Soulful Marketing Blog

5 Must-Have Tools for Successful Entrepreneurs

During these bizarre times of COVID-19, I started looking at all the tools I use that help me be more successful (and productive), it really only boiled down to 5.

I thought it might be helpful to share them with you, especially because all these tools just happen to be tech tools. And a lot of us are now confined to working from home, with the exception of me, I’ve always worked from home since I own my own business. (And FYI – I’m a Mac person – former PC user.) And hopefully, you know some of these, if not all of them, and maybe even using some!

1) Evernote – This is THE tool I absolutely LOVE! I’ve been using this note-taking tool since 2010 and it’s totally changed my life.

Before 2010 –

Events – Whenever I’d attend events, I’d take notes in my notebook, and then it would go on a shelf, and I’d never look at it again.

Clients – The only notebook I kept on my desk, was my client notebook. And after I met with my client, those notes needed to be transcribed into to-do lists and then most often typed into my computer.

After 2010 –

I started implementing Evernote and it changed how I attended events AND, how I worked with my clients.

Events – I now always take my iPad with me and use it to take all my notes at events. I can also take photos of the slides at events and put them right into my notes. THEN, I can SHARE those notes with friends and colleagues. How cool is that?!

Clients – I create a notebook for each of my clients. And every meeting we have, I simply create a new note. In that notebook, I also create a note titled IMPT Tools/Links – that I put all the links and logins for that client that I need.

The best thing about this tool is that it syncs to ALL your devices. And it has an amazing search tool. I could go on, (I’m in their beta test group, that’s how much I love it!) and if you have questions, please reply, or send me an email and I can share more.

It really isn’t just a note-taking system. You can put graphics, share notes, insert photos, etc. I’m way more organized than ever with it in my toolbox. They have a no-cost and a paid version. I use the paid version and well worth it.

2) Slack – This is an awesome app, and a terrific way to keep all your client and employee/contractor communications organized and in one place. I’ve virtually stopped email. It was getting crazy.

Having a lot of clients, created a lot of emails that would then get lost. By implementing this ONE tool, I basically have cut my email down by 90%.

I create a channel for all my client’s projects and we keep all our communications, links to web pages, projects, photos, etc. all there in one place, easily searchable, and I designate who has access. They have a no-cost and a paid version. I use the paid version.

3) Zoom – Terrific all-purpose video meeting and webinar tool. Most folks know about it now. I like having my own meeting room ID that I use every week with clients. I don’t like creating a new ID every week. And I really like its webinar capabilities too.

Easy to record and save calls and share with folks too. They have a no-cost version, and I opted for the paid one as the no cost version restricts your meetings to 40 minutes.

4) Google Docs and/or Dropbox – these are two different tools and I haven’t managed to get rid of either one. Google docs is terrific to share docs with clients and edit them together. And Dropbox is awesome to put a bunch of big sized files and share with folks who need them. No more emailing big sized files.

5) Timeular – Love this little gadget and app tool for my Mac. (And there’s a version for PC.) If you ever want or need to track your time on projects- THIS is the BEST tool.

They snail mail you a time tracker gadget that you can personalize. So I have my business on one side, my coaching clients on another, answering email on another, coffee break, etc. You can put up to 8 things on the gadget to track. And when you flip it, it starts tracking. (Way better than me trying to remember to write it down!)

Their app is really cool too. You can really see where all your time goes with it’s tracking ability. I don’t have any clients that pay me by the hour anymore, just by the project.

I wanted this tool because I was curious about how much time I spent on projects and to see where my time goes. It was pretty eye-opening. It wasn’t expensive either, $49. They have a more expensive version that integrates the app with time tracking systems for employees.

6) Bonus Tool – Grammarly – I do a TON of writing. And I was a little leery about getting this. I actually saw an add on Hulu for it. I signed up and have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

It actually catches so many grammar and spelling errors (and also annoyingly lets me know each week how many I make that they correct – lol).

Plus, it goes through all my copy and suggests different phrases, words, let me know when I’m repeating words and suggests others. It’s like having my own personal editor. I’d highly recommend it.

It’s an app, and also an extension you can put on Chrome and in Word. I thought it was really reasonably priced with all the writing I do. Around $140 a year. There’s also a no-cost version. Fun Fact – It caught 18 errors in this email!

That’s the scoop on my top tools that are keeping me more productive. Please reach out if you have questions, or leave me a comment!

And if you want to take this opportunity to ramp up your productivity – Check out this article, it will help – promise!

The Productivity Secret That Will Change Your Life

One of the things I’m constantly struggling with: my plate is incredibly full. I just have way TOO many things on that proverbial plate and it’s constantly weighing me down.

I’m a Strategic Marketer & Product Launch Manager, I help people get things done, and here I am, revealing to you my own challenges with getting things done.

Well, I’ve actually invested good money with experts to help me “organize” my office, my computer, and my life, as well as I got a new desk, bookshelves, and on an on. The interesting thing is after that expert gave me this “system” it wasn’t mine. So I had great difficulty in trying to use it and came across all sorts of obstacles that just reared their ugly heads a few weeks ago.

Before I tell you what happened, I actually would liken it to someone who’s trying to lose weight and just puts the weight back on—it’s because they’re not aligned somewhere with the process, or something just isn’t right.

Well that’s what I felt like, something with my new system just wasn’t jelling with me, it just wasn’t right. And unfortunately I didn’t really see that until the crap hit the fan last week and a few balls I was juggling just crashed—yikes—how did that happen?!

The cool thing is that I did ultimately find a solution, albeit painful to have to do so much learning—As Alex Mandossian has taught me—“You’re either winning or you’re learning!” No such thing as losing or making mistakes—my new lingo is “I’m learning.”

After the balls crashed last week, my wonderful client and mentor Alex Mandossian, pulled me aside and saw that I was obviously having some trouble. He got to the root of it very quickly and explained to me about the benefits of “The Ivy Lee 6.”

In the early 1900’s consultant Ivy Lee approached Charles Schwab, President of Bethlehem Steel (not the investment company) and asked what it’d be worth to him if he could raise the productivity of his managers by at least 20%. Schwab didn’t have an answer but was definitely interested. This is where the “Ivy Lee 6” comes into play. Ivy Lee taught him and his managers this proven technique.

Here’s THE productivity secret that will change your life:

Before you leave your office for the night, write down the 6 most important things to be done the next day and number them in order of importance. Prioritize.

Do the tasks from the most important to least important. I write these on index cards with the date at the top. So have the card on your desk for the next day, and once you’ve finished one, take a highlighter (I like green) and highlight through it so that’s your sign it’s complete. Any unfinished tasks are rolled over to the next day.

It may sound incredibly simple, yet for me it was amazingly effective. After my first week was done—oh my gosh, I had a stack of cards on my desks with lots of green on them. Just being able to visibly “see” what I’d done that week was psychologically empowering. I left my office Friday on a huge high.

The key is picking the 6 things that will give you the most results for the day, and write them down very clearly. For example— Don’t say— “Call several people to connect with them about our product launch.” This is better— “Call Susie to tell her about our product launch” or “Call 3 key people who will promote our product launch…”

Using the “Ivy Lee 6” also utilizes the power of prioritization and requires you to number your tasks in order of importance with your most important tasks done first.

Don’t wait, try this now— I know you will be amazed at how this works and leave me a comment and let me know how I can support you to be more productive.

And if you’ve made it all the way down here to the bottom, thanks for reading, and here’s a gift for you. I want to give you 60 minutes of my time for free, with my compliments. Maybe you’re:

Stuck in your business and not being able to increase your profits fast enough
Frustrated your launch didn’t go as well as you planned
In need of some help and guidance with your launch
Finally ready to create your online marketing funnel and don’t know where to turn
Searching simply for some strategic online marketing help, and hand-holding from an expert who’s got proven experience and helped thousands already….

Well, here’s the deal, you’re in the right place. I can help you! Just click here and check out how I can help you and schedule a free 60 minute call with me. I’d love to see how I can help you create the business you so deserve and helping you help thousands more people.

What in the world IS a product launch anyway…

Well, I’m writing this from 36k feet in the sky, heading to Arizona to attend Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula event and we also have our Product Launch Manager Platinum Coaching Group meeting. The interesting thing when I fly is I often get asked the question of what I do. And when I tell them I work with entrepreneurs and business owners to create information products and do their online product launches, they always ask me, “What is a product launch?” and they want to know more about them.

So I thought this might make for an interesting blog post. A product launch is an advertising event that promotes a new product, service or business to the market place. These can be done offline and online. I’m going to give you the Online Product Launch 101 course. The best thing about a product launch is that you’re creating an event and an ongoing conversation with your audience, along with giving them some great free, valuable information that leads up to the launch date, which is when you open the cart to sell.

Product Launches usually take anywhere from 7 to 20 days. It all depends on how much content you have, how much response you get during your prelaunch period and when it’s best to open and close the cart. The key to selling during a launch is knowing when to open and close the cart. And using some great tactics from Robert Cialdini, mostly scarcity, you will open and close the cart within a short time frame – 7 days or even less – and when the cart is closed they won’t be able to get your product/service again.

The period of time where you’re giving away free valuable content and before you open your cart is called “Prelaunch.” During the prelaunch period, the main goal is to create great content for your prospects and allude to how you will be talking about a bigger resource later on. This is key. Don’t just give them free content and then spring on them you’re going to sell them something.

This prelaunch process should be well thought out and planned. This is the big set up for your launch and when you open your cart. Since content is important, I work with my clients to spend the MOST time on this. In fact, the 4 most important factors, I think, in creating and having a successful money-making product launch are:

Terrific well thought out prelaunch content that engages prospects
Creating a conversation, connecting with them and sharing stories and valuable information
Your offer – This includes your product/service you’re launching, your price, your guarantee and your bonuses.
Having a list of rabid fans who are interested in what you’re talking about and are willing to buy.

There are tons more things that go into successful product launches, which there’s no time for now. I promise I’ll do them on a future post. I just wanted to give you the basics. Plus after spending 4 days at Jeff Walker’s event, I’m sure I’ll have many more cutting edge things to share with you!

If you’re interested in discovering more about creating a successful launch, check out www.CreateAmazingProductLaunches.com And if you already know you want to do a launch and just need some guidance or a plan, email me info@marketingimplementer.com and I can send you some information on my Product Launch Roadmaps I create for clients so they can have incredibly successful launches.

The 3 Most Horrible Product Launch Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make and How You Can Avoid them!

Back in 2007 when I met Jeff Walker at his first ever PLF (Product Launch Formula) event in Denver, Colorado, I was amazed at what he’d done to make money with his products by turning his selling of them into a value added, value laden, fun and entertaining “event.” He actually created a product about these launch events and called it “Product Launch Formula.”

I’ve been doing tons of product launches for my clients since then, and I’ve amassed a ton of information on how to be successful with your launches. I’ve also amassed just as much info on what not to do so your launches don’t turn into flops and failures. So when I was trying to come up with a blog idea this week, the “aha” moment happened after I started working with several new clients this month on their product launches. And one of the biggest questions I get all the time, is “what can I do to make my launch a tremendous success so I can avoid making costly mistakes?” (If you don’t know what a product launch is and want to know more, simply click here)

Here they are – the three biggest product launch mistakes entrepreneurs make and what you can do to avoid them:

Not having a hook and story for your launch that grabs people – This is really huge and this is one that MANY people flub up. And of course, this is one of the things that does take more time than most people give it. If you want to have an incredibly successful launch, you can’t just throw it together. You have to brain storm with your team of people who are working with you on your launch to come up with an interesting story and hook to get them interested, intrigued and wanting to know more. Some examples: when Jeff did his product launch 2.0 launch a few years back his hook was “food stamps to six figures.” He highlighted one of his students who took PLF, saved his business AND turned it into a six figure business, using Jeff’s tactics. So you need to create something that speaks to your audience, speaks to the problems they’re having and create a hook and a story for your whole launch. (This is one of my favorite things I like to work on with my clients.)
Making your launch incredibly complicated – This is another thing that I’ve seen happen and blow up in people’s faces: making their launches WAY too complicated. They have way too much content and it overwhelms people in the launch. You need to streamline your content. In a launch it’s all about giving away great content on a smaller scale so your prospects can see and get into what you’re about. The danger is when you go overboard and give them too much information that they decide NOT to buy your product because they can’t even get through the information you gave them in your launch. So less is always more. Err on giving them the “what” – not the exactly “how” to do it. You don’t need to give them 5 videos at 60 minutes each; they won’t watch it, trust me. Cut them down, give them 3 videos of 20 minutes each. Or better yet, simplify even more and give them one video, one eReport and maybe a teleseminar. Mix it up, make it interesting. The more interesting the better.
Make yourself stand out, don’t be boring!
Not Sending Enough Emails – This is another one that I hear a lot! You don’t want to piss off your list and have them opt out because you’re sending too many emails. Well the way I look at it is it’s not the emails that they get tired of – it’s probably the messaging and information – or lack of it – that’s in there. Plus, I know it sounds weird, but I LOVE it when people opt out of my list. The reason is that these folks would never have bought from me anyway, so let’s make room for those that will. I only want people who like me and see value in what I bring to the table on my list. Let’s face it, I’m not naive enough to think that everyone will like me. It just won’t happen – and guess what, that’s ok! So you’re not your client, send out more emails. Just follow these guidelines when you send them and I promise you won’t have a lot of people opt out.
Bonus – Not having a product Launch Plan and trying to do it all yourself! Ok, so this one we all can relate to. The bottom line is when you’re doing a launch, you have to have a plan, or what I call a Product Launch Roadmap. You can’t fly a plane without controls or a map, so why try to do a product launch without one. And then, why try to do it all yourself? There are many people out there who can help you from Product Launch Managers like me, to great technical web people, to great virtual assistants. Get some help on your launch and hire the best people to work with you so you can create an amazingly successful product launch!

Hopefully these mistakes are helpful and these will help put your next product launch on the road to major success. Let me know if you have any questions, or how I can help you.

5 Goals to Achieve This Year

If you’re up for it — I am going to push the envelope a little today and actually give you five goals to try to achieve by the end of the year.

Remember you are never going to know if you are capable of something if you don’t take that first step.

1. Go small

This may be a big one to start with but here goes-Downsize. Look at all aspects of your business whether that includes employees, vendors or service providers. If you find that there is a way for ONE provider to handle multiple jobs than cut back. This may sound strange but sometimes less is more when it comes to project management as well as financial costs.

2. Take Time to Invest Fully

Make this the year that you completely focus on not only getting to know your customers but also their specific needs. Once you make this commitment, find the best way to communicate. Whether that is through a blog, social media, QR codes, or even a weekly newsletter; find out which option works for them. There is no use in spending quality time and content on an area your customers do not even use.

3. Refresh your website

Take the time and really go through your website. Analyze and make notes as you look over what you have currently. Then, go on the Internet and find your biggest competitor. Look at their website and make notes on what things stand out the most. Once you do that, write a plan on what to change and a timeline to get it done.

4. Real Life Social Networking

Put some effort into networking by signing up for an industry conference or seeking out a local meet-up group. These are invaluable ways to develop relationships and share advice with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.

5. Put time for you on the calendar

It’s up to you to keep yourself motivated and inspired. Be sure to reward yourself for specific milestones like a big client win, meeting a tough deadline, or working “overtime” for multiple nights on end.

Sticking to all of these 5 goals is a lofty for anyone. Follow the tips that ring true for your situation, and adjust as needed. Do you have other goals for your business this year?

Here’s How to Get a HUGE Jump on Creating an Amazing Year in Your Business…

At any time of the year, it’s important for one to stop and take a look and access your year: where you are or aren’t in your business? Do you like what you see? What issues are raising your anxiety level? How is your bottom line? Have you achieved all the goals you set in January? If not, then why?

Now these questions can cause a lot of emotional pain and angst but they don’t have to. Why not see them as opportunities instead? And as an opportunity these exact issues could bring you more money in the bank. And who doesn’t need this?

So how can you turn these issues into opportunities and get a huge jump on the year? By one simple thing: Send out a Survey to your list. Don’t wait for another year to get back on the right track. Do it now, create a survey and send it out to your clients and prospects. It’s actually THE best way to find out what your clients think about products, services, newsletter, website, membership, etc. Also it’s a terrific way to see what they like, what they don’t and what they’d like to see more of from you.

I gave up trying to guess what my clients and prospects needs were years ago. And in my business and in the clients I’ve worked with, we’ve found whenever we had challenges and were not sure in what direction to go in I suggested, “Let’s do a survey.” And believe it or not every time we would do one we got amazing results which were just the answers we needed.

It’s really simple to do a survey. The quick and easy method is to:

Be clear on your goals for the survey – what’s the info you absolutely need to find out.
Figure out who you want to send it to – is it best to send out to your whole list, or maybe just your customers? Or maybe it’s customers of a certain product (or service) that they purchased from you.
Create your 4 – 5 simple questions. Check out this last post to get my BEST questions to ask-
Get a Survey Monkey or Survey Gizmo online survey account and put your questions in there.
Create a few emails and send out your survey to your list.
Close the survey within 7 days or when you’ve had enough responses
Analyze your results and use them in your business. This is the HUGE part that will help create your 2011. Your results will help shape your business, your products, services, etc., depending upon what you’ve asked in your survey.

Don’t downplay doing a survey in your business. It really is THE most simple and easy way to ensure you’re creating products, services and really meeting the needs of your clients and prospects on your list.

If you want to know more about creating and implementing surveys in your business, get instant free access to this video: “17 Clever Ways That You Will Never Have To Guess Again What Your Prospects & Customers Want”. I promise, this will be REALLY helpful for you. Hope to see you soon!

How to Take Bigger Risks This Year

Something fascinating happened to me a few years ago that was worth repeating. I had this experience that totally changed my perspective on how I would think and do things in my business and my personal life.

Here’s what happened—

I had decided to go to the DMV, yes everyone’s favorite place to make jokes about. I had been putting it off for almost a year and I had to finally deal with getting a new title. I actually wanted to cross if off my to-do list! (I had paid off my car loan—yeah, and needed to get the lien holder name off my car title.)

I had a phone meeting that day with a colleague and as we were wrapping up I said that I had to head out to the DMV. It was 11am on December 30 and she thought I was crazy and said good luck; it will probably take a few hours.

Well, I had positive thoughts running through my head as I was driving over there that I’d be in and out in 30 minutes. As I got into the parking lot it was NOT looking good. I found one of the last parking spots. And at this lot, there are no meters you have to go to a central machine to pay for your parking. Now this was a HUGE lot and there was a doubly huge line just WAITING to pay for parking.

Here’s the part of the story to take note of—something just switched on in my brain when I saw that long line. My brain went into high gear calculating how best leverage this situation. And at that split second, I decided to count the number of people in line to pay the machine for parking—there were over 15 people. AND the kicker is as I waited in this line to pay for parking— I thought ALL of these people WILL be ahead of me in the DMV. So I made a mental note of the person in front of me—a young guy with a red hat (this will be important later.) And that’s when I made the rash, big risk decision to leave the line and make a run for the DMV.

When I got into the DMV, there were only 2 people in front of me at the desk—double yeah! The bigger risk I took was I bet big that I would NOT get a ticket because I’d be in and out of the DMV before I would have even reached the head of the line at the parking machine to pay for parking.

Guess what—my taking a bigger risk PAID OFF! I WAS in and OUT of the DMV in 10 minutes, and it was FREE to change my title! I had two options—pay $60 and wait to get a new one issued, or for FREE, they’d make a copy of my title, cross off the lien holder and put it in my file. So of course, I chose the FREE one. No need to get a new title until I sell my car, which won’t be for a long time! The important thing for the DMW was that there was no lien on the title and that I owned the car.

As I walked by the parking machine line, the young guy with the red hat who was in front of me was now #4 in line to pay. So the important lesson is I would have STILL been in line if I had stayed and now I was done and was able to hop in my car and go home! The only thing it cost was gas to get there and 30 minutes of my time! Seriously I was home by 11:30 am. So by me taking a bigger risk, risking getting a parking ticket because I bet I could be in and out of there before I’d even get the chance to pay for parking. AND—looking at that line thinking how would a policeman even be able to tell or bother giving a ticket with SO MANY PEOPLE still in line.

The lesson I’d love for you to take away— is —To Take Bigger Risk’s, think BIGGER for yourself, your life, your business. Don’t be stuck in your old ways. Look for ways to save time, money, and leverage yourself, your time and your people who work with you.

What I want for you is to have an amazing year every year. I keep doubling my business — And I am even more thrilled and I will take even bigger risks moving forward, and the goal is to triple it. And I know I will do it by thinking bigger and taking bigger risks.

Here’s to monetizing yourself and your business and making your business outstanding!

Never Ever Cold Call Again to Get New Clients!

Something I learned over 6 years ago from “the Millionaire Maker” Dan Kennedy is that in order for you not to do cold calls, and to not be stressing out where your money will come from each month— you need to create a “lead generation funnel.”

I not only learned it from him, I shared the stage with him where he asked me to share the strategies I used to help grow my business and here are a few if them below,,,

What you need to pay real attention to is that After I did that, created and implemented those strategies… I never had to worry about getting any new clients or cold calling again. I basically created a system of how to get new leads… Here’s a sample of what I did—

Create a 1 page printed newsletter– I sent it out for free once a month to anyone who signed up for it online. I also gave it to folks I met in my travels to events.
Wrote a weekly blog and sent an email to my list
Sent at least one email a week to my list in addition to my blog email
Attended the same 3 conferences every year for 6 years (GKIC Info Summit, Superconference and Yanik Silver’s Underground)
Joined 2 mastermind where we met 3 – 4 times a year- got a bunch of business from there J

This is only 5 things, and there are so many more things you can do to keep your pipeline of new clients filled. I actually create a free report which you can download here-“The 7 Ways You Can Get New Clients in ANY Economy” no optin/email address needed- you get it here compliments of me.

The real key here is that whatever you decide to do you need to do it consistently, and don’t stop doing it, be committed to growing your list and putting your marketing on auto pilot by using an email auto responder, getting a VA to do a printed monthly newsletter for you and on an on… Stop making excuses and go get on the stick and create some systems to communicate with your list , grow it and never have to make another cold call again!

AND– Here’s a BONUS for you– Dan Kennedy just launched some great free training– check it out here– he shows you EXACTLY how to create your OWN “lead generation machine” funnel.

PLUS– FREE 60 Minute One On One Call with ME!

If you’ve made it all the way down here to the bottom, thanks for reading, and here’s a gift for you. I want to give you 60 minutes of my time for free, with my compliments. Maybe you’re:

Stuck in your business and not being able to increase your profits fast enough
Frustrated your launch didn’t go as well as you planned
In need of some help and guidance with your launch
Finally ready to create your online marketing funnel and don’t know where to turn
Searching simply for some strategic online marketing help, and hand-holding from an expert who’s got proven experience and helped thousands already….
problem or issue isn’t listed here… I know I can help….

Well, here’s the deal, you’re in the right place. I can help you! Just click here. I want to give you a FREE 60 minute call with me. I’d love to see how I can help you create the business you so deserve and helping you help thousands more people.

We Got This! Inspiring Resources to Help With After the Election & Beyond

Wow, wow, wow, who knew the election of 2016 would go down as an infamous one in our nations’ history?! This won’t be a bashing of either side of the aisle, as I believe there’s much finger pointing going on already and it truly is not helping.

I’m writing this to share a how we totally got this and we need to use this to come together. Because I think this election serves something even bigger and greater. It’s a huge wake-up call that we can’t keep doing “business as usual” as a nation any longer. When you look back at our history, great change happened because of huge adversity and tragedy. We’re strong, and we’ve overcome so much. This may be more than a huge speed bump in the road, but I’m choosing to look at it as a terrific opportunity for all of us to come together.

Reality is, not much will change in the coming days and I have a feeling a certain business man will get an eye-opener realizing running a country is nothing like running a business. The change I think he’s anticipating will happen more like trying to turn around a 747, it will happen VERY slowly. And that’s why we have a ton of checks and balances in our democratic system.

But I digress, I don’t want this to be about politics, I want this to be about healing and how we can come together and create amazing, inspiring movements, be more compassionate, give back, pay it forward. We all have a choice because my belief is life is all about just 2 simple choices (Taking from my inspiration- Marianne Williamson’s Return to Love and The Course of Miracles.) Love or Fear. What do you choose?

I choose love and will choose it every time.

In keeping with choosing love, I have found several inspiring and enlightening articles and posts on Facebook about the election. I thought it’d be helpful to create a mini resources page where I’ve collected a lot of great stuff from FB and put it all on one page. And what we need to remember, is we have a long history in America of overcoming many adversities, so in true form– “We TOTALLY Got This!”

And thanks to Ellen & Instagram for some taco election humor–Some of us just don’t want to “taco bout it yet.” 😉 which is totally fine too.

Big love and hugs! I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, or if you have some more inspiring articles or resources to link.

We Got This! Resources To Help With After the Election & Beyond:

Why we are grieving – This was a poignantly written open letter to why so many of us are grieving as a nation. It has nothing to do with politics or who won or loss, it just boils down to this: Check out John Pavlovitz’s blog on why we grieve.

LOVED Michael Moore’s “Morning After List” which has gone viral, you can check it out here: https://www.good.is/articles/moore-five-point-plan or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmflint/posts/10153913074756857

Healing with Marianne Williamson – Awesome video she posted on Facebook the day after the election, a must watch for inspiration!

Abraham-Hicks thinks its the best election ever– totally knows how to talk us off the ledge in times of trouble and with some humor as well- check it it out here

What This Means, How This Happened, What to do Now – this was a very insightful article from current affairs on the whole democratic and election process. I think it’s worth a read.

Thanking Hillary with a card – What a great idea – to send Hillary an old fashioned thank you card in the mail for all she’s done for this country. Let her know how she’s impacted you and how what she’s done truly does matter regardless of the outcome. Send cards to:

Hillary Clinton
Post Office Box 5256
New York, NY 10185-5256

And while you are at it, you could also send one to the Obamas too:

President & First Lady Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

For the lighter side of things- check out my friend John’s new map of the US, for those that want to secede 😉

And then there’s Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal – The morning after and how she broke the election.

And for those who just need a hug and a kiss– this is for you: (Me and my dog Emma)

What My Chestnut Chasing Dog Taught Me About Implementation & Getting More Done!

It’s fall here in Virginia and I know that not only because there’s a little chill in the air, and … I know because now when I got to hiking with my rescue dog Lily, she chases after all the chestnuts falling from the trees. The whole scene is actually quite comical, albeit sometimes a little frustrating. We get a pretty good pace going, then all of sudden we come across this huge patch of several hundred chestnuts on the ground and more falling. (In fact, I have to be careful and often dodge those falling from the trees or they get me right on the old noggin.) As soon as Lily sees them, she chases after them and dive bombs the chestnut, picks one right up and starts to eat it. Ok, she doesn’t swallow them anymore because let’s just say she and chestnuts don’t get along. Yet, she still loves to chase and pick them up and there are a lot of them now, and chew them and then lets them drop.

For those who are visual, like me, I actually took my camera with me to take some snap shots of her. The only bummer was she was too quick to get this on video, maybe tomorrow! So I only have some choice shots of my chestnut chasing dog…

So what does her chestnut chasing antics have to do with teaching me how to be a better implementer and get more done. Simply put, watching Lily chase after EVERY chestnut on the ground, reminded me of myself over a year ago, where I would basically chase after that next “shiny” object. Some of you entrepreneurs out there who work at home, know EXACTLY what I mean. Being at home, there’s always something that will get my attention and it usually isn’t the something that will bring me in lots of money or help improve my business.

So I got down to brass tacks when I started noticing how my days were not as productive as I’d like. The real crux was reading a few good books on time management (there are many!), getting Eben Pagan’s course on Wake-Up Productive, and having a mastermind group, belonging to two of them really helps keep me on track. The real trick to not going after EVERY “shiny” object that comes across my path is having a big detailed plan of what I want to accomplish. I mean really details, like what I will outsource, what skills I need for certain tasks, date it will be completed, etc. The more detailed the merrier. Plus at the start of each day and as I go through my day I’m always asking myself “Is this task going to get me closer to reaching my goal?” “Is this task going to help me create more income?” If the answer is no, then guess what, I’m not doing that task.

One more tip I can leave you with is the object isn’t to “do more.” The object is to be more productive with “what” you are doing and ensure you’re doing the tasks that will create greater income and help you reach the goals you so deserve!

So when you get the urge to go after that next “shiny” object, as yourself the telling questions, will this help me get and reach my goals? Then have the courage to change your course, if need be and stick to the things that will help you reach and accomplish your goals.