WellnessCoach.com™

I confess. I adore putting jigsaw puzzles together. The big ones. The 1000-piece size. The entire process of putting them together delights me no end.

From the joy of selecting which puzzle I’ll buy, to the sound of the pieces rattling around as I rummage through the box, to the trial and error method I resort to when I’m assembling a huge section of all blue sky. I love it all. I even like pulling the whole puzzle apart when I’m finished, and returning the pieces to the box. It’s a Zen thing for me. And the practice itself helps my business. How?

When we apply “jigsaw puzzle wisdom” to growing and maintaining successful health & wellness businesses, we find a rich source of material. Borrow these 10 jigsaw-puzzle tips, adapt them (as suggested) to your business, and watch what unfolds!

1. Take your time selecting your puzzle — be sure the picture is one you want to embrace for a while. [i.e. Take time to choose your goals for the year]

2. Keep your eye on the big picture you are creating, the entire time. [i.e. Review your goals often, keep a vision board or mind movie]

3. Trust. When you start, and you look at all those loose pieces, you’ll be excited because you know with certainty that, as my favorite teachers, Esther (& Jerry & Abraham) of Abraham-Hicks are fond of saying, “you are in the perfect position to get ‘there’ from ‘here’”…and you’ll trust the process. [i.e. Use Abraham’s words as a mantra this year.]

4. Focus on one small task or area at a time…be that the border, sorting colors, or just putting the trees together. [i.e. small steps and habits done continuously will move you to your goals this year. Big leaps not required and often lead to set-backs.]

5. Enjoy the entire process of putting this together – all of it…even the part where you can’t find a piece. Yet. As soon as you shift your attention to what you want and away from what you don’t have, then let go, and the piece will be there. [Need I say more]

6. Stay present. Commit to enjoyment the whole time – from the sound of the pieces in the box as you rumble around and sift through them to picking out “just the edge pieces.” From finding “just the sky pieces” to placing each and every piece into the puzzle in its own time. [i.e. This is the only moment where your body lives…learn from that.]

7. Appreciation Perspective. Remind yourself that you do this not just for the end result, but for the fun of the game. [A journal of appreciation for the work you did today can be a great habit to foster this.]

8. Refresh. If it starts being anything but enjoyable, or you can’t keep a smile on your face – take a break, get up and move around or outside, do something else, shift your attention to another section of the puzzle, or just stop for a while. [Swear by this and you’ll be happier, more productive, and probably get more fresh air.]

9. Reconnect. Take a time out every so often and look at the finished picture on the box so you reconnect with where you are heading. [A reminder of #2. Are you reviewing your goals regularly? Your vision for the year?]

10. New puzzles, new dreams. Know that when you are “complete”, it won’t be long before you want to do a new puzzle…know that it is the process that delights you. [i.e. as you reach your goals, new dreams will form. Capture them as the year unfolds. We never “get it all done”, we just keep expanding!]

Any other jigsaw-puzzle tips to share?

To Your Wellth,

Erica

Tags: Wellness Cafe, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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Through the course of 20 years, coaching thousands of clients, I find myself continually repeating and highlighting 7 simple yet powerful habits that help wellness coaches grow successful businesses. Habits that will make the puzzle of growing a business much more manageable.

Yes, times have changed dramatically these last 20 years. Yes, there are new avenues for marketing our businesses, yes there are social media avenues we now use, and yes there are also other brilliant options for leveraging technology. But these 7 simple habits for building a highly successful business remain the same.

These habits are not born of rocket science. Quite the opposite. And at first glance, you may discard them as too simple. But simple never meant easy and doing things the hard way never guarantees success.

The 7 simple habits are also the keys to putting together jigsaw puzzles of all things. Yup, jigsaw puzzles. Shuffling through a box of 1000 such pieces one rainy afternoon, it hit me — everything I know about the best way to grow a successful wellness coaching business, every habit that must be adopted, was mirrored in the lessons I’ve learned from this simple hobby. No wonder building both puzzles and businesses just fascinates me.

The Seven Simply Powerful Habits:

1. Keep your eye on the big picture you are creating, the entire time. In business, this means knowing your “why”, and your mission statement. Not sure of that lately? Take time to rewrite and reconnect!

2. Avoid overwhelm…get into inspired action.  In the jigsaw puzzle realm, when you start, and you look at all those loose pieces, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The same is true in your business. So just remember during those times of overwhelm that, as my favorite teachers, Esther Hicks and Abraham of Abraham-Hicks are fond of saying, “you are in the perfect position to get ‘there’ from ‘here'”…trust the process, refocus on the “why”, pick up the single next piece and take inspired action.

3. Focus on one small task or area at a time…be that the border, sorting colors, or putting just the trees together in a puzzle or making a video, writing a post, or attending a networking meeting to grow your business. You can’t do it all at once, and the true gifts come as you…

4. Enjoy the process of putting this puzzle or business together – all of it…even the part where you can’t find a piece. Yet! As soon as you shift your attention to what you want and why and away from what you don’t have or can’t find, and then let go, the desired piece will be there.
 In fact, it’s best if you commit to enjoyment the whole time – from the sound of the pieces in the box as you shuffle them around to picking out “just the edge pieces” or finding “just the sky pieces” to placing each and every piece into the puzzle in its own time. 
Commit to enjoyment in your business in the same way — from choosing your new logo to hiring your first assistant, to dealing with a computer crash — sounds Pollyanna-ish, but it’s really important to remind ourselves that we are truly blessed to be in business for ourselves and we do this not just for the end result, but for the fun of the game.

5. When it starts being anything but enjoyable, take a break — at the puzzle board or in your place of business. Get up and move around, do something else, shift your attention to another section of the puzzle or business, or just stop for a while. Have some tea, go for a walk, shift from the details of bookkeeping to the interactive world of calling a colleague or jumping on a mastermind call. Always keep it fresh. And speaking of breaks…

6. Take a time out every so often to reconnect with where you are heading.
 In the puzzle realm, it means looking at the picture on the box…in business, it means re-visiting your “why” as I mention in habit #1 – but also connect regularly with your goals as well as you “why” – I suggest doing so at least weekly – pull your mission statement out, pin it up on the wall, post it on your computer desktop. Close your eyes and imagine yourself at the business level you are aiming for right now. Do so until emotion wells up. If you use the EFT “tapping” technique that I teach, start tapping while reading that mission statement aloud!

7. “Manage your expectations and don’t quit.” This little gem of wisdom is courtesy of my business mentor & coach, Dr. Ben Lo. It’s great advice for business and for puzzles — if you think there won’t be glitches along the way, whether in puzzles or business, think again. You’ve got to just keep on keeping on. You’ll see as you go that the picture will begin to come into focus — the jigsaw puzzle picture and the picture of what you are shaping in your business.

Bonus tip: Know that when you are “complete”, it won’t be long before you want to do a new puzzle…know that it is the process (of building a puzzle OR a business) that delights you. When you get to a desired level in your business, soon a new desire will be born — a new product to create, a new tagline that emerges, or a new book to write. There are always more puzzles to do and you never get them all done.

—

Now I know, some of you are possibly saying, “Yes, it’s a cute analogy, Erica, but this enjoyment thing, and trusting the process are only applicable to jigsaw puzzles — because there you know all the pieces are in the puzzle box — the manufacturer put them there. I don’t know that all the pieces are there when it comes to my business. In fact some of them are glaringly missing…I don’t know how to make a Youtube video for instance.”

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I am a joyful student of the teachings of Abraham-Hicks and their Law of Attraction material…so it won’t surprise you when I say, “Yes, and YOU contain all the pieces of your picture of a successful and prosperous business that you could ever possibly imagine…your “manufacturer” put them there right from the get go…it is your job to FEEL this and ALLOW it. Even if you don’t know exactly how to make a Youtube video or design a subscription site, you are creative, resourceful and very much whole. And you do have what it takes to find someone who does know how to do that thing you don’t know how to do, or to learn to do it yourself, or to get the need met in another creative way. Yes, you do have all the pieces you need.”

Let me know what other habits have helped you in your business!

To Your Brilliance and Wellth,

 Erica Ross-Krieger, M.A., BCC

Board Certified Business Coach, Author

WellnessCoach.com

Tags: Law of Attraction, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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“Are you interested in your own success or committed to it?”– John Assaraf

When you’re interested in your own success, you dream a lot, wish a lot, hope a lot and focus on the roadblocks in your way. Thinking you’ll achieve success “someday”, you don’t even see that you’re the one actually putting up those roadblocks.

When you are committed to your success, you see clearly that the roadblocks are of your own making. You breathe, simply notice what you are doing and, in that moment of witnessing, you activate what author Rick Carson calls The Zen Theory of Change in Taming Your Gremlin:

“I imprison myself not by trying to be free, but by simply noticing how I am imprisoning myself in the very moment I am imprisoning myself.”

Get Wise to Your Roadblock Habits

Being clear about and getting wise to the top 5 ways you block success is important. When you stop and notice specifically what you’re doing, and that Zen Theory of Change starts shifting things, you can further the process by stepping in to remedy the situation. Here are the top ways you block success and the remedies for removing them:

Top 5 Self-Imposed Blocks to Success:

1. Acting from current reality. This is especially true for wellness coaches who want a full practice but are focused on how their practices aren’t full. They make marketing efforts in a state of panic and scarcity, working like crazy to “get more clients.”

Remedy: It is of great value for you to give your conscious attention to what you specifically want and summon the feelings of what you want, in the here and now, otherwise you can be swept up by the influence of that which surrounds you. (This is not appropriate however in the case of an acute physical problem that requires immediate medical attention.)

For the desired state of a thriving business or full coaching practice, or anything else, start from the inside out. Immerse yourself in the feelings of the desired state right now. This means summoning up the feeling of how it will be when the practice is already full so that you then can act from a state of ease and grace when you do take action.

Take 5 short minutes before you fall asleep at night to imagine this desired state as if it already exists. Do so until you can actually feel the peace, joy, calm, exhilaration (or whatever feelings and sensations you imagine that desired state will evoke for you) right then as you are lying there. Over time, this state will become more familiar and replace the feelings of scarcity. Acting from the feelings of the desired state already existing is what creates results. Guaranteed.

2. Using irresponsible semantics. When you habitually say: “I can’t…”, “I never…” “I don’t have enough time for…” and repeat these statements as if they are the “truth”, you’re hypnotizing yourself into believing what you say. 99% of the time, unless there is an actual physical obstruction or limitation, these are not “true” statements.

Remedy: Develop the habit of using responsible semantics this month and empower yourself in the process. Adopt just one of the following statements and put it into practice for the next 28 days: Say “I choose not to…” instead of  “I can’t”. Say “Until now, I never____and now I am willing to___”; or say “Until now, I’ve not made the time for…” Watch what happens.

 3. Acting like The Lone Ranger. Somewhere along the way, you might have adopted the attitude that you would “tough it out” or “go it alone” to prove that you could: 1) get it done the way you want it done if you do it yourself; or 2) do it faster if you do it alone, or maybe 3) show the world you’re capable and competent if you do it yourself. It really doesn’t matter why you went this route or what’s behind your habit of acting in a vacuum. What does matter is that you realize that successful people use a team.

Remedy: Call on all members of your team and lean into them. Your “asking for help” muscles may be a bit atrophied, so it’s time to put them to work. Start with the team you already have…and you do have a team. You just may not see it that way. Your children, your spouse, your partner or friend, your bookkeeper, your business coach, your CPA, your on-line Twitter or FB community…that is what your team looks like right now. So put those little-used muscles to work and delegate or ask for something from someone on your current team in the next 24 hours. Go!  (You can make a conscious choice to expand your team soon enough.)

4. Relying solely on logic & ignore your intuition.

We are multi-dimensional and multi-layered beings. We are gifted with brains and neurology we haven’t even begun to tap or appreciate. In this culture, we have learned to revere and rely on our logic and left-brain strength. Generally, we have let our intuition and right-brain muscles get lazy. The power of intuition and your right-brain gifts are amazing resources that you may well be neglecting.

Remedy: Build your Intuition Muscles. Suspend judgment and doubt for 10 minutes. Get 2 fresh sheets of paper and a pen. Claim quiet time and shut off the ringer on your phone, the computer and any alarms. You are going to get information from something that is inanimate.

Choose a business question you want answered right now by someone very wise. Be specific. Write the question down on one of those sheets of paper and set it aside. (example question: “What do you I need to do or know to forward my business this year?”) Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Imagine your business itself has a voice. You are going to animate your business. You are going to write as if the voice of the business is responding to that question.

Now when I say, “go”, begin writing as if the business itself were answering that question and don’t lift your pen from the page for a solid 10 minutes. (Example of how a business might answer that question: “You’re doing extremely well. I’m happy with how you’ve managed me and grown me. I want you to create more information products to fatten my bottom line now so we can do even more great work in the world.”) Got the idea? Ok, ready? Go!

Don’t believe me that this technique works? I wrote an entire book this way and have grown a thriving business doing the same:)  Try it now! You’ll be strengthening your intuition muscles!

Bonus Remedy: Read Luara Days’s book, Practical Intuition

5. Worrying about what others will say. This strategy is the most sure-fire way for any entrepreneur to fail.

Remedy: Memorize this quote from Peaceful Warrior author Dan Millman: “You cannot listen to the God of your heart while you’re busy monitoring the god of opinion.”

When Dan first said this to me, some 23 years ago, I soaked it in like a sponge. It’s my “go to” quote when I find myself tied up in knots and not moving forward because I’m worrying about opinions. Remembering this quote works like magic. If I catch myself worshipping opinions, I take a deep breath, recall the quote, and march forward. Now it’s your turn. Write down Dan’s quote. Put it on a yellow-sticky by your computer or mirror, get a tattoo, or if you have an iphone 4S, ask Seri to remind you of the quote throughout the day. Whatever works to remind you to tune in to your heart and tune-out the noise of opinions.

—–

Remove Those Roadblocks Now

It’s your time — time to shift from being interested in your success to being committed to your success however you define it. It’s time to get out of your own way, remove the roadblocks you’ve created and come to life more fully. We’re all eager for you to do so!

To Your Wellth,

Are there other “self-imposed roadblocks” you’ve become aware of lately? Please share in a comment below. We’d love to hear.

Tags: Inspiration, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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Whether you’re building a new Wellness Coaching business this year, leading one that’s established, or restructuring and re-energizing a Wellness Coaching business that’s undergoing a makeover, the resources shown here are a must-have.

By “resources”, I truly mean “sources of help.” That said, you are going to have to expend energy to obtain or create each of the “sources of help” that I’ll mention. I won’t share anything with you I haven’t put into place myself. I have each of the 10 resources below in place for my own business. Yup, it took solid effort…AND the rewards are plenty. I invite you to put them into place in your own business.

Use the following list as a way to assess the resources you already have and to determine what else you need to put into place. In each category, I’ll open my contact files to you and let you know: the professionals that I whole-heartedly recommend; which resource to purchase, and/or; where to look to find out more.

Top 10 Business Resources Every Wellness Coach Must Have

10. An Inspiring Mastermind Group – Weekly meetings with 4-6 professionals whom you respect is key to keeping connected, achieving goals, avoiding isolation, and expanding your thought-processes and ideas. Join an existing mastermind group or form one yourself and include those you admire. Meet with those who will help you stay accountable to your goals and true to your authentic nature. [If you want help forming a mastermind group, let me know in the comment section below this post.]

9. A Great CPA  – You must have a CPA who has experience with entrepreneurs, all types of corporate structures / business entities and who can help you reduce your largest expense, taxes. You don’t just want to hire your uncle Joe who says he knows how to fill out tax forms. It’s important you develop a list of questions for the professionals you interview and perform rigorous due diligence. [You can learn about CPA Warren Taryle’s outstanding company, Taryle & Associates, by clicking here.]

8. A Savvy Bookkeeper – Let’s hope your receipts aren’t filed in the recesses of your wallet or purse and that you own up-to-date small business software such as Quickbooks. Even so, hiring a bookkeeper will be one of the smartest additions you will make to your team. Doing so will save you hours of work and free you up from number input and allow you to put your energy into Wellness Coaching. Did you know you can successfully use a bookkeeper remotely & even outside of your state? Yup! Again, do your due diligence, ask for references, check that they work with entrepreneurs and have a solid track record. [You can learn about bookkeeper Mary James’s stellar company, Mary James Bookkeeping Group, by clicking here.]

7. An On-Line & Social Media Strategy to Grow Your Brand – Let’s be honest. The on-line and social media world can be a bit overwhelming. You know you need to develop your on-line “authority” and strengthen your on-line visibility, but without a plan your start-and-stop efforts can be ineffectual and a waste of time. A successful strategy or plan is one that fits you and your style and one that you will follow. Consistently. A solid strategy will help you focus and be a resource for you to turn to in the midst of internet and social media overwhelm. Do some research. Find someone to help you create a system and strategy that fits you. [Learn about internet guru Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger course by clicking here.]

6. A Proven Business Coach  – I could write an entire post about the Top 10 Results You Can Achieve When Using a Business Coach, but I’ll save that for another time. Suffice it to say that to this day I have my own Business Coach — we meet regularly to keep WellnessCoach.com and me heading toward and on-track with the goal achievement that is important to me. I also hired a Business Coach when I was a Wellness Coach, and I can tell you first-hand how great that was. Having someone who wants the best for you, is willing to fiercely hold the space for you to achieve the business results that matter, and who knows the entrepreneurial territory from the inside out is crucial to entrepreneurial success. Are there many Business Coaches out there? Sure. Some who understand the Wellness Coaching arena? Yup. Do your homework. Identify the top qualities you want in your Business Coach. Make sure they are a good fit for you. Interview several. [Yes, I’d be glad to answer your inquiries. I’ll say no more here…]

5. A Well-Performing Website/Blog­ – Is a website and/or blog a resource? Absolutely! It’s your conduit for communicating with your tribe. It’s not enough to have an aesthetically pleasing website or blog…and gone are the days of sites being solely on-line brochures. Your site needs to do work for you. In fact, it’s more important that it functions well than looks “perfect”. Entire posts and sites are dedicated to web & blog development and keys to good performance. Be sure you do the right amount of research but don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Get into action here. Be sure your site gets put up, provides useful content and captures visitor information. If yours is still in the brochure category, or non-existent altogether, get busy and hire a pro to design and get a solid site up for you. Gotta do more due diligence? Yes. Get referrals, work within your budget, and be sure who you hire is a good fit for you…the person who creates your site needs to understand you and your business. [You can learn about Julie Hood’s rock star web and blog business, YourBlogTeam.com, by clicking here.]

4. The Best Entity for YOUR Business – Let’s face it. One of the most important decisions you ever made was to go into business for yourself and start to build a successful Wellness Coaching Business. Isn’t it just as important to protect what you are building? Having several entrepreneurial businesses, I can absolutely say “yes!” Being sure that this is the right time for you to establish an entity and deciding whether to form an LLC, S corporation, or C corporation is critical. You need to rely on an entity specialist who is a seasoned professional. Get referrals. Do your homework. Have a consultation to get a professional opinion about what’s right for your business. You can sign up for a free 30-minute consultation, join the teleseminar series, and learn about the proven track record of CEOs Cheri Hill‘s top-notch entity-formation business, Sage International, by clicking here.

3. The Right Insurance – Your insurance needs are unique to you. Be sure getting the right coverage isn’t a task you put in the “someday” category. Take action now. It might be that you’ll never actually know how much of a resource insurance will be…I hope this for you. Check with the providers of your homeowner’s insurance (or providers of other types of insurance you have) to see if it’s appropriate for you to obtain, (and see if they offer) an umbrella policy, Errors & Omissions coverage, and/or Business Liability coverage. [You can also look into the various coverage packages offered to members of IDEA Health & Fitness Association. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) also offers insurance to its members. Check with them to see if becoming a member and getting their 3^rd-party coverage is appropriate for you.] Depending on your training, and/or your prior or current education or license, you might also want to consult an attorney to see what is needed in your circumstances.

2. A Solid Revenue Model­ ­– Revenue models are a part of every entrepreneur’s successful business toolkit. Once put together, a yearly revenue model for your Wellness Coaching business will be a great resource for keeping yourself on track to reach your own levels of business success. A well designed revenue model will include: the revenue you are targeting to generate this year; prices for your various products and services; estimated expenses, and; how many of the specific products, group programs and individual services you will need to offer to meet that revenue goal. Looked at monthly, the revenue model will help you see what course correction you need to make to meet your revenue goals. [Be sure to use your key business resource  (#6 above…your Business Coach) to help you put your revenue model together.]

1. A Clear Vision, Mission & Marketing Plan – This is Business 101 and a great “course” to put yourself through whether you are starting or re-launching your Wellness Coaching Business. It occupies the #1 spot because there is no more powerful motivator to an entrepreneur than keeping his or her eye on the vision and mission of their business. Used as a resource, doing so repeatedly and consistently is invaluable. Well-crafted, these three components will remind you why you do what you do, what you are committed to, and how you will get the word out about what you do. Enlist the help and support of your Mastermind Group and your Business Coach as you create, sharpen, or polish this business resource. [Also use Loral Langemeir’s 4-CD set, Building, Leading & Protecting Your Business, to guide you in your work on this.]

—Got additional resources in mind that you think other Wellness Coaches need to put in place? Let members of the community know in the comment section below.

To Your Wellth,

Erica

Tags: Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.” – Joseph Campbell

• Are you saying a “hearty yes” this month?

• Are you saying “yes” each day to high impact actions that will move your wellness coaching business forward?

• Are you letting go of time-wasters, energy-drains, and clutter in all areas of your business and your life?

In the 2012 Wellness Coaches Calendar, the focus for February, Develop a Yes!Energy® Mindset, is based on Loral Langemeier’s soon-to-be-released life-changing book, Yes!Energy: The Energy to Do Less, Make More. It’s a fabulous philosophy and I’m encouraging each of us to embrace the daily practice of saying “yes” in our businesses and lives.

What do I mean by saying “yes”?

Well, what I don’t mean is to say “yes” to just anything and everything. What I do mean is to practice discernment and consistency when it comes to saying “yes” – discernment when it comes to knowing what is ours to say “yes” to and consistency in doing what we tell ourselves and others (including our businesses) that we’ll do.

So, this month, consider saying “yes” to doubling or tripling your marketing efforts if this has meaning for you. Consider saying “yes” to approaching a colleague about a Joint Venture project if that appeals. Consider saying “yes” to bigger opportunities, even if you are not quite sure how you’ll pull them off.

Yes, you may not know how you’ll set that Joint Venture up, or how you’ll hire an assistant right now, but, as Loral encourages her clients and readers, and as I’ve done many times in my own business and life, the idea is to say “yes” to what is ours to do, and then figure out the how.

I want to emphasize the practice of saying yes to what is yours to do…not what is someone else’s to do. And in your hearty “yes”, you know the difference.

We can scare ourselves by thinking that we need to push ourselves to say “yes” to huge goals and actions that we’re not yet ready for. This is not the kind of “yes” I’m advocating.

If your business is doing $10,000 per month right now, saying “yes” to bringing in seven figures this year is probably not realistic and just saying that goal aloud will probably be enough to keep you frozen in non-action. Likewise, I’m also not advocating that you play a game that’s too small for you and under-commit by saying “yes” to only those things in your comfort zone.

Instead, what you’re after is saying “yes” to the things that are yours to do, that are the “right” size of big, one chunk at a time. In the case above, rather than shooting for seven figures when you’re barely over six, saying yes to doubling or tripling your marketing efforts, hiring an assistant, and getting a new product out the door could be a fabulous way to say a big hearty yes.

Then with these wins behind you, increase the size of the things you say “yes” to from there. The payoff from saying “yes” to what’s yours to do and sticking to what you say you will do consistently is enormous. This month, become an ambassador of saying THAT kind of “yes.

The following list highlights the key actions that will help you say a hearty yes to the adventure of your wellness coaching business, or other entrepreneurial adventure, this month. I’ve combined some of the actions listed in the 2012 Wellness Coaches Calendar with a few more to keep you going! So say “yes” as you:

1. Pre-order the Yes!Energy book by Loral Langemeier if you haven’t already done so.

2. Do some serious thinking, writing or talking with a business coach to identify the places you can: do more with less energy, delegate and/or say “no”

3. Say “yes” to offering specials for new clients this month.

4. Start, join or attend a business mastermind group. Challenge each other to say “yes” to new opportunities.

5. Get out there. Sure it’s important to jump into the  social networks and form contact there. But get offline and start talking about what you know in the live world this month. As Startup Daddy said back in 2010 in his You Can’t Build an Arc When It’s Raining post, “Get into the social networks. Don’t try to game the system and pad your follower and friend count and just look good. Go out there and start meeting people and talk about what interests you.”

6. Attend networking functions & meetings and say “yes” to my challenge: Up your interaction level. Go for interacting with more than people you usually engage. Listen to the needs of and talk about your wellness coaching business solutions with double the number of people that you talk to when you stay in your comfort zone.

7. If the above challenge finds you stopping in your tracks and getting in your own way of moving forward, simply stop, breathe, notice what you are doing and choose to go forward. For more support, re-read Taming Your Gremlin® by Rick Carson. The bottom line here is that no amount of action alone is going to propel you into the “yes” territory if you haven’t embraced the “yes” attitude on the inside first.

8. Feb 21^st – receive and start reading that Yes!Energy book! Encourage your mastermind group to do the same and support each other in implementing the actions.

9. Work with your business success coach this month to develop a stronger “say a hearty yes” mindset.

Tell us other ways you’ll say “yes” this month, or share your ideas for how we can all do so!

To Your Wellth,

Erica

Tags: Inspiration, Mind, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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We’ve all been there. We’ll all be back. We’re human, and sitting on the fence a bit too long, pondering a decision, comes with the territory. I’m not referring to the fence sitting that is necessary when we’re facing major life decisions. I’m referring to those less critical, should-I-go-to this-event-or-not, or do-I-hire-this-person-or-not type of decisions — the kind of a decision that we can get stuck agonizing over, yet later might look back and chuckle at the energy we spent while ambivalent.

In my view, I think it all comes down to that final moment when we have to trust ourselves and just choose. We can review, analyze and get opinions from others all day long, but the end result is the same: we need to listen to our Inner Wisdom and just decide. To help you do so, I’ve put together a list of my favorite decision-making tips.

I’ve used each of the following tips and tools myself and select from among them, taking into account the nature of the decision I’m making.

Depending upon the importance, type and immediacy of the decision you face at the moment, some of these tips and tools will be more useful and applicable to you than others. Just don’t get stuck trying to decide which tool to use!

I’ll give you the first 4 Tips in this post, and provide the rest of the 7 in my next installment.

7 Tips to Simplify Decision-Making  (Tips 1-4)

1.  Stop…Breathe…Notice…Choose I first introduced this 4-step practice to you in my book, Seven Sacred Attitudes. I find that using the process when I’m stuck in indecision can be quite valuable. To do so, simply Stop action the next time you are struggling to make a choice. Just freeze in one spot. Now take a deep breath and pay close attention to what you are doing to yourself while you are struggling. Notice the details of your breath, shoulders, position of your body and any tension in your muscles. Notice the prison of indecision you have created in your mind – are you telling yourself that the choice of a movie or book is critical? Are you stressing yourself out wondering whether you should attend a social event or not? Just notice. Then take another deep breath and, using your intuition, simply Choose.

Notes: This technique is useful when you have already analyzed the heck out of a situation or when the stakes are not too high to risk an unanalyzed choice.

2.  Ask your Board of Directors what they would do. Don’t worry if you don’t have an actual Board of Directors. This technique involves some active imagination and is, as those of you who work with me will testify, often better accessed while in the shower.

When you have a few minutes of solitude, close your eyes and bring to mind a large oak table in a beautiful meeting room – perhaps a room with large windows overlooking a forest and creek. Now picture your ideal Board of Directors sitting around the table — all of them present to help you in your decision-making process. Your Board Members can be anyone you choose, presently living or not, and real or animated.

You can vary who you “invite” to sit on your Board, depending upon the type of decision you’re making. [I’ve been known to “invite”: Walt Disney, if I’m facing a creative decision; Donald Trump, if I’m making a real estate decision; Loral Langemeier, if I’m making a business development decision; an entire football team (okay, the Buffalo Bills right now) and their coach if I’m making a hiring decision and want good teamwork input; and John F. Kennedy, if I’m making a leadership decision.]

Go ahead and put anybody around that imaginary table that your big heart desires. Now put the decision in question before your Board. I even dare you to talk aloud while doing this. Take on the voice of any and all of your Board Members as they each tell you what they would do. When you have had enough input, thank them all and send them on their way. Emerge from the “session” (or shower) with a fresh perspective on the decision.

Notes: This is one of my favorite tools. It can be used in either the beginning or final phases of making decisions that are as important as whether or not to hire a specific employee, or which product to sell, or as simple as which color to paint your office.

3.  Act “as if” for an hour or a day. This tool also requires some imagination. If you are deciding between two options (i.e. deciding which of two new pieces of office equipment to purchase) or two actions to take (i.e. deciding whether to attend a week-long seminar or stay home and work on that new book), this technique will be helpful in the decision between the two options you’re considering.

Depending upon how much time you have available, and also depending upon how big of a choice this is, set aside an appropriate time period (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week).

For that entire period, act “as if” you have decided on Option 1. Get into it. Absolutely pretend that you have decided on this option, are excited about the choice, and get on with the rest of that period “as if” you’d really made the choice. Put aside any consideration for the other option. Don’t even think about it.

Speak “as if” you’ve made the choice for Option 1, try it out by telling someone else you made the choice, and feel the freedom of having made a decision. Now, when the hour, day or week ends, go ahead and set another time period aside, identical in duration.

You guessed it – you’ll now act “as if” you’ve made the choice for Option 2. The same guidelines apply. Talk, walk, and act “as if” you’ve opted for Option 2. When the entire experiment is over, you will have a much better idea of which Option is the right one for you (and I’ll bet you’ll know even before you’re finished acting “as if” for the entire period!)

4.  Try this “Basic Option Evaluation” technique by Brian Clegg. Click here and try out this exercise from Brian Clegg‘s book, Crash Course in Personal Development. Likely to appeal to you when you want to make a logical, well-reasoned decision, this exercise provides a great way to evaluate your options when you are choosing among a number of different things. It will help you rank the options according to logical criteria.

—–

Now Take Action! Choose one tip above that you are willing to put into practice. When is NOW a good time to get started?  No fence-sitting allowed:) I’ll be back in the next post to give you 3 more tips for making other decisions. Just pick one of these for now and give it a try.

Enjoy!

I look forward to hearing about your experience…

Tags: Mind, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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A Head-On Look at Overwhelm

If you follow the trends of “focusing on the positive”, it may seem odd to you that I’m illustrating this post with a photo of a business woman literally hitting her head against the wall and experiencing (what I imagine is) overwhelm. Instead, you might have expected that I’d use a photo of someone in a zen-like state and then hoped I’d go on to tell you how to attract that state. Nope.

Even though I incorporate the Law of Attraction into my work and life, I’m not much for skipping over what’s so and I’m really not much for trends. I’m more about what works and as far as I know, what works is always about first looking squarely in the eye of what’s so. So let’s talk Overwhelm.

What’s So

It’s a new year. You’ve got big plans for your Wellness Coaching business. You’ve printed out my 2011 Wellness Coaches planning calendar, looked through all 16 pages, seen the year’s worth of to do’s and gotten right down to it. You set your 2011 business vision, outlined your Q1 plans, started in on a huge list of marketing calls you’re committed to making, and you’re already juggling client work, writing blog posts and have outlined plans to develop new mp3 downloads.

Chances are, you have a ton of unread email in your in-box, a stack of juicy but unopened mail on your desk you’re dying to get to, and between it all you’re trying to fit in your own fitness routine!

(By the way, how’s your breathing right now? Just checking.)

You want to join a new networking group, spend more time on social media, order products, and sign up as an affiliate of your favorite big cheese. You also plan to hire a virtual assistant so you’ll be more efficient and work less hours. Of course you also have to place ads, read resumes and interview people… Whew!

How’d You Get Here?

Overwhelm. We’ve all been here. Some of us tend to hang around the place longer than others, but even the infrequent visitors know it well.  And while your brand of overwhelm is as unique as your thumbprint, it’s just about as likely as the sun coming up tomorrow that your version of overwhelm contains some element where you’ve lost your focus.

In fact, I’d bet on it. You probably arrived here at Overwhelm by trying to get your arms around the whole enchilada of your Wellness Coaching business all at once. So, slow down. Breathe. Focus in on just this post for now. We have work to do.

What You’ve Tried

When it comes to “Managing Overwhelm,” you’ve likely tried many ways of rearranging the external circumstances in your business and life to get “it” (as if Overwhelm were an entity) under control. Guess what?

You’re not overwhelmed because you need to work harder to manage your current activities. And we know you’re not overwhelmed because you’re slacking in your effort to try to get “Overwhelm” under control. You do plenty of both.

Neither task works because they’ve both got a faulty premise…they both assume that the content and circumstances of your life cause “Overwhelm.” Not so. “Out there” is not where you need to look.

Where the Work Needs to Be

You don’t “manage Overwhelm” by manipulating the external things in your life. Actually, you don’t “manage” Overwhelm at all, and you can’t “catch Overwhelm” from your To Do list. “It’s not a virus” as my friend, mentor, founder of The Gremlin Taming Institute and author of Taming Your Gremlin®, Rick Carson is fond of saying. Rick also says, “Balance and Pleasure are primarily an inside job.” This is key, as Balance and Pleasure are the opposite states of Overwhelm as far as I’ve experienced. Balance and Pleasure are the Big Kahuna of life. So let’s look more closely at that “inside job” of yours.

A Trip Inside You

The question is, what is your brand of Overwhelm? What’s involved when you do it? No, I’m not interested in those things outside of you that you consider to cause you Overwhelm. Those things could look the same or absolutely different for each one of us and some of us would or wouldn’t Overwhelm ourselves in response to them. I am interested in what you do on the inside of you. How do you overwhelm you? What do you do to you?

Actually, I’m inviting you to participate right here in one small component of Rick Carson’s powerful Gremlin-Taming® Method. I’ve studied and practiced the full method for years and teach it to my clients. Here, I’m inviting you to do as Rick taught me and Simply Notice.  Yes, I want you to Simply Notice how you Overwhelm you.

The Exercise (To be done when you’re alone and not driving.)

I’d like you to take a break right now and give yourself some time to do this exercise. Get comfortable to start. Turn the phone ringer off, put the cell phone away, and hang a privacy sign on the door. Great.

Let’s begin. Imagine I’m there with you right now.  I want you to Teach me how you Overwhelm yourself. Yes, teach me. Only you know how you do it. And until now, you probably haven’t been aware of how you do it. We’re going to shine a light on the whole mess right here, right now.

Notice every detail of you and your experience of overwhelm one by one. Do so as if you were writing a guidebook on how to create your brand of Overwhelm. Take big time to notice. Get into your best Overwhelm state. What are you doing to you? What are you doing with your neck? Your shoulders? Your jaw? Your eyes? What pray tell is going on in that mind of yours? What messages of exasperation are you chanting over and over again to yourself?

Notice I’m not asking you what the external circumstances are that you’re using as a reason to overwhelm yourself. Nor am I asking you what you think “causes” your overwhelmed state.  I’m asking you how you are overwhelming yourself. Only you do that to you. Exactly how, step by step, do you do this to you?

Go slowly. Play up, highlight, and exaggerate every smidgeon of the routine you go through.  Don’t judge, just Simply Notice.

Stay with it and see what happens.

Need an example?

Okay, I’ll do the same exercise I’m asking you to do, right here. This is risky because you might be tempted to try out my exact method for “Overwhelm.” Please don’t. You have your own way. That’s enough for one lifetime. So read “my way of Overwhelming me” at your own risk. Then be sure to do the exercise for yourself. Meantime, here’s a description of “my brand” of Overwhelm:

My No-Fail Step-by-Step Guide to Overwhelming Myself:

1. First look at every detail on my new 2011 business plan.

2. Now scan my entire To Do list for the week.

2. Be sure to open my eyes really wide. Then wider still.

3. Alternate this with a frown, squinted eyes & a wrinkled brow as I…

4. Dart my eyes around the room from one thing to the next. (Tricky, but heck, I’ve been practicing for 54 years.)

5. Make my focus go rather fuzzy so I don’t see any one thing very clearly.

6. Make my breathing very shallow or even better, hold my breath.

7. Scrunch up my shoulders.

8. Keep staring at the clock and internally remind myself how little time I have to do “it” all, whatever “it” is.

9. Keep telling myself I’ll never get to “it” all and that others are going to get “there” before I do.

10. Say aloud how overwhelmed I am. Repeat 10+ times per hour.

What Happens?

Once I’m aware of my brand of overwhelming myself, and I exaggerate it just a bit, until I really see how I’m making myself miserable, 99% of the time magic happens. The other 1% of the time I just have to stick with it a bit longer. But the magic always happens. It will for you too. More on this when you come back from doing the exercise.

Now It’s Your Turn

Go ahead. Head on back and do the exercise. Really. I’ll wait.

About the Magic

Good job. If you took the time to do this, and played it up big time, something happened after awhile. You likely noticed that, like magic, things shifted. Rick calls this phenomenon The Zen Theory of Change which he describes on page 10 of Taming Your Gremlin as: “I free myself, not by trying to free myself but by simply noticing how I am imprisoning myself in the very moment in which I am imprisoning myself.” It’s magic indeed.

Now What?

My number one recommendation for Wellness Coaches, and anyone else experiencing Overwhelm, is to take a breath, and Simply Notice how you overwhelm you right in the very moment you are overwhelming you.

It’s as simple, and yet as challenging, as that.

After You’re Centered Again…

The exercise above, truly a life-long practice, will take you quite far when next you Overwhelm yourself. When you come back to Balance, consider some of these tips for staying a bit longer in that Balanced state:

1. Breathe. Do it often:)

2. Put your focus on just one thing. Stay with that one thing for an extended period of time. Even if it’s 30 minutes. Just the one thing though. No distractions. No fuzzy focus on a million things at once (which is impossible anyway.)

3. Phone a colleague or shoot a quick email and declare that one thing you’ll be doing for the next half hour, hour, or more. (Make it short and sweet. Don’t get distracted with the call.) Tell them you’ll be leaving another message when you’re done. Or hire an accountability coach and do the same.

4. Take some time to re-look at your priorities. Frequently. Ask yourself: What’s important? Perhaps it’s time to revisit this, right now.

5. Get a copy of Crazy Busy by Dr. Edward Hallowell. Take your time and read it. (Jane Massengill, LCSW MCC, Director of the Gremlin-Taming Institute, told me of this book just days ago. I ran off and got a copy. I’m drinking it up. Thanks, Jane!)

7. I’ll say this one again: Get Rick Carson’s book, Taming Your Gremlin®. Go slow. Read it for just 15 minutes a night before sleep. Go ahead. I dare ya. And if you already have it, re-read it, or grab the sequel, A Master Class in Gremlin Taming. Seriously. Read or re-read either one or both. Don’t let your Gremlin tell you this isn’t important. It is.

‘Til Soon,

Erica

Acknowledgments:

• This post was born from your ideas. Many thanks for the requests and suggestions you sent or left in the comments on the We’re Refurbishing and Haven’t a Clue post. I appreciate you and your presence in the WellnessCoach.com community.

• As you can tell, I ask you to bring your whole being, body, mind and spirit to the party when reading my posts or working with me. It’s a physical experience that you and I and all the other travelers on the planet have this go-round, and I make sure we work with that physical experience. My approach was first  built on years of study and practice of the Bio-Energetic work of Stanley Keleman at the Center For Energetic Studies in Berkeley, CA.

• I have grown since then and my work has been deepened tremendously by the year-long studies I did at Rick Carson’s Gremlin Taming Institute in Dallas, Texas. My work and writing continue to evolve through the on-going studies I do with Rick to this day. As you can see in many of my posts, as well as when you work with me, I fully embrace Rick’s Gremlin-Taming Method®, weave it into all I do, and am honored to be doing this work in the world.

Tags: Body, Explore This - Inquiries to ponder, General Wellness Tips, Mind, Spirit, Wellness Cafe, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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GET READY…GO!!!

Hope you are taking time out to celebrate your 2010 success and gear up for a brand new year! 2011 promises to be all that you desire, if  you set your sites on what is important, describe it in exact detail, put a solid plan in place, and jump into ACTION!

To help you organize, launch and grow your successful wellness coach business in 2011 (and to help spread the word about WellnessCoach.com), here’s the 2011 Wellness Coach’s E-Calendar. Follow the guideline checklists each month and you will create a remarkable 2011! We just know you’ll love our FREE WELLNESS COACH’S SUCCESS CALENDAR!

The 2011 Wellness Coach’s E-Calendar includes:

• Motivational quotes for wellness coaches
• Holidays
• Monthly To Do’s
• Monthly Focus Themes & Activities
• Reminder checklists
• Business building activities
• Tax and corporation checklists
• Links to top books for marketing, motivation, business success and wellness

Here’s the 2011 Wellness Coach’s E-Calendar.

P.S.  You need the free Adobe Reader to access this file. Click here to install it.

Please feel free to forward the calendar link to your wellness coach colleagues (as long as no fee is charged).

To Your Success!

Erica and the WellnessCoach.com Team

P.S. Stop by often in 2011 to let us know how your year is unfolding!

Tags: Success Calendars, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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Dear WellnessCoach.com Readers,

You haven’t heard from us much lately, as we’ve been busy planning our big end-of-the year blog makeover!

There are so many fun, new, powerful, and creative resources we’ll be bringing your way, we can hardly wait to unveil them.

In the meantime, we want to be sure to get some blog posts up here that meet your needs during this last business quarter and the holiday season.

To be totally vulnerable, authentic and transparent, we’ve had our hands off the pulse of the WellnessCoch.com community for so many months we are a bit clueless as to what you might want to read.

We’re thinking about writing posts on the 5 topics listed below, and would love your input. Now we don’t take your loyalty to us lightly, and we absolutely respect your time. In fact, we’d like to offer you a gift to thank you for letting us know which topics are most interesting to you and why. Once your comment is posted, we’ll be in touch and send you our e-book, Seven Sacred Attitudes®.

Here are five the posts we’re considering:

* 5 Mistakes New Wellness Coaches Make & How to Avoid Them

* Are You Walking Your Wellness Talk this Holiday Season?

* Your Wellness Business is Talking – Are You Listening?

* 7 Simple Steps for Handling Entrepreneurial Overwhelm

* Sole Proprietor: Is it Time to Inc. and Grow Rich?

So, what do you think? Which post would you like to read? Why? Or Why not? Got other topics you’d rather read about?

We’d love to hear from you,

Erica and the WellnessCoach.com Team

Tags: Announcements, Wellness Cafe, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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I admit it – I’m as addicted to books as Carrie Bradshaw was to Monolo Blahnik shoes. I’ve usually got at least three books going at any one time, and a stack of new ones waiting in the wings. This is a good thing because books add greatly to my Well-Being.

For this 3rd and final post of the Cornucopia Series, I’m sharing the top 10 books that have inspired me in 2008. These are the books I’ll make a permanent part of my home library (in some cases they are already have been a part of my collection but I read them a second time this year and was re-inspired!) I’ll donate all the rest I’ve read this year, along with ten from years past, so I can still see the shelving☺

Hope you find something here you’ll want to add to your own collection. (I have no interest in linking you to my affiliate amazon account in this post. This is strictly an overview of my favorite 2008 books as a gift from me to you.)

Because you are busy with year-end tasks and may just want the “ top ten list”, I’ve placed it below (the books are listed in no particular order.) If you want to see what it is that I found inspiring, a detailed description for each book is in the blue box below the list.

Enjoy!

1.    The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

2.    Balancing Heaven and Earth – A Memoir of Visions, Dreams, and Realizations by Robert A. Johnson

3.    Merle’s Door – Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote

4.    The Millionaire Maker’s Guide to Creating a Cash Machine for Life by Loral Langemeier

5.    Money and the Law of Attraction: How to Attract Wealth, Health and Happiness by Esther and Jerry Hicks

6.    The Confidence Factor – Cosmic Gooses Lay Golden Eggs by Dr. Judith Briles

7.    A Master Class in Gremlin Taming: The Absolutely Indispensable Next Step for Freeing Yourself from the Monster of the Mind by Rick Carson

8.    The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life by John Assaraf

9.    Lottery by Patricia Wood

10.    What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

 WHAT WAS INSPIRATIONAL TO ME?

1.    The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

In a nutshell: Tsukiyama’s book explores life in Japan before, during and after WWII. The story follows two brothers through the tragedy of war and the difficulty of postwar reconstruction. The boys are orphaned and raised by their grandparents in Tokyo. One dreams of becoming a sumo champion, and the other finds he is passionate about the fine art of making Noh masks. Tsukiyama is gifted with her exploration of relationships, weaving history throughout, and crafting a novel that was lovely to read. It reinforces the idea that out of  hardship, new strength is born.

2.    Balancing Heaven and Earth – A Memoir of Visions, Dreams, and Realizations by Robert A. Johnson

In a nutshell: One of my all-time favorites found its way into my hands again this year. This memoir of Jungian Analyst, Robert A. Johnson has changed my life and each time I read it, I am deepened and changed again. By viewing Johnson’s life, dreams, and synchronicities there is no way to finish this book without your own soul being touched. I love the reminder Carl Jung once gave to Johnson, “…it is what you are that heals, not what you know.”

3.    Merle’s Door – Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote

In a nutshell: If you are not already a dog lover, you will be after just a few chapters of this book. Ted Kerasote is a prolific writer. His work has been in more than 50 periodicals, including National Geographic Traveler and the New York Times. This is the true story of Ted’s relationship with his dog Merle. The back cover says it best: “Their journey is part adventure, part love story, and part insightful explanation of how sharing leadership with your dog will make him a better best friend.” The inspiration to love and be loved deeply is woven throughout the book. Warning: Will cause tears…have plenty of tissues on hand.

4.    The Millionaire Maker’s Guide to Creating a Cash Machine for Life by Loral Langemeier

In a nutshell: Turn your skill set into a cash machine. Millionaire Maker® Loral Langemeier wrote her best book yet when she wrote this one. A no-nonsense master financial literacy coach, herself a self-made millionaire by age 35, and one of the most high-integrity people I know, Loral is a real pro. This book contains actual case studies, step-by-step plans of action, and powerful questions to make you dig deep and check on your own commitment level for entrepreneurial success. As a graduate of Loral’s programs myself, it was this book that inspired me to give back to the community and do some part-time coaching for LiveOutLoud™ each month.  The book is a must-read for all clients, though most read it many times, as I have also done.

5.    Money and the Law of Attraction: How to Attract Wealth, Health and Happiness by Esther and Jerry Hicks

In a nutshell: Don’t be fooled by the main title; pay attention to the subtitle instead. Esther and Jerry present the teachings of Abraham (you will learn more about this non-physical collection of energy and wisdom) in key Life areas. If your mouth isn’t hanging open at every new page, I’d be surprised. A free CD is included and its one you’ll listen to more than once. You’ll discover the power of creating a “new story” for yourself in the arenas of wealth, health, relationships and happiness. In doing so, you’ll change your world. Sits prominently in the resource section of my bookshelves.

6.    The Confidence Factor – Cosmic Gooses Lay Golden Eggs by Dr. Judith Briles

In a nutshell: This self-esteem-building book shows us the model that resulted from a nationwide survey of 1300 men and women: “10 Steps to Building Confidence.”  It contains stories of people rebuilding their lives after their confidence was destroyed as a result of what Dr. Briles calls “cosmic gooses.” These stories are from “average” people, as well as popular celebrities (Tiger Woods, Oprah). This book now also sits on my resource shelf and will be one I share with clients again and again.

7.    A Master Class in Gremlin Taming: The Absolutely Indispensable Next Step for Freeing Yourself from the Monster of the Mind by Rick Carson

In a nutshell: The “narrator in your head” is what Rick Carson calls your Gremlin. That Gremlin is no small animated character, he’s responsible for using millions of strategies that cause you to get in your own way – to get in you way of experiencing joy, emotion, success, and well-being, to name a few.

Early on in the life of this blog, I wrote a post describing the power of Rick’s first book, Taming Your Gremlin®. This year, Rick presented us with his advanced techniques on the subject in A Master Class in Gremlin Taming. This is the book that those of us who study personally with Rick use in our Mastering Your Craft groups. Read and put into practice and it will help you further Tame your own Gremlin and show up more fully in the world. (Entrepreneurs,  join me for a Free Teleclass to discover how this approach is a powerful tool for your business and life)***

8.    The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life by John Assaraf

In a nutshell:  Keys for getting innovative when times are tough. Learn how to create your own business blueprint for success. Hone in on your unique abilities so you can more rapidly achieve your business goals. John Assaraf says, “…[it’s] a proven business-growth system that we have used over and over and over again to help people just like you get from where they are to where they want to be.” I was inspired with new ideas to launch and I’ll bet you will be too.

9.    Lottery by Patricia Wood

In a nutshell: This novel centers around Perry Crandall, who narrates the story. Perry has an IQ of 76, but is not retarded, as he’ll explain quite clearly: his IQ would need to be less than 75 for that, and he is well aware of the difference even if others may not. Perry is 32 and has lived with his tell-it-like-it-is grandmother, Gram whose belief in him has helped tremendously. But when Gram dies, Perry’s money-hungry family members, who previously wanted little to do with him, swindle him out of the proceeds from the sale of her house. When Perry wins $12 million in the Washington State Lottery, they come back for more and suddenly take an interest in being his “family” again.  Perry discovers who his true friends are and also abilities he didn’t know he had. Quite inspirational and a joy to read. As I was, I’m sure you’ll think twice the next time you try to convince yourself you can’t do something.

10.    What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

In a nutshell: This has been sitting on my stack of books to read since it came out almost two years ago. I wish I would have gotten to it sooner but regret is one of those things that won’t get me where I want to go:) The wisdom in this book may be aimed at executives, but it is just as valuable for those of us who are entrepreneurs and/or small business owners. The 20 bad habits that can sabotage already successful careers or personal lives are not so new for those who understand the importance of people-skills, but it is an honest, inspirational and straight-forward reminder for all of us.

———-
***JOIN ME FOR MY FREE TELECLASS:
Getting Out of Your Own Way – A Success Strategy for Entrepreneurs.

Write up by Julie Hood, CEO of YourBlogTeam.com:
“A 30-minute experiential-exercise-based teleclass with master coach and strategist, Erica Ross-Krieger (she’s my business coach and has helped me get through some major obstacles over the past 18 months).  Cannot be done while driving as there is some closed-eye work.

The main goal is to introduce you to a tool to help you get out of your own way and access more of your true nature.”

Monday, January 5, 2009
1 pm Pacific, 2 pm Mountain, 3 pm Central, 4 pm Eastern
Enrollment is limited, please call to register: 925-933-7445

Tags: Cornucopia of Resources Series, Inspiration, Mind, Spirit, Wellness Coaching, Wellness of Your Business by Erica Ross-Krieger
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