---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- Being In Business Without Driving Yourself and Those Around You Nuts.
©2002, by Bal Simon, WealthCountry ---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=-----

As you run your business, are you filled with anxiety and concern? Many with whom I have communicated struggle, not only with their business, but with balance in life. If that's you, then you might find this article of use.

---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- Is this you #1?

You get up in the morning. You shoe the kids off to school and then head off to a full or part time job. While on the job, you are thinking about your business, wishing it were so successful that you didn't have to come to this blasted job anymore; could have time for the things you really wanted, etc. Then you get home. You're tired; the kids need to be taken to basketball, karate and tuba lessons, your spouse wants to talk about painting the bedrooms, and you wonder if you'll ever have time to place the ads you've been thinking about! Everyone goes to sleep, except you, and now you have about 90 minutes to collect your thoughts, figure out what you want to do and to do it all before fatigue sets in and you need to go to bed - just to start it up again!

---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- Is this you #2?

You get up in the morning - shoe the kids off to school, go to the espresso stand, get that latte (no foam), head back to the apartment (when you're a success, you'll have that house), and you start surfing the net looking for the right opportunities to join. You look at affiliate programs. You look at MLM programs. You look at the possibility of developing your own stuff, but wonder how to go about it. Before you know it, it's 3 in the afternoon, and time's a-wasted. The family will be back soon, and so you've got about 90 minutes to get all your activity to mean something. You feel overwhelmed and frustrated because yet another day's been shot!

---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- Is this you #3

You get up late. No kids; no job; just you. You think about going out, but all your friends are at their jobs (or looking for one). You're not really hurting for money, but know that it'll run out unless you either get a job or unless you make your business a success. But you find it difficult to get motivated. You turn on the news, watch a couple of shows and then have lunch. You go to the news sites on the internet; visit a couple of business opportunities on the web that you've been thinking about. Maybe today you'll sign up for the one with the really flashy web designs that they promise you can offer for big bucks. It's a bit pricey, but heck, you've gotta spend money to make money.

---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- Is this you #n?

(fill in the blank with your own story)

---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=----- At the end of the day - day after day - you have little to show for all the mental and emotional gyrations you put yourself through.

Well - you're not alone. And it doesn't have to be that way. No - you may not be able to alter some of the circumstances in your life (unless you really want to cut the bonds you have with your spouse, kids and friends); your health may be what it is, etc.

But you have a mind; you have what J. Samuel Bois called a "semantic reactor" (we'll go into what this refers to in a subsequent newsletter); and you have the ability to make your own destiny. Start right now. Here are some beginning steps to take - on a weekly or even daily basis:

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Consider: What's the one thing that you really want? For many who read this newsletter, the answer will be something like this: I want a successful ebusiness that generates real wealth, and I want this in the context of a happy home. Yours may be different. What is it. If there's more than one thing, get it down crisply on paper so that you can look it over.

Being able to look it over is very important. It enables you to look at it more objectively. It helps you repeat it to yourself as you consider various other aspects of your life to see if you are missing something in your statement.

Oftentimes, a person will find that he or she (s/he) HAS missed something. This enables revisions to get it right. Work on it. Boil it down to a statement as pithy and inspiring as you can make it. We're going to use that statement in a couple of steps.

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Sit or lie down quietly for five minutes. You can afford five minutes, can't you? Close those baby blues and focus on your breathing. Let the statement about what you want waft through your consciousness as you breathe. Imagine yourself attaining what you want and let a small smile come to your face if it wants to.

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At the end of this five minutes, forcefully make the following affirmation: "I will attain --- " and put the pithy statement you developed in number one in where the blank is, replacing "I want --- " with "I will attain --- " or "I will achieve --- " etc.

For example, suppose your statement in #1 was, "I want an internet based business that will let me retire by the time I am 35 years old, and I want to do it without sacrificing any of my personal dreams." Then for this step, your statement can be something like this: "I will create an internet based business that enables me to retire by the time I am 35 years old, and I will do so while keeping to all my personal dreams."

Repeat this affirmation 10 times, varying how you say it in terms of emphasis on different words, emotionality, speed, etc. Your goal here is to give the affirmation as much "dimensionality" as you can. You want it to be full bodied, something that has meaning for you even when you are fully engaged in other things.

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Now get active. List the top 5 actions you can take TODAY to make a start. If you come up with more than 5, that's great! But come up with at least 5. These actions should be self-contained. By this I mean, they must have a definite end point so that you can say, "Done!" For example, suppose you want to advertise in an ezine. You could write, "Advertise in Ezine A Go Go." A better way to write this action item, however, would be, "Place an ad in Ezine A Go Go." A subsequent step on another day or later in the same day could be, "Verify that the ad was received and that the ezine owner is going to run the ad." And still later, "Verify that the ad ran." Get the idea? These are specific actions that YOU can take without depending on someone else.

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Prioritize them. Which is the most important? Which is the least important? Work this list till you are OK with the priorities. It doesn't have to be perfect; but if there are some obvious first hit items, make sure they're at the top.

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Get busy! Do item #1 and don't stop till it's either done. Then go on to item #2, etc. If there are steps you can take in parallel, that's cool. It's your business. You answer only to yourself, so take this simply as a suggestion - not some edict that you must slavishly follow.

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Check off items as you complete them. If there's a big one that you perform, think of some way to celebrate it's completion!

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Anticipate your next moves. This should be casual, relaxed, and playful. Think about what you might next do now that you've taken some important steps. Do this a bit because tomorrow...

-1-
Consider: What's the one thing that you really want? For many who read this newsletter, the answer will be something like this: ...

====================================== Bal Simon is the owner of WealthCountry and the WealthCountry Club - a resource-intense hub of information and resources, including website and graphics design. Visit WealthCountry at http://www.wealthcountry.com/. Contact Bal at mailto:balsimon@wealthcountry.com. You may freely reprint this article as long as you don't alter it and as long as you keep this resource box with it as is.