As your vision becomes more clear and you start to actually CREATE it, you probably find that things keep coming your way at every turn.

Now, my HOPE is my words ring in your ears, “Ask yourself how does that help you achieve your goals right now?” in order to decide if an opportunity is one you should take or walk away from.

But they still keep coming.

And you still stop and wonder sometimes if you are saying no to something you’ll regret later.

So, let’s look at the concept of an ‘opportunity cost’; what would it cost you to say yes to that questionable opportunity?

Every time you come upon such an issue, go through both strategies: Ask yourself how it helps you achieve your goal right now, and also ask yourself what you’ll be giving up in order to take this opportunity.

Nine times out of 10, your decision will be the right one.

Will there be times where you’ll later say you wish you had taken that opportunity? Perhaps! But, I can’t help but THEN feel that everything happens for a reason, and there was a reason you didn’t at the time.

Also think back to a time when you said yes and wish you hadn’t! Do the same exercise and see what comes up for you.

What can you learn from reflecting on that?

Margie

This is “Own your Share of America” month. What are YOU doing to own your share of the world?

We are on this Earth for a very short period of time. And, we have a choice: We can sit back and let life move on around us. OR, we can take charge. Today we will address how you can take charge, and own your share of America (or any part of the world!) while doing it!

The most rewarding thing for me is to watch the transition in a person who moves from doubt and uncertainty to an empowered, focused and self-confident business professional. They have moved from spectator to owning a share of their world!

How did they do it, and how can you do it?

1.    First, you need to uncover your vision. What do you want to create? Who do you want to be known as? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

2.    Second, you must be clear who your ideal client is. What makes that person tick and what are their motivating factors? You must get to know them better than they know themselves in order to effectively speak to them and attract them to you.

3.    Finally, you must discover what makes you unique. What is your unique essence? You must be able to SEE your uniqueness so you can capitalize on it. As always say, if YOU can’t tell the world what’s great about you, how will they know?

These are the three essentials to developing clarity, focus and self-confidence. But the icing on the cake comes when you combine these essentials with the planning. Commitment to your goals and objectives through writing them down, and then the creation of strategies and tactics to develop action plans, results in you owning your own share of America!

If you struggle with these three essentials, contact me for a complementary, 30-minute coaching session to see if coaching can help move you forward.

Isn’t it time for you to claim YOUR share of America?

Margie

Now that I’m done with school, I am ready for the next step, which is to expand my speaking career and create new and more valuable services for my clients.

And as I consider these next steps, my initial plan is to update my marketing plan. But, even before I do that, it dawned on me that I need to follow my own process that has been so successful for my own clients, which involves re-evaluating my vision, identifying my ideal clients and clarifying my unique essence.

What am I talking about and why are these important? Many of the people I work with are health, fitness and service professionals. They know nothing of business plans and marketing plans. In fact, it sends shivers down their spines thinking about such things. However, in order to succeed in business, and I mean REALLY succeed, you must first determine your vision, then develop a goal, then map out the plan. This is the focus that every business must have, preferably in the beginning, but if not then, at least at SOME time!

If you have a business, or are dreaming of, or starting, a business, take a step back and ask yourself if you have worked through this process:

1- What is your vision? What is it you really want to create? Who do you want to be known as?

2 – Who is your ideal client? What makes that person tick, what are their pains and challenges?

3 – What is your unique essence? Your competitive edge? Why would your ideal client come to you instead of someone else? What is great about you?

4 – Do the planning. A business plan is putting your goals and objectives down on paper. A marketing plan is an action plan for how you will achieve these goals and objectives.

5 – Make sure to have a process to measure your progress. You want to know what works and doesn’t work. The last thing you want to do is keep doing the same things that do NOT produce results.

Owning and running a business is a process. It never ends. And, above it all, you want focus to keep you fresh, fulfilled, and successful.

If you’re curious about this process I talk about, I would first suggest that you check out my book, “Just Jump“  at http://www.californiabasedpublishing.com, or my coaching services at http://www.meg-enterprises.com.

I would also like to invite you to register for my free weekly eblast. Not only do readers get a short email that highlights pertinent business information, but also health information they can either use for themselves or for their clients. I also include special offers that are not always available from the website.

Margie