You know more than you think you do – about your business, about marketing, about your clients, and about what to do next to be successful. That’s true whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been in business for years. I’ll prove it to you.  You’ve had at least one, probably several, and maybe all [...]

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In the last week, life has been handing me a lot of lessons on the dangers of making assumptions about people. This person isn’t really serious about her business.  I have nothing in common with that person.  And the one over there? Way too intimidating for me to try to connect with.  I’m glad and grateful that [...]

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It’s a traditional sales-meeting rant:  “Let’s make it happen!”  It’s a charity fundraising chant:  “We’re gonna make it happen!” It’s something my clients say to me:  “I have to make this happen!” But you cannot “make” anything happen. There may be a few small things in your immediate vicinity that you have that much control [...]

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Business plans.  Marketing plans.  Project plans. Everyone says you’re supposed to make plans.   It’s such commonly accepted wisdom that no one ever stops to ask why. Of course there are times when you need a plan.  When you’re preparing to launch a new product or service, conduct a workshop, or roll out a new website [...]

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I grew up understanding that mistakes were very bad and to be avoided at any cost.  (Literally, at any cost.  Which is a very high price to pay.) No surprise, then, that I grew up to be a detail-oriented, people-pleasing perfectionist with a deep aversion – okay, a deep fear – of vulnerability.  I’m not [...]

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Claim your autonomy. Don’t give other people – no matter how expert they may be – the power to control what you do in your business. I know that’s scary.  For the first few years (maybe more) that I was in business, I chased the experts.  I downloaded endless free reports, e-books, training materials.  I [...]

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There are times when I really have no idea what’s going to pop out of my mouth. A few days ago, at a chapter meeting of a local professional organization, we were talking about what had inspired us to start our businesses – and what enables us to keep going. I said, “Having the wisdom [...]

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What do you know that you don’t want to know? It’s a question often asked by Adyashanti, one of the teachers whose work I follow.  And as he says, it’s a question that causes a “deer in the headlights” reaction for many people. What do you know that you don’t want to know? In living with this question, I’ve [...]

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One of the first things I heard when I started my own business was a lot of advice about being disciplined. It seems that – despite all my past highly responsible, not to say workaholic, behavior as an employee – everyone, including complete strangers, felt terribly worried that I’d sit around all day with my feet up, [...]

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Companies “type” their employees.  Coaches “type” their clients.  People “type” themselves, doing research and taking online tests. You know what I mean.  Your birth sign, your Myers-Briggs type, your Enneagram, or any of the dozens of personality and style types – you probably know at least one of yours.  Some people pay absolutely no attention to these [...]

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