I appreciate the positive energy and hope that a new year brings. At the same time, it can be overwhelming to navigate the plethora of information about resolutions, goals, strategies and more. The transition from a year end into a new one can be harsh and abrupt adding unnecessary stress if you’re not careful.

So in this first blog post of the year, I’m keeping it simple….

It’s a new year, so instead of resolutions and a long list of to do’s, how about a new word?

Yes, that’s right. Identify just one word that will guide you throughout 2011!

Consider the impact  this one word might have as it engages your heart, connects you to what really matters and guides you in taking purposeful action. Isn’t it time to simplify and bring true and lasting fulfillment, the kind that improves your life and contributes to others in a BIG way?

I want this to be your BEST year ever. You can begin right now when you decide to visit myoneword.org. Make the time to discover your “word” for this new year and let this be your anchor that keeps you centered in your core. If you want additional resources and support, be sure to sign-up for my monthly newsletter.

My word for this year is integration. What’s yours? Post yours at the blog and join as a community so together we can find our sweet spot where we have greater impact with less effort.

Your sweet spot is that place where Frederick Buechner defines as “finding where your great joy and the world’s need intersect and that is most likely where you belong.”

Now’s the time; what are you waiting for?

Picture Source: Book Cover of One Word: Contemporary Writers on the Words They Love or Loathe, Molly McQuade asks the question all writers love to answer: what one word means the most to you, and why?

Do you want more joy in your life and revenue in your business? If your answer is “yes” you might be shocked when I tell you “how” to go after the “more”.

Just say “No!”

You’re probably thinking, “really?” Could “no” actually be the answer to “more”?

Absolutely and here’s why. If you say yes to every opportunity, invitation, possibility or activity for your life, your kids’ lives and/or your business you will eventually run out of resources and you will crash just like a computer that has too many windows open. By saying “yes” to every suggestion or request, you are letting other people’s agendas drive your life and your business. Saying “no” can put you in charge instead.

Where do you need to exercise “no”?

In your life?

Your business?

Or both?

Pursuing too many opportunities is not the true path to success or fulfillment. The “more” you desire will come when you exercise your “no” and you streamline your life to achieve greater impact with less effort.

What will you say “no” to?

What accountability and support do you need  to begin?

By making a commitment to”no” you can reclaim your life and your business. Join me by sharing your “no” by posting your comment at the blog where you can read my comment as well. And, if you need a new relationship with the word “no” contact me to find out how relationship coaching can support you in the process.

Start saying “no” and watch less become more!

Picture courtesy of Photoxpress © Robert Mobley

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

In my expert call for the Direct Selling Telesummit, Sallie Meshell asked me this question: “Sometimes people listen to these calls, but then don’t take action, so what is the one action step you suggest the listeners take to incorporate your information into their businesses?” Before I share my answer to this question, I want to give some background to set the stage for my response.

My message in the book, “Direct Selling Power: Expert Advice to Accelerate your Business“ is not a traditional message. Essentially, it’s a message of “slowing down” in order to “speed up”. After coaching women in the industry for 7 years, along with being a leader in my own direct sales business, I’ve come to realize how vital it is to understand who you are in business and the unique values, mission and success you wish to create, not just for your business but also for your life.

You might be wondering why I see this as so important. Let me explain further.

At some point in your business you’ll go through a transition that requires you to reevaluate and assess where you’re headed and what you really want. These transitions could be as exciting as learning how to balance your life and business because of your team expansion and your rising up to the next level of leadership. It could also be the result of a lull in your business where you aren’t achieving the results you desire or envisioned.

Whatever the case, it becomes a crossroad point of choice inviting you to “slow down” in order to “speed up”. During this “slowing down” point, you need to look inward to gain the internal clarity and truth that is right for you, helping you make purposeful choices that will keep both your business and your life thriving.

What happens if you don’t look inward at this point? You run the risk of:

• Becoming overwhelmed and scattered which causes you to feel fragmented.
• Working harder with less impact yet expecting different results (aka “insanity”).
• Experiencing diminished results at home and in your work making you feel ineffective.

On the flip side, as you slow down and work through the exercises from my chapter “Ignite your Passion & Live with Purpose: A Guide to a Thriving Life and Prosperous Direct Sales Business”, you’ll come to understand your personal values, identity, mission, purpose and personal definition of success.

These filters provide a point of reference for making conscious, intentional and empowered choices that will bring internal peace and joy and greater results with less effort. In essence, your slowing down actually propels you beyond!

The truth is every business owner (and woman for that matter), needs to continually reevaluate and assess to make sure you’re on track to the inspired life you desire. After all, Alice in Wonderland was told, “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there.” Why not be proactive, rather than reactive?

My answer to the question Sallie asked was simple:

• Block time in your calendar today by scheduling a non-negotiable appointment with yourself in the next few days.
• During this time, evaluate on a scale of 1-10 how satisfied you are in your life and business.
• Once you have your answer, decide what changes will improve the quality of your life and business? If you’re already at a 10, what more is possible? If you’re less than a 10 what action step will bring greater impact and fulfillment?

I assert that this time with yourself is not optional but rather a non-negotiable. Yesterday I actually shared, “Self care isn’t selfish; its essential to live out who you are completely.” What do you think?

We’ve all heard the quote that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. What’s the intentional step you’ll take today? Share your comments at the blog and contact me if you’d like a recording of yesterday’s call.

Enjoy your time to yourself; may it propel you into all that you hope for and imagine!

Photo Courtesy of PhotoXpress © Gale Distler

Remember that commercial years ago where  a woman is overwhelmed and frustrated by the many demands for her attention? She finally took a stand and declared “Calgon, take me away!” This woman was really onto something that I think bears repeating. Her declaration points to the truth that we all need to step away from the chaos and demands of life to slow down, pause, breathe, check in and reassess.

So what about you? Could you use a “Calgon” break? Permission granted…Go for it! Maybe it’s not a bubble bath, but it could certainly be a ten-minute break to breathe or go for a quick walk. Or how about sitting down to eat your lunch at the table rather than “on the go” or standing up?!

At some point, you will get caught up in the “doing” and “serving” others through your business and your life that you barely have time to think, let alone feel.  Some of you might press in and push through, while others shut down and just stop all together. In either scenario, you’ll reach the point where you are ineffective and unproductive forcing you to reevaluate.

So what’s the answer?

The answer is this: give yourself permission to pause. Take a quick assessment right now and contemplate the following questions.

• What are you currently experiencing internally? Are you at rest inside? Or are you feeling chaos within? Name what you notice.

Once you tune in to what’s happening in your internal world, take a look at what’s going on externally by answering these questions.

• What’s working?
• What’s not?
• What really matters?
• What changes are needed?

Your answers to these questions will reveal some powerful truths. However, you’re just scratching the surface at this point.

There are actually deeper truths that need to be accessed.  This internal wisdom will actually help you on the front-end to be proactive in your life and business rather than reacting to the shut-down or burn-out that comes after you hit the proverbial wall.

When you give yourself permission to glean this inner wisdom, you’ll discover your true identity and life mission which reveals your purpose. With this information, you have filters for your choices and you can design a path to the life you’re intended to live. This keeps you anchored in peace while achieving greater impact and tangible results with less effort in both your life and your business.

There’s actually a coaching journey that can help you tap into these deeper truths. It’s called The Destiny Project and this week it went virtual under one website location with it’s own unique brand, identity, mission and purpose. What’s really cool about this journey is that it provides enough structure to keep you moving forward, blended with enough process that takes you deeper into the learning of who you truly are at the core.

Many say they don’t have enough time to dream because there’s too much to do.  How about you? What do you think?

What if the question isn’t how can you afford to dream, but rather the question was how can you afford not to? I invite you to contemplate this in your “Calgon” moment as you exercise your permission to pause.

Post your comments at www.shannonbruce.com; I’d love to read your thoughts and be sure to check out the new website because it’s pretty amazing! Thanks Michael Warden and Josh Tilton.

Photo Provided by www.photoxpress.com, Copyright Julia Britvich

What do these three scenarios have in common?

• Your 1^st grader comes to you and says “Mom, can I get a cell phone please?”
• Your three year old cries for cotton candy for breakfast.
• Your 14 year old assures you she can drive and begs you to drive the car by herself.

Hopefully, in all cases, you would say “Absolutely not!”  There would be no negotiating whatsoever with these situations. The limits are set for very good reasons. A six year old is too young to have a cell phone. Cotton candy is not healthy for breakfast. It is against the law to allow a 14 year old to drive a car. There are other situations, with your children, where some amount of negotiating may be allowed. You may bend the rules a little because there is no real harm in doing so. But, as the parent, you decide the limits because you know what is best for your children.

Protecting your time and energy is handled in much the same way. You decide what limits need to be put in place to protect two very valuable resources. What happens when we don’t set boundaries with our time and energy? We over commit, overwork, oversleep, run late, and ultimately, get overstressed. Putting three non-negotiable limits on your time and energy help you to honor some amount of structure in your life. These three limits are designed to help you make healthy choices for your life so you can optimize your time and energy. The three non-negotiables are never or rarely negotiated.

Some examples include:

• I will go to bed by 10:30 every night during the week.
  
• There is a limit of only 1 extracurricular activity per child per semester.
  
• I will not exceed 45 hours per week working.

Think about your time and energy. Is your time being spent on the activities that are most important to you? What robs you of your precious energy? What limits would help you get the most out of your time and energy?

Weekly Action Opportunity:

Decide your 3 non-negotiables. Write them down and post them on the refrigerator. Honor and protect them just like you would your children.

A special thank to my friend and colleague Lori Radun, who is our guest blogger while I am away from the office. Thank you Lori for the inspiration to get clear on our “non-negotiables’!

Lori is a certified life coach and founder of Momnificent! Lori’s mission is to empower moms to minimize stress, create high quality relationships, balance their many roles and take action on what’s most important to them so they can have magnificent lives, families and businesses.  To join her community of magnificent moms, visit www.momnificent.com.

OK, let’s get real. Are you overwhelmed by too much information? It’s a blessing to have readily accessible information at your fingertips 24-7. However, the curse is that there’s an overwhelming abundance of “too much”. So much so that I’m inviting you put yourself on an information diet!

Let me set the stage as to why I think this is important. Last week I had a conversation with a colleague about the impact of being plugged in to so much information. We both agreed that having access to the collective wisdom and brilliance of so many people  provides not only inspiration and practical tips, but also calls forth new directions, opportunities and possibilities.

Just like a coin however, there is a flip side. We’ve both found that too much information can become distracting, overwhelming and worst case, it can cause you to question your value, abilities and direction.

If you’re like me, you might often find yourself reacting to what shows up in your in-box feeling obligated to read all of the newsletters, blogs, daily devotions, tips, and inspiration that you’ve signed up for. The challenge is that it can become all consuming to the point you end up working more than you’d like, once again compromising what really matters. Not to mention it can totally diminish your self-worth and esteem.

If any of this resonates for you, my suggestion is that you go on an information diet. Just like you cut back on your food intake to focus on becoming physically healthy, an information diet is about reducing the volume of content you read so you become emotionally healthy and can thrive in your life and work.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting you eliminate everything. I am encouraging you to become tuned in and aware so you can decide what content to decrease as you guard your heart.

Here are some questions to ponder and some potential next steps:

1. Does this information add value to your life or work or is it a distraction? If it’s a distraction, consider opting out.
2. Are you energized and inspired by the information or do you feel drained or defeated? If you are drained and defeated, it might be time to opt out.
3. Do you read the information or do you just delete it? If you’re deleting it you aren’t reading it anyway so clear out the volume of e-mails by opting out.
4. Is it all good and yet there’s just too much? Rate what you receive on a scale of good, better and best and opt-out of the good so you have time for the better and best.

Clearing and purging information that is no longer life giving or relevant to where you are in your life and work will have massive benefit to you. It will free you up emotionally because you will have more energy available to focus on what’s truly important. It will also help to eliminate the self-sabotage and allow you to focus on who you really are, not what you think you ought to be.

So what do you think? Share your comments at the blog and share it with your friends, family and colleagues.

Here’s to living freely and lightly!

Remember that song by Bachman-Turner Overdrive called “Taking care of business?” Oddly enough, this song randomly popped into my head this morning so I googled it to find these lyrics:

Taking care of business, everyday
Taking care of business, everyway
I’ve been taking care of business, it’s all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime.

This little ditty could actually be the theme song for every woman out there, and most definitely applies to those of us who work from home as entrepreneurs and Mompreneurs! No matter who you are engaging with, whether it’s in your home, community or workplace, you are most likely “taking care of business” from the time you awaken until the time you get to bed!

And today marks the fact that there are only 100 days until the end of the year. Nothing like adding some pressure!!!

So here’s what I’m curious about. As you “take care of business” are you “taking care of you?” If not, you might be working from an empty tank, reducing the quality of your health, diluting the impact of your results and hindering the quality of your relationships.

Here’s the truth…Taking care of business means you must take care of you! To positively influence others in your life your gas tank must be refueled regularly.

You probably “know” this to be true, so the real question is whether you act in your life as if you believe it to be true. Would others in your life see you as present, loving, and available? Or do they see a woman who is distracted, on edge and unavailable?

What does it mean to take care of you? Read the list below and find one that you’ll commit to in the coming week:

• Go to bed 30-minutes earlier.
• Schedule some quiet time before your day starts.
• Take a lunch break.
• Make time to go for a 15-minute walk around the block.
• Take a hot bath.
• Slow down your pace.

Any one of these activities will become a conscious way to replenish. With a full tank, you’ll be much more effective at “taking care of business, every day.”

What will you commit to? I’d love to hear what you’ll say “yes”. Post your comments below…and Enjoy!

How would you answer the following question, “What does your ideal life and ideal business look like?” If you’re not sure, today’s tactical tips from the trenches will help you take steps toward clarity.

Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just preparing to launch your business, you must make time for both your life and work, because they are not mutually exclusive and both need your attention to experience fulfillment and impact.

Try this step-by-step approach to designing your ideal life and ideal business:

1. Decide how you want to use your time bank account. You have 168 hours per week (24 hours per day x 7 days a week.) What are the top 5 roles and priorities requiring your attention consistently?
2. Grab your calendar and block time for your personal priorities and commitments first. Include those you already have scheduled. Add those additional activities that you need to block in for you to honor all the areas that matter to you (be sure to include sleep ).
3. Write down your work commitments that you already have scheduled.
4. Determine the remaining hours you have left each week. How much of this time will you use for developing your business?
5. Allocate the time you spend developing your business using the following criteria:

• 60% toward “wealth building activities” that will generate new paying clients, new interest and activities that will lead to profitability.
• 20% toward “planning and strategizing activities” which is time spent working with your coach, researching, visioning, goal setting, etc. This will help you move forward with intention and stay focused on your priorities as they shift, change, grow ad expand.
• 10% toward “administrative activities” to keep yourself organized and on top of everything. This would be activities like handling your paperwork, coordinating appointments, setting up your newsletter, delegating to others.
• 10% toward “super service” for your customers or clients to feel connected and supported. You might provide a resource that you found, send a note of encouragement, or a gift when your client refers others to you.

Take 30-minutes right now to explore and apply these concepts. What are you discovering about your ideal life and business? Where are you challenged? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to breathe…life is a marathon, not a sprint!

There’s a silent addiction that’s wreaking havoc on the lives and businesses of women. It’s a new term I just learned from my accountability partner who calls it “addicted to done“.

So what does the term mean? It’s an addiction to the adrenaline surge that comes when you experience the awesome thrill of crossing something off your to-do list! It’s energizing and feels great temporarily, yet it’s effects aren’t long lasting and often, it moves you away from the results you really want.

The seduction is that you need to keep it going, so you focus on those easy to-do administrative and logistic tasks so you can experience the thrill again and again. The problem is you’ve spent all of your time “doing” the busy work which is helpful, yet not always priority or moving you toward the bigger vision of your life personally and professionally. You might find “addicted to done” keeping you from engaging and connecting in your personal relationships, and working “in” your business instead of “on” it which can diminish your business’ sustainability and results.

Now I’m not saying don’t spend time on administrative tasks or logistics items. What I am saying is that to create a thriving life and prosperous business you need to consciously choose, again and again, where you invest your time so you get the ongoing intended impact and results you desire.

So here’s an assignment for you:

1. Pay attention to the types of activities you are doing. Are they task driven or relational? Are you looking for instant results or building a foundation that will support ongoing achievements? Instead of doing “either/or” identify how you might be able to do “both/and”. The goal is to create meaningful impact today, while focusing on quality of life and business sustainability over the longer period as well.
2. Find an accountability partner. Meet with or talk to this person at least twice a month to share your wins and struggles, and to brainstorm next steps.
3. Debrief. Spend a few minutes daily to answer these questions, “What’s working?”, “What’s not?”, “What change will I make tomorrow?”

As you move forward with this strategy, you’ll find the thrill of getting things done as you create a fulfilling life and prosperous business at the same time!

Would love to know what you’re thinking…Post your comments below!