Yay! It’s another awesome day and here is your daily dose to make it extra awesome.

Business & Life: 

I know this part of awesomization isn’t super sexy, BUT … numbers don’t lie.

Whether you’re using a fitbit to keep track of your daily steps and have set a goal, every day, the fact that you’re tracking it helps to keep you more accountable and inspired. At least it does for me.

Taking it a “step” further. (Pun intended.)

Here’s where it starts to actually WORK.

I set a daily goal and then a time line for achieving it without breaking the chain.

What do I mean by breaking the chain? Well, for me, I set a short time period, like one month and I print out a calendar. Then every day that I do what I promised myself that I would, I make a big X across that date on the calendar. The result is a chain of days and I don’t want to break that chain, especially if I made a promise that I’d have to start over if I did. 😉

So let’s think about how this would work compared to what most people do.

Average people think “I should walk 10,000 (or insert any number) steps every day on my FitBit for 30 days.”  Then, let’s say 4 days in, when it’s 8pm and The Voice is about to come on, they go “Oh darn, I’m 2000 steps shy. Oh well, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

NO!!! OOOOOOOO!!! OOOOOOOO!!!!

Awesome You would say “I have 3 days in my chain already and I promised myself 30 days. If I miss today, I have to start over. It’s only another 2000 steps.” And they’d put on their sneakers and DO IT, knowing that they made a commitment to themselves and investing in our health and wellness is one of the biggest investments we can POSSIBLY make.

But, going back to your number, just KNOWING your numbers and being aware of them can cause progress.

Take food tracking. Most people, as soon as they start tracking what they eat, lose weight, without consciously doing any dieting. Why? Because they are more aware of each and every snack they eat, so they just stop overeating. Then they try to figure out what they did differently… because there must be some magic secret. Yes, the secret is awareness of what is going in your mouth. 🙂

It’s the same in business. Once you know your numbers, you can improve upon them.

If you’re getting 90% of your traffic, referrals and sales from your YouTube video, for instance, you can build from that. Rather than chasing the next big thing, you have the information to know what will get you the fastest results. FOCUS is a beautiful thing, and it’s much easier to focus when you know your “One Thing”. 😉

Or if 90% of your income is coming from a membership site you’re running, then a good goal would be to get more members, right? But you need those numbers to help you to work SMARTER and not HARDER.

ALSO in Business:

This is a great time to mention the “Should’s”. In business and especially in really hypey copy, you hear a lot of “Should’s” and “HAVE TO”.

You MUST… (insert any of the following):

• Do YouTube Videos
• Do guest blog posting
• Have your own podcast
• Do public speaking at events
• Write Kindle books
• Do Teleseminars
• Do SEO
• Do… blah blah blah.

How about if you turn off that voice and again, do what fits, what you enjoy doing, and what you’ll actually DO.

Let’s go back to the Animal School video again. Not everyone is a writer or enjoys writing. However, a lot of those people are totally AWESOME at talking on stage or making videos that people love. So do that. Swim fish, swim! 😉

However, I LOVE writing and I know that, if I push myself to try to do a bunch of webinars in a month, I won’t be happy. Yes, I CAN do webinars and I do them, but I make writing my focus and I drop the guilt from not being on Periscope or running from stage to stage to speak. It’s OK. I do what I do and I do it well.

Buck the “should” and “must” and all that crap. If podcasting is something you love and you’ll be consistent and it works, then DO IT. And do it well. If you’re a writer, then get writing those books. You can’t possibly be all and do all, so again, listen to your gut, not to mainstream and do what works … for you.

Proud to fly my freak flag with you!

The World:

Buy a rough item of furniture at a charity store, fix it up and donate it back 🙂  (paint it – use your creativity) – Another tip from Kelly McCausey, my dear smart friend.

Hugs and high fives,

Nicole

Wow. We have a little over a week left to go. It’s time to do a quick self-assessment.

How do you feel you’re going in each of the three areas? What kind of progress have you made in your life, your business, and in impacting the world around you? Celebrate your wins. And have grace and forgiveness on yourself where you may have fallen a bit shy of your goals.

And, now what will you do to rock the last few days of the challenge?

Recommit to YOU, to your business, and to your impact upon the world.  YOU do matter.

ok. Let’s chat about some other awesome stuff…

Business: 

If you feel scatted this month, this book might be a good read for you. It’s about figuring out what one thing is the most important that you can be focused on and that your business can focus on solving.

If you have NOT read or listened to this book yet, make it a priority to get it ordered, stat. 🙂 It’s essential. I’m on my second time through it now. It’s actually very good in audible, too. It’s read by the author and is very enjoyable, unlike many audio books, in my experience.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Your Life & Your World:

This song is featured in the Audible version of “The One Thing” book. I love the lyrics and I hope you do, too. It’s a great song to listen to when you feel like life is overwhelming or it’s passing you by – and you need a little kick in the butt. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/CwYGwTdxpEc

My Life

I want to know
If I walk down a certain road, it was my choice
And I want to know
If I had something to say, I raised my voice

I don’t wanna wake up a little too late
And say I could’ve done this or I should’ve done that
When I close my eyes at night
I wanna know I’m doing the best I can

When I’m sittin’ there
In my rocking chair, looking at my life
I hope to God I would’ve done
Something good with my life

At the end of the day, I can only pray
That I can look back and say
I lived my life, oh, I lived my life

Don’t want to take my father’s father’s path
I gotta make my own
Don’t want my epitaph to read
“Wish they could’ve known me”
I don’t want that carved in stone

I want to leave this place
With a smile on my face
Knowing what’s in my heart
Didn’t just stay in my heart
And whatever heaven gave me
I want to know I gave it all back

When I’m sittin’ there
In my rocking chair, looking at my life
I hope to God I would’ve done
Something good with my life

At the end of the day, I can only pray
That I can look back and say
I lived my life, oh, I lived my life

When I’m sittin’ there
In my rocking chair, looking at my life
I hope to God I would’ve done
Something good with my life

At the end of the day, I can only pray
That I can look back and say
I lived my life, oh, I lived my life

Well, I want to be an open book
Say I gave more than I took
My life, I lived my life, I lived my life

The World.

A lot of kids are living without the essentials.
School is hard enough for a kid with a full belly and new clothes.

Now, imagine how hard it is for a kid with no backpack, an empty belly and dirty clothing that doesn’t fit right.

One way to be awesome is to see if there’s a local organization that helps these kids have a fighting chance.

Here are a few places to start your research:
http://www.homelessbackpacks.org/
http://www.voa-gny.org/operation-backpack

A lot of these kids ONLY eat at school because of government funded breakfasts and lunches. They have to go all weekend without adequate food.

I KNOW this is true because my husband is a teacher and I’ve talked with friends who are teachers here. When it’s “skip day” – the middle class and wealthier kids skip school, but the ones that have nothing show up – because it’s where they can get FOOD.

If there is no organization near you, consider starting one. 🙂

You. Are. Awesome!!!

Hugs and high fives,
Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business & Life & the World.

Yesterday, I talked about outsourcing much of your errands around town and have Amazon to do it for you. 🙂 If you missed that, you can catch up here.

Today I want to talk about some of my favorite things in the world – Automation and Simplification.

Pretty much ANY time I can make my life easier and not have to think about something menial, I jump at the chance.

Let’s see how this might affect your business, your life and the world.

My life: 

There are a million different ways to improve your life with automation.

For instance, I recently bought a second Roomba. Silly right? Not for me. I have 3 dogs. And, I also have 4 people in my house who have allergies. I was sweeping every day (or outsourcing it to my kids) and it was making me crazy. I don’t mind sweeping or housekeeping in general. What I do mind is tedium and things that waste my time – or it would be more fair to say that I dislike doing things that keep me from spending that same amount of time on something else that I love.

So I bought a iRobot Roomba 770 Vacuum Cleaning Robot for Pets and Allergies. It sweeps up the dog fur every day (sometimes twice a day) and it does a better job than I did, plus it runs while I’m working or playing. Why not, right?

Another way you can automate is to do what I suggested yesterday. Have items that you need regularly on autoship from Amazon or your other favorite stores. That way it just shows up and you’re set. I order our dog food (because it’s a special Limited Ingredient kind) from Chewy.com. Every 3 weeks, they email me and say “We’re about to process your order. Do nothing to get it.” I do a little cheer and wait for the dog food to show up at my home in a week or so. Yay!

What else? How about autodrafts and online bill paying? If you’re still sending in monthly checks to utilities and other vendors, then see if they can do either autodrafts or online payments. If that’s possible for you, I highly recommend it. I, of course, do realize that you have to have money in the bank in order to “set it and forget it” so I’m not suggesting that it possible for all things, but do it for anything that would otherwise drive you crazy. For instance, if you get a late fee EVERY month on some bill because of the short timeline, why threaten your awesome when you can pay it automatically and forget all about it? 🙂 Or if you regularly run out of stamps and have to go to the Post Office to get them. Why? Really, why do that to yourself when you don’t have to… especially in inclement weather or when you’re not feeling well. Just do it online.

ok. So that’s automation, what about simplification? If you’ve got bills you’re paying for things you’re not using, cancel them. Voila. Problem solved.

Your business. 

I love love love automating in my business. The odd thing about automation in your business, though, is that you might not know what can be automated unless you ask.

Where to start? I look at tasks that I do repeatedly all the time and/or ones that annoy me and I ask myself “Is this something that might be automated, while offering the same quality solution, without any negative impact?” If I can’t find a solution myself, I go to one of my mastermind groups and I ask. You never know until you know, right?

For instance, one thing that was driving me bonkers was that I needed a good voice / dictation app on my phone that I could quickly talk into while I was out and about that would record the audio as an mp3 and save it somewhere that I could easily access it so I didn’t have to go find it later. I searched and searched the app store and got frustrated so I quickly went and asked in a coaching group. I got the answer in 2 minutes. The DropVox app works with Dropbox. Problem solved. 🙂

What about simplification? This is another area where working with a coach can be very helpful. I find that my coaching clients come to me with some pretty overly-complex problems that aren’t really problems. Simplify it and voila! Problem solved.

Examples:

• Problem – “I can’t release this product because X,Y,Z.”
• Solution – “What if we didn’t do X,Y,Z and we released it as it is at a lower price? You can release XYZ as an upsell later.”

Simple is sexy. Simple sells.

The world. 

Instead of giving once a year during the holidays to charities (not judging at all, but statistics show that’s when most of giving happens), plan an autodraft  donation every month all year long. Not only can you be giving all year without taking a big one-time hit, but you can probably donate a little bit more if you plan it this way.

How can you use simplification in this application? Don’t overthink this. By doing the things I mentioned above, like shopping online, getting things autoshipped, and paying your bills online, you’re reducing waste and therefore are making the world a better place. 🙂

Hugs and high fives you awesome thing you!

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business: 

I was emailing one of my coaching clients and it reminded me of the song “I Fight Authority. Authority Always Wins”. Well, way back when I was in high school, I used to sing “I Fight with Dorothy. Dorothy always Wins”.  Just talk to my hubby about it and he’ll start mocking me, with a little dance and high voice and all.

Well, Dorothy may be tough, but I’ll tell you an opponent that’s much tougher.

This opponent along with her ugly sister together kick the butts of more marketers than just about any other. Together, they have crumbled more entrepreneurs than any other opponents.

Perfection and Fear.

Both Perfection and her mean, ugly sister Fear looove to see us struggle.

We can usually wrestle with Fear because we recognize her as hurting us.

But Perfection? Well, she’s just simply trying to help us to do our best, right? WRONG!

She’s the sweet one with her phony little voice, always telling us that we can do better.

How many times have you said this about your unfinished projects?

“It’s still not good enough. I have to keep working on it.”

Another month goes by and you’re still trying to make it perfect. And, another month. And, another year.

Of course, we all know the translation is “I’ll never be good enough”, right?

Guess what? It will NEVER be perfect and neither will you, and that’s OK!

If I’ve told you once, I’ll tell you a million times –

You do NOT have to be perfect to be profitable.

Why do you think I repeat it so much? Because I need to hear it, too!

Honestly, you know me by now and you know I do quite well online. Yet, I could do much much better if I could just get into a brawl in a bar with Perfection and kick her squirrelly butt.

I hope my coaching client doesn’t mind, but here’s what I wrote to him/her today. (Name is remaining anonymous unless that person chooses otherwise.)  Yes, I get a little snarky in my emails, but that’s because this particular coaching client can handle it.

One thing you should know about me is that I forbid perfection. I don’t want it to be perfect or I’ll make you slop it up, so don’t get your head in a bundle trying to get it perfect.

You will NOT disappoint me unless you try to be perfect and it causes your progress to stall. That I won’t tolerate. So, get your head out of your butt and get it done.

So, there. Print this off if you need to and tape it to your monitor, stick it on your fridge, sew it into your underwear, or glue it to your rear view mirror in your car. Heck, do all of the above.

Just repeat after me –

You do NOT have to be perfect to be profitable.

What are the takeaways from this?

1. Get some support from people who understand. Honestly, it helps. I’m not going to plug one certain mastermind groups or anything. Just connect with people who get it. If you’d like a personal recommendation for your situation, you can find me through the Facebook group and ask.

2. Be accountable. If you can’t be accountable to yourself, than find someone who will make you get it done.

3. Get a coach if you need someone to kick your butt. Tiger Woods has one. (Obviously he should have had a marriage coach, too.) Michael Jordan had a coach. All the greats have coaches.

4. Don’t beat on yourself. It’s hard enough to get the confidence to make mistakes and to build a business in the first place. You don’t need someone punching you in the face the entire time.

Obviously, this is an emotional post, but I hope that it gives you permission to be imperfect AND be profitable. I’m going to go now before I get teary again.

Life and the World:  

Get Amazon Prime. Seriously. Get it if you don’t have it yet.  It makes your life so much easier and I’m not even talking about all of the great movies you can watch on your phone and free books and audios you get.  I’m talking about the free 2-day shipping.

–> Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Whether you live in the city or way out in the middle of nowhere, you can literally buy just about anything that you need in minutes from either your computer or your phone and have it DELIVERED to your door in 2 days. If you’re not using it yet, why on earth not? You’re a busy entrepreneur who is trying to make the world a better place. Don’t be running to the store for toilet paper when you can have toilet paper come to you.

Some things I have recently ordered on Amazon Prime include:

• Grade A Premium Quality Whole Elk Antler Dog Chew – Large 2-Pack Natural Shed Whole Elk Antlers For Dogs – Made in the USA  – these are shed naturally for my dogs to chew on (the foster puppy is still learning what is and is not allowed to chew on so we need lots of safe chewies)
• Toner for my printer
• Herbs for a recipe that I wanted to make
• RxBar Protein Bar 12 pack Minimal Ingredients That Are All 100% Real Food w/ No Processed Fillers (Coconut Cacao) (my preferred breakfast)
• Cast Iron Pan

Here’s more about Amazon Prime. I know for me it pays for itself over and over again.

–> Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

I’m no fool. Those are affiliate links… of course. 😉

How does this help the world?

1. You gain more time to do other things since you can effectively and efficiently find the things you need.
2. You can have items autoshipped to your home so you don’t even have to find them or reorder if you know you’ll use them every month. Like laundry detergents or cat litter.
3. You’re not driving around in circles all over town looking for things, wasting gas.
4. You can easily order and ship gifts for the holidays and birthdays – again, without driving around town looking for the gift you had in mind.

Do it. Your time is important and you are worth it.

Hugs and high fives you awesome beast you!

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business, Life, & World: 

Neil Pasricha shares the 3 A’s to how he grew his business and made his life better. I hope you love it as much as I do.

If you prefer, you can read the transcript here.

And, definitely go to read his blog here -> http://1000AwesomeThings.com

Awesome Business:

If you haven’t yet, take the time to watch this free webinar about how to grow your list fast. It’s solid stuff. 🙂

Warmly with hugs and high fives,

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Life:

I firmly believe that what you feed your brain affects all areas of your life. Feed it good stuff. 🙂

Perhaps instead of binge-watching another series on Netflix, choose a few of these topics that grabs your attention and watch it: http://www.ted.com/playlists/171/the_most_popular_talks_of_all

Not that there’s anything wrong with binge-watching shows. (I’m in the middle of Dr. Who right now, myself.) But I also know that watching negative stuff affects my mood and my outlook in general. Not exactly the path to Awesomization for me.

Here are some more:

• http://www.ted.com/playlists/60/work_smarter
• http://www.ted.com/playlists/263/talks_to_watch_when_you_need_f

OR if you want to listen to Ted talks but not be stuck in front of a screen, voila: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tedtalks-audio/id160904630?mt=2

I’m also LOVING this lecture on Audible right now.

It’s about so much more than vulnerability. It’s about play and rest and creativity and … just what you want your LIFE to be like. I recommend it highly.

I recommend -> The Power of Vulnerability.

Awesome Life, Business, and World, Part Two: Change your Password. Change your Life. 

What is your password to get into your computer? Is it “Misty” or “Princess”? 🙂

Why not make the act of typing in your password to get into your computer something that makes YOU more awesome.

Here’s an article from the Huff Post.

You can read the original here (but I do need to give a *language warning*. So if that upsets you, skip it.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mauricio-estrella/how-a-password-changed-my-life_b_5567161.html

What happened is this. A man sat as his computer, frustrated and upset and angry, when his Microsoft user password change notification popped up.

In the middle of his anger, he remembered a tip from his former boss that changed his life. And here’s the rest of the story…

I’m gonna use a password to change my life.

It was obvious that I couldn’t focus on getting things done with my current lifestyle and mood. Of course, there were clear indicators of what I needed to do — or what I had to achieve — in order to regain control of my life, but we often don’t pay attention to these clues.

My password became the indicator. My password reminded me that I shouldn’t let myself be victim of my recent break up, and that I’m strong enough to do something about it.

My password became: “Forgive@h3r”

I had to type this statement several times a day. Each time my computer would lock. Each time my screensaver with her photo would appear. Each time I would come back from eating lunch alone.

In my mind, I went with the mantra that I didn’t type a password. In my mind, I wrote“Forgive her” every day, for one month.

That simple action changed the way I looked at my ex wife. That constant reminder that I should forgive her, led me to accept the way things happened at the end of my marriage, and embrace a new way of dealing with the depression that I was drowning into.

In the following days, my mood improved drastically. By the end of the second week, I noticed that this password became less powerful, and it started to lose its effect. A quick refresh of this ‘mantra’ helped me. I thought to myself I forgive her as I typed it, every time. The healing effect of it came back almost immediately.

One month later, my dear exchange server asked me again to renew my password. I thought about the next thing I had to get done.

My password became Quit@smoking4ever

And guess what happened. I shit you not. I quit smoking overnight. This password was a painful one to type during that month, but doing it helped me to yell at myself in my mind, as I typed that statement. It motivated me to follow my monthly goal.

One month later, my password became Save4trip@thailand

Guess where I went three months later. Thailand. With savings.

Thank you, password.

So, I learned that I can truly change my life if I play it right. I kept doing this repeatedly month after month, with great results.

Here is an extract of what some of my passwords have been in the last two years, so you get an idea of how my life has changed, thanks to this method:

Forgive@her ← to my ex-wife, who started it all.
Quit@smoking4ever ← it worked.
Save4trip@thailand ← it worked.
Eat2times@day ← it never worked, still fat.
Sleep@before12 ← it worked.
Ask@her4date ← it worked. I fell in love again.
No@drinking2months ← it worked. I feel better.
Get@c4t! ← it worked. I have a beautiful cat.
Facetime2mom@sunday ← it worked. I talk with my mom every week.

And the one for last month:

Save4@ring ← Yep. Life is gonna change again, soon.

I still await very anxiously each month so I can change my password into something that I need to get done.

This method has consistently worked for me for the last two years, and I have shared it with a few close friends and relatives. I didn’t think it was a breakthrough in tiny habits but it did have a great impact in my life, so I thought to share it with you all.

And, part 3 because I love ya. More to Awesomize your Business, Life and the World: 

Today’s other idea is a simple one. It’s made me happier, made me more money, and helped me out when I’ve been overwhelmed.

All it takes are a few post-it notes. 🙂

This note is posted above my computer where I can see it at all times. It asks me “What Would Awesome You Do RIGHT NOW?!”

It is my reminder when I feel overwhelmed in my businesses or like I have too many options that I really only have to do ONE thing. The thing that Awesome Nik would do. That oftentimes, as silly as it sounds, helps me to get laser focused and get the RIGHT things done.

My other post it note says “WWAYD Next???” and it’s … wait for it… posted on the back of my bathroom door, right at eyeball level. 😉

Why? Simple. Oftentimes, after I take a quick pee break, (I wash my hands obviously) and then I wander out of the bathroom aimlessly thinking “Hmmm.. I wonder what I should do now.”

Not anymore. I now walk out and know exactly what my NEXT step is.

It may be

• “Go eat something. You’re starving and you can’t keep going like this and be productive.” or
• “The most important thing for you to do next is to sit down with your coaching client’s sales page and read through it and figure out how to make it sell better.”

Regardless, I have a very clear direction, which, like I said, may seem silly, but the alternative literally would cost me days of my life every month… wandering around the house, getting on Facebook, picking up the phone, etc. So, I wanted to share. 🙂

Hugs and high fives,
Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business & Life: 

I like to teach my coaching clients my READ system to Awesomize their Business and have more free time, too.

This is what it breaks down to.

R- Ruminate: Think about and inventory your business. Figure out what’s profitable in your business, both projects and activities.

E – Eliminate: Cut those that aren’t serving you. This could mean to sell them, delete them, or stop doing them all together.

A – Automate: Of what’s left, can any of it be automated? You’d be surprised what tools are available now that can do things that you might be doing yourself.

D – Delegate: And, of the remaining stuff, what could be done by someone else?

You’ll be left with ONLY those tasks that 1. are profitable, and 2. essential. And you’ll have more free time. 😉

Free Gift: It’s hard to juggle everything that we need to get done in our business with being awesome, too. One way to do that is to figure out what your time is worth per hour and then look at the things you’re doing in your business and determine whether to focus on them —  or to eliminate, automate or delegate them.

Here’s a free resource from my friend and business partner, Melisssa Ingold, that will help you to figure out how to reach your goals.

Click here to grab it now.

By figuring out your gifts (like I talked about yesterday), grabbing your confidence like we discussed on day 14, and knowing what your hourly rate is to reach your goals, you can start to piece together a plan to reach your financial goals and your lifestyle ones, too!

The World:

My daughter volunteered at a soup kitchen awhile back. She shared something that made my heart hurt. She said that the person who welcomed them and assigned their duties told the children that the most important thing they can do while they are there is to shake the hands of the people coming in.

They said that 1. it makes them feel like a real person and not looked down upon, 2. it may be the only physical contact they have that day.

It got me thinking a bit. In my Yoga Teacher Training to become a yoga teacher, one of the things that we can do is gentle touch and alignments and a little head massage at the end. I know when I’m a student in class, I really appreciate and enjoy that part. But then I wondered how many people go to class just to have that physical contact every day.

To be perfectly  honest, there are days when that’s probably the only physical contact I have with others. Just by being busy and my kids being teens, I don’t have them climbing into my lap anymore – and my husband, well, his love language isn’t physical touch so much, so that might not happen either.

So it’s not just homeless people that are craving contact. It might be that the older lady that lives alone across the street hasn’t actually been touched in days. That makes me so sad to think about.

I don’t know exactly what that has to do with you making the world a better place, other than to reach out and hug someone today or pat their arm. I’d hate to think of a day going by without any physical contact… but I know that to some people, that’s their norm. So, spread the love, today and always.

Life:

Give someone a hug today. If you won’t see anyone you want to hug, then send a virtual hug to someone who needs it.

Big hugs and high fives to you.

Warmly,

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business, Life and the World: 

I’m going to share one of my favorite stories of all time with you today. But before you watch it, I’d like to set the stage.

While watching this video, think about a few things.

The most important is what are YOUR gifts?

And, are you using them?

Are you a fish trying to swim or are you a fish trying to climb a tree?

If you’re struggling in your business, perhaps it’s because you’re not spending your time swimming.

Enjoy…

With my coaching clients, one of the first worksheets they do is a “Strengths” vs. “Non-Strengths (at this time)” list.

Oftentimes the things they’re doing on the non-strengths list can be Eliminated, Automated or Delegated — so that they can instead, like the fish, focus on doing what they were literally born to do.

When a fish is swimming, does it feel like work? No. It’s natural and enjoyable. It’s AWESOME.

When a squirrel is swimming, does it feel like work? HECK YEAH. If the poor little squirrel even survives.

Therefore, if you’re struggling to write that blog post, perhaps picking up a video camera would put you more in your element. Don’t force it. LOVE it.

If you’re not exercising because you hate your morning run, sign up for a dance class instead. YOU are in control. Choose something you love and, again, it won’t feel like work. It’ll be FUN – and much much more productive.

If it’s HARD, either try it another way, or outsource it to a fish. 🙂 That’s my tip for you today.

Big hugs.

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Sorry. But I’m Not Sorry.

Before I get into the video that I wanted to share today, I feel like I want to say something about the word “Sorry”.

The word “sorry” is very powerful. Yes, it has a LOT of power.

We know that when we hurt someone (or are hurt by someone), that the word sorry can break down barriers, repair friendships, save marriages, heal deep painful wounds, and bring together countries.

That’s super important and I hope that everyone in the Awesomization Nation would make the effort to apologize when we’ve hurt someone, whether intentional (which we can sometimes do) or unintentional (which with awesome people like us is usually the case).

HOWEVER, that’s not what I want to talk about in this lesson.

I’ve noticed that many of us (and it seems more women than men) apologize ALL the time.  And that’s what I’d like to discuss.

In our Beachpreneurs hangouts and calls, I notice this a lot.

Me: Wow! Is it ever raining by you. Look at your window!
Her: Oh sorry…
Me: You’re sorry that you caused a Tropical Storm?
Her: Well, I didn’t cause it…
Me: And exactly why are you apologizing then? I was only noticing because I was concerned about you.

Sidenote: I’m not always this sassy. But we’d already forbidden this amazingly brilliant woman from apologizing for things that she could not possibly control. 😉 

Also, in one of my yoga classes, the teacher apologizes and explains throughout the entire class.

Her: I know I messed up teaching this last week, but I think we can try again.

Her:  I am sorry if this is confusing this time around. It’s my first attempt at teaching this move.

Her: I hope it’s ok to try this new move on everyone. I’m sorry if it’s a little difficult.

My wish for each of you (and myself… again I’m talking to me, too) is that we all feel comfortable enough in our own skins and in our own POWER to be able to stop that nasty nasty habit.

Whether we are business owners or entrepreneurs in this group, I would say the majority of us are leaders in some capacity in our lives whether in our work, at church, volunteering, at home.

And I believe that being timid and apologizing and stepping around things is NOT stepping into leadership. It’s letting everyone else be in power over us.

PLUS – those of us with children, they are watching. Our daughters and sons. I want mine to be able to confidently navigate this planet without EVER having to apologize for just being. For existing. For moving and making decisions on this earth. For leading.

So, why is it ok for me to do be sorry for taking up my space in life? It’s not.

Strong leaders apologize when we are wrong. We do so graciously, genuinely, and from the heart.

We do not, however, apologize for existing on this planet and taking up the space that we have EVERY right to take up. We have every right to expand and stretch and grow and impact and influence – without apology and I hope that we will get comfortable enough to do so.

How to Feel Powerful When you Don’t.

Now that we’ve talked a bit about stepping into power and I’ve said my piece, I’m sharing this video because I feel that increasing your confidence will have a catalyst effect on everything that you do. And since you’re focusing on being awesome, WATCH OUT WORLD!

*A big thanks to Kelly McCausey for sharing this video with me last year. 😉 It helps. <3

Giving you the confidence to be AWESOME even if you have to fake it for a bit…

Another resource you might like is this book. It’s a good pep-talk. 🙂

The book:

The audio:

Big hugs and high fives,

Nicole

Your daily dose of awesome. Watch for tomorrow’s email for even more fun stuff.

Business: 

If you suffer from Bright Shiny Object Syndrome, enjoy this free video series by my friend, Kelly McCausey.

Free Resource: Bright Shiny Object Syndrome Management.

I also wanted to share another business awesomization resource with you.

I recently did an interview with Leonie Dawson that was really good, if I do say so myself. Now, fair warning, she DOES say the “F” word in it so if you prefer not to hear that then pass on this one and I’ll have more for you soon. But if that doesn’t bother you, like it does not bother me, then the message is definitely worth a listen.

The World:

I had a quick chat with my good friend, Cindy Bidar on Skype.  Here’s how it went.

Cindy: Isn’t it funny that people struggle the most with how to awesomize the world, and yet when you first talked about that you said, “That one is easy.” LOL!

Nicole: Yep. I think it’s a confidence thing, really. That you DO matter and your actions DO make a difference, even when you feel like there’s no point and the action is so tiny that it’s not making a difference. IT IS.

Cindy: Oooh, you should write about that in your next Awesomization Nation email. 😉

So I am.

I am surprised by how many of our peeps struggle with the “Awesomizing the World” part of the challenge. So let’s break it down a touch to see my take on it.

1. Awesomize – to do something tiny to improve
2. The World – anything outside of our own selves.

For instance, there are over 147 MILLION orphans on earth.

One hundred and forty-seven MILLION. Think about that number.

Also, just in the USA, each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats).

It’s pretty overwhelming, right? It makes it easy to start thinking “What’s the point? WHY? I can’t possibly save them all!”

When I think about those numbers, or the more than 840,000 people who die each year from lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes…. including large number of children, I just want to curl up and sob. Sometimes I do.

But what then?

Then, I go and I reread the starfish story. And, I remember that it’s better to save one than to ignore them all because I can’t save them all.

Here it is as a reminder if you haven’t read it recently:

“Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,
“It made a difference for that one.”
― Loren Eiseley

In my case, no I can’t save every orphaned child. But I have helped some and I sure made a difference to one very special one in my life and her siblings.

No, I can’t save every stray animal, but I am fostering on a regular basis and it matters to THEM.

And, no I can’t bring clean water to every person in Africa alone. But I can do something and share here with you how important it is, and I know the results will be greater than if I hadn’t.

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE. The little things matter – and so do you!

Life:  

Pat yourself on the back today for everything that you’ve accomplished thus far. What you’re doing DOES matter. Every single step forward has an impact you are yet to discover. So keep up the good work!

Hugs and high fives,
Nicole