by Liz Clark | Mar 31, 2016 | Business Matters, Getting Stuff Done, Personal Development, Pursuits
I paced the floor…teeth clenched. I was wrestling with a HUGE decision. For the first time in many years, I was working as an employee. Decent salary. Benefits. 401K. Stock options. But, looming in front of me was an opportunity to make the leap from “secure” employee to running my own business. I had done my homework on this new venture, and the numbers all made sense. It was a lucrative opportunity. But, I couldn’t stop thinking the same thoughts, over and over: What if it doesn’t work out? What if my clients don’t pay on time and we fall behind on our bills? What if I SUCK at this new business and my clients cancel my contracts? Those questions were just different versions of the BIG question: What if I’m not good enough to do this? It was a risk. But, I saw a problem in the market that I was excited about solving. Fast forward: I took the risk and launched out on my own as a consultant. I didn’t fail. We never fell behind on our bills. In fact, I earned more money than I had ever earned before. In retrospect, I see that the time I spent wondering if I was “good enough” was a waste of time. Those feelings didn’t help me make a decision. They only caused me to get stuck in “analysis paralysis.” In my case, I took the risk. But, many people miss out on incredible opportunities because they’re too preoccupied feeling “not good enough.” Most of my business coaching clients have fantastic new ideas, products or scalable strategies they want to try…but they’re stuck. The questions I hear these already-successful entrepreneurs struggling with are:...
by Liz Clark | Mar 17, 2016 | Personal Development, Pursuits
There’s this little gem of personal development “wisdom” circulating the internet that goes like this: “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” I’ve seen this idea applied to income. As in, if you took out a calculator and added up your top 5 BFF’s incomes, your income will be the average of those 5 people. I’ve also seen this idea applied to behavior and attitude. As in, you will behave in line with the average of the 5 people you spend the most of your time with. It doesn’t take a math whiz to calculate that this theory doesn’t work for everyone. These days, the 5 people I spend most of my time with are my husband and our four sons. Now, I love my kids to the moon and back, but I definitely out-earn them (ha!) and we behave very differently. I think the basic idea behind this quote is a good one, though: Pay attention to the people you allow to influence you. If you’re allowing yourself to be influenced by people who… aren’t tapping into their creative potential just want to hang out and stay the same never take risks …then, you won’t either. On the other hand, if you’re allowing yourself to be influenced by people who… challenge themselves to be their best think big cheer you on as you grow into the person you’re called to be ….you’ll be more likely to do just that. The key concept here is influence. Your behavior will naturally align with the mindset you allow yourself to hold. Learn to...
by Liz Clark | Mar 10, 2016 | Personal Development, Pursuits
“He’s going to the Olympics, you know.” The smell of chlorine burned my eyes as I watched her son walk along the edge of the indoor pool. He certainly looked like he could be a pro swimmer one day – lean and sleek. “Really? That’s incredible!” I replied. I welcomed the distraction of conversation while wrestling with regret over my terrible wardrobe choice to wear a sweatshirt to the most humid pool on the planet. The mom next to me continued sharing her son’s swimming accomplishments. “Yeah, we just have to get him competing on the high school team. He just needs to work on his speed. Mark my words. He’ll be in the Olympics.” My 15-year-old son was taking lessons alongside her son, but he had a very different motivation. In an epic parenting move, I had lovingly shared my humble opinion with my teenager that video games DO NOT count as exercise. I generously “allowed” him to choose a winter “activity” – one that actually worked his real-life body (without a screen). He protested, then saw I wasn’t kidding and finally agreed to “do swimming.” Probably because it alleviated the troublesome “problem” of gravity. (And he loves to swim.) Snow flurries danced outside the foggy glass walls encasing the pool, while the boys descended into the water for their first advanced lesson. My new mom-friend detailed her son’s workout schedule and the long saga of all the coaches that just don’t believe in him. I listened and watched. I tried not to notice that my video-gaming son, who stopped taking swim lessons about 8 years ago and...
by Liz Clark | Mar 7, 2016 | Business Matters, Getting Stuff Done, Personal Development, Pursuits
We all use excuses from time to time in our lives. The “no excuses” movement is unrealistic and dismissive. So, what are excuses and why do we all make them? Do they actually PROTECT us? When do excuses go from being a socially acceptable way to communicate boundaries…to something much more...
by Liz Clark | Feb 25, 2016 | Business Matters, Pursuits
Last week, I shared a really common situation where business plans are a waste of time. Poor or ineffective planning wastes time, resources and causes frustration. However, business planning itself is not a waste of time when it’s done effectively. Effective planning – for business or otherwise – is a process that helps you define a desired future outcome and then anticipate, evaluate and decide activities to accomplish that outcome. Effective business planning can be like a GPS for your business – it can help you figure out how to get where you want to go. Now, it’s true that once you choose a route – unexpected things can happen. You might get stuck behind a slow-moving truck in a no-passing zone. You might hit an unexpected detour. But, the potential for a delay is not a good reason not to plan your route. So, how do you create an effective business plan? If you’re starting a traditional business that requires a big outlay of cash for equipment, facilities or staff to start up, go with a traditional business plan. An investor or bank will likely require it. There are free templates for traditional business plans and financial statements available here: https://www.score.org/resources/business-planning-financial-statements-template-gallery. But, in today’s world, many entrepreneurs aren’t starting traditional businesses. The allure of being an online entrepreneur, sometimes called a “solopreneur,” by essentially parlaying your unique skills and services into an online business, funding yourself out of your profits. In this model, a traditional business plan is overkill. In this model, what’s needed is a more flexible, responsive approach to planning. Positive cash flow is critical to...
by Liz Clark | Feb 4, 2016 | Business Matters, Getting Stuff Done, Personal Development, Pursuits, Team Building
Last week, I came clean and confessed that sometimes…ideas can get the best of me. Ideas can be a BIG distraction. Overthinking. Being stuck in a never-ending “idea loop” and never taking action. In that scenario, your ideas are leading you – leaving you exhausted, unfulfilled and with no results. It’s true: sometimes, I am undisciplined with my ideas. But, sometimes, I stand up and lead my ideas through a system. A framework that gives me peace of mind, a sense of fulfillment and that helps me produce positive results in my life. What does that even mean? Moving from “idea” to “reality” takes leadership. If you want to see your idea succeed, it takes YOU leading YOURSELF (and eventually OTHERS) to make it happen. I said that to a coaching client once, and he immediately replied, “That’s IMPOSSIBLE!” Well, it can be very difficult…maybe nearly impossible to lead yourself. And, to be frank, if you haven’t been able to lead yourself successfully before, you will probably need some help to develop self-leadership skills. But, it’s not impossible. So, what does it mean to lead my ideas? It means: I take ownership for my ideas. I don’t expect others to be more invested in my idea than I am. I don’t let my ideas lead me. I lead my ideas. I ruthlessly ignore ideas that don’t serve me. (Seriously, I’m a total jerk to my own toxic ideas: GET OUT OF MY LIFE, TOXIC IDEA!) I write interesting ideas down or use voice memos on my phone to capture them. Immediately. Because they will FLY away if I don’t! I schedule time...
