Remabulous

Monday Mindfulness: Boost business and morale by joining a cause.

When you started your business, didn't you think about how its existence would impact the world? Most of us who are entrepreneurs are hoping to create social change. (That's why most of us tear up when we watch the entrepreneur video that was all over the internet recently- if you haven't seen it yet, get the tissues first!)   However, as we get into business licenses, taxes, bank accounts, assessing our bottom line and getting out to network, we can easily lose sight of this initial desire.    Do you feel burnt out sometimes when you sit at your desk all day, banging out e-mail, news releases, administrative tasks and all the elements that go into running your business?   Of course you do. It's only natural.   So what's the solution? Think about what your initial dream was about your business and how you wanted to change the world through your work, find a cause or charity that is on the same page and join it.    How does this help your business? Well, for one thing, it gets you out of the house, which is a very important start. Connecting with other people who share your values is essential to stay motivated and inspired. AND, connecting with people who aren't businesspeople in the same way you are is a great way to think from a fresh perspective. I love networking with other entrepreneurs, and since we tend to think the same way, I need people who share my core values but who think differently just as much.   Also... it's often easier to solve a problem if it isn't about you. If you are helping a cause get a bigger mailing list, you will probably churn out creative ideas. It's easier to be helpful for someone else. You can then turn around and apply these strategies in your own work. Also- those you meet with will have great things to suggest, too.   And last but not least, it's so important to think about the world outside of ourselves. When you work from home it is easy to stew in your own stuff and let that take over your whole head. Our businesses have the potential for greatness, but we also need to remember that there are other people in the world, too. By reaching out and making the world a better place through a cause, we are more able to be grateful for what we have and work from that place, instead of the all too familiar stress and panic.    Let us know what causes you and your business support in the comments below. Let's inspire each other!

Design as art: lecture from MoMA's design curator Paola Antonelli

And she talks about Barcelona in this one. I think design is an under-appreciated art, given how much it impacts our world. Enjoy another magical talk from TED. I am back from Spain today, so I'm sure I will be dying to post live on my adventures tomorrow...

How can you hold onto your creativity as an adult?

I shared this video with my newsletter subscribers this afternoon, and was so enamored with it I had to share it here, too. For those of you who have heard me going on and on about how the education system we are currently living with does not foster creativity or the skills that are needed in order to live well in this world at this time, we need to look at creativity differently from the beginning. Robinson calls it a skill as essential as literacy. I agree. Happy watching. It made my week, and I am just getting started!

Monday Inspiration from Grasshopper.

Mondays can be tough for entrepreneurs. It's hard sometimes to shift out of weekend mode and into work mode (especially if you didn't take off for the weekend at all!), so I wanted to share this little video that a colleague from Smarty was kind enough to post on our mailing list this morning:

Rumi's rocking business advice.

I have been watching a lot of quantum leaps in the business arena as of late in my networking community. Some of the leaps have been happening in my very own mirror. So exciting to get a boost in insight and connection!

What I have noticed is that expansion is often accompanied by fear that the new phase won't last, or that it will wear off. I was worrying about this myself today, wondering if I can continue at a new level of success as badly as I want to.

This quotation from Rumi came to my inbox today and I realized how pertinent it was to anyonw who wants to expand and grow in their business and in their lives.

It was a big sigh of relief for me, so I wanted to share:

"No mirror ever became iron again;

No bread ever became wheat;

No ripened grape ever became sour fruit.

Mature yourself and be secure from a change for the worse.

Become the light."

~ Rumi from Rumi: Daylight

Mark Benioff on Vision and Business

I am post-happy today. We have been talking about the importance of creating a vision in business in order to hold onto that focus and perspective during these difficult times.

One of my inspirational newsletters I subscribe to dropped this gem from Mark Benioff into my inbox this morning. I thought its message would speak to you, too:

The concept that I like the most, and the one that I’ve taken most to heart, is the belief that people can’t be united or focused unless they share a common philosophy—a philosophy that gives their effort a greater meaning.

I’ve seen how important this concept is in business. To be truly successful, companies need to have a corporate mission that is bigger than making a profit. We try to follow that at salesforce.com, where we give 1% of our equity, 1% of our profits, and 1% of our employees’ time to the community. By integrating philanthropy into our business model our employees feel that they do much more than just work at our company. By sharing a common and important mission, we are united and focused, and have found a secret weapon that ensures we always win.

Marc Benioff

Source: Interview with Marc Benioff: http://www.sonshi.com/benioff.html

Put your intentions into your playlist!

As I write this post this morning, I am listening to Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling." Searching through flickr for my image of the day, I found this one by Stebbi. It made me so happy I had to use it to show how I feel listening to this song.

I have been thinking a lot about play since my marketing seminar this past weekend. We need to feed our creative brains and so I was, pardon the pun, playing around with the word play.

We have always been music-loving beings. we made drums very early in our evolution and early on we learned to dance. When we were little we danced without concern or shame. As adults, many of us say "I don't dance" when the invitation is given to us.

What a shame. Even if it's only in the privacy of our homes or our cars, getting into music that moves us is so good for our bodies, our cells, and our world.

Imagine the reduction in road rage if we were all rocking out to happy music?

Part of my training as an Expressive Arts Therapist was in Music and Dance Therapy. Here are my tips about how your playlist can help you bring your a game and your best life:

image: "What a feeling. Dancing on the Ceiling" by Stebbi.

For those of you in places too cold for flowers:

Luxury of letting go #2: Rethinking Shopping.

We are a nation of shoppers. After the attacks of 9/11/2001, who can forget the advice that the best thing we could do to help was go shopping? Before we gave blood, before we volunteered. Go shopping!

Many of us have had to adjust our shopping budgets and where we put our dollars is more important than ever now. I was just reading this month's Bust magazine, which makes a good point: while big banks and corporations are receiving government money and bailouts that allow them to keep getting bonuses, small business owners are having difficulty covering their bills.

When the economy was up, anyone could get a loan and many creative people benefited and were able to get started. Let's make sure we budget to help them keep going. Here are some ways to cut back on shopping and still boost sales for those who need the money most:

image: Irargerich.

My 100 things list.

Yesterday, I received the gift of inspiration from my amazing callers on my teleseminar call on creating vision and putting it out in the world.

I had another great call this morning and had already received one caller's list of 55 things, which she posted on her blog!

So now I have to put my money where my mouth is: 100 ideas to connect with people around my business in order to share my vision with the community.

Here we go...

image: the truth about...