These are the top three things I learned in 2009 (let me know if you can relate):
1. I Am NOT My Business!
This conclusion hit me pretty hard when I realized that I had put A LOT of time, energy, and resources into my businesses. I started to identify myself and who I am with my business. Then I had the thought, if I didn’t have these businesses, who would I be? To my great joy, I remembered that I am much more than my businesses and WHO I AM is the foundation in my businesses. It’s the energy behind and through it and it’s what people are drawn to. To lose myself in my businesses meant that I would lose the “umph,” the energy, and what made my businesses unique.
The Lesson:
The good news is I recommitted to ME. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day operations and goals of business. What will make my business thrive is ME. If I’m burned out and have forgotten my true identity, it will most certainly appear in my business. I dedicated the last little bit of 2009 to re-focusing on me so I can show up more powerfully than ever before in all aspects of my life including my businesses.
2. What Are My Priorities?
As a solo-preneur (for the most part) I spent part of 2009 keeping myself really busy. Being busy I though meant I was producing results. WRONG. Being busy is just being busy. I learned to first, identify what my goals are. Second, identify the activities that would create the results I desired. Third, focus on those activities that are directly related to reaching my goals. Anything else got to be delegated or it was simply not that important so it got deleted.
The Lesson:
Not everything is an urgent priority. By identifying what the goals were and action steps to get to the goal, I Be 100% committed to my success and don’t allow myself to get distracted by what I call “bright shiny, sparkly things,” which are opportunities, however they are not opportunities that serve my goals or serve my focus at the time. So pass the opportunities to someone else so I then have the space in my life to create what I truly want. This means saying no to things that don’t serve my highest vision for myself.
3. Having Clear Boundaries.
I experienced my business life spilling over into my personal life and relationships a lot in 2009. I justified it by telling myself that ANYONE who has created change on the planet has had to focus and sacrifice. While this is true, it can also be done with balance and boundaries. This relates to #1 about focusing on what makes me, me so I can show up in all areas of my life clear, confident, healthy and with LOVE.
The Lesson:
Plan my time and stick to a schedule. Make sure I have time for me. The results so far are: I have at least one bubble bath a week. I go to bed early (before 10 p.m.) with a glass of tea and a good book. My husband and I have started having weekly date nights (no excuses) and we plan our lives around these dates rather than having them happen when we don’t have anything else going on that night. I make plans with friends that are not focused on business goals. I’m excited to carry this fairly new schedule into the rest of 2010.
