How Important is a healthy lifestyle to your business success? – Part 3

Welcome to some more thoughts and insights into our question of the week – How important is a healthy lifestyle to your business success?

Today we gain some insights from two coaching colleagues of mine – Rosa Say and Káren Wallace.  They are linked by more than just the Pacific Ocean (with Káren in Queensland Australia and Rosa in Hawaii) they also both have experience as leaders of people and also of what it takes to be a good  self-manager.

Rosa Say – Founder of Say Leadership Coaching and Author of Managing with Aloha
blog : http://www.sayleadershipcoaching.com/talkingstory

How important is a healthy lifestyle to your business success?  In a word, it is vitally important. It is crucial. I firmly believe you cannot manage well or lead well if you don’t have your own good health to draw strength from, and to sustain you. A lifestyle built around consistently good and healthy habits provides you with an internal engine which produces more energy and more potential.

In fact, when I coach people in their writing of professional mission statements there are three questions I start with in having them write a first draft:

Part one – What is the key responsibility you hold in your position? What results are expected from you? [Goal/Objective]

Part two – How will you own your role, and be held accountable for your responsibility (as defined in part one) in a way that puts your personal signature of excellence on that role? [Passion/Purpose, Definitive Action]

Part three – What are the commitments you make to yourself and your own health, so that you will be able to achieve those things (in part two) in the best possible way for everyone your actions affect? [Well-being, Renewal]

When you put all of this together, the Hawaiian value is ‘Imi ola: Seeking your best possible life in business. This is a value essential to the overall Managing with Aloha philosophy at the heart of all my coaching.

Karen Wallace – creator of The Clearing Space and The Sanctuary
blog : http://workingsolo.blogs.com/clearingspace

In order to address the question “How important is a healthy lifestyle to your business?” my first thought is to define what a healthy lifestyle means to me.

As a mother of school aged kids, a corporate employee, and business woman, not to mention loving wife, sister, daughter, aunt, taxi driver etc etc, being fit and healthy is of paramount importance in my ability to just get through my days.  Without my health, I would not be able to fulfil these roles.  Now, if I could not get out of bed tomorrow, people probably would and could step into most of my roles (or reverse them), and things would get done.  The kids would be cared for, the clothes washed, the dinner made, the corporate work would be done by another employee (well, that one’s a maybe – but definitely the critical things would get done).  BUT my business growth and success would come to a complete standstill.

One day I hope to have my business to a stage where it will run itself on a basic level while I am away.  But my business at the moment is ME.  And to be there and be effective requires a reasonably healthy body and mind.

There is also another side to the importance of a healthy lifestyle to my business success.   I would not be in integrity with myself if I did not model a healthy lifestyle for my clients (women who do too much).  This is one of the cornerstones on which my business is built.  And I find each week, as I do my weight training, sip my water, unpack the organic fruit and veggies, or take some ‘me’ time, that each little action gives me more confidence, more faith in my own ability to achieve success in this area of my life.  And that has a huge flow on effect on the rest of my life – especially the ‘building a business’ part.

For me, personally, the answer to the question Leah has posed is – a healthy lifestyle, and maintaining a fit and healthy body and mind, is of absolute paramount importance to my business success.  Without it, I would not have a business – I would not have the energy or the motivation or the willpower or the confidence to step outside my comfort zone and follow my dream.

I dare you to do something in the next 24 hours that will have a positive impact on both your business success AND your lifestyle!  Let me know what you did.

How Important is a healthy lifestyle to your business success? – Part 2

Day 2 in the series of blogs that asks "How important is healthy lifestyles to business success?" we get some female perspective from Chris Owen and Yvonne Di Vita.

What did you think of yesterday’s thoughts from Chris Barrow and Todd Storch?

Chris Owen – founder of Pink Apple Connections and a "networking queen"
blog : http://workingsolo.blogs.com/pinkapple

As
a home-based business person you can become so consumed by your business, your
aspirations for it, and your commitment to it, that it BECOMES you.  It can seem
like the business IS you.  The frightening possibility is that it consumes you,
like some parasite.  That’s not a particularly attractive quality in a business
I think.  The toxic fumes that come out of this parasite are neediness – and it’s
NOT ATTRACTIVE.

The
paradox is the very forces that can lead to that parasitic quality are the same ones that
provide you with a potential for success.  Harnessing them is the means by which
success and a life are to be gained.  There’s a knife-edge quality to that! 
That’s probably part of the sexiness of it!

Recognizing
that its happening/could happen is the turning point. 

The
answer to this question is a no-brainer in some ways.  Perhaps the more tricky
question is how.

My
experience is that if you find it difficult to take action on the fact that “of
course a healthy lifestyle is important to your business success” then you seek
the assistance of mentors and advisors.  Their job is to help, guide, challenge
and support you through this minefield – just like you do with finances,
marketing, or any other aspect of business development and maintenance.  But you
have to put them in place.  That’s the first step.  Immersing yourself in the
best advisors to all facets of business including healthy
lifestyle!

Yvonne Di Vita – founder of WME Books and author of "Dickless Marketing : Smart Marketing to Women Online"
blog : http://windsormedia.blogs.com/aha  and http://www.lipsticking.com

For someone who is self-employed, a healthy lifestyle is as necessary as water,
or sunlight, or the warmth of your kitty sitting on your lap. While health
is important to everyone, and women — I think — view it as vital to all we
do, it’s the most ignored part of the average person’s life. We take our
health for granted — we overdose on caffeine, sugar, and TV, and wonder why
we’re shakey,  muddle-headed, and confused. Heavens! It’s because we refuse
to relax, enjoy a meal at the kitchen table, with good friends and/or
relatives.

I am so guilty of these things — that I worry about my
health= . Truth is, I have an auto-immune disorder and it is crying out for
b= etter care. So, while I know living a healthy lifestyle is more important
than my next client meeting, more important than attending a networking
session after a long workday, and more important than putting in full days
every weekend — I do it anyway. <sigh> After all, I started this
business, now it’s up to me to build it and nurture it.

What is the
trade-off? It’s knowing that I am moving toward a better tomorrow. And that
– my body may be complaining, but — it hasn’t given out yet! I don’t think
it will. I have, btw, turned to better eating habits, and to not allowing
disappointments to cripple me. I have learned to roll with the punches, so
to speak. I have learned to recognize the things I need to maintain a level
of health that will sustain me — if I exercise (walk the dog) and eat
right.

So, how important is a healthy lifestyle to my business? I think
it’s as important as the new computer systems, it’s as important as the
release of our latest book, it’s as important as the hugs from my
granddaughter– because without it, I wouldn’t have my business and I
wouldn’t be enjoying Miah’s so
wonderful hugs!

Drop by tomorrow for some more thoughts and wisdom tomorrow.

Carnival of the Capitalists

Carnival of the Capitalists has pulled into town at Casey Software this week and includes some very interesting posts by a few Working Solo "cool friends", including Chris Owen, Yvonne Di Vita by some regular Carnival contributors and by some interesting new voices.  Keith has put together an easy to read format and has definitely done his reading of the blogs.  Well done Keith!

Next week the Carnival heads to Rethink(ip).

How Important is a healthy lifestyle to your business success?

I came across this question in a recent edition of the Sydney Morning Herald Enterprise section and it prompted me to stop and think about how I would answer this for myself.

There have been times in my life when a healthy lifestyle has been more important than others.  And like many people I have often had a good old case of the shoulds (should move more, eat better, more water, etc).  These days I am making conscious choices about how my business intrudes on my lifestyle and vice versa and enjoying it (this would have been an interesting surprise in days gone by).  My personal philosophy is that my ability to sustain a focused effort on my business is strongly influenced by the quality of my overall health and well-being.

But that is just my opinion …..

As the topic of healthy lifestyles, and what effect they have on business success, is as unique as each individual, I also decided to get the perspective of some of my “cool friends” and fellow bloggers. Friends like Todd Storch and Chris Barrow (see below), Yvonne Di Vita, Rosa Say, Chris Owen, Karen Wallace, Matthew Homann, and others have shared their thoughts and experiences.

So that this doesn’t turn into a 5 page blog post I have decided to space their thoughts out over the course of this week, so stay tuned.

So for today I will hand over to Chris Barrow and Todd Storch -

Chris Barrow – The Business Coaching Company – UK based
blog : http://www.thebusinesscoachingco.com/blog/

“A healthy lifestyle isn’t in the slightest bit important when
considering your business success.
If it were, then the world wouldn’t be full of overweight,
chain-smoking, drunken, exhausted “business successes”, spending money on
external thrills and spills as a compulsive addictive disorder to anaesthetise
their desperate existence.

In his novel “Dance, Dance, Dance“, the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami
has his lead character (a washed-out second rate copy-writer for a food
magazine) say “what we seek is some kind of compensation for what we put up
with.”

The real question is “what is business success?”

And for the answer I’m going to refer to another of my favourite books,
“True Success” by Tom Morris in which he concludes (and I paraphrase) that true
success is “doing what we love to do, when we love to do it – and with the
people that we love to do it with.” It’s not brilliant grammar (mine, not his)
but makes the point.

I have enjoyed “business success” in my life (all sorts of money and
toys) and experienced true misery and exhaustion in the
process.

I have also enjoyed “true success” in my life (as defined), the money
hasn’t necessarily been so good – but here’s a thing – I have usually been
motivated to improve my lifestyle. The donuts, cigarettes and alcohol have been
replaced by healthy eating, good exercise and a balanced
lifestyle.
So here’s my conclusion.

That “true success” creates the environment in which we are motivated to
seek a healthier lifestyle.
That “business success” creates the environment in which we are
demotivated enough to seek an unhealthier lifestyle.

Love what you do – love when you do it – love who you do it
with.”

And They Call it Hospitality – 2 Sides of a Similar Story

What a difference an attitude makes!  Here are two examples of how a couple of hotels handled a moment of truth.

My blogging and coaching colleague Rosa Say’s experience at Prescott SpringHill
Suites by Marriott.

Oh, I recognize your name, you were supposed to be here yesterday. You
do know we charged you anyway. Well, I don’t know if we’ll have something for
you now.” Zach groans and heads for the couch.

“That’s fine, you were supposed to charge me, that’s the way I booked it.
As you can see here on the confirmation there is a
note that we’d arrive at 10am today, and had protected the room with last
night’s payment so we could check in immediately versus waiting for your 3pm
check-in time.”

“Well, there’s no note about that in my system.”

AND

Seth Godin’s experience at the The
Prescott Hotel – A Kimpton Hotel in Downtown San Francisco.

Now, it would be easy for him to get defensive. He could quote policy at me,
point out that he’d worked there two years and had never let anyone in, etc. For
a brief moment, I felt the impulse pass through him.

Then he realised that there was a better way, an easier way, a way that
didn’t require him to exert negative emotional energy in the middle of the
night. He switched sides.

Which service do you provide?

Do You Moo?

If you don’t speak cow (Purple Cow that is) then I will translate for you “Are You Remarkable?”

The remarkably purple Seth Godin is about to release his next book project, The Big Moo, in the next few weeks (you can pre-order a copy and find out more about the book here).

In the busy lives of the female business owner this book is a god-send (it is good for the guys as well).  It is a perfect handbag size (so you can keep it on hand to read while you are waiting somewhere).  The stories (with Seth editing it of course there is story-telling involved) are short, sweet and packed with both information and inspiration (and just the right length to read while you are waiting somewhere).  With all this waiting you will be able to hand over your copy of the book to the company you waited to see just so that they can learn that lines aren’t remarkable.

Even though the wisdom comes from some of the top thought leaders on business and marketing there are no egos involved.  This project was done with the authors providing their wisdom at no charge, all proceeds are going to charity, and the various chapters are not attributed to any particular author. The chapters leave you guessing but enables to also get past the name and just take in the wisdom (whether it comes from a name you know or a name you don’t).

And if you think that you need to be big to put the Big Moo into practice think again.  As a small  business you have the ability to take action on this faster than the big guys.  When they are talking about the Big Moo initiatives 12 months from now you can tell them about the ones you put in place before Christmas 05.

The Big Moo is the start of a conversation.  A conversation about stepping up and standing out.  It is no long good enough to be good enough.  It is time to be remarkable.

Panicing – Does it have a place in business?

Are there times in your business you find yourself panicing about something?

If you are like most people (and if you are honest) you will answer yes to this question.  It may not be all the time but at some point most people hit the panic button.

Is there a right time and right place to panic though?

I often come across people who are doing the “last minute” panic (I have even done this one myself).  There is a proposal due this afternoon (and nothing is started let alone finished).  The best client has just stopped purchasing.  The sales numbers are down.  There aren’t enough clients (and we need more NOW!!)

Panic is about demoralising fear (real or perceived) and it engages your fight or flight responses.  It fills your body with adrenaline (and when that runs out cortisol) to try and get you into action to handle the threat.  The unfortunate things about adrenaline is that is is supposed to be a short-term stress reaction, and your body can only product so much.

Sidebar – In an article by Matt Church -

You tend to feel in control when adrenaline is running through your
system. You can deal with many things at once and make rapid
decisions. You feel super human; you think faster than people around
you and draw on untapped energy reserves. You can work all night and
perform acts of superhuman intellect and ability. It’s heady stuff!
And easy to see how someone gets addicted.

So the question is “Is the last minute the best time to panic?  When you most need to be focused and in action, is the last minunte panic effective?”

Sure it gets things done but what it does to you in the meantime can’t be all that good.  And it is definitely not a response that is sustainable.

But it seems to be what most people do – “Let’s wait until the faecal matter hits the air moving device; then we’ll take action.”

If you want to be remarkable why not get your rear into gear before you hit panic mode.

Get out and network before you need new clients.  Start conversations in your market before your sales are less than your costs.  Get into your marketing funnel and get out of your b/s funnel (a great term from Chris Barrow).  Start working on creating a new product or service before your current ones are obsolete.  Stop thinking about stuff and start doing stuff.

Pick the time and the place to panic went it will work for you the best – then the panic may be replaced by planning.  Now planning may not seem as exciting as panic  ….. but wouldn’t it be great to get an adrenaline rush from making a great sale, rather than the terror or not having enough clients.

Your choice!

Strengths & Challenges – Understanding Your Clients

Business can often feel like a jigsaw puzzle – lots of different pieces, some fit, some don’t, but we keep looking for the one that fits the slot and looks like the big picture.

One of the keys to the puzzle is understanding your clients and your market – and 1 of the keys to understanding them is to know their strengths and challenges.

In a post from earlier this month (Strengths Hunting) Skip Angel, at Random Thoughts from a CTO, identified 5 ways to identify strengths in your staff.

• Listen for Yearnings
  
• Watch for Satisfactions
  
• Watch for Rapid Learning
  
• Glimpses of Excellence
  
• Total Performance of Excellence

I noticed that some of the ways of identifying strengths in staff are always ways in which you can identify strengths and challenges in your clients.

1. Listen for Yearnings – Yearnings expressed by your clients can help you identify ways to support her in satifying something that is important.  Sometimes you need to listen past the obvious and the surface in order to hear the yearning.  Con’t confuse yearnings with wants though.  Wants will come and go (and see you chasing your tail) but yearnings will endure.
2. Watch for dis/satisfaction – Was Mick Jagger offering us a marketing lesson when he sang “I can’t get no satisfacton” – I don’t think so but it is something to consider.  Where is your client dissatisfied?  Where are the holes of dissatisfaction in your market?  Find them and fill them.  If you don’t know then ask the question.
3. Watch for Rapid Change – This can signal both strengths and challenges.  Whichever the case may be rapid change means that something is going on – and where there are things happening quickly there is an opportunity to support the change.
4. Glimpses of Excellence – There may be times that you can see what is happening with a client that they can’t see for themselves.  This is because you are able to take the big picture view (you do have a big picture in mind for your clients don’t you <g> ).  If you get a glimpse of something great then say so.  Don’t assume that she can see it too.  If you can take that glimpse and turn it into something bigger then step up and do something about it.

The more that you take the time to understand your clients the more that you will step from the role of supplier into the role of partner.

Now what are you doing to understand your friendlies?

Thank you – to the well connected Rosa Say for the link to Skip

The WayBack Machine

I don’t know about you but I love researching, browsing and generally hanging out in the "World Weird Web".  There are so may clever people who hang out there (not the mention the strange ones).

One of the most frustrating things I experience is went visit a site or a page of information that I came across weeks or months ago and now just can’t seem to find any more.  There have been times I wished could jump in Mr. Wells’ Time Machine and head back to when I read it before.

Well I have come across a site that provides an internet time machine (of sorts).  Welcome to the WayBack Machine.  The WayBack Machine is  provided by the Internet Archive.

The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
that was founded to build an ‘Internet library,’  with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical  collections that exist in digital format.

You may not find all the pages you are looking for and the image links may not be available, but all in all it provides a great tool to track down the resources that you thought had gone missing from the web.

Enough is Enough

When we talk about success it is quite common to refer to “being successful” or “having a successful business” but in hard terms what does this success mean.  Generally success is defined in terms of obtaining something; money, clients, position, power.  But when is it enough ?  If success means having enough of something, how much is enough ?

Very rarely do we define what we consider to be enough, instead we continue to chase that elusive success, never feeling that we have got it but that it is just out of reach.  If though we were able to define what our own “enoughness” was then 1) we would know when we achieved it, 2) we could celebrate the achievement, and most importantly 3) we might become satisfied that we have enough of what we want.

Often deciding what is enough is in fact a choice.  Maybe to achieve enough financial rewards we need to choose not to have enough personal time.  So how much do you need—How much money for your work? How much time for your family?  How much public recognition?  How much time for reflection? And, no matter how much stuff you have, how do you find — and define — satisfaction?

Take the time to ask yourself “When is enough, enough?”.  This will provide you with a road map and a set of guidelines you can use to navigate through life.  If you know where you are headed, then you will also know when you get there.  Step back and decide whether in your search for the “wood” you are getting lost in the “trees”.

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