As always when our Lama is in the country giving teachings and/or we’re on retreat, I like to come back and share snippets with you that I found particularly helpful. So, here’s what I picked up that I feel is useful when applied to business.
3 things I’m doing to improve my business journey (and you can too)
Freedom being one of my top values (yeah, yours too, that’s why you’re here), every decision I make in my life and business needs to bring me closer to a feeling of freedom (in an ideal world, sometimes I lose focus and sometimes you’ve got to choose an uncomfortable path to create greater freedom).
Why the “high” of business success doesn’t last – the science
Do/did you imagine that once you reached a certain level of success in your business, that you’d be on an all time high? Happy, high energy, positive, all the time? …but then, at some point (days or weeks later), puff, you flop, literally. It seems like the air has fizzled out of you, that all those dreams and visions of greatness were just that, dreams, with no future.
Can you really grow your business in just 20-25 hours a week?
Yes, you totally can grow your business, from scratch, in just 20-25 hours a week. I did it. But, that does not mean that this is ‘little effort’. It. Is. Hard. Work. Persistent, consistent, deeply focused and dedicated work. We’re not talking about the traditional sense of hard work meaning long, dreary hours. As a business owner it’s your privilege to let go of that. Please do.
What are money blocks, are they real, are they made up?
I think it might make things feel more familiar to you if I told you that another name of money blocks is limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are beliefs that once served to protect you but are no longer applicable to your journey now, which is why they are felt as limiting. We all have those, in all parts of life. They come from your background – your parents, wider family circle, cultural norms, educational environment and who you hang out with.
Are you the only one not getting ‘downloads’?
When you hear others talk about downloads they’ve received with the most amazing outline for a new program, I’m guessing that you think that that’s something that comes from outside, something that just hits you out of nowhere as some sort of divine guidance.
How I became a Buddhist and what this has to do with your business
I remember thinking I’d never seen so many people. And the quiet. The calm. The uniformity in everyone just sitting there. It was unbelievable. Literally. We managed to get a bird’s eye view and the scene of all these students sitting before this one man, the silence despite the numbers was awe-inspiring. I felt embarrassed to be there. It felt too sacred somehow. I felt we were imposing. And yet I knew how important this moment was.
When did it all change for me?
It comes down to making a decision. Mindset. And taking action – consistently. How much depends where you are in your business and how far you want to take it. You’ve got to take an honest look at why you’re not getting the results you want, why you’re not taking the action you need to take and why you’re not being as visible as you need to be.
Can’t keep up? How to grow your business like a human
There are times of growth and times when we need to maintain and improve the infrastructure. I know you get impatient, you want things done yesterday, but you need to take the time to set solid foundations in place. When you’re in creation mode you can’t simultaneously be in full on launch mode.
