Getting in your own way? Maybe it’s because…

We all have hopes and dreams, but only a few of us ever take the necessary steps to turn them into reality. Why?

My favorite answer comes from the crystal merchant in Paolo Coelho’s must-read fable, The Alchemist.

The main character, Santiago, a Spanish shepherd in search of a treasure, meets the crystal merchant in Morocco when he’s down and out. The merchant gives him food, a job, and a place to stay, and as they get to know each other better, he reveals his own dream: to travel to Mecca.

(He doesn’t have the time or money to travel to Mecca right now, but someday….)

Soon, an interesting thing happens.

As Santiago works in the merchant’s store, sales start to take off. Before long, the merchant has all the money he needs for his Mecca trip, and could safely leave store operations in the hands of Santiago.

But he doesn’t go.

When Santiago finally asks why, the merchant answers:

"Because it's the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. That's what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch and dinner at that same horrible café. I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living." 

In other words, it never really had anything to do with money. And it wasn’t about time.

By keeping his dreams as dreams, he could hold on to the status quo rather than risking the unknown.

The trade-off? He lives an unsatisfactory life that never measures up to his dreams.

Using the lottery ticket example from last week, the crystal merchant’s story is like buying a lottery ticket in the hopes that it will enable you to live an entirely different life, and actually winning(!!!) … but then doing nothing.

So now a question for you: If you’re not currently pursuing your dreams, what do you think is the deeper reason?

(I’d love to hear the answer, and would be so honored if you’d share it with me in the comments below or in our group, The Uncommon Way Community.  No matter how big it seems, voicing it in the open will start undercutting its power.)

The bottom line is this: Defining what you want is the critical first step, but it isn’t enough.

To actually get what you want, you’ve got to decide that you’re really going to go after it. (And that’s what most people never fully do.)

Here’s to allowing yourself to ask for something more,

Jenna

5 steps for staying on track when life gets overwhelming

Does it feel like your project or business – the one you began with so much enthusiasm – is starting to take a back seat to the rest of your life? Do you hear those statistics about new businesses failing and wonder if you might be headed in that direction?

The question of why some businesses fail is a good one. You could blame undercapitalization, faulty market research or a downturn in the economy. But I think the primary culprit is overwhelm.

Last week I made my case for why, when life gets crazy, you should scale back your projects rather than putting them on hold.

This week, I want to share what’s been working for me as I attempt to do exactly that!

Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to keep your projects moving forward even when you’re short on time and bandwidth, regardless of whether your ‘project’ is a business or major life change, and regardless of whether you’re just beginning or farther into the process:

1. Be realistic:

Remember (from last week), the aim here is to keep things going but avoid burnout.

Be realistic about how much time you can commit, and then reduce that by a half to a third. (That also happens to be my favorite travel tip for packing lightly!)

You can always add more into your schedule if you find additional time.

Under-scheduling is much better than overcommitting, because productivity skyrockets when you maintain a positive-feedback loop. (Read more about this and the Harvard Business Review’s supporting study by downloading our free Idea to I Did It ebook, here.)

Personally, I spent about six hours on my business for two of the last three weeks, and only about two hours now that I’m on my road trip to my new home.

The open road… somewhere in Kansas (maybe).

2. Prioritize:

One of the most important things you can do in business AND life is to figure out your priorities. Clarity makes everything better.

For more on this, check out No, No, No (Assuming Risk) – my very first post on this site! (That should tell you how seriously I take this topic.)

It’s about the power of saying no to those things that aren’t worth prioritizing, and why U.S. military leaders coined the term “assuming risk” to describe a tactic that keeps them focused and productive even when the stakes are so high.

Right now, producing content is really important in my business, so I committed to maintaining my weekly publication schedule. I’m also preparing to launch a podcast in a few months, so even though it isn’t urgent at the moment, it’s extremely important and worth prioritizing.

So what’s my big “No” (where I assume risk)? Income, for one. I made sure that I didn’t have any long-term coaching clients during this time, restricting myself to shorter introductory packages so that I’d have more control over the timing.

Social media is also taking a back seat, along with any kind of promotion or professional development (All those articles filled with great content from mentors and thought leaders? I guess I’ll get to them later if I’m meant to see them.)

3. Strategize

Once you’ve figured out your priorities, how can you make the related tasks as streamlined and time-efficient as possible? What can be outsourced? What’s ahead on the calendar that will help or hinder you?

You want to map out everything so that you don’t get caught by surprise and drop the ball. 

Weeks before the movers were at my house, it was already easy to imagine how difficult it would be to produce a new blog post, so I lined up a guest post (the fabulous 1 Simple Strategy for Creating Success). Don’t be afraid to tap into your network to get you through the lean times!

4. Get Accountable

It’s natural to need a little extra accountability during this time.

Be honest about how much you need, and put something in place. Some people do fine with simple calendar notifications or public declarations. Others need an accountability group or to hire a private coach. 

My go-to is a mastermind group, and I’ve made space for it during these busy weeks. Of course I value the advice and friendship of my fellow business owners, but I also know myself and recognize that our weekly check-ins help me keep reaching for new levels in my business.

Just this week they encouraged me to push past resistance and reach out to a dream podcast guest for an interview (despite the fact that I haven’t launched so have no audience). Guess what? We’ll be recording later this month!

5. Less attachment, more c’est la vie

Give yourself permission to take things a little less seriously, and cut yourself some slack if something unexpected gets in the way of your plans.

This is especially important for recovering perfectionists (like me)!

…Maybe the world won’t fall apart if your post comes out a few hours late (I’m testing that right now).

…Maybe your future clients will be willing to wait a few weeks to book with you. 

…Maybe people will still find value in your work even if you’re not the social media queen.

There’s a sweet spot that lies somewhere between your high standards and completely blowing everything off, and that’s exactly where both business and life thrive. (Hint: That spot isn’t static. It shifts over time.)

Look back over this list whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, and I guarantee you’ll see that you’ve veered off track on at least one of the points. If you can incorporate all five, you’ll be fine.

Here’s to maintaining your sanity AND your goals,

Jenna

Keep up with projects when you’re just too busy (Or, ‘How to maintain your business when you’re buying and selling a house while moving cross-country and six months pregnant’)

Does it ever feel like you’re just too busy to work? Or move forward with that dream project? Or spend time with your family or partner? Or exercise…?

Life happens. I get it.

I’ve been having one of those months myself:

We had houseguests. We packed up all of our worldly possessions and headed out on a cross-country move after a vacation week on the gorgeous, sunny coast of Maine.

Overlooking a schooner race in Portland, Maine

We worked on buying one house and selling another (in that order). I juggled restless nights with an ever-increasing belly. And perhaps the most upheaval of all: we air-freighted our fur-baby Skye off to Grandma’s so that she wouldn’t have to endure the road trip and dislocation. (She survived just fine and now is being pampered beyond belief.)

It’s been the kind of season where you’re so busy focusing on the urgent that it’s almost impossible to spend time on the important.

Deadlines get delayed, projects get scaled back, things get put on hold. It happens to the best of us, right? No shame.

So what’s the problem?

The problem arises when people try to burn the candle at both ends for too long and then burn out – or worse – they feel so upset over the difference between what they expect they should be doing and what they’re actually doing that they decide to stop completely.

You know, "I’ll just take a little hiatus until things settle down…"

But once you lose momentum, it can be really hard to resume.

Months go by. Sometimes, years.

And there’s not a lot of incentive to start up again, because last time it wasn’t sustainable. Why invest the time and then deal with feelings of inadequacy and disappointment?

What to do instead 

Here’s what to do instead: Do NOT put your projects on hold.

Instead, scale back.

Your ideas and goals are important. (If you don’t believe that, who will?)

And anything that’s important is worth your commitment and continuity.

Lots of us take an all-or-nothing approach. Don’t be that person. Be the person who makes it to the finish line even if it means slow, steady and persistent.

Next week I’ll share how you can do exactly that, even if you’re up to your eyeballs with a million competing priorities.

Here’s to keeping the ball moving no matter what,

Jenna

Skye, playing hide and seek with Grandma

1 simple strategy for creating success

Today's post was written by health coach Carol Egan. Although geared towards wellness, the strategy she outlines applies to anything in life. I thought it was so well written that I asked for permission to reprint it here. It was originally posted at Carol-Egan.com under the title, "1 Super Simple Strategy to Look and Feel Amazing." Enjoy!

You want to lose weight. You want to ditch sugar cravings. You want to get to look and feel amazing — and your tired of the yo-yo get-healthy struggle with no lasting success.

What do Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali have in common with Jim Carrey, Oprah Winfrey and Jack Canfield in creating success? ONE simple strategy. 

Affirmations.

All used affirmations to create success! Why would we not use affirmations in our get-healthy goal setting? Makes no sense not to, right? 

You’ve likely heard Muhammad Ali’s signature affirmation in his “I am the Greatest” speech:

Maybe you’ve heard Michael Jordon say, “If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit!!!”

But do you know that Jim Carrey used affirmations to obtain work and make a name for himself as he struggled to become an actor, to then garner his first 10 million dollar role in Dumb and Dumber? 

Or that Oprah Winfrey used affirmations as she rose from poverty and being told no over and over as a black woman in a largely white male dominated profession, to hosting the highest-rated television program of its kind in history?

How about Jack Canfield, co-creator of the “Chicken Soup For The Soul” series?

He used affirmations to keep him going, though ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY publishers rejected his book idea on after another, before he found one publishing house to print his manuscript.

Without affirmations, without believing in themselves and all that they knew they were capable of achieving, how could Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Jim Carrey, Oprah Winfrey, or Jack Canfield and so many others have created success in the face of years of seeming failure and rejection?

So WHY on earth would YOU not use affirmations to achieve your get-healthy goals, when you now know they’re effective? I mean, c’mon, they literally work! Actually, why would any of us not capitalize on any strategy that is super easy, like affirmations in any area of life, especially in the get-healthy game that leaves so many often without lasting results! 

The purpose of an affirmation is to push the edges of what you think is possible.

But if you don’t think it’s possible for you to look and feel better than you ever have, OR if you believe that “you’re too old,” “too busy,” “too tired,” or worse, some cockamamie limiting thought like “Americans don’t eat like that,” or “my family and friends don’t eat like that,” without affirmations and shifting to a more empowered mindset, your sunk. Doomed. Stuck in thoughts that could keep you at a weight you hate, feeing disempowered, exhausted, addicted to unhealthy food — and looking far less radiant than your best self!

Why not try affirmations? It’s a no-brainer. Right?

But let me let you in on an important insider’s secret, the effectiveness of your affirmation depends on how you FEEL when you say it!

When I help my 1:1 clients create affirmations, we always go by how they FEEL!

Do you feel excited, like, I’m not sure this is possible — I’ve never achieved this before, but I LOVE the whole idea of creating this result, then you’re on the right track!

Does it leave you flat? Unexcited? If yes, it’s likely not the right affirmation for you.

Do you feel indifferent, like it feels good, but it’s not really a stretch for you to achieve? It’s probably not inspiring enough to pull you forward.

I mean, c’mon, if you seriously want to look and feel amazing — IF you really want to lose weight, reverse health damage and INCREASE anti-aging benefits, then you need an affirmation that will pull you into action, pull you forward when everyone is saying, “Lighten up, go with the flow.” (READ: Lighten up, go with the flow = follow me to ruin and demise! Ha! ’Tis  true! Statistics of chronic disease are NO joke today!)

To create your affirmation use the Hammer Approach or the Butterfly Effect.

The Hammer Approach is when you pick one affirmation that you want to deeply integrate into your subconscious and conscious mind. I LOVE this technique. It’s like motivation on steroids because it helps me focus and create solid, tangible results repeatedly.

For example, my current affirmation is, “I am SO pumped to consistently set and achieve meaningful and extraordinary results today!”

This affirmation says it all for me. It’s all encompassing. It covers my commitment to my physical, mental, emotional, Spiritual AND professional goals and needs! I pick affirmations that are expansive, to include all I want to achieve in all areas of life!

It’s the Hammer Approach because you nail down ONE affirmation everyday so it becomes part of your life!

The Butterfly Effect is when you create a new affirmation everyday. I LOVE these too, and include them daily. For example, if you want to practice saying YES to choosing healthy food choices everyday, I say things like:

I am SO pumped that the healthy food choices I make today feel FUN and taste delicious!

I am SO pumped that my skin RADIATES from the healthy food choices I make today!

I am SO pumped by how my clothes just slip right on from the healthy food choices I make!

Remember, when creating an affirmation, you want how it makes you FEEL to guide you!

And it’s not an either or approach! 

You can hammer down one affirmation that you know will help you move closer to achieving your BIG, WILD AND EXCITING health goals everyday, AND you can create daily affirmations that you know could help you on any particular day!

To get started, think about something that you think is flat-out not possible, but something that you flat-out would LOVE to have happen in your life, and create a Hammer Approach affirmation. Repeat that one every day. Then, create a few Butterfly Effect affirmations pertinent to the day, to keep you moving toward you exciting goal!

Let’s try it:

WHAT health goal seems impossible to you, seems to allude you up until now, but would be way cool to achieve?

Create your goal into an affirmation.

Write them out and post them below in the comments section. Let’s power them up together!

Feel stuck? Tell me what you’re thinking, where you think you could be stuck, and let’s move your thoughts in an empowering way about a health matter that’s limiting you.

Why curiosity beats waiting for intuition, inspiration, or complete information

*Do you feel like if you could only figure out what you want to do next in business or life, you’d finally be able to close that gulf between where you are now and where you actually want to be?

Last week I suggested that your best tool for making that happen – even if you have absolutely no idea what you want to do – has been sitting right under your nose.

It’s your curiosity.

This tool is simple and effective! It worked for me and so many others, including Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. Right when things seemed darkest in her life she decided to sign up for an Italian class, and that one decision eventually led to her writing the bestseller that would change her life forever.

Let me show you why it works:

Both intuition and inspiration are tricky

If life were a Hollywood movie, you’d wait until you had an intuitive hit that told you exactly what you should be doing. It would happen when you were staring out over the ocean, or while reading a passage in a book.

In real life that doesn’t happen very often, especially if what you’re considering is something that feels risky.

Many times what we think is our intuition (telling us to cool our jets) is actually fear (telling us to play it safe).

Sometimes people wait to feel inspired in order to write that great novel or take the next step in their business … but that waiting can go on for decades.

In a crazy twist, the best way to activate your inner motivation and tap into your creativity is to show up regularly for yourself and your dreams.

Just think back to school and how many times you dragged your feet over writing a paper, only to find the words flow once you actually sat down and started writing.

That’s probably why a woman who has inspired thousands of people to launch and grow businesses loves to remind people:

“Clarity comes from engagement, not thought.” – Marie Forleo

What if there were no wrong decisions?

One of the biggest mistakes we make is taking our options too seriously.

We do that because we’re worried about making the wrong decision, and then being locked into that wrong decision forever.

But what if the majority of our decisions weren’t completely right or wrong, they were just different? And each one would teach us what we needed to get us to our final destination faster than if we’d done nothing at all … like two roads that meet at the same intersection.

If that’s true, then 50 years from now you’re going to wish you had lightened up and enjoyed the ride.

Think about it this way: 

You will never have completely perfect information.

And even if you could make the absolutely most “right” decision – if there were such a thing – eventually you’d change course anyway. Whatever it was you had or were doing just wouldn’t completely fit anymore. 

Because that’s what people like us do. We evolve.

You’re missing the bigger picture

Wasting too much time on just one decision is short sighted.

I’m a huge advocate of inner game work and introspection … up to a point. But eventually you need to get into action.

Because if you look at the big picture, you’ll see it’s not about whether you’re a person who lives here or there, or does this or that, or wants widgets or wodgets.

It’s not about the specific life change you make. It could be as dramatic as running off to a Buddhist monastery or as benign as planting a garden.

What matters is that you’re a person that evolves, or takes risks, or won’t settle, or whatever else resonates with you. And your next step helps you learn, gain momentum, remain limber, and walk the walk.

It all comes down to who you are, and your transitory choices are mere reflections of that identity.

When thinking about your business, remember that it’s not about the specific step or even the specific business.

It’s about you being an entrepreneur. And the next step helps you acquire skills, and understand both your customers and your own preferences more fully. It helps you walk the walk.

So when you’re not sure what to do, think less about your choices, and more about what making a choice says about you.

Live in integrity with how you want to be in the world, and you’ll probably end up surpassing your original destination.    

And your curiosity – because it’s almost always instantly available, because it’s lighthearted, and because it’s a reflection of who you are - is the best place to start.

Here’s to walking the walk,

Jenna

P.S. Extra credit: Watch Ruth Chang’s TED talk, and ask yourself if there really are right decisions.

P.P.S. I'd love to know what YOU are feeling curious about! Are there times when you've waited too long to take action? Let's talk about it in the comments.

I do my best work in bed

It turns out there's a really simple key to success:
Figure out the conditions that enable your best work, and then show up to do it again and again and again.

My happy place is somewhere that I’ve never heard anybody – and I mean anybody – credit as their ideal work environment. But that’s ok, because it works for me.

Before going to sleep, I quickly review my top three priorities for the next day. Then I make sure to get a good, long sleep. During the night, something magical happens.

As soon as I wake up, my brain is firing. (Don’t confuse me with an early morning person ... I'm anything but.)

So I grab my journal off the bedside table and start writing. I get my best ideas down on paper, and then the rest of the day is simple execution and refinement.

There are no limits to where you can do your best work….

My husband does his best thinking while running.

My good friend needs the background hum of her local coffee shop (and the caffeine jolt doesn’t hurt, either).

Some people need to put on a power suit and head over to the shared workspace they’ve rented.

It all comes down to finding what works for you and then carving out that time for yourself repeatedly.

>>Despite the voice in your head telling you that you don’t have time.

>>Despite the fact that you might look weird.

>>Despite the feeling that you’re just not motivated today, and so probably won’t find inspiration.

Just go there. Every day. One day at a time.

(Sometimes that's the very hardest thing to do for creative thinkers that love variety. But do it anyway.)

So I’m dying to know! Where do you find your best ideas? What tends to get in the way of your consistency?

We’re talking about all of this and more with fellow uncommon thinkers in The Uncommon Way Community. Come join us!

Here's to showing up for yourself and your dreams,
Jenna

No, no, no, yes (assuming risk)

If you haven’t figured this out already, I hate to be the bearer of bad news (especially to overachievers).

You will never, ever accomplish everything you want in business.

Group programs, membership sites, live events, retreats, eBooks, list-building challenges, webinars, Facebook, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Periscope, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, website design refreshers, copy refreshers, autoresponder refreshers…. There are just way too many possibilities for how to spend your limited time.

If you want to move forward, you’re going to have to pick your battles. And that means doing less, not more.

Take the U.S. Army, for instance. It has a codified set of annual training requirements.

But there’s just one problem. If you total them up, it would take more than a year to accomplish everything!

And that’s not even counting the operational requirements of each unit’s particular mission. It’s just training.

Sound familiar? You want to focus on your main business purpose, but there are also a million behind-the-scenes tasks draining your time.

To deal with the paradox, the military uses the term “assuming risk.” It’s the commander’s job to assess the unit’s mission and prioritize the trainings and tasks that will get done each year.

As for the rest, the commander is betting that her unit will be able to accomplish its main mission even without the training and that none of her superiors will question her judgment.

She’s recognizing the risk and taking ownership of her decision because that’s what leaders do.

And that’s what bosses do. It’s what every successful entrepreneur does.     

Remember, saying yes is easy. But in business, your most important skill will be learning to say no.

Ready to put this into action? Stay accountable by commenting below or heading over to The Uncommon Way Community and declaring at least one thing that you will NOT focus on in the near future.

Think about it. Where can you assume risk?

Here's to being a leader,

Jenna