š§ Weekly Mind Sweep #106 | Mind Your Business | Reality
January 2024
Week 104: Curatorās Perspective
Week 105: Curated Conversation; Reality
*Week 106: Mind Your Business; Reality
Week 107: Manage Your Mind; Reality
Week 108: Whatās On My Mind; Reality
New to the Weekly MindSweep? Past issues live here.
Letās sweep the brainā¦
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Reality Check. Success is a Choice.
As humans, we make over 35,000 choices every day. Itās exhausting, really.
Like, deciding which granola to put on my yogurt, which yoga pants to wear to my Zoom meetings, or if itās time to donate some of my book pile to the local library. (Spoiler alert: it probably is.)
Now, add on the entrepreneurial flair, and you're staring at a multiple-choice exam with no clear answers. We navigate the vast landscape of decision-making, wearing multiple hats and relying on ourselves to conquer the challenges like a superhero with a ta-da list!
(A ta-da list is like a to-do list but sounds more fun. Thank you, Lisa Campbell)
Success isn't just a distant dream; it's a series of choices made every day.
Entrepreneurs can consider three buckets when thinking about Minding Your Business: Reality.
Mindset, Market, and Motion.
Mindset
How you perceive reality matters.
Your brain is in your head, which is on your body (unless you are sick and your head feels all floaty and such), and it starts with you.
Go back to Week 95 and take a peek-sy at how important it is to rethink failure.
"As an entrepreneur, when I put an offer into the market, and it doesn't sell, it's not a failure. From my perspective, it's an experiment and an opportunity to learn more information about what the market is looking for. Failure is a perspective."
Embracing failure is not a setback but rather a step forward in your journey -they are stepping stones to success.
Market
You cannot wish or will a market into buying something you love.
Entrepreneurs must pivot and adapt. We're often trying new products and services in the market. It's possible to have a profitable idea and face the reality that the specific way you execute it may not resonate with humans to open their wallets. Listen to market feedback so you can adjust to meet the needs of your potential buyers. They often speak with their dollars.
You can argue with your financial books or how business, sales, and marketing work or face reality.
Generating revenue is not just a goal; it's necessary for survival and growth.
Motion
Aka action - but I love me some alliteration.
What you are offering will be unique from what is in the market for the simple fact that you are offering it. The only way to learn what works and, more importantly, what doesn't is to take action.
While planning and strategy are essential, they're like a GPS; they are meaningless without turning the car on. You must take action. Your uniqueness lies in what you offer, and the only way to discover what works is by taking action. Motion is not a linear path; it's a dynamic force that propels you toward success.
Sales and marketing strategies that may work for others may not work for you, your brand, your business, or, more importantly, your customers.
Reality checks are the compass guiding your journey.
Make choices that propel you forward, and success will follow.
The journey will be challenging, but big things happen with small steps, one day at a time. #OnePercent - because, let's face it, we're all trying to be people who know what they're doing. š
Which bucket would your business benefit from facing reality about?
The answers you need for your business are already within you.
If youād like support in pulling them out to build a business you are proud of, Iām here to help.
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What Iām reading
Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish
āThis manual is a must for any business mind.
You might believe youāre thinking clearly in the moments that matter most. But in all likelihood, when the pressure is on, you wonāt be thinking at all. And your subsequent actions will inevitably move you further from the results you ultimately seekālove, belonging, success, wealth, victory. According to Farnam Street founder Shane Parrish, we must get better at recognizing these opportunities for what they are, and deploying our cognitive ability in order to achieve the life we want.
Clear Thinking gives you the tools to recognize the moments that have the potential to transform your trajectory, and reshape how you navigate the critical space between stimulus and response. As Parrish shows, we may imagine we are the protagonists in the story of our lives. But the sad truth is, most of us run on autopilot. Our behavioral defaults, groomed by biology, evolution, and culture, are primed to run the show for us if we donāt intervene. At our worst, we react to events without reasoning, not even realizing that weāve missed an opportunity to think at all. At our best, we recognize these moments for what they are, and apply the full capacity of our reasoning and rationality to them.
Through stories, mental models, and more, Parrish offers the missing link between behavioral science and real-life outcomes. The result is a must-have manual for optimizing decision-making, gaining competitive advantage, and living a more intentional life.ā
What Iām listening to:
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
āNobody needs to be told there isnāt enough time. Whether weāre starting our own business, or trying to write a novel during our lunch break, or staring down a pile of deadlines as weāre planning a vacation, weāre obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and ceaseless struggle against distraction.
Weāre deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient and life hacks to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and yet the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks, the average length of a human life.
Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management.
Rejecting the futile modern obsession with āgetting everything done,ā Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing that many of the unhelpful ways weāve come to think about time arenāt inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices weāve made as individuals and as a societyāand that we can do things differently.ā
Collaborations!
MetroWest Chamber
Limited to 12 Spots
Friday, February 2, 2024
9am-11am
For 2024, we'd like to make a focused effort to support you and your business. In February, we'll discuss:
Networking, Thought Leadership & Speaking
Join Shannon Dalton Giordano of Serendipity Social Media and me of Chickbook Creative for this two-hour interactive business community experience.
Weāll discuss ways to cultivate business through Sales, Marketing, and Communication methods that support relationship building, showing up authentically, and connecting deeper with colleagues and the people you serve.
9-10 am - Gain a new perspective or tool to support you and your business
10-10:45 am - Open discussion, community support, brainstorming ideas
10:45 -11 am - Clear and actionable takeaways to start your month in forward momentum
Join us to meet business owners in our community. Leave with new tools in your toolbox to help you make connections and build your business!
Free to Attend; Registration is Required
Mindful Connections
Connecting like-hearted entrepreneurs to build relationships, offering support, understanding their passions, and sharing their names in rooms of opportunity.
Every Thursday, 12-1 pm
12:00 - Take 5āa guided meditation with Terri Hamilton of Apparent Connection to ground your week with peace and focus.
12:05-1 pm Round-table Share
Who you are
The gifts you bring to the world
Who you serve
The answer to a Curated question to spark conversation.
If you found this on the web, sign up to join us!
IN-PERSON: Mindful Connections!
Please join us for an IN-PERSON Mindful Connections!
Pressed Cafe
330 Billerica Road,
Chelmsford, MA 01824
02/09/2024
11 am - 1 pm
Co-hosted by Terri Hamilton of Apparent Connections & Jamie Chapman of Chickbook Creative. This unique networking experience allows the space for like-hearted entrepreneurs to learn more about each other, share their gifts with the world, and learn more about each other to share names in rooms of opportunity.
Do you know someone who would like to join us? Forward the email or share the link!
Join us!
Free to Attend; Registration is Required - https://bit.ly/MindfulInPerson02092024
In other newsā¦
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