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Retreat, Refresh and Re-Ignite your Vision

For the past 15 years, I have taken a week during my birthday month to revisit life and career, refining a vision for my coming years. I usually take a few days alone at the beach with no TV and no technology but the process can be done over time and in any quiet place.
These questions and exercises are great kindling to ignite a fire in your soul and reconnect with an authentic vision for your life and business. You can complete all the exercises or you can respond only to those which speak to you the most.

1. Imagine your face on the cover of a magazine or newspaper – the featured article is about you! If you could choose any magazine, what would it be? Is it Entrepreneur? Parents? Philanthropy Magazine? The Business Journal? What is the cover headline? What are the supporting headlines? Write the first paragraph or the whole article? Why are you being featured? Who contributes to the article and what did they say?

2. Imagine giving a speech at your own funeral. You are in a room full of all the people who have been meaningful to your life, whether living or passed. Who is there and what do you want to say to them? Who is missing and why?

3. You are being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award (think Academy Awards or similar). Who are you thanking for support, love and mentorship? Who is there? Who introduces you and what do they say? Whose face do you want to see in the front row while giving your speech?

4. Letters to Children: You write a letter to your child or grandchild at their birth. What does it say? What do you want for them? Reverse the exercise and assume your son or daughter hands you a letter upon graduation from high school or college. What does it say?

5. You and your spouse decide to renew your vows. In the presence of all your friends and family, you will deliver personal vows. What do your vows say? How about your spouse – what do his/her vows say?

6. It’s a Wonderful Life. Did you see the eternally favorite Christmas movie with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey? George is a frustrated businessman who is given the gift of an angel who shows him what life would be like if George had never been born. Envision yourself as the main character in It’s a Wonderful Life. Whose life is better because you were born? Tell the story of how you positively impacted the lives of 5 key people in your life and how you made it better.

7. The Perfect Day: What are the ingredients to a perfect day? Name at least 5 activities you would do every day without fail and be able to go to sleep contented? Is it prayer, exercise, dinner with your spouse?

8. The Bucket List: Here is another movie inspired exercise for creating a vision. The gist of the movie is about two men with fatal illnesses trying to check off a list of all the things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” You can place anything on the list: items you want to buy, places you want to travel, people you want to meet, forgiveness you want to extend, love you want to express. It’s your list.

9. Imagine your last days. Sitting in a rocking chair reminiscing beside your best friend, what will you spend your time talking about? What are the stories you tell over and over again? Who are the people you love? What are the experiences you shared which cause you to smile or laugh?

10. Wikipedia is the encyclopedia written by the crowd – anyone can contribute to it. When doing research on famous people, it’s usually their Wikipedia entry which comes up first on Google. If you’ve ever checked someone’s bio on Wikipedia, where do you look first? Are you looking for their professional achievements? Checking on how many marriages and children they have? Assume someone starts a Wikipedia entry about you. Who would contribute and what would they say? Is there anyone you don’t want to contribute to the entry?

If you are like most entrepreneurs, your personal and business lives are intertwined. You are forever trying to strike a balance between personal and business goals. You spend time creating a plan for your business which includes spreadsheets, strategies, and big goals. You write assumptions, a budget and create project plans to get the job done. But, do you spend the time to examine whether those plans fit with the vision for your life? If not, give yourself the gift of a retreat and refresh your vision.

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Don’t Go It Alone – Partners Help You Climb Higher!

web slider climb mountainIf you run a business, you know how essential it is to regularly monitor and measure the vital signs of your business, such as sales, profits, and project milestones. No matter your size, very simple processes can be put into place in a few key operational areas which can scale and grow in complexity as your business grows. But for me, it is not just the structure of processes which creates the framework for accountability – it is the key people and partnerships which keep me on track and help give life to the creative ideas that may otherwise be stuck in the “what if?” file in my mind.

Mastermind Team: I am in a group of 6 fellow business owners (4 original members) which has been meeting semi-monthly for almost 10 years. Initially begun as a group of ex-colleagues meeting to stay in touch, we became a formalized group with a structured agenda. All of us are entrepreneurial moms who work from home and have found that meeting regularly, declaring our goals, sharing our successes and struggles helps us to develop and maintain strong individual businesses (and balanced lives). Each of us began this journey with different corporate and life experiences only adding to the richness of the collective – synergy, if you will.

Coach/Mentor: Anne is a powerhouse sales executive who I was lucky enough to meet in my early 20’s when she took me under her wing. Initially supporting me as I navigated the corporate rat race, she was the first person to encourage me to become a coach and consultant and remains the person I can call for counsel with “I have this idea. What do you think?” Anytime, any day, she gives it to me straight.

Virtual Communities: I have been joining online communities and forums since the start of my business. There are so many amazing communities focused on small business and niche topics. Recently, I joined two new membership forums (ProBlogger and Third Tribe) focused on blogging and internet marketing, communities focused upon skills I am developing in support of my business strategy. In both cases, I was looking for the support of others who have “been there, done that” because I wanted to learn from the best. Communities provide a place of mutual support for entrepreneurs like me to declare tactical goals and check back with progress and feedback on work in progress in a positive learning community.

Each Accountability Partners fills a different place in my life and business and I take the responsibility for my role in the partnership very seriously.
My short list for making these partnerships successful:

1. Respect time. Whether paying a fee or not, show up when you say you are going to show up.

2. Respect the commitment. Do homework and follow through on your promises. Respect yourself and the process enough to invest time outside of the scheduled meetings.

3. Give – as much and as often as you can. Everyone wants to know you value their contribution to your business. Even in a mentor partnership, the mentor appreciates a word, a card, a written recommendation, a referral, a small token of appreciation. Yes, even the truly altruistic are grateful for appreciation – we all want to know our lives mean something to others.

Do you have Accountability Partners? How do you make the relationships successful?

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Nurture the Soul of Your Business

Are you creating a new year plan for your small business? If you are like most entrepreneurs, your plan includes a full list projects, strategies, campaigns and promotions requiring investment of your time and budget. As you reflect on past successes and look towards the future, don’t forget to plan for activities which nurture the “soul of the business” – you! You cannot do your best if you are “running on empty” – here are a few suggestions to fill your tank with energy.

1. Increase your social networking participation and expand your professional circle of contacts with Groups. Thousands of business and professional groups have active memberships on Facebook, LinkedIn and Ning focused on every conceivable topic and business segment – you will surely find one that suits your interests. Once you join groups, participate! Listen and learn from other experts. Giving freely of your expertise as a mentor is a heartening experience and helps build connections with other professionals (and generate leads). Linked In has a remarkable Answers section where you can ask a question which is open to the millions of LinkedIn professional membership for their collective wisdom.

2. Join a Twitter Chat. A Twitter Chat is an open virtual meeting uses the micro-blogging platform Twitter. I make chats a part of my weekly routine and have become connected with a great group of professionals and small business owners throughout the world. You can find a live chat on a large selection of areas of interest such as business branding, marketing, social media strategy, and other small business topics. A spreadsheet list of Twitter chats is located at http://bit.ly/7QYqrZ.

3. Commit to your personal development with web-based education. Every possible level of education is available to the small business owner. Community colleges and universities have an amazing array of credit and non-credit courses. One of my favorite sources of high quality online education is www.ed2go.com which provides a wide range of small business classes which augment online instruction with group forums for interacting with other students and facilitators.

Webinars (web based seminars) can be found on any topic, personal and professional, and are provided by consultants, technology vendors, government and small business associations. Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks provide listings of business events sponsored by their millions of members. Don’t worry if you can’t make the scheduled class time – most webinars are recorded so you can participate at your convenience. Nurture your body and business soul at the same time – download a webinar or podcast to your MP3 player and go for a walk.

4. Create a virtual Mastermind Team. A Mastermind Team is a small group of non-competing entrepreneurs who meet on a regular basis to support each other’s businesses with advice, constructive criticism, and encouragement. Meetings can easily take place using software such as Skype, GoToMeeting, or similar web-conferencing options.

5. Hire a business coach. Regular phone meetings with an accountability partner fully dedicated to your success and willing to act as a confidential sounding board regarding strategic thinking, issues resolution, or decision-making is a tremendous gift every entrepreneur deserves.

There are countless ways to leverage the internet which contribute to your personal growth, reduce feelings of isolation, provide inspiration, and increase your sense of contribution to the world at large. But, it’s not enough to simply join a group or sign up for a class. You need to make your personal and professional development a priority – show up and engage!

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