It's Halloween here in the U.S. and that brings up a frightening thought. In two months, this year will be over!
You can quietly glide into 2011, or you can make a final sprint towards being more visible and getting your message out to your market.
Do I hear that you are tired, discouraged, and you may want to crawl under a cozy blanket and hibernate? I also know you have a big vision for where you'd like to end up. So which one are you going with, the vision or the blanket?
Three Steps for Success Before the End-of-Year
1. Give Your Soul a Treat
I drove past Pearl, my favorite art supply store in Atlanta and it is gone. My favorite Chinese buffet -- closed. A well-established, well-respected colleague wrote me today that her business is way off. Small businesses are having a rough go and the threat affects everyone's perceptions, even if your business is doing fine or had only had mild setbacks. No amount of rah-rah is going to get your juices flowing until you pull yourself out of that mindset. So give your bruised soul some comfort -- beautiful music, a getaway to the mountains or the beach. Play hookey from work and have a playdate with some rowdy colleagues or friends who always make you laugh. Read Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur's Soul or something else that inspires you. Worrying about the future is not productive, and wherever you focus your attention now is where you will reap your harvest. Be sure you are focusing on something you want, and not on what is going wrong.
2. Trick Your Gremlin
We all have one, even the most brilliant, accomplished professionals. Your gremlin lurks, waiting for a vulnerable moment, to scare you away from stepping up your game, stepping into your bigger self, or basically doing anything new. Here's how Rick Carson, author of the acclaimed classic "Taming Your Gremlin" describes this disruptive force:
Your gremlin is the macabre master of misery lurking in the shadows of your very own mind... his intention is to make you miserable by consistently diverting your attention from the simple peace and contentment already within your Heart. Untamed he will destroy your health, foul up your relationships, dampen your creativity, hamper your productivity and wind you up into fits of panic.
If you hear whispers like: it's no use, you are incompetent, this business was a bad idea to begin with and now it's a failure -- that's your gremlin talking. Rick advises to just notice. Expect that any time you decide to boldly move forward, or try to defy the odds, your gremlin will show up. Simply notice that it is your enemy speaking, and not anyone you should be listening to.
3. Reassess Your Options from a lighter, more creative point of view. The more visible you are, the more opportunities you will attract:
- Write down a big list of things you could do to create more visibility and move your business forward in the last two months, then pick your top three.
- Act! But remember this from author Ernest Hemingway: Never mistake motion for action.
- The holiday season is a time to reconnect -- how can you build the relationships with your most important clients and joint venture partners? It doesn't have to be lunch or a gift that's not in the budget -- be creative! If right now you are hearing a negative thought, jump up immediately, shake it off, and set up some brainstorming with employees, partners or friends who can help you generate some new ideas.
- Shift into gratitude and giving -- Even if you don't have a big budget, you can offer something to honor, support, inspire and express your gratitude to those who have contributed to you and your business this year. Take advantage of this time of Thanksgiving and giving back to remember what has gone well for you. You'll be amazed at how it can change your perspective.
Thank you -- for reading, for passing on my blog posts to others, and for anything you contributed to my business this year. Maybe you mentioned my programs to a friend. Many of you have made comments that expanded my view, and supported my efforts at Words That Work and those have meant a lot. I value you as a reader, welcome your comments, and invite you always to share with others who could use the tips and inspiration here. Let me know what ideas you came up with for your own end-of-year sprint -- especially if you found a creative way to gift your business associates!
Maggie Anderson Words That Work is a marketing communications firm that provides simple, step-by-step programs for consultant and coach marketing and executive presence. Use effective communication strategies to stand out and attract more opportunities and prospects using our media profiles, speechwriting and presentations, social media strategies and other communication tools.
