Author Archive
Finding your Life’s Work
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“Finding your life’s work involves taking risks”.
Taking risks is non-negotiable when it comes to living your true purpose and calling. If you are unwilling to take risks, you’ll find yourself living in the safety of your comfort zone. You’ll have an idea of what to expect here, and yet it comes with a cost. Eventually you’ll find yourself making some type of sacrifice, either physically, emotionally, spiritually or financially if you choose to take up permanent residence in your comfort zone.
I read the quote above this week as I was perusing the book “Boundaries” by Doctors Henry Cloud and John Townsend. To be frank, it pierced my soul in deep places. I’ve always known this statement to be true, yet this week more than ever it has significant relevance to me personally. This is because on August 31st, 2010, I officially stepped into partnership with my friend and colleague Wendy Balman to create something new in the field of leadership development.
On the one hand, I am thrilled beyond words! The flip side is that this commitment feels risky and scary. Now that I’m “all in”, I am faced with managing the tension that comes with a major change such as this.
It’s all a part of a larger story that is being worked out in my life. For seven years I have been a solopreneur working as a professional certified coach. I knew I was on the target paper when it came to my business niche, yet I’ve known for years that I still hadn’t found the bulls-eye. I wonder if you can relate?
This season is one of taking ownership of who I am so I can “find my life’s work” and live in that sweet spot where I have greater impact with less effort. This was confirmed as I continued to read what Cloud and Townsend shared in the Chapter on Boundaries at Work.
“Finding your life’s work involves taking risks. First you need to firmly establish your identity, separating yourself from those you are attached to and following your desires. You must take ownership of how you feel, how you think and what you want. You must assess your talents and limitations. And then you must begin to step out as God leads you.” Henry Cloud & John Townsend
Are you willing (and ready) to take risks to find your life’s work?
Do you know how you feel, what you believe and what you want?
I highly recommend you take a moment to ponder these questions. As you head into the fall season in your life and business, now is the time to gain clarity around your answers. When you need support our team, which now includes Wendy, is here to partner with you. Contact us directly if you have questions or need more information beyond our website resources.
Take a stand today for your life’s work! Begin by making the risky choice to take ownership of your identity and embrace the unfolding story.
Bloom Where you’re Planted in your Business
Posted by: | CommentsThis week’s blog post is one that I shared as a guest blogger on the topic of building an authentic and sustainable direct sales business. Julie Anne Jones and I have been friends and colleagues now for over 7 years and to support her while on vacation, I offered tips and insight below. Be sure to learn more about Julie Anne by visiting her website and read on for insight that will help you find internal peace and external impact whether you have a direct sales business, are a self-employed entrepreneur or a woman with a full life!
In my work as a professional certified coach, I’ve found that women in business often look outside of themselves to gain answers to their questions for their lives and businesses, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
You definitely want to gather best practices and insight from the experts who are proven successes in their field because you can learn great tips from them. This is the blessing of working with companies like Julie Anne Jones, Inc., who have resources, coaching, and training to help you and your teams grow to the next level of mastery and excellence.
At the same time, you can become too outward focused to the point where you lose sight of who you are and what you want to create. If you spend all of your time gathering information from the experts, you can become distracted, overwhelmed and lose your focus which can become a curse that diminishes your results in both your business and your life.
So what’s the answer? In my opinion, it’s about learning how to bloom where you are planted by going inward to discover the answers that live within. Once you have this insight, you can blend this knowledge with tips from the experts to catapult you to a flourishing business that is sustainable and prosperous beyond your wildest dreams.
So how do you get there?
As coaches, we use a tool called the Wheel of Life which helps you assess your level of fulfillment and satisfaction in eight different areas of life, ranging from career, fun, family and finances to your spirituality. After working with this tool for over 6 years, I began to realize it took my clients out of the heart and into the head, leading them to answers outside of themselves as they tried to “figure out” how to build prosperous businesses and balance their careers with the other areas of their lives. The end result was often overwhelm, frustration and lack luster results.
I now use a new tool called the Flower of Life to support my clients in creating thriving lives and prosperous businesses. As you’ll see by the image to the right, the center of the flower is your spirituality where the core essence of the authentic you lives. The center of this flower represents the heart of you which holds the answers to your unique values, identity, mission and purpose. With this inner wisdom, you can use these filters to make purposeful and intentional choices which produce improved results in all areas of your life as represented by the petals of the flower. Notice the impact will benefit your business, relationships and more.
The bottom line here is that knowing who you are at the core provides you with filters (i.e. your values, identity, mission and purpose) that will propel your direct sales business to a new level, allowing you to flourish in your work as you thrive in your life at the same time.
Now is the time to bloom where you’re planted. Begin today discovering who you are within so you can flourish personally and professionally during this fall selling season.
© Copyright 2010, Shannon Bruce
Shannon Bruce, PCC is a Mompreneur Success Coach, Trainer and Co-Author of the book “Direct Selling Power: Expert Advice to Accelerate your Business”. As a catalyst for life transformation, Shannon empowers self-employed women to break through their barriers to reconnect with what really matters, calling them forth to boldly go after their inspired life vision with courage, confidence and authenticity. For more information about Shannon and her work you can visit www.shannonbruce.com and www.yourgreaterpurpose.com. Receive a free audio download of Shannon’s Direct Selling Telesummit Training on her book chapter, “Ignite your Passion and Live with Purpose” when you e-mail shannon@shannonbruce.com.
For the Sake of What?
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This question “For the sake of what?” is one that all business owners ask at some point. It doesn’t matter whether your business is in direct sales, if you are a professional coach or some other self-employed entrepreneur. There is a time when this question will be the question whether you are fully aware of it or not.
It’s a seemingly large and provocative question. As you read it, I wonder what’s happening for you in this moment? Where does it take you? You might be pondering your answer or perhaps, you are about ready to hit delete because the question seems overwhelming or irrelevant to where you are in life/work right now.
Wherever you find yourself, I invite you to sit and stay with me. Your answer to this question is crucial to your ongoing success in your life and business.
Yesterday was a perfect “real life” example of this for me. I blocked the entire day to work on administrative projects for my business, which I’d been resisting for months. With deadlines looming I could no longer put it off. Several times throughout the day I noticed that I was drained so I got up and walked around to shift my energy.
Quite frankly the work was sucking the life out of me so my thought was “thank goodness this isn’t my daily life anymore!” I also wondered if it would actually be easier to be an employee doing only work I love rather than dealing with these non-delegatable administrative items for my business.
When I asked myself “for the sake of what?” I was able to reconnect to my greater purpose for my business. The excitement around my deeper why gave me the energy to get back to my computer and work through “the list”. Today I am energized, celebrating and moving forward with clarity and freedom.
Not bad for six hours, huh?
So what about you. What will you do with this question?
Will you say “yes” to discovering your answer? If you need help, schedule a free information session to find out how professional coaching will support you. My book chapter in Direct Selling Power will also help you in the discovery.
Take some time to think about the question for yourself. Knowing your answer will give you clarity and guide you in a focused direction in the choices you make and the activities you engage, improving the results you achieve in your life and business.
I’d love to hear what you think. What’s next for you? Share your comments at the blog at www.shannonbruce.com.
Photo compliments of Photoxpress © Dariusz Kopestynski
The Path To True Fufillment Begins with You
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The longer I journey this path to true fulfillment I am reminded daily that there is no “one size fits all”. Your unique and rare blend of values, identity and mission are meant for you to discover, embrace and unleash for the benefit of the world at large. And news alert! You are also meant to understand these truths for the joy of your own fulfillment.
Yes, you get to enjoy you! You are beautiful! You are unique! And you deserve to embrace who you are and what you bring to others for the simple fact that when you do, you actually have more life and love available to share at home, in your community, your workplace and the world.
As little kids, you were probably told to stop bragging or boasting about yourself because it’s considered rude. For the most part this is true. However, as a little child with the inability to understand anything but black or white, you might have interpreted this comment to mean that it’s selfish and rude if you put any attention toward yourself and that you are meant to serve and give to others exclusively.
Carry this line of thinking forward into your adult life and now you deflect praise, are unable to receive thanks and put others needs before your own heart because it’s selfish otherwise right?
Wrong! This is such a lie and it’s worked for years in keeping you from discovering who you really are and the larger story you are meant to live out in the world.
So now what?
Renew your mind! Take captive every thought! Get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’!
And remember these poignant words shared in a speech by Nelson Mendela years ago:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be?
YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory that is within us. And as we let our light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
Author and international lecturer on spiritual, personal and political issues.
Owning your brilliance begins with overcoming your negative self-talk. If you need help, download our free tool to Empower your Voice Within and consider partnering with one of our coaches to overcome your obstacles as you discover who you really are as you create a life of freedom and true fulfillment.
A Time to Risk and Simplify
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“Simplifying is really about choices – prioritizing what is important – and then sticking to those choices no matter how tempting it is to add more to your to-do list. In fact, take those tempting activities and put them on a list of things not to do. You are the only one who can assume responsibility for your time and clarify what’s really important to you.” Rick Warren
In returning from the Destiny Project Retreat in Hunt, TX, I have a lot on my plate since I was “unplugged” from technology for 6-days. In clearing my e-mails, I received the quote in a devotional from a client and it literally stopped me and took my breath away. As I read it, the truths laser pierced my heart reminding me that at every given moment, I have a choice about how I “be” and “do” my life and work.
This idea that “I get to choose” is a hot topic for me post-Destiny Project retreat. I had the privilege of co-leading with my awesome friend and colleague Wendy Balman as we witnessed 13 incredible women break through their fears to reclaim the truth. Each one overcame barriers and courageously pressed through the resistance to give themselves full permission to dream again. It was beautiful process to watch as each and every one uncovered their authentic desires, values, identity, mission and more.
We all left the retreat transformed, including me and Wendy. As we all re-enter the “world” after experiencing a slice of heaven on earth, we are navigating how to boldly remain on our own paths, learning to guard our hearts as a wellspring of life. We choose to press on and persevere so we can become even more of the authentic masterpieces we are created to be.
What does this mean for you? It means this is a time to risk and simplify. Why? Because the world needs what you have to offer and the only way to unleash your true identity and to fulfill your unique mission is to follow the advice that Rick Warren has offered:
- Prioritize what is important.
- Stick to those choices no matter how tempting to add to your to-do list.
- Put those tempting activities on a “not-to-do” list.
- Assume responsibility for your time.
- Clarify what really matters.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked self-employed and work at home professionals to share their tips for balancing work and life in the summer months and beyond. The bottom line of their feedback is this: Schedule your work time and play time, let go of non-essentials and get support.
Here’s what I’m curious about for you:
- What changes do you need to make with your time as you schedule both work and play?
- What will you let go of?
- What support do you need?
All of this great advice is really about simplifying, yet clearly it’s risky based on the fact that so many, myself included, have such a hard time letting go of control. I encourage you to read the specifics that each friend shared as it could be helpful wisdom that guides in making the necessary changes in your life.
So now what? What’s your next step? I’d love to hear how you’ll simplify; feel free to share your comments at the blog at www.shannonbruce.com.
