| Newsletter 2008 - January |
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Welcome to the January 2008 issue of EZSteps!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A quarterly e-zine from Susan Urquhart-Brown, M.A Career and Business Success Coach Author of The Accidental Entrepreneur More information at http://www.careersteps123.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. EZ Tip: Keep your New Year Resolutions Fresh! 2. The Magic Formula for Success: INTUITION & INTENTION 3. Notable Quotables 4. Stay Tuned! Susan’s book is being published by AMACOM Books in April 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EZ TipKeep your New Year Resolutions Fresh! When I took down my Christmas tree in early January, I noticed that the needles were very, very dry. When I put the tree up it was so fresh and inviting. Just like the Christmas tree, my New Year’s resolutions are fresh, inviting, and energizing, yet even now they are beginning to wilt a a bit. Here are some ideas to keep your resolutions fresh and top of mind all through 2008: 1. Get a resolution support buddy. Give each other a written copy of your biggest resolutions for 2008. Agree to call each other regularly to check in on each other’s progress. Call even if you’ve been slacking a bit and give each other an energy boost. 2. Find a fun way to reward yourself for following through. If your resolutions become a “have to” instead of a “get to”, you probably won’t reach your goals. 3. Prioritize! If you find that you were too ambitious on Jan. 1, take a good look at your list and choose to focus on your biggest, most exciting resolution and put your energy into achieving that one! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Magic Formula for Success: INTUITION & INTENTION Have you ever noticed that you have a small inner voice of guidance? I call this intuition. Perhaps you’ve heard this inner voice during meditation or even when you’re driving or perhaps just after you wake up in the morning. When I listen I have trust and faith that my intention for my business will happen. I am clear this inner guidance or intuition is my business partner! It’s easy when business is going well. Harder to follow your own inner guidance when business and/or you life is challenging. For example, I once had three projects cancel at the same time through no fault of mine. What I have learned to do is to ask: What is the learning here? What might be open to me that wouldn’t have been if I were busy with those projects? I am able to give myself the gift of focus, I have renewed energy to move forward even though my business expectations were not met. In this case, I realized that I had been doing these same 3 projects in similar venues many times before. It was time to stretch myself in a new way. I took the time to develop talks with the message from this book and many opportunities opened for paid speaking engagements. This is the magic I’m talking about. Intention is like a vision. It is connected with your passion and you can see it, taste it, feel it, and know it is so, but you’re not sure how you’ll get there. When your purpose becomes clear, you can align it with your vision for your business and the magic starts happening. Then achieving your intention seems much easier and in some cases effortless. Sounds good but how do you do it? Opportunities continually appear or show up in business. The key is to recognize them and act on them. When you have clarity of purpose and know what you want, it is much easier to know which opportunities will further your vision. That’s why I recommend that you SCAN for opportunities, SCOUT for new learnings, experiment and test, try different options and STEER in the direction that best fits your vision. As I see it, INTENTION = clearly focused CHOICE Going with the Flow: One thing that is essential as a business owner is to take a vacation at least once a year-- for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. Every year, my family goes to a family camp in the Sierra foothills in California. One day while floating on my raft in the local river near camp, I had a revelation. No one was there except me and the magnificence of nature. I was floating, not steering. Wow! I had set my course—floating yet knowing I could steer myself away from the waterfall or tangle of weeds or rocks at any time. I kept my awareness alert and relaxed into the bliss of floating. I was going with the flow, where the current was taking the raft with me on it. Yet, all it took was a few hand paddles and I could steer in another direction with no fear or efforting. Floating is a great metaphor for intention. It doesn’t mean taking the path of least resistance. But it is a metaphor for clarifying your direction as specifically as possible; then making adjustments as you move along—manifesting your intention. Challenges come along (like getting tangled in the weeds), but you make adjustments and move onward. Like the raft, you can control the paddle but not the current. Hardly anyone or any form of transportation reaches the destination in a straight line; a sailboat tacks, a train goes around or through mountains, etc. Keep your intention or destination in sight and in your heart. Just keep going with the flow. If you bump into an obstacle, it’s a reminder to re-evaluate and choose what’s next. Resistance: But when you are not going with the flow, fear arises: I can call it resistance. It shows up for me even though I have chosen my direction, the project, or giving a talk! Why? Because it means change and not knowing how I’m going to make it happen. It can stop me in my tracks! I love this unofficial definition of fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. One thing that helps when fear stops you is to just move your feet. Take one baby step toward your intention; keep moving one step at a time just like adjusting your raft’s direction. I’ve found that once I take a step, the very next step appears. I take that step and the very next step appears. Energy begins to build, ideas come to me, people show up to support me and I ask for the help I need. I am better able to listen to my intuition, that inner guidance whispering encouragement. Remember: Intention only becomes real through clarity and doing something about it! Take the steps to manifest your intention and allow it to happen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notable Quotables Food for Thought: Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud. – Hermann Hesse, 1877-1962, German Writer Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness. – George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-born American Philosopher Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940, American Author ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Susan Sightings! Stay Tuned!Susan self published The Accidental Entrepreneur in 2004. AMACOM Books picked it up. It has been revised, updated, and includes learnings and ideas from 20 plus successful entrepreneurs as well as a new section on marketing your business via the internet. It is due out in book stores nationally and on Amazon in early April 2008. We will keep you posted about book talks and events . The new title of the book is: The Accidental Entrepreneur: 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me about Starting a Business Contact us at 510-654-4352 www.careersteps123.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Susan Urquhart-Brown, M. A. Career Steps Consulting & Coaching "Put Your Passion and Power to Work!" Oakland, CA 510-654-4352 Individual Career & Business Coaching & Business Success Team Seminars Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Copyright (C) 2008 Career Steps Consulting. All rights reserved. |