How To Give Yourself Permission To Go For What You Really Want

I’m often asked by the women I mentor, “Elizabeth, how is it that you get to work with such amazing clients and built a multi-6-figure business so quickly?”

Yes, I have the skills – marketing, sales, coaching, copywriting, and more – that go into making a business successful.  But the real answer is that I gave myself permission to be successful.

There is a part of us that longs for approval and begs for permission. As you’ve probably discovered, you can give time to that part ‘til your dying day… and still it’ll never be satisfied.  Which means that at some point you have to just say, “This is who I am.  This is what I’m going to do.  Starting… now.”

Now you might be thinking, “Easier said than done, Elizabeth,” especially if you wrastle with doubts, fears and feeling like you’re not good enough.  And trust me, Goddess… I know EXACTLY what that’s like.

But once I made the commitment to go for what I really wanted in business, no matter how much “stuff” I had to move… I discovered that there’s actually a method to giving yourself permission.  And I want to share it – my gift to you!

Step 1: Recognize that all the “yeahbuts” aren’t really your own.

As human beings, we can’t help but “pick up stuff” from the people in our environment, especially as children.   Then the beliefs that are handed to us when we’re young end up running the show for years – rearing their heads as doubts, fears, and feelings of inadequacy every time we try to take a step forward.

Most people will never realize this is happening, let alone shift it.  But as entrepreneurs, moving through fear is not an option – it’s a requirement.

Here’s a simple way to get started.  The next time you feel doubt, fear or an inkling of “I can’t,” stop and examine the idea from a place of curiosity.  Is it truly yours?  Probably not. You can safely release it or give it back to whoever it came from.

Step 2: Surround yourself with support

One of the most vulnerable stories I share with my circle is that of my husband Leland calling me forward.  At a time when I was completely on my knees, he was the one person who said, “I will not stand for you holding yourself as anything less than the powerful woman you truly are.”  He could see my brilliance when I couldn’t see it for myself.

Without that reflection, I can honestly say that I’d probably still be in the same place.  And that’s why it’s SO important that you surround yourself with people who will SEE you.

Most women don’t have people in their day to day lives who truly see them and hold them accountable to their greatness.  But I promise you, there are people out there who WILL.  It’s your responsibility to find them, even when it means investing in yourself to do it.

Step 3: Create impeccable boundaries.

The flipside of receiving support is boundaries.  Surrounding yourself with amazing people also means limiting your exposure to negative, dream-stealing people and ideas.

No, this doesn’t mean you have to give up all of your friends – in fact, your growth can be a true gift to those you care about.  You can have compassion for those who are hurting, as negative people truly are. But you must take back your power by setting clear boundaries with the people who drag you down.  (This also goes for what media you allow into your field. Turning off the television is a great first step!)

Step 4: Put yourself in the game.

When the clutter of doubt, fear, and negativity is gone, what do you get to say YES to?

Hire the mentor.  Go to the event.  Reach out to that potential partner.  Throw the “rules” out the window and be yourself.  Say what you really mean without worrying what others will think.  When you’re feeling shaky, reach out to your support system.

Saying YES to your dream consistently is a practice, one that creates incredible momentum.  Small “yeses” count – celebrate them all!

The Difference Between Bliss And Mediocrity Is Giving Yourself Permission.

Whatever you want to create this year – whether it’s to double or triple your business, cut the time you work in half, treat yourself to a 2-week vacation, share the stage with big players, land your book deal – you can have it when you give yourself permission.

It’s easy to look at others and envy what they have, but really, the only difference between them and you is that they said YES and followed through.  You can do the same – no matter what you wish to be, do or have.

5 Planning Steps To Guarantee Your Cash Flow

I see it all the time… a Divine Feminine Entrepreneur sets an intention at the beginning of the year to create a certain amount of 1ncome. In January, she’s excited for her money breakthrough; by March she’s stressed out, flying by the seat of her pants, looking for clients (instead of attracting them) and feeling slightly desperate. What’s going on?

Visioning, setting intentions and goals are all important to the creation process, but without a plan, your chances of success are slim. Problem is, many women get overwhelmed by the planning process and confused by all the seemingly endless detail that goes into creating a marketing calendar.

The solution? Let go of perfection, trust that you’ll be taken care of without having to know every detail (you can’t know them all anyway) and stick to my simple, streamlined process that helps you fill your programs and practically guarantees your cash flow.

Step 1: Choose your Bold Money Goal for the year

First things first: decide how much mo.ney you want to make! Seems obvious, right? Yet so many spiritual entrepreneurs skip this step. Don’t leave your 1ncome to chance, dear Goddess! Consciously choosing puts YOU in the driver’s seat.

Your Bold Money Goal should be a stretch and something you can believe in. To truly set yourself up for success in 2011 and the years to come, choose a goal that stretches you outside of your comfort zone and requires you to step into a new way of thinking and being in your business.

Bonus tip: Also decide on a Bold Circle-building (list building) goal. Remember that your list represents your future impact and 1ncome, so it’s important to give lots of attention to growing your list every year.

Step 2: Choose your time off

Most entrepreneurs “barrel through” the year, allowing for little or no time off. But a packed schedule will squelch your Divine Feminine Gift of Creativity and leave you feeling drained and exhausted. Remember, you’re designing your business to fit your life… so put your life first by scheduling the time off you need to relax and recharge.

Here’s another reason why putting your time off first will pull you forward: like a Bold Money Goal, making the commitment to honoring your time off will mean acting and being in your business from a whole different place – one that allows for business success and honors your needs as a Divine Feminine entrepreneur.

Step 3: Plan your high ticket offers

This is it – the secret to guaranteeing your cash flow and ending the cycle of chasing after the next client. Start by creating a high-end program and plan on filling a number of spots all at once. Using this strategy will boost your confidence and create some much-needed “breathing room” for other projects, so you’re not constantly worried about where your cash is coming from.

Step 4: Fill in the gaps to set yourself up for high-end success

Once you have your high-ticket offers set, you’ll have some gaps to fill. Here’s where you schedule lower price point programs such as information products and teleseminars. Choose offers that support your big paydays, such as a teleseminar series that would make a good “lead in” to your private coaching, or a listbuilding campaign.

Step 5: Include systematic listbuilding

Listbuilding may not be as exciting as filling a program with new clients, but systematically building your list throughout the year will ensure your future cash flow. Be sure to include 2-4 listbuilding activities every year, such as a free teleseminar, a new free gift giveaway, or speaking engagements where you can collect new leads.

10 New Year’s Success Habits For The Divine Entrepreneur

So the tree is taken down, the Yule log burned out, the eggnog all gone and the lights put away. The new year is here! It’s a time of reflection, looking forward, and making positive changes. Perhaps you’ve made a few New Year’s Resolutions for your life and business.

Personally, I’ve never had much luck with New Year’s Resolutions because the vibe feels punishing, not promising – like I’m going to have to work hard or struggle to create the positive change that I want.

That’s when I hit upon the idea of creating New Year’s habits. Habits are small, simple shifts that support you. They’re manageable, so you’re much more likely to succeed, especially if you take them one at a time. Best of all, habits create an environment that pull you forward and add up to BIG results over the long haul.

Below are 10 tried, true and simple Divine Feminine success habits for the new year. Turn even 2 or 3 of them into new habits and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you make positive shifts in your life and business – without effort, strain or struggle.

1. Honor your Divine Feminine Gift of Creativity daily. Your creativity, not your list, is your true source of income because it’s your creativity behind your programs, services, partnerships, relationships, marketing and all the other yumminess in your business.

That’s why you MUST protect your creativity (and creative time) like the valued asset it is. Remember, you simply can’t manifest when your energy is depleted!

2. Receive support daily. Consistent daily support is a necessity, not a luxury, for the Divine Feminine Entrepreneur. You simply cannot go it alone and expect to succeed. Coaches, mentors, assistants, web designers, and your emotional support system are all critical members of your team.

Receiving power tip: When you feel yourself pushing or struggling, that’s your cue to stop and check in: “Would a million dollar business owner be doing this task?” If not, delegate!

3. Pay yourself twice per month. Yes, you can do it! The secret is to focus on the action, not the amount, and take a no-excuses policy. Paying yourself first is a key practice in activating the Divine Feminine Gift of Receiving, which will allow you to receive even more.

4. Follow up with potential clients. Contrary to popular belief (and what your squishy mind is probably telling you), follow-up is a gift. When you get out of your ego (“they’re not really interested,” “I don’t want to pester,” etc) and check in from a place of caring and consideration, your clients will feel seen, acknowledged, and deeply appreciated. Check in at just the right time, and they’ll hire you.

5. Reconnect with current and past clients. Most spirit-driven entrepreneurs neglect past clients – a big mistake. A high percentage of satisfied clients will want more support from you, once the first program or contract is finished.

Make a habit of personally connecting and checking in with your peeps from time to time. They’ll feel the love, and you’ll both get the benefit of working together more often.

6. Track your income daily. This deceptively simple practice is one of THE most powerful, potent steps you can take to automatically start making more. (One of my clients reported 3 five figure months in a row shortly after starting this practice.)

Important tip: your motto when tracking is “it all counts.” Spouse’s income, gift money from Grandma, pennies on the street – it all counts. (Got a question about this? The answer is, “it all counts.”)

7. Commit to “just one thing” daily. To keep your marketing truly simple, stick to basic tried and true principles and adopt the magical practice that I like to call “just one thing”: every day, do just one thing to build your business, no matter how small.

“Just one thing” uses the Japanese principle of kaizen: big results come in continuous small increments over time. Commit to just one thing daily and you’ll never have to worry about where your clients are coming from ever again.

8. Let go of just one thing daily. Obligations, mundane tasks, and administrivia all chew up your precious Divine Feminine energy. So do damaging emotional habits like comparison, fear and doubt, and being too hard on yourself. Create the space for your Divine Feminine Gifts to flourish by asking yourself this question daily: “What can I let go of?” (Here, too, it all counts!)

9. Invest in your learning, growth and expansion. When you invest time, energy, attention and money in your own growth, you are essentially paying yourself… and the results can never be taken away. Find a coaching group or mastermind, schedule time to read or listen to the content, and implement.

10. Gratitude. You know it feels good. You know it works! Now all that’s left is to make it a habit. If you haven’t been giving thanks DAILY for all the money, business and success you DO have, now is the perfect time to start. Complete this sentence 5 times: “Today, I feel rich because…”

Best wishes for a rich and successful New Year!

A Solstice Manifestation Ritual

The Winter Solstice is liminal space, between the darkness and light. After a long descent into darkness, we reach the shortest day of the year.  From here, the Sun makes its return, as the days gradually get longer.  It is an ending, and a beginning… and thus an opportunity to begin to set into motion that which you’d like to manifest in your life in the coming year.

To manifest those yummy, delicious things, you must create space.

Creating space – that is, letting things go – is part of manifestation. After all, it’s hard for the Divine to bring you what you want if there’s no space for it to land.

All you’ll need for this ritual is a quiet space, clarity of mind, an open heart, a journal, and a pen.  A beautiful holiday candle and dimmed lights is also quite lovely.

Before you start this ritual, take a look at whatever visioning and planning notes you’ve made for the coming year so far.  Select the number ONE thing you’d like to bring into your life.

(Yes, the tippy-top priority.  If you’re not sure, I invite you to get clear and make a decision with this question: “What ONE thing would I be wildly happy and grateful for creating in 2012?” )

Bring that decision to your sacred space.

In your space, take a moment or two to relax. Let all doubts, fears, and niggling thoughts just fall away. Bring your attention to your manifestation decision for 2012.

Imagine that it’s the night of the Winter Solstice – one year from now. And that you have created exactly what you set out to create. Imagine yourself experiencing it, in the here and now.

Create the picture as vividly as you can. Once you have that picture firmly in your mind, and you are experiencing it in the here-and-now… ask yourself one question:

“What have I let go of in order to be here?”

Listen carefully for the message from your inner self and write down whatever comes to you. Resist the urge to judge your answer. Simply receive the message. After you have your answer, bid your future self adieu and return to the present.

Take a look at the answer you received. What do you need to let go of? Is it an object, such as clutter, “stuff” you bought for a past dream or intention, or leftovers from an “old” version of you? Is it a habit, or a manner of thinking about the world or yourself? If it’s the latter, I guarantee that you’re living with a manifestation of whatever it is here on the physical plane, too – some object in your physical space.

No matter what, it’s time to release it. Gather up whatever it is and make a date to get RID of it.  Make a commitment to yourself and follow through.

(Warning: completing this ritual may bring on the strong urge to clear out your space. )

Here’s to manifesting everything you desire in 2012!

How To Get Clear On Your Perfect Profitable Niche

If you’ve ever struggled to get clients to invest in your services, or if you’re hearing a lot of “I can’t afford it,” you’ve likely stumbled on a key problem that holds spirit-driven entrepreneurs back from making the money they deserve: an unclear (or unprofitable) niche.

Your niche is the combination of the people you serve, and the situation-specific problem you solve for them.  While you don’t need to have the “perfect” niche to start getting clients (and indeed, you don’t want to wait!), it’s no secret that to create a 6-figure business, your niche has to be compelling.

When it comes to niche, spiritual entrepreneurs are often in a tailspin of over thinking.  But getting clear on your niche is almost always about your mindset than anything else!   Before you spend one more minute trying to “figure it out” in your head, use these tips to uncover what you’ve been missing… and gain the clarity you seek!

1. Look to your life experiences.

One of the biggest questions I hear is, “What do I have that they will PAY for?”  My answer: first, look to your life!

Spiritual entrepreneurs – especially women – are notorious for discounting and undervaluing their life experiences and keeping their personal stories under wraps in their marketing.  Goddess, it’s these things that your clients want the most!

Clients want to work with someone who has walked in their shoes.  What challenges have you personally overcome in your life?  What big problems were you struggling with, and came out the other side? When you find yourself saying, “Nobody wants to hear about that,” take that as a sign – you might be looking at a very profitable niche opportunity.

2. Think outside of the box.

One of the biggest things that keeps entrepreneurs stuck in the “niche loop” is getting attached to what they THINK it’s going to look like.  Truth is, your magic (the deep work) can be applied to dozens of different scenarios you likely haven’t even thought of yet.   What groups of people are already investing to solve a specific challenge you could specialize in?

3. Go with the flow.

Are your ideas/services already present within the culture of the group of people you are considering?  Are they already investing money in what you’re offering?   Changing minds in your marketing is a major uphill battle.  You want to be “in the flow” of the mindset that already exists.

4. Get into action.

The only way to know if you have a profitable niche (one that you love) is to TEST – i.e., get out there and get a client or two!

You don’t need a website or a big list.  You DO need to create a short program on your topic and tap into an opportunity to connect with your ideal potential clients, such as a networking meeting, speaking opportunity or small local workshop.  (Hint: you don’t “find” the opportunity as much as you become aware of it and say yes.)

Outlining your program, connecting with potential clients and having conversations will tell you so much more about the potential of your niche than you could ever figure out on your own, churning in front of the computer.

Above All, Get Support

It can be very difficult to pinpoint your perfect niche opportunities, especially if you’ve been struggling with it for a while.  Enlist the support of a coach, mentor or mastermind partner who can be your “fresh eyes.”  (This is especially important when considering your life experiences.)

With the help of your support team and a commitment to move forward, you’ll quickly move through the discomfort of choosing your niche and finally get to the fun part – working your magic for people who love you and will pay you richly for it!

Ready to discover your perfect 6-figure niche?  We kick off the Income Acceleration Academy with a brand new “Discover Your Perfect Niche” virtual intensive, then you’ll put your new (or refined!) niche to the test so you can get paid to figure out your niche, once and for all!  But hurry – you’ll need to register by DECEMBER 23 at midnight Pacific for a generous $500 savings off the program investment.  Get all the details and register here: http://www.incomeaccelerationacademy.com

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