Priorities

Where oh where has my energy gone?

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Article contributed by Laura Prevost, Certified Holistic Health and Life Coach.

Oh where oh where can it be? (*sung to the tune of where has my little dog gone*)

So you may be wondering, where is all of my energy? Where can it be? And, gosh darn it, how do I get it back?

Did you know that unhealthy stress & energy co-exist? Without one, you have the other. Yowzas! Which would you rather have? Unhealthy Stress? Or glorious, fabulous, mood boosting ENERGY? It’s YOUR choice!

You want ideas? Keep reading for ways you can leave your unhealthy stress behind & energize yourSELF. Yup, you’ve probably heard them before. Maybe there are some new ones but what it comes down to is this: you need to actually implement the different techniques in order to FEEL gloriously & fabulously ENERGIZED. So, after you’re done reading this I want you to pick TWO (yes TWO) that you’re going to implement immediately. TODAY. Change happens when YOU CHOOSE to make it happen.

Okay, enough of that. Here we go!

Let go of anything & EVERYTHING that no longer serves YOU.

Let go of physical stuff that no longer serves you. Let go of people (aka “FuN suckers”) who no longer serve you. Let go of guilt, shame, anger, bitterness….let go of anything & EVERYTHING. When you let go you’ll notice how FREE you feel. You’ll feel lighter. You’ll feel open to receiving ENERGY & FABULOSITY.

Do something that MOVES you.

Go for a walk. Shake your booty. Take a workout class. Go for a bike ride. It needs to be at least 10 minutes long. This movement helps your body re-energize. Feel like you don’t have enough energy for movement? Go for a walk. ANYONE can walk for 10 minutes no matter what the energy level.

Prioritize.

Stress is oftentimes existent because a person is feeling overwhelmed with a to-do list that never seems to end. It’s SO imperative that you prioritize. Look at your list & see what NEEDS to get done versus what you WANT to get done. AND – this is significant so listen up – ONLY put 10 things on your to-do list daily (this includes picking the kids up at school, vacuuming, taping your marketing video, etc.). You’ll be surprised at how quickly you learn to prioritize.

Take a break.

This doesn’t have to be incredibly long but it’s important to give yourself a break every single hour. It can be a minute where you get up and shake your booty. Jump around. Do a couple of sprints. Do a fast walk around your house or office building. Here’s the rule for this one: you must leave your computer & phone behind for your break.

Freak out.

Are you ready for some Freak out FuN? With this one you get to let it ALL out. Yup, I’m talkin’ ‘bout a Five Minute Freak Out. Oh yeah. You get to embrace ALL of your emotions – scream, shout, run around like a crazy person. I’d recommend doing this one with no one in the vicinity so that you can feel FREE to let it all out.

Eat energizing FOOD.

Sounds simple right? Try a green smoothie. This not only helps you up your leafy green intake BUT it also zests you up with yummilicious fruits. AND, you can add in some “extras” that will rock your world, like chia seeds & maca. Listen to your body – it KNOWS what it needs & wants to feel energized.

Get enough zzzzzzz.

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard this one a million times…maybe even a gazillion times. BUT, have you ever noticed that when you’re overtired, everything seems, well, like overwhelming to the nth degree? Yup, that’s what I thought. When you get enough sleep you can DO & BE everything you need to DO & BE. Not only that – your mind is clear & focused to you can be efficient & effective with your 10 item to-do list.

Drink water.

It’s simple. It’s free. It’s yummy. Many times energy levels drop because of dehydration. There are many levels of dehydration & if you’re not aware you may not even know you’re lacking in the water department. Again, LISTEN to your body. Drink water – it’s a quick solution to ENERGIZE yourSELF.

Go play. Outside.

Get outside. Reconnect with nature. Realize that nature still trumps anything that is stressing you out. Playing can count as anything. Play in your garden. Skip. Play hopscotch. Hike. Walk. Just make sure you go OUTSIDE without your phone or computer or any other electronic gadget.

Be YOU.

It can be exhausting trying to be anyone other than your own self. Why would you want to anyways? Did you know that you’re the ONLY one who can be your BEST you? When you’re true to you & you embrace yourSELF you will feel ENERGIZED! A little aside on this one – when you’re trying to be someone you’re not – it can also be SUPER stressful because you’re always on “guard” to make sure you present the “correct” persona. Let go & BE yourSELF!

Which TWO have you picked for your first steps to lessen your unhealthy stress & up your ENERGY? Once those two are implemented as habit (this can take from 21 to over 200 days so only YOU know when this happens) add two more. You CAN be your BEST energized self!

Laura Prevost is a Certified Holistic Health & Life Coach with a BA in Human Behavior. Laura combines her past with her present to live a life of fabulosity & passion.
Laura works with women who are READY to discover their glorious happiness & health. She has the tools, desire & compassion to bring to light a life of fabulosity for anyone brave enough to embrace her best self. Laura is the owner of Head Over Heels In Health in Flagstaff, AZ where her zest for life bubbles over into her joy of the outdoors, family, friends & play.
You can begin your life of fabulosity TODAY by going to www.HeadOverHeelsInHealth.com & signing up to receive your FREE 7 Day Life In Balance Boot Camp.

3 Steps Beyond “Shop Local”

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Shop local. Shop local. Shop local.

It’s like a mantra, right? And a good one on many levels. Supporting the people you know, saving the gas it takes to drive across town, etc. But guess what? If you go a few steps beyond simply shopping, your impact on your local economy can be even greater.

And the really good news? They won’t cost you another dime!

#1. Bring cash. Even with the best rates on credit card processing, using a credit card costs a business more money than accepting cash or checks. This puts more money in their pocket, without taking any more out of yours, helps their bottom line!

#2. Talk to them. Talk to the business owner and ask what you can do to support their business. This not only lets them know that you’re a fan, but it also gives you a networking opportunity. You know I love that! Offering to support them establishes you as an engaged, caring fellow business owner. This is a great way to give, and set up new connections at the same time. Warning – do NOT promote yourself, unless the opportunity clearly arises. Doing so will make the whole encounter feel self-serving to the business owner.

#3. Talk ABOUT them. And not just to your friends! Ask if the business has a Facebook page, or are on Yelp, or other social networks where you can rate their shop. Again, this costs you nothing, but positively impacts their business!

I love the shop local movement, and think it’s possible to bring it to a whole new level. What ideas do you have that can further the cause?

Do You Know What Time it is?

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About 15 years ago, I got it in my head that I needed a new watch. I knew EXACTLY what I wanted. It needed to be silver and gold, so that it matched everything. It needed to have numbers around the dial, rather than just tic marks. It needed to have the date. So I started shopping.

I window-shopped. I went to malls. I went to jewelry stores. If I’d known how to shop online back then, I would have done that. Every chance I got, I was looking for this perfect watch. I kept looking and looking and looking. I searched for two years.

TWO YEARS?! Ok, just writing about it makes me shudder to think of the time I spent (wasted) on shopping for a watch. Want to know what brought an end to the madness? I’ll tell you.

I was in a department store, in the watch section, of course, and I saw a Mickey Mouse watch. The face was gold and silver, and I laughed. Something clicked in my head, and my inner voice said, “You know what time it is? Maybe it’s time you stopped taking this all so seriously.”

I bought the watch on the spot, and still have it today. It’s the only one I wear.

It reminds me to stop obsessing, to laugh, to look in different direction for solutions, and that time is precious.

It’s a N.M.W. thing…

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I was standing in my kitchen today, reheating leftover Pad Thai, fretting over writing an article. You see, I’ve been out of commission almost all week, feeling mentally hazy and lethargic. But several years ago, I decided that this gets done no matter what. Since I made that decision, my articles going out through my newsletter account for bringing in 25% of my business.

25 percent. That is a big deal for the 2 or so hours a week I put into it. How would you like to increase your business by 25% with 2-3 hours of focus? Back to the kitchen…

I was thinking over my No Matter What policy, and it occurred to me that it was a great topic. It actually came up last week, during my members’ M.I.T.  (Monthly Intensive Training) class on follow-up strategies. Towards the end of the class, after going over word choices, strategies, and systems, one of the participants commented, “Now if I could just make myself DO these things!”

I asked a few questions, like “When you do follow up, do people refer you more? Do they return to do more business with you? Are they happy to hear from you? Do they appreciate your professionalism?”

The answers were yes on all counts, of course. So the question to ask is not how can you make yourself do it, it’s how can you afford not to? And what are you letting keep you so busy with that you can’t do the activities that bring you clients, referrals, and/or exposure?

Here’s a tool to help you sort through the noise to get to the critical business activities. Ask yourself if each activity has a strong potential to…

  1. Bring me clients?
  2. Make money?
  3. Garner referrals?
  4. Get me in front of my target market?
  5. Be of genuine service to people who can help me with 1-4?

If not, put it to the bottom of the list. And if you find one activity that fires on all cylinders  (like my newsletter does in my business), then make it a No Matter What activity. And I mean NO MATTER WHAT.

So get off your excuses, and be an entrepreneur. It’s time to really own your business. Decide what makes you successful, and then do what it takes. You’re worth it, you’re capable, and you have time to do anything you determine is critical to your business.

Want to get moving right now? Complete an application for a FREE Big Impact Strategy Session to find out how to get your business growing.

Focus on Your Core

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A few weeks ago I created a program so that I could offer training and networking at prices that everyone can afford in this economy.

In searching for a premise for the whole thing, I finally came up with a core concept of YES. And some of you have asked why this is the focus. So of course, I’m writing about it, and maybe you can use these ideas to develop your own business.

  1. Teach what you know. What DO I know? A wide range of things… I’ve created events, started networking groups, collaborated with large organizations, received referrals from hundreds of people, taught classes on effective e-newsletters, and coached entrepreneurs for years.
  2. Boil down that knowledge to a core idea. All of these various skills boiled down to the concept of finding ways to collaborate. In other words, getting people to say YES to working together with me.
  3. Focus everything you do on that one core idea. For instance, today I’m teaching an intensive class on follow-up that is all about getting people to say yes (and it’s not what you think). In a few weeks I’m teaching a class on how to ask for what you want. It’s all about learning to collect YES in your business in a fun way.
  4. Make sure you ENJOY your core idea. I used to wonder, “What if it turns out that I am a great country singer? I don’t like country music, so would I have to make a career out of it anyway?” I know – very random. But I’d say, no, don’t be a country singer if you don’t enjoy it.

In this vein, I created a free teleclass that is in alignment with the above points. It’s called “How to Ask For What You Want (and have fun doing it!).” Click here for details and to register.

What is your core idea?

Lazy Successes

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For those of you who know me, it won’t come as a surprise to learn that I am a very driven person. I actually love working, and believe the harder I work, the more results I will get. I’m sure this is no great revelation to anyone.

But for the past two weeks, I’ve had a series of minor maladies. Things like this really annoying irritation going on in my left eye that feels like I have sand or an eyelash in it all the time. Not painful, not life-threatening, just an aggravating distraction.

As a result, I seriously don’t want to work. At all. I feel like I’ve been doing the bare minimum for a few weeks now. But the weird thing is that I’ve been seeing more results – people scheduling appointments, more clients, and new events. Puzzling.

Upon reflection, I can think of three reasons why this is happening:

  1. I’ve focused on getting only the essentials done, and have left the “fluff” behind.
  2. I’ve said no to taking on new things.
  3. I’ve relaxed and taken care of myself.

Many of you who read my blog have experience with developing a “less is more” strategy, so please share your wisdom with everyone here. I’d write more, but I have to go take a nap and put a warm compress on my eyes.