You know those days or weeks you can have when you feel like every time you turn around, life is throwing you a curve? All last week I felt like I was been playing a game of dodge ball with multiple unexpected events showing up. We have a choice as to how we can respond in these situations.

The one thing we can expect in life is the unexpected but we somehow get lulled into this belief that everything should go as planned with no surprises. The reality is the unexpected is to be expected because no matter how much we plan, ultimately God is in control and when the unexpected shows up, it's usually for one of three reasons: a course correction, a lesson to be learned or a time for someone's presence in our life to cease because their work is done. I love the saying about people coming into our life for a reason, a season or a lifetime - how true!

We have to understand we are on this journey to grow into our fullest potential and that's not going to happen standing still. Change is growth and it means God is working in our lives to make it even better than we could ever imagine. It may mean being uncomfortable for awhile but that is a good thing. They say you are not living life unless you are living at the edge of your comfort zone.

Learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Take time to get quiet and discern what there is to gain from your present circumstances. Is there a lesson to be learned, a new direction you're being urged to take in faith or a time when someone's influence in your life is done and it's time to move on? Accept these things as a natural part of your journey. The moment you do, your eyes will be opened to the bigger picture and while yours is not to understand how all the events and pieces fit together, we can take faith in trusting they all will for our better good!

Action Step:

Start checking in with yourself when you're thrown a curve. How are you reacting? Are you immediately getting negative? Focus your energy in going a layer deeper and see if you begin to feel more at peace with the situation. Ask yourself if there is a lesson to be learned, it's time for a course correction or it's time for someone's presence in your life to take a different direction. Perhaps a new opportunity is present and you're being asked to step into it with complete faith even though circumstances tell you otherwise.

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We've all formed habits in our personal lives and in our work. Some of these habits benefit us while others impede our growth and success. The start of new year is a time we often reflect on our habits. We try desperately to move away from our bad habits and embrace good habits. But saying that and doing that are two different things!

A habit, either good or bad, initially requires a conscious decision to engage in that activity. Be it working out every morning or having a Coke for breakfast, it all starts with a decision that rests nowhere else but within us. An action grows into a habit when we make the decision to repeatedly engage in that activity. They say it takes about 21 days for something to become a habit and that alone is pretty amazing! When you think about it, in less than a month you can develop a habit that either helps or hinders you.

I love this quote I just read in "Become A Better You" by Joel Olsteen, "Bad habits are easy to develop but difficult to live with." How true! How many times do you realize you're caught up in a bad habit and just hate the way it makes you feel? So why do we continue to hold onto our bad habits?

We are not willing to go through a period of being uncomfortable to break that bad habit. We don't believe the outcome will truly be better or don't think the pain is worth the sacrifice. So we continue in our old ways.

The danger in this is that bad habits never lead to good outcomes. The consequences of our bad habits may not always be immediate but they always are guaranteed to catch up with us. The wonderful thing about habits though is that good habits as much as bad habits have the same powerful pull on our lives.

So rather than focusing on getting rid of bad habit, focus your energy on replacing that bad habit with a good habit. For example, if you have a habit of always being late, rather than just saying "I won't be late anymore" make the decision to develop a habit of arriving everywhere 10 minutes early. Make a conscious decision to turn it into something good.

Ask yourself, "Do I want to stay where I am or step into a more powerful Me?"That answer alone will help you make the decision to move away from your bad habits. Three things will allow you to be successful in developing good habits - consistency, awareness and discipline to push through the pain of change. You need to take a "no excuses" approach in committing to your new habit.

Develop a clear vision of how this new habit will change you for the better and support you in achieving further success. Develop a clear vision of how this new habit will change you for the better and support you in achieving further success. Every time you feel the urge to not follow through, embrace that vision and remember that every day you fully commit to engaging in that good habit, you are creating the pathway to where that activity will become second nature for you.

Rather than focusing on the negative of our bad habits, take inventory and replace them with good habits. You'll be amazed how this one simple shift in your approach will empower you to move away from the bad and embrace those things that help you grow and achieve your true potential.  

Action Step:
There is no better time than now to take assessment of what habits you've formed in your life. Be totally honest with yourself. You know the bad habits that are holding you back. If you don't consciously acknowledge it, your body will let you know. If you have any uncomfortable feelings around a habit, it's probably one that needs to go.

Once you've identified your bad habits, identify how you can replace that bad habit with a good one. Really get clear on how this will impact your life. Embrace the energy and excitement this creates and revisit this every day. This vision will help empower you to stay the course and ultimately realize that vision by virtue of the good habits you've formed.

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Embracing an attitude of gratitude is probably one of the most powerful things you can do in your business. Did you know that it is physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time? Think about what stress does to our days and more importantly our mindsets. Stress feeds on fear, doubt and negativity all of which have no place in our businesses or our lives.

When you sense stress starting to set in, take a moment to remember all that you have to be grateful for. We live in a society that teaches us to always be seeking more but we also need to stop and take a gratitude inventory of all that we do have. When you approach your business from a place of gratitude and appreciation, you'll start noticing subtle changes in how you relate to your clients, coworkers and colleagues.

Things will start to flow and you'll find yourself in an energy of success and optimism. What you pay attention to grows and when you pay attention to all that you are grateful for, even more to be grateful for will flow into your life.

We all love to feel appreciated and showing your clients you really care about them will have amazing results. We're so busy looking for ways to have our business stand out from the competition. We look to this marketing idea or this social media platform but in reality, the easiest, least expensive and most powerful way is to just show your clients how much you appreciate them and their business. You'll not only have clients that are committed to you for the long term, you'll find they'll share your name with others and you'll actually start attracting more clients, and even more important, ideal clients because they are coming from a place of goodness and purity.

Allow an attitude of gratitude to take over in all that you do in your business.Practice being thankful - over time you'll find that your feelings of gratitude will just naturally flow and you won't even have to think about it. You'll be living it!

Action Steps:

Start your day from a place of gratitude. Write down ten things you have to be thankful for that day. It's a simple as being thankful for our breath, our health, our family, and so on. You'll notice a shift in your energy for the day when you start it out taking a few moments to express gratitude.   

 Personally express your appreciation for someone in your life every single day. Take the time to write a thank you note, make a phone call or have a face-to-face conversation with someone to let him or her know how much he or she are appreciated. We are often so caught up in the business of our lives these days that our "thank you's" have become almost rote, absent of any real feeling or appreciation behind what we say. I've started adding "I really appreciate your help" after saying "thank you" and I've been amazed at the response. Beyond just adding those additional words, they are expressed with a real sense of gratitude and the response I receive is always warm and positive. Start and end your days in gratitude and watch how your business as well as your life will change!    

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Do you consider yourself an optimist or pessimist?  Before you answer that, when you are challenged or the unexpected happens, what is your first reaction?   Do you tend to roll with the punches and try to learn from that experience or do you resist, vent and throw an all out pity party? 

Optimism is crucial to your success.  You continue to sabotage your success when you let the negative overshadow your thinking.   I talked last week about Jon Gordon's recent newsletter sharing "4 Ways to Stand Out and Grow Your Business" "Lead with Optimism" is the second item on that list.  We live in a society right now that is faced with a lot of naysayers.  People tend to go negative very quickly these days which is all the more reason you need to remain positive. 

Optimism is choice we make.  We often don't realize that and let our emotions get the better of us when faced with setbacks and challenges.  When you approach things from a positive perspective, you share a belief in the outcome and you'll take the necessary steps to create what you believe to be achievable.  Jon points out that when Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, was asked what the most important characteristic of leadership is, he responded "Optimism".  Optimists are natural leaders and attract positive outcomes.  Think about it, don't you naturally gravitate towards people who are positive and back up as far as you can from those who are stuck in a negative mindset?  

I've heard people say that someone was a born optimist.  It may appear that way but optimism is not part of your DNA, it's something that is learned.  It can be learned through your family or if you've been brought up in a negative environment, it's something you can learn on your own.  The key is that you need to make optimism a habit such that it becomes a permanent part of your interior dialogue.  Once you can achieve that, the possibilities are endless!  To achieve all that life truly has in store for you, embrace a positive mindset and watch what begins to unfold.

Action Steps:
Start taking note of how many times you opt for the negative over the positive.  Being aware is half the battle to overcoming anything.  Notice how many times a day you say something negative or step back from believing something is truly possible. 

As you catch yourself, immediately turn that negative thought into a positive thought.  You will start training your brain to find the good rather than bad in things and over time you'll notice you'll automatically respond to challenging situations from a positive mindset.  When you live your life with optimism, not only will be more successful, you'll find you'll be healthier and happier as well.

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For those of you who have been reading my ezine for a while, know that I am a huge fan of Jon Gordon. He's written numerous books, all of which have been on our "Book of the Month" list, including his most recent book, The Seed. He is passionate about helping others discover their unique gifts and talents and coaching how you can let that shine through in all that you pursue with excellence and passion.

I subscribe to his weekly newsletter and today he wrote about "4 Ways to Stand Out and Grow Your Business".   Each point he made was so important for us all to hear as we pursue and grow our businesses that I wanted to share each point over the next several weeks through my ezine.

His first point is to "create a great culture". You might think you're not big enough yet to have a culture but even if you're a solopreneur, you still have a culture. Your culture is the values and beliefs you share within as well as outside your company. It's the image or impression you leave with your clients. You know when the culture works for an organization as much as you know when it doesn't. The dentist for my children is a perfect example. Each time I go there, everyone is very welcoming, smiling and genuinely appreciative of your business. You know you are not just a number there and that speaks volumes. That culture has led me to continually recommend her to others. They create such a positive environment that you can't help but want to see them grow and succeed. And that they have, we've been with her from the days when she had a tiny office above a restaurant to now where she has three dentists working under her and a full staff of technicians and office staff. Her culture was key to her growth and that's why no matter how small we are, we cannot discount the importance of the culture we create for our business.

With is the climate or culture you want to create for your business? How do you want your clients to remember you? What experiences do you want to create for your clients anytime they interact with any aspect of your business? These are all key questions to think about in creating the culture for your company. Your culture is how clients identify with your business. It is the embodiment of what you believe and the values you hold true.   Your culture creates a sense of security, trust and comfort for your clients because they know what to expect when doing business with you.

A successful business starts with a strong sense of culture. It is the foundation of your business. Decide what you want that culture to be for your company and work each and every day to bring that culture alive in a positive and energizing way for all who touch your company.  

Action Steps:
What companies already practice the culture you want to create in your business? Really analyze how they make that culture come alive and what about that culture attracts you to their business? Is it their passion for excellence? A warm greeting every time you enter their establishment? High standards of customer service?   A genuine appreciation for your business?   List out all the things that have value for you when doing business with them. These are the very traits that you want to build into your culture to create a lasting relationship and grow your business.  

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We've talked about ideal clients before but it's definitely a topic worth revisiting!  A group of us went out to dinner at Market one night and the conversation turned to nightmare clients.  We've all had them!  You know, it's those clients that in your gut you know you shouldn't be working with but for some odd reason, we continue the relationship regardless of how much life they suck out of us. 

In reality, there are many reasons why we continue to serve that non-ideal client and I'll reserve that conversation for another ezine but for now, let's focus on the ideal client.  You need to know who your ideal client is in order to attract them.  Do you have a clear picture in your mind who your ideal client is?  If not, you need to!  Once you clearly understand who that individual is, you can gear your website and marketing efforts to literally pull them in.  It's all about connecting with the ideal client on level that they say "This person get's me, I can easily see myself working with them."

How do you do that?  Start looking at the clients you've serviced in the past and identify the ones who have truly energized and inspired you. Look at the characteristics of your relationships with those clients.  You'll see some common traits start to emerge as you compare your best clients.  Write those common traits down.  This will serve as the basis for building your website and your marketing strategies.  Once you know who you are talking to, the conversation becomes easy and that's what your website and marketing strategy is geared to do, start the conversation. 

Know where your ideal clients are hanging out - both online and offline.  These are the places you need to be present in your marketing efforts.  Think about what attracts them to the products and services they currently use.  People seek help for one of three reasons: lack of time, lack of skill or lack of desire to do it themselves.  Figure out which of these is the biggest pain factor for your ideal client and that's where you start.  If their lives are busy as ever and they want a beautiful home but just can't find the time to make it happen, your ideal client will immediately connect with any conversation that speaks to the problem of not having enough time to create the beautiful home they desire.    

Serving your ideal client becomes easy when you know who that individual is and how to attract them to your business.  Take the time to get clear on who that ideal client is for you and then build your business around that.  You'll find that you'll start attracting the right clients and those who are not a good fit will naturally fall away.  It truly is a wonderful thing!

Action Step:
Do you have a clear picture of who your ideal client is?  If not, you must take the time to create one.  Look through your past projects and identify those clients who you connected with and you felt energized and inspired working with.  Let those clients form the foundation of who your ideal client is and start gearing your business to attracting more clients like them.   

Identify what they do, where they shop, their demographics, how they spend their time; anything that helps you better understand who they are. Also get clear on what their biggest needs are and their specific pain points.   Once you do this, your marketing efforts will start to fall into place and have a specific focus.  With a target in sight, serving your ideal client becomes a logical evolution in your business.  

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Last week I shared some insights from Steve Jobs 2005 commencement address to the Stanford Class of 2005 where his closing remarks were to "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish".  I love the simplicity and truth in that advice.  We talked about staying foolish last week, now it's time to talk about staying hungry.

My son shared a powerful video with me last weekend about "staying hungry" to achieve our desires, and our goals. The video talks about an individual seeking the guidance of someone far more successful than heis and he's obviously looking for that magic bullet.  Thinking they'd be going for a run, they meet up on a beach where the one successful man tells his "student" to go out into the water.  The student is somewhat confused but follows his advice.  The mentor asks him, "How bad do you want it? To which he responds I want it badly. The mentor instructs him to go out a little bit further and again asks him "How badly do you want it?" to which he replies the same.  He is asked once again to walk even further out until the water  is over his head and he is struggling to stay afloat and breath.  The mentor asks again, "How bad do you want it?" to which the student is now slow to respond because the need to breath and stay alive has taken over.  The mentor pulls him to shore and very wisely tells the student, "You got to want it as badly as you want to breath."

I think that's what Steve Jobs meant when he advised the class of 2005 to stay hungry. You got to stay hungry in your desire and passion for life.   Your desire to succeed needs to be as strong as your desire for your next breathe.  You're willing to do whatever it takes while staying within your values maintaining your integrity.  The most successful have done exactly that!

To truly succeed in anything in life, you have to stay hungry, always looking for opportunities to move forward and grow while having a willingness to not let obstacles stand in your way.  Thank you Steve for your insight and showing us how our unique brilliance can shine when we not only stay foolish, but also stay hungry!

Action Step:
How hungry are you?  Do you have a burning desire to succeed in your goals and ambitions?  Or, do you feel your desires are lukewarm and buried deep within?  What would it take to increase your hunger to achieve your goals and dreams?  What's standing in your way?  Self-imposed obstacles, limiting beliefs?   

Get clear on what you want and let that burning desire be ignited from within.  Allow yourself to connect with the uniqueness you bring to this world and stay hungry for your dreams.  It's that hunger that will propel you forward and allow you to attain more than you ever imagined possible!  

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Last week I included a quote from Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Address to Stanford University.  It read, "...have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."  I literally stumbled upon this speech looking for my weekly ezine quote and was blown away by much wisdom and insight Steve shared through this speech.  It provided some powerful insights into the life of this highly successful yet very private entrepreneur.  Little did I know that he would pass away just a few days later.

I was amazed how much his death impacted me.  I think it was because I just became aware of how amazing an individual he was through that speech which ironically is titled, "How to live before you die".  I've included a link so you can listen to the speech in its entirety,http://www.ted.com/talk/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html.  There were some common threads throughout that speech that showed how Steve really lived his life.  He ends that speech by encouraging the Stanford Class of 2005 to "stay hungry, stay foolish".  

How many of us are willing to "stay foolish"?  Steve was always thinking out of the box, often opting for the unconventional way of doing things but that is where he found his greatest success.  It wasn't in doing what everyone else was doing but only better, it was anticipating what was needed, believing anything is possible and ALWAYS following his heart. 

I love this next quote from his speech. "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 others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."  Such powerful advice for us all to follow!  God has given us all a unique gift to share with the world.  If we follow everyone else's lead, that unique gift will never be allowed to shine. 

As you run your business and live your life, make sure you're giving space to connect with your own inner voice.  All the answers you'll ever need truly lie within.  The answers may not make sense at the time but as Steve again points out in his speech, he was able to connect dots very easilyas he looked back on those actions that seemed unconventional and even foolishat the time. To live our best life, means stepping out of our comfort zone and taking some risks.

Yes, the best thing we can do is to stay foolish.  We need to live our lives with the curiosity and innocence of our childhood.  We need to take chances and not be afraid of failure.  For in failure we grow and those failures become the stepping stones to our greater success.     

Action Steps:
Where are you holding back right now?  What do you sense your inner voice/spirit is directing you to do but you're allowing fear to stand in your way?  There are so many opportunities that cross our path each and every day but we live our lives not wanting to stand out or make any mistakes.  It's comfortable when you live your life this way but when you're comfortable you're not growing in living your ultimate purpose.  

Get comfortable with taking risks.  Be willing to do something unconventional if that is where you feel your heart is leading you.  When you are truly living your life in your purpose, you're going to be asked to step out in faith and allow God to lead the way.  When you look back at the greatest leaders, inventors and entrepreneurs of our time, they didn't get there by doing what everyone else was doing and believing what everyone else believed.  They firming believed they had something very special to offer, embraced that and then shared it with the world. They did whatever it took, which often meant taking actions that others would view as "foolish".  Be willing to stay foolish and you will find your true purpose that will lead to your greatest success.

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This was the title of the Conference I attended last month and it was so fitting.  We're so busy designing for others but how much time to we devote to designing our happiness?

Oddly enough, I almost didn't attend this year's conference because looking over the agenda, it didn't seem focused enough on business strategies.  I wasn't following where the conference was going but I'm so glad I decided to put that aside and attend anyway. 

When we think about growing our business, we often focus on those key things we can implement to see results, often hoping the results are fairly immediate.  But this conference reminded me that our businesses are much more than the tasks that fill up our day.  It's equally about doing things that nourish your soul and connect you to your life's purpose. If we don't take the time for those things, eventually we find ourselves feeling lost and disconnected.  We more or less go through the motions and lose the energy and excitement that once propelled us forward.

We heard from Stefan Sagmeister, Emmy winning graphics designer (he 's designed covers for Rolling Stone amongst a long list of impressive work) who really showed us the tremendous things that can happen in your business and life when you just take the time to step back and do what makes your soul sing.  As a creative person, he craved more than what his business had grown to.  He felt something was missing but not sure what.  He decided to start taking one year sabbaticals at regular intervals in his life to reconnect and energize.  His life was transformed as a result of allowing himself to step away.  By reconnecting with his "creative self" he found new venues to utilize his creative talents and is even producing his own movie now , "The Happy Film" more or less documenting his person journey in learning to design happiness into his life.  We got to see a trailer of it, very thought provoking and inspiring!

Don't underestimate your ability to design happiness into you life.  It doesn't require taking a year off like Stefan did  but it does require connecting with what truly energizes you and makes you happy on a regular basis.   To keep our creativity alive, but to also soar helping to fulfill in your perfect purpose.  . 

Action Step:
How would you design happiness?  What does that mean for you?  Seriously give some thought to that question.  Get silent and listen to what your heart is saying.  It will direct you to what is missing that will allow you to live a more fulfilled life that is on purpose. 

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How many seminars or conferences have you attended where you come back completely energized and excited but find a couple of days later you are right back where you started from?  That happens all too frequently for many of us.  But there are certain steps you can take to avoid falling into that trap.

Part of the energy and enthusiasm that you feel comes from everyone's creative juices being tapped at the same time, being able to visualize your business in a new light and realizing all the potential that exists.  That creative energy allows new ideas to start flowing.  Free from the pressures and distractions that weigh us down each day, we're able to process and recognize how implementing certain things into our business will have a huge impact.  We busily take notes and commit to doing everything we write down when we return to the office. 

The problem comes when we get home and we're back in thick of it again.  All those ideas, lists, binders, etc. get buried and so do the opportunities that you could have created if you taken a few extra steps to ensure that you took action on everything you wanted to when you were at that meeting or event. 

I've found it's helpful to keep a separate list of all the "to do's" and ideas I have while at the meeting.  During the breaks, I will jot down who on my team will be responsible for implementing them or next steps if the process is more involved.  I'll even send a quick text or email during the break if it's a simple idea or task asking them to implement right away. I think they've started to dread when I go to these meetings because they know the ideas will be flowing and so will all the text messages and emails with "to do's".

I schedule time the very next morning I'm back in the office to review the seminar notes and select no more than three things I will implement and then take the time to map out how it will be done.  For the mastermind group I'm in, we take this concept one step further and commit to three things we'll do prior to our next meeting before we leave that event and then have a "buddy" to hold us accountable and make sure it's done.  After identifying what I need to immediately focus on, I then add the remaining tasks and ideas to my "big picture" list and keep that handy to refer to during my business development days when I'm ready to take on something new. 

The key getting the most out of the seminars you attend is to set yourself up to take action.  If you don't, you are only short-changing yourself and your business.  You've cleared your schedule to attend the event, clear your schedule to plan and implement as well once you're back in the office.  You'll start seeing the results show up and realize just how valuable these events truly are! 

Action Steps:

If you aren't already attending seminars to help you build and manage your business, you need to be doing so!  What you focus on grows and when you take this time to focus on your business it will grow.  Look to your local design center professional organization or chamber of commerce for business development seminars and events. 

Once there, make sure you've cleared your calendar to really focus on the event.  Ignore your phone and email until breaks and even then, only respond to those that will be quick hits.  The worst thing you can do is get caught up in a problem and then miss part or all of the session.  I made this mistake at the Business of Design conference and I missed out on whole session and all the valuable information that was shared.  You need to prepare your calendar and your mindset to be fully present.  Keep a separate list with all the ideas generated during the event and make sure to schedule time to review everything once you're back in the office.  And, most importantly, start implementing right away.  Take action while everything is fresh in your mind and you're still living in all the energy and inspiration from the event. 

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