Salt Lake SVN

“We always want to improve our business. We consider ourselves very open to new ideas and ways to improve our business. We have been to several types of meetings, seminars, meet-ups, and more about improving our business, especially an online business. We hardly get any good ideas and take very few notes. When we went to a Shared Vision event, our speaker was stuck in snow and traffic, so it was a chance for everyone to talk about their businesses, where they are and where they want to be. We were so very impressed with the quality of people that were in the room. We were shocked with all the ideas and willingness of others to give us great advice on improving our business. Finally our speaker arrived and throughout the remainder of the event, the synergy was great in the room. At most of those types of meetings, I barely write down an idea or thought, but I took over 2 full pages of great ideas, things that were exactly where we wanted to go next with our business. We walked out of the meeting, smiling at each other, knowing we’d found a place where business owners can come, network with other business owners, with an open forum to assist each person to get themselves to their next level.

Since that meeting, it’s now been a week. We’ve worked nonstop on our new marketing campaign, it now looks great, and we launch it today and look forward to having great results. The quality of what we’ve accomplished is huge, and we give all the great people who come to a Shared Vision event all the credit. Thank you Shared Vision for having quality people at your events and putting on a quality workshop. We look forward to assisting others along their journey as well.”

Mark and Angela Kemp
http://www.howtosellhomesinabuyersmarket.com

By Melanie Benson Strick

During a recent Webinar I taught, one of the attendees, Steven, asked, “I’m just getting started in my business. I’ve got lots of bills, tons of work to do but not a lot of income coming in. Would I benefit from building a team?”

Last week, during an interview by my friend and client Kendall SummerHawk, a woman in her program asked, “How do I know it’s time to add more people to my team without losing profitability?”

For the entrepreneur, cash flow is the make or break point. Interestingly enough, many of us will throw thousands of dollars at programs and products that suggest theywill make us money but you will hold back from investing in the ONE KEY STRATEGY that is proven to help you achieve a six to seven figure income.

I’d like to help you identify 8 Keys to Know If It’s Time to Build a Virtual Team.

1. You want to grow fast but have limited time. This is crucial for people who are still employed, mothers of young children and people with multiple businesses. The fact is, you can only grow as fast as you have time to move your projects forward. A team can execute on work while you focus on other things.
2. You have more referrals than you can follow up with. This is a sign that you either: need an assistant to help filter out leads and get them in your funnel or you need to outsource work to others.
3. You are doing things that you hate, screw up or procrastinate. After I booked myself to Ft. Lauderdale when I needed to be in Orlando, I realized booking my own travel had to be delegated to my assistant. These tasks will cost you hundreds, if not thousands, until you delegate them to someone who loves the tasks. Bookkeeping, client invoicing, website updating, paperwork all fit here. P.S. That travel mistake cost me $500 extra dollars. =-(
4. You need and want more freedom to enjoy your life, but you can’t afford to be away from the business. The right team will be able to handle anything while you are gone.
5. You routinely are late, deliver incomplete projects or forget things you promise people. This is a sign that you have too much on your plate. Even delegating email management and phone call follow up can free up 8 - 10 hours a week!
6. You are an opportunity addict and don’t want to give that up. Let’s be honest. Some of you are just really good at new ideas and you don’t want that to stop. You thrive on the creative phase. But someone has to implement your ideas - that’s where a team comes in.
7. You are a speaker, information marketer, coach, consultant, service professional or business owner with more on their to-do list than time in the day. I guarantee you I can find at least 25 items in your to-do list that could easily and profitably be delegated!
8. You truly desire a six to seven figure income. The one thing that every successful person knows is that they could not have done it alone.

Last year I interviewed five 7- figure entrepreneurs who all said, “If I could do one thing differently, I wouldn’t have waited to build a team.”

Ready to build a team but still not sure how to pay for it? Tune in to our next edition and I’ll give you a simple formula to pay for a team. Or join us for the next Virtual Team Building Tele-Bootcamp starting April 2^nd .

About the Coach:

Melanie Benson Strick, The Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.

If you’re ready to stop working in your business and start working on your business, go to www.virtualteambuildingsecrets.com/secretweapon to learn the secret to growing your company to a six and seven-figure success without employees or a 90-hour work week

SVN Newsletter February 2008

Download your copy of our latest newsletter here. This will take you to a page with a link to the pdf file. Click on the link and the Events & News will appear in a new screen.

Happy Reading!

Stay tuned for more information about our March Monthly Luncheon–we are going virtual! Sign up now for our emails that will keep you updated with information about how you can get registered for this exciting webinar.
Have you ever felt stuck at a certain level of success because you couldn’t possibly squeeze anything more into your already crazy-busy schedule?   Do you long to hand off those energy-draining tasks you hate doing and procrastinate completing – but don’t know how?  Are you still doing everything yourself because you can’t imagine anyone being reliable or good enough to get the job done properly?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost opportunities, money in the bank and time off to pursue your bigger passions in life!

It’s time to learn the secret to creating a seven figure freedom-based business – leverage! Join Melanie Benson Strick, The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach, on [date & time] to discover these simple steps to revolutionizing the way work gets done in your business. You’ll find out:

• How delegating just three simple jobs can free you up to double your income and time-off.
• An easy-to-follow formula that will help you determine what to delegate and what to keep so you stay focused on your highest payoff activities.
• The three deadly mistakes entrepreneurs make with their teams and how to avoid making them.
• A simple two-step plan to make money instantly by outsourcing and delegating
• The million dollar question you MUST ask yourself before you hire a team (hint: it helps you hire the right people, for the right reasons so you get the right results)!

If you are ready to banish overwhelm and discover how simple it is to accomplish massive results by leveraging other people’s strengths, you need to listen in to this program!

Melanie Benson Strick, Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach, founded Success Connections in 2001 when she left behind a lucrative Corporate job to pursue her passion in life – transforming the lives of overwhelmed, burned out entrepreneurs. Having learned first hand the difference between a struggling solo-practice and a thriving six+ figure business, Melanie works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want to skyrocket their profits so they can experience more time off.

Listen to the podcast here.

I was recently listening to a podcast by Todd Bockman, the Millionaire Coach, on Attitudes for Success. He was telling a story about how he encountered some people on a forum who were whining about their down-trodden luck and offered to help them – for free – to get them on the right track. Thinking he was doing a good deed, Todd was shocked to find that not only did they turn him down but they began to clobber him and suggest he was just trying to sell them something. Wow!

This is the sign of a bad attitude I call naysayers.

Naysayers are the people who always see the glass half-empty, focus on problems vs. the opportunities and constantly complain about other people’s strategies for success (especially their marketing).

Within hours of hearing Todd’s story, I saw a blog post for Rich Scheffren’s video contest. I was fascinated that readers actually took their valuable time to blast Rich for being creative enough to launch what I would consider an awesome marketing strategy. They actually posted scathing comments on his blog about his intentions being unscrupulous. WHAT??? More naysayers!

Interestingly enough, naysayers tend to be the same people who never become successful. They don’t have the habits, knowledge and mindset to be successful so it’s just easier to tear others down (hey, if you can only see the faults in others then you don’t have to focus on your own, right?). Amazingly, these are the people who complain that your program costs too much, that they don’t have enough time to do your program, and no matter how much education they invest in it never seems to work for them.

Sensing a theme here? A quote from the legend Zig Ziglar gives us a clue:

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

Your attitude is formed through your beliefs, convictions and stories you make up about the way life works. Your attitude has a HUGE impact on what your brain can focus on. And as you’ve heard me say before, “What you focus on expands.” So if you are focused on what you don’t like in others, guess what you will get more of?

If someone has an attitude towards successful marketers (or anyone successful for that matter) that they are bad, are somehow taking advantage of people, or are unscrupulous in their efforts then you are most likely going to go around collecting evidence to support that story (which by the way, you made up in your head).

Evidence is very powerful. Because then you get to prove you are right.

If however your attitude was different, you might get the cheapest education of your life. By being curious about how people achieve their success, you might discover how their choices, decisions and strategies determine their success. It’s called performance modeling. And it’s what all successful people do – watch and learn from others who have blazed the trail before you.

So here is my question for you. Do you find yourself experiencing less than stellar results in your life? Is it possible that you may need an altitude adjustment (you’d like to be more successful than you are today)? Then follow these 6 steps to shifting your attitude for an Altitude Adjustment.

Step 1. Get clear what your attitude is. If your results reflect your attitude, then its probably pretty clear what thoughts, beliefs and vision are creating your current reality.

Step 2. Understand how your attitude is affecting your altitude. This might require some information from a trusted advisor. This could be your mastermind group, coach or by listening to audio programs on other successful people.

Step 3. Write out on an index card with what the desired attitude is that will achieve your desired altitude. Start by gathering clues from other’s who have achieved that kind of success. You might want to emulate their attitude.

Step 4. Practice your new attitude. When situations come up, try on the new attitude and notice you react differently. Make up a “new story” about the situation based on your new way of seeing things.

Step 5. Evaluate your results. What’s different? How is it working? Do you need to further refine your attitude for a great altitude shift? Do you need more support from your trusted advisor to reflect blind spots?

Step 6. Continue the cycle. This is not something you do once and forget. No way José. This is a process you continue over and over again, each time getting closer and closer to the gold.

About the Coach:

Melanie Benson Strick, The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.

Get the Entrepreneur’s Secret Weapon to revolutionize your results and get on the fast-track to a freedom based business at http://www.thepowerofthevirtualteam.com

By Jeanie Budge

I came across this article in the news. It’s an example of a very good marketing strategy….

Paris Hilton Gets Carded, Sues

“Paris Hilton doesn’t like being the butt of jokes, at least not the kind you can send in the mail. The world’s most annoying heir-head is suing Hallmark, claiming they used her likeness in greeting cards without her permission, reports the Smoking Gun. In a complaint filed yesterday (Aug. 6) in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Hilton alleges that the greeting card company misappropriated her image and invaded her privacy (which, as we all know, she’s so very protective of).

In one of the three cards that allegedly use her image, an illustration depicts Hilton’s first day as a waitress. Handing a plate to a customer, she tells him, ‘Don’t touch it. It’s hot.’ When he asks, ‘What’s hot?’ she responds, ‘That’s hot.’ (Yeah, we don’t get it, either.)

Hilton is seeking at least $500,000 US in damages and a permanent injunction barring Hallmark from any further use of her name and image. Looks like we’ll all have to go back to the old ‘flaming bag if poo on the doorstep’ to mark our enemies’ birthdays.”

(http://www.dose.ca/celeb/story.html?id=c4cf3066-2c4b-4027-97ac-bcd11b9b0d8d&k=11621)
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From a marketing perspective, what Hallmark has done here is quite smart. First of all, they managed to tie themselves to a very popular celebrity. Celebrity status sells (if you read the NO BS Marketing Letter*, Dan is constantly nagging on the value of this) and connecting yourself to one – particularly one as “hot” as Hilton, will definitely get attention.

It’s also worth noting that Hallmark couldn’t have hired the heiress for $500K any day of the week (last year, some crazy Austrians paid her $1,000,000 to show up at the famous Vienna Opera Ball for a couple of hours). So even if she wins the case, Hallmark wins in the long run.

Secondly, they managed to get Ms. Hilton to make a big stink about the whole thing – a lot of free publicity. No doubt a bunch of people are going to run to a Hallmark store and pick up the card because of the story.
Believe it or not, in our own businesses, there is ample opportunity to tie ourselves to celebrities. One way is to hire them directly to do an endorsement. There are different levels from a basic, “Jeanie is a great gal” to “Not only is Jeanie a great gal, but her marketing chapter is the best group I have ever attended and I’m willing to stake my reputation on it.” Of course, the renting of celebrities can be an expensive proposition, but there are some tricks to tie yourself to big-name celebrities without the big name price.

The other, more indirect way is to use the media to tie yourself to a celebrity just like I did today. In this case, Paris Hilton gave me an opportunity to explain a marketing lesson. Occasionally, celebrities will do endorsements of your general industry. This happens especially often in the sports field. At least once a month (maybe even once a week), some great name in sports will say how valuable his chiropractor has been in keeping him in good health. Any and every chiropractor should be using that piece in their marketing. Very few do.
———————–
Jeanie Budge owns and runs three companies. Two of these are financial services companies and the third, the newest addition, is a marketing strategies and mentoring company. With over 10 years in the finance industry, having seen the markets shift both up and down, she has learned that marketing is absolutely essential to the life of every company.

As the only local Certified No BS Business Advisor, Jeanie Budge conducts monthly training meetings and mastermind/coaching groups to share these strategies and Kennedy methodology. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs look to her for guidance each month. She has a soft spot for all of these entrepreneurs and small business owners and hopes to make a difference in the lives of many others by sharing these strategies, and bringing like-minded people together to collaborate.

By Barbara Berg Adams* (Recently Married)

It’s amazing how our various situations can be complex to begin with, and yet we often add our own additions to the curve balls we already have. Each of us will do ourselves (and others) a major favor when we take into account that it is human nature to have our own foibles and ways of making our own lives, including the “business sides” of our lives, quite difficult at times. The more we are able to recognize what hurdles we are inclined to throw into our own mix, the better prepared we are to recognize possible pitfalls looming ahead. That way we can hopefully sidestep some mishaps that seem to be lying in wait along the way.

In fact, the more you can look at yourself and others with compassion and humor concerning how circumstances can get jumbled up at times, the more quickly you’ll move through the lessons you are set up to hopefully learn. While writing (and living) the book, “How To Escape The No-Win Trap” (McGraw- Hill 2004), I found three basic traps, or complex mazes, people often fall into concerning how we deal with life, that affect our business and personal lives far more than we know. I shall cover one of those traps in this article with regard to entrepreneurs.

You are invited to be kind and honest with yourself as much as possible as you read through this material, as it can feel raw and even downright embarrassing to see how you may get in your own way, even as you put your heart and soul into making a difference in the work world and the lives of others. In a way, we are all in this together in varying levels and degrees.

So consider the possible translation of “Cutting through the Maze of Not Being Fully Satisfied with Your Present Situation and Still Not Doing Anything Concrete Enough to Get to Where You REALLY Want to Go” to actually be a softer version of what is right underneath: “Facing The Fear of Always Being ‘Stuck’ in What I Don’t REALLY Want to Do FOREVER, and Never Becoming What I Think I’m REALLY Meant to Be”.

Ouch! That can hurt! That eerie feeling deep down somewhere in your soul that you’re possibly not “really good enough,” committed enough, or positioned enough to go after what you DEEP DOWN want to do, and yet you know that something’s got to give with where you are right now, can be disconcerting at the very least! This particular trap can be quite tricky, as you may not even know that it applies to you. (And for a number of you, perhaps it doesn’t!)

Here are some of the signs and situations that could apply to this dilemma. Some insights to solutions for these will be covered at the end of this article. For now, see if you relate:

1. You find you basically like your present business situation at least some of the time, but you feel edgy or blasé with it more often than you care to admit. Perhaps you also notice you often day dream about doing something else. Either that, or you go to conferences and meetings about other opportunities you truly do find inspiring, but you never fully commit to any one of them. So, you keep doing what you have been, day in and day out, wondering when your “ship will finally come in.”

2. You dabble in a few endeavors all at the same time; just enough to be somewhat connected with everything you are doing. However, you don’t reap all that much reward in any one of them, especially the one you MOST want to be doing. You also find yourself complaining about being spread too thin.

3. You find, at times, that you take for granted the part of your business that brings you the most money and return customers or clients. Perhaps you even notice you’ll drop what ever you’re doing in a moment’s notice in that arena, if even a gratis job shows up in a place you would truly like to take yourself more fully, but you just don’t know how to get there.

4. You keep telling everyone what you plan to be doing in your future, and you may even curtail what you have been doing so you have more time and energy to spend on your next venture. However, you don’t make enough concrete plans or truly structure your life in the area of time, business planning, or building a team to get behind you, to actually move to the next step. In fact, you may even find you are actually “clinging” to what you have been doing longer than what feels fruitful to you, because it is familiar and you know it is your “fall back position.” Along with this, you may even tell yourself, “These people keep hounding me to do this service, and I just can’t get out from under them!”

If any of these descriptions seem to be your present dilemma, take heart. It could just be a sign that you are about to make an important change, and this is what is going on before you make the next step. It could also be a signal that you are stuck in a state of mind that invites you to think that perhaps this is as far as you can go, which can be helped by altering your perspective and/or breathing some new life into what you are already doing. You could also be experiencing some “burnout,” and possibly need some more help and support, or maybe some time away altogether. Sometimes an inspiring convention in your field can help, or considering teaching, training, or speaking about what you do, could also propel you into a more positive flow.

If doing any of the above paragraph’s ideas doesn’t seem to help out at all, consider this important point which will actually begin to help you deal better with your dilemma in any of the four points mentioned above right away: Wherever you go from here, first make a concentrated intention to recognize there is SOMETHING very important to APPRECIATE in your situation right now, that will serve as a stepping stone to help lead you to where you would like your entrepreneurship to lead you next.

Whether that important something is a referral, recommendation, and/or experience to show you are qualified to go on to the next step; there is an important link between where you are now and where you want to go. The concept here to most remember is that being able to connect with a sense of appreciation for yourself and where you are all along the way, will pave an inner environment for appreciation for everything else you get into in your life down the road.

Consider these next four points in working to get out of the trap of feeling stuck where you are, and not feeling able to get to where you want to go:

1. If you do find yourself daydreaming or fantasizing about what you would REALLY like to be doing, and you constantly feel disgruntled with what you are actually doing to make a living, ground yourself in the following points to consider. A “goal” is something you actually believe you truly do have an 85-95% chance of definitely doing. It isn’t a “pie in the sky” notion to you, and you are fully prepared to be 100% committed to this path from beginning to end. Your behavior and follow-through all line up to make very sure that one way or another, this career path will happen.

A “dream” is something you inwardly “know” you are cut out to do in your life time. While you may feel and breathe it in your heart, to the point that you believe you are selling out your soul if you don’t get to do what you truly believe you “should” be doing, until you go out of your way with intensely concentrated intention and focus to the point of seeing your vision through at all costs, you only have about a 5% chance of it ever happening at most if you get “lucky” and someone discovers you in an odd set of circumstances.

A “fantasy” is often something that is better left that way, and has less than a 2% chance of happening, especially if you are actually doing nothing that remotely relates to what you are daydreaming about. Fantasies often serve as ways to entertain ourselves so as to pretend we aren’t really living the lives we are living. Be careful with this, as it can keep you from either fully participating in the life that is actually yours to enjoy right now, or it could keep you from committing to doing what it takes to help you fulfill your dreams.

Honestly consider what energy, focus, time, and effort you are putting into what you “really want” right now, and decide how much effort you are willing to expend in any area from here on in. If you find you are still doing what you have been for a certain period of time and you have some success in it, find ways to make what you are doing more inspiring and worth your while so you don’t continue to spend time in a “double life” where you conduct business on automatic while your mind and heart are somewhere else. For many, what you are doing right now may be just fine, and you may well come up with a valuable way to make your goods or services even more meaningful or effective for you and others if you just keep at it and give it more of your full attention.

2. Note that there is a world of difference between being committed to being very good at one major thing and making that your foundation from which other avenues can grow VERSUS keeping your options open to the points of dabbling in a number of unrelated enterprises, mainly because you are afraid you’ll miss something, and you are afraid of being “tied down” to any one thing. The more you streamline and connect the goods and/or services you represent to the business world, the more smoothly and easily colleagues, clients and customers can choose to do business with you. It will be clear to them what you are about, and they’ll see YOU as THE PERSON to go to when they are sure you have what they need ― time and time again.

3. There are times in one’s life when a “chance of a life time,” or something you just can’t miss, comes along, even if it seems like “nothing else will probably come of it”. I believe it is very important to take those opportunities, as they can give you excellent insights and experiences you might never have a chance participate in any other way. Also, they can be incredibly fun! At the same time, do make a concentrated effort not to come across to colleagues, customers, and/or clients in ways that invite them to feel you are only still there until something “better” comes along, and that these certain “special” opportunities are so much more important than they are. The more you regard all people you come in contact with as important, and the more you appreciate those successes you do have in your career, (even if they don’t seem like the “zenith” to you), the more special opportunities will come to you from places you never expected.

4. When you do get the time, backing, and/or help to move closer to your defined goal, truly recognize the opportunity you have in that moment to go ahead and take real steps toward your dreams. If you find yourself not using your time well or not going in the direction you need to go, there is a good chance you have questions or need help in an area you may be unsure about. Almost everyone gets to the point of not knowing which way to go next in the entrepreneurial world. True entrepreneurs are willing to get consults of all sorts, and seek out the help they need to get to fully play out the vision at hand and make things happen! – Admitting what you don’t know and asking for help wherever you need it is a true sign of someone who is committed to success. It is one thing to be committed to “looking like you have it going on” and it is another to be committed to getting the help and team around you to make you ideas come to life. Trying to do everything yourself and not asking questions no matter how many times you need to, are things you want to make sure you stop doing. There is nothing like knowing in your heart what you truly must do to be you, and being willing to ask for whatever you need along the way, because you are SURE that particular rainbow is yours at the end of the road – even if you have no idea how to get there!

C- Copyright- Barbara Berg Adams – 10/19/07.

By Jeffrey Howard

What Coaching is and what it isn’t.

Life or Business Coaching is designed for people that are truly ready, motivated and committed to create a successful life for themselves, or ready to take their business to a new level of success. A life or business coach is skilled in helping you make dramatic improvements every area of your personal or business life and holding you accountable for the changes you say you are committed to making. Ten years ago, coaching was considered the new “fad” in personal and business development but now everyone from Fortune 500 executives to homemakers and small-business owners are taking advantage of the power in having someone on your team, in your corner…so you don’t sit on the bench.

A Coach is not a therapist. Although many Coaches are consultants, a true Coach is more than a consultant…a Coach is also a friend who can give you the “tough love” you need to make the hard decisions in your personal or business life. A Coach helps you focus on both the big picture and the task at hand so you can reach your end goals in a manageable, organized and methodical way. A Coach is committed to your success ALMOST as much as you are (Hint: your Coach should NEVER be more committed to your goal than you are!). Your Coach is your personal expert, consultant, motivator, mastermind partner and cheerleader, all wrapped up in one powerful package, to help you realize your highest potential! Most Coaches specialize but many are skilled in a number of areas. For example, a Life Coach may be focused on people in transition in their lives, whether career changes, divorce, loss of a loved one, etc. Business Coaches may be specialists too, perhaps focused on a specific area of business or a specific type of business.

Wherever you are in your life right now, if you are committed to success, whether personal or business, a Coach can help you get to where you want to go, faster, more efficiently, more profitably and with a greater degree of satisfaction. While there are many ways Coaches work, there are also typically common areas of focus, particularly in setting and achieving goals. Depending on the structure, your Coach may give you homework to complete before the next session. A good Coach will “MasterMind” with you to help come up with ideas that you might not have considered working on your own. There are entire books written about coaching, so I’m not going to try to cover the entire global subject of coaching in this short article, but I do want to share with you a little bit about how I coach my clients.

MasterMind Life Design Coaching (personal or business or both).

Because I have a broad and varied background and have studied and worked in a number of areas throughout my life, I have a somewhat unique approach to coaching. I can bring insight into many areas, both on a personal, spiritual and business level and because I enjoy variety, I split my coaching time between business and life coaching, with a focus on what I call MasterMind Life Design Coaching. My typical client is an entrepreneur, or wants to be. This could be a small business or home-based business person (or both). He or she is interested in personal development and improvement. My clients typically have an open mind to new ideas and experiences and are willing to look at ways of creating success that might initially be a bit foreign to them. Because the entrepreneur typically is in a constant state of balancing their personal and business lives, we spend time together co-creating a program to promote that balance of work and play that is so important in the lives of busy entrepreneurs. A large part of our coaching program is the MasterMind process, which essentially is idea development and execution. When two great minds get together working on solving the same problem, magical things can (and do) happen.

Seven Ways MasterMind Life Design Coaching Can Propel Your Personal or Business Life Forward Faster:

1. Help you to set realistic and achievable goals (Hint: Virtually EVERYTHING is achievable) in your business or personal life

2. Provide an organized structure to get you from where you are to where you want to be

3. MasterMind with you (and your business team, if necessary) to generate new ideas, and organized plans for executing on those ideas

4. Help you develop and automate your marketing and sales efforts for your business

5. Plug you into the MasterMind Network (yours and mine) to expand your contact base and the resources available to you

6. Hold you accountable for your own success

7. Teach you how the Law of Attraction and MasterMind process REALLY works so you can super turbo-charge your life or business by using it properly

I would like to invite you to explore coaching for yourself to determine if it is a structure that can help propel you forward in your own life.

Without a doubt, Coaching can be a major positive force in your life, but coaching is a relationship, so finding the right coach for you is important. Explore the options. There are a lot of great coaches whose primary goal is to assist you in creating the life that you want to live. Finding the right one will be a step for which you will thank yourself (and your coach) as you develop your greatest potential in life and business.

Jeffrey Howard is the CEO of MasterMindMentor.com, and an author, speaker, life and business success coach, teacher, musician, entrepreneur and MasterMind Visioneer. He is currently based in the heart of

By Barbara Berg Adams

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. It takes a special person to be self motivated, realistically positive, and constantly willing to critique one’s self concerning whether or not you are taking the best approach regarding your worldly endeavors. Along with that, it takes a core belief that you are able to engage and align with the people and resources you need to bring your ideas to fruition. In one simple phrase, to be a success as an entrepreneur, you need to believe the world and the universe are “conspiring in your favor,” (and that you are not standing too squarely in your own way).

Consider the following self rating scale quiz, to help you recognize how you view life overall. From there, you can consider how much your present thinking is truly operating in your favor.

1. There definitely is a way for me to succeed in life.
True - 2 False – 1

2. I truly feel joy in my life.
True - 2 False – 1

3. I know I am forgiven when I make mistakes.
True - 2 False – 1

4. There is no doubt I will accomplish my dreams.
True - 2 False – 1

5. Life is really good, and I know there are issues I need to work on. I know where to start, and I’ll get to them sooner rather than later.
True - 2 False – 1

6. Even though I know doing everything at the last minute is stressful for myself and others, I seem to do it anyway.
True - 1 False – 2

7. I believe I have good boundaries with people and know what I can be responsible for and what I can’t. I know when to say yes and when to say no.
True - 2 False – 1

8. There are times when I feel like blaming others for my problems, but I know assigning blame won’t help me deal with things effectively.
True - 2 False - 1

9. I wish life could be better, but I’m coasting along.
True - 1 False - 2

10. I keep hoping things will just get better, but I’m afraid they probably won’t.
True - 1 False – 2

11. I am a good person, but I feel bad things happen to me often.
True - 1 False – 2

12. It’s often hard to get a good night’s sleep, since I worry about what I have to face the next day.
True - 1 False – 2

13. Life just isn’t what I had hoped it would be.
True - 1 False – 2

14. I don’t know how I feel. I just know life isn’t much fun. I’m tired of taking care of everybody else; no one ever takes care of me.
True - 1 False -2

15. Even though I know what I should do about my life, I hardly ever seem to do it.
True - 1 False – 2

16. I find myself feeling hurt and angry because of other people in my life. Sometimes I feel they’re out to get me.
True - 1 False – 2

17. Life would be so much easier if people just did things my way.
True - 1 False – 2

18. Almost everyone has it easier than I do. Nothing comes easy for me.
True - 1 False – 2

19. Maybe if I just keep going, I’ll win the lottery or something and others will leave me alone.
True - 1 False – 2

20. No matter what I do, every day is a struggle. Often it’s the same thing over and over again. I don’t know how much more I can take.
True - 1 False – 2

21. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to please anyone.
True - 1 False – 2

22. Everything is so overwhelming. I wish someone would help me, but I don’t even know where to begin to ask for help.
True - 1 False – 2

23. If only I could go back and change my past, my life would be better today.
True - 1 False – 2

24. This is the worst my life has ever been, and I feel I’m stuck here for good.
True - 1 False – 2

25. I know that no matter how I answered this survey, as long as I’m honest with myself and willing to be responsible for where I am in life, I’m going to be okay.
True - 2 False – 1

Hopefully, the very act of answering these questions has inspired you to think about your life and how things are going in general. If you’re concerned about your answers, the good news is you’re being honest with yourself. When you begin to clearly see your underlying thinking, you can begin to understand its effect on your life, in terms of both your own responses and those of the people around you. The more you begin to question your thinking and work to improve your beliefs and attitudes, the more fully you can engage in a healthy life, no matter whom or what you’re confronted with.

For now, add up your total score and then read below to see how much or how little you’re inclined to fall into a no-win trap. Notice that there is some overlap in the points and what they mean. If your total score falls into two different categories of explanations, decide which one best describes how your life is going now.

44 to 50 Points: Congratulations! You’re someone who is very self aware and can tap into what’s going on with other people. You see mistakes as lessons to be learned and problems as opportunities for change. You avoid no-win traps wherever possible, and you learn from the ones you’ve been in. You also see self-responsibility as a privilege, and a sign that you can be responsive to life, rather than as a drudgery or burden. This would correlate to 9 to l0 on the Cognitive Stress Management Scale.

36 to 44 Points: Life is probably going pretty well most of the time. You have a fairly honest and positive relationship with reality, and you handle the curve balls quite well. You may want to consider taking on new experiences and risks to see if life has more in store. While being careful not to overshoot your goals, you also shouldn’t settle for less than you deserve. Make sure you’re truly happy. Don’t mistake complacency for genuine fulfillment. It’s good to take time to smell the roses, but make sure you’re not just coasting along. This would correlate with a 7 to 8 on the Cognitive Stress Management Scale.

32 to 36 Points: Falling into this range means it’s time to get help. Don’t wait any longer for the situation or for other people to change. It’s important not to get bogged down with blaming yourself or others. It only steals energy from you and keeps you from recognizing what’s necessary to improve your life.

If anger or hurt comes easily to you, it could be a sign that you’re unaware of the part you play in your problems. If you feel you don’t have your needs met because you’re taking care of everyone else’s, make sure you’re not so used to giving out energy to others that you don’t give others the chance to give back to you. Be careful not to be cynical that you have no one to lean on.

It’s easy to attract people who’ll prove you’re right, when deep down you’re just afraid of being disappointed one more time. Choose those who can actually come through so you don’t double-bind yourself by insisting they change when they haven’t in the past. Also, don’t double-bind others by making sure there’s no way that they can win with you either.

This would correlate to 4, 5, and 6 on the CSM Scale. If you feel you’ve been barraged by double binds in your life, this is the part of the scale where scapegoats, fix-it people, and those who “hang around for the carrot” tend to live. Martyrs could also find themselves here, especially if they accept their position as a way of life.

25 to 32 Points: This correlates to 1, 2, and 3 on the CSM Scale. Falling into this category means it’s time to seriously consider making major changes in your life. It probably seems like life itself is the problem, but the real problem lies in the way you’re responding. You need help and insight to face what’s actually going on. Try not to beat up on yourself. Make this your “bottom line,” without going any lower. Slowdown and take care of your own needs first. This is no time to keep trying to please people who seem impossible to please.

If you’re down this low, and you believe yourself to be a scapegoat, fix-it person, or martyr of some sort, consider these low numbers as a sign that it is time to stop trying to hold everything up on your own two cylinders. Let go and see where the chips fall. Get help in effectively taking care of your needs, and consider getting good insight from others to help you see what you can do with your situation and what you can’t.

There is no way to change the past, and your future will only be the same if you insist on doing things the same way you’re doing them now. Let others be there for you in ways you haven’t in the past. Life is overwhelming when you don’t let other people in on what’s going on. This is no time to look as if you have it all together when you really don’t.

The more you commit yourself to improving your life, doing whatever it takes in any single moment, the higher you’ll raise your “bottom line” and the higher you’ll live on the happiness scale. Self-determination can catalyze us to reach deep inside ourselves and find the strength to get through situations we never dreamed we could. You must trust that this inner resource is there. You need only to be willing to find it.

If you found yourself to have 36 to 50 points, acknowledge that you are on your way to having the “life outlook” it takes to be successful in whatever you are undertaking, which may well include being a fulfilled entrepreneur. In case you found yourself leaning toward to lower number regions, there are ways you can begin to improve your present outlook on life.

Three vital suggestions to consider are as follows:

1. For the next three weeks, make it a point every day when you first wake up, to consider 5 aspects of your life that you fully appreciate how they are going along right now. These situations in your life don’t need to be perfect. What is important is that you appreciate them and acknowledge the fact that you have played some part in having them there. For example, I can presently say I greatly appreciate how supportive my husband has been concerning the trips I have been making to take and give workshops. I appreciate my virtual assistant Terry Green, who has supported and helped direct me in my speaking business; and I acknowledge myself for sticking with it, even though at times I have focused more on my personal travels with George and friends and my private practice, which I truly appreciate also. I also acknowledge myself for taking the time to refocus more of my time to writing and preparing for my upcoming workshops, and for recognizing when I would do well to spend some quality time with my husband and my daughter.
   
   
2. For the next three weeks, consider at the end of the day, three things you accomplished that day in the area of relationships, conducting business, and getting your needs met in some way. Take into account how your entire life is “your career” and it all either contributes to or takes away from your sense of well being as an entrepreneur. For instance, tonight, I am able to state that I had lunch today and took time to play Boggle with a colleague of mine who I haven’t spent much time with lately, and have felt the need to reconnect with in a fun and relaxing way. I worked on an article I needed to put together for an upcoming workshop, and I went out to dinner with my husband and had a very enjoyable conversation.
   
   
3. As you look forward to going to sleep, for the next three weeks, without going into “worry mode,” simply state to yourself three things you plan to do tomorrow that will move your “game board” forward in your life as an entrepreneur. Tomorrow, I will write another article for my next workshop. I will also get a couple of consults on a case I am working on in my practice. From there, I will contact my assistant to coordinate efforts on my upcoming workshops. Most importantly, I am intently thinking about these activities with the “inner knowing” that I will get what I need to get done, and I will ask for what I need in such a way that help will find its way to me if that is what is required.
   
   

Follow through on the above exercises as described, and after three weeks, take the self rating scale above, again. Chances are, your score will improve, and so will the flow of being an entrepreneur and a person in all realms of your life.

© Copyright – Barbara Berg Adams -10/17/07.

My Present View of Life Self Rating Scale for Entrepreneurs is an excerpt from How to Escape the No-Win Trap, by Barbara Cowan Bert, available on http://www.barbaraberg.com/products.html or http://www.amazon.com

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Barbara Cowan Berg is the author of “What to Do When Life is Driving You Crazy” and “How to Escape the No-Win Trap.” She has been a guest on over 275 TV and Radio shows in the US, Canada, and England, and works with entrepreneurs in her psychotherapy practice. For more info on Ms. Berg visit www.barbaraberg.com or call 866-624-5239.

  By Jeffrey Howard