Being an entrepreneur is very rewarding.  The challenge of pulling together a mastermind and creating something that benefits the world is life-giving in and of itself whether you accomplish your goal or not.

But sometimes, things happen that are out of your control and you just have to roll with the punches.  Having clearly defined values so that you can make split-second decisions in a crisis is an invaluable tool of extreme importance.

Last night, someone very dear to me called and did not sound good.  He has come down with the flu.  I dropped everything, including writing today’s article, (which was going to be lengthy - so you can thank him later), to take care of him.

I was able to do so and not worry about my commitment to my blog or my readers, because the health and welfare of my family and friends comes first.  Yes, this blog is important to me, but not as important as my personal relationships.

Some will be asking, “But what about your commitment to yourself?  Don’t you always say to take care of yourself first, because if you don’t, you won’t have anything to give anyone else?”

Yes.  I do say that and I still do.  So here’s how this works.  (I’m really grateful for the opportunity to explain this in this way.)

By dropping my schedule and running to his side, I was true to myself because I was true to my values.  I was, in that moment, completely selfish, because I chose my own needs, specifically, the need to be authentic, the desire to be authentic, over the need to keep someone else happy.  Taking care of those I care about is who I am, even more so than being a writer.

The best part is, I was able to come home, watch the series finale of Desperate Housewives, and then write this post, which was just as good as the one I had planned.  So staying true to myself led to an even greater lesson to share with all of you.

How was I able to make a decision so quickly?  Because I’ve identified my values and know them by heart.

If you’re not sure that you could make such a split-second decision and feel good about it, perhaps a review of your values is in order.  Determining Your Values is a post I wrote back in 2007 that will be very helpful to you whether you’re writing your first draft of your values, or simply need a review.  Or perhaps it’s time for you to update your values so that you can make better decisions in every moment.

In any case, be sure to commit your values to memory and make sure they represent you completely, so that making split-second decisions comes naturally and intuitively.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

I’ve had several close, personal friends come to me lately for advice.  Considering this to be a huge compliment and ultimate faith in my ability to give good advice I, naturally, want to help.  Most of these people are now avid readers of this blog and know my philosophies, so they have come to me out of a sense of, “This isn’t working for me and I can’t figure out why – can you?”

About 98 percent of the time, every desire not yet manifested, and nearly every problem, stems from four basic areas.  Whether it’s something that you’re trying to create, or a situation you’d like to change, consider these 4 questions and you’ll find your blockage almost immediately.

Have you identified your desire in detail? Have you used your imagination to picture the new car, house, people treating you better at work, etc?  Your imagination is your most useful tool in recreating your life.  Since I just wrote a post on this, Facing Reality, I’m not going to spend any more time on it here, just remember to use your imagination, as you did when you were a child, to visualize your desired outcome – whatever that is.  (Most of you are getting pretty good at this.  That’s great!)

Do your thoughts reflect your true desire? What is your internal dialogue like?  You know what I’m talking about; when you’re going about your daily routine, or just sitting and mindlessly watching television, are your thoughts positive or negative?  Are you thinking about what you want and getting excited about it?  Or are you imagining “worst case scenarios” for other areas of your life?  Read How to Conquer Persistent Negative Thoughts if you think this is an issue for you, and if internal banter is a problem, check out, How to Control Your Internal Dialogue.

Do your words reflect your desire? What do you talk about?  I’m not saying that you have to share your goals with everyone you know, in fact, I usually advise against doing so.  I’m also not advocating that you talk about your dreams all the time.  But all of that gossip, negativity, bringing other people down for no reason whatsoever, or reliving how someone hurt you - all of it lowers your vibration and keeps you from getting what you want.  This is probably the biggest room for improvement in the lives of most of my friends.  You say you want one thing, but then you talk about all of your problems, everything that’s going wrong in your life, and all in the excuse of needing to talk about it.  You would be better off spending that time alone, visualizing your ideal day, interacting with no one, than participating in the latest water cooler scandal.  When you sit down for lunch with your co-workers, do you share all the good things that are happening in each others’ lives, or do you talk about the people who aren’t there at the moment, or the boss, or the company, or about how hard it is to make a living working there, etc?  Your mother was right:  If you don’t have something good to say, say nothing at all.

Read Achieve Success by Surrounding Yourself with a Positive Environment for more on this topic.

Do your actions reflect your aspirations? Are you “acting as if,” in faith?  Or are you letting other things get in the way?  Are you doing everything you can to be the person you say you want to be right here, right now, in this very moment?  Remember, determine what you want to be and then be that; do what you feel inspired to do; and you will have everything you want to have.  If you truly believe that your desire is possible, if you believe in God and the universe, and if you believe that all things are possible, your actions will reflect that belief.  You will no longer speak unkind things and you will guide your thoughts and develop the ability to focus on your true desires.  Once you accomplish this, the world is your oyster.  Wouldn’t that be worth it?

Until next time,
Live joyfully!

Technorati Tags: Motivation, Success

Posted under Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Weight Loss

In 1897, an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed a pattern in the distribution of wealth among citizens no matter the country or time period concerned.  He found that the distribution was extremely skewed toward one end:  A small minority of earners always accounted for a large majority of the total wealth.  Pareto’s theory was tested, forgotten, revived, proven, and eventually adopted in the United States and Europe during the 1960’s as the “80/20 rule.”

The 80/20 principle has been applied to many disciplines and basically states this:  80 percent of results come from 20 percent of effort.  While the formula is not 100 percent accurate, it is amazingly close and I have read many examples where it was dead on.  In dentistry, I often talk about “Top 20 patients.”  This refers to that 20 percent or so of patients who are responsible for approximately 80 percent of the practice’s revenue for a given year.   Any business can apply this principle to just about any area of that business.  Eighty percent of the work is completed by twenty percent of the workers.  Eighty percent of your inventory comes from twenty percent of your suppliers. As an average individual, 80% of your productivity, comes from 20% of your time.  Take a minute to think about that.  The average worker, 80% of us, spends 8 hours per day on the job, but less than two hours of that is productive time!   You’d be surprised at how many small business owners I share that statistic with and get the response, “Tell me something I don’t know!”

So how can you become one of the 20% of individuals who accounts for 80% of all success?  Identify what you do best, what makes you the most productive, and what provides the greatest value to you and/or your organization.  What are those tasks?  Now identify the tasks you do that could be performed, probably even better, by someone else.  Are there some things that could be eliminated completely?

I find that a lot of companies have employees doing things just because “we’ve always done it that way.”  We maintain the status quo when we could be setting records because our people are spinning their wheels in low productivity, time-consuming, practically worthless tasks.  When we allow people to focus on their top 20 contributions, their creativity is spurred and we start innovating in our industry.  A company is only as strong as it’s people.  This is true whether you are a small business owner working alone, or a Fortune 500 company.

For an in-depth study on how to become more effective and productive, check out Richard Koch’s Living the 80/20 Way.

Posted under Conscious Creation, Dental Practice Management, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

Recently a client was complaining that he had a difficult time getting his staff to follow check-off lists for important systems that need to be completed in a certain way at specific times throughout the day.

I must say that I am right there with him in his perplexity of what the issue is.  I love lists.  I have a list for just about everything.  I could retire if I had $1 for every time I’ve heard, “Now that’s a shopping list,” at the grocery store.

I have a packing list that I use and keep updated for items I need when traveling.  Everything is on that list.  Being able to follow that list and knowing that absolutely everything I need is on it keeps me calm while I’m packing and helps me get the job completed faster.

The real power of lists, however, comes from what happens in our subconscious minds when we create a list or follow one routinely.  Have you ever had the experience of forgetting your shopping list and yet you remembered everything on it?  Most people just think, “Wow.  I’m good.  See, I didn’t need that list after all.”  So you stop making the list.  Then what happens?  You don’t remember things as well.

Many people, including some psychologists, believe that when we write things down, we’re writing them on our subconscious minds.  Can you think of all the implications this could have?

I, for one, am a firm believer that “writing it down makes it happen.”  And there many other people out there who share my view.  See Write It Down Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser.

In some ways, lists are like pets:  Feed them and they will give you lots of adoration and unconditional love.  (But I can’t remember the last time my cat spouted back to me my top 20 career successes.)

In writing this article, I found 18 reasons to love keeping lists and was inspired to write a poem.  (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, please forgive me.)

Ode to My List

By Debra Moorhead

Oh, list. How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

I love how you help me remember my important goals in life and yet, at the same time, how you’re not too full of yourself to remind me of the little things, too.

I love how you always want to go everywhere with me and never complain about how much I put on you.

I love how you sit quietly and patiently until I am ready for you.

I love how you clear my head and organize my thoughts.

I love how you help me make my dreams come true.

I love how you can retrieve so much information at my every whim.

I love how you keep me calm by always making yourself available during trying times – like packing a suitcase – and through thick or thin.

I love how you know my hopes, desires, dreams, likes, dislikes, and accomplishments, and yet you never judge me.

I love how your only concern is with me and my needs.

I love how you are always available to me, morning, noon, night, every day, week, month, season, year and beyond.

I love how the only time you fail me, is when I forget you.  But then you always forgive me, and are willing to stay by my side at all times.

I love how you keep track of all my ideas and never laugh at them.

I love your versatility; you can be personal and professional, static or dynamic.

I love how you can mingle my business and personal lives and yet, at the same time, keep them separate.

I love how you help me create systems that lead to my success.

I love how you always come through for me.

I love how you never get jealous of other lists.

I know there are many other ways that I am leaving out.  Ah, but alas, you will eventually remind me!

Okay, so my poetry writing needs a little work. Other than that, what do you think?  In what ways have lists helped you?  What kind of lists do you keep?  (I am always looking for new lists to try.)

Until next time,

Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Dental Practice Management, Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Weight Loss

As a woman business owner, the most important skill you can develop is leadership.  The most important quality of leadership is extraordinary performance, with the goal of achieving extraordinary results. These results then serve as an inspiration to others to perform at equally exceptional levels.

1. Why People Respect You We develop great perceptions of those men and women we can count on to help us achieve what is important to us.  The most common success in business concept is, “To get what you want, help others get what they want.”  It doesn’t matter what line of business you’re in, this rule nearly always applies.  Men and women who make great sales and provide excellent customer service, develop influence in the minds and hearts of their coworkers and customers. They are spoken about in the most positive way.
2. The Halo Effect Men and women who are responsible for companies or departments that achieve high levels of profitability also develop charisma. They develop what is called the “halo effect.” They are perceived by others to be extraordinary men and women who are capable of great things. Their shortcomings are often overlooked, while their strong points are overemphasized. They become charismatic.
3. The Source of Charisma Charisma actually comes from working on yourself.  It comes from liking and accepting yourself unconditionally as you do and say the specific things that develop within you a powerful, charismatic personality.  Staying focused on results and controlling your thoughts are crucial.
4. Be Determined and Purposeful When you set clear goals and become determined and purposeful, backing those goals with unshakable self-confidence, you develop charisma. When you are enthusiastic and excited about what you are doing, when you are totally committed to achieving something worthwhile, you radiate charisma. When you take the time to study and become an expert at what you do, and then prepare thoroughly for any opportunity to use your knowledge, skill or experience, the perception that others have of you goes straight up.
5. Accept Complete Responsibility When you take complete responsibility and accept ownership, without making excuses or blaming others, you experience a sense of control that leads to the personal power that is the foundation of charisma. When you look like a winner in every respect, when you have the kind of external image that others admire, you build your charisma. When you develop your character by setting high standards and then disciplining yourself to live consistent with the highest principles you know, you become the kind of person who is admired and respected everywhere. You become the kind of person who radiates charisma to others.  Why?  Because being consistent with who you want to be makes you feel powerful and in control.  (And, in fact, you are in control of yourself and your future.)
6. Focus on Results Finally, when you concentrate your energies on achieving the results that you set for yourself, you develop the reputation for performance and achievement that inevitably leads to the perception of charisma.

You can develop the kind of charisma that opens doors for you by going to work on yourself, consistently and persistently, and becoming the kind of person everyone can admire and look up to – the type of person that everyone wants to be around. That’s what charisma is all about.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. Ask yourself every day, “What is the one thing that I and only I can do, that if done well, will make a real difference to my company?” Whatever your answer is, go to work on that.
2. Decide upon the most important results you can get for your company and make sure that you and everyone else is working on those results every hour of every day.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Education, Leadership, Motivation, Success

I don’t know about you, but two of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis are procrastination and distraction.  Today, I want to share with you 5 principles that I’ve learned that significantly help with these two issues.

1. Have Everything At Hand - One of the best ways for you to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster is for you to have everything you need at hand before you begin. When you are fully prepared, you are like a cocked gun or an archer with an arrow pulled back taut in the bow. You just need one small mental push to get started on your highest value tasks.
2. Clear Your Workspace - Begin by clearing off your desk or workspace so that you only have one task in front of you. If necessary, put everything on the floor or on the table behind you – out of sight. Gather all the information, reports, details, papers, and work materials that you will require to complete the job. Have them at hand so you can reach them without getting up or moving. Be sure that you have all writing materials, computer disks, access codes, email addresses and everything else you need to start and continue working until the job is done.
3. Make It Comfortable - Set up your work area so that it is comfortable, attractive and conducive to working for long periods. Especially, make sure that you have a comfortable chair that supports your back and allows your feet to sit flat on the floor.  The most productive people take the time to create a work area where they enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater your work area before you begin, the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.
4. Assume The Position - When you sit down, with everything in front of you, ready to go, assume the body language of high performance. Sit up straight, sit forward and away from the back of the chair. Carry yourself as though you were an efficient, effective high performing personality. Then, pick up the first item and say to yourself, “Let’s get to work!” and plunge in. And once you’ve started, keep going until the job is finished.
5. Dress the Part - Sometimes, if I’m feeling really ornery, it helps to put on a business suit.  Even if I’m working at home and would love to be in sweats, there’s something about that outfit that says, “work!”

Action Exercises
Here are 3 things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. Take a good look at your desk or office, both at home and at the office. Ask yourself, “What kind of a person works in an environment like that?”
2. Resolve today to clean up your desk and office completely so that you feel effective, efficient and ready to get going each time you sit down to work.
3. Develop a wardrobe that’s comfortable but serious at the same time.  You know what I’m talking about.  There’s nothing like “putting on the uniform” to get your psyche in gear!

Until next time,
I Invite YOU to Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Leadership, Motivation, Success

Every bit of planning, prioritizing and organizing comes down to this simple concept:  select your most important task and then concentrate on it single-mindedly until it is complete.  This means no multi-tasking, and no tolerance for interruptions.  The most successful people I know apply this key concept routinely, and I know that when I apply it, I always get more done on my most important projects.  Here are some additional concepts to consider.

The Requirement for Every Great Achievement?
Every great achievement of mankind has been preceded by a long period of hard, concentrated work until the job was done. “Single handling” requires that once you begin, you keep working at the task, without diversion or distraction, until the job is 100% complete. You keep urging yourself onward by repeating the words “Back to work!” over and over whenever you are tempted to stop or do something else.

Reduce Your Time By 50%
By concentrating single-mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more.

It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task, to pick it up, put it down and come back to it can increase the time necessary to complete the task by as much as 500%.

Each time you return to the task, you have to familiarize yourself with where you were when you stopped and what you still have to do. You have to overcome inertia and get yourself going again. You have to develop momentum and get into a productive work rhythm.
Develop Energy and Enthusiasm
But when you prepare thoroughly and then begin, refusing to stop or turn aside until the job is done, you develop energy, enthusiasm and motivation. You get better and better and more productive. You work faster and more effectively.  The Law of Attraction works with you because your attention to any subject draws more of it to you.

Why Waste Your Time?
The truth is that once you have decided on your number one task, anything else that you do other than that is a relative waste of time. Any other activity is just not as valuable or as important as this job, based on your own priorities.  Once you label something a priority, doing something else means that you’re not ready for success.

Action Exercises
Take action! Resolve today to select the most important task or project that you could complete and then launch into it immediately.

Once you start your most important task, discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. See it as a “test” to determine whether you are the kind of person who can make a decision to complete something and then carry it out. Once you begin, refuse to stop until the job is finished.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

The easiest way to get sales in any business is to be seen as the leader in your industry.  To do that, you have to stand out from your competitors.  The best way that you can stand out from your competitors is to position yourself as a business partner, always looking for ways to improve your client’s business.  Never assume that they’ve already thought of or tried your idea, and always be on the cutting edge besides.

Help Your Customer’s Business
When you deal with a business person, you can be sure of one thing: that person thinks about her business day and night. It is very close to her. It is dear to her heart. And if you come in and talk to her and ask pertinent questions about the business, looking for ways to help her run her business better, the customer is going to warm up to you and want to be associated with you and your company.

Differentiate Yourself from Your Competitors
As a partner, you should always be looking to help your customer to cut costs and improve results in his or her area of responsibility. You should look for ways to help your customer in non-business areas as well. You should position yourself as someone who cares more about the success of your customer than anything else, even more than you care about selling your product or service. This approach to partnering in profit with your customer is a key way to differentiate yourself and to keep your customer for the indefinite future.

Don’t Criticize
The biggest mistake people make when first applying this concept, is to find fault and express it in a horrible way.  Don’t do that!  Soften whatever you need to say with, “I see you’re very successful at . . . .  Have you ever thought about . . .?  I could help you by . . .”  Then use your standard closing of, “would you like to hear more about that?” or even “Is that of interest to you?”

Practice the Reciprocity Principle
There is a principle of reciprocity in business that is very powerful. It is simply this: If you do something nice for someone else, they will feel obligated to do something nice for you. You should be looking for opportunities to go the extra mile, to do more than you are paid for, to put in more than you take out. By extending yourself, you improve your positioning in the customer’s mind and increasingly differentiate yourself and your company from your competitors who are after the same business. If you do this long enough and strong enough, you will eventually develop the partnership to the point where your competitors don’t have a chance against you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. Think about how you can help your customer’s customer with your product or service. Take time to understand how your customer uses your product to do her business better.  Create a list and add to it when you think of something new, then review the list before your next meeting.
2. Focus on increasing your customer’s profits and financial results.  Use your list and work with your client to reduce costs and increase sales volume.  Show your customer that doing business with you is both satisfying and profitable in the long run.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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Get Inspired! What do you want to create? Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment has helped hundreds of women business owners create the life of their dreams. You can read their stories here. If you choose the downloadable version, it comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.”

Get Organized! Learn the secrets of getting and staying motivated and organized with the Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book. This inspiring book gives you step-by-step instructions for getting control of every area of your life.  No woman should be without this powerful guide.  Click here for the table of contents and to purchase.

Be sure you’ve signed up, downloaded, are reading through and utilizing all of the freebies I’m giving out for the New Year. If you missed them, you can sign up now.

Posted under Education, Leadership, Success

With a new year often comes big changes and this year is bigger than ever for me.  I am changing the direction of this site in order to be more of a resource for women business owners.  While motivation, education, and inspiration, are concepts anyone can benefit from, I’ve been inspired to re-organize all of my websites and it makes the most sense to spin this site to be geared toward helping female entrepreneurs.

Some of the changes you will see very soon are:

The weight-loss articles are moving to their own site.  They are generating enough traffic and comments to warrant it and they have been a distraction to what I want to express here.

All of the dental practice management articles will spin off to their own site as well.  I recently sent one person to this site for the DPM articles and he thought I was out of business in that arena because of all of the “unrelated” articles.  It just goes to show how much you need to focus if you’re serious about doing business on the web.

What does all of this mean to my current readers?  If you enjoy my writing style and get benefit from it, you will continue to do so.  If you subscribe to my We Are All Self-Employed philosophy, every post will continue to inspire you.  I have frequently written my articles from a woman’s perspective, (not much choice there!), and since I am a woman business owner, most of what I write comes from that perspective as well.

I will obviously provide updates as the new sites are developed, once they are up and running.  You will likely see changes weekly.  I am expanding my speaking and consulting businesses at the same time, so the time frame for completion is one year.

Hopefully, you will notice the more streamlined approach to this site and be able to find the information you’re looking for much easier.

Until next time,
I Invite YOU to Live Joyfully!

Posted under Leadership, Motivation, Success

I refuse to focus on problems.  I am solution-oriented instead.  You cannot be focused on something without activating the vibration of it and therefore attracting more of it.  Focus on all of the well-being in your life and you will get more of it; focus on the lack of something and you will continue to lack it.

When a problem arises in your life, bless it.  That’s right, I said, “BLESS IT!”  Contrast from our desires helps us find solutions and achieve our desires more quickly.  When someone comes to me with a problem, (and this took a while to do consistently, by the way), I immediately ask them, “What do you want from me?”  Or, “What do you want me to do about it?”  And sometimes, I just ask, “What do you want?”

I refuse to sit and listen to problems, because, in my mind, there are no problems; there are solutions waiting to be found and they had to get your attention in some way.  Let me put that another way:  A problem is nothing more than a solution trying to get your attention.

I don’t usually write poetry.  In fact, I’ve never written a poem outside of a classroom assignment.  But during my regular writing session today, I was inspired to write the following.  I hope you enjoy it, but more importantly, I hope you embrace it.

Bless this problem, O Lord, I pray,
Bless each problem, from day to day.

I know that from contrast, I find my best,
It is in the solution, I find my zest.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success