Even Barbara Striesand isn't always confident.

I once read that Barbara Stresiand hated singing in public. It made her so nervous to stand in front of a crowd of people and perform. Imagine.

We tend to believe that people who we percieve as so successful are somehow immune to having doubts about themselves. The truth is, having doubts is part of what makes us human. Now when the doubts and worries tend to consume us it can and will affect our business.

If you are just starting a new business or you are trying to grow your business, doubt can really get in the way. It is important to be confident so that you keep moving forward toward your goal. Doubt can stop even the best of us dead in our tracks.

You see doubt and procrastination go hand in hand. When we are not confident we look for reasons to stop moving forward. We tend to over anlyze the situation until we end up in analysis- paralysis where we are literally paralyzed and end up doing nothing for fear it may be the wrong thing to do.

Jack Canfield said in his book Success Principles; instead of Ready, Aim, Fire you should say ready, fire, aim. he said too many people get stuck on the aim part and never take the first shot. They try to make sure everything is perfect before doing anything.

The difference between successful people and those who are not so successful is that successful people are not afraid of missing the target. They just begin firing off one idea and plan after another knowing that the more they fire, the more times they put themselves out there the more chance they will have to create the success they desire.

Are you ready to fire?

Get your right brain involved in your business

Have you ever gone to sleep at night with a problem weighing heavy on your mind? Then when you woke up the solution seemed so simple you wondered why you hadn't thought of it before.

That is because when you go to sleep your brain rhythms slow down allowing you to easily process the information from the day. You are not bombarded with outside stimuli as you are during the day so the brain has an easier time of sorting everything out.

Try this for a few days and see what happens:

Before you go to bed write down your goals for the next day, what you want to accomplish and achieve and also imagine everything going smoothly.

What will happen:

You will start the day ready to go. Your brain will have already figured out what needs to be done first and how you should go about it. You will be leaps ahead of others who spend the first hour of their day figuring everything out.
:-)

Involve both sides of your brain for a balanced approach.

Do you ever ruminate over something that has happened?

Your productivity goes right out the window as you muddle it over and over in your head thinking about how unfair the situation is or what you should have said, etc., etc.

I recently had a family situation that really upset me and seemed to consume my thoughts. The work I had intended to do got put on the back burner while I replayed the conversation over and over again in my mind. No very productive huh?

I am a huge fan of meditation however when my monkey mind has hijacked my brain with looping thoughts a traditional sitting meditation will not work for me.

What does work:

1. Any kind of physical activity. Running, swimming, walking or anything else that keeps my focus elsewhere. I love walking while repeating a mantra or affirmation. This too shall pass is one of my favorites.

2.Journaling- Writing out my thoughts.

3.Confiding in a friend who will listen sympathetically but who will not get caught up in the drama with me.:-)

4. Breathing exercises.

5. Getting back to the work I am passionate about as quickly as I can.

Ah, I feel better already. :-) Thanks for listening.

The Law of Attraction Doesn't Work

"I tried using The Law of Attraction to grow my business but it just doesn't work" I have heard this several times lately.People seem to be somewhat confused about how if works. There are several reasons why the law of attraction may seem like it isn't working.

1. I often find with clients that they are not really clear about their goals and the direction their business is headed. It is typical of entrepreneurs to bounce around from one idea to another. Trust me I have been there. :-) In order to be attractive you must be able to focus and you must have a clear vision.

I suggest spending some time really working on this. Take an hour or so each day and spend time meditating, taking walks in nature, or simply writing down everything you want to achieve in your business and your personal life.
Until you are really clear about what you want you are right, The Law of Attraction will not work for you.

2. Does it feel good? When you think about your goal to you get all excited with the anticipation of the achievement. If not something is missing. Make sure the goal is your goal, not your spouse's or your mother's or your father's goal. Make sure you are not being swayed by peer pressure and all of the should's in life. Your desire can only be yours. You'll know your goal is authentic when you feel giddy and excited and cannot stop talking or thinking about your goal.

3. Deep down do you really believe that you can achieve this goal? Now this is where I think most people get shut down. Maybe you were all excited in the beginning but then someone said something and you began to second guess yourself. Or maybe you just get scared. It happens.

We are exposed to so much information on the internet these days and for many it can be overwhelming. Do you ever compare your business to someone else's? Maybe there is a business that is much like yours but they appear to be doing much better than you are. Before you know it you are believing that you can't succeed in this business so you look for another way.

If you want the Law of Attraction to work you have to be clear and confident about what you want. You have to believe you deserve what you want.

What are you thinking about?

Studies have shown that the average person has over 40,000 thoughts per day. 40,000??? That's a lot of thinking. So just what are you thinking about?

The disappointing thing is most of what we are thinking is a repeat of what we were thinking yesterday and the day before. And most of it is insignificant.

Just as you feed your body healthy food for optimum performance so to must you feed your mind for optimum mental performance.

Choosing to think powerful and uplifting thoughts by listening to motivational speakers, saying positive affirmations and hanging around positive and successful people will strengthen your mind and your spirit.

As the Nike commercial once said " Just do it!"

Can multi-tasking hinder your business?

Studies have shown that you are about 40% less productive when you are multi-tasking that when you stay focused on one project at a time.

Have you ever been talking to someone on the phone and you could hear the tap, tap, tap of their keyboard as they continued on another project? How did that feel? It probably felt like you weren't getting heard.

Clients can tell when you are distracted and are not giving your undivided attention to them. Everyone wants to be heard.

Next time the phone rings turn your back on your computer to answer the phone. If you are in the middle of a big project and don't want to get distracted either let your voice mail answer or simply tell the person on the phone that you are in the middle of something and would like to call them back when you can give them your undivided attention. Now would'nt that make you feel special?

The one thing you absolutely must do to insure success.

Relax. That's right relax. People can smell fear and uncertainty a mile away and they will stay away from you and your business. Nothing exudes confidence like a relaxed demeanor.

Now the word relax may conjure up visions of doing nothing but sitting around all day and eating bon-bons while you watch television. This is clearly not what I am talking about.

I am talking about the relaxed demeanor that a confident person has when they ask you to purchase their service. The attitude that they know their product is exactly what you need but if you don't buy it today it will not be the end of the world. The relaxed attitude that says I will be and I am successful and my success is not hinged on weather or not you buy from me today.

How can you be successful if you are not relaxed.