"Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life.
It starts with recognizing your talents and finding
ways to serve others by using them."
~ Thomas Kinkade
It starts with recognizing your talents and finding
ways to serve others by using them."
~ Thomas Kinkade
How To Avoid The Biggest Source of Business Stress
By Marie Forleo
That was all I could think about as I held the phone to my ear and listened to this woman's response to my simple question, "What are you currently doing to bring money into your business?"
Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, I got a call from well-connected woman. She's a mother, author, speaker and long-time feminine activist. She's attracted uber high profile supporters to endorse her work, and was about to launch full tilt into a book promo tour.
She called to get my insight on business strategy. Specifically, she wanted ideas to help her organization make more money. So far, so good.
But after a few minutes into our call, a wrenching knot formed in my stomach because I recognized a deadly addiction in her. One that I've seen in many entrepreneurs, including myself.
It's the addiction to too many damn projects. And more specifically, the addiction to too many damn unfinished projects that aren't making money.
This addiction, in turn, fuels one of the biggest sources of business stress in existence: overwhelm. Self-generated, self-sustaining overwhelm.
Many working women have a nasty habit of generating massive overwhelm by saying yes to too many projects without spending nearly enough time discerning exactly how those projects fit into their overall profit picture or their overall lifestyle picture.
Well-meaning, I'm-here-to-change-the-world-kind-of-women, in particular, struggle with this issue.
Here's the deal. If you want a highly profitable business and you want to enjoy the sweet fruits of your labor, you've got to handle your addiction to too many damn projects.
The great news is that a few small changes in your approach will net you both immediate and long term results. As a recovering too-many-damn-projects addict myself, here are four steps to get you started right now.
Step 1. Know exactly what you want.
Do you know exactly what you want to create in your business? How much revenue and profit you'd like to earn over the next 12 months? Do you know what products and or services you'll sell to reach those goals? Can you clearly and quickly articulate this to someone who could help you get what you want?
If so, hooray for you. Keep it front and center at all times.
If not, it's time to figure this out. Now.
I often tell my clients, "I can help you create whatever you want as long as you can clearly tell me what that is."
You've got genius in you. If you're one of those people locked in "Help . . . I don't know what I want!" land, I promise that somewhere within you, you do.
Sometimes your true desires need to be coaxed it out. Play, experiment, and explore. Talk about it out loud. Try different things on for size. Use your intuition and be honest with yourself. Sometimes just the act of writing things down on paper is enough to bring massive clarity.
Do this now.
If you don't know exactly what you want, grab a notebook and pen and use the following prompts get clarity now. Write whatever comes to mind and don't edit yourself. The only way to do this "wrong" is to not do it at all.
- I want to create ____________ in my business this year.
- Over the next 12 months, I want to generate ___________ in revenue and ___________in profit.
- I'll need to sell the following mix of products and services, at the following prices in order to reach my goal.
Step 2. Be brutally honest about what it takes.
Get real with yourself on how much time, money and effort anything you say yes to actually takes to get done. Why?
Because most of us say yes to things before really thinking through exactly what we're in for.
We chronically underestimate what it takes to complete projects in terms of time, money and effort. All too often, we wind up overwhelmed and underfunded. Then we quit.
Or worse, we have a slew of partially complete, non-money making projects renting valuable space in our heads, our hearts and our hard drives.
Like any home renovation project, a good rule of thumb is that most business projects take much longer and cost way more than you initially thought.
Make it a habit to say yes with your eyes wide open.
Step 3. Create white space.
I don't know about you, but I find it near impossible to work when there's clutter around. Any kind of clutter: physical, mental, emotional or psychological. Inner chaos creates outer chaos and vice versa.
The fix? Cultivate what I affectionately call white space. Areas of your world that are open, clean, and simple.
Over the past month I've been methodically clearing out every square inch of my physical and energetic life including my homes, my finances, my books, my calendar, my inbox, my refrigerator, my future projects, my computer files, my project list, my daily tasks, my systems and my yearly business goals.
It's intense and amazing to realize how much stuff accumulates if you don't actively clear space.
Wanna see instant results?
Start with your physical environment. You'll get an immediate energy boost that can last for days. Chose one physical area to clear out, like a closet, and go to town. Seriously. Do this right now.
Don't stop until you can't possibly throw away or donate another item. Muy importante: don't wuss out, get sentimental and hang onto things just in case. What remains should only be what you absolutely love and must have.
Step 4. Get a first class ticket on the "No Train."
If you live in constant state of business overwhelm, it's essential to get yourself on what I affectionately call the "No Train" as soon as possible.
When you're on the "No Train," you allow no to be your initial response to new projects, new requests or new demands on your time. This is especially helpful if you have a backlog of old tasks and projects you've agreed to but have not yet completed.
And don't worry. You don't have to ride the "No Train" forever. You can certainly get off for a quick stop if a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes along (though these are rare). Think of your time on the "No Train" a much needed business colonic.
Important tip: Once you get on the "No Train," be prepared as you'll still experience overwhelm for the next few weeks to a month because you'll still have to complete all the projects you committed to a long time ago.
If you know it's time to get on the "No Train", declare it now. Tell your assistant, your team, your coach, your family - anyone who can support you.
The best part of this strategy is that you'll become hyper aware of your addiction to take on too much stuff and you'll begin to break that nasty pattern once and for all.
So there you have it. Four simple, yet powerful steps to help you avoid one of the biggest sources of business stress: self-generated overwhelm. Of course, this list isn't comprehensive, but it will get you on the road to recovery starting now.
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