Inner Compass Coaching - finding and following your true north

March 12, 2004

In this issue:
I. What does success in life mean to you?
II. What does success in business mean to you?
III. From behind the barn door...

I. What does success in life mean to you?

If you could wave a magic wand, what would your life look like right now? I hope that there are many things in your life that would remain exactly the same, but invariably there are some things that you'd like to change, do away with, make better, enjoy more, etc. Yet, it's difficult to achieve success in any or all of those areas if you're not sure what success means to you individually.

It's easy to let others define success for us. Parents, friends, the community in which we live and work, besides dealing with our own issues of caring about what others' think (we'll save that one for another issue...). But if you take the time to really think about what success means for you, you might be surprise to find you've already acheived it, or that you're very close to it. You may also find yourself a bit off track or on someone else's track, so here's an opportunity for you to create the track for yourself.

Finish this sentence: I know I am being successful by/when...

Here are some examples to help you get started:

1. I know I am being successful when I have something to look forward to everyday.
2. I know I am being successful by using the time that has been given to me wisely.
3. I know I am being successful when I am using my creativity to bring joy to others.

See if you can complete three definitions, and then check in with yourself every so often to see if you are staying true to your definition of success. The road of life is a much smoother, happier, and fun ride if you know you're on the right road!

II. What does success in business mean to you?

When we set out to start our own business, we have certain desires about what that business is going to be, what it is going to do, what it is going to mean to us and be as a part of our life. A lot of times, in the excitement of becoming your own boss and embarking on a dream, our desires are a bit intangible, and in order to become successful more quickly, we need to make those desires more tangible.

So, as in section I, it's important to determine what success in your business means to you. It may be different for everyone, but what's most important is that it be your definition, not your partner's, not your competitor's, but the truth for you and how you want your business to be as a part of your life's work.

Finish this sentence: I know I am being successful by/when...

Here are a few examples to get you started:

1. I know I am being successful when my clients/customers rave about my service/product.
2. I know I am being successful when my nights and weekends are spent as personal time and not as business time.
3. I know I am being successful by being consistent with my marketing efforts which continue to pay off.

Try to come up with three definitions of success for you for your business, then check in with yourself every so often to see how on track you are and to make any necessary adjustments.

III. From behind the barn door...

Yes, I live in a barn. Actually, it used to be a barn that housed coffins that was remodeled into a home about five years ago. We bought it about two years ago mostly unfinished and have done quite a bit of work on it since; painted the last room last weekend, as a matter of fact. Whew.

But I love it. My desk is in front of a wide window that overlooks a river, and I can usually see a herd of deer roaming by at least once a day. A very nice place from which to write to you my musings of the week...

I've always thought I was a right-brained person, a creative person. Then a couple of things happened recently to make me question that...

I was at a lecture a few nights ago where the speaker was Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway). Dean, if you don't know, is a genius and an innovator - very creative, very right-brained. I was also at a coaching event a few weeks ago with Chris Barrow, also a genius and an innovator (although I don't know if he'd call himself either), who is by his own definition, very analytical, very left-brained.

At the lecture, Dean showed PowerPoint slides of how an invention comes to fruition; one for the left-brained people, a nice order of steps in the process; and one for the right-brained people, a graph with arrows going every which way. I preferred the slide showing the crazy arrows.

At the coaching event, Chris said something like, "You know us left-brained people. If we do something that's not on the to-do list, we put it on the list and check it off!"

And I thought, oh my, I do that all the time.

So which am I? Left or right? Or maybe I'm walking a fine line in between, which would be truly frightening... :)

On one hand, it kind of takes the pressure off. Here I was all this time getting frustrated with myself that I wasn't being creative enough when in fact, maybe I'm just not that creative to begin with! :) On the other hand, I've never been very good with the analytical stuff either. Oh boy...

I'm going to walk that fine line in between for awhile, though, and see what comes up for me. I'm going to give myself a break about not being creative enough or not being analytical enough (somehow I think my husband would disagree about the analytical part, though... :))

It's interesting and a bit unsettling to discover something about yourself that might actually be very different than you ever thought.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Alicia

Alicia Forest is a Personal & Business Coach serving enterpreneurs and small business owners in their desire to create a sucessful business, by their definition of success. Her coaching programs are delivered by means of quarterly teleworkshops, monthly teleconference calls, email and telephone.

You are welcome to pass "Inner Compass ~ Weekly Directional" along to your colleagues and friends, as long as it is intact. Your recommendation is how we grow. The author of Inner Compass ~ Weekly Directional is Alicia Forest. Contact her at alicia@innercompasscoaching.com or at 845-778-4528.

For administrative matters and for information on our coaching programs and other products and services, contact us at support@innercompasscoaching.com or at 845-778-4528.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Thanks!

We will never release, sell or give a subscriber's name or email address to any other party or organization. Our subscribers will only receive email messages that contain requested information, new monthly articles or announcements of new services.