Stepping Into Big, LLC
How to take action now!7/11/13
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It's Time 
To Get Off The Hamster Wheel!
 
hamster on wheel by haundreis

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.

Enter the Take Action Now System (tm). 

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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Greetings!

   

I think the default human reaction to being faced with a problem is to label it as "bad."  That's certainly true, if by "bad" you mean "something that slows down my progress."   While you may be making a negative judgment about the problem, at least you're not stopping yourself in your tracks.

 

On the other hand, if by "bad" you mean "horrible, awful, impossible to deal with", defining it that way is likely to create exactly those results. In other words, when you judge something that negatively - when you catastrophize the situation - you're likely to short-circuit all your creative problem-solving skills.  Voila!  A genuine self-fulfilling prophecy.  

 

What would happen if, instead, you looked at the problem as an opportunity to enhance your problem-solving skills, develop your creativity, and - possibly - identify a hot new business?  We've probably all had the experience of expecting the worst and getting it.  Why not try expecting the best and see how often we can get that?

 

If you need more practice in seeing problems as gifts rather than obstacles, tap into the power of the following tools.  

Tip of the Week
  
Manage activities, not time.

You'll often hear entrepreneurs and small-business owners say that one of their biggest problems is not having enough time to do everything they want to do.  Their struggle with time management feels never-ending.

My recommendation is to stop trying to manage your time and, instead, start managing your activities.  This will both decrease your stress level and improve your productivity.  Why?  Because knowing you've completed a particular activity makes you feel more powerful and in control of your day, and - assuming you've carefully chosen activities that are important and will propel your goals forward - actually completing that activity is a sign of noticeable progress.
A Really Good Resource

light bulb
While it's wonderful that technology has made it possible for even a solopreneur to have a nationwide or even worldwide client base, being unable to meet with clients face to face can sometimes be challenging. This is especially true in situations where there's a lot of feedback being given and received on written or graphic work (like when I'm working with my graphic designer in Minnesota while I'm in Iowa).

Enter join.me, an application you can easily use for sharing screen images in real time, as well as for holding online meetings.  There are both free and pro versions, depending on your needs, and you can use it on a PC or Mac, on the iPad/iPhone, or on mobile devices using the Android operating system.

Thanks to Jeri Hird Dutcher of WorkWrite Resumes for sharing this tool with us.
How's This for Success?   
from students to successful entrepreneurs

 

It may have been a while ago, but I'm willing to bet that you clearly remember what it feels like to be faced with a big, important exam of some type and be overwhelmed with the amount of information you're responsible for knowing.

 

That's the situation dental student Alec Whitters was in a couple of years ago.  He realized that he couldn't possibly be the only student challenged by effectively absorbing enough information to pass the professional board exams, so he teamed up with two other creative friends - entrepreneurial management student Adam Neune and nursing student Ben O'Connor - to create highly interactive, engaging, convenient study guides students access through their tablets or smart phones.  The three of them collaborated with professors at the University of Iowa to create a study-guide app designed for today's learners.

 

The results?  Although Higher Learning Technologies only formed about one year ago, their study guides are currently being by approximately 100,000 users in 110 countries.  A terrific example of not only refusing to be stopped by a problem, but actually turning that problem into a unique - and profitable - business opportunity. 

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
The Bottom Line

I'd venture to say that most, if not all, of us are in business because  we know that our product or service is a terrific solution to a business problem.  The ongoing challenge for each of us is to spread the word about our solution so that the right people learn about it.  That's often easier said than done, because there's never a lack of business-development activities facing us.

If you feel that activity management is not an area where you currently shine, I can help.  My specialty is showing you how to ditch the unimportant activities and create step-by-step action plans that will enable you to effectively and efficiently move through the really vital business-builders.

If that sounds like something that could keep your blood pressure from soaring, call or e-mail me to set up a let's-see-what-we-see, get-acquainted call. 


Wishing you joy on your journey into Big...

Kathleen 
Stepping Into Big
319-270-1214

Life is good.   

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