One of the things that I’ve been bad about in my business (and content) is making it all about business.
I mean #letsgetreal…
I am obsessed with mindset work… as a former therapist and as someone who has created success in multiple businesses I know this is the foundation and the key for creating anything you want.
I love strategy. Studying the strategies of hundreds of businesses when getting my MBA got me hooked. Creating strategy for myself and my clients has proved to me that it’s non-negotiable.
Execution is my everything. Mindset and strategy are nothing if you’re not executing on them, making them work for you, and bringing your desired results to life.
I could talk about these concepts endlessly (to anyone that will listen).
But here’s the thing… they actually apply to ALL areas of our life, not just business.
If you’re struggling in almost any area all of this work is required.
If you want to lose weight… mindset, strategy execution.
If you want to find love and get married…. mindset, strategy, execution.
I could go on, but it’s fascinating how much these concepts show up (and are non-negotiables) in our lives as much as our business.
That’s why I’m making a commitment to my community to talk MORE about my life and how I apply these concepts and make things work both in AND out of my business. I’ve been making it ALL about business all the time, and while that’s my favorite topic I want to commit to including more of the “real life” stuff…
MINDSET
I started this business because I was DONE being a slave to a job and working for a crappy boss, so I don’t want to be a slave to a crappy boss (i.e. ME) in this business.
I spent a lot of time feeling guilty for putting in the hours or feeling guilty for NOT putting in the hours.
What I’ve found works best for me is being available to do both. What I mean by that is that sometimes I DO work long hours and commit a ton of energy but it’s done because I DESIRE to, not because I’m forcing myself too.
I’m also available to realize when I’m being a shitty boss to myself and to take a step back.
For too long I subscribed to other’s philosophies on this like… work X amount of hours per day, have a shut off time, etc. and now I just follow what actually WORKS for me because here’s the thing… I’m a high-performer and I am literally WIRED for achievement. So what feels good and works for me might be different than what feels good and works for someone else.
If I need to put in the hours (and can) then I do. If I need to slow down… I do that too.
What shifted in my mindset to make all this happen was to not make myself “wrong” for doing either. So often I see entrepreneurs making themselves wrong in one of these two areas:
- Not taking enough time off
- Taking too much time off
So today I’d love for you to take some time to stop making yourself wrong and start feeling into… What is that life/biz balance (I kind of hate this word because perfect balance is bullshit, but you get what I mean) that actually serves you and what if that looked different at different times?
What if you gave yourself permission to ebb and flow with that and to change your mind when it felt good?
Share with us below… What would that feel like? What are your thoughts on this topic? Can you relate?
STRATEGY
One of the best strategies for incorporating your business into your life (and not the other way around), is actually having a strategy 🙂
What I mean by that is that so often we treat our business as something completely separate from our personal life. Then we end up launching at inconvenient times, being stressed when personal stuff comes up, and overall trying to manage competing calendars and priorities.
For me, having a strategy looks like planning my business in a way that supports my life.
For example, I just did a small launch of Value-Centered Sales over the last couple of weeks because toward the end of the year I’ll be traveling, in a wedding, etc.
I won’t launch anything else for the rest of the year (even if it’s small) because it won’t fit with my personal calendar along with the normal running of a business and a full practice of 1:1 clients.
Yet, if I wasn’t planning ahead, not looking at the two calendars together, and not consistently prioritizing it would be impossible to plan or know that.
What that looks like in practice is that I do my own form of bullet journaling on a daily basis, have a long-term calendar for all biz/personal stuff together, and also keep business and personal “brain dump” lists in a journal together.
The point is… these aren’t segregated pieces, but important pieces that have to work together and be prioritized accordingly.
When we’re the CEO of our life AND our business that’s a non-negotiable. We have to stop pretending that as entrepreneurs the two don’t blend constantly and instead, we have to be proactive about making them blend with more ease.
EXECUTION
One of the best ways that I’ve found to execute on creating success in business AND life (where I don’t feel like I’m being pulled between the two) is to get my partner and those around me BOUGHT IN (or enrolled) in my plan.
At the beginning of my business my husband had a really hard time adjusting as I moved from a typical 9-5 to a work-from-home entrepreneur.
He would often forget that I was actually WORKING from home… ya know? Not just laying around, watching Netflix, and eating sour patch kids (although wouldn’t that rock sometimes? 😉
This was a BIG sticking point for us for quite awhile because he’d always say things like… “Well, if you have time today can you….?” And when you’re an entrepreneur working from home the assumption is that usually you have time (or the ability to make time).
But here was the issue…. He wasn’t bought into my strategy and plan.
He didn’t know what I was “doing” when I was “playing” on Facebook and Photoshop all day long.
He didn’t get that I “didn’t have time” when I was jumping on Skype calls for “coffee dates”.
And honestly? In retrospect, I totally get it. I hadn’t helped him to buy into my plan.
Once I helped him understand what my day looked like, what my goals were, what was possible, and what I was trying to accomplish… things shifted.
Now, don’t get me wrong… it’s not perfect. There are still plenty of days where my “being home” means I get asked to do plenty of things that I didn’t when I was at a 9-5. However, not nearly like I used to and I’m always WELCOME to say no.
However, getting your partner/spouse bought in and KEEPING them bought in is an ongoing process that you have to implement consistently.
I enroll my husband in all my ideas, plans, endeavors, financial goals, etc. To be clear, this isn’t because I’m not an empowered business woman. It’s because I’m a CEO and I’m relentless about making sure everyone on my team (including my partner) is bought into the vision I’m creating.
So today I’d love to ask you… as the CEO of your own life and business… who do you need to get BOUGHT IN to your plan and vision? Who can you enroll in your new ideas so that THEY can support you as the powerful CEO you truly are (not just the “woman working from home”)?
Are you making it all about business? What’s your strategy for combining your biz + life (I think everyone has their own way that works for them!)?