Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Transforming a passion into business
| The best businesses all have passion woven throughout them. Passion for the product, passion for serving the customer, passion for solving a particular challenge and passion for giving back. Some days it is hard to remember what your particular passion was with your business. On those days it is great to check out the inspiration of other businesses fueled with passion. Pink Heels blog had a great post about a few businesses inspired by passion - businesses run by women who left the relative safety of a J-O-B and who started their own business. If you are having "one of those days" - rediscover your inspiration by checking out passionate businesses and see what makes them great. Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Putting your business into words Labels: motivation |
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Demotivation can make money
It started as a parody on all those motivational posters that litter workplaces (and yes as HR Manager I was guilty of buying them also). It then progressed into t-shirts, coffee mugs and videos. So what sort of thing can you find on despair.com? Tradition - Just because you've always done it doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid. Mistakes - It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others. Meetings - None of us is as dumb as all of us. Challenges - I expected times like this - but I never thought they'd be so bad, so long, and so frequent. Me ... I prefer the positive approach, but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for cynicism. Are you ignoring potential markets? Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Putting your business into words Labels: motivation, small business ideas |
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Everyone's free to wear sunscreen
| On this Easter weekend I was reminded of some great advice given by columnist Mary Schmich in 1997. Her words were taken over by other people, attributed to other authors, filmed by Baz Lurhmann and made into a number of You Tube videos. ... But still they stand as solid truth. Here is the original version. Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97 Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future.Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you. Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's. Enjoy your body.Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it.It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance - even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions., even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old.And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen. Labels: motivation |
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Lessons from Christmas Lights
| Hi Every year my family and I spend a few weeks covering our house and gardens with loads of Christmas lights. I swear that when they are all switched on the load on the whole of Brisbane electricity circuit hits a spike. Last weekend we started our self appointed annual task. And as I was sitting on the lounge testing yet another string of lights for dead bulbs and cursing the task I reflected on what Christmas lights can teach us about life. We start with an idea - a hope - an inspiration and set off with high ideals. We try and enrol people in our vision of the future. But often when we are in the middle of the mammoth task it can seem endless - as if we will never get to the end of it. The tangles can feel impossible to unravel. We can feel that the whole task is pointless and that things would be lots easier if we just hadn't started the whole thing anyway. We can feel unsupported and abandoned by the people we tried to enrol in our vision. We can feel frustrated and angry - lashing out at people around us in our frustration. We can find many dead ends and many things that no longer work and can't be fixed. We can fantasize of how much easier it would be if we could just buy more new things or pay someone else to do it. Many people give up at that stage of the game saying that it was not meant to be. But if you stick with it and hold true to your vision, eventually you will come to the end of the challenge. Eventually you will start to see your vision taking shape. Eventually you will have glimmers of people getting behind your dream and helping convert it to reality. Eventually you will start to see the odd miracle occurring (for me I interpret a strand of lights with no dead bulbs after a year in storage as a miracle!) Once you have all the basics done, you get to finally "switch on" and then enjoy your creation - first by yourself and then a few people come by to admire the view and then a few more and finally busloads of people stop and admire your work. All marvel at your perseverance in your creation and comment they would not have the patience ... But you know that it was just done one step at a time. So why do I do the lights? It started just as a few strands for my kids. Then a few more and a few more. Soon we found that even though we may not see people at the end of the street for the rest of the year, as soon as the lights went up we would meet people in our community as they went for a walk each night to our house to enjoy the lights. For a few brief weeks each year we were part of a bigger community - we could bring joy and happiness to our neighbours as well as ourselves and we could bathe our house in love and awe. We could bring people together to share friendship and common bonds. I even started to market my business to all the passing traffic through cards attached to gifts of lollies for the families and I met some great clients as a result. All of these are pretty great reasons to do the lights! This week I am in the boring stage of creating my vision, but I know in a few weeks it will all be done and the results will be brilliant. So - as you look at a strand of Christmas lights, ask yourself ... what can the lights teach you about how you tackle life? warm regards Ingrid Heart Harmony http://www.heartharmony.com.au/ Labels: Christmas lights, motivation, perserverance |
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Start from Wherever You Are
| Many people wait for things to be "perfect" before they pursue their dreams and goals. They wait for the perfect conditions, the perfect attitude, and the perfect time of year. They really want to achieve their goals ... but the time just isn't right. In business they wait to take action on things they need to do to grow their business until they have their strategic plan in place, until staff turnover settles down, until they stop being so busy, until they get a few more clients. They really want to get around to taking the actions they need to do to grow their business ... but the time just isn't right. When managing people they really want to tackle the poor performer, the rude staff member, the tardy employee. They want to give recognition to the high performing team member and take time out to plan their team's projects or tasks... but the time just isn't right. Are you seeing any patterns? Waiting for the right conditions is another name for procrastination which is an excuse for not achieving your goals. By waiting for the "right" time before acting - people accept mediocrity. People often procrastinate because of fear - fear that they won't be able to handle the results of their action (either good or bad). They may be afraid that if they have that hard conversation at work the person may cry (or resign). They worry they may not make a difference at work if they try and change things or they may go broke and cause embarrassment to themselves and their family. They end up paralysing themselves into place, numbing themselves into inactivity. So if you recognise yourself in these patterns what can you do about it? ... Start from wherever you are. By that I mean, look at one just thing that immediately needs doing and start there. Don't try and change the world ... just do one small thing which, in the process, will also help you to clarify your direction and goals. In business, if you need to revamp your brand for business cards ... start there. A great graphic designer will ask lots of questions to help you clarify your business direction and goals before they put pen to paper. The act of re-designing your brand will in the hands of a skilled designer, help you to focus on your business goals (and if it doesn't - find another designer - I know a few great ones!). If you need to manage staff performance ... start there. Part of managing performance is having clear and open discussions about future directions and objectives. The outcome of those discussions is greater and shared clarity about your business direction and goals. If you need to get some direct mail or marketing out there to draw in customers ... start there. A good writer will place your writing in the context of your business direction and will help you to articulate precisely what that direction is. If you need to get a handle on your finances ... start there. A good accountant or book-keeper will do more than process your accounts; they will help you work out your financial goals and targets. If you need to change a bad habit ... start there. Bad habits come about from a past response to a usually stressful situation. The habit was helpful at the time as a way of helping you deal with the circumstances. Changing the habit needs to be seen in the context of your broader life goals and direction. To start from wherever you are, sometimes you need a hand to help you get moving. The easiest way is to always surround yourself with people who will help you to take that step up and get a helicopter view of your situation - bigger than waiting for everything to be just right. Find yourself business mentors, coaches, consultants, friends or executive teams who will tell you when you are procrastinating ... then who nudge you off your self imposed limitations. People who won't join in on the "feeling of being stuck", but who will prompt you to see the actions and the choices available to you that you maybe didn't see before. A great support team that gets you moving is one of the best predictors of success for any business owner. You don't need perfect situations to get started. You just need the courage to take the first step (even if it isn't a big one or perfectly executed!) or the right support team around you to help you run. Labels: goals, motivation, procrastination |