A Run of Reflection

We’ve all seen and continue to see the terrible devastation that the people of Japan face as a result of the recent natural disasters and the resulting knock-on effects. This post is inspired by all that is happening in Japan.

Regular readers know that I’m a runner, and today, I did a Run for Japan which is “bringing together the global running community and showing solidarity and support through dedicating runs around the World to the people of Japan.” Run for Japan is a fundraiser with the goal to cover 24,901 miles (right around the world) in 28 days with at least one run dedicated from every country in the World. Each runner is asked to make a donation of at least one unit of their home currency per mile.

Today I headed out for my Run for Japan and as always, was focused on where I would run, how far, what sort of time I’d do it in – all the usual things.

But halfway through the run, something strange happened.

I reached the Botanic Gardens and noticed a structure I’d never seen before – perhaps because I’m usually too focused on the run itself, or perhaps it’s new – I honestly don’t know.

I stopped and took it all in.

I continued on my way but instead of running and focusing on making up for the lost time, I walked through the gardens and actually saw the gardens, the trees, the sculptures, the volunteers working and the wide array of animals. It was beautiful and despite running through these gardens many, many times, I believe today was the first day I truly appreciated them for more than a traffic free running path.

My mind is always buzzing with thoughts and ideas when I run (a pain control mechanism I think!) but today, I felt peaceful and reflective. As I looked and saw, I thought about the life lessons and metaphors I was experiencing and I made the short collage below to share with you.

The biggest lesson for me today, was this:

There are big rewards for taking time out to stop and reflect instead of just racing to the finish line.

We need to appreciate what we’ve got and not just what we want. Enjoy it today. Tomorrow it may be gone.

If you are able to make a donation to support Japan, please do. Here’s a link to the Australian Red Cross site.

Please like or share this post to help the people of Japan. Leave a comment too if you’re moved to do so.

Stop Reading. It’s Bad For You

Yes you did read that correctly. Of course I mean after you’ve read this article 😉

I love reading. My bookshelves are overflowing with books. My husband loves to read and our 6yr old son loves to read too. I read fiction, non-fiction, business books and books about running. I hate it when people ask me “what’s your favorite book?” Why? Well, I’m hopeless at remembering titles and authors and I’ve read so many great books that I find it hard to choose a favorite.

If I love reading so much, why am I telling you to stop?

Well, I’m talking about getting caught in the common trap of trawling the internet seeking out the latest and greatest articles and posts from “those in the know”. Downloading the free ebooks that promise you how to attract thousands of loyal clients in your sleep. Why oh why do I get sucked into those catchy titles? I must’ve downloaded over 100 ebooks in the past year. I’ve probably read one quarter of them at best.

Don’t get me wrong. There are some amazing free resources out there. Some are so good in fact, that I don’t understand why they are being offered for free. Well, I do know why. They are offered as a marketing hook, a list building magnet, a client relationship building tool etc. In fact, I offer one myself “Kick Start Checklist” along with some audio downloads.

I’ve also paid for some articles and ebooks and guess what? I’m 100% more likely to read the articles I’ve paid for than those that are free. I know this is true for people who download my freebies too. Less than 50% actually open the first email containing the download links! I don’t know how many of those that open, then read / listen but I bet it’s not 100%! Now this could say something about the quality of my freebies but I think it’s more of a reflection of internet behavior in general.

But why I am saying reading is bad for you? Well, it’s bad for you if you spend waste your valuable time trawling, downloading and skimming articles instead of doing what you need to do to take your business to the next step.

It can also be bad for you if you become so overwhelmed by the abundance of information that you end up stuck and unable to work out which “advice” to follow. You have a university degree worth of information but can’t put pen to paper to write that exam essay!

Finally, it’s bad for you if you if it starts playing with your head. You know “Wow, that’s a fantastic ebook and she’s offering it for free! There’s no way I could produce anything that good. Oh, I’m never going to make a success of my business. No one will want to listen to what I’ve got to say, never mind pay money for it.” Or something along those lines.

I’m not really suggesting that you should stop reading completely but here are a few tips to help you avoid the pitfalls mentioned above.

Limit yourself to one hour per day

I believe in keeping up to date and in continuous learning, so searching for new and interesting ideas is worthwhile but limit yourself to one hour per day maximum. Don’t do it during your prime productive time. Choose a time like lunchtime or later in the evening (instead of or while watching crap TV).

Search for specific articles

Think about what you’re currently working on and what ideas, inspiration or knowledge you need to take the next step. Be disciplined and only search for articles that you can use this week. If you happen to come across something interesting, then flag it or tag to read later.

Learn the lesson and take action

Read the article, listen to the audio or watch the video and take notes as you go. Decide exactly how you are going to apply it to your business. What actions will you take?

Use technology

Use bookmarks, Instapaper, a web reader like Google Reader, Kindle / iBooks and other technology to save time and to organize your reading lists. If you have an iPad, you can then save everything to one of these applications and read it when you have downtime – waiting for the kids at soccer practice, while eating lunch, in bed or at the beach.

Stop negative self talk

If you find yourself slipping into negative thinking as you’re reading an article, stop. Either reframe your thinking and work out how you could improve on the article and make it work for your business or stop reading and move onto a task that you makes you feel good about yourself.

I do hope you’re still reading 😉 In my fortnightly newsletter, I share my blog finds of the week and those that I recommend are definitely worth adding to your favorite Reader.

Do you find yourself downloading freebies but not ever reading them?
Can you relate to the negative thinking?
What tips can you share to make reading for business productive?

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Everyone Wants to Be Rich, Happy & Hot

One of the people of my watch-list is Marie Forleo and if you visit her blog, you’ll see that her tagline is:

Where Women Entrepreneurs Live Rich, Happy and Hot

Nice eh?

As a woman entrepreneur, I certainly want to be rich, happy and hot.

But today I feel poor, pissed off and far from hot!

You see, I’ve had one of those weeks. You know the ones where nothing seems to work like it should. Let me share my woes – they say sharing makes you feel better so let’s see.

• My internet connection is sloooooooooow and I don’t know why but the result is it’s taking me ages to get things done
• I wanted to makes some changes to my website but didn’t have the know-how so have to wait for my web developer to do it for me
• My taxes from last year have been hanging over my head and I had to get them done even though I really wanted to spend the time doing other things
• I’m creating a new program which I know will be great but that stupid negative little voice inside my head won’t shut up
• I want to bounce some ideas around but I don’t want to burden my networking community because they’re all busy too
• I had to delete over 150 “likers” from my Facebook fanpage and only 38 have “re-liked” which is pretty depressing 😦
• I saw a sales promotion for a program about “how to build a thriving online audience” featuring gurus like Corbett Barr, Leo Barbuto, Gary Vaynerchuk and Danielle LaPorte but I’ve spend my training budget so can’t do it.

I could go on, and on, and on, but I realize you’ve probably already got the violin out! I know, none of these things are big disasters and as my stepson would remind me “they’re very 1st world problems.” He’d be right of course. But the thing is, they’re my problems and I have to deal with them.

The reason people like Marie Forleo, Corbett Barr, Leo Barbuto, Gary Vaynerchuk, Danielle LaPorte and hundreds of others are in business, is because these are the sorts of issues entrepreneurs face and have to deal with – especially those of us in the startup and early growth stages.

So what am I going to do about all of these terrible problems?

Deal with the overwhelm

Serendipitously I read a blog post over lunch (yep that’s what we entrepreneurs do for lunch!) written by another person on my watch-list Peter Shallard – The Shrink for Entrepreneurs. It was all about dealing with overwhelm. You know, when it all gets too much? He advises to “Be in the Now” meaning don’t focus on all that has to be done at some point in the future. Instead deal with what can be done right now.

Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint

As many of you know, I’m a runner – well an aspiring runner. I’m also terribly impatient. I want everything NOW! My husband (AKA Adonis) introduced me to the wonderful phrase “instant gratification is too slow”. That sums me up perfectly. However, I need to remember when it comes to growing a business, I need to be patient. I’m in this for the long haul. It takes time so I need to give it time.

Ask for help

I’m a big believer in the strength and power of networks, communities, support groups – whatever term tickles your fancy. I’m an extrovert so I get my energy from other people. I need people to talk to, share ideas with chew the fat with. I’m just not very good at asking for help, especially when I need it most. You see, I don’t like to be a burden and I hate not being good at things so asking for help can be tough but I need to JFDI.

Tell the negative voice to eff off

This is hard to do. I’m a high achiever and a perfectionist. Yes, I’m a nightmare to live with 🙂 The result is that I’m never satisfied and always think I can do better. For me, it also means I think everyone else is doing it better than me, faster than me or smarter than me. Some days that negative voice just doesn’t let up. It shouts rather than whispers. I need to tell it to hush. I need to teach that positive, supportive little voice to speak up and speak often.

Ahhhhh. I’m feeling better already. Rich, Happy, Hot….not yet but working on it.

As an entrepreneur do you ever feel this way?
Do you have any other tips to help me and others like me?

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