Why Do I Do So Many Things?

Why Do I Do So Many Things?

One of the things I’ve heard a lot over my life from different people is – why do you do so many things? What’s interesting about that question to me is that it has never been a question I’ve asked myself, but only one that others have obviously wondered.

Over the course of my life, the varying experiences I’ve had as a singer, model, working in the financial world, being a reporter, real estate broker, lawyer, having varying businesses and now working on television just seems to have been a lot for many of the onwatchers to see.
 

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I was raised by parents who believe in exposing their children to all that is possible in the world. That included exposure to as many opportunities as possible. And what was always instilled in me was the knowing that anything I decided to do and was willing to work for I could achieve.

I have been blessed in always knowing that my gifts and talents were varied. Some people are gifted in just one or two areas and others are gifted in many. For me, I knew I fell into the latter group. I believe you don’t allow people to put a period in your life where God has put a comma. That is a principal I have always lived by.

I believe in living life intuitively and going where I am led. No one knows what’s better for me and my life than I do. Fortunately for me, I’ve never been swayed or concerned with the opinions of others regarding what I’m suppose to be doing in my life or where I’m suppose to focus my time and energies. I just stay committed to my life’s purpose, my work and where I am being led to go. A life lived from this perspective is a far simpler one.

When you start to consume yourself with what others think about what you do and how you do it, you are leading yourself down a never ending rabbit hole. When you are concerned and consumed with others’ thoughts about you and opinions of how you should live your life, you lose focus on how to actually live your life for your highest good in the manner that is most desired and fulfilling for you.

When you focus solely on your desires, your goals, ambitions and are willing to do the necessary work to get you there, things begin to move on your behalf. Opportunities are revealed to you and your world begins to shift and change. Dreams begin to manifest. I am not suggesting that all of this happens overnight. But what I am suggesting is that if you are willing to do the work to get yourself there, you can begin to make anything happen.


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The Importance of Making Boundaries Part of Your Business Life – Part 2

The Importance of Making Boundaries Part of Your Business Life – Part 2

This is a continuation of Part 1.

When I started to rebuild my businesses during the Great Recession, it was my goal to be able to create a core business that I could run part-time, from anywhere in the world, but not have its revenue suffer. I had colleagues who had done it successfully and I was determined to do it as well. I wanted to only have to work three days a week for a max of 20 hours and not have to work on weekends.
 

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I am very grateful to say that I have created that life for myself. I built my personal development company so that I could live that life I had only dreamed of. But it could only be done by creating definite boundaries and restrictions in my business.

Many people ask me how I get so much done. It’s quite simple. I schedule all the things I need to do and those are the only things I focus on. When it’s time for me to do something else, I turn my attention to that. I don’t waste time answering phones, replying to emails or surfing social media when I’m suppose to be doing something else.

I schedule downtime for myself regularly, because that will allow me to be the most creative and allow me to work at my highest level. I studied what works best for me and I work and stay within those parameters.
 

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You can create whatever type of business it is you desire. You are the captain of your own ship. You are the decider. You are the rule maker. It is up to you to determine what that life looks like for yourself, create a roadmap to get you there, get whatever support you need to make it happen and then just do it.

We are rapidly approaching a new year. Make 2019 the entrance of the life and business you have always dreamed of. You only have yourself to make it happen and if I can assist you along the way, please just reach out to me. Your new life and your new business awaits you as soon as you take the leap of faith to make it happen. All of your dreams are waiting on the other side.


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The Importance of Making Boundaries Part of Your Business Life – Part 1

The Importance of Making Boundaries Part of Your Business Life – Part 1

Entrepreneurs and business owners know that owning and running a business is usually a full-time job. Many times, it flows over into your off hours, weekends, holidays and everything in between. However, I am a hardcore believer in creating boundaries, especially with your business.

If your boundaries are not managed appropriately, your business will very soon take over your entire world. It will take over your private life. It will consume and affect your relationships if left unchecked. And although it may be good for your business, ultimately you can be left devastated by the effects personally.
 

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I had a client who attributed the lack of boundaries in her business to the separation of her marriage. She had allowed her business to consume her life. She shared with me that she no longer focused or spent time with her husband, because she was too consumed with everything at work. She was very honest in sharing that it was the single cause in the downfall of her relationship. But I’m happy to share that after a year of being separated, they came back together and are now so much happier, because she made the necessary changes in her work life to support a healthy personal life and marriage.

One way to counter such potential devastation is to create specific, useful boundaries that you stick to in your business. Separate work time from private time. Schedule your days – specify specific days and hours for working, meetings, dinners and events. But you must stick to it. Make sure you are designating free time for yourself, your family and your intimate relationship if you have one.
 

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Before the real estate market collapsed, a decade ago, I use to be one of those entrepreneurs who was overtaken with work. My businesses totally consumed me. Almost all of my work was quite enjoyable for me, so I didn’t initially see the harm. I also didn’t have any real boundaries designated around my work. It was just work, work, work all of the time.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs and they come from the school of working all the time and talking about business anytime, anywhere for anything. For me, after the market collapse and having to deal with all of the fallout and cleanup from it, I knew that when I rebuilt my business life, I had to do it very differently. No more late nights regularly, working on the weekend and non-existing vacations. I had to start creating new business structures for my businesses and create some serious, significant boundaries.

Check out Part 2 of this article on Friday.


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Make Money As a Speaker

Make Money As a Speaker

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when someone shared that she was astonished to find out the college where she worked paid $5000 to someone to teach a workshop. She went on to say that she could have taught the workshop herself. Unless you are a part of the world of speaking, it would be very hard to believe the amount of money that many speakers make. But the fact of the matter is there’s a ton of money that can be made from speaking.

Often times I’m asked, “How do I get paid as a speaker?” There are a variety of ways you can make money as a speaker, but for the purpose of this blog post, I will focus on the top two.
 

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The first way you can make money as a speaker is to actually charge to speak. Many people choose to give away their information for free, but there is an entire multi-million dollar industry built off of paying people to speak. The fee that is given to speak is often called an honorarium. An honorarium is a payment that is made as compensation for giving a speech or talk.

You can be paid to give a particular type of speech such as a keynote address (the main speech at an event) or to present in some other way. You can also be paid to teach a workshop, seminar or to give some other type of presentation or information.

The second most common way to be compensated as a speaker is by making an offer at the end of your presentation. This occurs when at the end of a talk, the speaker makes an offer to the audience that produces a sale.
 

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The offer can be a product, program, service or something else that requires a monetary exchange. This talk can be paid, have a fee associated with it or it can be given completely free.

Although some people think it is best to go the paid speaking route only as a speaker, often times your greatest profits can occur by not getting paid initially and just by making the right offer at the end of your talk.

I use both methods in my speaking business. However, I often say if I could only pick one of the two methods for the rest of my career I would skip the upfront fee and just make an offer at the end. Why you may ask? Because in most cases, if you know how to do it effectively, you can make a lot more money with the appropriate offer than you can through receiving an honorarium.

According to the National Speakers Association, the average keynote speaker is paid $3500. This can be a significant amount, especially if you weigh it against the amount of time it takes to give a keynote – normally less than an hour.

If you were fortunate enough to be able to book a few a month, it can certainly add up quickly. But, you can make 5-figures and 6-figures in sales after a talk from offering the right offer, in the right room, to the right audience, which can far exceed the honorarium you would get paid to speak.


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Why Entrepreneurship is Not For the Weary

Why Entrepreneurship is Not For the Weary

If you’ve been in the entrepreneur lane for more than a minute, you know that there is at least one time in which you’ve wondered if you should continue running on as a business owner or if you should just call it a wrap. Every business owner has had to come to that question and most have had to ponder it much more than once.

Entrepreneurship is not for the weary. You will be tired, tried and tested throughout your tenure. So, if you haven’t experienced it yet, know that at some point you will. And when you do, take comfort in knowing that the exception to the rule would be someone whose circumstances did not require them to think of it at all.

When that moment happens to you, it is important to take an analysis of where you are in your business and where you still have yet to go. Owning a business is no small feat. It requires tenacity, unrelenting faith and perseverance just to name a few. Even with all the right characteristics, there will be moments in which you wonder if you should go on in your business.
 

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I have had to ask that question at some point in almost all of my businesses. But know you can never create a successful business without making it through some dark seasons. Entrepreneurship can produce the most unbelievable, amazing results, but once you get to it, know that you deserve every bit of that success after all you would have had to endure to make it there.

When you do your analysis, look at whether you’re currently doing the best you could possibly do in the business. Look for support in the areas where you see gaps, and determine what is going to be required to get you out of that hole.

If you are able to do what is necessary to produce the end result, keep running. But if you see that even with the necessary components it is still not worth it in the end, or you are not willing to do what’s required to get there, perhaps it’s time for you to let it go.
 

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Nothing comes without sacrifice. There is a price for everything. Many who have built successful businesses will tell you that often times those they loved had to be sacrificed. For some, the sacrifice was worth it. For others, it certainly was not. But only you can determine whether the sacrifices it took for you to get there was worth it for you or not.

Seek out advice from those with specific expertise in the areas you need support. But be sure to make the best decision for yourself and one that you can live with and not regret as your life goes on.


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3 of the Biggest Challenges Facing Women Business Owners Today

3 of the Biggest Challenges Facing Women Business Owners Today

I recently had the opportunity to attend an event for women business owners in a suburb of New York City. The event was focused on the challenges women business owners experience while running their companies.

It was a very interesting conversation around the difficulties that plague many women business owners. Although the owners represented were in the NYC area, I am sure that women business owners across the country share their sentiments.

One of the major challenges that were discussed was related to funding. Capital is one of the main reasons why businesses are forced to close. Where do you get it? Where are the best options? How do you put yourself in the best position for funding? These were all questions and challenges that many of the business owners had to face.
 

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Another issue they tackled was around being a woman in a predominately male industry or just being disregarded or overly questioned by men in a non-male dominated industry. This was actually surprising to me as it has never been my experience. But it was evident how present it was for many who were sharing as part of their experience.

Some of these women business owners were in heavily male dominated arenas such as construction and moving. Some were actually told by colleagues that they were expecting them to fail.
 

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We as human beings, and certainly as women, have our own questions and often times insecurities around our abilities to do different things especially those things we’ve never done before. The added pressure and stress of having individuals tell you that they are waiting for you to fall I find to be very saddening. But this is the reality for many female business owners across the country.

The 3rd challenge many of these business owners faced was related to having to learn exactly what to do at different times in their businesses. How to do it and when to do it without ever having the experience of doing it before. Many credit mentors and other business owners with previous experiences for assisting them and giving recommendations, but ultimately the final decision fell on the actual business owner to make the best decision for their business and then learn from the outcome depending on the results. Asking for and seeking help was a big factor for many of them to move their businesses ahead.

Although these issues were discussed by women business owners, I know that the first and the third challenges described are shared by all business owners, male or female, in America.


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