I love being a mom. I love starting my mornings off knowing I have all the time in the world to connect, play and be with my baby. (To my wonderful surprise I love that my day evolves around the needs of my baby). I love that I have the time to work out everyday. I love that family and friends visits more to spend time with the new addition to our family. I love working only when I feel inspired I work.

Challenge: I am not in a financial position (to maintain my present lifestyle) to continue living my life this way. For me, success is about doing what you want, when you want, with who you want.

For the month of September I am going to set the intention, engage in conversations and take the action to create the abundance my soul and heart desire at this time in my life.

I invite you to join me! What has to happen for you to make a million dollars and live a life you love?

Here is one of the first steps I am taking. This week I am getting together with a girlfriend and we are going to brainstorm our bucket list. To quote the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman a bucket list is “What do you want to do before you ‘kick the bucket”.

Having dreams, fulfilling goals is a great way to instill motivation and inspiration to increase your financial abundance.

• This week write out your bucket list. What are some of the things you want to experience in this lifetime? Dare to dream!

I would love to hear from you. What is on your bucket list?

Be sure to sign up for our Leverage Your business. Love your life community newsletter. This month I am talking about what holds us back from creating abundance in our life and you will be invited to be part of a powerful dialogue in busting through our limitations. Visit www.teresia.com to sign up and receive a complimentary quality of life questionnaire.

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Many of you know how passionate I am about designing your life around your true values. When we live a life according to what is most important to us (our values) we become very happy people.  My hubby and I both agree that the true purpose of life is to live a happy one, when we are happy we have so much more to give to those around us, and when we have an abundance to give, we naturally live our life on purpose.

OK that is our philosophy and we are sticking to it – at least in this moment

During the conference call with the MOMentum moms, I shared the distinction between means vs ends values. There were a lot of questions.  It inspired me to share a little more of that conversation.

Often, when I ask someone “what is most important to you in your life?” (a great question to uncover values) they will say things like family, having a beautiful home, my career, traveling, my marriage.  These are examples of means values – means values are vehicles that allow us to have an experience. Ends Values are the “experiences”.

For example, all your life you dreamed of being an entrepreneur – having a career where you were your own boss, working from home.  You achieved that goal but still do not feel fulfilled.  Why? Owning a business is a vehicle to something that is more important to you. The ends value (the experience) you may be looking for is “freedom”,  “independence.”  Until you are clear of the purpose of your goal it is a crap shoot if your goal will bring you satisfaction.

Another example, if your goal is to be married (means value) it may be a the vehicle  to experience sharing, connection.  You find yourself married, but unhappy, there is no connection and very little sharing.  Being aware of the ends value, we can consciously design our relationship to experience those values.

A client once said to me “Teresia, success looks the way I thought it would look but it does not feel the way I thought it would feel.” Unfortunately I know many people who can relate to her statement.  Guess what became the focus of our work together?  Clarifying and designing her life around her values.

Living your life around your values does not happen over night and there may be a lot of tough decisions and actions to take along the way, but what many of my clients would tell you it is worth every step.  It is our birthright to live a life we love!

Give yourself one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, the gift that keeps on giving, take the time to discover and design your life around your true values.  Accelerate the process by purchasing  my self coaching guide on A New Approach to Goal Setting.

Click here to find out more.

A New Approach to Goal Setting

Listen to a recording of the MOMentum Conference call:

(20 minutes)

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I pulled the star of the night aside and asked “what would you recommend to new authors who are considering having a book launch?”

Here is what she said: do not expect your book launch to a profitable event, it is not about selling your books. A book launch is a time to celebrate the success of completing your book, your excitement of sharing the message with others, acknowledging your support team, and officially claiming that you are an expert in your field.  In addition, a book launch is a great time to invite and connect with some of your key centers of influence, individuals who will be great “raving fans” , potential clients and any media contacts you may have”.

I left the event inspired by Cheryl’s accomplishments and the great networking that took place.  I was happy to witness that even though Cheryl’s outcome was not to make a profit a lot books left in the hands of guests.

When your book is published – treat yourself,  throw a book launch and relish in the celebration of your accomplishment!

To purchase Cheryl book visit http://www.101waystomakegenerationsxyandzoomershappyatwork.com/

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As an entrepreneur you automatically default to being a leader. Strong leaders always uphold high standards – for themselves and everyone around them.  Why?  Because more often than not, the higher your standards, the better the results.  Clear, well communicated standards are a shortcut to an easier, more focused, less-hassled life.

Personal standards refer to the behaviour and actions that you hold yourself to – how you choose to ’show up’ in life.  For example, we have standards around finances (’I always pay my bills on time’), the way we relate to each other (manners, physical space, etc.), and just about everything else.  Professional standards serve as an unspoken understanding of what behaviour is acceptable and expected.

When standards are too low, people waste a lot of time and energy.  Morale sinks.  People walk all over each other.  Expectations slip and results slide.  A lot of tolerating (and managing) goes on!

Where do you need to raise your standards?  Watch for ongoing tolerations, frustrations, or places that feel out of integrity.  These are red flags for low standards.

Consider the main areas of your business such as sales and marketing, customer service, finances, and identify where clearly communicated standards would make a difference.

• For example:  Customer Service
• Higher Standard: Customers always comes first: return all calls within 24 hours.

Once you’ve identified which standards to raise, document and share them with your employees.  When everyone understands the ground rules, there will be a lot less refereeing to do and great results to be experienced.

Be sure to check out this Sunday’s Province and read the Coaches Corner. Better yet make it a regular Sunday routine and catch the coaches corner each week!

Have you downloaded our complimentary Quality of Life Assessment? Visit www.teresia.com to get your copy.  Take a closer look at your life and where you may benefit by raising your standards.  Take your life to the next level one step at a time.

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Here is how I answered the question I received about what traits are necessary to become a successful entrepreneur.

 The question and answer appeared in my latest Vancouver Province  feature on May 2.

I would love to hear your feedback.

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Sometimes, ambitious people need to slow the pace and harness their need to achieve in order to embrace other aspects of life. Like it or not, that’s called balance – and I think my pregnancy enrolled me in an advanced course at the School of Balancing Priorities.

More often than not, priorities come down to values. Because I strongly value family ( sharing and connection), it’s easier to set aside my professional ambitions (for the first time in my adult life – eek!). Because I value time with our child, it will be easier to close the office door.

Our values are a touchstone, a source of comfort and guidance that we can relax into and trust to steer us toward the life we really want. The more intense life gets, the more important they become.

When we are clear of our values it is easier to make decisions. We know what is important – we then say yes to what is important and no to the “shoulds” in our life.

What are your values? Discovering your values is a process. Check out our self coaching ebook on discovering and designing your life around your values.

A New Approach to Goal Setting

With all that said, the fact remains: Mompreneurs live on the fast track, and it’s going to take some time to adjust to a new pace. With knowing my values I am sure making the transition from entrepreneur to Mompreneur could be my biggest challenge yet… but I’m ready for it!

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I don’t know about you but I have been inspired by the 2010 Olympics.  It doesn’t hurt that I live in the city that hosted them; Canada had a story book finish with Canada winning hockey gold and scoring Olympic record of 14 gold medals.

To top it all off I was at the closing ceremonies. It also brings back many great memories of my competitive years as a figure skater. But it goes deeper then that. The Olympics uncover some key factors that are important for success in any area of our life. 

On a social level the Olympics highlights the power of “we”.

Nelson Mandela once said “politics divides, sports unite”.  Sports encourage leadership, the development of social skills, learning how to manage a stressful situation; most importantly teaching that personal sacrifices in service of the group often brings greater rewards than simple self interest.  Whether you are involved in a sport personally, or an outside supporter, there is an experience of “we” that is available to all of us. As an entrepreneur, an individual committed to living their best life, there is an experience of we that is available to all of us.

I have heard from many who have watched the athletes step up to their long desired dream of competing in the Olympics, that it has brought tears to their eyes. We are reminded of what is possible in our own life. The Olympics remind us of the rewards of courage, self-discipline and belief in oneself.

I know any success that I have experienced in my life and my clients have experienced in theirs, that these qualities were present. They are worth exploring further.

Courage: I once heard courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyways – how true!
Courage is needed when you have a sense of what you hope to achieve but there is no guarantee – in other words there is a level of risk involved. Acting in spite of the risk often brings up less than uncomfortable feelings, feelings such as fear, self doubt, uncertainty, and discomfort. So what drives one to act in spite of the feelings? Simply put—values. When you have a strong belief about the right thing to do, or what is important to you, you’re often compelled to act. At the end of the day the question is: are you letting your fear guide you or your desire to act on what is most important to you?

Living a life where you are consistently stretching out of your comfort zone and accessing your inner courage, not only builds self esteem but is the path of living our best life.

Self-discipline:
Most people don’t associate discipline with happiness, but did you know the most joy you’ll ever know comes from areas where you are self-disciplined? People who have significant and successful careers can often point back to a time that required much effort and self-discipline. They often say it was worth every ounce of effort. Becoming self-disciplined is never easy in the beginning, but once you overcome a barrier and make a decision to become disciplined, it gets easier. I often tell my clients self discipline is doing the things you don’t necessarily want to do, but you know by doing them, they will help you get the results you want. I support my clients in designing their life around doing what they love and what they are good at – when we do this the amount of self discipline is minimal AND to really live a life we love there will always be areas where we need to embrace the act of self-discipline. Simple put self-discipline is about the ability to reject immediate satisfaction, in order to gain something better, but requires effort and time. Decide today where in your life you would benefit greatly if you were to become more self-disciplined. Where do you want more or better results? Start today by saying “no” to immediate satisfaction and start implementing that extra effort to create more of what you really want in your life.

Belief in oneself:
We have all heard it at one time in our lives “you have to believe in yourself.” Believing in oneself is one of the first steps to success. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, it will be difficult to succeed in anything. Every day all of us face challenges, some small, small big, it is how we respond to it them that makes the difference. Whatever your goal or dream, hold onto the vision, and take one step at a time. When you feel the fear and act anyway (courage), and make self-discipline a part of your life, this builds the muscle of belief in yourself.

My question to you: have you set your life up in a way that daily you are accessing your inner courage? Are you living a life that requires self-discipline and faith in oneself daily?

Success and a fulfilling life require the attitude and commitment of an athlete.

What area in your life is it time to go for gold?

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 Ask yourself what do you really want in your life? Are you achieving it? If not, there is a good chance that there is a limiting belief  in your subconscious that is holding you back.

Beliefs are feelings of certainty and there are two kinds of beliefs, limiting and empowering. Limiting beliefs are feelings that hold us back from creating the results we want in our life. Empowering beliefs are feelings that support us in moving forward to create the results we want in our life. Many times our beliefs are unconscious. When we become conscious of them, especially our limiting beliefs, that is when change begins to happen.

For example: I have a very successful client whose priority at this time is to share his life and success with a life partner.

Challenge: the women he decides he would like to be with, are unavailable in some way, either they are just ending a relationship, are in a committed relationship or are simply not emotionally available for various reasons.  After much soul searching, and allowing me to ask him the tough questions, he discovered there is an underlying belief that he is not desirable. With this belief he will continue to create experiences in his life to support his belief.  On an unconscious level, he gets to say, “See I am right I am not desirable”.  

Most times we are not always aware of the beliefs that drive us, having the courage to dig deep and become aware is a huge first step. With his new found awareness of his limiting belief he is able to make conscious choices that will create new references that will help him attract what he really wants in his life.

 Think of beliefs like a table. A belief is a feeling of certainty – like the top of a table. We have the legs (references) to support that belief. Once we have awareness of our limiting beliefs we can then come up with a new belief, an empowering belief – one that will support us in creating what we want.

Take my clients limiting belief
 ”I am not desirable”

The opposite of that belief could be
 “I have a lot to offer a partner and deserve the reciprocity of love”

 When we first come up with an empowering belief, we may own it intellectually but not truly on an emotional level. We must then act on the new belief and create references so that it becomes a part of who we are. The power of a belief is that we own it on an emotional level, that it becomes the table top – a feeling of certainty.

Again look at what you want in your life. If you don’t have it, start digging.   What is the limiting belief holding you back?  

Remember awareness is not only the first step, but a big one!

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Setting our goals based on our true values is one sure fire way to ensure success. If you want to find out more on how to set valued based goals check out my ebook on a New Approach to Goal Setting.

Yesterday in a session with one of my long term clients we were exploring what he really wants for 2010, already clear of his true values; it was a natural next step to get clear on his “theme” for 2010.  A theme is the overall guiding focus for your year. What is the number one thing that if you were to focus on it, it would support all the other goals you have for yourself? Some examples of themes are: Selfishness before success; Self care because I am worth it; Generosity guides my life experience; Great health, more energy; Ideal clients now; Increase profits, less effort.

Create a theme that inspires and drives your choices and actions for the year! Post it everywhere!

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