My mother wrote this in my autograph book when I was about 10 – and I have never forgotten it! I don’t know who wrote it – but a similar message has been conveyed by many motivational speakers over the years.
You are in charge of your own ship. You can choose to tap into your strengths and go where you want to – you can set your own sails. It’s not up to anyone else to do it for you. Circumstances can’t dictate your results. You dictate your own results. The time will never be right for many things – you have to find the right time. You can create ideal circumstances. It’s up to you.
If we set our sails in the right direction, we get the results we want. If you’re looking for happiness, then set your sails on gratitude. The practice of Gratitude has proven to be a key part of being happy – irrespective of your circumstances. Writing in a Gratitude Journal every day for 6 weeks has proven to contribute to your health and longevity too.
Decide whether you are going to set your sails to take advantage of the gales or if you are going to be one of those people who always complains conditions aren’t right. I know which kind of person is more fun to be around!
Perth Business Coach, Jill Hutchison is the “Tap Your Next Power” Mentor . She takes successful, driven professionals and business owners into their next stage of growth and advancement, the one they have been struggling to see and tap, the one that will throw open the doors to their next opportunity.
Jill connects you to your most powerful self, shifting attitudes, beliefs and actions to spark achievement rapidly by going straight to the issue. She draws out your creativity to craft a goal larger than perhaps imagined. Whether you have a career, or a small, medium or large business – getting clear on your goals is very important. Regular goal reaching conversations help to determine which goals are going to drive you through this phase of your life.
Now your eyes are open, and the path is clear and straight-forward. Now you tap the full power in you to achieve what’s next for you.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson, from her book: A Return to Love.
Marianne Williamson’s words are such a great reminder that we stand to stand tall In who we are. To remember that we so have a light to shine, and that we needn’t hide it so that others aren’t intimidated by it.
Today is Chooseday, you can choose to stand tall and allow your light to shine to inspire others.
It was pointed out to me that my Diamond Business Coaching program does exactly that – allow you to shine. It allows you to show your many facets, to attract the right clients, business partners and relationships that fit with who you truly are. Diamonds are precious, as you are too.
As a business coach in Perth, I love helping business owners to shine their light. To combine your skills, talents, abilities and experience into something amazingly beneficial for your customers and clients. There is good reason why you are unique, and there is a growing trend of doing business authentically and on purpose.
In the Far East, there is a tree called the Chinese bamboo tree. This remarkable tree is different from most trees in that it doesn’t grow in the usual fashion. While most trees grow steadily over a period of years, the Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t break through the ground for the first four years. Then, in the fifth year, an amazing thing happens – the tree begins to grow at an astonishing rate. In fact, in a period of just five weeks, a Chinese bamboo tree can grow to a height of 90 feet. It’s almost as if you can actually see the tree growing before your very eyes.
Well, I’m convinced that life often works in a similar way. You can work for weeks, months and even years on your dream with no visible signs of progress and then, all of the sudden, things take off. Your business becomes profitable beyond your wildest dreams. Your marriage becomes more vibrant and passionate than you ever thought it could be. Your contribution to your church, social organization and community becomes more significant than you have ever imagined.
Yet, all of this requires one thing – faith. The growers of the Chinese bamboo tree have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through. Well, you must have the same kind of faith in your bamboo tree, whether it is to run a successful business, win a Pulitzer Prize, raise well-adjusted children, or what have you. You must have faith that if you keep making the calls, honing your craft, reading to your children, reaching out to your spouse or asking for donations, that you too will see rapid growth in the future.
This is the hard part for most of us. We get so excited about the idea that’s been planted inside of us that we simply can’t wait for it to blossom. Therefore, within days or weeks of the initial planting, we become discouraged and begin to second guess ourselves.
Sometimes, in our doubt, we dig up our seed and plant it elsewhere, in hopes that it will quickly rise in more fertile ground. We see this very often in people who change jobs every year or so. We also see it in people who change churches, organizations and even spouses in the pursuit of greener pastures. More often than not, these people are greatly disappointed when their tree doesn’t grow any faster in the new location.
Other times, people will water the ground for a time but then, quickly become discouraged. They start to wonder if it’s worth all of the effort. This is particularly true when they see their neighbors having success with other trees. They start to think, “What am I doing trying to grow a bamboo tree? If I had planted a lemon tree, I’d have a few lemons by now.” These are the people who return to their old jobs and their old ways. They walk away from their dream in exchange for a “sure thing.”
Sadly, what they fail to realize is that pursuing your dream is a sure thing if you just don’t give up. So long as you keep watering and fertilizing your dream, it will come to fruition. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may even take years, but eventually, the roots will take hold and your tree will grow. And when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways.
We’ve seen this happen so many times. Henry Ford had to water his bamboo tree through five business failures before he finally succeeded with the Ford Motor Company. Richard Hooker had to water his bamboo tree for seven years and through 21 rejections by publishers until his humorous war novel, M*A*S*H became a runaway bestseller, spawning a movie and one of the longest-running television series of all-time. Another great bamboo grower was the legendary jockey Eddie Arcaro. Arcaro lost his first 250 races as a jockey before going on to win 17 Triple Crown races and 554 stakes races for total purse earnings of more than $30 million.
Well, you have a bamboo tree inside of you just waiting to break through. So keep watering and believing and you too will be flying high before you know it.
Please Note: The above is a reprint of a post used by Don Miller on his website . He credits it to Eric Aronson
Jill Hutchison
~Challenge What’s Possible~
Jill Hutchison is the “Tap Your Next Power” Mentor taking successful, driven professionals into their next stage of growth and advancement, the one they have been struggling to see and tap, the one that will throw open the doors to their next opportunity.
Jill connects you to your most powerful self, shifting attitudes, beliefs and actions to spark achievement rapidly by going straight to the issue. She draws out your creativity to craft a goal larger than perhaps imagined.
Now your eyes are open, and the path is clear and straight-forward. Now you tap the full power in you to achieve what’s next for you.
“Before success comes in any man’s life,
he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure.
When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit.
That is exactly what the majority of men do.
More than five hundred of the most successful men this country
has ever known told me their greatest success came just ONE step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
This comes from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
If you’re facing a challenge, or in spite of all your efforts, feel like giving up, you can get excited!
It means that you’re close to the success you’ve been seeking. Perhaps you still have some lessons to learn along the way?
Napoleon Hill interviewed over 500 of the wealthiest individuals in the world between 1900-1920, and even though that was 100 years ago, the principles still apply.
Success doesn’t come easily at first. Let us focus on what’s most important here: It’s not just about getting the success, it’s about who we become in the process. As an Australian Business Coach and mentor in Perth, I love seeing people achieve their personal goals and becoming more of the person they were designed to be. This is one of the side effects and benefits of achieving goals!
If all the money in the world were to be taken away from everyone, divided up exactly equally and given to each person in the world, it apparently wouldn’t take long for it to find it’s way back to where it is now. Interesting thought.
So if it’s monetary success you’re seeking, have you increased your financial education? Have you got an exercise program for your money muscles? Do you have money rules for your investing? Are you letting other people manage your hard-earned money, or are you taking charge of it and seeking advice from experts?
It’s our mindset that is critical in success. Finding opportunities is something successful people focus upon. They see any problem as a challenge to be overcome, or a key to learning for the next step.
Unsuccessful people focus on problems, worst-case scenarios and being what they call realistic. They use the evening news to dictate their mood, and allow negative influences to marinate their mind. Successful people limit negative input into their mind.
What does success mean to you? What you focus on, you get more of, so doesn’t it make sense to decide what you want you life to look like? Almost anyone can tell me what they don’t want – but can you tell me exactly what you do want?
There are many markers of success, and the measure of success is as individual and personal as you make it. Success could be seen in terms of relationships or health. Some might measure success based on the size of the team they manage, or the success of that team. Your view of success could be measured in how happy you are, or how good you feel, or how many of your goals you’ve achieved. Could it be what you’ve achieved academically? You could use your career, business or investing success as a barometer. What if you measured your success in terms of how relaxed you are, or how you respond to others?
I hope you’re measuring your success based on where you are now, where you’ve been and where you want to go. In other words, I trust you’re measuring your success based on your own markers, not compared to where others are. How do you even know if they’re going in the same direction as you are if you haven’t asked them? If they’re headed in the opposite direction, then they certainly aren’t a good measure of how well you’re doing!
Just for today, take a minute to define success in your own words – what it means to you.
Get clear on what you really, really want – then have a plan of action to get there. If you need help with this, I coach leaders over skype if you’re in other parts of Australia, the Americas, UK, Europe, Africa or Asia. I also do in person business coaching in Perth.
“I saw, from my bedroom window, a guinea-fowl trapped in the tennis court. Up and down it frantically hurried against the wire, up and down over a limited distance looking for a way out of its prison.
I went out to open the gate and encourage it to escape that way.
The interesting thing was that as I opened the gate the guineafowl got such a fright, it flew right over the top of the 10ft fence!
It had the capacity to fly and escape, all the time while it was trapped.
It took a fright to set that capacity in action.
Are we sometimes like that?
We need to get out of a situation that imprisons us – lack of ambition, boredom, can’t-do-ness – and a good fright makes us rise and get on with it!
Give thanks for the frights we get in our lives!”
Written by Margaret Kean, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
She was the first person to tell me that it was “The set of the sails and not the gales, which show you the way to go.”
She is my Mum and the best grandma our kids could wish for.
For many years Mum wrote “From the Edge of the Hill” – a monthly article on the humorous side of farm life, from a farm wife point-of-view, published in the NAUNLU (Natal Agricultural Union journal).
Before the days of internet and facebook – it seemed as if all our breakfast table discussions were suitable fodder for the entire farming community in the state!
As her children we knew that if we did something funny or stupid enough, everyone was going to know about it! One of these days I will talk her into publishing her articles in a book format!
What will it take to get you to fly like the guineafowl?
I firmly believe in learning from mentors that are leaders in their field. Mentors and coaches can encourage you to spread your wings and fly in a safe environment. I love seeing the potential in those I work with, and seeing your spread your wings.
As a business coach in Perth, I see business owners trying to push on when they really need a break to get refreshed.
Do you ever wonder if there is more to life than what you are experiencing now?
Have you felt busy, busy, busy?
There seems to be some sort of status attached to being busy, doesn’t there?
A few years ago I decided that I wanted a successful business rather than busyness. This came after I experienced burnout in a previous job and again shortly after moving to Australia.
Not many people knew what I was going through because I, like so many others I know, simply kept on going! I even did my life coaching training, NLP and training with Bob Proctor at the same time!
My mantra was “I can sleep when I’m dead” until my naturopath told me that could be sooner than I thought.
Reading Arianna Huffington’s latest book ‘Thrive’ has reminded me of the importance of monitoring our activities and lifestyle. Seeing the warning signs that we could be heading for burnout. I’ve seen it in clients, I’ve seen it in myself. Many overachievers seem to go close to it, even if they don’t go through it.
“burnout makes it much harder to tap into our wisdom”
“When you are burned out and exhausted, it’s much harder to see clearly the dangers – or opportunities ahead. No that’s the connection we need to start making if we want to accelerate changing the way we live and work.”
“We are too busy chasing a phantom of the successful life. The difference between what success looks like and what truly makes us thrive isn’t always as clear as we’re living our lives.”
Here are 13 ways that I have discovered that can reduce stress and increase your enjoyment of life. Taking you from burnout to brilliance – to being able to sparkle again.
1. Get enough sleep.
Yes I know this sounds (yawn) like you have heard it before. When I was told to get 8 hours sleep I opened my diary and realized I didn’t have time for it! If you have networking functions in the evening and going to a breakfast meeting in the morning, it probably doesn’t allow enough time to wind-down to get enough sleep. You might not expect a business coach to tell you to sleep more, but it really does make a difference to your productivity.
2. Shift things around and remove non-essential events.
Eliminate events that go late into the night or begun very early in the morning so you can achieve #1.
3. Decide if you want busyness or business?
Craziness or career? You are the driving your life, take charge of the steering wheel before you veer off the road.
4. Eat properly.
Cut out refined carbs and sugar and see how you feel.
I have found raw juicing green vegetables to be a key part of getting my health back on track.
This is a contentious issue – but check out the Banting eating style as per the Real Meal revolution by Professor Tim Noakes. At least read The Wheat Belly. Increasing your intake of greens and protein makes a huge difference.
5. Take time out to meditate, pray or journal.
If you haven’t tried it before, there are tons of meditation resources, so there is no excuse. Allowing your mind to calm down and actually be ready to think is vital.
6. Go on a positive-mind-food diet. Feeding junk thoughts into your mind does as much harm as junk food in your body. Fill your mind with positive, uplifting affirmations so there is no room for negative self doubt or comments which can send you spiraling down.
This is a key part of solid business coaching, to focus on the thoughts being put into your mind. Your mind is extremely powerful and you need to guard what goes in there!
7. Exercise. This could be at the top of the list. Even a 40 minute walk three times a day increases your happy hormones and makes your outlook more ‘can-do’. Find exercise you actually enjoy so you do it more. If all else fails get a dog that has to be walked twice a day!
8. Write in your Attitude of Gratitude Journal.
Don’t worry if you haven’t written in it much recently, today is a new day, open it up and start right now. Studies have shown that writing a Gratitude list daily increases heart health.
9. Get a coach or mentor
Having a thinking partner or business coach that can help you see what is really important in life gives you perspective. A great business or life coach will create that space you need to think deeply about the areas that need changing or refinement. When you are in the frame, you can’t see the full picture. Find someone who will hold you accountable to your higher self and to your own uniqueness and brilliance.
10. Smile
Yes a simple smile relaxes the muscles in your face and lifts your mood. Besides, scowling and frowning makes ugly wrinkles which none of us need. Imagine if the wind were to change and you were left with that look permanently on your face?
11. Give
Give your attention to those around you. Listen with all your focus.
12. Remove smartphones and iPads from your room.
Charging devices in another room in the house removes the temptation to check email or social media late at night or early in the morning.
13. Stop multi-tasking.
Multi-tasking is so last year. The wiser move is single-tasking. Do one thing at a time and finish it off. How many tabs do you have open on your computer? This could give you an indication as to how far you have to go on this one. This one is an area that I am working on!
Have an awesome, sparkling week – allow yourself to shine,
With love and gratitude
Jill
If you knew one quick, easy way to stay healthy, would you do it?
Latest research has shown how gratitude affects our health. Yes, something as simple and obvious as gratitude can give us a happier heart!
Guess what? Your success is determined by you being able to continue doing what you’re doing. If you can’t get out of bed, you can’t achieve your goals.
One easy way to be happier, sleep better, be more successful is to write in your Attitude of Gratitude Journal.
If you have got yours in your bookshelf, it won’t work there! You need to be writing in it daily!
If you need to order one, click here to get yours.
Now that the Easter weekend is over and the chocolate hangover wears off, our topic for this Chooseday is ENERGY!
As a business coach I am always on the lookout for the differentiators of good vs great. What makes someone really stand out? What makes a successful business? What keeps the consistency in business? What enables some people to work with their ideal clients while others hate going to work?
While other factors are important, today I’m talking about energy and how it affects everything we do.
Whatever we do affects our energy. What we eat as well as our environment has an impact. Our thoughts are both affected by our energy levels as well as contribute to them.
The question is: what do you need your energy levels to be and what are you going to do about it?
Business coaching can help you decide what your priorities are so that you can be doing activities that build your energy rather than draining it. If you don’t have energy, you will find it hard to run a business and attract clients. With energy, business becomes fun and energizing!
What a way to start my Chooseday Tuesday as I touch down in Perth. This is why I love being a business coach and thinking partner! In my inbox I see this from an amazing woman who I’ve had the privilege of coaching her on her online business from time to time over the last 4 years. She had a website that had great content but wasn’t making any money. We worked through some beliefs and some strategies as to how she could monetize it. I started by pushing her to put one ebook up for $8 that she was previously giving away as a free download. She made her first sale the same day!
Today I get this email: (details left out to retain confidentiality)
“I have created an online Challenge for … to help them address the new … standards. Its a 3 month online challenge.
It starts tomorrow and I have had over 80 people sign up. At $50 per person that’s over $4000 in 2 weeks……. YAY!!!!!” The many hours (and dollars) I have invested are finally starting to pay off – all it took was a belief that I had something valuable to offer. Thank you Jill for giving me the courage to put myself out there and believe in myself.”
When we start anything, it’s often making the first bit of progress that is the hardest. If you’ve never made money online before, i.e without having to be in front of someone to accept their money or without having to deliver a product or service live, then making the first $1000 from a website is extremely exciting.
The amount of work that has to go on behind the scenes to get the first $1000 is way more than the next $1000’s after that. This is why it was especially exciting to get this email. Now that she has seen how easy it is to use her unique skills, learnings, strengths and intellectual property to receive non-exertion income I know that she will continue to do this and more on a regular basis.
In any business, online and brick and mortar, there is a lot of work in the initial stages but once it is set up properly then the reward will exceed the effort.
The key is knowing which parts of the business to get moving first to bring in the dollars. I’ve seen enough new and established businesses to be able to help you get yours really doing well. It starts with deciding what you really, really want in your business! (or career!)
If you have ever felt fear, doubt or confusion, you will enjoy today’s Chooseday video. I have felt it often, every time I stepped up into a big goal. The closer we get to achieving our goal, the more we tend to be challenged by our old beliefs and paradigms. It’s very “in your face” and can be confronting!
With my business coaching clients, I often see them stepping into the terror barrier. Whether you have small, medium or large business, each time you take your business to the next level, you will encounter the Terror Barrier.
It’s the place when you are tempted to change tack, give up or take a break, but it’s exactly when you need to push through!
This is where it makes a difference working with a personal business coach or mentor – one who recognises when you are facing the terror barrier and will help you step through it rather than wanting to run from it!
Last week was International Happiness Day. My dear friend, Executive Coach and Bestselling author: Christina Skytt from Stockholm, Sweden joined me to talk about ‘Shining Your Light, relaxing into who you really are’. Christina is a leading executive coach in Sweden and in my opinion one of the best business coaches in Europe. She has been my mastermind partner since we met in Toronto while I was facilitating at Bob Proctor’s Matrixx event in 2012. I laugh when I remember the week before her book Power Goals was released – she was right up against the Terror Barrier. When it was released, Power Goals became a bestseller in America, Canada, UK and India!
We did a Google Hangout together and you can watch it here:
This weekend I’m off to speak in Canberra at the National Press Club. I am also going to attend the National Speakers Convention. It’s great learning from experts and those who are already playing a bigger game. There is always so much to learn.
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