This time of year is all about giving gifts to the ones you love, isn't it? But, have you included yourself on your gift giving list?
I hope so. Because you should invest in yourself. Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make.
And don't worry if the budget is tight this year, because money is not always required. Time and energy are actually just as important. Investing in yourself requires learning how to maximize the unlimited potential that lies within your mind and body.
If we don't spend our energy, time and money developing ourselves, we will start becoming 'smaller'. If you don't value yourself, you will exhaust yourself looking for others to bestow value on you. If you don't speak up for yourself, you will eventually become frustrated and bitter inside. If you don't trust your intuition, the signals will become weaker and you may lose the effectiveness of this vital resource all together. If you neglect your creativity, you will struggle the next time you need a new idea.
When you say YES to yourself, especially in business, opportunities will begin to present themselves to support you moving forward. This has happened to me countless times and I've seen it happen over and over again for my clients.
One day I met with a potential new client named Lisa, at a local Starbucks. Lisa was referred to me by a friend of mine. Lisa was a very talented, yet struggling, Interior Designer. She was also feeling somewhat depressed and not very inspired. She explained to me, that one of her goals, was to be able to get to a point where she could wake up in the morning and actually feel excited about the day. Lisa's world revolved around taking care of her husband and kids and she didn't do much for herself. She had been doing quite a bit of interior design work for some friends and family. They absolutely loved her work and continually praised her and told her how talented she was. The problem was, that nobody ever offered to pay her and she was afraid to ask them to pay her. Overtime, this led to Lisa becoming quite frustrated and even resentful. I told Lisa that I could help her, and that one of my specialties was helping individuals own their value so they can get paid what they're worth.
I offered Lisa, one of my coaching programs that would assist her in building a successful business that she could be passionate about. I remember, there was a lot of fear bubbling up inside her because she had never done anything like this for herself. She had never invested in herself like this before. But, to her credit she ignored her fear and decided to move forward anyway. She wrote me a check right then and there for the coaching program.
The very next day, I got a call from an obviously very excited Lisa, saying, "Megan, you're never going to believe what happened a few hours after I met with you yesterday; I got a call from my friend (ironically, it was actually one of the friends that up to now were taking advantage of her services without offering to pay her) and she told me about an event she was asked to coordinate. She needed someone to be in charge of the decorations and she offered the job to me! The best part is it's a paying job and the amount she offered to pay me, just happened to be the exact same amount that I had just invested in your program! How cool is that!"
This highlights and important principle: What you see as possible determines your success. So, expand your possibilities. Possibility creates opportunity. In fact, there's an opportunity right here for you...I have free gift waiting for you at www.megantull.com.
Here are 5 simple ways that you can gift yourself this holiday season that will significantly impact your business success:
1. Gain Clarity - Remove the overwhelm and really get clear on what it is you really want. What vision do you have for yourself and your business? What do you want to offer? Who do you want to serve?
2. Get Committed - Decide that now is the time to take action. The #1 obstacle that holds most entrepreneurs back is "I'm not ready" If you see an opportunity then you are ready.
3.Develop a Plan- Your plan should include marketable content or a marketable product and a solid marketing system.
4.Get Out There - Just having a great product or service is not going to be enough. Now's the time to spread the word about it. You can do this effectively with speaking, networking, emailing your community or connecting with your followers on Twitter and Facebook.
5.Hire a Mentor - Invest in your Success. A mentor is someone who has already done what you are setting out to do. They will help you implement your business plan saving you time and money allowing you to be more profitable and productive.
I strongly encourage you to gift yourself at least 1, if not all 5, of the suggestions I shared above.
And, please share with us your plan for investing in yourself this holiday season in the comment area below- we would love to hear from you.