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Yes, there is a real face behind the e-mail!
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It's Time
To Get Off The Hamster Wheel!
Just being in motion will never get you to your Big. To do that, you need to be sure you're doing the right things, in the right order, for the right reasons.
This seven-step system clarifies the activities that are mission-critical to your success. It then walks you through a process for creating step-by-step action plans to implement those key activities.
The result? You get off the hamster wheel of motion-without-progress and get on a more direct route to more clients and more money.
Forget about being busy; start getting focused by downloading your no-charge PDF version of the Take Action Now System (tm) today. |
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Want More
Than Just a
Little Nibble?
If you're interested in exploring more ideas on how to step into your particular Big, just sign up for our RSS feed. There are enough blog posts and comments to be of value, but not so many that your head will explode. I promise.
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Greetings!
If you've never come across this disgusting expression, "eating crow" means admitting you've behaved poorly in some way and now want to apologize. It's typically a humbling experience, although they say it builds character.
Apparently my character needed some extra work, because I get to acknowledge and apologize for the way I totally dropped off the grid for the last couple of months.
You may remember that Joseph (my husband) and I were getting our Minnesota house ready to sell so that we could move to Iowa and be closer to family. In a series of events worthy of The Three Stooges, almost everything that could be hard was hard.
- We fired one realtor;
- the flooring installers screwed up some work and had to be threatened with small claims court before they addressed it;
- virtually all the home-improvement projects we hired out took longer to complete than we'd hoped;
- one dog came down with bad hot spots (don't ask) and had to wear the Cone of Shame (also known as an Elizabethan collar) to keep her from making the problem worse;
- the other dog ran away (we got her back safely);
- two days before our storage pods were delivered, the mild temps and lack of precipitation we'd enjoyed all fall ended in a 13-inch snowfall;
- the best timing we could arrange involved closing on our new house in Iowa three weeks after closing on the Minnesota house, which means we've been kind of nomadic and staying in different places until we close;
- Joseph developed walking pneumonia.
And those are just the highlights. (Or would that be lowlights?) While none of that constitutes an excuse, it does give you some idea why I opted to preserve my sanity by focusing on getting out of that transition period as quickly as possible. Now that we see the light at the end of the tunnel (and I'm pretty sure it's not an approaching freight train, thank goodness), I'm finally getting my act back together and starting out 2013 on the right note. As I reflect on the lessons learned during the past seven months, I realize that, although I learned them in the personal arena, most of them apply equally well to the professional arena. While the learning process was pretty ugly, the good news is that I have an amazing amount of material for this year's ezines. Here's hoping what I learned from my stumbles can save you some grief as you step into your own Big. |
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Tip of the Week
Decide now.
Indecision robs you of energy, creativity, and courage. Better to make a decision that turns out to be less than optimal than to sit on the fence and do nothing. Even if the results aren't what you want, you've at least established some forward momentum. You've also gotten feedback from the universe about what didn't work so you can do better next time.
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A Really Good Resource
 As I huffed and puffed through all the challenges of our out-of-state moving, I often found myself asking, "What am I supposed to be learning from all this? How can I make this stressful situation into something that eventually benefits me?" In a way, I was looking for the meaning behind the struggle. The ultimate example of someone finding meaning in a truly horrendous situation is psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's classic book, Man's Search for Meaning . Frankl's memoir describes his challenge to survive in Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. He argues that, while we cannot avoid suffering, we can choose how we respond to it. In a situation where he was a prisoner, treated as less than human, he viewed himself as having the ultimate freedom - the freedom to choose his response to his circumstances. Next time you feel a need for a powerful kick in the pants to stop feeling sorry for yourself, pick up this book. That's what I plan to do as soon as I can find the box I packed it in.
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How's This for Success?
Sometimes success comes in a roundabout fashion.
Joseph and I are lucky to work with a wonderful financial advisor, John Robinson of Ameriprise Financial. Over the years, John has demonstrated his skill, concern, and trustworthiness many times over.
So when we wanted some referrals for a realtor and insurance agent, we naturally thought to ask John for professionals he would recommend. He connected us to the realtor who sold our house in 18 days and the insurance agent who saved us money on our home and auto insurance.
The we asked John Wichmann, the realtor, if he could recommend a handyman to us, which led us to work with Tom Nguyen of T and K Home Services.
Then we asked Frank Herrmann, the insurance specialist, if he knew any comparable agents in Iowa that he could recommend to us. Even though he's losing our business (he's not licensed in Iowa), Frank is the ultimate professional, so he did some research on our behalf and came up with a recommendation we're very happy with.
No money changed hands among these service providers, but the good will they gained with each other - and with Joseph and me - is priceless. They clearly know the long-term value of building strong relationships and maintaining high levels of trust and integrity. No need to eat crow for this group of professionals.
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Thanks to my friend Flickr.
Here are this week's heroes who graciously allowed me to use their images, posted in the Creative Commons area of Flickr, in this issue of Stepping Into Big:
hamster on her wheel by Heindraus light bulb by aloshbennett
links by John-Morgan
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