Category Archives: Personal Growth

Get Stuff Done Using The Green Bean Method

Don’t get overwhelmed with a long to-do list. Instead, get stuff done follow great advice from a dynamic duo. My friend, Melanie, the founder of Growth Advance and her adorable nephew offer up their wisdom.

The Conundrum

“But I don’t like green beans” my three-year old nephew recently complained to me as he eyed the healthy pile of the vegetable on his plate. “I can’t eat all those. That’s a lot,” he said.

After stifling down the nearly automatic responses rising up in me including, “but there are starving children in Africa!” and “You will clean your plate! [said in my best drill sergeant voice],” I thought to myself, “Yeah kid. I get it.” I mean we’d all rather have crackers, or, you know, Krispy Kreme, but in this household, we are going for those 9+ servings of fruits and vegetables each day and in order for the little fellow to hit the target, he was going to have to eat some green beans. Trying to pull up a little empathy from the three-year old me who had to eat all sorts of foods I didn’t love, I took a look at his plate and realized that it probably did seem like an insurmountable pile of green beans to a three-year old boy who knew he had to eat his veggies but didn’t particularly like them.

So I said to him, “Well, how many green beans do you think you can eat?” Taking a quick look at my face, he realized that “None” wasn’t likely to be an acceptable answer, so he glanced down at his plate before looking at his hand. He started to raise up four fingers, but with a second look at his plate, he dropped his pinky and said, “Three. I can eat three green beans.”

I said, “Okay. Can you count out three green beans into a separate pile on your plate?” Very carefully he moved them one at a time while counting out loud. Then he picked up his fork, speared all three, and shoved them in his mouth. After a few grimaces, a handful of shudders, and one full-on gag, he swallowed them down and calmly informed me, “I ate them.” After copious amounts of cheering, clapping, and telling him what a big boy he was for eating his veggies, I said, “I don’t know if it’s possible, but do you think you might be able to eat three more green beans?” After a moment’s hesitation, he responded, “Yeah.”

And then without further prompting, he proceeded to continue separating three green beans from the pile, spearing them with his fork, shoving them into his mouth, grimacing and shuddering, swallowing, and then repeating until the entire pile was gone. (Yes, I did video this. I’ll be sure to share it when he’s just old enough for it to thoroughly embarrass him.)

Now for the unraveling of how to get stuff done! Perhaps you can identify.

Auntie’s Revelation

Later that afternoon I sat down at my desk for some focused work time. I took one look at my to-do list and felt my inner three-year old rising up again and thought, “There’s no way I can do this. There’s so much here I don’t even know where to begin.” As I teetered on the edge of slipping into standard procrastination activities (you know – checking my e-mail, opening Facebook, looking at colors I might use for a logo I might design for a program I might create six months from now…), I thought to myself, “If my nephew can conquer that seemingly insurmountable pile of green beans, then I can make some progress on this seemingly insurmountable to-do list.” So I defined my “three green beans,” and whittled that list away.

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And just in case you ever find yourself facing a huge task without knowing where to start, here are my three green bean tips to overcome overwhelm and surmount your seemingly insurmountable to do list:

Green Bean Tip #1: Pick the item or project on your to-do list that will have the greatest impact on moving you forward toward your goals. Sometimes that might be the item you keep leaving on your to-do list over and over again because it seems the hardest to tackle, but if it is the one action that will give you the greatest progress toward your goals, choose it right now.

Green Bean Tip #2: Set a time frame that you will be solely devoted to that task or project. For me, I like to work in 45 to 60 minute chunks. Once you’ve decided how long you are committing to focusing on that action-item, set a timer or use your favorite focus tool (here’s mine) to set the time frame and get moving.

Green Bean Tip #3: Once the time frame is over, take a quick break. As you’ve likely heard, sitting for prolonged periods of time is one of the worst things we can do for our health. Stand up, grab a drink of water and move around a little bit.

And then, if you think it might be possible, pick another item from the list and chew, shudder (if necessary), swallow, and repeat until your to-do list has been conquered.

Chime in!

What “green bean” project are you currently working on? Let us know so we can cheer you on!

Special thanks to Melanie Ethridge.

This article originally appeared on Growth Advance at http://growthadvance.com/web/the-green-bean-method-for-getting-stuff-done and she was kind enough to share.

 

The fine art of listening: Please, hear me out!

Have you ever found yourself distracted from listening? Perhaps some precarious things happened.

Maybe you can relate to this. Some neighborhood kids came by to see if you want to enroll your pooch in the “Doggie Day Spa.” It’s not until later that you realize you said yes to much more than a simple bath and brush out. The rush to get back to completing a task kept you from the art of listening. Instead you’re enjoying some post modern art on your pooch.

Shih Tzu with purple mohawk, 2 years old, sitting in front of white background

Next time those entrepreneurial kids come knocking at your door and Rover is stinky, you’ll make sure to listen closely to what each spa package offers.

Perhaps you can identify with this one. At the Dry Cleaners you realize that your favorite duds have shrunk three sizes. As you flashback to an odd conversation including hot water and stain removers, you realize something went wildly awry in the listening and communication department.

In search of being my best human self, a better entrepreneur, friend and family member, I’ve been stewing over the ways in which we can improve our listening skills. We’ve all experienced something like this because we’re human and yet I think this topic is worthwhile.

Just recently I was humbled as I became lost en route to an important appointment. Yes, I was busted for not listening as I should. Despite being given great directions, I thought to myself, no worries. I’ll simply rely on the GPS for a friendly fallback. Doh!  Well guess what? This place was off the grid. Because I hadn’t listened intently, I found myself driving around in circles in frustration. Of course, now I’m turning it into fodder because if my human frailty can assist you in anyway, I’m happy to assist!

Listening is much deeper than hearing.

The best business happens when the needs, wants and desires are met– when customers feel heard. The same holds true in our relationships.

Listening is about staying alert to what’s going on and to what matters not only to us, but those we serve.

Listening requires processing. Sometimes that processing includes the emotions of those to whom we are listening and those to whom we are communicating.

Communication train wrecks occur when we’re in a hurry to be heard instead of hearing out what’s happening. Often they are linked to what I call the “tyranny of urgency.” We get ourselves in a hurry to accomplish so much that we miss out on crucial conversations and observations that had we paused long enough– we would have gleaned valuable information to propel a mutual agenda forward.

The way to ground ourselves when we feel we need to speed up is to actually slow down and process how we are showing up.

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To increase our artistry in listening, let’s ask ourselves the following questions:

  • Do I listen to others the way I want to be listened to?
  • Am I marketing an idea or am I helping someone overcome a specific problem?
  • Am I adding value in this communication interchange?

Listening is a gift we give. Being heard is what we most crave. Most of us are done with being a number. We want interaction that’s not superficial. We desire to be understood.

Chime in. We’re all ears! 😉

Art of Listening- Dr. Paige Hunter

In the comments below please share the last time you were the recipient or giver in the art of listening? What was it like to be heard or to listen to someone intently? What did this experience do for you and /or your fellow human? Tell us about it!

 

How to Avoid Burnout & Hit Your Goals

Isn’t it amazing that as soon as we make our mind up to pursue a goal it’s as if a special anthem begins to play? Game face on, check! Perhaps you hear Rocky Balboa’s theme song or We are the Champions, my friend! Or is this just me? We’ve got heart. Determination. Integrity. We’re taking that goal! And, POOF! An obstacle or two arises. No. big. deal. We’ve got this! A hurdle is jumped and we’re still on track. Defeat is not an option. It’s decided. There will be no burn out in hitting goals!

Alas, another ugly obstacle rears up as a challenge! We will not be deterred! We boldy speak forth, “ain’t nobody got time for that!” while courageously  pursuing the goal. By now, you know where this is going because life doles out plenty of surprises while in the pursuit of happiness.

overcome obstacles and avoid burnout

And so the journey continues. We choose to move along focused on our goal yet obstacles continue to pop up everywhere! It’s almost like a conspiracy!

We’ve all been there! Perhaps you can identify with one of the following examples. Set a health goal to slim down? It’s ridiculous how many cookies and cakes begin passing before our very eyes! Set a financial goal to save up for a special purchase or chase away some debt? We get a call from a friend desperate in need or the car needs serious repairs. But wait, there’s more! Entrepreneurs, you set a lofty, yet attainable business goal when the next day you receive a call from your bank explaining that there’s been some fraud committed through your account. Setbacks happen. Am I right?

Learn how to handle detours and avoid burnout while still hitting your goal.

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Focus on why you set the goal in the first place.

List the reasons you decided to set this specific goal. Is this a goal you’re doing for someone else or was is it your desire? If it’s an easy goal to quit, perhaps it’s not one that you are ready to take on alone. Do you need help from an individual who can coach you in getting there? List any obstacles that may occur might occur along the way? How can you overcome them? Write down, how things will be should you not hit this specific goal. What will it cost you in every area of your life? Will it be more unresolved stress? Poor health? Time away from those you care about? Take time to pinpoint what you want to create by achieving this goal and what you want to avoid.

Begin with the end in mind.

Place in writing how you will feel upon completing this goal and what you will do to celebrate it. For example, if it’s a financial goal, it may look like this. “Today I paid off the mortgage and it feels so liberating! I’m proud of myself for being disciplined and staying true to what matters most. I’m choosing to celebrate by taking the family to Lake Tahoe. We’ll celebrate in style with a hot air balloon ride.” When we set a goal, let’s be prepared to hit it as well as celebrate it.

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Track the results

Have a visible tracker to mark results. It can be done using a computer program or something simple that is drawn up. Below is an example.

avoid burnout while achieving your goals

The purpose is to have a reference guide that empowers us to see daily, weekly or monthly progress (or the lack thereof so we can recalibrate our strategy). This helps us as goal setters get back on track if we’ve wanderer off or to stay in the race for goal completion. Whether it’s something like a health, business or financial goal a visual indicator with a baseline and projected goals serves mightily in cultivating the habits and practices necessary to reach goals and avoid burnout.

Let us not grow weary in well doing, in due time we’ll reap a harvest if we don’t give up. Galations 6:9

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Your turn, please

Tell us in the comment area below, have you used any of these tactics before to hit a goal? What goal did you hit or how did you celebrate its completion? Any tips can you share with us about avoiding burnout while completing a goal? We’ve got plans to do great things! 🙂

 

How taking one action can alter everything…

and 5 simple steps to uncover it

I’ll never forget the day I wanted to yank my hair out and ask for a refund. It seemed overly simplistic. We were teamed up and tasked to pinpoint the one action that can alter everything. Or rather, come face-to-face with, “what’s stopping me from being my best?” If I could capture this, then I could identify the one action that substantially creates progress in my life.

B-I-N-G-O!

She got it. She really got it. Me, not so much.

Allow me to explain. Ten years ago I was attending a leadership conference when Sally (not her real name of course) and I were paired up as each others’  “camp buddy.”

During an outside break, we were to share what the one action we’d take over the next 6 weeks to reach new goals. Sally’s eyes filled up with big crocodile tears. With deep conviction she said,  “I know what I’m supposed to do. From now on I’m going to set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. and that’s it. This will transform everything. It’s decided.”

I was surprised and queried, “So it’s decided?”

I thought,  “So an alarm for 7:00, huh? Why not 6:52 or 7:03?” Sally had clearly set her intention and I felt it my duty to support her. Still befuddled by her conclusion I wondered how setting an alarm clock could seriously be the one action that accelerates results.

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In spite of my disdain for annoying alarm clocks, something snapped and I understood what she meant. Of course, this epiphany happened when Sally explained a simple five-step strategy that uncovered the one action that we could take to power through to our goals.

1) Identify the lie/s.

2) Slam the door on excuses.

3) Poof! The one life-altering action appears!

4) Tell it, do it, and walk with accountability.

5) Celebrate the results.

This was not Sally’s first rodeo! (not literally, that’s Texan for she’s no novice) She was on a mission. I asked her to elaborate so I too could move past anything stopping me. Sally confided that she was re-auditing the leadership course because it had proven to be super beneficial. She explained where her mental condition had been a few years back as she walked me through the five steps that can propel us to that one trigger action that creates a lasting domino effect.

First, Sally exposed the lies. She believed she could never be a healthy size 8 again. She believed she didn’t have time to take care of herself by preparing nutritious meals or working out 3-4 times a week. Sally explained that the feeling of overwhelm and fitting into a size 16 left her stuck in the mud.

Letting go becomes easier when you see not what you lose, but all that you gain in creating space for something new.“ Renate Vullings

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Second, she decided to slam the door on the excuses and devise a plan instead. Sally realized she made choices based solely on convenience rather than substance. She took charge, reached out to a neighbor friend for support. Together they agreed to start walking 3 times a week for 45 minutes. Sally also chose to shop for groceries on Friday so she could plan out and prepare meals during the weekend. These two choices really helped her get after two of her biggest excuses.

Third, Sally took on her one big action she KNEW would change everything. She pinpointed where things had gone awry. She recognized that shortly after her best friend’s fatal car accident she fell victim to sugar and processed carbs. It was understandable. Sugar had become her solace and comfort. Sally shared that it too, had also be her “socially-acceptable crack”. A radical choice to cut out sugar from her diet all together ensued. She was convinced this one action would give her the freedom she wanted– and it did.

Fourth, Sally told her immediate family and close circle of friends what she was up to. She did so to receive support, and frankly, there were times that she was challenged by friendly sabotage. However, there were those who rallied around her efforts, inciting accountability.

Fifth, when Sally hit her goal she booked a weekend getaway to the beach with her husband. She commissioned him to help her pick out two great outfits; one for a special dinner and another for pictures that would be taken to celebrate their upcoming 10-year anniversary. She took this opportunity to whip out her cell phone and show me her favorite photos of that day.

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Sally’s one decision brought about desired results of health and confidence. What’s more is that this one decision to nix sugar and processed carbs brought about a tremendous friendship with her walking partner. The results didn’t stop there. She shared with me that her marriage had vastly improved because she no longer craved what made her body feel bad. Instead, she chose to work on the deeper issues and in time, new patterns of health, acceptance and joy took the once dark place.

One action possesses the power to become transformational.

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I’m about to reconnect with Sally on a monthly call. I look forward to hearing how setting an alarm at 7:00 a.m. continues to drastically transform her life.

While I’m still not a fan of alarm clocks, I did decide one the one action I’d take to change everything. I chose to give up my night owl status. Now my one action of hitting the hay earlier is making all the difference in the world. Who knew? Bedtime at 10:30 sets my world in motion, my mind at ease and my goals on the fast track.

Over to you!

Are you up to taking that one action that can create the remarkable results you crave as an entrepreneur or health adventurer? If so, tell us in the comments below. We’ll be happy to cheer you on as you pick up more lift!

Forget secrets! Let’s spread these entrepreneurial insights

I am one of those people who can hold a secret. Seriously. I’ve had friends begin sharing private information assuming I had shared their secret with my entrepreneurial husband only to watch his jaw drop or face turn beet red.

Why am I telling you this? Well, every year I choose to attend a conference that addresses the needs and lives of entrepreneurs. I purposefully look for communities that are moving forward together. I go to glean powerful information for myself and those I love serving.

You’ve heard the phrase “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” However, this conference wasn’t in Vegas. It was in Texas. The Big D, actually. I’m sure you’re familiar with “everything is bigger in Texas.” With that being said, I’m not holding any secrets, in fact, I want to give you some timely and timeless deets I learned this past weekend.

Allow me to shake down and shimmy up some of the best nuggets gleaned from Nathalie Lussier’s Off the Charts Live conference. This powerful group of 200 practicing entrepreneurs from around the world shared invaluable insight.

As I listened to practical how-to advice and stories of building business sustainably and sanely, my thoughts were saturated with happy dancing. Yes,  I’m nerdy like that– so nerdy that my published doctoral research addresses entrepreneurs and their educational experiences. And wouldn’t you know three major themes surfaced during this conference. I want to share them with you.

Take note all who are entrepreneurs or not– this will serve your life in some capacity.

  • Create the kind of success you desire.
  • Be fully alive through reflection and connection.
  • Traction comes by overcoming challenges and building resiliency.

Regarding success; define what it means to you. Dive deep. What does success feel like to you? Who are the people sharing it with you? When you aren’t working what great things are you doing that bring satisfaction, joy, or meaning?

Please, do your thing. Others often suggest what they think we should do understanding little of what we desire to do. So listen and act on what you know you need to do. Yes, take advice from those whose life and business line up with the kind of success you want, but most importantly, listen and lead yourself. Take the collective advice of many:

Tune in to what it is you want to create from this one precious life.

As strong collective themes emerged from story-telling entrepreneurs I felt as happy as a pig in mud. Why? Because these entrepreneurs carried the presence of being fully alive.

They shared how previous adventures brought further clarity and how everything serves a purpose by leading us to where we are now. The more personal growth and development we go through as entrepreneurs the more confident we become. More confidence leads to more skillful action. Not at all shocking, just reassuring. And the lessons continue…

Embrace struggle and failure as great teachers in order to be more alive. Acknowledge time as an incubator for pruning skill sets and clarifying purpose.

By the way, the most prevalent theme about being alive was having connection. Many entrepreneurs expressed that their fellow peers played a significant role in business and life breakthroughs.

These peers have served as a support system. They exchanged ideas, benefited from one another’s expertise, rallied in the midst of trials or celebrated breakthroughs. Summary advice:

Team up to optimize dreams and talents in yourself and others.

Group of women talking over a cup of coffee

The predominant theme of creating traction emerged as the speakers shared stories about overcoming challenges and building resiliency. The honesty of sharing how one arrives from Point A to Point B was refreshing. Often we’ll hear how one became an overnight success when it takes about 2-9 years to gain a six and seven-figure success– and it’s also okay not to run a business that yields such high returns, after all each of us define success differently.

So here’s the scoop according to several of these entrepreneurs. Want traction? Cool. We all do. Be willing to choke. Make mistakes. Prune services or products that lack passion or efficiency. Do the work that takes you and your customers to that happy place. 🙂

Taking off is part of flying the proverbial entrepreneurial plane.

Old airplane in the sky

Give yourself permission to ascend into new realms where great value is given and profits are enjoyed. Yes, permission to soar. Hold a space for lifelong learning. No need to cool the jets, it’s time to fly.

Oh and here’s a reminder. At times, the plane is still being built while we’re learning to fly. The common consensus was this: Business takes courage. Don’t hold back. Act before you’re ready. Step out in faith. Oh! And, don’t forget to team up and tune in to what your success looks and really feels like.

No secrets here. Just good solid advice shared from a powerful group of entrepreneurs who are seeing results and sharing their stories.

BIG THANKS to everyone that reads my blog. I hope this post helps you reflect and smile on your own adventure. In the comment section below, tell me how do you want to ramp up your entrepreneurial game? Are you looking to tune in more, team up or take off to the next level?

Let’s do this!

 

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