Archive for November, 2010

I would like to share this story by Dr. Alan Morinis about Itzhak Perlman. The story highlights how gratitude can be found in any situation; it all depends on how you look at things.

There is a story — maybe an urban legend, but full of truth nonetheless — concerning the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman. One evening, Perlman was in New York to give a concert. As a child he had been stricken with polio and getting on stage is no small feat for him. He wears braces on both legs and walks with two crutches. Perlman crossed the stage painfully slowly, until he reached the chair in which he seated himself to play.

As soon as he appeared on stage that night, the audience applauded and then waited respectfully as he made his way slowly across the stage. He took his seat, signaled to the conductor, and began to play.

No sooner had he finished the first few bars than one of the strings on his violin snapped with a report like gunshot. At that point Perlman was close enough to the beginning of the piece that it would have been reasonable to bring the concert to a halt while he replaced the string to begin again. But that’s not what he did. He waited a moment and then signaled the conductor to pick up just where they had left off.

Here’s what I think…

When you are open to gratitude you see clearly and perfectly how much good there is in your life. Gratitude affirms that very fact.

We will always be faced with challenges in our lives. Life provides the ebb and the flow no matter how much we try to resist it. There is no limit to what we don’t have and if we focus on the lack in our lives, we will inevitably be filled with an abundant amount of pain and dissatisfaction. But when we can look at our lives, businesses, and family situations with a focus on what is right, we experience gratitude.

Like other attitudes, gratitude can be cultivated. We don’t have to wait for our fairy godmother to shower us with presents to feel thankful. We can develop gratitude by reflecting on the gifts that we already have. Gratitude is the memory of our own heart I once heard someone say. It is therefore an expression of love and abiding friendship which transforms itself into deed.

I try to cultivate gratitude every day and when I feel it – when I am grateful for my body and mind, for the world in which I live, for my family and friends, for my business – I know that my spiritual path is in order. When I don’t feel it, I understand that I am off and I try to right myself.

Gratitude is profound – it takes us to the edge and beyond.

Wishing you a phenomenal Thanksgiving,

MPG isn’t an acronym for miles per gallon.  No, not this time.

It stands for My Phenomenal Goals!

My Phenomenal Goals are displayed in my office where I can see them, reflect on them and check them off in celebratory fashion when I’ve reached them.

The end of the year is fast approaching and now is the time to start thinking about what your 2011 goals are going to be.

Here’s some tips to help formulate your best goals for 2011:

1.  Sit down and revisit the goals you had for 2010. Review the questions below.  Your answers will help you create your goals for 2011.

• What goals did I reach in 2010?
• What stood in the way of me reaching any of my goals?
• What do I need to put in place this year to make sure I reach my goals in 2011?

2.  Sit down and formulate your goals for 2011. Haven’t developed any?  Well get cracking on that task.  Think about these questions to get you started:

• What’s working in my business?
• What’s not?
• What action(s) would take me closer to my commitments in the next 90 days?
• What opportunities exist right now?
• What new strategy(ies) could I implement so I can reach these goals?

3.  Determine if your goals are realistic given where you are currently and your action steps. For example, consider how you plan on bringing in revenue for the year, what program, services, or products are you launching in 2011 and what marketing strategies are you planning on implementing in the year?

3.  Next revise your goals or the plan to achieve them or maybe both so that they are in total alignment with your vision…oh, and make sure they are doable. I like to tell my clients that when developing goals you need to feel the friction between too hard and too easy…that place in between.  When you find it, that is where your goal should be.

You must take the RIGHT action in the RIGHT way at the RIGHT time while keeping a clear and positive mindset about what you want to achieve.  This combination will catapult you forward to your goals and nothing else!

Want to make sure that you are formulating the RIGHT goals, at the RIGHT time, in the RIGHT order?  Call me at 978-794-4991 or email me at maureen@daretobephenomenal.com for a strategy session to see if I can help you formulate the right plan!  It’s a simple, easy and cost effective way to make sure you are on the right track!

Join us for the Shopping and Networking Event
of the Holiday Season!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Salvatore’s
354 Merrimack Street • Lawrence, MA

Are you ready to experience the premier event of the
Holiday Season that showcases what’s phenomenal
in the Merrimack Valley?

Enter to win over 50 exciting raffle prizes. Grab a phenomenal gift bag filled with awesome products, samples and special offers if you are one of the first 200 people in the door.

Order one of the scrumptious drinks available at the cash bar or better yet, come early and dine at Salvatore’s then pop in and mix, mingle and shop to your heart’s content.

Participate in a special raffle to benefit the children of Dare Family Services and you could win a $200 Cash Prize!

Grab your friends and come enjoy all of the phenomenal vendors while networking with the most dynamic business owners, designers and entrepreneurs this side of the Merrimack River!

CLICK HERE to RSVP for the Holiday Extravaganza

During this season of gratitude I’d like you to reflect on the concept of giving your money away or “tithing”.

Did you know that giving your money away actually expands money?  Robert Allen said it best when he wrote, “Giving literally magnifies, multiplies, and exponentializes money.  Conversely, the tighter you squeeze your money, the more compact it becomes.”

People who have been fortunate enough in life to have large sums of wealth understand this concept perfectly.  They understand that by giving their money away they stand to gain far more money in return, so they give generously.

So which are you?  Do you squeeze your money or give it away?

We have all been asked to barter.  And many of us have agreed.  Maybe you traded a massage for an hour of wellness consulting, or did the books for the guy who cuts the grass around your home.

At first glance, bartering seems like a smart idea: no cash required, and Uncle Sam is none the wiser.  But, here are the reasons it can be a bad idea.

1.    You’re Blocking the Flow of Money

I bet if I asked you if you wanted more money coming into your life you would answer with an enthusiastic “YES”.  So the obvious question is why are you bartering?

Money needs to flow.  So when you barter, you stop the flow of money coming to you and back out from you and this is exactly what you don’t want to happen.

2.    People Value What They Pay For

I remember the first bartering arrangement I agreed to.  At the time, I thought it was going to be a great arrangement.  What I realized was my services were not valued and they weren’t valued because the person didn’t pay for them.

They would often not show up for appointments and they didn’t take the work we did together seriously.  All in all it was a terrible experience, albeit a great learning opportunity.

There have been countless studies showing that people will often be more apt to buy a product or service if the price is higher than an identical product or service at a lower price.  The point is, if you don’t pay for something you won’t value it as much and if you pay a higher price for it you will value it even more.

3.    Charge What You’re Worth

Engaging in long-term, habitual bartering is an admission that you don’t really know what you’re worth and don’t have enough confidence in the value of your work to charge for it.

And, I hate to say it, but you’re really hiding out — hiding from having to evaluate your work and the results you give your clients and then attaching a figure to it so that you are accurately charging what you’re worth.

4.    You’re at a Serious Disadvantage

It’s hard to hold someone’s feet to the fire on the quality or timeliness of work if you’re not writing them a check.  Worse yet, bartering sets up an uncomfortable and unbalanced situation between the parties creating feelings of resentment.  Believe me, despite the fact you go into the bartering arrangement thinking everything  is equal, it never works out that way.

Next time someone asks you to barter, resist the urge to say yes.  Instead, suggest that you both pay for each other’s services and watch how this one simple act opens the doors to great abundance in your life.

The outside of our business often has an uncanny ability to mirror for us what’s up for us on the inside.  That’s why when my business is experience a lull I immediately see the truth for what it is; an opportunity for a breakthrough.  Typically that breakthrough involves money.  So when there is a lull in my business that lasts beyond a few days my first step is to realign myself with my Money Goal.

Things that you can ask yourself to help you through this lull are:

• Is your money goal big enough?  Maybe you made your money goal a while ago and it no longer is big enough to hold what you really want.
• Does your money goal still hold meaning and significance for you?

• Are you passionately connected to the bigger why of what the money is for?

• By creating a breakthrough about money, which belief are you challenging?

Having the courage to answer these questions completely and honestly will help you get your business out of any slump that you are in.
My challenge to you is to answer each of these questions and if you feel comfortable drop me a note on my blog