canadian Small Business Women

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Don’t give up before the miracle happens!

Uchechi

 

So, we’re now entering into the last quarter of the year. If you’re like most people, you started off the year with specific goals and list of accomplishments for 2014. And like most people, you probably either have given up on your goals and vision, or you’re struggling to achieve it. If you’re at the stage where you feel about to give up (or have given up), this post is for you!

At some point in our lives, we come across times of frustration and disappointment. This is especially the case as a business owner. You’ve worked hard, followed the rules and taken steps to create your dream business… however nothing happens. The change you want to see does not seem to be transpiring, and you wonder if you can ever have or create the business that you want. It is at those times that you want to give up and quit.

One of my favourite authors and manifesting teachers, the late Florence Scovel Shinn writes, “Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement.” This is a favourite quote of mine, and one that I go to when I come across any setback in my life or business.

The thing is, we will all experience times when we want to give up on our goals. This is particularly the case if you take on something big, that’s outside your comfort zone. The first thought when you come across obstacles is to quit and go back to what is safe and comfortable. However, we all know that staying in our comfort zone does not give us the growth and expansion that we’re meant to have. It’s quite ironic that as humans we resist change and find comfort in what is familiar and what we know. However, we are built to have a need for expansion and to reach beyond where we are. Thus, comes the struggle of life, the need to change and grow, but then resisting that change and growth.

One of the best ways of overcoming this is to stick with the change and work long enough for it to materialize. It’s just a matter of holding on to your vision and doing the work long enough for the miracle to happen and for your dreams to come to fruition. You need to be persistent and cultivate the right mindset to sustain your efforts.  Look how many times Edison attempted to invent the lightbulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” See your journey and ‘set-backs’ as just another step towards the attainment of your dreams.

So, if you’re about to give up, I want to remind you that your miracle is just around the corner. Can you hold on long enough to experience it? Let me know in the comment below.

 

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Founder of My Empowered Living (http://www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women shift their mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get her FREE online video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work in your business!

Stepping outside your comfort zone

sandra

If you’ve been in business for a while it can be tempting to maintain the status quo.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? WRONG! Like anything, if you don’t try new things, growth in your business is going to be challenging to achieve.  Referrals are a great source of new clients, but what else can you do, especially when you don’t have deep pockets for a hard hitting marketing campaign?

Most entrepreneurs acknowledge the need to get out and network in order to gain more visibility, but what else can you do?  Maybe it’s hosting an open house or doing a free information night where you get more than 30 seconds to speak about your business.  As much as public speaking is something many of us would prefer not to do, it is a great opportunity to give potential clients and referral sources a better idea of what it is we do. We don’t have to be Tony Robbins or Oprah Winfrey caliber speakers in order to do presentations.  All we have to do is be authentic and provide valuable (not sales heavy) information.

Maybe it’s time to try your hand at video?  Whether you’re doing YouTube videos, or the short-attention-span friendly Vine, it is another great way to get visibility for yourself and your business.  The benefit of video is that it extends your reach beyond places you can hit locally!  If you’re business can handle global customers then you need to be on a global platform.  Sharing photos on Facebook and catchy 140 character snippets on Twitter can give potential clients an idea of who you are, but video is a great way to really show potential clients more about you and what you do.

For some, blogging is the challenge.  You don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer to start a blog.  I feel I was built for blogging.  Writing 20-page essays were always a struggle for me.  Short and to the point is my sweet spot 😉  Like the above suggestions, this works best when you’re being you, sharing tips, tools and knowledge based on your personal experiences, not rhetoric or theory.  I find writing the easiest way to express myself, thanks to the “undo” function and the delete button.  Blogging for me is like a journal entry that I’ve decided to share with anyone who wants to read it.  I hope others find my musings helpful, often it’s a personal reminder of things I need to do for myself 🙂

This is by no means an extensive list of things you can do to stretch your comfort zone.  I list the three above because they seem to be some of the top challenges that a lot of entrepreneurs are struggling with.  If you’re already doing the talks, videos and blogging, what else are you going to do to push the limits on your comfort zone?  Stretching yourself is not only going to benefit your business, but it’s also going to help your personal growth.  Every time we push ourselves, we reduce our limitations and build more confidence to see what else is possible.  What are you going to do expand your comfort zone today?

 

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Letting Go of Perfection

 

sandra

If I had to pick a theme for 2013 in my life, it would have to be releasing the need to be perfect.  You know what I’m talking about – waiting for the perfect time, the perfect weather, the perfect business opportunity.  Our desire for things to work out exactly as we have imagined them to unfold in our minds can drive us to the brink of insanity.  If we waited for the stars to be aligned perfectly to do everything in our lives, we wouldn’t get much accomplished!

This year, I stopped waiting for the perfect opportunity to let go of my full-time job.  I no longer waited for my signature talk to be “perfect” before I would share it with an audience.  I’ve come to the realization that even when things don’t go “perfectly” opportunities can be found.  What I might magnify to be a complete failure isn’t even a blip on another person’s radar!

We are our worst critics.  We focus on what we feel didn’t go right, or our perceived weaknesses, not realizing that those around us who know us well see beyond those flaws.  They realize your gift, your value, your contribution to their lives and to those you encounter.  Sometimes we need those closest to us to remind us of our strengths, but we need to have that belief in ourselves as well. 

I’m challenging myself to focus on progress versus perfection.  It’s about being on a journey of continuous improvement in all areas of my life, rather than some final destination.  The need to be perfect disempowers when it paralyzes.  It can’t be so high a standard that it intimidates and deters us from pursuing our goals. 

As long as we are doing our best, constantly pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone, I believe we are making progress.  If you’re keeping it safe so you don’t make a mistake or risk failure, you’re not growing.  If you’re not growing, you’re probably going to continue to get the same results (or even see them decline).  I’m looking forward to making the focus for 2014 “continuous progress!”

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect: 
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes