Got Money…..issues?

Interesting thing about money….

You would have a hard time finding someone with no money “issues”.  Some more than

It doesn’t matter about money; having it, not having it. Or having clothes, or not having them. You’re still left alone with yourself in the end.
Billy Idol

others…granted.  But money, in some capacity (desire for it, derision of it) impacts the way most people make decisions.

Some people are blessed with a very positive money mindset and no matter what they do they find a way to make money.  Losing it doesn’t even impact them greatly because they have confidence they’ll make it back (a la Donald Trump).

Others seem to be cursed with a negative money mindset…no matter what they do, it slips through their fingers.  (such as people who win the lottery and end up back in debt)

Wonderful thing about this, and most everything in life, is that once you recognize that the belief is limiting, you can take control of it and make a change.

I have come to realize that my nature is to give and give.  It has influenced my decisions in a way that has kept me from asking for the money my services deserve.  Simply understanding, that I can still be generous and not feel guilty about making a living, has made all the difference in my business.

If you would like to take more control of your money issues, there is a wonderful resource I just found coming up on May 11^th at BreakThroughYourMoneybs.com/conference/details.htm.

Action Step:  Ask yourself what your financial goals are and if there are any beliefs or values you attach to money that may be holding you back.  If the answer is yes reach out to a professional in that area.

Stimulus, Response….Fight the Predictability!

Rushing around, breakfast, laundry, teeth brushed, find the equipment, someone screaming, one is in the car beeping…

I’m halfway to the lacrosse field when I realize I’ve left my phone on the kitchen table. Immediately I felt this unreasonable sense of dread…as if the world would crumble if I took 3 hours outside the reach of my phone.  Driving and breathing, I tried to figure out where this irrational fear stemmed.

Remember a time when you drove a car without a phone within arm’s length?

Remember when a client would leave a voice mail over the weekend and not expect a return call until Monday?

Remember heading out for vacation with a bag including sunblock and a cover up instead of a computer?

Are we overstimulated???

Yes and No.

I believe balance is the key. We can choose to use what we have without being tied to it.  The knowledge of our ability to live fully and choose wisely without attachment to the outcome has the capacity to change our lives.

Use your equipment fully to increase your productivity, better serve your clients, and make your life easier.  But make sure to schedule tech free time to keep you on your toes, reduce stress, and become less inclined to turn Pavlov if you encounter a breakdown in technology.  Adaptability and equilibrium are crucial.

Action Step:  Practice with baby steps…Leave the phone home for a few hours (ok, some may need to start with 30 minutes LOL).   Perhaps you can make Saturday Computer Free Day.  Or GASP….go camping for the weekend with no electricity at all!  (no cheating by sneaking out to the car to charge your smart phone!)  The people in your life will thank you for this time…this time to enjoy you fully while you immerse yourself in them!

Getting close to sold out for the next Confidence Connection program.  If you want to Ignite your Income by building better relationships in business and with YOU then go to http://fireinfive.com/confidence.html

Color Outside the Lines and Share Your Joy!

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank

I recently attended the Live Your Legacy Summit with Aurea McGarry and many kindred spirits interested in leaving a piece of themselves behind to make the world a better place.  The spirit and energy in that room was astounding!

Step 5 in my Find Your Fire in Five program is all about coming full circle and understanding how to use your unique gifts to contribute to something bigger than yourself.  How do you create your legacy…how do you leave a piece of yourself behind to benefit the world??

There are levels.  Some of you may be beginning the process of living your legacy.  If you are a contribution newbie, know that starting small is wonderful.  Pay it forward by doing a random act of kindness for someone you meet each day.  Could be paying for their coffee, providing a smile, opening the door for someone with packages, or any manner of small kind acts.

If you feel you are an advanced spirit of contribution, you may desire to give more of yourself.  Commit to doing something extraordinary with proceeds to help those in need.  Maybe you could take your vacation with a Habitat for Humanity project or tour the world speaking to inspire others to give of their time, money, or talents.

The world is your oyster and when you decide to think outside of yourself and the ‘box’ amazing things occur.  Nothing stirs the soul and ignites your passion like the certainty you are working to achieve your destiny.

Be, share, DO something extraordinary!!   Everyone has the capacity to impact the world, if only we could awaken the hidden part of ourselves ready to burst at the seams to share our gifts and touch others.

You are not meant to play small.  You aren’t meant to be less than the remarkable essence of wonder, daring, and beauty that resides within you.  Follow your dreams…and courageously move forward in service.  I believe in YOU.

Action Step:  Today is for Action.  Resolve to audaciously move forward to create something beyond the pages of your coloring book.  Inside the lines is for the timid.  You deserve significant connection, joy, love, hope, friendship, business, success, inspiration, and so very much more….Decide where you want to give your heart and take action now.

Check out our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fireinfive

Don’t Hate….APPRECIATE!!

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Appreciation= “recognition of value or expression of gratitude…”

I am grateful for the value you bring into my life!

Wonderful to hear the feedback that I was missed when I didn’t get to post last week’s blog.  The love and appreciation makes me feel warm and fuzzy!!

Know what I love about appreciation?  It uplifts both the giver and the receiver.  You’d be hard pressed to find anything less than beneficial of sincere appreciation.

My question to you…

Do you express your appreciation for the people that touch your life often enough?

Is there anyone that you’ve ‘been meaning to call’?  Any unsaid ‘thank you’s?  Have you been at all remiss in letting people know how important they are to you?

Studies have shown the therapeutic effects of gratitude and appreciation on the overall sense of wellbeing of individuals (Sansone, 2010).  In addition, if you are a manager, be aware of the fact that boosting morale with demonstrations of appreciation for your employees has a direct correlation to the productivity within the organization.

Think about how you feel when someone recognizes a job well done or the effort you put into a project.  It makes you want to continue to excel and to find ways to creatively express your talents and gifts.

Appreciation is a beautiful gift.  Give it frequently, abundantly, and lovingly.

Action Step:  Make a list of the top 5 people that inspire your gratitude.  After each name write the reason…the Why.  Then decide if an email, call, note, or more is an appropriate expression of your appreciation.  Then…Yes, you guessed it!!!  Do It!

Ask me about how the Confidence Connection for Sales coaching intensive can help you turn these tools into sales.  heather@fireinfive.com

The Tree of Perspective

"Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity." Michael J. Gelb

Have you ever felt like you were walking through a hot, dense jungle of life?  You can’t see two feet in front of you, you get pricked by thistles and thorns, and the sounds around you make your heart quicken in fear.

Everyone experiences challenge and strife at times.  When in the thick of it our inability to see what’s around the bend, as well as the constant poking and nudging of negativity, can be frightening.

What do you do when this happens to you?

Do you stand still in terror…immobilized?

Do you run scared pushing and slamming your way through with no sense of where you’re going?  Feeling mildly better with movement and action…even if it’s taking you in circles?

What about climbing a tree?

Imagine how different the jungle would appear from on high.  Amused by the swinging monkeys.  Taking in the raw beauty of the landscape.  Realizing that awful sound was simply the mating call of a beautiful bird.  Able to see exactly where you need to go…

A new perspective.

Are you too close to a situation?  Overcome by confusion, challenge, and fear??  Try a new perspective.  Look at what’s happening from a different viewpoint.  Imagine what it would look like in 10 years.  Investigate all the options.  How might an expert navigate it?  Ask questions.

The ability we have to look at our life from various perspectives affords us the insight to continually grow and become more than we ever thought possible.  Wisdom is knowing what we don’t know.  Courage is asking for help to find it.  Success is the compilation of the two.

Action Step:  Draw a circle on a piece of paper and write the challenge you are facing within.  Now draw several spokes coming out of it (making it look like a spider or a sun the way a child sketches it).  On one write how you view the situation.  On another write how another person sees the same situation.  On the rest, brainstorm all the different options and solutions.  Don’t judge your ideas during this.  Simply write whatever comes to mind.  Ask others for help if you are having trouble imagining new concepts or opportunities.  See what happens….

Two new group coaching programs filling up rapidly!  Confidence Connection for Sales and Confidence Connection for Love.  Email me if you’d like information at heather@fireinfive.com.

Footprints on our Hearts

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same. ~by Flavia Weedn~

This week I am thinking of the people that come in and out of our lives.

People pass before us, walk along side of us, and sometimes crash into us.

Picture a NY city street where you hurry along in your own world… beside millions of people rushing along in theirs.

Then there are moments where you briefly meet someone who impacts your life greatly in their mere existence.  You don’t get to know them well but their being, their lesson; their example inspires you to be better.

There are people who stay for a time.  They may challenge you with negativity or views that are so foreign to you that it’s difficult to wrap your head around.

Then others…the people so special the love you feel for them extends beyond your heart, fills your entire body, and seeps out of you and onto everyone you meet.  Sometimes they stay forever and sometimes they are taken from you too soon.

Conflict occurs for two primary reasons.

1. You don’t appreciate others for who they are.  Relationships falter when unrealistic expectations are not met.  When we appreciate others for who they really are, and not who we want them to be, we connect on a level that brings joy to the heart.  In business, we spend too much time trying to teach people out of their weaknesses instead of cultivating their strengths.  Allowing employees to focus on their unique, complimentary talents will help you become more profitable far faster than forcing people into a role that doesn’t suit them.
2. You hold on too long.  Often times we stay friends with negative people who gossip, complain, or put us down.  We feel badly removing them from our lives because they’ve been there so long. This happens in business as well.  Many business owners intuitively know that an employee is bringing down the team or that the energy they sap far exceeds the benefit they bring.  The time and resources put into forcing a fit would be better used cultivating the talents of people with a desire and positive attitude.  Understanding how people impact us and that we deserve the best relationships will allow us to limit the time we spend with negative people and instead surround ourselves with the ones who empower.

Embrace each connection. Allow others to be exactly as they are without an expectation that you must change them.  Every person that comes into your life is there for a reason.  A lesson perhaps?  Or a special heartfelt moment.

Respect yourself and know you deserve to have a life filled with beautiful relationships…for however long they are meant to be.

Action Step:  For today…see each person you meet for their special inherent worth. Remove any judgment you have for or about them. All people desire to be seen and appreciated.  Let me know what happens for you today…how it makes you feel and how the people in your life respond to it.  heather@fireinfive.com.

Want to work with me?  Go to www.fireinfive.com for more information.

Be the Love

Valentine’s Day.

How does it make you feel?

Are you eager to plan a special surprise for someone you love?  Simply because you want to see their expression of joy.

Do you dread the idea of it? Because one year you forgot and will never live it down.

Are you sad?  Because you lost love.

Perhaps giddy with excitement?  Because of a new love blooming.

No matter what you feel at the first thought of Valentine’s Day…remember that today can be whatever you choose to make it.

Give love at every opportunity.  Share a smile, a hug, a thoughtful gesture or word.  Your heart will heal or grow with each act of kindness.

Be gentle with yourself.  In order to love and appreciate another, you must first love and appreciate YOU.  Remember all that makes you special.  And today…do something that feeds your soul.  Take a walk, smell some roses, listen to your favorite music and dance around the living room…something to bring joy to your heart.

Because YOU DESERVE IT!

Action Step:  Breathe in the love that surrounds you today.  And be the love that is a shining light to others.  Share with me an act of kindness that you did for another today.  I love a good story.  Heather@fireinfive.com

Want more?  Go to www.fireinfive.com for more information and inspiration.