From Little Things, Big Things Grow!

Songs have been written on this title about social change over the years and the saying was not new in the 1900's. For me, I see this as a great quote for small business people who start out with very little and with courage and determination go ahead and create their passion into a business that they are proud to own.

Great things may come from small beginnings as we find with small business owners. An essay within in 1798 by D.Everett in The Columbian Orator says: "Large streams from little fountains flow, Tall oaks from little acorns grow." So as we can see, this is a concept that has been around for a very long time!

A more familiar quote is "Mighty oaks grow from little acorns" or "Great oaks from little acorns grow" no doubt rings a bell to most readers. Again, saying that sometimes small and modest can become very large and impressive with time.

We start our business initially by using the skills we have learned. The most important structure we create needs to have a strong foundation so that it can build from small beginnings into what we want to create with our time and expertise in the future. Being aware of our own skillset and what the required skills are for success for the enterprise is all important.

Great things or people often have humble origins. With the correct structure and people in place it is possible to create what we want. Being in business is a learning curve for us all.

Working with clients now over many years I have discovered that for a solo operator to become successful they must be aware of their own innate gifts. By understanding this, one can then find the people they need to surround themselves with to create the success that they want. This must be a win-win for all concerned and joint venturing or collaborations work well today for small business owners.

I find that people go into business these days more out of necessity as they cannot find the job or work that they want. We are fortunate to be able to start out on a shoestring and work from home, which was not always possible. As the economy changes and people need to become more creative, we find that interesting businesses are arising from no-where, often from hobbies or a creative urge for survival.

Being in business takes a survival instinct, a creative bent and a courage that makes it all possible.

Many businesses start with little or no funding other than lots of persistence, sweat and tears, along the way. To believe in oneself and the skills that each of us has is the biggest quality that is needed initially. Once we have been able in our head to create and see the vision of what we want to build, we then need to understand our WHY for wanting it.

Many business people understand and know the WHAT of their business. Without the WHY, which is what will make it blossom, failure is often inevitable.

It is important to firstly know your 'why' for creating your business. Once you understand this you can then look at the 'what', then 'who' you need, 'where' and 'when' you need it and lastly 'how' are you going to make it happen?

Dependent on the personality of the business owner, they will need to have the correct two people around them who will balance out the business skillsets. This process is found through 'Wealth Dynamics' created by Roger Hamilton. This is a thinking profile which supports solo and small business owners to greater success.

So, are you ready to grow from something small to something large?

If you answer yes, I will ask you 'Why'. I would then go through the series of questions using the above words to work with you. Understanding and having goals are necessary for you to build your business. Knowing how to plan and time your business is important to as many businesses grow too fast without the correct infrastructure, and inevitably run out of funds or the foundations crumble.

Owning a business is the most freeing and creative endeavour a true entrepreneur can do. It is important that you have more than the technical skills though as understood the Michael Gerber's book 'The E-Myth - Revisited'. A MUST READ for all business owners. Too many people starting a business are the technician not the entrepreneur.

Being an entrepreneur is about taking initiative and risks, in the attempt to make a profit. This is not as easy as it sounds as many people find out who have tried. Find the people to put around you who can help you grow your creation using their skills along with your ideas and innate gifts.

One of the most important things that a business owner needs to do is learn to understand themselves. Start, if you haven't already, to do personal development. Getting to really know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses and what makes you tick will be the greatest gift you can give yourself. Only by learning about yourself can you really grow and be successful.

The gift of a successful business owner is being able to go to bed at night and sleep well. If you toss and turn and become sleep deprived, you will make mistakes and not make good decisions for your future.

So, I say, grow yourself and then grow your business.

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Mindfulness & Wellness

You're probably wondering what mindfulness and wellness, could possibly have to do with each other? And it is indeed a good question.

Somewhere in the early 70's, when the world was recovering from war and recession, there was some time to look around and be aware of the overall situation. Clinical psychologists noticed that people were far less attentive to their surroundings and almost oblivious to the things happening in their life with every passing second!

This may not seem like a problem when we talk on a second to second basis, but when we take into account an entire day or week or even months, it becomes a form of unconscious neglect. We start neglecting small things and soon we start neglecting important things. Mindfulness is a concept, appropriated from ancient Buddhist roots, and clinically innovated by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The idea of mindfulness involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one's subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective. It involves having absolute focus on our actions and as someone wisely said, Actions have consequences!

With respect to wellness, mindfulness plays a very important role, considering that wellness depends on the fundamental principle, that one knows he is unwell.

So, with that simple idea in mind, let's begin.

Understanding Mindfulness

• Mindfulness is not as much about paying attention on the good things, as it is about not paying attention to the bad things. If there are ideas or thoughts that make you feel down and negative, it is important to keep in mind that you aren't supposed to be focused on them.

• Mindfulness connects areas of the brain that deals with the cognitive functions and attention. The process involves paying attention to the details and not missing out on important things.

• There is growing evidence that mindfulness can alter the brain and the resulting triggers "the relaxation response" that can turn sets of genes on or off.

• Making mindfulness part of your life can be life changing and your health and general wellbeing will greatly benefit from it.

If we look at it from a logical point of view, it makes absolute sense that mindfulness and wellness make complete sense.

Example:

You fall sick and go to the doctor. You're diagnosed with flu. Easy, get your dose of antibiotics and drink plenty of water. You'll be spick and span before you know it!

But take a quick rewind, to the week right before you fell sick and went to the doctor.

Remember that discomfort in your throat? The one you cleared by drinking water?

And then there was the time you sneezed. Not once, a few times every hour. That was ignored since you blamed it on the pollution.

If you follow the chain, you'll find another hundred small symptoms that led to the eventual disease. And that is when you realise you've been neglecting the signals.

Another example:

You failed your math test. You're absolutely sad and feel really bad about it. So you talk to your family and friends, spend a day or two crying it out. That is logical.

But then for some reason, you decide to keep talking about it. The most common among these habits, is the initial post mortem of the question paper! You'll do everything to spot that one error the teacher made.

If someone stops you, you justify it by saying, "I am learning from my mistakes!" Correction. That is not learning from your mistakes that is not being able to go past your mistakes.

Mindfulness, is about being aware of every single moment. Because each and every moment you are contributing to your wellness. Mindfulness focuses the human brain on what is being sensed every moment, instead of on its normal rumination on the past or on the future. Although science doesn't have all the answers yet about the relationship between mindfulness and wellness, it is thorough that the physical changes in the brain have a direct influence on improved health.

Impact of Mindfulness on Wellness

1. Avoid stress

When we are mindful of each and every moment, we are in control of our mind. This control allows us to avoid unnecessary stress and worry. We learn to take things as they come.

2. Better Productivity

Mindful people, on record show better productivity than people who keep focusing on their past or their future too much. Those who live in the present and enjoy it, win.

3. Better Health

Overall health gets the undivided attention it needs. As discussed in one of the examples, when we live life worrying about everything, we ignore or neglect the things here and now. Mindfulness ensures that we pay more attention to our health.

4. Increases Mental Acuity

Mindfulness is not simply about awareness, it also includes observation. So when you are mindful, you are also being acutely observant of all the things around you. This increases mental acuity.

5. Helps with Coping

When we are mindful, we cope better with things. We become aware of what affects us and in what way. This leads us to avoid negativity and heal faster.

Mindfulness has been used in psychotherapy as a tool to deal with mental stress, tensions, anxiety and a whole host of other problems.

The truth is, we are all running. Running towards something, running away from something! But we are running. This chase has led us to a stage where we don't take a moment to stop and think, "This moment is never going to come back!"

We prepare for a future that is not promised and we think of a past which we cannot change. Instead, why not simply choose to live the present and be mindful of every moment? Sounds like a much better deal to me.

Good news is, with the advancement in technology, many Apps and tools have been created to help with mindfulness. If you want to be helped with relaxing faster, increasing your productivity, getting rid of stress and anxiety, and much more, this FREE 10 best Apps guide will help you greatly.

Click Here to Download Your FREE Guide

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Why Time Is More Important Than Money

After grocery shopping today, I drove an additional five minutes to a different store. It had a few items that were cheaper than the first. I am a person who likes a great deal, and I didn’t mind the extra time it took to get it.

I wouldn’t say that is always the case. Over the summer, I turned down a big project in order to be able to spend the week lounging at the beach. I rarely turn down a work project—especially a lucrative one. It was an especially gorgeous week at the Jersey Shore, though, and they don’t come that often.

My bank account may have been lower than I wanted after skipping the project, but the memories of that sunny week last me all cold winter long. I adore time spent doing something that renders me utterly blissful such as ocean swimming. My life isn’t a fairytale, though. I did return to work and have been busting my butt ever since.

A recent study in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that people who value their time more than pursuing money were happier. In a series of six studies, the researchers asked more than 4,600 participants questions such as whether they would prefer pay more rent for an apartment with a short commute or a pay less rent for an apartment with a long commute. Just more than half of respondents said they valued their time over money, and overall they were happier than those who said making money was more important than their time.

“It appears that people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritizing time is associated with greater happiness,” says lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia.

Whillans says that gender and income did not affect whether people valued one aspect over the other.

What’s It All Worth?

When I heard about this study, I knew it demanded more exploration. Are we more likely to appreciate time more than money when we are (likely) older and more financially stable? Do some people value their time more because they know money doesn’t buy happiness? Or are we a generation that cares more about pleasant experiences instead of padded bank accounts? Can we value our time and make big bucks, or do we have to choose one over the other?

Clearly, I can’t take every other week off to work on my tan. Making the effort to take time off for things I enjoy and cannot always do is more important than raking in big bucks, so long as it’s in moderation and I can pay that darn mortgage each month.

Certainly, if you have a lot of discretionary income, you may be able to use it to free up your time. I have a wealthy friend who decided to hire a landscaper so he could devote time to his children instead of ignoring them while mowing the lawn. Another person may prioritize the peacefulness of gardening over spending time doing something else.

What if you do not have all that extra income to hire house cleaners, grocery shoppers and whatnot? You may trade off in other ways: You may not mind spending an extra hour venturing to two grocery stores instead of one to nab the best deals. You may, however, take the money saved and put it toward that landscaper in order to allocate more time for whatever makes you joyful. 

In short, there are no easy answers. We generally prioritize one thing over the other depending on our core values, but that can change at different times during our lives. If we know we can be happier putting more emphasis on our time than making money, though, maybe we should try it.

Love Your Time

Want to start valuing your time a little more because you believe it will make you happier? Whillans suggests changing the way you spend your money. Work fewer overtime hours, spring the extra $20 for a cab home if the bus is going to take longer, or go to the pricier grocery store that’s closer to your home so you have more time for things you enjoy.

“The key is making sure that in addition to using money to have more time, people also spend their free time in better ways,” Whillans says, adding that “better ways” would include devoting time to things that make you happy. For some of us that means lounging on a beach, while others want to spend time with family and friends. My guess is that you can make extra time but if the thing you do with it does not make you content, you probably won’t be happier in general. Being aware of what makes us genuinely happy is also a must so you can put that time to good use.

Another way to value your time is to let others know it. Let your clients know you clock off at 5 p.m. on Fridays to take the weekend off—then don’t respond to emails until Monday to prove your point. Be upfront about your time constrictions.

You may have a job at a company that wants to prove they value you by showing that they value your time.  Whillans is working with a few organizations to develop ways they can show they respect their employees’ time, and help them get more out of it. For example, one company assigns “do not disturb” time periods when internal instant messages cannot be sent.

“Providing employees with the ability not to check emails after 5 p.m., or rewarding employees for their hard work with extra vacation days, can send the signal to employees that their company cares about their personal time, thus enabling employees to empower themselves to prioritize their time versus having more money,” Whillans says.

http://www.success.com/blog/why-time-is-more-important-than-money