A Powerful & Comforting Tidbit

This morning I grabbed the book “Think & Grow Rich” off my book shelf.  As I flipped through it scanning the pages, I was thinking to myself  “I should re-read this at least once a year.”  I think the last time I read it was on a flight home from Thailand a few years ago.  Vacations seem to be the only time I finish books.  On a 10-day trip I will read 3-4 books, front to cover.  Over the course of a month at home, I will not read more than a chapter or two from 1 book.  Maybe the lesson here is, I should go on vacation more! 

In the book, Napoleon recommends reciting what he calls “positive thought impulses” everyday.  Throughout the book he outlines many of them and this one struck me this morning …

“I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life.  Therefore I demand of myself persistent, continuous action towards its attainment, and I here and now promise to take such action.”

To me that is powerful and comforting.

As you may know, my businesses are experiencing tremendous growth, which is requiring me to rapidly develop and expand myself.  Overall it’s extremely exciting.  I occasionally pinch myself just to make sure it’s real and not a dream.  I feel like everything I have done in my life has lead me to this point, as in, it has prepared me for what I am doing now, and I feel that what I am doing now IS my Definite Purpose.  And man it feels good.

There are times it seems a bit overwhelming (but that might be because I am also planning my wedding which takes place in a month) and I start to question if I can “really do this”.

This “positive thought impulse” had me confirm for myself that I CAN do this, achieve my Definite Purpose in life, if I continue to take “persistent continuous action” towards it.

So I best get back to work!

Why You Need to Be a Visionary

Check out this great article by Siddhartha Herdegen at:

http://www.clearsimplemarketing.com/page/413375780

You’ll discover …

What it Means to Be a Visionary

The Secret to Finding Followers

How To Create an Inspiring Vision

Go here to get the article: http://www.clearsimplemarketing.com/page/413375780

The Inside Scoop

The Story Behind Clear Simple Marketing
and
My Journey to Becoming a Marketing Maven

Today, I am mostly known as a Marketing Maven, but what you may not know about me is that I am also a professional organizer and productivity coach.  When I was just getting started as a organizer and coach, I had a full-time job and was building my organizing and coaching business on the side.

At some point, I got the courage to quit my job and work “all out” on my new business.  I had a big vision, but was without the safety net of a job, I needed to make it work.  I immersed myself in the world of marketing so that I could go big!  I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on courses and workshops.  I was running my business by day and toiling away at new marketing strategies by night.   There were many late nights!

Several years, and tens of thousands of dollars later, I had finally built a successful and profitable business. I was hosting workshops, both live and virtual, I was seeing clients, and through my website I was selling a line of products that I had created.  I successfully automated most of my marketing efforts, including my lead-generation system and follow-up system.  I also automated sales of my online products. I still operate my organizing and coaching businesses.  You can check them out at www.ClearSimpleLiving.com & www.HeidiDeCoux.com.

My friends and clients took note of my creation and began asking me to help them automate and market their businesses in the same way.   So, on the side, I began consulting clients on how to market their small businesses.  After six months, I discovered three things:

1. I LOVE helping people build successful and profitable businesses
2. Most business owners simply do not have the time to market their businesses because marketing itself is practically a full-time job.
3. It wasn’t enough to tell people what they should do to have a successful, profitable business; I wanted to do it for them.

From these discoveries, Clear Simple Marketing was born.

For more info go to:  http://www.ClearSimpleMarketing.com

E-Book Available for FREE!

My brand new e-book — “The 7 Habits of Highly Productive, Organized and Profitable Business Owners” is NOW available — for free!   Get your copy at http://www.HeidiDeCoux.com

3 Things You Need to Know …

Before Setting-Up a Home Office Filing System

How long does it take you to find a particular bill, receipt, or document from your desk?  Can you find what you’re looking for without turning over each piece of paper, digging through junk, or turning your desk inside out?  If it takes you too long to find documents, then you might need an efficient home office filing system.

A home office filing system helps you to keep documents and files in a neat, orderly, and categorized manner so that you will never have to dig through piles of paper or junk looking for another file again. Here are three things that you need to know before you set up a home office filing system:

1. The most efficient home office filing systems are category based systems

Arranging your files in a category based system allows you to find whatever you need much faster than other systems. For example, alphabetical systems can be very confusing.  If file documents in alphabetical order, you might put your car-insurance policy under “C” for “car” or under “I” for “Insurance Company.”  In an alphabetical system, finding that policy again becomes a matter of your long-term memory, or luck.  Different types of papers should go under different, carefully selected categories that make sense so that the next time you need a file, you’ll find it in a jiffy.

2. A good home office filing system is clear about what to keep and what to shred

Have you looked at the huge pile of papers on your desk lately?  Have you tried sorting out what you need and what you don’t?  You’d probably be surprised at the huge pile of papers that should be thrown away or shredded. When you have trimmed your piles down to the keepers, it will be easier to put them away in your home office filing system. For a complete list of which papers to keep and which to shred from a good home office filing system, see the resource box at the end of this article.

3. Choose a home office filing system that will grow with you

A home office filing system will spare you from the frustration of wasting time and energy searching for files, letters, receipts, bills and other documents. Furthermore, as your household or business grows, a makeover of your home office filing system can save you from paying hefty late-fee for bills that are not paid on time.  It can also keep you from missing business deadlines because you lost an important document in the clutter.  A good home office filing system can grow with your growing needs.

For info on the best home office filing system, click here.

The Best Way to Organize Your Paperwork

If you’re someone can’t see your desk beneath huge mountains of papers and files, and if your idea of organizing paperwork is by stacking them on top of your table or stuffing them inside drawers, then you probably want to know how to organize paperwork and cut the clutter. Organizing paperwork using a simple category based system that grows with your needs can help you find things.  If you get it right the first time, you’ll never have to re-do your filing system again.

Here are some ways to organize paperwork in your office and home:

*Keep it simple. If you organize paperwork in a complicated system, you may not be able to keep up with the influx of documents, let alone a growing business or household, and you would still end up with clutter.

*Avoid color-coding. This is a great, intuitive way of organizing paperwork.  But if you run out of a particular color and need to start a new category, you’ll waste time by going out for supplies, or by trying to accommodate the new category with existing colors.

*Designate a particular area in your home to organize paperwork, even if it is only a drawer.

*Put all documents and files that do not fit into any of the categories under  “Miscellaneous” files. From time to time, organize paperwork in this folder before it fills up and check if you can come up with a new category.

*If you do not have time to organize paperwork each time documents arrive, put them under a category called “To File” but don’t accumulate such papers for too long.  Organize paperwork regularly.

*In a house with children, it can be challenging to organize paperwork.  You can keep a special clipboard or bulletin board in a prominent place where you can put all important permits, admission slips, forms, and school documents and other papers related to your children.

*Go over both your, work and home office filing system regularly, and organize paperwork by taking out those papers that you no longer need. This could include last year’s bills, warranties on items that are no longer valid, and other unnecessary papers.

*Keep a paper shredder and recycling bin near your table where you usually open your mail. When unwanted, unnecessary mail comes in, do not hesitate to shred it, or toss it in the recycling bin.  For a detailed list of what you need to keep and what to shred, click here.

….

The Fast-Filing Method – Find What You Want FAST!

“Find any paper or file in 30 seconds or less, guaranteed!”

The Fast-Filing Method is the “play at home version” of Heidi’s renowned home office filing system, which she has successfully set up for thousands of clients.  This one-of-a-kind, efficient system will eliminate piles of papers on your counter tops, desk, and tables.  You will save time, money, and GAIN piece of mind! After implementing this simple filing method you will be able to put away and locate any paper document or file in 30 seconds or less, guaranteed!

Click here for the full story & to get your copy.

You Can Live Simple in Style!

Check out how this architect transformed a tiny condo into a stylish, functional and fully equipped 24-room home.

Make Money De-Cluttering Your House!

According to a report by NBC, the average American home has $2,500 worth of stuff that is not being used and is just taking up space.  You can actually make money by de-cluttering and organizing your home!

Start by walking through your home with a laundry basket and fill the basket with items that you are no longer using or don’t like all that much.

Ebay, CraigsList and Webidz are great resources for selling off items you no longer need for some extra cash.

It’s easy and on Criags List it’s free.  You will make some extra money, de-clutter your home and help someone out that wants what you have. Plus it’s great for our environment because you are recycling your unwanted items by making them available to someone who can put them to use.

6 tips to make it easy:

#1 — Your title is critical.  You must have as many keywords in it as possible (or no one will find your listing) and use all of the characters they allow you.  For example, if you are selling kid size hangers you may use this as your title:

Kid size white plastic hangers, for toddler & kid clothing

At the bottom of your ad include a line of keywords and put common misspellings of your keywords.  For example, if you are selling an armoire, your keyword line may look like this:

Keywords: armore, armour, armoires, TV cabinet, office armoire, media armoire, free standing cabinet

By doing this, your ad will come up on more searches.  Think about all of the words someone may search for when looking for the type of item you are selling.  Include all of those words in your ad in the keyword line at the bottom.

#2 — Re-post your ad every 3 days.  They get posted in date order and by day 3 it will buried and no one will see it.

#3 — ALWAYS show a photo.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  People what to see exactly what their getting.

#4 — Describe your item in depth.  This will save you time from answering questions and you will be more likely to sell your item faster.  If it’s a piece of furniture, provide all dimensions, everything you know about the piece (where it is from, when it was made, what it is made out of, what uses it is good for, etc.) and describe all blemishes.  If you don’t check your email often, include your phone number in the ad.

#5 — Start with CraigsList.  Ebay & Webbize cost money to list your items, you need to have a merchant PayPal account and be a little savvy to run a successful auction.  CraigsList is free and easy.  Plus you get to meet new cool local people.  I have friends and clients that I have met through buying and selling on CraigsList.  I have even heard of people meeting their spouses from a sale of an unwanted item.
#6 — Use basic HTML to make your ad easy to read.  To put a space in between your lines of text, put this after the sentence <p>.  To put your text on the next line, put this after the sentence <br>.

Remember What Excites You

“Wake up! Remember what excites you. Think of these things, those friends, and the adventures that can be yours. Focus. Care. Fantasize. Imagine. It’s all so near. Speak as if you’re ready. Paste new pictures in your scrapbook, on your vision board, and around your home and office. Physically prepare for the changes that you wish to experience in your life. You’ve done this before. You know it works. You’re due for an encore. It’s time to amaze. That’s why you’re there.

And it’s why I’m here,
The Universe”

http://www.tut.com?a_aid=ClearSimpleLiving

Relax & Do Something

It really doesn’t matter what.  As long as you are moving forward.  Taking action.  Making mistakes.  Learning lessons.  The only danger to your success is not getting started.

-Alexis Neely