The Six Pillars of Energy-Aware Entrepreneuring

One of the greatest benefits of being an entrepreneur is having the freedom to do what you want when you want鈥� and that can be a bit daunting when you鈥檙e actually living it. With focus and proper support through the pillars of success for energy-aware entrepreneuring, you can find your way to freedom.

Following are the six pillars of successful, soul-full entrepreneuring:

1. Be inspired. Inspire as a word actually references the breath of spirit, and that鈥檚 the lightest energy that can pull you forward into great achievement and productivity. To capture inspiration throughout your day, have a special notebook or place to jot what moves you. To be inspiration in motion, stay in positive momentum and connect with others.

2. Have a vision. Vision is different from sight 鈥� vision is what your inner eye sees while sight is what your outer eye sees. Have a vision about your own footprint, the difference you are making in the world and then move toward that in the choices you make and things you do.

3. Look up. Look up to heroes, mentors and masters, the greats who have gone before you to learn their wisdom. Look up to the expanse of the sky to remember the only limitations you have are the ones you place on yourself. Look up to connect to Source energy, whatever you call it 鈥� remind yourself that you are here as a physical representation of an energy far greater than what can be known in mere words.

4. Translate your essence through your work. Take your gifts, perspective, experience, expertise, skills, personality, energy and who you are through your work to contribute in a bigger way. Don鈥檛 do it like everybody else 鈥� do it from the inside out to create freedom for yourself and be the light for others to follow.

5. Choose and go. The most powerful force on the planet is the power of choice; everything comes from choosing it, even love. You have to choose to love and be loved. Once you choose, follow through on that choice. Be committed, take action, follow where it leads you to create new experiences and results.

6. Connect. Finding like-spirited, not just like-minded, people to connect with is vital. Humans are social creatures and if we don鈥檛 have a sense of belonging somewhere, we are challenged on a primal level for survival 鈥� when in that survival energy, we tend to attract survival experiences. Connect with people who can understand and support you to grow you and your business.

A Formula For Personal Mastery

鈥淥nly one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.鈥� ~ Albert Einstein

In working with my clients, they often express doubt as to the value of what they have to offer anybody, much less for money. They are called to contribute and, even more, know it鈥檚 through creating a unique service or product which naturally means through their own business. (Sometimes they don鈥檛 know they鈥檙e in business, but that鈥檚 another story.) The point is that they don鈥檛 know or actively cultivate their own mastery.

According to Michael Masterson, there are four levels of proficiency in any valuable skill 鈥� incompetence, competence, mastery and virtuosity.

This is also what Malcolm Gladwell says in his best-selling book, The Outliers, where he observes that it takes about 10,000 hours for a person to become the best in his or her field.

When we look at people who have mastered their life art, we see only the results (not the hours of practice). Whether an athlete like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, an actor like Angelina Jolie or Robert Downey, Jr, an expert interviewer like Oprah or Barbara Walters, what we see is that they make it look easy.

But you don鈥檛 have to achieve that level of celebrity to be a master of your gift.

To master your gift, you need commitment, humility, time and a good teacher. It helps to feel your gift as a calling, a natural resonance with what you know you are to do even if you don鈥檛 know how to do it or what that means鈥� because you will figure it out as you go.

In my case, I didn鈥檛 know how to be a Catalyst when that was presented to me 14 years ago. People ask me 鈥榟ow did you get to be a Catalyst?鈥� and I tell them that I didn鈥檛 really have a choice. I was compelled to follow the energy and swashbuckle my way through time and space and grow myself into it. Back then, being a catalyst was like saying I had a third head (now it鈥檚 a job description!).

I had no idea what to do so I did what made sense at the time 鈥� I studied what felt right (even if it didn鈥檛 feel good in the moment) and I practiced. My natural gift is to translate energy into concepts, words and action; specifically, it鈥檚 to help people understand how to shine their light brighter in unique contribution. And I have natural talents to support that 鈥� intuition, an ability with words, a healer鈥檚 heart. Beyond that, there wasn鈥檛 any employer who was going to hire me to do what I am so gifted at doing, so I had to create my own livelihood.

To create a livelihood means knowing your value, being able to articulate it in a meaningful way, put it into a form or package that people can access, marketing it so the people who need and want it can find you, delivering the service and following through on the relationships created as a result. When I started out, I had no idea that meant I had to understand all the facets of business, along with developing and practicing my craft, while trying to make a living for myself.

Now I know the shortcuts, mostly because I took the long way to learn them. At the time I started my business, there weren鈥檛 people who specialized in translating esoteric gifts into business success. I had to take the traditional models of business and adapt them. And that鈥檚 now part of what I teach. There wasn鈥檛 anyone who could help me interpret my true value into a marketable system so I had to flub my way through that; now I know the gift of that experience is that I can now do it easily for others who have unique transformational gifts and want to share them with others.

The point is that there is a formula for mastery. At the risk of being simplistic, in a nutshell, here it is:

Step One: Identify your gift, your soul鈥檚 calling, your life purpose (at the very least, a direction in which you feel called to explore).

Step Two: Give yourself a break when you discover that it鈥檚 big. Remember that you鈥檙e just starting out and find a teacher to start practicing effectively (the more you practice, the greater your mastery but it helps to know what you need to practice and have support in taking care of mental blocks that will come up).

Step Three: Resist the urge to get to a basic level of competence and try to wing it from there. It鈥檚 a common mistake but you must continue to actively grow yourself to meet your gift for mastery. That鈥檚 the difference between a technician and a master.

Step Four: Trust the process and have fun along the way. If it鈥檚 not fun, it鈥檚 not natural for you. (And fun doesn鈥檛 have to be the big highs; fun can be quiet contentment and celebrating little victories.)

Step Five: Stay open to receive what you need; keep a beginner鈥檚 mind to stay fresh even as you gain experience.

Step Six: Claim your mastery as you achieve it.

I remember that I had been practicing Feng Shui professionally (which means for money) for about eight years when someone called me a Feng Shui master. I almost fell over and declined the title, saying that I still had so much to learn. That person proceeded to walk me through what it takes to get to my level of expertise as compared to a journey through our educational system, pointing out that I had 鈥榞raduated鈥� with my degree several years back. My humility and my beginner鈥檚 mind were enmeshed the point where I wasn鈥檛 claiming my mastery, and that didn鈥檛 serve me (or my clients) either. So there is a balance that you鈥檒l need to find there for yourself.

According to Michael, to rise from competence to mastery, you can expect to put in a total of 5,000 hours of concentrated effort. You can accelerate the pace and compress your learning curve by finding a master to train you.

Once you achieve mastery, you have to decide to pursue being a virtuoso because once you achieve mastery, the real work begins. The way you used to live your life is no longer accessible. You are now responsible for all that you know, and it comes effortlessly to you. But you can no longer be unconscious about your gift and are accountable for how you choose to channel it. It鈥檚 not for the faint of heart.

That being said, you may be a natural master and not need 10,000 hours to develop your gift(s). You may be able to quantum leap your mastery.

However, of all the people who are out in the world in your industry, think about who you believe is truly a master of their craft. You know them when you find them. I would say you probably won鈥檛 think of many (although the numbers are growing as people claim their authentic power).

If you want to do what you love and make a living at it, there is another mastery growth process that runs concurrently with mastering your gifts. And that is learning how to be a successful business owner. This is the one that is actually less natural and so will take more energy. But if you want to make a living by doing what you love, it鈥檚 unlikely that you鈥檒l be able to do it without learning how to be a successful business owner.

Again, you can compress your learning curve by working with a teacher or mentor. If I would have been able to find that, it would have accelerated my journey by at least a third (if not by half!).

I do have to give credit to the people I chose to work with along the way, as they gave me the best that they had and helped me create a broad range of tools to pull from in working with my clients now. I hired who I thought would be best to help me and created my experience as I went; now, my intention is to help people who don鈥檛 want to choose between making a living and doing what they love. And who want to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible by leveraging my experience for their benefit.

So, you can be very successful by achieving mastery. Learn and live into your life purpose and natural gift with mastery. Get instruction. Practice well. Stay open. Choose whether to share it with the world. If yes, let the world pay you back for your dedication by giving you a fair exchange in the form of money. And put the system in place to make that happen by creating your business.

Slow Down to Speed Up

When it seems the pace of life speeds up, we generally do what we can to accommodate it (mostly out of habit). And that is probably the worst thing that we can do for ourselves. We鈥檙e unconscious to what our needs actually are in that moment, and we鈥檙e expending extra energy to meet a need that is being imposed from an external source.

Think of it like this: when you鈥檙e in a hurry, and you鈥檙e trying to get that last thing done (cook a meal, get dressed fast, find a gas station on the way to an appointment), the hurry creates unexpected and undesirable outcomes (not-quite-done food, broken zippers, the gas station on the other side of the freeway or a speeding ticket). In order to go faster, we need to slow down and, ideally, be in a fully charged state.

If you don鈥檛 have a full energy tank, you don鈥檛 have the power you need to get things done and make things happen, much less in the most effective way possible. It works against you as time matches your vibration and slows down in resonance with your low energy reserves. Whatever is happening in our outer world is actually a mirror image of our inner experience, so if the world seems to be speeding up, it could be that your energy is low and that it鈥檚 time for you to slow down to replenish.

This exchange of energy, between how you are feeling and how your world is showing up, is the key to understanding your vitality levels and achieving what you want. When life is requiring you to move faster, that鈥檚 exactly when you need to consider what that means for you and if you need to replenish your energy reserves so you can move faster. And there are some simple ways that you can slow down and replenish your energy so you can move faster when that鈥檚 what you really want to do.

1. Notice what areas are speeding up for you in order to determine where you need to slow down. These areas will likely correspond to limitations or beliefs that are requiring some attention and/or healing, and they may be unconscious to you. However, these areas will have tremendous affect on how you make decisions and experience your life by sabotaging your progress (among other symptoms). By acknowledging, honoring and/or releasing these areas with gratitude, forgiveness, suspending judgment and/or truly owning your experience, you will gain acceptance of yourself and others as well as clarity to power the expression of your best energy.

2. Feel your physical body and receive the messages it is sending to you. Many people will often get stuck in living in their heads, or in reaction from emotional triggers, but when you are present in your body, you can shift your perspective and savor the moment. Your body will help you tune into what you really need to know, and help you understand exactly what you need to do right now to nourish yourself.

3. Pay attention to your subtle energy field; that is, sink into your aura, sense your chakras, and feel if your energy feels 鈥榦ff鈥� in any way. If yes, there is an imbalance somewhere in your system or your environment that needs to attention. To feel your subtle energy field, get comfortably seated, close your eyes, take three deep breaths, and wait 鈥� just notice what comes up for you. If your grocery list or your to do items come up, push those aside until you get the message that鈥檚 trying to get your attention. No need to chant or sit lotus-style either! This is about spending 11 minutes at a time to tune into your energy and get a 鈥榬ead鈥� on what鈥檚 happening for you.

4. Get good sleep. Your physical body needs to recharge, and so do all your other bodies (energy, spirit, intellect, emotion, etc.). When under stress, our bodies take the toll of that transition. You may find yourself nodding off at strange times, needing a nap out of the blue, or a desire to go to bed early or sleep late. If that happens, just follow what your body wants and do it. You may find that your dreams take you away to a refreshing paradise!

5. Do a little dreaming, especially when you are awake. By allowing yourself to go into the place of possibility through open imagination, you might find yourself pursuing new directions you鈥檇 never considered, wandering through worlds you never knew about within yourself. Within you right now is the potential to create, do and be more than you ever thought possible with your linear mind. By allowing your dreams to have expression, you can revitalize your spirit in innumerable ways. (And it鈥檚 a bonus that this is the beginning of a creative manifestation process as well 鈥� what you see is what you get!)

The one thing that each of these has in common is to be really present with yourself through a variety of connection points to understand your needs more clearly, and meet them. By taking the time and making the investment in recharging and raising your vibration, you are enhancing your ability to create and magnetically draw to you all that is connected to the radiant essence of your true being. You will be ready to receive the generosity of nature in action. You are allowing the Universe some 鈥榳iggle room鈥� to deliver what it is that you want in your life.

Slowing down is the most responsible act of self-love you can do – and you will be rewarded with more of what you want when you鈥檙e not busy chasing it. You will find that you have the ability to speed up to your optimal pace whenever you want鈥� kinda makes you want to take a break and draw a hot bath, doesn鈥檛 it?

It’s All About Now

“There is only one day left, always starting over; it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.” ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

It’s Christmas morning, and less than a week until we ring in 2007. With every such holiday, I measure where I’ve been and look to see if I’m on track with where I think I want, and am meant, to go. In my measurement of what’s behind me, I am filled with the spirit of this season in gratitude, joy and celebration.

This year, I have a lot to celebrate 鈥� wonderful clients, friends who live in my heart, wide open space to hold lots of new, amazing things (as a result of a big life cleanse this year!). After being in my business for the last eight years, I have more clarity than ever before about the importance of what I do to help people have a better quality of life on their terms. And I am happy 鈥� really, really happy 鈥� in living my life.

This kind of happy is hard to define鈥 used to get little tastes of it as a wisp here and there with a song, a special moment, a movie or a really good day. Now it’s pretty much every day. And every day is a new beginning for even more greatness to show up in my world. My intention is that you, and everyone you know, and everyone they know, get to enjoy this kind of happiness every day 鈥� one beginning at a time.

My progress isn’t always measurable a day at a time, but when I look at where I am now, I am blown away by the sum total of my new beginnings. When I think about how I got to where I am, I have to say it’s by having each day throughout the year be its’ own new beginning. If I needed to take a day to clean something up, I did. If I needed to reinvent something, I did that. If I needed to innovate, ask for help, or slow down, I did those things too. It might be a little different for me, because I have to (and want to) walk my talk, given the work I do鈥� but if you’re still reading this, it’s because there’s something new waiting for you to be, express, do or have.

Sometimes it’s easier to think of big change as happening in big ways, like making dramatic New Year’s resolutions, because it’s the decision point for transformation. That shift can be immediate, and has the potential to change your life. At that point, you are saying good-bye to what was, and claiming that you want something new. Personally, I think the biggest benefit of a new year is to wake people up that time is passing 鈥� the time is now to realize that you can have more!

However vital this decision is as a turning point, the lasting change happens in the countless small ways afterward that demonstrate the true commitment. Once you’ve decided that something needs to be different, you have to know your starting point and have a sense of where you want to go 鈥� otherwise, you won’t know when you’ve arrived! And then it’s all the middle stuff鈥t’s taking consistent action, knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing, and sticking with it to create what you want.

Three Action Steps You Can Take:

1. Make a list of everything you want in life. That means everything鈥� make a list of the 100 things you want to be, the 100 things you want to do, and the 100 things you want to have. In any case, it’s important you articulate your wants and desires so the universe can deliver on them.

2. List your reasons why it is important for you to be, have or do the things on this list. Your “why” is much bigger than what’s on the list 鈥� if you see movies like “Dreamgirls”, you’ll understand the power of a meaningful personal why.

3. Take a look around your life right now. Whatever isn’t serving you anymore, or supporting where you want to go, needs to be released. This can be thoughts, beliefs, habits, relationships, clutter, baggage, old shoes 鈥� whatever. You have to have space to grow 鈥� it’s a bit like pruning your life.

Once you know what you want and why you want it, you are free to address and release whatever is between you and it. All it takes are small changes every day starting right now.

Going For The Big Finish

A quick story鈥� on a green and blue planet called Earth, there once was a human who really, really, really wanted to get something amazing in life. There was lots of excitement in the dreaming, and then in the planning and preparing, and then the launch of the whole thing鈥� it was incredibly exhilarating! And then, as time went on, it became evident that it was going to take more than what was originally known, there were more challenges than accounted for in the beginning, and time seemingly slowed down in the middle of going for the big goal.

In fact, time seemed to slow down so much that the person seemed to be moving underwater. And then, just before the big breakthrough, the person gave up, surrendering to what felt like was the inevitable, and quit – just before crossing the finish line because it seemed too far away.

You’ve heard that story before, right? Maybe you’ve even lived it鈥� experiencing the agony of defeat while you’re still in the middle, and then never reaching the end. Or maybe you do actually reach the end, but you’re so exhausted that you don’t really get to enjoy it. Or the end isn’t what you thought it would be, so it’s anti-climactic. Or you get just close enough to see the finish line, and you decide that’s good enough and there’s no need to go any further. Any one of these scenarios is enough to suck the life right out of a person (much less all of them at once!).

And that’s why you’ve got know how to go for the big finish in the most efficient, focused and clear way possible. This year is sliding by fast, and it’s vital to keep up your energy through the end. You鈥檝e got to know what you’re going for and the best way to get there 鈥� including conserving and allocating precious resources and, ideally, having more fun.

So first off, you’ve got know exactly where you want to end up 鈥� what is the result you want? Without definition, you won’t know when you get there. However, that also means you have to know where you are when you start鈥� after all, you can’t plan how to get to Los Angeles unless you know where you are when you begin your journey.

Then, set yourself up with ‘clean’ sources of fuel, or energy. Surround yourself with positive people, a friction-free environment, and good nutrition physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Think what would happen if you put sludge in your car’s tank 鈥� you wouldn’t get very far. That is the same dynamic that you want to prevent for yourself as you go, so be sure to take in clean ‘fuel’ for cleaner, more efficient results.

Third, pace yourself for the whole journey so you can handle the unexpected as it comes up. Sometimes it’s easy to start out strong and then fizzle out, but there are professional racers who actually start out slow and wait for the last push to break out their turbo speed in crossing the finish line. Whichever your strategy, you need to be consistent in using your energy and resources to sustain you for the whole journey.

That being said, fourth, remember to replenish yourself often… consider your car again; that is, if you didn’t fill your car’s gas tank regularly on a cross-country road trip, you’d make it through maybe the first leg of your journey and that would be about it as you ran out of gas. The same goes for you 鈥� if you need to fill up, take the time to do it so you can keep going for a big, strong finish.

Sixth, be prepared to adapt to what shows up for you along the way. To do that, you’ll need to trust that there’s a bigger opportunity in the challenges, and that you are being invited to become more resilient and to follow what presents as you go. If you stayed fixed to the original plan, you may miss an important part of the magic in your journey.

Seventh, stand your ground. That is, adaptation is important but at the same time, don’t compromise yourself or what you want. Flexibility is good, but only when it doesn’t cause you to feel like you are losing out, giving up or somehow diminished in the process. This requires you to ‘know what you know’, firm in your wisdom despite outward appearances. Additionally, the opinions, reactions or expectations of other people cannot influence what you know; your choices and decisions must come from within you throughout your push for the big finish.

Numerologically, the number eight is the symbol for harvesting what you’ve sown. In this case, the eighth point means taking responsibility for what you鈥檙e creating in order to finish strong. You can鈥檛 avoid being accountable for what you鈥檝e created; nor can you hide from the greatness that is yours. Either way, you are the only one who is present all the way along the journey and, to enjoy the big finish, you have to claim it.

Lastly, no one is an island and that includes you. Honor the people who are helping you along the way, because it鈥檚 a lot more fun to celebrate your big finish by sharing it with the people you know and care about. Sometimes the inspiration of that moment is enough to pull you through that final push to your big finish鈥� as you honor others, you are so honored.

So, your big finish is waiting for you right now. Keep going! You鈥檝e got the plan. Most importantly, get ready to claim your 鈥渟omething amazing鈥� reward because you are just about there. (And if you listen close enough, you can probably hear the distant roar of your fans getting ready to celebrate your big finish.) On behalf of the other humans on this green and blue planet鈥o, go, GO!!!!

Be Your Most Unstoppable Self

When was the last time you really, really wanted ice cream at some crazy hour of the day 鈥� and actually went to go get it? Or maybe you had an urge to call someone right NOW 鈥� so you did it right that second? Or someone stood in the way of you doing something you really wanted to do, so you figured out how to do it anyway? In case you haven鈥檛 seen the pattern yet, these are all examples of you being unstoppable because the thing you wanted was greater than the thing that could have stopped you.

The same thing happens when your soul is calling for you to step into your greatness. That is, regardless of what your actual purpose is, it will wait for you until you鈥檙e ready to claim it. It will set up situations to guide you into the next best step to get to your greatness and IT 鈥� your being 鈥� is what becomes unstoppable.

It may take years to manifest your purposeful greatness, but your being knows the power of claiming the next best step by continuous movement in the direction of your purpose. How do you know your spirit is being unstoppable? Here are some clues to help you know that your spirit is compelling you in powerful ways to be your most unstoppable self.

Choice Points

You find yourself at significant places where there exists the opportunity to change the course of the rest of your life. These may manifest as big decisions, like a geographic move or a marriage commitment, the impact of which is readily apparent. But they may also come in small, seemingly simple choices that have far-reaching impact, especially when taken cumulatively. In any case, watch for your choice points as a clue to where your spirit may be asking for your conscious attention to be unstoppable.

Repetitive Access Places

You may find that your choice points revolve around the same issue consistently, like relationships, health or money. In this case, your spirit is asking you to resolve the blocks in that particular area because, up until now, that issue has blocked or distracted your progress on a bigger level. Or you may find that the choice points come in cycles, either in terms of time (on a regular basis) or matching a milestone in your growth process (for example, they will arise every time you achieve a particular goal). These repetitive access places are limitations or conditions that your spirit asking you to handle so you can move forward more clearly.

Powerful Connections

You may find an influx of people into your life, either periodically or continuously, who have the resources, interest and ability to help you achieve things faster and easier. Consider the commonalities amongst new contacts, introductions or people you meet along the way in order to recognize and understand where your spirit is directing you to sources of power in being unstoppable.

Restless Spirit

You know you are experiencing big change which requires unstoppability on you part when there is a restlessness in your life 鈥� a rhythm that isn鈥檛 rhythmic, when you want to do something, but don鈥檛 know what it is or you can鈥檛 sit still but have nowhere to go. It鈥檚 a compelling energy, and I call it the 鈥淟amborghini stuck behind the lawn mower鈥� syndrome 鈥� you鈥檙e burning out your high-performance engine because you鈥檙e stuck behind a putt-putt vehicle (no offense to any lawn mowers out there!). You may be experiencing endings but don鈥檛 know where your beginnings are, and yet, you are compelled to keep going despite the lack of clear direction. Trusting that spirit will channel your restless spirit to where you need to go is being unstoppable in action.

Synchronicities

Spirit speaks in the language of symbols, including what could be dismissed as coincidences or chance meetings. There is no such thing as an accident when you view your world through the eyes of spirit, and synchronicities are the cosmic 鈥渂read crumb鈥� trail to show you where spirit is asking you to be unstoppable. Ironically, synchronicities are most telling when you don鈥檛 know where they are going to lead you!

By knowing the language of your spirit, how it is calling and supporting you in being unstoppable, you can be made aware of where you鈥檝e been playing small in your life. This is in direct conflict to your reason for being here as a physical representation of cosmic energy made manifest 鈥� your sole purpose is to live life fully and robustly in contribution to the whole.

There can be a variety of things that slow or even prevent you from living that purpose, such as not believing in your abilities, allowing other people鈥檚 opinions or impressions to direct you, conditioned limited thinking or an unsupportive environment 鈥� all of which can seem true at any given time.

However, with the knowing that you are being called to be bold as the expression of cosmic energy made manifest, such things no longer have the same power over your experience. They cannot stop you because your purpose is bigger than any perceived obstacle you could possibly encounter. Essentially, once conscious, it is unavoidable to realize 鈥� and actualize 鈥� the unstoppable being that is YOU!

15 C鈥檚 For Being Different

As a Catalyst, I have an affinity for 鈥楥鈥� power; following are observations on creating something different through using 鈥楥鈥� power. Consider these to help you gain clarity.

1. Connection

Connection happens on two levels. First is connection with the self in an essential sense of center that unshakable by external events. The second is connection with others for community.

2. Creativity

When creativity is open, it鈥檚 delicious to explore the unseen – what鈥檚 around your next corner. By being curious, receptive and initiating questions or actions, you can play with infinite possibilities.

3. Clarity

By reducing the 鈥渘oise鈥� in your head, your being, thinking and doing becomes crystallized. Decisions are easier, right action is smoother, communications and relationships are cleaner – and your calendar becomes focused.

4. Considerations

Life is full of considerations, some of which are necessary. However, it is important to recognize which are real. It is important to not tolerate the unnecessary 鈥� compromise only when it鈥檚 meaningful.

5. Courage

There are times when situations require us to confront things that make us uncomfortable or even afraid. Until we pass through it, we do not learn our lessons. Having the courage to face it gives us the ability to move forward.

6. Confidence

When you are comfortable in who you are, you naturally make choices that support your knowingness and demonstrates trust in who/where you are. It鈥檚 a powerful magnet to attracting more of what you want.

7. Contribution

It is in giving that we grow, by sharing what we have that we increase our own capacities. Giving back where we can creates good karma.

8. Collaboration

Building by partnership/teamwork creates a synergy that otherwise wouldn鈥檛 exist. When two or more are gathered in focus, great things are created and achieved.

9. Celebration

Honoring what has happened in celebration feels good. It is a timeless ritual to acknowledge hard work and mark a milestone or an ending. Without celebration, we may not know that we are moving into a new beginning.

10. Circle Back

Review the lessons learned to see if you鈥檝e missed anything, or if you can use something previously discarded in a new way. Circling back allows you to express appreciation for both the people who have been touched by your learning journey and your progress.

11. Compassion

Through compassion for others, we acknowledge our oneness. While we are all at different places on our respective journeys, the destination is the same.

12. Conviction

As long as you are in alignment with your higher self, believing in what you know to be true for you is the backbone to good decisions, personal leadership, accountability, and good health.

13. Communication

Speak your truth clearly, concisely and honestly. You can avoid about 80% of problems with other people by having good communication skills. You can resolve 100% of your personal challenges by being honest with yourself.

14. Control

Control means doing what you can and releasing whatever you just did 鈥� it has to go do/be whatever you have given it life to do. Control is a superficial illusion, attempting to force situations, people, or things to fit 鈥� it鈥檚 like trying to push a river. Being in flow means recognizing that there is no control.

15. Common Sense

Maybe this should be 鈥渦n鈥�-common sense鈥� common sense comes from everyday living. If something makes sense to you, do it. However, just because somebody else does it a certain way doesn鈥檛 mean that it makes the best sense for you.

5 Steps to Making 鈥業t鈥� Happen

“Business more than any other occupation is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.” ~ Henry R. Luce

When you hit the turning point of wanting 鈥渋t鈥� in your conscious business (or life!), you鈥檙e on the verge of big magic. Getting to the turning point is a big enough deal in and of itself, because you鈥檝e had to get full enough of what you don鈥檛 want any more to know that it鈥檚 time to claim something different. That turning point can be precipitated by pain, trauma, tragedy, endings or a desire for something better. But, for now, let鈥檚 assume that you鈥檝e hit that turning point and made the decision you want 鈥渋t鈥� 鈥� your new desire 鈥� to happen. What happens now?

1. The decision of wanting 鈥渋t鈥� puts into motion some new ideas in your mind. They may not make a lot of sense, but that鈥檚 simply your internal systems gearing up creatively to give you options. At this point, it鈥檚 a good idea to keep a journal or list of all the ideas that come in, regardless of their 鈥渨hacky鈥� factor. You just don鈥檛 know yet what鈥檚 going to be helpful and make sense as you get further into the process.

2. You鈥檒l likely notice as those ideas present themselves to you that you have some feelings about them. This is the emotional firepower that can guide you to taking the next best step, and it gives the ideas the energy to begin manifesting in physical form. A caveat for you: make sure that the emotions do not turn into judgments, limitations, kick off habitual and conditioned thinking or are an imprint of someone else鈥檚 emotional energy. If any one of those becomes the case, it will distort your outcomes because you will either censor yourself or create from your history or reflect something other than your own true desire. (There are ways to handle all of those, but that鈥檚 also another conversation鈥�)

3. You will feel compelled to start taking action on the ideas that have produced an emotionally positive feeling. This is what some would call taking 鈥渋nspired action鈥�, and it is this type of action that produces results that exceed what one would expect in doing them. The reason is that any time you do something from pure inspiration, you invoke the power of the universe to support you, so it lines up all kinds of resources to help you as you take action. A key question to ask yourself is: 鈥渁m I taking the best right action I can at this moment to get me to what I want?鈥� Listening to the answer will always guide you to your next best step.

4. Access and recognize your connection to your source energy to help you. Notice the synchronicities, 鈥渁ccidents鈥�, and 鈥渃oincidences鈥� that bring new situations, relationships or resources into your experience. By allowing the universe 鈥渨iggle room鈥� to help you, you are actually harnessing the power of the universe on your behalf. Be open to noticing and receiving what comes to you.

5. You will see signs of the manifestation of 鈥渋t鈥�. This can take the form of material objects, but also, and maybe more importantly, this can also take the form of enhanced relationships, a new bounce in your step, a certain vitality to your business, or any other number of expressions that show you that 鈥渋t鈥� has started to come in and/or arrived.

One last note: if you鈥檙e getting unexpected results that aren鈥檛 what you wanted, it鈥檚 important to be open to self-reflection to discover the gifts of what you DID manifest. If your results are somehow anti-climactic, you could be still in process OR there could have been non-clarity in one of these steps. If you took actions that didn鈥檛 feel good, or ignored potentially key components to success from the universe, you have just sabotaged your journey and your results. Or, if your results are bigger than what you asked for, it could be that you didn鈥檛 ask for enough. In any case, that鈥檚 cause for celebration and gratitude!

8 Ways to Accelerate Personal Development

1. Know what you know.

In order to optimize the expression of who you are in the world through your business, you have to 鈥渒now what you know鈥�. That is, you must access and utilize what your 鈥済ut鈥� tell you 鈥� no one else can do it for you. It is the only true decision-making process that you need, if you鈥檙e doing it right.

2. Speak your truth.

What鈥檚 true isn鈥檛 necessarily a truth鈥� think about that one. For example, while today is nice, it may not be tomorrow, but the sun will rise today and the sun will rise tomorrow 鈥� that鈥檚 the difference. Truth doesn鈥檛 change. Be expressive and compassionate in honestly saying what needs to be said.

3. Personal power.

Tapping into and making decisions from your personal power source requires you to develop an inner relationship with that source. If you鈥檙e tapped in, you鈥檙e tuned in鈥� and that鈥檚 the clearest path to showing up more effectively in the world.

4. Master priorities management.

There isn鈥檛 really such a thing as time management, because time marches on 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 really respond to commands. But you can, and must, determine what鈥檚 urgent (the 鈥�911鈥�-types), what鈥檚 important (essential but patiently waiting for you), and the non-essential (why bother?). If you aren鈥檛 working the 鈥渃ritical inch鈥� of your business, your business isn鈥檛 working for you.

5. Distill to the essence.

Everything you do matters everything. And the way you do it does as well鈥ake sure that you are focusing on the core activities, relationships and spirit of what鈥檚 vital for you to feel good about your work AND your life.

6. Look at your mirrors.

That is, everything that is in your outer world is mirroring what鈥檚 in your inner world 鈥� 鈥渁s without is within鈥�. Consider your relationships, how you spend your time and energy, what you think about, the language you use, your environment鈥� any place you experience something that is 鈥渙ff鈥� or no longer reflects who you are is a learning / healing opportunity for your own personal 鈥渜uickening鈥�.

7. Examine your internal world.

Just as the outer world has mirrors for you, look within for stuck places, body clues, numerical threads (such as moving every two years) and habitual thought or behavioral patterns that no one else can see, but are clearly in the process of manifesting in your external world. Once you identify what鈥檚 going on, you are now at conscious choice to release or create it.

8. Do a ritual.

Rituals are a big name for something really simple 鈥� essentially, it鈥檚 sacred time set aside for something that matters. Everyone has early morning rituals, for example 鈥� from we get up to brush our teeth and start our day in the same way to our meditation practices. In this case, you can create and use a ritual, or sacred act with focused time, to release whatever is holding you back from your best and highest good. For example, you may want to write out whatever is not working for you on a piece of paper, then burn it to release that energy to the universe, while saying a prayer that anchors your intentions for the ritual. A note of caution: be careful for what you ask for, because you will get it!

6 Signs to Let Something Go and Know That Quitting Is a Good Thing

1. It is not aligned with your values and priorities.

2. It has become a 鈥渟hould鈥� rather than a 鈥渉igh payoff opportunity鈥�.

3. You feel inside that this is all wrong (it鈥檚 important to get clear if this is fear or intuition).

4. Pursuing the goal (or opportunity) makes you feel that you are not in your integrity or truth.

5. It鈥檚 an old belief or goal that you continue to pursue because you are embarrassed to give up on it.

6. Pursuing the goal is at the expense of other higher payoff opportunities.