Reflection, Deflection, and Celebration

19 Dec

Take advantage of this wonderful time of the year to network!

This season is one of reflection and celebration. As I pulled out the decorations for my tree, I decided to scale back a great deal and simplify. My first reason was to have less work putting it all away after the first of the year. This reflected my approach to this past year where I scaled back from writing this blog – Hopepreneurs – for a season after the death of my husband. I’ve thought about letting it go but keep coming back to my passion to help women entrepreneurs find their path to success. Here are some insights rom this season.

Reflection

It’s a good time to sit with a pen and pad of paper to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year. Write down everything as it pops into your head. This might be a good time to create a ‘mind map’ of all the things you’ve been able to do and the challenges you’ve faced. Don’t limit it just to your business. A good sentence to get you started would be, “I am excited that I was able to ….” Reflect on what worked, what you were able to do well, and on what you want to repeat in the future. There will also be those things that you wish you could change. Write those down as well. Don’t beat yourself up about them. Instead, let go of the guilt and use them as a way to learn and grow.

Hope Conclusions

I had the opportunity to travel this year with my Dad. These times together on a trip to Costa Rica and a cruise to Alaska created priceless memories. I also set my priorities around a major accomplishment of getting a new book written.

Deflection

The most important part of this process is to take the list that you have created and look at the areas where you felt you made a mistake or were disappointed in the outcome. What did you learn in this process? What will you do next time? Forgive yourself, learn from it and transform your life. Make this a passage to new understanding and compassion. Shift your thoughts from unrealistic expectations of yourself and others to forward movement in the right direction.

Hope Conclusions

I had a surprising turn in my professional life where a door shut abruptly. It was unexpected and hurtful yet has taught me that I must focus on the things that only I can do. I will be happiest in these roles.

Celebration

This one is my favorite! What do you celebrate on your list? What breakthroughs, transformations and challenges propelled you forward? I celebrate that I finished the first draft of a new book titled The Power of Hope in Mourning: Ride the Waves to Comfort. It has been a difficult time yet one of tremendous growth and change.

Hope Conclusions

I celebrate the person I am becoming. I celebrate the relationships that I have retained and the new ones that I’ve cultivated. I celebrate the completion of a major project – my book. I am excited to move forward into next year.

What are you celebrating as you close out 2014?

Author, speaker, corporate trainer and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. To increase hope and make difference in your business, click here.

Keep Going

11 Nov

Celebrate Progress rather than Perfection

As a woman entrepreneur it’s important to remain focused on where you are headed. Our lives can become very complicated and busy. In the midst of that hustle and bustle, take a few minutes every day to get quiet. Think about your goals and determine what you can do that day to move closer to that goal. Here are a few tips to help keep focused.

Capture your thoughts on paper.

You can feel overwhelmed by all that you have to do when it’s all floating in your head. Set aside 15 – 20 minutes to write down everything that you have to do. Don’t categorize this as personal or business. Your thoughts are random so get them on paper. Once they are written down you can put them in categories.

Get a picture of what you want to accomplish.

We process our thoughts in pictures. How do you see success? What do you want your business to accomplish? Why do you want to have a thriving business? The more crystal clear this ‘vision’ becomes the more you become willing to do the hard things to make it a reality.

Put words around the picture you’ve just seen.

Most of you have heard Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” He described his picture of racial equality in such a way that others felt the compelling desire to join this dream and make it a reality.

Share your vision cautiously.

Many will not understand what you want to accomplish until you reach the point where you gaining traction. Often it is those closest to you who will try to talk you out of the ‘crazy’ idea. Find those who ‘get’ what you’re talking about and start taking steps in that direction.

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Keep going in the right direction. You can do this.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. To increase hope and make difference in your business, click here.

Shine Hope into Dark Places

9 Dec

Let your light of hope shine into dark places

How can you shine your light of hope into dark places? Let’s get the discussion going.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, click here.

Ten Amazing Hope Boosters

3 Dec

We live in a negative world so it’s important to build up our Hope Reservoir. Here are ten ways to increase your level of hope.

Take time to smell the flowers

1. Do something for someone else

The quickest way to pull the plug on your hope reservoir is to become self-absorbed. When feeling despair, look around to see who needs some help. It can help you regain your perspective quickly and cause you to recognize the things for which to be thankful. Buy someone some flower. Sweep their sidewalk or shovel their snow.

2. Go outside and take a brisk walk

There are two parts to this hope restoration technique. The first one is that the sun provides vitamin D that help you feel better. The other is that as you walk you will get your blood circulating more effectively to your brain. This in turn will cause you to think more clearly and, as a result, feel better.

3. Laugh

Laughter releases endorphins – the feel-good chemicals in your brain. It’s possible to teach yourself to laugh. I encourage you to take your mistakes lightheartedly and to find the humor in your most difficult situations. I often tell myself, “Self, this is going to be a great story when I tell it later.”

4. Listen to upbeat songs

Music has a way of reaching our very soul. Our brains are affected by the melody and rhythm. Choose songs that make you feel better and lyrics that encourage your participation to sing along. If you are a musician, get out your instrument and make you own music. Sing along and raise your hope level.

5. Try a new recipe and invite someone over to share the deliciousness

I personally do not usually use recipes. It’s probably because the cooks I’ve been around, just always seemed to have a feel for how much of any given ingredient to add to the soup. There is also great encouragement in sharing a meal and bonding as we break bread together.

6. Learn something new

Hope increases as we open our minds to new pathways and possibilities. The other hope boost comes from interacting with others. Get out of your comfort zone and learn to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Make a list and ask others who do that well to show you how to do it. You’ll be pleased to see what you can accomplish.

7. Talk to hope-filled friends for a positive contagion

You become like who surround you. If you want to have amazing hope levels, surround yourself with positive, encouraging people. You may have to get away from certain people until you are stronger. Hope is contagious and can set the tone for your home, job and life.

8. Remember your favorite Bible verse or inspirational quote

Truth sets us free. What inspires you to have hope. My favorite hope verse is Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I have this one memorized. I have it written on a card that is taped to the wall by my work computer.

9. Clean out a closet, off your desk/briefcase/purse

Pick a spot and start cleaning off the clutter. Get rid of stuff. Use the one year rule – if you haven’t used it in a year – donate it to someone who can use it. Hope increases as we get a handle on our lives and what is happening around us.

10. Sign up to volunteer for a cause you believe in

Get involved in a worthy cause. You will feel like you’re making a difference and you will be interacting with others. That’s a wonderful hope-filled combination.

What are some ways that you boost your hope? I would love to hear from you.

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. She is a certified facilitator with Kauffman Foundation’sFastTrac. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching to accelerate your personal and professional growth.

Ten Good Reasons to Clean Off My Desk

3 Sep

10 Good Reasons to Clean Off Your Desk As a solopreneur who works at home, I usually have a cluttered desk. While I know it’s not good, it’s easy to let it stay that way. Here are the reasons I’ve used to convince my mind to declutter this desk and, most importantly, to keep it that way.

10. Save time

I save time because I have what I need at hand.

This was the last straw for me as I got ready for a trip and was rushing around at the last-minute because I couldn’t find something very important that I needed to take with me. Now that I have implemented my system and am keeping up with it, I find that I am much more effective and thorough.

9. Find lost items

I am able to find what I need to get my work done.

Once I removed the clutter, I could see exactly what I have done and what I need to do. I am less overwhelmed when there is order. As I removed layers of clutter, I found the charger for the video camera that I had lost. (Plus many other things that I was able to release.)

8. Share with others

I have had so much fun finding others to bless with my extra office supplies.

I was wasting money and time by buying supplies that were in my office somewhere. It’s a good feeling to help others as well especially as we get close to the start of school.

7. Make better decisions

As I get rid of what I don’t need, I hone my decision-making skills.

I held on to stuff for two reasons: 1)I might need it one day; 2)I can come up with a creative way to use it. I’ve given myself permission to give it away and buy the supplies later if I find I need them. It’s quite likely that day will never come. Every time I make a decision, I feel stronger and more capable. It may sound silly, yet I know this will help me in the days ahead.

6.Delegate effectively

I can decide how others can help me.

When I am overwhelmed, I can feel like no one can help me get out of this hole. Now I am beginning to make a list of how others can help me. I am ready to delegate and am looking for a Virtual Assistant.

5. Get your work done

I give myself permission to ignore my desk while working on a project.

My new habit is simply to clean up as I wrap up my work day. That, in itself, requires discipline.

4.Maintain easily

I maintain a cleared desk by putting my things away each evening.

This saves me time because I no longer have to dedicate a day (or week) to going through things.

3. Promote life balance

I now clean up my work project before starting on my personal ones.

When you work from home your work and personal life often blend together. While the flexibility is is nice it can lead to being overwhelmed and afraid to take time off.

2. Multiplied energy and enthusiasm

Walking into my clutter-free office makes me smile.

When I smile I have more energy and enthusiasm to focus on all that I want to carry out today.

1. Sense of freedom and happiness

As I have everything that I need (and want) I am free to accomplish my purpose.

I am not sidetracked by ‘stuff.’ A clean desk is more a sign that I am free because I no longer have the need to hang on to things that I’m not using.

Let me know the progress you make in your quest to keep a clean desk. Also, did any of these reasons resonate with your situation?

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. She is a certified facilitator with Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching to accelerate your personal and professional growth.

10 Surefire Ways to Knock Out the Undesirables on Your To-Do List

22 Mar

Check off that to-do listThe first quarter of the year is rapidly drawing to a close along with the TO-DO list items that keep getting transferred every day. Here are great answers answers to the following question I put on the HOPEpreneurs Facebook page:

“I have some things on my TO-DO list that keep getting transferred over to the next day. This is mainly because I don’t like to do them. What advice do you have for me to get them done before the end of the year?”

1. Write down each on a separate piece of paper.

Fold it  and drop it in a bowl. Randomly draw one each day. Now, you only have one thing you don’t like on your list!

Jan Harrison – Speaker/Trainer/Conference facilitator

2.  Do one at the FIRST of each day.

Reward yourself (walk, yoga, manicure, coffee) when complete. Good luck!

Gloria Miele – President of Optimal Development Coaching

3.  Do shortest one first.

Glenna Smart Castle

4.  Delegate.

Juliann Nichols

5.  Take little bites.

Momentum builds momentum…

Wayne Parnell

6. Reward yourself.

There are “to do” things that I love, which do not necessarily need to be done soon, but always get done first. I reward myself with the “love to do” things after I have accomplished a “don’t like to do” thing

Nancy Denharder

7. Determine which ones can be handed off.

Get creative and trade, hire someone to do them or whatever else you need to do.
Mariaemma Pelullo-Willis

8. Dig in and get it done now.

Focus on what’s important to you. Stop procrastinating, because time and energy are needed for your Christmas duties. Besides, think of all the fun you’ll have once these tasks are behind you.
Larry Freeman

9. Set the timer.

Set aside a specific period of time to work on a big project. Stick with it until the timer goes off. You will be amazed at how much you get done.
Karen Sebastian – Founder of HOPEpreneurs

10. Get an accountability partner.

Find someone you can trust to hold you accountable. Make a plan and stick with it. Set dates to complete tasks and get them done.

Overcoming 3 Barriers to Success

4 Sep

Learn as you go - make progressIt’s hard to reach new levels of accomplishment both as an individual and as an entrepreneur. As we expand out of our self-imposed ‘comfort zone’ we can often find the greatest resistance in our minds. Recently, I took a challenge to record and post a video every day for 30 days.  I’m thrilled to have made several videos despite the following three barriers that threatened to hold me back. Any one of these can slow you down and, when stuck in all three, you become paralyzed.

  • Procrastination – putting off critical decisions until later
  • People pleasing – looking for the approval of others
  • Perfectionism – waiting until everything is perfect before taking another step

Procrastination

I immediately started researching and looking for the best practices of producing videos. I started asking others for advice and planning what I would put together. My form of procrastination is not about being unwilling to work because I can get incredibly busy with a flurry of unproductive activities. Instead, it’s in planning and talking about what I want to do. And that’s where it can stop with no forward progress.

Hope Antidote

I overcome my fear of making critical decisions by moving forward and not waiting. I learn as I go because I make good decisions. Confidence in taking the next step eliminates procrastination and encourages others to come along.

Pleasing People

It’s important to be aware of others. At the same time, it’s impossible to please everyone. In fact, if I’m not careful that can become my full-time job. When it came to recording the videos, I took the equipment that I had and started. The great part was I actually got great advice from others and most of it was positive.

Hope Antidote

I care about what others think, yet do not let their opinions paralyze me and keep me from moving forward. Feedback from others helps to guide me in the right direction but does not set my course.

Perfectionism

Perfection is overrated. It’s a fictional state of being that can never be found because you can always find another reason why the project is not perfect.

Hope Antidote

My satisfaction comes from progress and I learn as I go.

I posted seven videos on my 30-day video challenge. That’s seven more than I would have created before I started. I had fun! I met some wonderful people who inspired and encouraged me. I’m glad I set aside my pathological procrastination, people-pleasing perfectionism. It’s thrilling to make progress.

How about you? What project is laying on the side of the road due to this trilogy of barriers to your success? Go back and pick it up again. Dust it off and start heading in the right direction.

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. She is a certified facilitator with Kauffman Foundation’sFastTrac. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching to accelerate your personal and professional growth.

10 Encouragement Boosters

7 Jul

Encouragement infuses hope or confidence of a positive outcome despite difficult circumstances. Let’s face it, we live in a challenging world. Current financial situations, personal issues, health issues, and difficulties in starting a profitable business can strip us of our joy and the resolve to move forward. Affirming words create an atmosphere where we can believe that things are going to be okay even in the midst of difficult times. It is not about ignoring the very real problems that exist but rather infusing courage to take the next step to resolve them.

1. Acknowledge tough times

How do you feel when someone makes light of the situation when they have no idea what you’re going through? Many times in our effort to help others in their struggles, we minimize the obstacles they face. Instead of strengthening their resolve, we demoralize them.   Do you remember how you felt as you were going from one grade into the next when in school? Just because you’ve made it through, don’t forget the struggles. Instead, reassure the person who comes to you that they have come to the right place to find a sounding board to help them work through these hard times.

2. Look at both sides of the issue

My friend, Michele Markey with SheVenture says, “No matter how flat the pancake is, it still have two sides.” Often those who are discouraged, are only looking at one side of the situation and it’s usually the downer side. Write down all the unfavorable conditions without saying them out loud. List them or put them in a web or mind map. The important part is to get them down on paper. Take a few minutes to number them with the greatest obstacle first.

3. Listen

One of the hardest things to do when someone is sharing their problems is to keep from jumping in with the perfect solution for them. The greatest gift you can give someone is to listen and ask questions that allow them to keep sharing what’s going on. Some people process as they talk so it’s hard to see them go in circles. If this happens, paraphrase what you’ve heard them say so far. This will help them to distill their information and get closer to a workable solution.

4. Set a timer for discussing the problems

The only danger with being a good listener is that the person you are trying to help regain their edge may get stuck in the negative cycle that pulls them down even further. I would suggest that you use a timer and agree on the amount of time they might need to discuss the problems. Otherwise, you will get pulled down also. Remember that you want to encourage  them and that won’t happen if you spend all your time looking at the negative side.

5. Shift the conversation to the positive

Once the timer has gone off, it’s time to change the channel and start looking at the positive side of the situation. This is very hard for some people. As the encourager ask questions like:

  • What’s the bigger picture here?
  • If you take a step back can you see some of the amazing things that are happening in your life?
  • What do you want to see happen in this situation?
  • What is one thing you’ve learned during this difficult time?
  • Who have you been able to help now that you have experience in this area?

6. Rebound by finding 5 things that are going well

After they answer the questions, inspire them to explore what’s going well or any good that has resulted from the difficulties. The goal of our lives should not be to take it easy but rather to grow, develop and become stronger as we overcome challenges. It’s about learning and growing. You may have to give the first one but after they get going, you will notice a marked shift. For more on the 5:1 ratio check out ABT in Action.

7. Express what you admire most about that person

Applaud their efforts and reassure them that they are unstoppable if they will move forward. Focus on the qualities that make them who they are and not on their appearance or what they’ve done. You don’t have to say a lot, in fact, most people will be a little uncomfortable with this part of the process since we rarely receive pats on the back.

8. Use honoring words

Honoring words are those that focus on your intrinsic value and character. Accentuating these positive qualities can become a life-long transformational habit. If you are at a loss to come up with words, create an alphabetic list of honoring descriptors. Add to it regularly.

9. Check in frequently

Establish a process of encouraging that person for several weeks. It doesn’t take a lot of time to reach out to them with a call, email, tweet of Facebook post. It doesn’t take much time to reach out and brighten their day. Additionally, you will begin to find renewed energy as you look for ways to encourage others.

10. Keep the momentum going

There are many avenues you can use to encourage others. Write a note in which you include the honoring words. Before long encouraging, reassuring, praising, restoring and strengthening others will become a way of life. What a great life it is!

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. She is a certified facilitator with Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching to accelerate your personal and professional growth.

3 Surefire Ways to Beat the Fear of Writing

24 Jun

3 Surefire Ways to Beat the Fear of Writing“Why does this business writing class have to be so long?” the man asked as he entered the classroom. I was welcoming him to a mandatory training to help supervisors/managers improve their documentation skills. As I began to ask questions, I listened carefully to his words and demeanor.  Before long he confessed that he was very nervous about his writing skills because this was one of his weak areas. Fortunately, by the end of the training session he was equipped with tools to overcome these barriers. For many people, the fear of writing ranks right up there with their fear of public speaking. Many of us experience writer’s block and postpone writing as long as possible. This blog explores three ways to face and beat the fear of writing.

Fear of failing.

For many of us, the fear of writing was instilled in school. I know I’ve cringed at all the red ink on the assignments I turned in. It made me want to just throw my hands up in despair. One of my daughters, spent the summer before going into high school writing stories and poems. It was a joy to see her give place to creative expression. Something happened early on in her English class. She had a teacher that was a harsh critic of every assignment she turned in. She came close to failing that class and I stepped in to help with the dreaded term paper so she wouldn’t fail the class. It was like the light had dimmed. She felt that there was no reason to even try because she could not succeed. There is something final about printed words and the way others can judge them.

HOPE Antidote

The best way to overcome past writing failures is to follow the old adage: “You have to get back on the horse that threw you.” Set aside the first few minutes of the day to write something. Turn off your inner critic and get it down on paper (or in the computer). There are many opportunities to start small by writing a blog or posting encouraging comments about what others have written. Join a writing club where others can give you feedback. Remember that writing is a skill not a dreaded assignment. When you run into those who criticize what you’ve written, check to see if there is merit to their advice. Adapt and move on. You’ll improve as you keep writing and learning.

Fear of making decisions.

I consider myself a creative person. That should make writing easier but it does not because my mind gets overloaded with the ways I could spin a topic. Have you ever noticed how much work goes into deciding what you are going to write about? It is the very nature of the way your mind works and all the connections you make as you begin to speculate on topics to write about. This decision-making process is what makes writing so challenging and tiring. Another term for this is decision fatigue.

HOPE Antidote

Mind-mapping is a wonderful tool to help you record your ideas on paper before making the commitment of writing the actual words. Our minds work in a broad, circular fashion as we freely associate seemingly unrelated thoughts. The writing process takes a more linear approach. Keep a running list of topics that relate to your blog theme. When inspiration strikes write it down.  Ideas for topics surround you. Also, here’s a link to a previous post that might help: Finding Topics.

Fear of making mistakes.

This hurdle is closely tied to both of the topics already mentioned in this blog. The technical mistakes can create major hurdles in setting up a blog. Ask for help if you need it and continue to keep writing because once you start, you will want to establish a consistent schedule. Everyone makes mistakes so set aside your perfectionism and get going.

HOPE Antidote

When you experience writer’s block, start typing something else to get the flow going. I like to start typing a quote about the topic I want to develop. Another tool I use is to look up key words in the Thesaurus. I write them down and that gets the creative juices going. The greatest hope antidote for the fear of making mistakes is to give yourself permission to make them and correct them as quickly as you can. In fact, I’ve made 7 mistakes already and so I know I’m making progress. Also, one of the wonderful things about a blog is that as soon as you spot that typo, you can go in and correct it immediately.

What other tips do you have for beating the fear of writing? What works for you?

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching

Sharing, Learning and Growing

23 May

Close your eyes and imagine that it is three years from today. You are walking in the door of your business. What do you see and hear? What are people doing? What does your business look like?

The women sitting in front of me are business owners  from various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is an eclectic group with a variety of business ventures ranging from textiles and chocolates to biotech benefiting the salmon industry.

Participants from Latin America - Listening to Your Business - FastTrac

They are here as part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Americas (“WEAmericas”), an initiative that leverages public-private partnerships to increase women’s economic participation and addresses key barriers women face when starting and growing small and medium enterprises.

My role is to facilitate  Kauffman FastTrac’s Listening to Your Business  – a three-year visioning workshop. A hush settles over the lively group as they open their eyes and start writing what they envision in the near future. Time flies as we talk about the importance of establishing an intentional internal planning process through setting special goals and establishing success strategies. They begin to share resources to reach their business goals.

Sharing Challenges

During the workshop, each woman introduced herself and shared her biggest challenges. They roughly fell into the following four buckets: 1) Growth; 2) Marketing; 3 )Finances and 4) Transitions. The visioning exercise helped them to focus more clearly on the steps to move past the barriers to see the desired success. Michele Markey, Vice President of FastTrac says, “This type of activity is often hard for entrepreneurs because they end up spending most of their time with their heads down to get the business started and keep it going.”

Learning

The biggest “AHA” moment was the need to take the time to find strategic solutions to the different challenges presenting themselves in each stage of the growth of their business.  As they created a chart of their goals, management style, planning characteristics and red flags they were able to pinpoint specific ways to move ahead. For some, it was realizing that they needed to delegate more in order to step back from the day-to-day operations to gain the perspective in a larger context.

Growing

My life was enriched by this opportunity to meet these talented women and to help them advance their entrepreneurial aspirations. Their action plans and future strategic focus will have a positive impact on their own business endeavors and on the economy of their nations. Many spoke of returning to encourage other women to become entrepreneurs. By sharing what they learned, they will network more effectively and grow as they give to back to others.

What challenges do you face as an entrepreneur? What are you learning? In what areas do you need to grow?

Karen Sebastian is a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed in your business. Subscribe to this blog for more inspiration on how to become a HOPEpreneur. Please email her at hopepreneurs@gmail.com if you would like to book her as a speaker or want one-on-one coaching.