When I’m in my office, I want to feel on top of things.
I imagine it like I’m rowing across a sparkling blue ocean on a beautiful clear day. There’s a lot happening underneath the surface, but on top, it’s clear, spacious and beautiful, as the boat moves steadily forward.
…Unfortunately, what I often feel is: overwhelmed, squashed in and crowded, like I’m drowning under piles of papers and suffocating amidst the pressure of unfinished tasks.
When it gets this bad, you’ll often find me taking the laptop to the kitchen or the dining room table, to avoid the office altogether!
So, what do you do when your space feels so bad that you’d rather run away than clean it up? (more…)
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It’s really uncomfortable to be needy. Especially needing approval. Most of us cover it up because if people knew how much we needed approval… Well, they might not approve of us, right?
But it’s the covering up that makes it harder to access and heal. And that ultimately keeps you from shining, unselfconsciously, as your glorious self!
Let me give an example…
The other day, I was having lunch with a bunch of friends who are also colleagues. People I respect and admire. We were outdoors enjoying the sunshine and I mentioned how I was really excited about a recent insight I had about myself, which had implications for my business. I started to explain, in a bit of detail, exactly what had shifted for me.
I didn’t realize it, but even though I was trying to be casual about it, I was really seeking acknowledgement for this ‘big insight’ which was important to me.
Thing is, this was a casual lunchtime conversation. And, to be honest, the inner workings of my psyche were not top of the agenda for the people I was with. They kinda just nodded and moved on.
My earth-shaking news… fizzled. (more…)
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You know what it’s like…
When the workload feels too high, the to-do list too long, the income too low, the client too challenging, the contractor too unreliable, the project too overwhelming…
It’s pretty natural to feel hopeless and helpless when circumstances outside of your control are frustrating the projects that are closest to your heart…
It happens to the best of us… (but there is a way through!)
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How often have you said to yourself, “I know what I need to do, I just can’t seem to… (you can fill in the blank)“
For example, one of my clients this week put it this way:
“I know I deserve to make good money in my business. I have the skills and I can even visualise it happening. But when it comes to the crunch, I just keep seeming to sabotage myself.”
Or another friend of mine recently shared:
“I know I’m worthwhile, but I just keep getting down about myself. It’s so frustrating!”
Maybe you can relate to one of these scenarios, or maybe you can think of other examples from your own life – where knowing the answer isn’t enough to solve the problem.
If knowledge is power, why does it sometimes seem to work against you?
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Ok, so I’ve had a tough month. Business-wise.
Well, actually, life-wise. As in life has been happening, bringing a confluence of intense challenges. And in tending to the needs of the moment, my business has practically ground to a halt.
I actually started wondering if this was some kind of ‘divine sign’ that I should give it up altogether…
Thankfully, I got another ‘divine sign’ that suggested something else entirely… (more…)
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Have you heard that story about the professor who fills a jar first with larger stones, then with pebbles, then sand? There’s various versions of it around on the internet, but here’s one to remind you:
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 5 centimeters in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full?
They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was.
The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognise that this is your life…
“The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
Anon.
The last few weeks have been incredibly intense here. I mentioned a few posts ago that I’m pregnant… And in addition to the usual exhaustion, nausea and constant hunger, I’ve faced the scare of threatened miscarriage, followed by minor surgery to protect the pregnancy, and post-operative migraines as the spinal anaesthetic wore off.
So, um, business… What’s that again?
This week I feel relatively normal for the first time in ages (hooray!)… And I’ve had some moments to reflect on what it all means for me and for Soul Business. To have to grind to a halt for a month or more, then pick up the pieces and re-evaluate.
I’ve learned some powerful lessons for Soul Business. And I suspect they might be helpful for you and your business too… (more…)
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Have you ever had a dream that puts a fire in your belly? A project that lights you up from the inside, and keeps you awake at night, planning, scheming… You can work for hours as if no time has passed…. It’s the kind of work you would do for free, even if you are getting paid. It’s more than a project, it’s a passion.
Sometimes, with a big dream, you invest months – even years – planning, putting the pieces into place, building the deck, hiring the crew, testing the boat to see if it’s seaworthy… But in the end, no plan or scheme can test your dream like reality can…. Eventually, you just have to launch it.
Then what happens?
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Have you ever found that you have an important business decision to make… and you just can’t quite bring yourself to move ahead in any direction…
It might be a simple thing, like finding the right wording for your brochure. Or it could involve a larger investment, like choosing someone to build your website, or hiring someone to help grow your business.
In fact, none of these decisions are a small matter. When you need your business to work (to pay the bills for a start), the stakes can feel pretty high… And the longer you procrastinate, the less people get to read your flyer / see your website.
Ouch. It’s a pretty uncomfortable crunch.
So why do people hesitate at the crossroads so much? And how do you move forward from that place, without procrastinating too long, or compromising the quality of what you hope to achieve?
(more…)
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