Why did you start your business? (Or why are you working where you do?)

When I first started my business back in 2006, it wasn’t because I wanted to go out on my own. I was incredibly scared and a bit freaked out. I spent all my life in corporate America.

In fact, I had been laid off unexpectedly 2 years earlier and failed miserably as an entrepreneur.

So I went back to corporate, and honestly, it was ok. Yet, I felt it in my bones, I was definitely not living my life purpose. There came a point when I was just kind of done with being an employee. So, when they laid me off in 2006, I knew I had to make a choice.

The choice was easier when my mentor (from corporate America) offered me a lifeline to come to work with him and build his business. His promise was that he’d also help me create my own successful marketing business.

That’s precisely what we did. I wouldn’t be here today as a successful entrepreneur without his inspiration, advice, teachings, and connections.

Yet, in those early years as a fresh new entrepreneur, I honestly was just trying to keep my head above water and create some income. My focus was definitely more on how to make money so I could keep the house and a lifestyle I was comfortable with. The pressure was on.

Do you have a similar experience?

In those early years, I took on any client that wanted to work with me. I was a Marketing Implementer. Anything marketing-related you learned at a conference, I’d implement for you. I did it more for the different experiences and learning opportunities, as well as the money.

What those early years did for me — they taught me how to listen to my gut and discover what I was really passionate about. I started to see what I loved to do and what I wasn’t willing to do anymore.

That’s when I changed my business to simply focus on 3 things that I absolutely loved and was drawn to help my dream clients with:

Launching – Products, services, courses, websites, and more.
Online Customer Experiences – (Others call them funnels.) It’s how you draw people into your site, products, services, etc., and take them through an online journey to get them interested and eventually buy and even work with you.
Building Dream Client Email Lists — The core of any business is its list of potential dream clients. This is something you need to be doing constantly, as well as connecting to them on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. (Email isn’t the same as social media followers. If anything happens to the social media platform, or if they don’t like your practices and throw you off—you’re lost.)

So— I want you to take this moment right now and ask yourself honestly – Why are you in business? Or why are you working where you do? What made you decide to be a business owner/entrepreneur/employee?

Maybe you started your business out of necessity, and it still is something you’re doing for the money. And that’s OK. Yet you need an outlet to also do what you love, whatever that is.

Or maybe you started out knowing you always wanted to be an entrepreneur and weren’t sure what you wanted to focus on, so you did a lot of different things and are finally focusing specifically on what you love AND what you’re really skilled at, too.

Or, after being an entrepreneur for a while, what you’re doing now has morphed and changed with your passion, interests, and intuition.

I think the most important question of all right now is — Do you love what you do?

If you answered a resounding yes – AWESOME – I truly LOVE that.

And if it’s more shy or quiet, yes, that’s ok too.

If it’s not sure or might be no, don’t worry; that also works. There are plenty of people in business who are in it to make money, and their focus is their family and life outside of work.

What’s important is that you know why you wake up every day and get yourself to your office, place of work, or someplace else.

And to notice or know why you do it each day. What’s your motivation? What keeps you going? What gets you excited to jump out of bed?

All those answers will fuel you to continue down your entrepreneurial path (or another path) and will lead you to greater and greater success…

Some Tools that Will Help On Your Journey:

1. Write In Detail Your Ideal Work Day – I love this exercise. It’s about imagining your ideal work day with all your responsibilities with others, including activities, connections, and more. Write it out in as much detail as you can. What time do you wake up? What do you do first? What do you most love about the morning, daytime, or evening? Who do you connect with? What do you eat? And more… Don’t limit yourself with your circumstances as they are now. Really look at creating images of what your ideal is, as well as using your key talents, passions, and more.

2. Do a Historical Review of Your Work/Life – When I did this exercise, it was incredibly insightful. When I remembered the jobs I did in high school, college, and afterward leading up to what I do now, it was eye-opening. I had forgotten about some of my experiences, like working summers with my dad at his clinic and loading thousands of parishioner data in a church database another summer. Looking over your past experiences will give you clues and insights into your experience. It will also give you insight into what you liked and didn’t like and if you’re using any of those skills you learned back then today.

3. Practice Self Observation – Awareness – I’ve talked about this before, “being the observer of yourself.” What does this mean? It’s about stepping back out of the normal chatter of your mind and observing it. My favorite exercise I take my clients through is – Let’s pretend you are sitting on the couch. Then you take all the negative thoughts that are trying to get your attention all day long and put them all on the couch right next to you. Next, you turn all those negative thoughts into a person. Then ask yourself – “Would you want to be friends with that person?” I’m hoping you say a resounding “No!”

I find this exercise of awareness gets easier and easier the more I meditate. It really helps with noticing your thoughts. Because once you start noticing them, then you can take the next step, which is realizing you don’t have to listen to them. It’s also about being aware and noticing how you feel throughout your work day. What do you love doing? What makes you feel good? And then noticing— what drains you? Is it a client or the work? What do you wish you could hand off to someone else?

Doing one or more of these exercises, especially now as we start closing this chapter of 2023, will help you start making plans for how you want your work and your life to be in 2024.

If you are interested in discovering more about self-awareness – check out one of my favorite books — The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer.

And here’s a link to my book review for “Michael Thurston’s Discovering Your Soul’s Purpose. The exercises above are inspired by his book.

Quote I’m Pondering:

“Everything you do to tell that story—from your brand name to your social media interactions—must amplify what you stand for and communicate to the world why people should care that you brought this thing to life in the first place” ~ Make Your Ideas Matter: Stand out with a better story by Bernadette Jiwa

Powerful Mantra to Inspire: From The Game of Life And How To Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn

“I give thanks for my whirlwind of success.”

“I see clearly and act quickly, and my greatest expectations come to pass in a miraculous way.”

Weekly Book Review:

Tribe: We Need You To Lead Us by Seth Godin

Weekly Photos:
Last weekend, I went to visit my sister and her family in Boise, ID. I’d never been there, much less seen my sister in what felt like forever. It was one of those trips that just felt so easy and enjoyable. Especially when kids who are 6 and 9 are involved and 2 dogs. We went for hikes, apple picking, checking out the Impressionists Immersive at the Discovery Center, and more. I left feeling connected and grateful for spending time with and getting to know my nephews as they grew up. Below are some choice shots from my adventures in Boise, ID.