As you already know, I love planners, and although I normally share my tips and tricks for getting the most out of your planner through scheduling, project management and task lists, I know there is more to planners than just productivity! Many people turn to planners to achieve a sense of peace in how they spend their time, but unless you actively and intentionally use your planner to more fulfilling ends, you probably find you’re coming up short. If you would like to get more out of your planner and achieve a sense of fulfillment that your days, tasks and choices are making an impact on your life and the lives of those around you, the concept of Intentional Planning will interest you!
In order to explain my concept of Intentional Planning, I have put together a whole video on the subject that outlines my five tips for getting started with Intentional Planning. The video covers my tips, the basis for the concept and a few methods for implementation. This video features two great Intentional Planning resources, the Happiness Planner, which I review and explain within the video, and also my new Weekly Gratitude Insert to help anyone with a six ring binder system begin gratitude journaling for increased happiness and contentment. The team over at Brandmentalist, creators of the Happiness Planner, were generous enough to offer a few planners as part of a giveaway, so if you are interested in winning your own Happiness Planner, watch the video for details on how to enter to win one of two planners that I will be giving away!
Download Your Free Happiness Planner Bookmarks Here!
Let me know what you think of my concept of Intentional Planning! I’d love to hear if this topic interests you and if I can be of service to provide any additional information and support. If you utilize any of my tips from the video and care to share a picture of your solutions in your own planners, feel free to use the hashtag #IntentionalPlanning so I can find your pictures on Twitter or Instagram and give them a like! Also, feel free to check out my latest printable inserts if you would like to get started with Gratitude Journaling!
My first Instagram photo challenge from March was so popular that I have been ready and waiting to organize another one! Since many of you know that I am going to Aruba with Lisamarie in a few weeks, she and I decided to team up to host the #SUMMERINTHEGLAMPIRE photo challenge to celebrate summer, our vacation and our ever popular monthly YouTube collaboration series called the Glampire Chat! This June photo challenge is half Strange & Charmed and half Paper & Glam, but guaranteed to be 100% inspirational and fun for those of you who enjoy celebrating the seasons!
So, this is how the photo challenge is going to work, in case this is your first time participating with one! If you would like to participate, go ahead and take the image above with the daily prompts and post it to your Instagram feed and use the hashtag #SUMMERINTHEGLAMPIRE in your description! Once June 1st arrives, begin posting a photo a day in accordance with the prompts we have outlined! So for June 1st snap a photo of your office decor, on the 2nd show us how you work, and so on and so forth each day for June! Now, if you miss the start of this challenge or happen to miss a day, don’t fret! This is a no-pressure challenge! You can catch up by posting more pictures if you’d like or you can pick and choose the prompts you want to share, either way, we are glad to have you snapping photos along with us for the month! Of course, make sure you are tagging all your images with the #SUMMERINTHEGLAMPIRE hashtag so we can search through the feed and follow along with each of you. That brings me to my final suggestion for participating, make sure you get involved! You too can use the hashtag to see all the awesome participants and photos being shared, and I really want to encourage all of you to make sure you show your support by regularly checking through hashtag and liking and commenting on the photos being shared by all the participants! I love photo challenges because they bring many different people and Instagram accounts together around a central theme and it’s a great way to get exposure for your own account, as well as a great way to find new IGers to follow!
Of course, Lisamarie and I would love it if you followed our accounts as well as our YouTube channels because we have some extra special content surprises that we are planning to share throughout the month! I hope you all are as excited as we are to be participating in this challenge and we can’t wait to see all your photos and the fun ways you each interpret the prompts. Remember, you are more than welcome to think outside the box and get creative with these photos! The more creativity we see, the better!! Happy snapping!!
Manifestation is such a powerful tool in my life and business. I realize to some, the idea seems far fetched, but its a practice that I’ve seen work first hand and I think that its one of those things that can be so simply integrated into your life that its worth a shot to give it a try, even if you aren’t a believer just yet. I don’t tend to practice manifestation in the typical ways, I’m a little bit of a rebel and I just don’t have the time or patience to sit in mediation each morning chanting my goals and dreams, wishing them into reality. Instead, I use a few key high tech methods to keep my goals in focus and slowly meld them into my subconscious. You see, the way manifestation works, more or less, is that you need to keep a mental focus on that which you desire. It doesn’t have to dominate your thoughts 24 hours a day (although, maybe that helps?) instead, you just need to be so familiar with what it is that you desire, that it slowly transitions from something you want, to something you believe you already have. Once your brain makes the transition, believing that your goal or dream is already accomplished, your subconscious begins to act in a manner to support that expectation and then one thing leads to another and suddenly you’ve made small but key changes to your mental state so that actually making that goal a reality happens nearly effortlessly. Some people call this “the secret” or “the law of attraction.” Some people say its a placebo affect and others swear by it. Either way you look at it, it’s simply enough to get started for yourself as long as you keep an open mind. So, here are the three methods I suggest for manifesting your dreams, using your gadgets to help support you and keep you on track!
1. Turn your goals into your passwords
I learned this trick from reading Sophia Amoroso’s #Girlboss earlier this year. In the book, Sophia explains that she would take things like her sales goals for her business and manipulate them into her own secret code that she would then use as her passwords for her business accounts and email systems. To me, this was genius, so I immediately started implementing this trick and I have to say, it really works wonders. So, to give this a try for yourself, start by thinking of a goal that you really want to accomplish. This can literally be any goal, a physical, financial, emotional or spiritual goal. It can be related to work or your family or your personal life, it doesn’t matter. Just write it down on a piece of paper. Look at the words and the letters and then create a secret code for yourself. Perhaps you will want to remove all the vowels in the goal or maybe you will switch around some letters to form a secret word. Once you have your goal converted into your own secret password, start using it! Switch one of your gadget passwords to this code, or change your email passcode, anything you can do that requires you to use this password on a daily basis (hopefully multiple times per day) is crucial! What ends up happening is that this password becomes very important to your life because it guards your iPhone, email or bank account, and it’s always in the forefront of your mind. Eventually, you won’t have to think about the code anymore, it will become second nature to you to type it in and each and every time you do, its like your saying a prayer to the universe to give you that thing you want. Day after day, it will grow deeper and deeper inside your subconscious until you are actually motivated in small ways to take action on it, until one day you have achieved it.
2. Keep affirmations on tech wallpapers
If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I love creating custom tech wallpapers for my devices and I always end up sharing those with you all via a blog post. This was a practice I started implementing a while ago so that I could actually keep my daily affirmations front in center in my life. Affirmations are one of those things that really only work if you say them over and over day after day, so putting them on pretty wallpapers that I use on all my devices was a perfect way for me keep them in front of my face multiple times a day. You can do this too! Either by using my free downloadable tech wallpapers or by creating your own. You can very easily search a site like pinterest to find inspirational quotes or affirmations that you can use on your own devices or you can take your favorite image and then add your own custom text via an iPhone app like Over, or even a web app like PicMonkey. What you use to create your wallpapers doesn’t matter, but what is key is that you use an affirmation that speaks to you and forces you to confront your goals and aspirations. Then of course you need to make sure you put that wallpaper on any and all devices you spend time with throughout your day from your phone to your tablet to your computer screen. The more screens and the more times you see your affirmation throughout your day, the more successful you will be in manifesting your dreams!
3. Set alarms for mindfulness
The final way you can implement manifestation into your life via your technology is by setting yourself a few reoccurring alarms on your phone to go off throughout your day to remind you to be mindful of your goals. I’d suggest setting two to three alarms, spaced out across several hours of your day that you can utilize as small breaks from your work where you focus for a few moments on your priorities and how you will make your dreams a reality for yourself. I think when it comes to manifestation, many people dismiss it because they think practitioners are expecting a magic trick of sorts to occur where they get exactly what they want, just by thinking about it. But that really couldn’t be further from the truth. The purpose of practicing mindfulness and manifestation techniques in general is to bring the center of your focus back to your goal and acknowledge that this is a priority and it must not be forgotten about. When it comes to manifestation, things don’t just happen on their own, you need to take action, but the idea is that by practicing techniques like these, you will be more encouraged and empowered to take action because you are imbedding the idea of your goal or achievement so deep into your psyche that not taking action just isn’t a choice. Use your mindfulness alerts wisely throughout your day as short periods of time where you can meditate on your goal, brainstorm actions to take or strategize how you are going to make your goals your reality. You don’t need to spend a lot of time on these topics, but you should be spending time regularly on them, at least a little bit of time each day, so that you are always envisioning your goals and the steps you need to take to bring them to fruition!
These three methods for manifestation may be simple, but they can also be very powerful and effective tools for those who truly desire to manifest their dreams. I’ve seen first hand how useful these methods can be and I hope that you too find success with them. I do believe that it’s possible to make your dreams a reality and to achieve competitive goals for yourself and your business by using manifestation techniques. Using these techniques won’t bring you overnight success, but incremental success, so long as you remain focused against your goals. I’d love to hear about your experiences using various manifestation techniques, so please feel free to share those in the comments. I’m always looking for great new methodologies or suggestions for books on the topic as well, so if you have ready anything interesting on the subject, I’d love to hear your review!
This week I celebrated my first official year in business! One year ago, I left the safety and security of my Fortune 50 sales and marketing job to go full time for myself creating a business and income via social media! I had no clue at the time that one year later I would have completely replaced my income and grown my community online to over 50k regular viewers, subscribers and followers. If you had asked me last year what my business would look like in a year, I most certainly couldn’t have predicted that my online shop where I sell digital products and services would become my dominate area of income, that I would eventually take on a select number of consulting clients and that I would be shifting my focus to develop educational programs aimed at helping small businesses replicate my success. But despite all the success I have found in the last year, I know that I also made plenty of mistakes. No business or person is perfect and I think I feel into some very common traps my first year that brought me a great amount of insight into the way I run my business and the direction I want to take it in the future. So, for your edification and perhaps amusement, here are the 5 mistakes I made in my first year of business and the lessons I learned from each of them!
I think there is a major misconception that if you work really hard you can make a business a success, as though sheer force of will and effort will make it so, but unfortunately that’s not the case. When I left my job to go full time for myself, I took on a major amount of work, committing to producing five videos a week for my YouTube channel, thinking that this great effort would bring me success. Although I wouldn’t say this was a futile effort, it certainly wasn’t as effective because I was doing a lot of work but it was all over the place. The main problem was that I didn’t have a plan. I just thought I would make a bunch of videos and that would bring me a greater audience. Once I stopped this nonsense and made a plan for what I wanted my YouTube channel to become, I suddenly found that I was able to make fewer videos a week, but because they were focused against my plans for my channel, a cohesive vision quickly came together and my subscriber count grew astronomically!
Lesson Learned: Hard work is useless until you have a clear plan
Mistake #2: Make sure your products and services are perfect before launching them
When I started my business last May, one of my major goals was to get a shop up and running where I could sell my printable inserts. I had been asked by numerous members of my community to sell the printable inserts that I had created for my own planner and I thought that the printables would be a nice (albeit small) passive income. I did a lot of research figuring out how to set up a shop on my existing website, and spent way too much time anguishing over whether or not my inserts to high quality enough to sell. It took me until October to finally launch my shop, and once I did, my inserts were met with overwhelming praise and support. I immediately regretted taking so long to get the shop up and running. That small income I had originally expected surpassed my expectations the first month of my launch and then that small income became larger and larger as months progressed and more products were added to my shop. What started off as an idea for a small side income turned into the majority of my monthly income which eventually lead me to replace my former salary in just a few months!
Within the last year, I have experienced an extraordinary amount of growth. I know for some, my numbers may seem small, but I have been able to exceed every goal I have set for myself in terms of my community growth. When I first started off with my business, I told myself that it was of the utmost importance that I gave each and every member of my community my time if they reached out for my help, and in the beginning, this was not a problem for me. As months progressed, however, and I began to get more and more questions and emails from members of my community asking me for help, I began to realize that I wouldn’t be able to personally help everyone. There was just not enough time in the day for me to respond to each lengthy email from a subscriber with an equally lengthy email. I can’t reply to every comment, and I can’t answer every question, I’m just one person trying to do my best for my business. This was probably the most difficult lesson for me to learn, but over time, I began to train myself to give short and succinct answers to emails, to use links to my videos and blog posts to help me save time answering questions and to rely on the help of my more informed community members to pick up the slack with frequently asked questions. Although I’d love to have long email chats with my community members, I know that my time is precious and that I can help more people in less time with my new strategy, which means I can give more of myself in other areas.
I don’t know if this mistake was something I inherited from my years in the corporate world at a Fortune 50 company, but early on in my business, I became keenly aware that I needed to make sure my community thought I was very busy because busy equals working hard! As a blogger and YouTuber I knew that I was something of an (extremely) minor public figure and that people would begin to notice and comment on how I spent my time. If I didn’t look like I had a lot of work to do I thought no one would respect me. The problem is, I have always been the type of person who likes to get their work done quickly so I have more time to do what I want instead of what I have to do! I have an arsenal of systems and hacks in place that I utilize everyday to make sure I’m getting my work done in less time and that’s the way I like it. To me, it’s not about keeping up the appearance of busy. Busy is bullshit! Way too many people like to consider themselves busy as though it’s some sort of measure of self-importance. Everyone has things to do, some people have more than others, but everyone makes choices for how they fill the 24 hours that they get in a day, so don’t let the concept of being busy create some sort of excuse for you not to achieve certain goals, and don’t let the busy peer pressure make you feel inadequate if you happen to have a simpler life. Personally, I love the fact that I have a good amount of free time during my day because it gives me the opportunity to be creative in a way I could never be if I was always busy!
Lesson Learned: Busy is bullshit! Strive for productivity & efficiency
Mistake #5: You need to discover the secret to success in order to achieve it.
I’m the kind of person who likes to research things ad nauseam! When I first started my business, I was sure that the secret to success was hidden out there somewhere and that it was my job to read and research and learn as much as I could about business until I discovered the secret for myself. Problem is, there is no secret. Literally, there is no secret to success in business. There is no reason why you can’t start a successful business from scratch right now with little to no business knowledge. I didn’t go to school for business, and for some time, I thought this put me at a disadvantage, but the truth is the unique knowledge and skills that I do have, the ones I was busy building while I wasn’t attending business school, are just a marketable and important to the success of my business as any business degree. Don’t let the fear that you are lacking some nonexistent business secret sauce keep you from starting your business and kicking butt at it! You can seriously make your own rules, create your own secrets, and build yourself an empire!
Yes, you can do this! The truth is that when you start a business, you will make mistakes, you will learn and you will grow, but the most important part of the process is to continue to move forward and learn from your mistakes until you find the success you are looking for. I wasn’t the first person to make the mistakes that I made, and I certainly won’t be the last, but you don’t have to be one of them! That’s the wonderful part of having the online business community and all the resources available to small business owners today. So many people, including myself, are more than willing to share their mistakes and lessons they have learned in so many facets of their businesses. It’s so important for you to find a community of like minded small business owners who are doing the things you want to do and achieving the success you want to achieve because there is so much power in information and community. If you would like to work with me personally, I’d love to chat with you so feel free to check out my Empire Building program and shoot me an email if you have any questions! I look forward to talking with you!
I recently finished listening to the audio of a book I had once read when I was very young called The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. I can remember my father brining the book home and telling me to read it, even though I couldn’t have even been a teenager at the time, this was something my father would sometimes ask me to do because he is does not read well. English isn’t his first language and he barely graduated high school as it was, but I on the other hand, had been a very early reader and would sometimes read books or articles for my father and tell him about them. So, he gave me the book and told me to read it, so I did. I can’t say that I remember very much of any books I had read at the time quite as well as this one. The book is a guide to success that outlines basic principles for the building up of wealth and financial security, which you would think would have been boring for a child, but this book was not. It was told in a series of parables that I was surprised to find I still remembered more than a decade later. Listening to the audiobook reminded me of where much of my attitude towards money had come from, and that I had been employing the lessons of this book since the time I found my first job in high school. Although so much of the book was familiar with me and the stories hadn’t changed in all this time, my perspective on the book was something that I discovered was remarkably different and caused me to understand the story in a whole new light. On the surface, The Richest Man in Babylon is a book filled with financial advice, yet in my second experience of the book I found so much more depth in terms of business advice that I knew would be important for me to remember and apply to my own business. So, today I wanted to share with you the three business lessons I learned from the story of The Richest Man in Babylon, in the hopes that this ancient wisdom is utilized even in our modern society!
1. There is no such thing as something for nothing
Getting something for nothing is a concept that has infatuated many people to their ruin. The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as something for nothing, although it’s quite an attractive offer, it’s against the laws of nature for someone to suddenly receive something of great value for little to no effort or risk. Belief in this concept leads many to gamble away large sums of money or waste tremendous amounts of time scheming to come up with some quick buck business concept. Although it may often seem, especially in this day and age, that people are striking it rich overnight with very little effort, in reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our world may seem so transparent because of social media and modern conveniences, yet although we think we see much, we really see only a small portion of reality. The online business world is a perfect example of this, and although there is certainly much money to be made by a savvy business operating online, it’s not some get rich quick scenario. Ask anyone who has ever started a business online and they will tell you that so much work went into making their very first sale, and that after that things got harder, not easier! The business world is an uphill battle even when you are working with modern conveniences!
2. Luck comes to those who are ready and willing to act
I’ve said it before, I believe that we make our own luck, and that pertains to everything in life not just business. Yet, this concept of luck still tends to permeate our conversations and analysis of successful people and businesses. When we see someone doing well in their business, we tend to trivialize it. “They got lucky with the timing of their launch,” or “they got some good press because they know so and so, they are so lucky!” I’m not sure what it is about successful businesses that make people believe that luck had anything to do with it. There is no magical force governing which businesses will succeed and which will fail. We all have the same odds, the difference is that some people seize opportunity when they see it and are ready and able to strike when the iron is hot. Being ready for those “lucky” moments and being able to recognize them is the single greatest determining factor for success. If you’re sitting in your office focusing on your work and your business, you will never see the opportunities that may pass right by your door. You need to keep your feelers out there in the world, know what sorts of opportunities you are looking for and keep your plate just a little bit empty so that when a lucky opportunities arises, you have the time and resources to jump on it! Luck is really as simple as that!
3. There is nothing wrong with starting small
The third and final business lesson I learned while reading The Richest Man in Babylon is that when there is great risk and uncertain reward, there is nothing wrong with starting small. When it comes to business, I think people have some sort of preconception that you need to go big or go home, as though starting a large business has some greater chance of success and solvency than starting a small side business. The truth is, starting small is a great way to test a business. It gives you an opportunity to bring a product or service to market with the minimum viable product without having to spend a lot of time making things perfect. Once your business has begun, it’s much easier for a small business to grow than it is for a large business to downsize. Often a small business is better able to adapt and make instant changes to their offerings, which in the end, make their products more desirable because they are responding to immediate data rather than product development testing. Yes, it’s true than when you risk only a little bit, your reward will not be as great, but remember the two earlier lessons and understand that hard work and action are the two quickest paths to success and the type of business you create, whether it’s large or small, can’t escape that truth!
I hope these lessons resonated with you and that perhaps you learned something new from this old book based on even older truths. If you would like to check out the audiobook for The Richest Man in Babylon, feel free to use this link to get two free audiobooks when you sign up for a free Audible.com membership! If you have ever read this book, I’d love to hear what you thought of it and any other gems of wisdom you found particularly useful!
I feel like May is such a wonderful month for working and office supplies. The weather is much nicer (at least in the Northeast US where I live) and you can wear much more fun and colorful outfits to work, so why not bring a little bit of that whimsy into the office? After all summer vacation is right around the corner and while you are dreaming of tropical beaches and fruity cocktails you mine as well be surrounded with the colors and accoutrements to liven your imagination!
1. Brightly colored note pads: Notepads are probably one of the easiest elements of your office space to switch out seasonally, so why not grab a pack of brightly accented papers? Of course, I love these aqua framed pads from Ben’s Garden with the cute quote at the top!
2. Mix & Match Pens: I just ordered myself a set of these adorable pens from Snow & Graham and I can’t wait for them to arrive. I love how retro they look but fun at the same time with their quirky yet inspirational quotes! There really isn’t much to say about pens, except of course, that you can never have too many!
3. Ringly: Ever since I received my Ringly last month, I have been obsessed! In case you aren’t familiar, the Ringly is a wearable tech ring for women that looks like a lovely cocktail ring but actually pairs via Bluetooth to your phone to alert you of calls, texts, emails and other various alerts that you control! Cool, right?
4. See-thru Zip Folios: I really love see-thru office supplies (hence my love for acrylic organizers) and this set of three neon pink zip folios from Poppin are amazing for the start of summer! These are a great way to store items and papers that you want to corral, giving you a great portable solution for tossing them into your briefcase! That or you can just leave them on your desk because they are seriously that pretty!
5. Retro Telephone: I don’t know about you, but this phone looks like it’s straight out of Mad Men and I love it! This rotary style desk phone gives such an elegant feel to any desk space. I could just imagine a magazine editor or a fashion designer leaning back in their chair chatting on this lovely throwback. Serious, serious desk envy!
I hope these tips gave you some great inspiration for your office decor! I’d love to know what challenges or issues you may be facing in your own personal office space that I may be able to address for you or provide you some guidance on for future installments of this series. Feel free to let me know in the comments below and of course, I’d love to see your office spaces, so make sure to tag me in your Instagram photos @MissTrenchcoat!
When it comes to your online presence, whether you are a business owner, blogger or simply a social media fanatic, nothing is more important to your overall success than having a professional website. In many ways, your website is like your first impression on the web and so it’s crucial that your website be a reflection of yourself as well as a unique and well thought out experience. While many people spend thousands upon thousands of dollars creating a unique yet professional website with the help of professional design firms and web coding experts, I have managed to create a website that received hundreds of thousands of views per month spending a fraction of that! In all, my website cost me under $250 dollars to build myself using free resources and tutorials online, plus a few little web hacks that I would like to pass on to you today! So here are my tips for creating a professional website that looks like it costs thousands of dollars!
Go Self Hosted
Although there are plenty of free website options online, using a free service doesn’t hold a candle to a true self hosted website. Although you can certainly create a very decent user experience on a Blogspot.com account, the fact of the matter is that when it comes to your site’s SEO or search engine optimization, a website that is ran from blogspot will never pull in the rankings the way a self hosted site will. This is because your site will always be a subdomain of a larger site, even if you purchase your own custom URL. In order to get the highest rankings for your site and the best SEO, you want to have your website self hosted. Yes, this option costs money, but usually not more than about $100-$150 a year for your domain URL and hosting fees. I use a hosting service called Bluehost, but there are many others out there and I suggest doing a little research for which service and price point works for you!
Use Trusted Website Building Software
I personally use WordPress on my website and I love how reliable, easy to use, and versatile the platform is for my needs! It gives me professional results without actually needing to be a professional web designer! I don’t need to know how to code or even understand HTML because WordPress allows for you to download special plugins to your site that help you create nearly anything you could imagine. Because it’s used by so many professionals, there are so many (free!) resources available to help you build the site of your dreams, and WordPress is constantly updating and adding new functionality!
Buy a Professional and Responsive Theme
Your website’s theme is basically the design that is seen by the end user and although you can get many free themes online for your site, I highly suggesting spending a little money and buying a theme that is perfectly designed, responsive and full featured! I personally purchased my theme from BluChic.com which specializes in responsive WordPress themes for female-centric businesses. Although my theme cost slightly more than your average WordPress theme, I love that it is responsive (which means that the layout of my site optimizes depending on the screen or device that is viewing it), with a clean-cut editorial design that I was easily able to tweak to fit with my own branding. My theme is also backed by a customer service team so that if I ever run into issues or have any questions, I have a professional on call to help me!
Now, I’m not a web design professional by any means, but I am one smart cookie and was able to build my website for a very reasonable price by myself in less than a day and I know you can too! Yes, I was nervous to do it at first, but after Googling some quick how-to’s and watching a few YouTube videos on website building, I was quickly able to learn the basics for setting up my site and follow step-by-step instructions that helped me to create it. It may have seemed overwhelming at first, but in reality, all the information I needed to create my own professional website was available to me for free online, so if you want to create an inexpensive website that looks like it cost thousands of dollars to code and design, I suggest using these tips and doing some research and Googling of your own so that you can get to work!
I wanted to share with you today just a few updates for new products that have recently hit the Strange & Charmed Shop! I know I don’t always do the best job of keeping you informed of my new designs, and I’m hoping to do a better job of that in the future. Okay, so the first items I want to show you are a new set of printable journaling cards inspired by my Empire Building Program. This set of four designs are my new favorite inspiration cards for my planner and I actually use some of them as page markers/dividers as you can see in my latest YouTube video all about my business binder set up! Whether you are a member of my Empire Building Program, reading through the individual workbooks or just an aspiring #GIRLBOSS who has been following along with the Glampire Chat, I hope this set of inspirational cards brings a little motivation to your business and day!
Now, if you would also like some full size inspirational art to add some motivation to your office space or home, my new Wall Art Designs that coordinate with my Empire Building Journaling Cards are going to be perfect for you! These 8″x10″ graphics are also printable and sold individually so you can choose the art that fits your style. Whether you are a #blogboss or an Empire Builder, these unique designs are sure to add a punch of style and inspiration to your workspace.
I hope you have all enjoyed this little update with the newest products to hit the shop! I am actually currently working on a new collection of art and journaling cards for this summer that I really think you are going to like as well! Think, the perfect summer getaway! So, let me know in the comments how you like these designs and feel free to leave me some suggestions for new designs or products you are interested in seeing in the Strange & Charmed Shop! As always, thank you so much for your support, I love creating inspirational printables for you all!
For a number of years now, I have been very interested in the concept of personal mantras. For those of you who may not be familiar, a mantra is traditionally a word or sound that one uses during meditation to focus energy and concentration, but more liberally speaking, a mantra is also an affirmation or catch phrase that a person may use on a regular basis. The latter is really what I have been preoccupied with because I am someone who does really believe in the power of affirmations and positive self talk as a means to overcome a variety of issues. I truly believe that if a person believes something is true, that belief can actually change them at their very core, and the best way to get someone to believe something is to have them repeat it over and over on a regular basis until a simple phrase becomes engrained in their psyche.
So, I would say that last year I went on something of a personal quest to find my own mantra, something that resonated with me and helped me to address the specific issues I was having in my life and business. I tried out a lot of popular affirmations, but inevitably, nothing really felt like it was mine, until one day I decided to write myself a set of directions to overcome some mental blocks I was having. At the time, I was spending may too much time consuming content online and not enough time working on my own. I knew this was a waste of my time, but I kept finding myself in this trap that I would set for myself where I got bored, went online for some entertainment, saw all the awesome things other people were creating and then got own on myself because hours had passed and I had achieved nothing of substance for myself. It was causing me some serious anxiety and a feeling that I was literally wasting my life. I didn’t like that feeling. I really wanted to feel like my days were filled with a good balance of working on my own priorities and spending some time enjoying myself and other people’s content, in a normal and healthy way. So, I knew that I needed to give myself a plan, some directions and rules to guide how I would spend my time in a general way. First I wrote out what I was going to stop doing, then I wrote out what I was going to do instead, and finally, I wrote out a list of ideas and options of priorities to focus on. I really liked this short and simple statement so much that I kept it on a page in my planner right towards the front so I would always see it. I eventually realized that as time passed, I had it memorized and actually found myself repeating it to myself whenever I was getting overwhelmed. Unconsciously, this statement had become my personal mantra and without realizing it, I had drastically improved my situation. All of a sudden I was getting more work done and spending less time worrying or feeling anxiety over my work. I was producing better content and the ideas were flowing out of me at an unbelievable rate. I had crafted my own mantra and it was actually striking a chord with me on a daily basis!
Now, I know that this post can seem a little far out there, and I understand if you think this is a little hokey. The thing is though, that I actually believe that this mantra helped me to change my situation and make my life better (of course, or else I would’t be writing a blog post about it) and I think it is worth a try for you. Even if this isn’t your normal cup of tea, I challenge you to weigh the benefits and risks of this activity. Creating your own personal mantra isn’t complicated or difficult, so long as you understand what it is that you need help with and have some solutions in mind for correcting your situation, there is really no harm in giving this a try. As they say, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain. So, here are my tips for crafting your own personal mantra.
1. Think about an area of your life that you are dissatisfied with, but you also know you would have the power to change: Understanding what we can and cannot change is a hard task, but think of this in terms of problems you have control over. If you are a student in high school and live at home with your parents, I don’t think it’s reasonable to say you can change your living situation, however, if you are a thirty year old adult who still lives at home, you have much more control over that scenario. Things like your appearance and attitude can be changed, but you can’t expect to change someone else’s.
2. Swap one bad habit with one good habit:At the time when I wrote my own personal mantra, I didn’t realize that their is a lot of power in controlling your routines. So, when you have something you want to change, it’s best to swap one behavior for another. So, once you know what area of your life you want to change, think about how you could replace a bad habit that perpetuates your issue with a good one. It may be hard to stop doing something, and it may be difficult to add a totally new behavior in, but when you swap one for another, it’s much more manageable.
3. Give yourself options: I’m the type of person who does much better with change when I know I have more than one option available to me. So when it came to having a successful mantra that spoke to me, it was critical that I didn’t box myself in to one narrow concept. Giving myself more than one option for how to spend my time instead of waisting it showed me examples that I could then put into action, and it also provided me with flexibility depending on my mood. For example, if you are someone who is trying to loose weight and you know that snacking is an area that gets you into trouble, you may want to tell yourself to stop snacking on bad food and replace it with good food. That’s great, but taking it a step further and saying exactly what foods you have the option to eat will make it much easier for you to choose that healthy option when the time comes because you have more to choose from.
Now, try putting these simple rules in place as you craft your own mantra, and then of course, make sure you keep your mantra front in center in your life until you have it memorized. Once you have it memorized, make it part of your routine to repeat your mantra to yourself throughout your day. Set a timer or reminders on your phone if you have to, but make sure you are using your mantra so that you actually start benefiting from it!
When it comes to online business, everyone wants to know the secret of finding success online. For some people, that success means more views on their site and social media platforms, for others it means making more money for their business, and of course, some people really want both! The key to success online isn’t some secret, it’s truly just a simple combination of a few key actions that do require a lot of time, work and dedication. I know when it comes to online businesses it seems like a lot of people are finding a lot of success with very little effort, but the truth is, you just don’t see the effort because the online space blurs those lines. So, if you are really ready to get more eyes on your work, and make more money for your business and you are ready and willing to do the work, here are the three tips you need to know!
1. Get Clear on Your Message
The online business marketplace is so saturated that it can seem overwhelming to try to communicate what makes your business different from all the others. People, including business owners, often get distracted online by the latest and greatest trends, products and niche markets, and because of this, often times, this muddies up the water and can lead even the most seasoned online entrepreneur down multiple wrong paths. To help you keep your messaging crystal clear, I suggest formally writing out a Manifesto or Mission Statement for your business. Include in this message, the specifics of your business and try to focus on what makes you unique even in a saturated marketplace. Then, when it comes to making decisions for the direction you want to take your business or opportunities that you want to get involved with, you have something of a roadmap to help you make critical business decisions. If opportunities and developments are in line with your manifesto, jump on them! If not, this document makes it super easy for you to pass, and feel a sense of confidence that you made the right decision for your business.
2. Create Dynamic Content
A picture here and a quote there does not equal dynamic regular content. Think about the types of content that you yourself enjoy online from your favorite online business or brand, I bet it looks polished, well thought out and really adds value to your experience with that brand. Yep, a lot of work went into that content, and nope, their is no way around it, you will need to get to work too if you want your content to be on par with the best of the best! Now, if this seems overwhelming to you, don’t worry, I’m not saying you need to create this awesome dynamic content every single day. Start small with one solid piece of content per week and work up at a comfortable pace. You don’t need to become a superstar overnight, although, I will say, the more high quality content you create on a regular basis, the quicker your rise will be, but pace yourself. As long as what you put out is on point, you can set goals for yourself and your business to grow into creating more regular content.
3. Interact with Your Community
The fastest way to get more views and sales for your business is to start making friends online! Interacting regularly with the audience you have will go a long way to get you repeat customers and regular audience members. Always keep your community at the forefront of your mind, because without them, you are seriously nothing. As you grow, find ways to engage and reward your followers, giving them incentives to be active members of your community, because the more active your followers are, the more growth you will experience. Your followers aren’t just there on your site cheering you on, they are most likely talking about you all around town, so be kind, available and supportive of them and it will go a long way!
Try this helpful resource!
So, that’s simple right? Like I said, no secret’s here, just good old fashioned hard work and these 3 key tips you need to know! As promised, I also have 1 really great resource for you if you want to learn more about these tips and so much more to help your business grow through active engagement of your audience. This week the third workbook in my Empire Building Program launched on the topic of Community Building and in it, I discuss these three tips plus even more strategies for finding, growing and retaining an audience of dedicated fans and customers. So, if you want to learn more about this topic and help give your business an edge online, I would highly recommend this resource! Of course, if you want even more help and guidance from me on creating a successful online business using my strategies and techniques, feel free to check out my Empire Building Path’s as well, where you can get either one-on-one or group coaching with me, plus access to all the workbooks in the series!
I’d love to hear what you think about these tips and how you make use of them in your own business or blog! Feel free to leave me a comment or drop me a line on Twitter or Instagram! I’d love to know how your business is doing, and how I could help you achieve more of your goals!
