Life as We Know It.

The life we have is one that we know for sure. Regardless of how we feel about it, we accept that it is ours, even if there are many things that could use fixing. We complain often, dream of change, and sometimes even relish in the golden moments that make us smile. Yet we continue on the same path, because the ‘known’ is what creates comfort, even when the known is uncomfortable. Why?

If you’re going to be uncomfortable anyway, why not get out of your own way and create something new and different?!  Yes, you are in your own way. That job you have yearned for, the business you have wanted to start, the exercise program you have been dabbling in for decades, is all possible, if you move aside.  

I have often questioned others, and myself in search of understanding the difference between the people that have what they want and those that simply talk about having it. Interestingly, there are many things in common: a strong sense of self, a knowledge of ones own strengths, an understanding of what doesn’t work for them and a real desire for movement. Those are the qualities that make change possible.

What distinguishes those that act on their desires and those that don’t, are their differences.  People that actually create change are willing to let go of what they know and live into the creation of what can be next (the unknown).  They do not live into the drama or the fear of it, but instead, confidently create such a real picture of what they want, that it doesn’t feel unknown at all. In fact, they talk about it so often that they feel it already exists. They don’t give up because the money hasn’t come in yet, or the waistline hasn’t budged, but keep moving, knowing that in time all of that will take a life of its own.  These individuals don’t simply check off their lists in hopes of achieving the end result, they follow the steps because it is what they are passionate about and know that the result will follow as well. 

For those of you still stuck in your ‘reasons’: family needs, time, money, etc., this is a hard concept because you have been repeating your story for so long that your story feels factual! I can just hear your inner voice now: yeah but she doesn’t know what my life is like! What I do know is that we all have busy lives and family obligations as well.  The ‘do-ers’ just don’t get stopped with the reasons, but instead create their life around them: getting up earlier in the morning, working an extra job at low cash-flow times, and being choosier about what can and can not be attended to.  Your life will get in the way.  Your job is to see them as hurdles (to be jumped), not roadblocks.

Here is the perfect example that many runners will relate to. You are out for your third run this week and can’t believe, again, that you are struggling. There is an unbelievable feeling that perhaps you have grown heavier, more sluggish, and older.  You are certain that you can no longer run, because maybe ‘they’ are right. Maybe your life is too busy for this right now, or you are just getting too old. Until…you decide to buy a new pair of sneakers. Suddenly you hit the streets and your stride feels long, your legs feel strong, and your breathing is controlled and calculated.  It is then that you remember just how old your shoes were, and what then seemed like fact, now isn’t even part of the conversation. Instead, the conversation revolves around signing up for a race! I mean, why not? You are in great shape!

Your life as you know it, is just that. Changes can occur over night though, simply by what you do and say. Don’t get stuck in what seems like ‘fact’.  Whatever facts you have convinced yourself of, will look different with a new pair of sneakers. 

www.GellerCoaching.com

How to Have Clients that Pay

If I guaranteed your business financial growth just by making a few changes, would you be willing to try it? Of course you would!
You know that the way you run your business works, yet could be more efficient.  You know that while you have a steady flow of clients and are skillful in servicing them, you spend a great deal of time playing 'catch-up'. You also know that while your business is financially successful, there is a great amount of money that remains outstanding. But do you know how much money of yours actually sits on the streets? Some have reported as much as $20-30,000/month of money owed, but not being collected. How much more profitable would your business be if you were actually paid for all services rendered? What if I told you that creating a System would do just that?

Last week we looked at creating an entire system for your business, which is the best way to make sure all the facets of your business are running efficiently.  Yet the best place to start is where you know you need it most: billing. Trust me when I say that you are not alone in this area. Perhaps you are too embarrassed to admit it, or don't have the time to assess how much money is currently on the streets, but it is a common weakness for small business owners. After all, you went into business because of your knowledge and commitment to your area of expertise. If your area of strength was billing, surely you would have gone into business for that!

Instead, you became an attorney, a dentist, or perhaps health club owner, due to the passion you have for that business. Good for you for following your instincts, and becoming a success. Now imagine how successful you would be if all the clients you serviced actually paid you! The fact that you have clients who don't pay on time, only pay half of what they owe, or don't pay at all, says a lot about you, and much less about them. If your service is worth the value you say it is, then you should be running the business as such.  Having a defined System simply creates a protocol with a clear description of your obligation to the client, and the clients obligation to you. If you are unsure whether you have a system in place or not, answer these questions:

Do you find yourself feeling bad for the client who says they don't have the money?
Do you find it tedious to follow up with every client for fees owed?
Do you feel like there is always another client to bill?
To you find yourself focusing on the services rendered, to avoid having to collect the fees?
Do you continue to work for clients, even when they haven't paid?
Do you often feel like you are volunteering your time?

If you have answered yes to any or all of these, then having a system in place, will bring substantial amounts of money to your business. Still wondering if a system is what you need? Consider this: If I told you that all you had to do to receive several thousand dollars was get off the couch, walk to the front door and lift up the door mat...would you do it? Or would you say, 'Nah, I have enough money as it is, and this couch is pretty comfortable.'?

Your time is worth money. Create a system that guarantees that!

More ways to increase revenue...

Life. Part II. Women in Transition.

The unknown can be frightening. In fact, the unknown can be so frightening that it can leave us feeling immobilized, craving the old and familiar, and romanticizing what was. It can lead to moments of depression, feelings of anxiety and a constant questioning of why me?
Some people manage their fears of the unknown by keeping busy. Perhaps shopping, sleeping, eating, drinking, etc, whatever is necessary to stay distracted from the fears or worry that lie underneath. But worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but won’t get you anywhere.
Often we think that we are moving in the right direction if we don’t sit down as much, spend more time at the gym, or more time fixing, cleaning and/or doing. Though this is technically moving, real movement in the direction of happiness will need to be mindful. With each step, you need to think about how your leg feels as it hits the ground, how the ground feels as you land upon it, how your body responds to the new moment upon you. Real movement should involve being acutely aware of what passes you by, what surrounds you as you move and what lies before you in wait. There should be steady, yet constant movement.

But what if you have no idea what is next or where you will land?
So what.
You don’t have to know where you are going next; you merely have to be committed to the movement itself. If you actually knew where you were going, you would no longer be in a place of unknown, but in a place of actually landing. You will get there; everyone does, but only when it is time. Until then, it is about following your intuitions, rediscovering what makes you happy and continuing to move in a place that feels good. Then keep the faith that you will know you are there, once you have arrived. Not a moment before…
We have ignored our intuitive feelings for far too long and now, in place of discovering what is next, we need to start listening to what has been in our hearts all along. When you were a child it was simple. You knew what you wanted and you either went and got it or asked someone to get it for you. Yet as you grew older it wasn’t quite that simple. What once began as fulfilling your needs, easily fell into what others around you needed, until eventually your needs, what made you feel happiest inside, began to get quieter. Your needs became about fulfilling their needs. Until eventually you became unclear what your needs even were. Or did you actually always know, but were willing to put those thoughts and needs away?
Perhaps it wasn’t about giving up your needs throughout your life at all, but about needing what you needed in that time period and then awakening one day to a whole new set of needs. Perhaps you had formed your life around those needs, and it actually made you feel happy and complete inside, until it didn’t anymore. Or maybe, due to the passing of time, it was just time for change.
It doesn’t matter how yesterday showed up or how it once looked, or what you did until this moment. It doesn’t even matter if you were happy during that time, or completely unhappy. Either way, transitioning into what is next, can show up as quite a challenge, with moments of excitement, filled in with moments of worry.

Worrying means you have lost faith.

In order to create change, or transition into something that is new, you need to have faith that it will all work out just as it is supposed to.
The first step in transitioning into something new is to be prepared.

1 - Have a complete plan of how you would like to get started.

2 – Plan what steps you can follow as you go.

3 – Create a timeline of when you will complete and/or attempt things.

4 – Design a picture of what you would like it to look and feel like when you arrive.

The most important part is to focus on where you want to be and how you want to feel. Don’t give any attention to the other parts: worries, fears, anxiousness…simply thank those thoughts for showing up, and then start moving. New exciting beginnings are just around the corner.

"Fear. The Gateway to Meaningful Change."

Surprisingly, there is a positive energy about that quote, yet when you feel fear, you feel sick, motionless, paralyzed, and sweaty as the adrenalin rushes and your knees seem to wobble from underneath you. If only we could see that change is just around the corner.

When faced with fears, we are quick to name it appropriately and add it to the fear list: being alone, becoming sick, failure, admitting defeat, letting others down, being embarrassed, dying, getting hurt, being rejected…there are a million things to fear, yet some we do and others we don’t. But it isn’t the list of what you fear that matters, it is what you do once standing in fear that really matters.

Why? Because what you do while standing in fear will declare your level of success, as well as your level of happiness. Think about it. Perhaps you have always wanted to learn to swim, but have a fear of drowning. What do you do? You either choose not to swim, which will not eliminate your fear, but allow you to skirt around it, or you learn to swim, which will not only eliminate your fear, but allow you to be healthy and strong as well. One choice leaves you standing still, while the other moves you into action.

Many fears come from mental creations, that aren’t reality based. For instance, even if we haven’t experienced a near death drowning, the fear of drowning is very real. We may never have fallen while skiing, yet we choose not to ski for fear we might fall. These examples come from things we have seen or heard about, yet may not have personally experienced. Remotely similar to our innate fear of change, even if we haven’t experienced a bad situation directly related to change, we still fear what could happen: from leaving our marriages, finding new jobs, to trying out new things. They all force us to face one question: What if…What if what we hope to have happen, doesn’t occur at all? What if instead, the change creates an even worse situation?

There is a what if story for every scenario possible, but what you choose to fill in those dots with, is what matters most. We are famous for filling it in with negative consequences, but what if the only list you make, is of the possible positive consequences. If there aren’t any positive consequences, then you should rethink the change, but chances are good that if you have been contemplating the change, you have also visualized the possible positive outcomes that could occur.

The next thing to do is embrace the fear. Take it on as if you own it, not as if it owns you. Then stand tall and look it straight in the eyes. Lastly, look carefully at how long you have been talking about this change. How long you have been unsatisfied in this area of your life, yet have continued to tolerate it, due to your fears. What if…you could look straight into your fear, and move forward anyway, in spite of it? Then you would truly get to see what’s possible.

I continue to battle with fears just like everyone else and am fortunate enough to have children who have been trained by...me! So after my bike accident and near-missing oncoming traffic, I talked to my children about my own fears. I even considered quitting triathlons altogether, just to avoid getting back on the bike. Yet it was my son that offered a reality check.

“If you’re waiting for the fear to subside, before getting back on the bike, you can forget about it. It won't happen," he said. "Get the bike fixed and then get on.”

Luckily for me I knew enough to listen to him. I also knew that I had said those very words to others as well and that it was sound advice. There was only one way to compete in my next triathlon and it was to get on my bike, in spite of my fear. It was to focus on what I wanted…to ride…not what I didn’t want…to fall. And so I did just that. I stood in the face of my fear, got my bike fixed and rode.

Fear can propel us into action, as long as we don't stand still when it comes at us. Haven’t you been standing still long enough? Today, face your fear and allow the change to occur…the possibilities will surprise you.

Investments that Matter

You work hard and are successful.

But what if the success you are truly capable of has barely been touched?

Do you have a support team? Do you have someone that expands on your thoughts, supports your ideas and holds you accountable for your action plans?

Why not?

The mind is a dark and dangerous place…don’t go there alone!

Clearly you have the drive it takes to achieve success, but what if you’ve barely touched upon what is possible? With the support of a Coach, you will experience success more efficiently and effectively. You will find yourself in constant motion, with fresh ideas and new perspectives. You will have two minds, working as one!

In order to be successful as a Business Owner, you will constantly need to assess whether something is an investment or an expense. Investments are critical to a successful future. Expenses can often wait. That’s what you need to decide: Is a successful business something you want to own and control? Or are you willing to take a gamble and see where it lands?

“Having a Coach is the difference between knowing what to do…and doing it.”

Cheryl Patnick, President of Capella Consultants

A Business Coach is perfect for:

· Helping successful business people exceed their expectations.

· Refining and building upon existing skills and talents.

· Increasing profitability, projecting confidence and organizing time better.

· Creating a successful system that fosters business now, while planting the necessary seeds for the future.

The value of having a Business Coach speaks for itself even in the very first session.

The time is now. It is later than you think.

The Road to Nowhere

Are you sure?

I am often asked how I am remain so positive no matter what seems to be going on around me. I am asked if I have some super human powers, or if I am simply a dreamer and it happens to work in my favor. My answer to that question doesn’t come as instinctively as my ability to think positively.

This morning the answer came to me clearly though, as I sat at my mac, and decided to change my screen saver. After scrolling through a few pictures, I found the perfect one. The photo actually made me stop and stare in almost a trance. It made me wonder, think and question. It silenced my ever-running mind that always thinks it has the answers. It stopped me in a place of question, yet in a place of comfort as well.

It was a black and white photo with a wooden pier that I guessed to be about 20-30 feet long. Surrounding it was a calm body of water that forced my eyes to stare into the distance and see nothing else but more and more water. The only land to be seen was a small area of sand near the beginning of the pier. An area so small, that my eyes had difficulty staying there.

I immediately could hear voices of worry from clients and friends looking at this same photo. I imagined them expressing feelings of concern about being alone or abandoned. I could hear their voices saying there was no reason to keep looking, since it was a road to nowhere. Yet as I continued to look, I could not see the picture of emptiness that most might see. I was not met with fears as I gazed down the pier. I was not engrossed with worry about what lurked in the open space. Instead, what I saw was very similar to how I see life.

It was not a road to nowhere, but rather, a road to anywhere. It was not a body of water that had nothing to offer, but rather a body of water that held opportunities that could not yet be seen. I was clear from this viewpoint, that all could not be seen, but that there was definitely more. I was confident that what lie in the unknown, had the potential to be great and felt comfort in the possibility of being able to create it any way that I wanted.

Check your road again. Is it really the road to nowhere? Or are the possibilities so endless, you are afraid to look?