Try this quick  business personal development experiment:

Make a fist and clench it as tightly as you can. Hold it for at  least 30 seconds, longer if you can. Be present with the sensation…. feel your nails digging into your skin, feel the tightness in your knuckles and feel the discomfort in your wrist. Can you sense dis-ease elsewhere in your body? It’s not very pleasant but do it anyway.

Then slowly, very slowly, relax your fist and allow your fingers to unfold until your palm is open and facing upwards. Keep your hand and fingers relaxed. Be present with the sensation…. feel the relief as your hand opens, feel the air around your fingers and the easing in your joints. Can you feel the tension being released elsewhere in your body?

Sometimes we can be so obsessed with our businesses, so attached to the outcomes and desperate to make things work, that we start to operate in much the same way as your clenched fist. We become fixated with business and in so doing can neglect other areas of our lives. We stop making time to exercise, eat properly, get enough rest, relax and spend meaningful time with friends and family. In short we only have time for business and nothing else. Of course we must be passionate about what we do but this means loving what we do not having it dominate our lives to the exclusion of everything else, that’s called obsession!

You may be thinking that you do manage to spend time away from your business but do you really or are you still there mentally,  thinking about what you need to do next, maybe even problem solving at the same time as reading little Johnny his good night story? The problem is we can be so good at multi-tasking that it can become a habit we are not even aware of.  When we don’t give ourselves the gift of space away from our businesses, not only are we not looking after ourselves but we are also not giving others quality time and attention either.

Now think back to your clenched fist. Is there any way at all that something could have found a way into your palm like that? Hardly likely if you were clenching as I instructed. However the moment you started to relax and let the tightness go, any number of  things may have found their way into your palm because you were open to receiving them.

In the same way we need to create time and space away from what we are doing so we can receive new ideas and solutions to make our businesses better and stronger too.  Have you ever tried to recall something that you can’t? It can be very frustrating because no matter how obsessed you are with remembering you just can’t. Then when you finally give up thinking about it, suddenly it comes to mind. That’s because you relaxed enough to let your brain find what you were looking for. Just think about all the business innovations you could be missing out on because you are not giving yourself the space to receive them?

Take time on a daily and weekly basis to create quality space away from your business. It does not matter what you do as long as you know for sure that you are not still thinking about business. You could see a movie, watch your favorite TV program, read a book, play a game with your kids, go dancing with your partner, meditate or simply stare into space. Whatever you do make sure you create space so that you can be open to receiving and you’ll be amazed at how many little gems come your way.

What are your thoughts about creating space away from your business? Is it important to you? How do  you do this? Please leave me a comment as I’d love to hear from you.

As usual, my goal is helping you achieve yours!

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Technorati Tags: Business Personal Development, Mindset For Business, personal development

Learning to become successful in business is filled with many opportunities to learn along the way, usually disguised as challenges and failure. From time to time one can feel overwhelmed by these and want to give up. This is precisely when you want to find the strength from wherever you can to stay focused on your dream and goals, knowing that what you are going through is a necessary part of the process and will be well worth the pain. This is also why you have to be absolutely convinced about what it is you want. When this is strong enough you will do whatever it takes. Everybody goes through times when they feel like giving up so be prepared for it, create a strategy you can implement as soon as this feeling raises its head. It’s best to have a few different tools to get you through the dark. Personally I love a good ‘rev up’ inspirational speech and the video below always makes me feel ready to conquer anything. Enjoy…

Technorati Tags: Business Personal Development, Mindset For Business

Anybody who tells you they never feel frustrated with aspects of their network marketing business is talking hogwash. Things don’t always go our way. This is just a fact of life. Rather than react to frustrations which often leads to negative behavior we must rather try to respond to the feelings and emotions that arise out these frustrations in the best way possible. This is an example of what is meant by having the right business mindset.

For example, today I decided to make a video for a new capture page I want to publish. When I got to the camera, I realized I had forgotten to recharge it which meant that I was not be able to do what I had planned for a number of hours. I experienced great frustration with the situation. In fact I felt anger, a need to blame someone and sudden and extreme agitation with everything.

At this point I was faced with a number of options: I could take my frustration out on someone else, ‘beat myself up’ for not recharging the camera or deal with the situation calmly and logically. Fortunately this time I was able to use some tools and techniques I have learned about to control my frustration.

The first thing I did was take in a few deep breaths which cleared my mind and my body. As I breathed out I could feel the tension start to leave me physically. This was enough time for me to interrupt any possible inappropriate expressions of my feelings which could so easily have hurt someone else or myself.

Sometimes when the negative feelings hang around, you may need to take more time. You might want to take a brisk walk for 10 min or listen to a soothing piece of music.  During this extra time-out, one has the space to contemplate one’s own role in the situation. When and only when you know that you are feeling calmer then you can express how you feel in healthier ways. This may require talking to someone else but it could also just be an act of self expression. You could say it out loud, write it down or simply think it.  Whichever way you choose, you would be acknowledging that what has happened cannot be changed. You did the best you could under the circumstances otherwise you would have done things differently.  You forgive yourself and maybe next time you will be able to do something in another way to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Now you are ready to continue with your day rather than have upset others and yourself for no reason.

Live the life you love and love the life you live!

Technorati Tags: Mindset For Business, Network Marketing

Whether you are in business or not, life is pretty full on for most of us. To better able us to be more effective and efficient it is so essential we spend time rejuvenating ourselves.

An online dictionary I use and find very useful,  https://www.dictionary.com has a few definitions for the word, REJUVENATION,  but the one I most like is “to give new life or energy”.

That is exactly what we want to do, manage our energy so that we are able to replenish it. I find the best way to do this, is do something completely different from I am currently doing. This allows me to disconnect from what I have been preoccupied with and  “just let go” . It can be something that takes as little as a few minutes or much much longer.

Sundays are principally my days to rejuvenate myself although I also make sure I do so on all other days of the week.

Today being a Sunday, was such a day. One of my favourite  activities is to walk from Clovelly Beach to Bondi Beach on the east coast of Sydney. It takes about an hour. What I most love is to feel the sun on my face, smell the sea salt in the air, hear the crashing of the waves and just observe so many people having fun.  Today I did this walk with friends. We enjoyed a great lunch at Bondi Beach and then walked back again.

As I was walking I noticed a whole lot of different ways in which people were rejuvenating themselves. It made me also feel grateful for living where I do.  So here is what I saw plus a few other ways you can rejuvenate yourself too:

1. Take a long walk.

2. Play a game. It could even be a game of cards!

3. Lie on the beach. (Don't forget sun protection!)

4. Have lunch with some friends.

5. Get some exercise.

6. Have a good laugh!

7. Meditate or daydream.

8. B R E A T H E  in and out deeply ten times.

9. Get a good night’s sleep.

10. Take a holiday.

You are the only one who can rejuvenate yourself so stop whatever you are doing and take a break!

Live the life you love and love the life you live!

Technorati Tags: Business Personal Development, Meditate, Mindset For Business, Rejuvenate, Sleep, Stress, Walk