Manifest Now, Don’t Ask How
June 27, 2008 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever wondered why so many people are stuck these days? Or why there are so many How To books, but nobody seems to be getting it and continue to stay where they are?
For a couple decades now, I’ve walked the path of “Once you know the why and the what, the how’s will figure out themselves.” It’s the how that keeps us stuck. Just have the faith that it will be figured out as you go. The momentum is in the forward movement and the faith that if you move forward and take those steps, the hows will present themselves in ways you’ve never dreamed possible.
I’ve experienced this phenomenon several times in the past couple months – taking the steps forward and not necessarily knowing how I was going to get there. It takes courage and belief and sometimes some back sliding. Yep, I’ve had my share of panic moments, breakdowns, and holy cow what am I gonna do moments. It’s amazing what has come of it and the things that I manifested have been nothing short of amazing.
One of the thought leaders in this area I’ve recently been introduced to is David Neagle – the multimillionaire coach to entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. I believe if you want to stretch and grow your business, you need to stretch and grow yourself. If you work more on yourself than on your business, the rest will take care of itself. It’s all in your thoughts, perceptions and beliefs.
David’s belief is that we get stuck in the how. If we just knew the way, then we could get out of our own way and tap into the universal consciousness, which knows the way and will manifest what we need. A little woo, woo, but it truly is the secret behind The Secret. Instead of getting stuck in the how, just know the why and the what and as you move forward, the how’s will take care of themselves. Gather up your guts and believe it will happen, then get going.
You do this every day when you drive your car. You probably don’t know how that engine works, but you have faith that it will work and believe that when you step on the gas, it will move forward. You know the why you want to drive someplace and the what is the car or what you need to drive to, then you just act as if that car will move forward for you and it does. No need to have all the how’s figured out. You don’t need to have it all figured out in order to move forward – just MOVE!
Take a look at this video on how your future is NOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbNbfu85hUs&list=PLtUVv9eXCdIKmF4MMCOVMBuzeZ1nrrUQF
Are You Living in Your Right Brain or Your Left Brain? Piles or Files?
May 21, 2008 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Where are you most comfortable living… in your left brain or your right brain?
Left brainers, elbies, are more comfortable linear thinking, number crunching, logical, facts, details, math, science, rules, thinking, reality based and safe.
Right brainers, arbies, are more creative, free flowing, mind mapping, artsy, musical, big picture, visionary, risk taking, feelings, imagination and fantasy.
I recently was directed to this website from an Australian newspaper that has a graphic of a dancer. Whether you see her spinning clockwise or counterclockwise can tell you which side of your brain you’re living in at that very moment.
Check it out: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html
I found I could only see her spinning in one direction. I couldn’t for the life of me visualize how she she could be seen spinning in the other direction…. until I started reading the words that represented the other side of the brain. When I read those words, I could then see her spinning in the other direction automatically and immediately. How weird is that??!!
That’s how fast you can switch from using one side of your brain to the other. From all these kinds of tests over the years, I’ve found I sit right in the middle on the fence and can easily swing from one side to the other depending on the situation.
To help you access and integrate easier for problem solving, creative thinking or number crunching; try throwing something between your hands or juggling. Throwing something back and forth helps you integrate. Growing dendrites on both sides of your brain can also be accomplished by little activities such as brushing your teeth with the opposite hand, eating with the other hand or European style, crossword puzzles, Soduko or other memory games.
Elbies and Arbies also store things differently. To be most efficient, figure out which side is more comfortable for you to live in. Elbies tend to store things vertically behind closed doors such as file cabinets, closets, drawers, hangers etc. These are the neat desk people.
Arbies tend to store things horizontally and within plain view – these are called piles. Right brainers need the visual stimulation to remind them to do something. If it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. They prefer hooks to hangers and shelving to drawers.
The rest of us in the middle are the anal retentive creative types – horizontal stacking in-boxes that are labeled. A mixture of both styles.
Figure out your style and your preference, then organize your space around your style to feel most at ease, to find things more easily and then know how to access your other side of your brain and call in the reinforcements when you need them.
Time Management vs. Self Management
April 19, 2008 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
After reading and ruminating on the book The 4-Hour Workweek for a few months; I’ve been keenly aware of how I spend my time. Time, unlike money, once spent can never be recovered and so I guard my time more fiercely than ever these days and really watch my boundaries. Putting boundaries on my time and allowing people, things and stuff to enter the forcefield is more of a conscious decision at this point in my life.
We really cannot manage time, we can only manage ourselves in the space of our time. That means getting very clear on what to do and what to drop and what to outsource and what is important and what is urgent and what doesn’t really matter that much at all. My business partner often says, “If you don’t have enough time, you don’t have enough team.” I also think if you don’t have enough time, re-think the things you’re stuffing into that time and make hard choices.
To help manage myself in my time, I use a color coding system in my hard-copy Daytimer. I also use a Google Calendar so my virtual assistants can see my schedule and when I need time, I just block it out on the schedules so nobody else can grab that time slot. I use a paper method as well as digital because I’ve had many computer gremlins and I need to know I have a back-up system in case the computer or internet goes down. Select colors that represent personal, professional, deadlines, obligations etc. If one color is dominating your schedule – analyze why that is and make changes.
Since moving to the beach, I’ve decided that I won’t take any incoming calls or work until after 9am. A purposeful choice that this is the time zone in which I live and just because the East Coast is up and running, doesn’t mean I need to be at my desk by 5am so they can call me at their convenience. I’ve also adopted the motto – no more rushing. I’ve rushed to catch planes, make deadlines, be available to everybody’s emails and calls for over 20 years and I needed a break, hence no postings for a couple months while I decompressed after I moved out to California. I realized it was me allowing all those other things to take my time and it was only me who had the power to take back my time. It’s our choice.
I’m reminded of the demonstration I saw about time management in a workshop – by having sand represent all the little schnitzy things you need to do and having ping pong balls represent the things that matter in your life. If you fill a vase with sand and then try to put in the ping pong balls, they won’t fit. But by putting in the ping pong balls first – putting the things that matter most to you first in your life, then pouring the sand into the vase; the sand fills in the empty spaces and everything will fit in the vase. It fits snugly, but it fits and anything that doesn’t fit is only the sniggly things that don’t matter so much anyway.
So how are you managing yourself inside your time zone? My friend Kathie makes phone dates to catch up with friends – she uses her beach walking time to talk on her cell with good friends so she can exercise while talking. My friend Beth uses her treadmill time to chat. A realtor buddy takes no incoming calls before 11 – he reserves the morning for himself. I’m working on only taking calls and appointments Tuesday – Thursday so I can have Mondays and Fridays completely to myself. I’m not totally there yet, it’s a work in progress, but I’m conscious of it. If I need to do things on these days, then I’m blocking out time during the week to do as I choose.
I will not get to only working 4 hours per week- I don’t thing I would even like to choose that. I truly enjoy what I do and it keeps me energized. Often people ask me if I work “full time”. Full time and part time are mindsets of the W2 working world. As an Entrepreneur, I just do my life. I have several companies and I just do some more than others as things dictate. Sometimes I focus on my work 60 hours in one week and sometimes 3 hours in one week – it all depends on what is happening in my life at the time – go with the flow. Entrepreneurs don’t do rules very well.
So how do you set your personal boundaries, your time boundaries and how do you manage yourself within the time you have? What is your time zone? Are you in the zone in the mornings or evenings? When are you brain dead and when are you most sharp and creative? Work your stuff around your bio-rhythms and when you are most productive and be very conscious of who and what you allow inside your boundaries in order to keep your energy for the things that really matter most.
London Times Features Fun at Work – Good Times Lead to Good Business
September 17, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I’m thrilled to announce an interview I did for a recent article in the London Times on the business of fun at work. We’re ready to get the British energized and pumped up for some play in the workplace. People all over the world are finally getting it that work made fun gets done and good times lead to good business.Check out the full article below or click on the link.
The Rest of the Story: Banner the Guide Dog, Larry & Southwest Airlines
July 25, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
With the help of my speaking buddies, Beth Terry, Steve Tyra, Terry Brock and of course the star attractions, Larry Colbert and Banner the wonder dog. Here’s the rest of the story in their own words about what happened that Friday the 13th with Larry, Banner and the Southwest Employees who showed their true colors in a life or death situation.
Check out the happy ending to this heart-warming story about compassion, teamwork, humanitarian and heroic efforts and doing the right thing on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YZ17L8j6bsY
Truly inspirational efforts on everybody’s part to come through in a difficult situation.
Even the canine community pulled together. Here’s the card my Madison sent to Banner as well as a photo of Banner enjoying medical leave lounging by the pool in his colorful bandages. If you want to send a card to Banner, click here:
Big Picture or Little Picture View of the World
April 12, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Do you have a big picture or a little picture view of the world? Are you stressing over the administrivia or are you focused on the big picture of your life and your career? Take a look at what types of things stress you out – are they the small details, the perfectionism, the imperfect people, the gray areas on the outskirts of the black and white? Sometimes we make our own stresses and create our own energy drains by focusing on things that have less impact than the power we are giving them.
It’s tax season and focusing on numbers is something we all need to do, but getting crazed if your account is 94 cents off isn’t such a big deal in the scheme of things. Of course waiting until the bitter end and not leaving yourself wiggle room can also make you crazed. Step back from some of the situations you find yourself in and see if you’re stressing out because you’re focusing on little picture stuff. Perhaps you need to take a look at the big picture and if the stressors that are affecting you now will really matter in the scheme of things a few weeks, months, or years from now.
The big picture sometimes can pull us through the little picture stuff when things get tough – keeping our eye on why we are doing what we are doing can keep us going. Are you focused on big picture stuff or little picture stuff most of the time? Are you drowning in details or do you have paralysis by analysis? Is it taking your eye off the main goal and draining your energy? You may want to hire out your little picture stuff and have someobody else who loves doing it do what they love and allow you to keep your energy focused on your big picture. It can sure help your sanity – especially at tax time. We can all use a little energy boost at this time of year.
Happy Herd or Mad Cows at Work
December 15, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
Happy Holidays!
I hope this finds you well and enjoying the wind-down of the season and the many festive office parties that are sure to abound. In appreciation for your support and adding light to my world, I wanted to share this pdf version of the new issue of Stephen Covey’s Sales and Service Excellence magazine that features Fun*cilitators and our article on Contented Cows – How to Create a Happy Herd at Work through mixing fun and effectiveness. It hits the bookshelves in January and I wanted you to have a sneak peek – I thought you might like to get a jump on your competition and be the first on your block to get the inside scoop on building a better team.
If you want a copy of the magazine article in a pdf version, send me an email at Gaia@gaiahart.com to get your own copy and share it with others who may be just chewing their cud at work.
We’ve stocked up on our 52 Ways to Have Fun at Work card deck to prepare for the upcoming publication date. If you want 52 more ways to have more fun at work in addition to the article, send me an email or give me a call to order your own card deck chalked full of ideas, tips and tidbits to practice safe stress at work. 866.Fun.at.Work or Gaia@gaiahart.com.
To Your FUNominal Success!
Gail
Fearless Selling: Tips to Building Your Business
September 30, 2006 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
The last segment in the series of Fearless Selling: How to Energize Your Marketing Strategies and Build Business Relationships.
When I launch a new product such as a card deck of 52 Ways to Have Fun at Work, then I send my clients a sample of my new product as a thank you gift for choosing to partner with me in business. When I see an article in a trade magazine that I think would be valuable to a client, I will send them a copy whether it is about my, written by me, or just on a topic that would be of interest that is sent along with a note that I’m thinking about them.
I always send a thank you gift to a client along with a hand-written note after every presentation in appreciation for collaborating on a program for their members or employees. I keep a stock of a variety of items on hand that represent the image I want to project for my business. I have had items customized for me, I’ve found items in catalogs and malls that had just the right flair and I pick up a bulk order of them, or I have made ceramic plaques with the phrases I use in my programs to give as gifts. I change items every year or two to keep it fresh and I keep track of what I have sent to whom so I don’t give a repeat gift.
Another way I’ve found to keep in touch by adding value is to offer clients or their customers a free tele-class as a premium. Clients can either offer the tele-class to their team members or they can offer it to their customers and use me as their thank-you to their customers. Bridge lines are inexpensive to rent and it gives me a chance to offer more information and services to my customers.
The best way I have found to keep in touch and to keep building on relationships is to add value to people’s lives and to save them time, money, effort, or energy, or at least give them information or products that will do the same for them. When I make contact, I make sure it will be welcomed.
What kinds of things are you doing to energize your marketing strategies and build better business relationships. Remember, you don’t necessarily do business with another business. You do business with people. I can’t say enough about the neatest product I’ve found to build business and personal relationships through www.BizBuilderCards.com. Kody Batemen and his team have developed the slickest way yet to keep in touch with people using a click of a mouse to send real-life paper cards that are customized by you and that end up in their mailbox. The response from my clients and friends has been overwhelming to get something other than junk mail or from Ed McMahon in their mailbox. The coolest part about it is that the company is a pay-it-forward kind of company that promotes gratitude, acknowledgement, appreciation, and a celebration and honoring of somebody else’s life. I am happy to set up a free gift account for you to try it on for size and see how easy it is to touch somebody’s life through a customized greeting card. I will even pay for the postage. Give me a call to set up a 10-15-minute session so you can start sending out cards.
To Your FUNomenal Success!
Gail