26/09/2011 by Ann.

It’s tricky when you first get started in business; you often feel like a fraud and everyone, simply everyone, seems to know how to do it better than you.

Or do they?

Perhaps they are just better at acting than you are?

One of the best ways of developing confidence is acting ‘as if’. So, as a coach,  you would act as if you are the best coach in the world, or as Kendall Summerhawk suggests to her clients: ‘Ask yourself what a millionaire coach would do’. Just insert your chosen profession for the word ‘coach’ and see what a difference that makes.

The main thing to remember is that everyone had to start at the beginning; and that includes Richard Branson and Oprah. They had to learn how to run a business and made mistakes along the way, but they had the belief in themselves and the passion for their business to behave in a way that made the people around them believe that they could do it.

I’m going to be blunt here; women are great at apologising for lacking experience, talent, etc.  This is where you need to use a more masculine approach and focus on your talents and what you are great at, not focus on what you are not so good at. False modesty never made anyone a great success.

So, act as if you are already the most successful business woman/man in your area. If you are still struggling think of someone who you really admire and ask yourself the question ‘What would xxx do?’  By taking the emotion out of it, and focussing on someone else, you begin to feel and act in a more confident way and your belief increases which makes you more attractive to your prospects. It really is that simple.

Start doing that today and notice the difference it makes to you and your business.

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23/09/2011 by Ann.

Most of us believe that blocks are a bad thing; they stifle our creativity and stop us from achieving what we want and, to top it all, they are really frustrating and drive us crazy! But, there are times when blocks are the best thing that can happen to you.

Not convinced? Perhaps that is because we are talking about different things!

The blocks I am talking about are blocks of time where you get to focus on ONE THING and I mean just that. No distractions with Twitter, Facebook, emails or telephone calls. Instead you take yourself away and work on just one thing that will be of benefit to you. It may be calling potential clients or focussing on the copy for your website.

In fact it is something I have started doing in recent months myself. Rather than pen a newsletter whenever I need a new one, I set aside some time (usually when I am up at my mother’s) to write as many as I can in a few hours or, over a couple of days. You see that fits in perfectly with what is going on for me and I can shut myself away upstairs and just get on with it. In fact you can use other multiple blocks of time as real opportunities:

A few weeks ago I was waiting for my car to have its brakes checked. I was on an industrial estate, so there was not much entertainment close by and it could have been a little frustrating. However, I didn’t watch the TV in the reception area or read the paper. Instead I brainstormed titles for my newsletters which would inspire me to write about a particular subject and came up with over thirty in that space of time. That task meant I now have lots of titles to choose from when it comes to writing my newsletters, so I have no excuse not to take action and get down to it.

I know some people who go away on short retreats to get stuff like this done. If you find writing a challenge then you may need to have a more inspiring location around you to get the best out of you and keep you on track.

However, sometimes you just have to do it! No excuses, no procrastination and most of all, no distractions.

Even on a day-to-day basis, blocking out periods of time is a much more productive way of getting things done.

So what are you going to do today?

Ann

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