Opportunity in Disguise

from Liz Uible

"Every trial is an opportunity in disguise; do not let it slip by un-mastered. Boldly take away its mask, and you will be glad that you have this problem to solve. What was before looked upon with fear and trembling, will present brighter aspects to you; and you will be pleased with what you now account a misfortune."
-Our Invisible Supply: How to Obtain by Frances Larimer Warner

This is the kind of wisdom that I like to type up, print out and post near my desk because I know it will be useful often.

Being the kind of people we are- business owners, or investors and people who are committed to growth, this applies to us all- probably several times a day.

Reread the above quote a couple of times. What trial are you going through right now? What area feels like a monster in your business life? By 'taking away its mask' and seeing a trial as an opportunity to master an area, we not only give ourselves permission to grow, but reduce the size and scope of the problem itself and build a better foundation for our business future.

When you are willing to re-frame your 'problem' as an 'opportunity in disguise,' you begin to you begin to make the problem smaller. You collect the resources to master the opportunity and build an asset moving forward. And in doing so, you remove the blame from the situation giving it space to morph into an opportunity.

And we all like opportunity!

***One way I re-frame trials as 'opportunities in disguise' is with my Prosperity Team(TM). WomenforWealth.com Prosperity Teams are forming now. Also, new groups for those investing in commercial real estate and for those focused on building a business are also being created (please email me if you are interested). Join our membership program now and get access to great people and information

THE SURVIVAL OF MARRIAGE

from Christine Harvey

Have you ever wondered why some marriages last and others don’t?

I do, and so I surveyed people married over 27 years with this question:
“What would your advice be to a young couple just getting started in marriage, for how to have a long and happy life together?”

The answers were so good that I wanted to share them with you:

1. Grace – “To receive give and receive forgiveness.”

2. Reciprocal understanding – “When your partner expresses a need or desire, always turn it around in you mind and think of it as your own need. Have tolerance for that need, whether it is a ball game you don’t really want to attend, or a perceived hurt of some kind.”

3. Love – “I always try to remember my love for my partner, even during an argument. It helps to take my mind and feelings back to when we first met.”

What jumps out for you as you read these? What could you apply in your life today? Aren’t these also great answers to dealing with any one in life? In fact, is it not possible that the original question I asked:

“What would your advice be to a young couple just getting started in marriage, for how to have a long and happy life together?”

…could just as easily been:

“What would your advice be to anyone who wants to have a happy life, with regard to their relationship with people?”

Hum, something to ponder.

Focus Tip for Today: Determine that you will have a better life today. Decide which mindset will you implement immediately- grace, reciprocal understanding and/or love?

Overcoming Overwhelm Part II

From Liz Uible Yesterday I wrote about how Christine and I developed our Strategic Plan for WomenforWealth.com. Now let's talk about how to apply those principles to our lives as a whole, business and personal. Beth Walkup told us "the point of strategic planning is to choose the 3-5 areas of business that will make the biggest difference in your business over the next 3-5 years and to focus your time and resources on those few areas." In an institution (or a life) in which the number of projects overshadow the amount of time to complete them, a true strategic plan can be a useful thing to have. It brings clarity to a list of stuff that needs to be done. It's not just about clarifying your vision for the future and creating a framework around it, but it is about seeing where the leverage points create the vision faster and with more joy. And that is something we can all do. Priorities differentiate successful people from those who are consistently 'overwhelmed.' Create a Strategic Plan (or Priorities) I invite you to take this challenge with me this today and over the weekend. This will take 30 minutes or so to create, but will be an invaluable tool in avoiding overwhelm. Remember, priorities allow us a level of sanity we don't get doing everything. Write out all the things you are spending time on (you can do this for our business and for your life in general). Do those activities fall in to a bunch of different categories? I came up with ten for me, including my relationship with my husband and family, growing my businesses and charitable works, and I am sure there are others. Now, what are your goals for each area and what are the leverage points to get there over the next 3-5 years? Do this for each area. (If you already have business and personal goals that are comprehensive, you may be able to use those 10 or so categories.) Take a look at this list you just made. What 3 or 4 specific areas will create the most result over the next 3 years? This is the beginning of your strategic plan. Put a star next to those 3 areas. If instead of trying to do everything, you instead focused your time and money on these 3 areas, your results will be achieved. Now let me be clear. I am not saying to ignore the rest of your life and business. As Beth taught Christine and me, the power of a strategic plan is that if you focus time on the leverage areas you get the greatest result. Then the less peak time, of other fragments of time can be spent on the areas that are not high leverage, but just 'need to be done.'. This allows us a set of clear priorities that we have set up in advance so that we can make choices about what to focus on in the moment- guilt-free. And that is a beautiful thing. On the Member Call Tuesday I am going to walk through this exercise further. We will identify choices you can make in advance to decrease overwhelm and allow you the feeling of freedom in pursuing your goals. The Member Call is Tuesday, June 26th at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern.

Overcoming Overwhelm I

from Liz Uible

Last week, Christine and I met for three and a half days focused entirely on strategic planning for WomenforWealth.com. We thought about the community we are creating, the impact we want to have on people’s lives and businesses and how we wanted to feel about the work we do on a daily basis.

We categorized the different areas of our business and became clear about what each of us liked and didn’t like about each one. We looked at where we want to be in one year based on all those goals we set out. And we looked at what we needed to do this quarter in order to have those results we want next year.

It was a great exercise, but we found ourselves still feeling overwhelmed. “How can we keep doing all the things we want to do without ignoring the things we feel we have to do?” we wondered. We were now had an overwhelming plan. Do you ever feel that way?

And then something fortuitous happened- a voice of sanity in the form of Christine’s friend dropping by.

Beth Walkup, whom we had interviewed as part of Motivation Marathon last winter is a fantastic, generous, active business person who has lots of experience with business and non-profit strategic planning. We told her we had created a 9-part strategic plan that is bound for great things.

Then Beth said something that seemed profound:
“But ladies,” she said, “strategic planning is about choosing the areas that you will focus on most, not choosing everything!”

We looked at each other a little stunned, so she went on. “The point of strategic planning is to choose the 3-5 areas of business that will make the biggest difference in your business over the next 3-5 years and to focus your time and resources on those few areas.”

“The way you measure if you are following through on the plan is to look and the time and resources you are putting into the business. If the majority is spent on your strategic areas, then you are in good shape,” she explained.

And something inside me smiled.

The point was that everything does not have to have the same priority. In fact, it shouldn’t. Priorities allow us sanity. Priorities differentiate the successful people from those who are consistently ‘overwhelmed.’

If you have your priorities already set out, you have a track to run on. In other words, instead of having two to-dos on the list and doing both halfway, you can easily see which one is important to your long-term objectives and the other can wait.

**What are the priority areas in your life and business?**

Tomorrow, we I'll talk about creating a priority system that works for you and your priorities. Then you can achieve the results you want and stay out of overwhelm while achieving your goals! We will begin to create your Personal Strategic Plan.

And you can bet we will be talking about this more on the Member Call next Tuesday, June 26^th at
6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern.

Financial Freedom- What are your Goals?

A Wealth Thought From Liz Uible

Definition of Financial Freedom:
“When you never do anything you don’t want to do because of money, and you never omit doing something you want to do because of money.” -Unknown

Christine read this to me from a book a couple months ago. Reading it just feels relaxing to me. What percentage of the population do you suppose is financially free at this level? Certainly it is less than 1% of the US population. Globally, even lower than that, I would think. Most people don’t even have this as a goal.

It is June, halfway through the year. Now is the time to take out your 2007 goals and evaluate where you are. If you have not yet set 2007 goals, take a few minutes to do that now… don’t wait for the perfect time. Is financial freedom, as described above, a goal for you?

Key question:
What one step can you take this week to move each of your important goals forward?

HELPING YOUR PARTNER GROW

from Christine Harvey

Have you ever heard of peer tutoring?

It’s a system of two people working work together to catapult results in a matter of days. What if we could do that with our business partner, or life partner? Or maybe you find a mastermind partner. No matter what area of application – these results are possible for both of you through peer support. IT’S EASY. It also builds your relationship!

HOW IT WORKS:
Let’s say you want to improve in courage and your partner wants to improve in computer skills. While these are two diverse skill areas, you can work together to make it happen.

The benefit to you is three fold in this process.
First, you’ll grow in your chosen area from this goal setting and support.
Second, you’ll grow in your leadership by learning to give positive reinforcement easily.
Third, your relationship with your partner will catapult.

Here’s how it works, and it only takes a few minutes a day.

Part 1
At the start of the day, you each set a goal and communicate it to each other. The partner who wants courage might choose to stop procrastinating and make a difficult phone call. The person wanting to develop computer skills may want to hire an instructor and sets today’s goal as putting an ad in Craig’s List.

Part 2
At the end of the day, you do a report back. You each tell each other of your success, and then give positive reinforcement to your partner.

The important part is the partner who listens and gives positive reinforcement. Let’s say that your partner called the difficult person. When it’s your turn to give positive reinforcement, try to see a strength in them that you can point out. They stated that they want to develop courage, so you say that you see courage clearly in them because it took courage to make the call. As the partner of the person wanting to develop computer skills, you can say you see commitment to their self improvement, or whatever you do see.

FOCUS TIP ACTION STEPS: Decide now to choose a partner, and explain this system and/or let them read this. Choose a goal to work on – for each of you. Then pick a time to report in each morning and each afternoon. TIP: Keep it to a short specified time – perhaps 2 minutes each. This time MUST include time to give your partner positive reinforcement. Commit to doing it for 3 or 4 days, then re-evaluate your methods and results. Then decide on a new goal, or continue with a new one. You’ll be amazed at your results!

We work with people who want to build wealth for themselves and their community: For more information please go to www.WomenforWealth.com

Making Magic Moments

from Christine Harvey

Have you ever sat back after a busy day, exhausted from hard work and wondered about the meaning of it all?

And yet, have you noticed how a magical moment can come out of the blue, unplanned, staring you in the face when you least expect it?

What causes those moments?

At a seminar I attended this weekend we were given the assignment to create something out of nothing. In fact, we were told to create a quite space, with a total stranger, where something could happen.

My husband and I decided we would do this exercise with the breakfast staff at the hotel. So we dutifully started a conversation, gave the waitress 100% of our attention, and then when a pause came in the conversation, we kept our eyes focused on her and said nothing.

Sure enough, in that space magic was created. She confided in us that she missed her family terribly. They were in Ethiopia and she was here with her baby son and husband. Her chances of going back to see her parents were slim. Their chances of coming here were slim. It could be years, if ever, she would see her parents again.

I reflected on that conversation – the fact that I’ve always been able to hop on a plane to visit my family. The fact that every blessing I could think of is available to us. That pause in the conversation changed my day, brought me unbelievable gratitude, and strengthened my resolve for the work we are doing in Africa. Those magical moments are available every moment of the day, if we leave space to let them unfold.

Later that morning my husband and I were leaving the hotel, walking hurriedly to the car, although in fact we would have had plenty of time to stroll. I said something to him, which he misheard in our rush. I straightened out the miscommunication and then reflected on the fact that we are often ‘rushing to nowhere.’ And when we are rushing to nowhere, we don’t let the magic moments in.

Focus Tip: Take a moment today to commit to pauses in your conversations. In your next conversation with someone, be it in person or on the phone, just pause at the end of a sentence and see what happens. And give it a long, determined pause. Perhaps that person will share something with you that will change your day, bring you gratitude and strengthen your resolve!

June 1st as a Turning Point

from WomenforWealth.com Founders, Christine Harvey and Liz Uible

Happy June first! What does a new month mean to us?

What will you do with this month to make it different from the rest? What will you do to look back and say, June 1^st changed my life?

Well here’s a suggestion. Dr Wayne Dyer says that most people think that their happiness is NOT in their control. They think that circumstances create their state of happiness.

I know that for most of you that is not true. I know that you know that you can control your state, and that happiness is in your control. BUT, here’s the critical question: HOW MUCH do you actively work on your mental state minute by minute? How often do you stop to ask yourself what state you’re in – ESPECIALLY WHEN THE GOING IS TOUGH!

Knowing is one thing, doing is another.
On our member call last Wednesday, as a prelude to looking at our unique abilities, we discussed the Focus Tip on Emotional States, which we’ve copied for you below.

One member talked about a family situation, and the negative dip she found herself in. She decided to examine her state and see which rung of the ladder she was on. No surprise there! She discovered she was in a depressed state of feeling victimized. Immediately upon realizing that, she pictured the rungs of the ladder in her mind, and decided she could easily change her state to irritated. From there she was able to put the scenario into perspective and move to a positive state. Voila – her life was immediately transformed. Her slump was gone, unlike the times we have when we drag these things into hours or days. Or in some families it can be weeks and years! In some countries, it can be generations.

When is enough, enough? What can you do as leaders to change this? What can you do, not only for yourselves, but for the others around you? First and foremost you can lead by example? Soon people will be asking you, “Barbara, what’s different about you?” You’ll be attracting different people into your life. While you are in your new state of calm, new ideas will come to you and your whole prosperity consciousness will change. Why not do that for ourselves and for others as leaders, this first day of June, 2007.

Dr Dyer points out that most people let themselves get dragged by events from one victimized state to another. First it’s the traffic, then it’s the colleague, then it’s the boss, or the project or the customer. “The only road to joy,” he says, “is taking control and responsibility over your own state of mind.”

Tony Robbins points out that we can change our state anytime we want. In fact, by asking yourself what state you are in, your mind shifts from the emotional side to the logical side, and you’ve broken the grip on the negative state.

ONE MINUTE FOCUS TIP: So let’s make June 1st the turning point of our lives – truly, once and for all. Let’s decide today, as Dyer suggests, to NEVER LET OURSELVES BE DRAGGED DOWN BY CIRCUMSTANCES. Let’s use the rung of the ladder technique as follows:

First - identify your state, tell yourself what rung of the ladder you are on.

Second – picture the ladder in your mind, and see which rung you can jump up to. Can you go from depression to anger? That’s pretty easy. Anger gives relief from depression. Once you’ve jumped a few rungs, you can jump more.

Please write and tell us your experiences so that we can share them with others.

All the best,

Christine and Liz

PS For your review, here’s the list of the rungs of the emotional ladder in italics below, in order from high to low:

Joy/Love/Freedom/Appreciation
Positive Expectation
Optimism
Hopefulness
_______
Pessimism
Irritation
Feeling Overwhelmed
Blame
Anger
Revenge
Rage
Depression/Fear/Despair/Powerlessness/Grief