http://www.ClearSimpleInspiration.com

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http://www.ClearSimpleInspiration.com

Authenticity or the state of being real not only feels good, is easy to manage (let’s face it, you don’t have to remember who you were pretending to be!) and more importantly, it leads to new levels of awareness and growth.  When you are willing to just be yourself in your relationships (business and otherwise) everyone wins because the energy vibration is much higher.  When we give into the expectations of others, we begin to die.  So authenticity is really about being faithful to the internal rather than external.

So many of my customers and yours really want to do business with people they like, they know, and most importantly trust.  Being authentic is peaceful and profitable. Follow the four part path below to become more aware and practice authenticity:

One—Decide
Before anything and before everything comes decision.  Let the universe know you are ready to be real and to grow. Trust me, you will be heard.

Two—Focus on the “Why”
After decision, remember to stop and take time for the most important question of all.  Why?  See chapter two for help during your journey along this part of the path.

Three—Commit and Recommit
Did I mention that you would have to decide over and over again and well, you never get to stop asking “why?”  Not if you want to grow.

Four—Let the Universe Flow Through You
Ahhh. The entire reason you are taking your journey is because of this part of the path. Bliss and joy are your rewards. This part of the path is what makes being an entrepreneur somewhat of a manic experience because the highs can be addictive and all consuming. When the universe flows through you, time literally disappears and you forget about all the other parts of the path.

About the Author

Sheri McConnell is the CEO of the Smart Women’s Institute of Entrepreneurial Learning (formerly the National Assn of Women Writers-2001). You can visit Sheri, access her free article archive, and grab lots of free stuff at http://www.smartwomeninstitute.com. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and three hermit crabs.

Would any of you agree that being an entrepreneur is some of the most difficult work you’ve ever done?  Would you also agree that it’s some of the most fun and rewarding work you’ve ever done?  It is true, as entrepreneurs (and most likely, parents as well), our work is never done.

Over and over again, I see entrepreneurs not taking care of the single most valuable asset they have…themselves.  Are you nodding in agreement or perhaps hiding a smile here?  I hit a cord, right?  As the busy mother of two and an entrepreneur myself, I get it.  Caring for myself and being at the top of my game is the most important move I can make in a given day.  If I don’t, everything else falls by the wayside and suffers because of it.

Below are 5 Ways to Maintain Focus & Energy, which will allow you to play at your highest and feel your best.  

#1:  Food The notion of We Are What We Eat is very true.  Maintaining focus and energy is easy to do when you eat the right foods at the right time.  Keeping your blood sugar stable and consuming clean food should be at the top of your priority list.  Once you nail this, extra weight typically goes away, your cravings will subside and you’ll find yourself feeling full and satisfied every day.  

#2:  Sleep For those of us who are parents, sleep is a joke, right?  Establishing healthy sleep patterns for ourselves is a key to maintaining a high level of focus and energy.  Without a high level of focus and energy, our work suffers, our family suffers and we feel miserable.  Balance out those late nights cramming toward a deadline with a short power nap of 20-30 minutes during the way or by taking a restorative yoga class.  Bring yourself to turn in at night and rise in the morning at the same times.  As I write this, I’m in a time zone with a two hour difference from home and am waking up naturally by 5 a.m. as I am typically fully awake and onto my day by 7 a.m. at home.  Our bodies need time to recoup and restore and establishing a healthy rhythm of sleep will help you do that.  

#3:  Thought Maintaining energy and focus is not possible without positive thought.  Working through our fears, doubts and limiting beliefs is an imperative part of achieving our goals of a successful business.  Find a mantra that keeps you clear, hang out with people that are in alignment with your goals and give yourself time for continued education for an ongoing boost of personal development.  

#4:  Environment Have you ever tried to work in a space that is dirty, unorganized or that you don’t enjoy?  It’s difficult to be productive, efficient, and not to mention, happy, in a space that doesn’t have any mojo.  Get organized, bring in a plant, let in some natural light, turn of the TV, bring in a hotplate for making tea, or light a candle.  Take a few steps toward creating the environment you want to work in and you will achieve so much more, and will do it in less time.  

#5:  Strategy We all need a game plan.  From marketing to health and from goal setting to the mundane tasks of deliveries and distribution, we need to establish how that’s going to happen.  Reaching out for support is your key to maintaining focus and energy around your strategy.  With strategy you can look at your goals and work towards reaching the next level of your business.    

About the Author

Nichi Hirsch Kuechle supports moms during pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond as a health coach, craniosacral therapist and birth & postpartum doula in Minneapolis.   She publishes a bi-monthly e-newsletter called Natural Family, which offers tips, ideas and resources for naturally raising your children.  She also teaches a variety of live and virtual workshops.  You can get Nichi’s New Parent Tool Kit, for free, by going to: http://www.myhealthybeginning.com/

It includes a hospital-birth checklist, home-birth checklist, a list of her favorite natural baby care items, creative ideas for helping siblings adjust, and much more.  Get yours today, while it’s free!

There is a list of them here:

http://www.clearsimplemarketing.com/recommended-resources-and-vendors

If we but develop the eyes to see, we will find that every day is filled with opportunities to express love and compassion, and to perform acts of kindness which can bring joy to those around us.

- Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj (meditation guru)

“It’s not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.” -Mary O’Connor

Perhaps it’s time for a time management tune-up. Here are some strategies to get you started:

1. Organize. If the clutter in your office and on your desk bothers you, spend some time getting it organized. A clear workspace will free your mind and rid yourself of distractions.

2. Prioritize. If all of your “gotta-dos” are swimming around in your head making you feel anxious, write them down on a list. You’ll feel better as soon as you do. Next, prioritize the list into:

a. Urgent – things you must do that affect your bottom line, such as preparing for a client meeting

b. Important – should-dos, such as doing your invoices to keep the cash flow coming in

c. Can wait – still need getting done, but you have some time, such as renewing your web domain before it expires

Sometimes you’ll have competing urgent tasks, and you’ll be torn over which one takes precedence. When that happens, follow the money–which item will affect your business’s income the most. That should reveal a clear winner, and if it doesn’t, quickly compare one to another, and do first the one that you select the most often.

3. Delegate. Ideally you’ll want to delegate your “important” and “can wait” tasks to your assistant, if you have one. Feel the relief already? Now you can focus on those urgent tasks that you identified with greater focus. By handing off the less urgent to-dos to someone else, you have prevented them from becoming “drop everything and do it” emergencies later.

4. Plan. Don’t let your email inbox schedule your day. Instead, take control of your agenda and determine what you want and need to get done before you get started. Use your online calendar to gently remind yourself of your pre-planned activities. Schedule your most taxing tasks for when you are most alert for greatest productivity. If you’re best in the morning, do your toughest tasks then, and save your afternoons for coffee meetings with clients.

5. Cushion. People who are always late don’t seem to know how long things take, and it’s always longer than we think. For example, you know an event is at 3pm, and it is only 1pm, so you have plenty of time. But when you add up how long it takes to shower, do hair, make-up, press your blouse, and drive in traffic, you might realize that you are already late before you started.

Try working backwards from the time you want to arrive at a function, preferably a little early to network, and subtract out the time it takes to put yourself together. Add some “cushion time” so that you’ll be relaxed when you arrive. Remember to add this padding to your calendar or online scheduler so you won’t box yourself into an impossible situation.

6. Protect. Zealously protect your calendar. People will want pieces of you throughout the day zapping your energy and time. You owe it to yourself and to others who have scheduled time with you to protect your time. “No” can be a difficult word to say, but you’ll find it can be liberating.

7. Focus. Remove your distracters to get something important done well in a short amount of time. You know what they are, and they can be addictive: cellphone, email, Facebook, etc. Just turn them off for an hour or two to be really productive. You’ll be amazed and how much you can get done!

After putting these strategies into action, be sure to schedule in a reward for yourself for being so diligent and purposeful. Like the bee, you’ll be praised, but be sure and treat yourself to some honey as well.

© 2010 Ali International, LLC

Self-made millionaire entrepreneur and Inc. 500-ranked CEO Ali Brown teaches women around the world how to start and grow profitable businesses that make a positive impact. She was named one of 2010’s Enterprising Women of the Year and was recently included in the Ernst & Young 2010 Class of Entrepreneurial Winning Women. She was ranked on Forbes.com as the #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. Get her FREE weekly articles and advice at www.AliBrown.com

One of the biggest problems associated with clutter is how it roots you in a home that leaves you little or no room for growth.

Of course, the growth I’m talking about is the growth in your life, your career, your relationships, and your wealth. We’re not so different than the beautiful plants you buy at the local nursery that look wonderful but then need to be divided or re-potted into a larger pot — everything grows.

Your life is a living, growing thing. When you’re overwhelmed by stuff, like a plant, you outgrow your pot and that’s when you start to see your relationships suffer, your business opportunities dry up, your health and vitality sapped, and finances become tighter and more restrictive.

Worse than all the stuff and visual blight that clutter represents is the way it robs you and your home of vital, happy, and lively energy. Decluttering helps to remove blockages from your life that stop the flow of energy to you and everything you enjoy.

How does clutter affect you and what benefit does decluttering offer?

Life is energy

All life requires growth, evolution and movement. When we lack these elements in our life, the energy that makes up our lives becomes stunted. Imagine not having enough energy to power a light bulb: it grows dim and burns in a weakened state. When we have overstuffed homes – especially with outdated, unused and unloved items, our lives become weakened too. But how do you know when it’s clutter and when it’s disorganization?

Clutter is when you have eight spatulas or a closet full of clothes you haven’t worn in years. Disorganization is when you can’t find what you’re looking for. Simply organizing your home with shelving, baskets, boxes, and other organizers will often clean up the disarray. In fact, by using organizing items you can often make more room than if you didn’t use them. Look at your challenges to find the kind of organizers you need. Is the big mess in the kitchen or the bathroom? Maybe the living room is out of control. You might not be able to find an important bill that needs to be paid because you don’t have a place to put the bills when they come in. No matter what your need is, there are containers of every possible size and description that can help you organize your house where you need it.

Unlike a tornado, clutter doesn’t just happen. It gets that way over time.

Sometimes clutter is so insidious that we don’t even notice it until we’re deluged by it. Hopefully, you’ve learned some things about clutter, like what it is, what to do about it, and how it’s different than disorganization. But, just like any good habit, such as exercise, decluttering isn’t something you do and then it’s done: it’s something you start and then keep doing.

Too often people are bitten by the declutter bug and make one big push to declutter. That’s wonderful and having your clutter cleared in one fell swoop feels incredible and unburdens you. Most of the time, though, clutter is related to a vitamin deficiency. Either someone is frozen in fear and doesn’t do anything about the clutter, usually because they’re just overwhelmed, or they do it once or then forget about it for the next 25 years. The key to both is Vitamin C – “consistent C.”

Schedule it

Having a regular routine for decluttering is the single best way to keep it from getting out of hand. Pick a daily time that’s convenient such as every day at four o’clock. Then, spend fifteen or so minutes working at removing clutter (tossing mail, magazines, clearing out the refrigerator). Make it long enough you can accomplish something but not so long that you’ll give up.

Declutter with other activities

Instead of just putting freshly-washed towels away toss out your old tired towels first. Or, while your child is getting ready for bed, take a moment to go through some drawers and remove outgrown or stained clothing. Decluttering as you do other things makes decluttering part of daily living — and that creates a routine.

Make it a habit to be aware

Don’t unload groceries into the refrigerator that’s messy or cluttered with jelly jars with only a teaspoon of jam in them. Instead, quickly go through the fridge and toss old items out and wipe down shelves before restocking, and do the same in the pantry – this is the quality of being present with clutter and your environment. Likewise, if you take a phone message and the pen you’re using doesn’t work, make it a habit to throw it away and not put it back in the holder (and I know you do this!).

Be present

Becoming present means that you are aware where you are. That sounds obvious, but if you’ll start becoming more aware and present wherever you are, you’ll notice that you stop forgetting things and misplacing items and you’ll notice how your home and office stay cleaner and neater more easily.You’ll also notice that you get more accomplished, you’ll scratch things off your mental and physical to-do lists, you’ll become less patient with people who drain you and you’ll get three very valuable qualities back into your life again. They are initiative, motivation and enthusiasm: the zest of living.

Yes, old, broken, crowded, and too-much stuff can do that to you — rob you of zest for living.  Free yourself and become aware of what you have and what you really use or don’t use. Getting rid of useless items will unburden your home, mind and spirit and will open up your life again!

© K Weber Communications LLC 2002-2010
This article was written by Kathryn Weber.

Kathryn is the publisher of the Red Lotus Letter Feng Shui E-zine and certified feng shui consultant in classical Chinese feng shui. Kathryn helps her readers improve their lives and generate more wealth with feng shui. For more information and to receive her FREE Ebook “Easy Money – 3 Steps to Building Massive Wealth with Feng Shui” visit www.redlotusletter.com and learn the fast and fun way how feng shui can make your life more prosperous and abundant!

The Top Eight Strategies for Boosting Productivity

How we spend our time determines the quality of our life.  Over the course of each workweek, over 80% of us waste 10-15 hours on unnecessary interruptions, procrastination, and clutter.  Consider how much more money you could make if you were productive during those 10-15 hours.  Or consider how much more fun you could have if you had an extra 10-15 hours off each week.  If you are ready to maximize your workweek, start with these simple ten strategies.
1. Create a time management system that suits your lifestyle, preferences, and values.

Find an effective time management system that works for you. We all have preferences about how, when, and where to complete certain tasks and activities. By honoring those preferences, it will be much easier to accomplish more in less time.

2. Establish visiting hours.

By establishing and announcing visiting hours, you can reduce unnecessary interruptions while offering people the opportunity to communicate with you in a relaxed setting.  I recommend keeping your office door open during visiting hours and closed at all other times.

3. Create a brain dump.

Creative people need space and a place for recording sudden inspirations, ideas, and thoughts that are often distracting during task mode. Keep a notebook, tape recorder, or file on hand to record both complex and simple ideas.  Many smart phones, such as the iPhone, offer a voice recorder application, which makes it easy to record a thought or idea and then get back to the task at hand.

4. Assign a dollar value to the total time wasted in one day.

How much time does you spend per day: Locating papers? Looking for misplaced items? Duplicating efforts? Being annoyed because you can’t find things? Dealing with interruptions that are unnecessary?  Total this time.  Next, determine what your time is worth.  If you earn $50,000 per year and work an average of 40 hours per week, your time is worth $24 per hour.  If you’re wasting 10 hours every week, that is worth $240 to you.  Type up a sign to post above your desk that says:  “Is what I am doing right now worth $24?”  You could also word it like this: “Would I be willing to pay someone $24 to do what I am doing right now?”  Just looking at that sign throughout the day will shift what you spend your time doing.  You will automatically start spending your more time on productive revenue generating tasks and less time on minutia.

5. Adopt a worst in, first out policy. Or delegate undesirable tasks.

Procrastination is one of the biggest enemies of a well-managed day. Often, we procrastinate because we do not like the task, do not have the right equipment, or we do not have enough information to make a decision. Handle the worst problems first, get them done, and then move on to the fun stuff. If you continue to procrastinate, delegate the task or hire someone to complete the task for you.

6. Batch your work.

Set up specific time slots each day to return voice mails and emails, work on projects, and so on.  By simply batching your work, you will get more done in less time.  Start by making a list of all of the tasks that need to get done and separate them by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually.  Schedule them on your calendar in batches.  For example, schedule two appointments each day to check and return emails and voice mails.  Schedule an appointment each week to send out client invoices, and so on.

7. Reduce distractions.

When working on important projects, close the door, turn off the phone, and place a sign on your door that reads: “Man or woman at work. Please return at <insert your visiting hour>.” Use this uninterrupted time to complete important projects.  On your calendar, mark out an appointment with yourself every day to work on your important projects.  Treat the appointment like it is an important appointment with your doctor.  If something gets in the way of your appointment, reschedule the appointment with yourself, just like you would reschedule your doctor’s appointment.

8. Practice saying “No” ten times each day.

More often than not, the act of saving time involves saying “no” to other people. If it is hard for you to say “no,” practice a variety of responses ten times of day. Examples of appropriate responses include: “I would love to attend, but unfortunately, I cannot make it,” or “I am flattered that you asked me, and I am unfortunately too busy to do justice to the project at this time,” or “No, thank-you,” or “No.” By saying “no” you are honoring your own life and goals.

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Here’s a Bonus Tip for You

9. Get rid of the piles of paper!

• To find out the three things you need to know before setting up a home office filing system (or any kind of filing system), click here.
• For a free Special Report on Which Papers to Keep and Which to Shred, click here.
• For more information (and a special coupon) on The Fast-Filing Method, which is an office & home filing system that guarantees you will be able to find any paper or file in 30 seconds or less, click here.

With the right tools, organizing paperwork and keeping it organized is easy!