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Premier Coaching: Business Coaching through the art and science of empowering and advancing you and your business

“We are disturbed not by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens.” Epictetus

Imagine you have decided there is no way out of your current life situation.  You will keep earning the amount of money that keeps you just over broke, you will continue to have the same relationships that don’t support your dreams, you will not be able to organize your life, your family life will not improve, the weight you have been trying to lose for years will keep coming back and your success will continue to start and stop over and over again. 

You know the stinking thinking that got you into this mess will keep you right where you are.  You have come to the conclusion that you will have to change your thinking on the inside in order to see life differently on the outside. 

The mind has one job – to find the truth to any question asked.  The problem that gets in the way of finding the answers to every challenge in life is twofold.  First, most people have been programmed to find the answers outside of themselves by asking teachers, family and friends for advice; and second, much energy is wasted on trying to prove the perception of what the mind perceives is true.  Your mind will try to overlook anything that will prove it wrong. 

Let’s take the latter challenge first.  If a thought crosses your mind that your partner doesn’t love you and you dwell on that thought, then the mind will start looking for proof.   It will try to prove that the statement is true and search for answers that justify the statement.  Then, your partner walks into the room.  Unbeknownst to you, she has just received some news about a friend who has lied to her.  You look at your partner’s face and think, “She can’t stand the sight of me.”  Now you have your proof.  Since thoughts beget feelings and feelings beget actions, you are now feeling angry, so you react to your partner by storming out of the room (action) to justify your thoughts that she does not love you.  Your mind uses this to enforce the original thought and so justifies its righteousness.  If at this point you call a friend and tell them how right you have been about your partner not loving you and your friend agrees, then you have more proof to justify your thoughts.  But this thought is an illusion.

If you use the mind properly and search for the real truth within yourself, you will soon come up with a truth that will replace whatever you have made up.  You can retrain the brain quickly by quieting the mind and asking powerful questions that will stir you to seek the truth.  You can find these powerful questions in the book “Ask and You Will Succeed.”  www.ask-succeed.com

An easy one to ask is, “Is this really true?”  If you keep asking the question you will eventually get to a new understanding of truth, in which case the mind will override and replace the original thought.  You will know when you have the right answer because you will have lasting peace around the issue. 

After answering the questions in “Ask and You Will Succeed,” many people experience immediate relief from thoughts that have troubled them for years.  What is noteworthy is that people who have redirected the mind continue to broaden and expand their life.  Many have had breakthroughs in the area of finance, where money is no longer a struggle.  Some find the career of their dreams.  Some experience more joy and fun in their lives than they have had in years.  Some who have been searching for life partners for years find them; others find their health improves dramatically; and many experience a newfound peace. 

What is exciting is that the inquiry can be fun.  The questions in “Ask and You will Succeed” are designed to work on both simple challenges and earth-shattering problems.  The questions are an education and they will bring light on every area of your life to put an end to ignorance and bring in joy.  The gift is that you will change the conversations in your life … and your life will never be the same again. 

The right questions will change perceptions and shift reality.  They will free your spirit from the prison of self-defeating thoughts.

Premier Coaching: Business Coaching through the art and science of empowering and advancing you and your business

If you’re like most entrepreneurs and business owners, doing business alone poses one of your biggest challenges.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all you have to do? Do you work more hours than you would like to?  Are you stressed out?  Do you sometimes wish you had a different life?  These are all signs that it is time for you to leverage what you are doing by putting together a team to support you.

Strategic alliances provide invaluable support for business owners.  When allies work as a team, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. You win. Your allies win, and your company wins.  Because when people work together toward a common goal, magic happens.

Attract and choose your allies carefully. In any relationship, it’s not who shows up, but to whom we say “yes” to.  Ignoring red flags ensures disappointment and distress down the road.

Creating strategic alliances is like anything else – it’s an inside job.  When you are clear with what you want to attract into your life, you will find it quickly.  Start by asking yourself these key questions:

v What do I love to do and what would I like to delegate?

v What are the values, qualities and skill sets of your ideal partner?

v What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

v Where are 5 places I can find my ideal strategic alliance?

To find out more about asking the right questions check out www.asksucceed.com.

Once you’re clear on the answers to these questions, you’re ready to move on to forming your ideal strategic alliances by taking these 10 steps:

1) Look at the different areas of your business – sales, administration, accounting, operations, marketing and publicity.

2) Look in the areas where you need support. What do you enjoy doing? What would you rather hand off to others, if you felt you could trust them?

3) Prioritize areas where you need help and support on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 as “it would be great if …” to 10 as “I need a lifeline now!”

4) Determine your highest values.  What MUST you have in a partner?  Do you want someone who’s trustworthy, creative, intuitive, or system-oriented? What MUST you avoid in a partner – lateness, dishonesty, a lax sense of ethics?

5) Determine the outcome you want.  What result do you want from your alliance – more customers, higher profit margin, or more time off?

6) Create a big vision for your company. Small aspirations lack the charisma to attract desirable strategic allies.  Think about how your company can be a force for good in the world – and how much more powerful that force could be if you formed the right strategic alliances.

7) What are you willing to give to make your strategic alliance work? It’s good policy to give first, and it always comes back to you in some form.  Think about what you can do for your allies to lighten their load. Get clear on why it’s important to you to form a strategic alliance.

Think about where you need to go to find the type of person or company you want for a strategic ally.  Ask yourself, where do I go to find these people? Who do I know who knows people like this?

9) Make a list of those people and where you’re going to go. Then set up a  specific timeline of when and where your will meet your new alliances.

10) Take immediate actions.  Do what it takes to find the strategic alliances you want: check with friends, go to networking groups (like www.sharedvisionnetwork.com/join and ask business associations to find the type of person you’re looking for; talk to potential allies; check their references; pitch them on the idea of forming a strategic alliance. Be proactive and choose your allies. Don’t wait for someone to choose you.

Once you’ve found prospective allies, ask them the same questions you’ve asked yourself:

v What do I love to do and what would I like to delegate?

v What are the values, qualities and skill sets of your ideal partner?

v What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

v Where are 5 places I can find my ideal strategic alliance?

Their answers will tell you all you need to know about whether you’re meant for each other. When you find the right alliance you’re on your way to increasing success and creating a super life.

End

Ken Foster is a free-lance writer and the CEO of Shared Vision Network. To find out more go to www.sharedvisionnetwork.com/join or www.asksucceed.com or

Premier Coaching: Business Coaching through the art and science of empowering and advancing you and your business

Recently I asked myself, “what do I know that would help others create new levels of success?”  The answer quickly came to me!  Over the years working with thousands of business owners and coaching clients, I have found that those who are most successful apply certain principals time and time again.  In fact, there is a formula that when used, will help anyone achieve quantum breakthroughs in any area of life.  Sound like a large claim?  It is, because it works!

So if you are in a place where you are ready to step into your Greatness, then follow the formula exactly and you will win.  First is to dream big.  Create a vision where many others can participate with you.  If the dream is too small you will end up doing what most unsuccessful people do and that is you will doing it alone.   Second is to turn your dreams into goals.  Establish daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.  Without goals most dreams will remain dreams.  Third is to know what is really important to you about accomplishing your goals.  Without a strong purpose for accomplishing your goals you will be stopped when the going gets tough and it will get tough.  Fourth is to decide what you are willing to give or give up to accomplish your dream.  Fifth is to design the action steps necessary to fulfill your dreams.  Don’t fret over how you will get to your dream only take daily action toward your vision.  Commitment is of paramount importance here!  When you take daily action toward your dreams your dreams will take daily action toward you.

Now these actions alone will not accomplish what you desire.  There are a few more pieces to manifesting a life.  You must find a mentor who has traveled the road before you.  Maybe a business coach or mentor!  This person will be your guide and knows what lies ahead.  Next you must have a network of like minded individuals or master mind group to share your vision and support you in accomplishing what you have set in motion.  And finally you must release it to God, for everything comes from this one source and this is the true source of your power.  Without a daily connection to the infinite struggle will be the common theme of your life.

Ken Foster is CEO of Shared Vision Network – www.sharedvisionnetwork.com and CEO of Premier Coaching.com – www.premiercoaching.com.  His latest book “Ask and You Will Succeed can be found at www.ask-succeed.com.