Procrastination.
Perfectionism.
Burning Bridges.
Not showing up.

There’s a lot of talk about self-sabotage in the entrepreneurial world… and what to do when you realize you’re self-sabotaging. Typically, you’re asked to look at what you may be afraid of… to identify WHY you may be AFRAID of ACHIEVING the exact goal you’re pursuing. Worthy pursuits, for sure.

But, I am starting to ABHOR circular patterns. I have no interest in the EXCITED — STALLING — INNER WORK — EXCITED AGAIN treadmill. So, let’s talk about PREVENTING self-sabotaging behaviors… nipping them in the bud before they have a chance to take root in your business and your heart and derail your progress. (By the way, if you are a COACH, struggling to make even a DECENT living coaching, I have a free gift for you. NO opt in, NO fee. Just  pure, unadulterated truth  about how to make money as a coach.  CLICK HERE TO MAKE MONEY AS A COACH.)

For me, this is all about designing my day — EVERY ASPECT OF MY DAY — in a way that keeps me motivated, inspired, and excited about the work I do. It’s TRULY about designing my business around my core needs as a woman, as a person… really. Here’s a list of things you may wish to consider “designing DELIBERATELY” to support forward movement — and prevent self-sabotage — in your own business.

MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT ONE THAT INSPIRES YOU. I remember the days of working in a cubicle. It sucked. I had no control of noise, smells, lighting, space. Ugh….. Today, I have a deliberately designed office space with a small “working area,” complete with a video “studio” for Facebook LIVES, easy access to too many books that inspire me, a desk I can write notes on, a retro lamp that I love, inspirational notes, pictures and phrases EVERYWHERE and a sitting area for when I just want to get out of the “work area” and stretch my legs a bit. The Women Who WOW (WomenWhoWOW.com) office was actually featured in an article about Home Office Set Up by FitSmallBusiness.com which was a huge surprise!

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE. The flow of my day is incredibly important to me. I want my morning to be spent on my most important tasks. For me, this includes MOVING (exercise), Bible, journaling, messaging (blogging and live streaming) and reaching out to the media on behalf of myself and my clients/members. Your “perfect day” will be very different than mine, but I urge you to start carving out and protecting chunks of time that NO ONE has access to, where you can do your BEST work.

CHOOSE CLIENTS (very) CAREFULLY. If you work one-on-one with clients, customers or patients, choose them carefully. Not everyone who can pay you is a good client. I wrote about soul mates a while back, referring to my Mister and also to my best friend, but I also look for soul mate clients. HOW DO YOU KNOW? Do you look forward to hearing from them? Do you ENJOY working with them? If not, they need to go. Quickly. The WRONG clients will have you in such a funk that you self-sabotage all over the place. Let them go, in a hurry and — THIS IS IMPORTANT — with a blessing. Let them go so they can find THEIR soul mate service provider. Better to have NO clients at all than even ONE “wrong” client that you dread hearing from.

IN SHORT, TAKE CARE OF THE BOSS — FIRST. If you want to be in the BEST possible energy for success… if you want to PREVENT not only self-sabotage but also BURN OUT… take care of you, first. Give yourself everything you need — the right environment, the preferred schedule, the totally aligned clients — to thrive in this chosen business, niche, and industry you’ve chosen.

For MORE on “unexpected ways” to eliminate self-sabotage, read this article from iNLP center, focused on neuro-linguistic programming and life coach certification training.

The post 3 Ways to Prevent Self-Sabotage For Women Entrepreneurs appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

I’ll never forget — way before any of my online marketing/blogging/etc. would have been worth copying — finding a woman who had (word for word) copied my entire website. EVEN THE ABOUT ME PAGE.

She was from my area, and while I didn’t know her, I reached out to her to discuss the, um, “situation.” She denied it, of course… saying that it was a coincidence.

Saying she’d NEVER even SEEN my site.

She hung up, however, when I marveled at the fact that she and I were both married to public school teachers named Chris, had three kids the EXACT same age, named Summer, Shelbey, and CJ, she apparently went to the same church, same high school, same college. Isn’t that special? =)

Anyway, most business leaders will tell you to NEVER copy someone else, but I’m not most business leaders. The truth is, we are born with an innate desire to mimic. It’s how we learn most everything in our early years.

We are also — of course — born so incredibly unique in every way, with an innate desire to fully express who WE are as individuals.

In business, I suggest we use both.

WHAT TO COPY, THE COMPREHENSIVE LIST:

1) Behaviors. If you want what “they” have, take a look at what “they” do. if you want to be thin, look at the habits and behaviors of thin people. If you want to be rich, look at the habits and behaviors of rich people. Behavioral congruency will lead to RESULT congruency.

There is no 2nd thing to copy. =)

WHAT TO KEEP ORIGINAL: EVERYTHING ELSE, of course.

Your message.
The way you bring your message.
Your phraseology.
Your analogies.

Stay 100% true to your own twisted little view of the world. =) Stay absolutely true to you.

So, if you see someone getting the results you want to get online. Don’t try to talk like them, cuss like them. Don’t try to wrangle your own beliefs around to match their own. OF COURSE.

But DO watch what they’re DO-ing…

Are they doing Live streams once a day? once a week?
Are they blogging directly into Facebook or sharing a link directly from their site?
Are they using images with EVERY post or only certain kinds of posts?
How are they using groups?
How often are they releasing a new podcast?
What seems to be their approach with the media?

This is no different than reading a biography of a great leader. You DO study other great leaders, right? Soaking up the habits, the tendencies, the beliefs they all have in common???

This is no different, it’s just in real time.
So, look at what they are DO-ing
and then
do it ENTIRELY
YOUR
EXQUISITELY
UNIQUE
way.

Here’s to US!

Want to stay updated with my posts, videos, and tutorials? Head over to my Facebook! 

The post When to Copy Someone Else and When to Stay Original appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

MAYBE YOU’RE COMMITTING THE NUMBER ONE “SIN” OF MARKETING AND SALES.

I recently submitted an article which will turn into an ongoing column, featuring “Women Making Waves In [iNSERT INDUSTRY].”

This work will highlight and profile women entrepreneurs who are shifting things, changing things, DISRUPTING things in their industry.

Melanie McGhee in the therapy world.
Cathy Alinovi in the pet food world.
Lisa C. Briggs in the world of true female empowerment & healing.
Shelley Smith in the world of company culture.
Traciana Graves in the world of diversity and inclusion.
Jackie Torres and Donna Galatas in the world of HR.
Diane White in the world of PR.
Timorah Harlen Beales in the world of photography and the business of photography.
Pamela Sigal Willsey in the world of teenage girls.
Ramona Rice in the spa world, and in the world of podcasting.
Tracie Stern in the world of “MLM.”
Barbara Pender in the world of social media.
Johnine N. Clark and Radlyn Mendoza in the world of law.

These are just a few that come to mind. A precious few. They are EACH showing up and making waves. They’ve not ONLY claimed their space, they’re showing up there, being heard, and making a difference.

And — of course — their world, their industry is TAKING NOTICE. They’re disrupting the status quo, pointing out solutions, offering something BRAND NEW, not some twice-warmed over version of another “ME TOO” option.

So, what about you???

Are you making waves yet?
Are you being heard?
Have you stood up to be COUNTED in your own industry?

OR….

Are you boring them to tears?
(Being BORING is the #1 Marketing Sin, and the most destructive.)

Are you showing up as just another option for your already overwhelmed market to consider?
Are you showing up HOPING NOT to make waves? Being Unwilling to take a stand or do something different?

If you’re being IGNORED, perhaps you’re boring them to tears. The solution?

INFUSE YOUR MESSAGE WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING YOUR MARKET SIMPLY CAN NOT GET ANYWHERE ELSE: YOU.

Today, the Women Who WOW mastermind members will come together for a training that will equip them to show up, stand up and CREATE CONTENT from the heart. We’ll discuss WHY content matters so much. (UM… it’s a CONVERSATION with your market.) We’ll go over how to choose what to talk, write or live stream about, and how to make it all flow EASILY… including the ONLY two ways you need to censor your own messaging.

This is just one of MANY pieces of our ongoing training library, available anytime to our Women Who WOW members. Doors are again open and you can now JOIN this sisterhood of seriously driven women entrepreneurs. Find out more at www.womenwhowow.com.

The post The #1 Sin in Marketing and Sales appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

Brian Whetton, Founder of Core Coaching

WARNING:  I am completely UNqualified to write this blog post!! Take it for what its worth!! =)

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Brian Whetton of www.corecoaching.org recently sent out a coaching “e-nugget” that really got me thinking.  Here are some powerful thoughts from Brian:

  The greatest strength of capitalism is its unparalleled capacity for economic expansion.   At the same time, every great strength comes with an equal challenge.  And the current crisis is exposing capitalism’s root challenge…  The greatest challenge of capitalism is its addiction to economic expansion.

  Above all else, this crisis was created by an almost ubiquitous level of denial.  It was created by the most expensive words in finance, “this time it’s different.”  This addiction isn’t just a problem with the people on Wall Street.  Or the people who took out a mortgage they couldn’t afford.  Or the people who got up to their eyeballs in credit card debt.  It’s the core challenge of the system itself.

Our entire financial system is based on the root assumption that the economy will continue expanding – that there will be more money tomorrow than there is today.  How are we funding our retirements?  Through the assumption that money we invest in the stock market will grow, because there will be more money tomorrow than today.  How do banks make money?  By selling interest bearing loans.  And what allows us to take out a loan?  Our assumption that we’ll have more money tomorrow than we do today.  Why is our government able to create trillions of dollars in new debt?  Because of the assumption that there will be more money tomorrow than there is today.

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With all of these denial-based assumptions… I have to revert to my aunt’s favorite quote, “To ASS-U-ME makes and ASS out of U and ME.”  🙂  Seriously, all of these assumptions are not based upon any action or value on the part of Americans.  We just ASSUME there will be more money.  Much like the employee that simply expects a RAISE for doing the SAME job, adding the SAME value for one additional year.  No, No, No!! 

Steve Chandler promises that our INCOME will go up in direct proportion to the VALUE we add to the world.  What is required to take CAPITALISM to the next level is a MERGER with CREATIONISM.  No more assumptions… We can’t assume the government will bail us out…. We can’t assume that the resources of our great nation are infinite.  We can’t assume that the big wigs in Washington can pull us out of this one.. while we sit back on our ASSUMPTIONS.  

We must CREATE… Create more value.  Create innovative solutions.  Create a culture of “self – reliance”  rather than a culture of “GROSS DEPENDENCY”.   BTW, if you haven’t joined the waiting list for Steve Chandler’s CLUB FEARLESS…  do so right now…. Go HERE to get put on the waiting list:  http://www.stevechandler.com/ClubFearless.html. 

Anyway, I believe capitalism can raise our country to NEW HEIGHTS when we STOP buying the assumption of EXPANSION and start CREATING it.  You in???

The post BREAKING MERGER: CAPITALISM AND CREATIONISM appeared first on b. michelle pippin.