How many times has a statement similar to that come out of your mouth? I know for me that it’s happened more often than I care to recount. I am a recovering perfectionist who used to utter some variation of the above sentence with great regularity.

What I’ve discovered in my time as an Internet entrepreneur is that my need for perfection in my products or marketing materials is simply another excuse to procrastinate. Yep, when I try and convince myself that the ebook needs more copy editing or that my website needs just a few more pages to make it say just what I want it to say, all I’m doing is creating plausible excuses to put something off for a few more days, or even weeks or months. Why?

Because inaction is safe — you’re not putting yourself out there to the world to face possible criticism. The longer you excuse yourself from taking action, however, the more difficult it becomes to build a business and create the kind of life you want for yourself.

Don’t let yourself fall for your own fabricated excuses. Stop waiting for perfection. It’s never going to arrive. Better to release something that may not be perfect than to release nothing at all. How much money can you make on an ebook that no one knows about? Last time I checked, it wasn’t much!

Sure, you may fall under the scrutiny of other perfectionists in the Internet world who are gleefully waiting to tear you apart by pointing out your errors. Thank them for their constructive feedback, create a correction log, and let the criticism fall off of you like water off a duck’s back. In my experience, those critics who have the leisure time to point out the flaws of others really aren’t doing much with their own lives and businesses. That’s why they have the free time to correct the errors of others.

The whole notion of how perfectionism was holding me back was aptly illustrated at a Coachville conference I attended several years ago. The late Thomas Leonard, founder of Coachville, had brought up on stage a very successful Internet entrepreneur to speak to us about how he had found a great product to sell online and the process he used to uncover the hungry target market who would pay handsomely for the material he was selling. We were all given the 12-page handout of the long sales letter that was used to sell the product, and many of us were taking copious notes.

However, I noticed the guy next to me, an engineer, wasn’t taking notes. Instead it appeared he was going through the sales letter and was making grammatical and punctuation corrections. He disappeared during our next break, and when I returned to my seat afterwards, I discovered that he had returned as well, but seemed to be highly agitated.

Without waiting for an invitation, he proceeded to tell me what had happened over the break that had gotten him so upset. He showed me his copy of the sales letter and the corrections he had made and said that he’d gone up to the speaker during the break and offered to give him the corrections to the sales letter. The speaker took a look and told him, “No, thanks.”

The engineer couldn’t believe that this speaker wouldn’t take advantage of all the work that he (the engineer) had done to correct the sales copy. The engineer thought the speaker was being rather foolish and apparently told the speaker that he was being short-sighted not to take advantage of the offered corrections.

The speaker informed the engineer that the sales letter in question was making him $67,000 per month in sales and that he had no intention of “fixing” a good thing. Furthermore, the speaker explained that because he had worked so hard on crafting the wording of the sales letter and that the letter was bringing him so many sales that he’d be foolish to tinker with any portion of it.

Apparently the engineer left the conversation with the speaker in a huff and returned to his seat, still steaming, and still convinced that the speaker was making a grave mistake by not taking his copy editing advice. The engineer was so blinded by the need to be perfect and be right that he was blocking his path to online success. I bet today that he’s still tweaking his sales copy or his product and has yet to do anything with coaching business.

So, which do you want to be? The engineer with the grammatically correct sales letter that never sees the light of day, or the Internet entrepreneur making $67,000 per month off a product that has a sales letter with grammatical and punctuation mistakes?

Don’t let your need to be perfect hold you back any longer from taking the action you need to release your product or service to the world. In most cases, taking action, even though it might be a bit flawed, is always better than no action.

Copyright © 2009 OnlineBizU.com

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Have you heard of K.I.S.S? It is much used in business and particularly in training, and it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. Now I agree with keeping it simple in principle, but calling me stupid is not going to help tackle procrastination.

I prefer a much kinder, and more effective way of thinking of it that tackles one of the fundamental problems that procrastinators face, that of being overwhelmed, so that is what I use:

Keep Implementing Small Steps

Every part of that is an essential tool to dealing with procrastination. Whatever it is you are procrastinating about, I promise it will be easier to tackle if you just follow those four simple instructions.

Whatever the issue, if you can look at it as a series of small, achievable, actions you are on the way to overcoming your procrastination.

Keep is the first part and what does it mean? Well it means keep going, or keep repeating an action. Do something to move your project forward, and keep on doing it. No stopping after just one attempt, by all means rest and recoup if it has proved difficult but the key lies in consistently addressing yourself to the problem.

Implementing is straightforward enough; thinking of how to overcome your procrastination is all very well but it is action that will move you forward. I know how easy it is to get seduced into thinking over your options and debating what you ought to do. That is great, but you actually have to do it! To quote the immortal Elvis, ‘a little less talk and a lot more action’ needs to be your motto.

Small is another key word that will help you be successful in tackling procrastination. Not actions that are so huge you can?t get them done in one session, or are so numerous you get exhausted just thinking about which one to do first.

I will let you into a secret; it doesn?t matter which action you decide to do first, as long as it is small, manageable and you do it. Most procrastinators tend to see the project as a giant mountain they have to move in one go; reality is if you take a shovelful at a time it will get moved.

Yes, it takes longer, but not nearly as long as if you never start to move that earth.

Steps are where you catch up with Keep; in other words one step at a time will get you there and you keep on making them! The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist of the actions that need to be done, and put Write checklist down as the first item and keep it limited to items you can do on that day. When you have done your list cross that line out because you have done it!

You are already on your way and taken action. Even the longest and most difficult task only consists of a series of smaller tasks, which if you see them as small steps will be are easily achievable. They may be small steps individually, but they are a giant step for a procrastinator.

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1) Stay tuned in to your desire and your dream, no matter what. Even in the face of fear, or naysayers, or external pressures. So often, we experience a wish or a desire or a dream and then we shut ourselves off from it. We tell ourselves, “I can’t do that” or “who am I to want that” or “I’m too busy” or whatever. So our lives stay in status quo and our dreams get put on the back burner (again).

Not fun. Trust me. I’ve been there. Whenever I hit a bump or a negative thought (from either myself or someone else), I keep envisioning what I want: I see me with my book, speaking to audiences of moms and girls, being a guide and a mentor to women who want MORE for themselves and their daughters. I imagine what that will feel like and I let the excitement wash over me.

Your desires and your dreams are in your heart for GOOD REASON. They are a part of you aching to be expressed (you wouldn’t have them if you weren’t supposed to be bringing them to life). What do you see, and how does that FEEL?

2) Get support from someone – or a group of people – who has your best interest in mind and who is striving to grow as well. Find a buddy or a coach or a mentor or a mastermind group who can help you hold your vision of what you want, who believes in you, and who can help you take action despite fear.

I know this can be easier said than done. Many of us are surrounded by others who are also stuck in fear and may not know how to really support us. I can tell you that for me, I notice who I admire. Who is living their life in a way that is similar to how I want to be living mine (not doing the exact same thing necessarily, but modeling the type of courage and audacity and authenticity that I aspire to?). Those are the people I consult with and share my visions with. That’s how I chose my coach (and mastermind group) this past year – I found someone who was kind and compassionate, but also took a “no excuses” approach to living her dream.

3) Keep moving – baby steps sometimes, big bold steps other times – in the direction of your dreams and desires. We all feel fear – believe me, I’ve been feeling a lot of it lately – especially when we’re about to do something new or important or meaningful. Fear is a FEELING (not an action). Sometimes it’s there to protect you from real danger (like going up and petting a lion and getting eaten), but other times it’s your unconscious mind’s way of protecting you from imagined, or not-so-terrible-after-all, danger (rejection, failure, disappointment – small potatoes compared to being eaten by a lion).

So how do you take action, despite fear? When the inspiration strikes – act! When you get a good idea, when you’re in the groove, when you just know something feels right – that’s the time to take action!

I’ve found that the clearer I get about my goals, and the more action I take toward them (even tiny baby steps), the more things SHOW UP in my life to support what I want (it’s like a bit of serendipity!). For example, the other day, as I was thinking about my upcoming “Be The Change” coaching program for moms and thinking about where I could hold the retreats, I began to visualize what I wanted (all this while blowing dry my hair on the way out to a party). At the party later that evening, I met someone who just happened to know of the perfect retreat house that was so similar to what I had been picturing. CRAZY.

You will notice that as you clarify and move toward your goals, a bit of magic will begin to happen.

4) Get out of your own way. Seriously, you are the only one in your way, so clear the clutter – the time clutter, the paper clutter, the mind clutter, the house clutter, the body clutter – ALL THE STUFF (both real and created) that continues to clutter you up so there’s no room for you to have what you really want. Create the space and your dreams will have a place to land.

I invite you to join me in turning toward your dreams – go ahead and bring them right down into your heart and into your mind right now – and put one foot in front of the other along your path. I’m right here next to you if you need a hand.

Copyright © 2009 Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds

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If only I had a dollar for each time I get asked “How’s the recession affecting your business?” My answer? “It’s not. I’ve got my own bailout plan.”

I feel like I’m almost expected to complain at the sound of the “R” word when it comes up in conversation. But see, I refuse to complain. In fact, I say to business owners, let’s complain about the recession only if these 4 things are true for you in your business:

1) You obsess about marketing your biz

And I mean obsess in a good way – an unwavering determination to do consistent marketing. Most of the folks I work with are solo entrepreneurs who sell a service. We do our own marketing. Unfortunately, our marketing tends to be inconsistent. And from my experience that was true long before the “R” thing hit. It may be more accurate to say the recession exposed the flaws or weaknesses in many of our businesses – one of which is inconsistent marketing.

And I don’t mean spending more money on marketing necessarily. I mean we get creative and we become determined to discover more no-cost/low-cost marketing options. There are countless no-cost ways you can implement immediately.

As I always say “Marketing is the gas in your business engine.” So my question is this… How much are you obsessing about having a multi-pronged approach to consistently marketing your business in this new economy. If you’re not, you may not want to complain about recession just yet. You’ve got some untapped, income-generating marketing actions to take.

2) You have a consistent lead-capture strategy

Running out of leads/prospects? It may not be the economy’s fault. Take a look at your web site for starters. Make sure the very first page of your web site invites the visitor to take action – to give you their contact information in exchange for a valuable freebie. This grows your list of prospects every single day and gives you people to follow-up with.

And consider your other forms of marketing and how you make connections. Do you have a way to consistently identify your ideal prospects? And when they show up, do you have an irresistible freebie they would definitely want? If not, then you may not want to complain about the recession just yet. There’s an opportunity to plug up the holes in your prospect-attracting and prospect-capture process. The more you grow your list of prospects, the greater your opportunity for increased revenue.

3) You have a tenacious follow-up process

Of course, it’s not enough to get leads/prospects. We have to follow up. Take a look at your office desk. Is there a stack of collected business cards, notes to call someone back, and other clues that you have a flawed follow-up process? Here’s a true story… right now I’m practically begging another business owner to take my money. I’m the one doing the follow-up phone calls. I truly want what they’re selling yet they’re a little too busy to sell it to me. Hello?

If you’re guilty of not following up with prospects and other contacts… or, if you haven’t picked up the phone to connect with some strategic partners lately, then you may not want to complain about the recession just yet. There’s a golden opportunity to create a consistent, reliable follow-up process that turns into cash for your business.

4) You commit to massive profit-focused action

As entrepreneurs, we typically are not short on ideas for growing our businesses. We tend to be very creative. But we are often short on action. We get bogged down in the minutia of our businesses.

Might there be a stash of incomplete brilliant ideas that you can turn into money for your business? Is there an opportunity to change how you work each day so that you’re truly focused on profit-producing tasks vs. minutia? Then it may not be time to complain about the recession just yet. Wake up tomorrow with a bold and unstoppable determination to bring that idea to reality. Or, take a no-excuses approach to completing that major profit-generating project or task. It may just be the thing that brings in the clients and cash you need.

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“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein

The intuitive mind is the Wizard Within. It is the voice of your intuition and inspiration. The rational mind is that of the Inner Critic – the voice of your self-doubt and fear. The Wizard Within makes choices and takes action based on gut instinct and creative inspiration. The Inner Critic makes choices and takes action based on fear of moving beyond current comfort zones, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of rejection, fear of humiliation, etc.

Wizard Within decisions will always, without exception, result in good outcomes. Inner Critic decisions will always, without exception, result in unwanted outcomes. Universally. Whether the decision is made by a person, a company or even a government. Intuition and Inspiration = good outcome. Fear and doubt = unwanted outcome.

Examine the decisions you’ve made in your life. Whenever you made a choice based on a negative feeling – fear, doubt, lack, worry, stress – things didn’t work out the way you wanted. When you’ve acted on pure intuition and a gut ‘knowingness’ you’ve enjoyed good results!

It’s easy to tell what the choice or the action you are about to take is based on. If it is created through intuition or inspiration you feel good. If it’s a reaction that is based in fear or self-doubt you don’t feel so good. So, if you’re not feeling good about what you’re about to do, stop! Re-examine. Ask yourself what you want to create instead of what you are running away from.

You are operating from pure intuition and inspiration in those moments when you are in the zone. You are fully engaged, have no sense of time, and are enjoying whatever it is you are doing. These are energetic moments of pure joy, bliss and peace. It is the moment when you are fully conscious, firing on all cylinders and creating your art of human expression.

The gift you give to yourself is in the rich delicious life experienced when guided by the intuitive mind rather than the reluctant. It is a life fully experienced rather than simply existed. It is the difference between a life of quiet desperation and the fullest expression of your soul, the song in your heart, the fulfillment of personal passions.

Copyright © 2009 Valery Satterwhite

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Failure is seen as a dirty word in our society. People are praised and lionized when they are successful. But let a public figure make a serious mistake and that’s another story. They are considered has-beens and also-rans. We idolize the “successes” and we mock those who “fail”.

But what if failure is part of the process of achieving your goal? What if we took another look at failure, gave it a different definition?

Webster’s dictionary defines failure as “an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose”. The Oxford dictionary defines failure as a “lack of success in doing or achieving.”

However, these definitions raise an important question. Is someone a failure because they haven’t achieved success in their business? Did the event fail or is the person a failure? Should they let the event or situation define their value and worth as a human being?

Your perspective changes everything. So what’s the option? How else can you view your lack of business success?

John C. Maxwell, in his book, “Failing Forward” states that “Every successful person is someone who failed, yet never regarded himself as a failure.” He cites Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers of our time, who was told by a Munich schoolmaster that he “would never amount to much.”

Maxwell encourages you to “Tell yourself, ‘I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.” You need certain abilities in order to have a healthy view of failure. You must first reject rejection. Instead of taking failure personally, take responsibility for your actions and learn from the situation.

Achievers also see failure as a temporary situation. They don’t think it’s a permanent event. Consequently they think creatively about the challenge that they face and identify possible solutions.

Successful people have realistic expectations for their goals. They accept their setbacks and learn from them. They persevere despite the setbacks.

Achievers also focus on their strengths. They focus their energy on what they can do instead of complaining about what they can’t do. They develop their strengths.

As you consider a failure that you face, ask yourself “What can I learn from this situation?” Is there another perspective to consider? What are your successes in the situation? What did you do well? What could you improve?

As you evaluate the situation, think about how you can build up your strengths. Also, consider if there is someone who could help you in your weaknesses. Create an action plan with that person and take the first step.

As you change your perspective and take action, you are failing forward. You are using failure to create great success. You are a winner!

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So why do people live in the past? In my experience the causes are nostalgia, regrets, guilt feelings. Why do people live in the future? Fears, worries, looking forward to upcoming events such as a holiday or night out are the answers I usually receive when posing this question.

The actions we take now create our future. That’s so important that I will repeat it. The actions we take now create our future. We can’t change the past so time spent in regretting what we did or did not do is simply wasted.

Dwelling on guilt feelings is particularly negative. Viewing ourselves as someone who has behaved badly makes us more not less likely to repeat such behaviours.This is related to our self-image the mental picture of self that each of us carries around in our head. This contains not just details of our physical appearance, likes and dislikes, but also our personality traits, which determine how we are likely to behave in certain situations. It would take too long here to explain exactly why harbouring guilt feelings makes us likely to behave in ways we are unhappy with. However you can change this right now if it applies to you. Do it by acting in ways that make you feel proud of yourself. You can’t change the past but you can create the future.

When you become aware of your ability to create the future by acting in the now you have no need to fear or worry about the future because you have control of it.

Living in the past or future creates three common errors of thought that have highly negative consequences. Not realising that we create our own futures causes people to feel that they will reach some future point with only the knowledge and resources that they currently possess

For example when studying for my psychology degree I remember many conversations with a friend and fellow student about parts of the course we would tackle in the months ahead. She would worry out loud about her lack of understanding of these subjects. I would point out that I did not understand them either and it was not necessary for us to at this point in time The course had been designed to lead us through particular aspects of psychology by a planned route. When we reached the subject that concerned her which was months ahead in our study schedule we would by then be prepared to deal with it. This is true in all aspects of life.

Linked to this error of thought is the fact that many people believe a goal is unreachable because they do not currently possess all the means of achieving it or can’t see exactly how it will be achieved.For this reason people often don’t attempt goals, which they could find highly achievable.Once we start moving towards a goal the means of achieving it then become apparent to us. This is perfectly understandable, as we are not focused on them until we decide to pursue this goal.

The third error of thought relates to people who say and believe “I can?t change”. In reality we are all changing all of the time. We have a whole new body every seven years due to an ongoing process of physical renewal. Our attitudes, opinions and character traits change too.

To sum up we need to live in the present to create our desired future. Looking forward to positive events in the future is fine. Can thinking about the past and future ever be useful? Yes, sometimes it can. Need to feel more positive/motivated. Then recall some good memories from your past, a great holiday, the day you received a promotion, bask in their glow. Now think of the future and all the good things that await you there, your desired future, the things that you are working towards. Now act in the present to make this a reality.

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They haven’t taken the next step. The next step to creating a successful life is to take powerful, significant action. You must act effectively to create the life of your dreams.

In the Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles asserts that “If there is something that may be done today and you do not do it, you have failed insofar as that thing is concerned – and the consequences may be more disastrous than you imagine.”

He also states that “You cannot foresee the results of even the most trivial act. You do not know the workings of all the forces that have been set moving in your behalf. Much may be depending on your doing some simple act, and it may be the very thing which is to open the door of opportunity to very great possibilities.”

To create success you must do all that can be done each day. However, don’t overwork yourself. Don’t try to do a week’s work in a day nor do tomorrow’s work today. This isn’t efficient action for it reflects scarcity thinking, the fear that you won’t have the time to do tomorrow’s work tomorrow.

Instead hold a clear mental image of your vision firmly in your mind. Focus on what it will feel like when you have the income to send your children to private schools or to give to your favourite charity. See yourself enthusiastically writing the cheque to the agency. Thank God for the successful business that you are creating.

As you do, you enter into a state of relaxed expectation, for you are certain that your goal is being manifested. You are calm and enthusiastic about the life that is unfolding before you. You know that it is on its way to you.

Consequently you can take action that prepares you to receive your vision. You act from the certainty that your vision is coming to you.

As you think about your mental image, you return to the enthusiasm and excitement about your goals. You fall in love with your goals again and these feelings empower you as you take action.

In fact you will be directed to the specific action that you need to take and you will act from a place of inspiration. This perspective will totally transform how you act to achieve your goals. You no longer have to focus on what you think you should do.

As you concentrate on your vision, enthusiastically thanking God for your goals, you will be shown the exact action that you must take. As you take that action with the certainty that you goal is coming to you, the vision is made manifest.

Your powerful actions lead to the creation of a joyful, successful life! Enjoy your journey to success!

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