Blog Archives

Here Are My Favorite Tools To Figure Things Out

The past two years have been hard on everyone. Regardless of who you are or where you live, some area of your life has been challenged.

So how do you move forward when you can barely get through your day? How do you gain momentum when obstacles always seem to arise?

Perhaps, you want to expand your business but you ‘can’t’ do business development because you’re too busy working ‘in’ your business. You may want to improve your relationships and increase your quality time with your spouse and kids but you ‘can’t’ because of their extracurricular activities and your company’s latest initiatives. You want to pursue your dream career, but you’re too busy in the fog today to see your bright dream for tomorrow.

You’re frustrated because you feel like you’re trying, but you’re getting nowhere and have little confidence of things changing. Who has experienced any of these situations before?

The following five steps will help you when life has served you the proverbial lemons, and you are ready to make some lemonade!

1. Get real. Stop hoping for it to change, and stop trying to outrun your noticeable problem or to-do list. If you’ve been operating under the guise that your day is a race to be won like many highly functioning, driven individuals, this is a sign you’re working from desperation versus inspiration. The problem with this approach is it never yields a high return on investment. It’s time for a change. Next…

2. Slow it way down. This may feel counter-intuitive. It is. Just when you think you need to speed up, it’s really time to slow way down and answer the important questions. Are you in line with where you want to go? Are you clear of what is truly not working or are you mis-diagnosing the problem completely? Slow down to observe what is “really” happening. So that you can…

3. Diagnose the problem. Seth Godin identifies four reasons we are stuck. 1. We don’t know what to do. 2. We don’t know how to do it 3. We don’t have the authority or resources to do it or 4. We are afraid. Once we figure out what’s getting in the way, it’s far easier to find the answer. “Stuck is a state of mind, and it’s curable.”

4. Rid yourself of vampires. To what drama and minutiae are you attaching yourself that is unneeded, unwarranted and unnecessary? Vampires may take the form of people, old thoughts, negative patterns of behavior, or judgment of self and others. Be courageous. Change what you have control over and let go of the rest. Drop the list of have-to-do’s you never complete, the employee with no desire to change, the client who is less than your ideal, your criticism of where you haven’t gotten to yet, and any negativity you’ve chosen to hold onto until now.

5. Step away. Whenever I find I am in “too deep” to see what is not working, or I’m looking for the five-star answer when life throws me a curve ball, I step away. I often say “you’re not going to be able to think your way out of this one.” The problem is not going to be solved by continuing to stare at it and think it through. Rent a space, go to a spa, find a retreat in the woods, or borrow a friend’s cabin for a day. There you’ll be able to hear your inspired, wise self speak rather than your desperate, critical ego which has been leading you astray.

6. Make a courageous bold move. When we’re driving and we need to make a detour, we don’t turn the wheel slightly. We boldly and courageously make a sharp pull. What bold move do you need to make to course correct? For me, it was to take an additional day off work each week for the summer. The answer was not what my logical thinking mind would have said to do, but as soon as I said it out loud, I knew it was EXACTLY what was required for myself and family.

Bottom line: Don’t wait to find the answer: create it.

Here’s to a chilled glass of lemonade, hot summer-fun and a sizzling life!
Rita

The Single Most Important Factor to Making Money

Lately I’ve heard a lot of people concerned about their finances and money. They are worried and afraid. This fear is generating a horrible stench of desperation which is further destroying actual financial security or the possibility of it.

What perhaps is most interesting to me (yet not surprising) is that the numbers in these worried people’s bank accounts vary from $176.32 to over $20 million.

Despite my thinking in my youth that there was a magic number I could hit that would make me forever financially secure, I was wrong. For as I have seen through my years of coaching individuals, even those who if they didn’t make any money for the next ten years would not be effected, can and often do choose to be worried.

One such young self-made business owner recently sat in my office rationalizing with me that despite having a very sizable bank account and a few million dollars of paid off properties, he would not feel “free” or financially secure until he paid off a relatively small amount on one of his last five commercial properties.

This was a man who had not been to college and at one time played guitar in bars for money. As we talked, he kept trying to prove he wasn’t financially secure yet and that the resulting stress was negatively affecting his marriage. (The latter part, I believed.)

After a few minutes of his one-way conversation, with no persuading by me, he recognized the failure in his logic and started sobbing. In a ‘light bulb moment’ he said, “I already am free.”

He pointed out, “I can sit outside of my workplace in the middle of the day with ideas in my head and the ability to make more money whenever I want it. And I know I can make more money if I need it.”

What he realized was that the number in his bank account never affected his financial security. It had and would always come from his awareness that he can get more money whenever he wants it. This is the same perspective shift necessary for anyone who really wants financial security and well-being.

Why is this perspective change so important? Because, when it comes to money, nearly all of us have learned to protect and motivate ourselves by creating feelings of worry, doubt, fear and even desperation. The problem with this perspective is that it nearly always limits our visions and cuts off our creativity for new means to creating more of it.

Right now the biggest mistake and worst approach with regards to money is “If I worry enough then I will stay safe and keep myself in line to move forward.”

Your internal logic may continue, “If I punish myself regularly for the past, focus on what I did wrong and what I don’t have, the self-flagellation might motivate me.”

Honestly how inspired do you feel to do anything after you have given yourself a healthy dose of criticism?

The problem is that in this space there is little room for creativity or inspiration to create more money or experience true peace.

If you operate with this approach you are also likely seeing the toll it takes not only on your bank account but on your health, happiness and relationships with your family and loved ones.

Many of you might be thinking, “Well I am not a millionaire and I have real bills, kids to put through college, aging parents who need care and a mortgage under water that needs to be paid.”

If you do, I imagine you have at least two or three months before you are without a home. If so, then you have enough time to find your way to add value and make money for doing so.

Here’s the real deal. In order to create true wealth you must master the art of providing service. Identify how you can add value in your current place of employment, your business, or strike out in a new direction to do so.

In summary, financial security doesn’t come from the amount in your bank account. It comes from your ability to get more of it when you want it.

Remember, what got you here is not going to get you there. In other words, continuing to come from your current perspective and approach is not going to transform your life and finances.

Here are four steps to change your relationship to money and to access immediate peace and power regardless of the number in your bank account today.

1. Add value. Wherever you can add value and make a difference in people’s lives, there is money to be made. Find your natural and most fun way to contribute and you’ll secure your financial security.

2. See the abundance that is already around you. If you have five cents in your pocket, be thankful for it rather than putting your focus on what you do not have. Where focus goes, energy flows. Therefore, be specific about where you are putting your focus. It makes a difference on your bottom line.

3. Stay inspired to create more money versus moving into fear and worry about not having it. (It’s amazing the strategies and creative solutions that come from inspiration versus desperation.)

4. Ask the question: “If I knew for a fact, I could create (fill in the amount) in the next three months, what value would I create and where would I exchange it?” Then lean in and begin! Progress is made by engaging not by thinking about it.

The bonus to this shift is that you don’t need the money, but it is fun to have the unique feeling of calm and peace in your life knowing you can get more when you want it!

How To Identify What Project To Do Next

Did you know Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage performance, even when he was seventy-five?

It turns out Henry Fonda was struggling with what Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, calls Resistance. This is a fabulous, must-read book I encourage you to read if you haven’t yet. And if you have, Pressfield just released another book called, Do The Work. I love them both!

What is Resistance?

Resistance is that repelling force that distracts us and prevents us from sitting down to do our best work. It usually occurs when we want to pursue anything creative, launch a new entrepreneurial venture, start a health program, overcome a bad habit, or put a stake in the ground to change anything for the better.

I’m familiar with Resistance. I recently had my own bout with it when I was, once again, looking to expand my team at Rita Hyland Coaching.

Before I hired my new Communications Director I procrastinated trying to “think it through,” (a commonly used tool Resistance employs as the ultimate distraction.)

I waged on, nonetheless. I did the work; I completed the process of posting, interviewing, and deciding on who to extend the offer.

Then, it was time to make the hiring call to offer the position.

Suddenly, I had a touch of nausea, sprinkled with a pinch of chest palpitations which crescendoed into an ever-so-slight bit of hyperventilation. I was E-X-T-R-E-M-E-L-Y uncomfortable stepping off into this unknown territory despite knowing it was EXACTLY what I must do. Have you ever had that feeling?

I went through with the call despite Resistance’s antics, and hired my new Communications Director, Melodee, to overcome and win the battle with Resistance—for the day.

What was interesting to me throughout the experience, was watching myself like a fish flailing on the ground desperate to get air.

Unlike the fish, however, the safety of my life was not threatened though I was acting like it was. I could see how irrational I was being, yet the thought of changing and expanding my comfort zone was creating a physical response both real and intense. None of the obvious logic could talk me off the ledge.

What I’ve learned is that there is a real physiological experience that takes place in our bodies when we seek to grow and expand. Simply put, a rush of serotonin and other chemicals enter the cells, sending messages that trigger the building of new neural pathways in the brain. I won’t explain it more scientifically than that. The point is our bodies engage in a REAL physiological expansion process.

In essence, moving through Resistance is like experiencing a growing pain.

So what’s the best way to manage a growing pain? Breathe. Feel the discomfort, but whatever you do–don’t run. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable for it is just temporary.

As we all know, growing pains pass. And once the pain passes, we have new stronger bones and muscles from which to catapult.

Pressman shares his rule of thumb: “The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel pursuing it.”

So how do you know which project to tackle first? Choose the project that will stretch you; the one that is most scary and will throw you into unchartered waters.

And take note: if you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do. The more Resistance you experience, the more important the project or work is to you and the more you will gain from it once you do it.

You’re wrong if we think you’re the only one struggling with Resistance. It’s universal. “If you have a body you have Resistance,” Pressfield states.

I’ve learned the danger of Resistance is greatest when the finish line is in sight. That is when it is easiest (and most common) to deploy our safety nets and run. Be on high alert for this. Then sit down and do what you are being called to do!

It’s always a party on the other side of Resistance!

Talk soon,
Rita

P.S. Through May 30th, you can download to your Kindle a FREE copy of Do The Work by Steven Pressfield by going to www.amazon.com.

How To Confront Your Secret Addiction To Low-Value Work And Pounce On Your Priorities (once and for all)

Are you addicted to low-value work?

Last week I was speaking with a seasoned Fortune 500 manager who told me he continues to struggle to find the time to work on his priorities, that is, his high-value work – both personal and professional.

Whether he wants to create the global strategy for a new product or create more quality moments with his two daughters, he claims he doesn’t have the time. Can you relate?

I could see right away that my client’s challenge was further exacerbated because for years he had mis-diagnosed it; he believed he was suffering from a “time management problem.”

I disagreed. No. His was a more subtle and less sexy problem than that.

If it was just a time-management problem, he as a smart man in a multi-million dollar company with enough time management training programs and resources to run from dusk to dawn every day for a year, would have successfully tackled this problem by now.

He agreed and added, “I have been to several high-level management courses, workshops, and a week of Steven Covey training. You’re right. Time management is not my problem.”

But then what was it?

After a little exploring, my client uncovered that he was addicted to low-leverage, low-fulfillment tasks. Eben Pagan refers to this work as ZERO or NEGATIVE value work.

My client does not suffer alone from this problem. I’ve seen many smart, driven, and results-oriented individuals, spend too much of their time on low-leverage, low-fulfillment tasks.

But what’s far more important to understand is why we do it.

The answer is simple. We spend time on the unimportant (pretending its urgent) to avoid the important high-value work because we are scared.

Let’s face it: High-value work is scary.

We’re scared to make the sales calls, connect with the contact, write the piece, build the strategy, send off the proposal, or uncover the answers to our true heart’s desires.

After all, we may fail, we may get rejected. Frankly, it’s much easier and certainly safer to dabble in low-value work.

The lack of time has been used as a scapegoat for too long.

When we confront the real reason we avoid our dreams and high-value work, we can make the conscious decisions that allow us to pounce on priorities and release our Genius! Coming from our Genius we acheive, contribute and experience fulfillment at our highest levels!

Here are six actions steps to identify what and why you are avoiding your high-value work and to unleash your own Genius.

Step 1 Admit it. You are avoiding and postponing your high-value work and dreams for a future date. Write down the priority you are avoiding.

Step 2 Ask yourself, “What am I concerned or afraid might happen if I complete or achieve what I’m avoiding?”

Step 3 Get real. Answer: “What is the likelihood of those fears becoming real?” (Studies show 98% of our fears never come to fruition.) And if they do, what action will I take next?

Step 4 Identify the steps you can take to avoid or mitigate those obstacles. For example, do more preparation, consult an expert, get the help you need.

Step 5 Don’t leap in. Lean in. Tip toward doing it by identifying that first step and then let gravity take over. It just takes one lean to get the momentum going. In the case of my client, he agreed to schedule appointments to consult with two experts to work through his strategy.

Step 6 Schedule it. Until a goal has a date with it, it is just an idea. It’s not real. Put a realistic date on the calendar. Even better break up the one goal into many and schedule each. Become great friends with your calendar. She’ll hold you to it!

Bottom line: The first step to any problem is acknowledging you have one. Come clean by sharing your story of how your addiction to the minutiae and low-value work keeps you stuck and what you do to break free.

I always love hearing from you!

With loads of love,
Rita

Do you ‘Do You?’

Thank you for all of the great questions you’ve been sending for “Ask Rita Live.” Keep ‘em coming.

Last night I looked over those questions you’ve sent and that I haven’t gotten to yet. I was seeking “the question behind the question” and I found a common thread.

You might THINK your question is a technical one about how to get what you really want in your business, your career, and your relationships, but there’s really something more behind it actually.

It’s something I see a lot of people struggling with, and it has to do with something I call “doing you.”

I was introduced to this idea of “Do You” when I was browsing titles in a book store. You may not know this but Russell Simmons (the hip hop mogul) wrote a personal development book? It’s called “Do You!” I still haven’t read it. But once I heard the title, it stuck in my mind. It’s a very simple way to sum up a complex topic.

See a lot of your questions are REALLY questions about “doing you”—or more specifically, your fears around doing so. I’ve received many questions from you along these lines…how can I get paid to do what I love? How do I figure out what I want? How do I improve the relationship I’m in or attract someone who really loves me? How do I improve my leadership at work? How do I love this life I’m living?

Here’s your answer: If you want to take your business, career, and relationships (read life) to the next level, “DO YOU!”

Because who do people really want to connect with? Who do people really want to be led by, to buy from, or be in a relationship with?

Answer: They want you!

Remember, it is irresistibly attractive to be you even with your quirks and mistakes. Those actually make you more real and lovable.

It’s not how clever you were, or how beautiful your outfit or website was, or if you got it all “right” at the company meeting…

No. No it’s not.

There’s a saying “people may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Yes, its’ cheesy but its also dead-on true, no matter what you do.

If you want to be truly memorable, and (as Seth Godin puts it) remarkable, you absolutely have to put YOU into your business, career, and relationships.

Now here’s the rub: this can be scary! Because it involves putting yourself out there in a really, authentic, and often vulnerable way.

But I also want to let you know that the payoff is WORTH IT! It is worth moving through your fear to hear and experience the ones that say WOW you really made a difference in how I am able to connect and enjoy my customers, my direct reports, my spouse, myself! Wow, you really opened up a world to me that shows me how good life can get!

I want you to think about this – what are your fears? What has happened when you’ve put yourself out there — in a Real way instead of hiding behind a cool or corporate façade?

Bottom line: It’s time to “Do You.”

Action step: In the next 24 hours, find two people, (your direct reports, partner, or clients) and tell them something real about you. Be more upfront, honest, and more personal than you’ve ever been with them. For you go-getters, go ahead and do this for a full week.

Not only will you find ‘doing you’ completely liberating and energizing, you will likely be surprised by the ease, connectedness, and increase to your bottom line that ‘doing you’ elicits.

This is where your results, happiness and fulfillment begin.

May this be your best year of “doing you” ever!

Rita

4 Deadly Pitfalls to Avoid & How To Make Stalling F-O-R-E-V-E-R Obsolete

Have you had this happen lately? You’re thinking of a great idea you want to move on, in fact, you’ve been thinking and talking about it a LOT lately. You’ve even penned it on your other “great-ideas-I’ll-get-to-one-day-list,” but now it sits as just part of the list?

This idea you’re stalling on may not be the world’s next greatest invention (or it could be).

Perhaps you simply want to get additional support in your business or at home, fix up your office for a better working environment, join a program, learn how to market, set up better systems, or finally budget and invest your money.

Below are the four deadliest pitfalls, smart entrepreneurs, business owners and other great ‘idea-generators’ make and how to overcome them F-O-R-E-V-E-R!

Pitfall No 1: Being a non-starter.
Many would-be successful ideas never get out of the gate. Instead owners of great ideas stand on the side-lines. If you haven’t created your plan to take action towards your idea yet, start.

Lean into it. Identify one small step to take in the next 24 hours.
Wait, this is big: schedule your next action step on your calendar.

Pitfall No 2: Waiting Until …
The second mistake is intending to start, but waiting too long. Too many of us put off investing in our idea or dream with a perpetual series of ‘untils.’ Until we get older, until we are more financially stable, until we’re more confident or more certain. You get my drift.

Bottom line: STOP WAITING for
• Permission
• To feel confident
• The right time
• The moment you feel ready

Stop waiting until know you what you want. Get moving. Get moving and you’ll get clarity.

Mistake No 3: Fearing failure.
A third mistake is being scared of failing. Let’s get real. You’re going to make mistakes. No uber-successful person hasn’t. Know ahead of time that you’re going to mess up a few times along the way. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you.

Everyone will make mistakes. Instead of avoiding the uncomfortable “fear factor” feeling, they do something the stuck and frustrated don’t do. They get comfortable with the uncomfortable feelings, and do it anyway! “Just do it,” is their theme. Try it.

Mistake No 4: Expecting to Get “There” Quick
Most successful entrepreneurs, investors, executives, experts did not get there overnight. They worked diligently, steadfastly and when asked directly took a lot of small steps to equal the sum of the whole.

Ask yourself if you have the temperament to remain steadfast to your idea. Do you? Even when you’re not affirmed, you make a mistake or you’re frustrated?

Be patient and remember: it’s the boring day-in-day-out weeding, tilling and caring of the garden that produces a successful harvest.

Be honest with yourself. Now that you know these four pitfalls, which are you making that’s stopping you from advancing that idea of yours?

Choose right now to overcome it. You know exactly what to do to get ANYTHING you want.

Ciao for now,
Rita

The #1 Step in The Fool-Proof Process To Getting What You Want + Will Smith Video

We all do it at times. We make our own choices for what we want based on a current reality, that is, the natural “next level,” OR in response to what is being offered to us.

We manipulate what we REALLY want into what we think we can get instead.

As a result, we skip the #1 step in the fool-proof process to getting anything we want– CHOOSE.

I’ll give you an example. A client is being sought after to fill a new position in the organization. When asked, “What do you want?” he states, “I’m going to see what they offer me and go from there.”

This waiting to choose based on logic or what others decide almost always guarantees you will limit who you become and what you receive!

See all kinds of cool things happen when you choose what you want based on your deepest desires. First, when you CHOOSE (regardless of what the current reality rationally dictates) you begin to show up in the world in a way that attracts what you want. You commit. And like a thoroughbred with blinders you pursue your target.

Second, the universe or God or nature, whatever you want to call it, conspires to support you. I see it all of the time in my own life and in the lives of my clients. You get started and the universe shows up to bring situations together to support you.

So here’s the point I want to make: don’t wait to choose what you REALLY want based on…

What the company decides
What the neighbors prefer
What seems logical or rationale
What you think you can have
Or what is being offered

YOU DECIDE.

Bottom line: Whether you’re in the corporate world, an entrepreneur, or a full-time mom, your first step in getting what you really want is to choose it. You can create whatever you choose to be or do!

What the client above really wanted was the opportunity to have a global role within the company, with a limited amount of travel (sounds crazy, I know), with a salary 35% higher than a similar position had been paid previously, and to receive options in the company.

He chose and saw this before it was offered, AND he got it all. But then that’s just the way it works.

You are what you choose to be. No if, and, or buts!

Answer the question, what do I REALLY want in my business, my relationship, my finances, and my life? Really.

Then watch what Will Smith has to say about choosing who you want to be.

And if you like this, send it to a friend!

Lots of love,
Rita

The ‘Irresistably Attractive’ Factor- Do you have it?

Several years ago I learned that everything I thought about being successful and happy was a lie.

I’d spent many of my early years consciously and sometimes unconsciously trying to keep it neat, fix it, organize it, keep it moving, make it look good.

I recognize in hindsight it was to get people to like me. Once I had ‘manipulated’ them into liking me, I then realized the game wasn’t over. Now I had to maintain their acceptance and approval.

I wasn’t as calculated as it might sound. I didn’t consciously realize I was doing this. Like most of us, I’d picked this way of being up from those around me. I didn’t challenge it. It must ‘work,’ I thought. After all, everybody’s doing it.

After years of this act, I became exhausted from the level of energy it took to keep it up, and I finally gave it up.

I started showing up at a higher level and exposing wherever I was, how I was feeling, and where I was at honestly. I said what I really planned to do with my life. I was myself.

And I found a funny thing started happening…

While I’d thought people would stop liking me when I wasn’t trying so hard, instead I found people actually liked me more. I started connecting to people in ways I had never experienced in my relationships and in business. And my life –in both areas– took off.

It turns out it’s not only more fulfilling to be unattached to whether or not people like you. It’s also irresistibly attractive.

Here’s the deal: We all want to be our true selves and connect with others in a meaningful, honest and open way. Connection and contribution to others are our two highest needs.

To get these needs met we must be honest with ourselves and others — not just some of the time, but all of the time. The good news is we become fulfilled and irresistibly attractive when we do.

In fact, our business and relationship success relies on our being able to expose ourselves as we are–our preferences, our likes, our dislikes.

Take a look at the following video to see what one researcher found on the topic of vulnerability, success, and happiness, and how to become a magnet of rich relationships, success, and fulfillment. You’ll be happy you did.

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

As always, leave a comment if it moves you and please share it with your friends.

Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Rita

The Secret Ingredient to Big Business & Bold Living

I still remember how fast my heart was beating when I dropped the check in the mailbox for advanced training to start by own business; it was for a Mastery Coaching Program. I wrote that check in 2000, and it was for $10,000. It was the most I had EVER invested in myself and my business by a longshot!

For the prior six months I’d told myself it was crazy to spend that kind of money on Coaching.

But when I finally made the decision — that it was exactly what I must do — I felt an enormous sense of relief, excitement, and possibility.

In the moment I mailed that check, everything was different. And I’m confident it was more than just about the service I was going to receive. It was about giving myself permission to step out and build the life and business I TRULY desired.

And that’s when it got interesting…

Once I fully committed the most amazing thing happened. Within weeks, in the most illogical and un-suspecting set of circumstances, the company I worked for gave me a check for $10,018—almost exactly the amount I’d committed for my advanced training!

I’m confident that once I finally made the decision to leave my career of ten years and commit to my passion, the universe conspired to support me in it.

So what’s the secret ingredient? It’s COMMITMENT.

When you finally decide to commit, you show up at 100% versus half-way. You bring your best to the table, and things happen. People, opportunities, and clients (new or ones that previously existed, but you didn’t see) show up — sometimes instantly.

Being uncommitted with one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock, drains your time, your focus and your energy. It’s a guaranteed life and business buster.

What have you been considering, researching, or toying with but not committing to?

Is it investing in a class you’ve wanted to take? Taking your family to Hawaii? Writing the business proposal you’ve been putting off? Offering your new product or service? Enhancing your relationship? Starting your own venture?

Here are four steps to move your idea into a commitment.

Action Step #1 Decide. Ask yourself, “Will taking this action move me closer or further away from my goal?” It’s a simple yes or no.

Action Step #2 Put a stake in it. Take an action in the physical to lock in your commitment mentally. Put money down. Make business cards with your ideal career position or new company’s name. Sign an agreement. When you commit by taking an action, your mind and body move forward naturally to be consistent and in alignment with your new commitment.

Action Step #3 Tell someone. Saying what you’re doing aloud affirms “yes, I am” and invokes your commitment.

Action Step #4 Build in Accountability. There is power in being held accountable in order to commit. Nobody likes to break agreements with others. Yet it’s often easy to break or “re-negotiate” commitments with ourselves, right?

It’s easy to skip your workout at 5:30 am when there’s nobody waiting on the other side. But put in a personal trainer or a friend, and you’re there!

A personal trainer, life coach, assistant, project director and even a cleaning lady can hold you accountable. I’ve used all of these including some key friends to hold me accountable and move me to commit.

Bottom line: If you REALLY want an out-of-this-world kinda year, you are being beckoned to commit to something greater than you already have in the past.

Sure, it may be uncomfortable, uncertain and scary. (It is for everybody taking on something new.)

But like the cold swimming pool you resist, once you jump in, it’s a matter of minutes until you adjust to the new temperature.

I recently committed myself to something BIG and new in my business. Funny thing happened when I jumped in and committed– I found the water to be just PERFECT!

I’d love to hear your stories or go ahead and write your commitment on the blog!

If you like this, send it to your friend. And make sure to come on over and sign up for my newsletter!

As always, I appreciate you reading and love the interaction I have with you!

Happy Swimming! The water’s warm!

Rita

Four Steps to More Time, More Money & More Fun in 2011!

I know it’s the time of year to make resolutions, but I don’t do resolutions. Resolutions are charged with so much negativity and self-torture. You can almost feel your face scrunch up as you say the word, can’t you?

Instead, I decide on projects that I want to achieve in my business and experience in my life. And I narrow the number down to a maximum of two to three projects at a time.

Why the short list?

Too often I find entrepreneurs and ‘passionate life-goers’ addicted to too many open and unfinished projects. They’re overextended physically, emotionally, spiritually – and often financially.

So that brings me to, “What are you doing today?” Are you working on your most spiritually and financially profitable projects and goals? Do you know what they are?

Here are the four steps you must take to experience high-leverage, high-paying, and highly fulfilling activities this year!

Step 1: Know what you want.

Narrow your focus to two or three projects.

A project to me is something that can be achieved in six months. I find this time frame is one that most of us can easily wrap our minds around.

What do I want to achieve in the next six months? Start as if you are six months out from now. What made the first half of this year one that has you strutting, smiling, and planning a night on the town to celebrate yourself?

You have the answer. You know what it is. Be willing to cough it up instead of suppressing it until you figure out “how” first.

To be honest, the “how” is none of your business—especially in this step. You can leave that to the higher powers that be. But the act of ASKING AND GOING FOR WHAT YOU WANT is 100% your responsibility. No one can do that for you but you.

Step 2: Become Brutally Decisive.

This means make decisions fast. Being a brutal decision maker is vital to living bold, rich and fulfilled. This year commit to decrease the lag time between the moment you have an idea and when you take action on it.

This step alone will drastically change the way you experience success emotionally, financially and spiritually in 2011!

Waiting longer will never make you more certain. Start moving and you will get clear! Success is too often stalled because we are waiting and thinking about it. You can’t make progress without making a decision.

Know this: You are ready, and its time to make the decision.

Here’s what you do.

Write down 3 projects in your business and life that you’ve been considering or researching and not taking action on.

They should be yes/no decisions. Are you going to sign up for that class? Call that contact? Meet with the potential client? Write a proposal for the new business or investor? Obtain the information you need to launch the new product, or hire the right support staff to take your business to the next level?

Once you’ve written down the three projects, give yourself 60 seconds to write down your decision for each item. The question is: “Should I move forward with it?”

It’s just a “yes” or “no.”

(Do this exercise for the next 60 seconds. That’s how long it takes to become a Brutal Decision Maker.)

Step 3: Give it a birthday.

In essence, give each project a due date. This isn’t new, but it’s new to those who never do it. Determine when you want to have your project born. Then, reverse engineer the process to build out the timeline.

Putting an “alive-line” to our projects helps us visualize the project completed. Our body then naturally moves to fulfill and connect with the mind’s vision.

Step 4: Follow the recipe.

Too often we are trying to invent our recipes from scratch when we either already possess our own successful recipe OR we could GET THE RECIPE FROM SOMEONE ELSE.

If you haven’t had prior success in this area, identify three people who have successfully achieved what you want, and learn how they did it. Three will give you the confidence that what you want can be done. The three will also provide you with more tools, strategies, and options to choose from.

You will save time moving to your end-goal more quickly. You’ll also be more fulfilled spending the extra time doing what you love and do best!

(Tip: This year commit to not short-cutting the recipe by employing do-it-yourself methods…which you never do yourself! In other words don’t do things on the cheap. Your results will reflect it. Invest. You are worth it!)

Bottom line: Get the support you need to access the most direct, proven method every time!

Wishing you a fantastic day (and year), and I look forward to talking with you again soon.

Let me know if you’ve got any thoughts on this topic or have a story to share. And if you’ve found this post helpful, go ahead and share it with a friend!

Enthusiastically,

Rita

P.S. If you’ve been itching to work with me one-on-one but just haven’t done it – do it NOW!

During the new year there will be a lot of changes and less time for private clients so don’t miss out.