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The Joy of Completing

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by Cara Lumen

The only reason I get to talk about the joy of completion is because I took over a year to do the final editing on some teleclasses I had recorded and it is now done and I AM JOYOUS!!!!

Isn’t it amazing how long we can put off something that will give us as much joy and satisfaction as completion? I can’t tell you how many half started (or is it half finished) e-books I have. And when I rediscover them I always find I’m a lot further along than I thought.

I wonder what made me stop. It was probably that something else popped to the top of my completion list, or I found something totally new and exciting to explore. And things pop to the top because they needed. So perhaps it’s simply that their time has come.

But back to the joy of completion. When I finished my first CD cover, and had that jewel case sitting on my desk it was a thrill. When I complete an e-book and make the sales page and post it in my shopping cart I am ecstatic.

Why do we neglect completion? Why do we put it off when it feels so good?

You know, it doesn’t have to be a very big completion in order to count. Hey, taking the notes that are all over my desk and putting them into my Quick List is a win. Listening to a downloaded teleclass I’ve been meaning to get to gives me satisfaction and new knowledge. Taking a moment to organize the files on my hard drive should be properly celebrated. And making a new mind map of my next steps demands a pat on the back.

Yes, I have a “To Do” list. I call it my “Quick List.” It stays open on my computer and every idea I have goes on it. It has a section for article and e-book ideas, things to do to strengthen my web site, phrases I like, links to remember and next steps to take. It holds a calendar with the phone numbers of the teleclasses I plan to take, my coaching schedule and my “Do Today” list. So keeping track is not the problem. But sometimes completing is.

I think it’s time for sticky notes. What if, at the end of each day, I acknowledged myself for something I had completed and write it down? Hopefully the number of sticky notes could become quite decorative. At the end of the week I would read them over and bask in the joy of completion. I would really take time to acknowledge myself and feel how good it is to have moved forward through completion. Then I would clear the decks and start fresh for the upcoming week.

My coaching clients are usually entrepreneurs with a lot of ideas. Part of my job is to get them to focus on one idea, complete it and then choose a next step. Often I meet with resistance. Not intentionally, just because they are excited about so many things and want to do them all. Do you know that feeling?

If you run around with a lot of half completed aspects of your business you will never feel like you are making any forward motion. On your calendar, schedule specific times to work your business. It may be to write articles or research potential radio interviews or it may be to invoice work you have completed. If you don’t set aside time to work your business every week you will stay at exactly the place you are now. And if you don’t complete a few steps each week you are simply dog paddling to stay afloat.

Completion is tied into commitment. And commitment works wonders. Commitment lines up all manner of magical gifts from the universe in the form of tools we need, people we need to speak to, and circumstances that offer new opportunities.

Sometimes I don’t complete because what’s left to do is not very interesting. It’s much more fun to create something new than edit something you’ve already done, or write the thank you page for your web site, or set up a new product in your shopping cart. But it is tying up those final ends that is the icing on the cake. Don’t let a project go uncompleted because of three things on your “To Do” list that will take you 20 minutes to complete. You are robbing yourself of the great pleasure of completion.

I know that part of my non-completion is because of bumping other things to the top of the list. And maybe they do need to be bumped up. Maybe they are more of a priority. Perhaps I can focus on celebrating what I do complete rather than what remains to be done.

What we focus on we attract more of. If I focus on completion, and if I celebrate each success, I know that I will find myself completing more and more…..and more.

On Striving

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by Cara Lumen
 

I am currently in a fallow period of rest and completion. I am replenishing and restoring. It feels like I’m not "doing" enough. It feels like not enough is happening, that somehow I am failing because I’m not very busy.

 But I know it is a natural time for self-healing. It is a time for self-contemplation and examining the evidence of what my thoughts and actions have created for me. It is a time to make new choices—focus on what is working, tweak or release what is not. This could mean people or actions or beliefs. It is a time for going within and listening. It is about creating and honoring my new rhythm.

 As I look for answers for myself, I am writing about them in my next e-book. How do I balance the “leave-it-to-me” aspect of the Law of Attraction with the “here’s-what-you-do-to-succeed” mentality of the physical plane? Do I do? Or don’t I do?

 Then this came in my e-mail

 “I said, "Yes!" when you first thought of "it".

"Now!" when you first asked.

And, "Hallelujah! So be it! Coming right up!" when you first gave thanks in advance…

 

Believing in you,

—The Universe  http://www.tut.com/mmm.shtml )

All I have to do is think it, ask for it, give thanks in advance and allow it to show up.

 That’s easy.

 So, should I bother to worry? I don’t think so?

 Should I watch for signs and signals? Absolutely, I love signs.

 Should I be patient? Yes indeed.

 Should I act on and respond to the offerings that appear? If they feel right I’ll do it. If they don’t, I’ll simply pass. But if I do pass, I will look carefully to see why I pass it up and what I might learn from it if I accepted the challenge.

 Dig the Ditch Before the Water Comes

 Some of the actions I seem to be taking are in preparation for “what if” and “when” what I plan to happen does happen. A friend likened it to digging the ditch before the water comes. Am I prepared to receive? Is the container I am holding out as big as I wish it to be? Do I need to make my thoughts grander, my vision bigger, my expectations higher?

 Probably. I think we all too often expect too little.

 Do I Value Myself Enough To Let The Good Stuff In?

 Am I worthy to receive? Do I deserve it? Will I accept it? Get yourself out of the way and be prepared to step up and give yourself in service wherever you are called. Watch for the unexpected. Watch for the small subtle suggestions. Smile at what you are given. Celebrate your wins. Give thanks for all you are and all that is given you.

 Give Gratitude In Advance

 I like the idea of giving gratitude for what is going to happen before it happens. How lovely it feels to give gratitude for attracting wonderful new clients. How vibrant I feel as I give gratitude for losing more weight. How loved and cherished I feel as I give gratitude for the deepening of my friendships.

 Immerse yourself in the feelings of completion when you offer your gratitude. Enjoy what it feels like to be or do what you desire. Get excited to receive.

 Expect It to Happen

 That’s pretty much it. No striving, no efforting. Just feel it happening and expect it to happen. Allow life to be effortless and rewarding and it will.

Digging the Ditch before the Water Comes

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by Cara Lumen

What do you need to put in place to prepare for growth? How deep a ditch do you have to dig right now to prepare for the wonderful flood of prosperity that is coming?

In Ideas of Power, Ernest Holmes says, “We measure things with too small a measure; the infinite ocean is beside us, and we dip it up with a thimble.”

How big is the vessel you are holding up to be filled?

Team Building

One thing you will want to do is build your team, even if it only means to locate them. Find the perfect web designer, get a great content strategy coach, identify your proofreader, list the resources you will need and where to find them, find your audio engineer, figure out who you could hire to post articles for you, see who you would like as a virtual assistant. You may need several VA’s with different specialties.

Equipment

What equipment do you need? My investment in editing software gave me the freedom to record and edit my podcasts and my audio-books. My upgrade in my drawing program helps me design my own covers and audio jacket covers. The set up in my office supports my productivity.

Training

 What training do you need for your next step? This year I’ve taken classes in podcasting and radio publicity. Last year it was blogs and screen capturing software. Now I’m exploring video.

Organization

What organizational systems do you need to set up? What contacts do you need to establish? What skills do you need to hone? Write them down and start doing them. If there is a momentary lull, even better, get busy and build your foundation.

Throw away what no longer serves and make room for more of what does. Set yourself up for an explosion of business. That’s digging the ditch before the water comes.

What do you need to do to be ready for your BIG VISION to fall into place?

Raising Your Value

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by Cara Lumen

People will pay you what you think you’re worth.

Hummm…..

 As we get better at what we do, we organically offer more and more value to our clients and customers. How long has it been since you raised your prices?

Every bit of new learning you add to your repertoire is yet another level of value you offer. Every new insight that you can pass forward adds value.

 

One of the major ways to determine value is to list what your service or product does for the other person and put a value on it.

For instance, if I provide a client with five new ways to leverage an idea, what is the final value of that one idea? How much will the client earn from the implementation of those additional products or features? Put a value on that.

You may coach someone who is having a difficult relationship. A shift is made, the person returns to the relationship with new insights and the results change. Put a value on that.

Your home study course may offer a new awareness to the person reading it and stop them from making a poor career decision and guide them to a satisfying, profitable one. Put a value on that.

You get the picture.

Don’t go by what the market says is out there because the majority of people undervalue themselves. And don’t go by what you think your clients can afford. That’s the quickest way to undersell yourself. Focus on attracting the clients and customers you want—those who value your service and are willing and able to pay for it.

Did you know people are only as rich as the five closest people they hang out with? Start hanging out with go-getter clients, Attract the ones who grow you as you grow them. Ask your clients what they value in your interaction. Ask your clients what they would like more of or less of. And give it to them.

 If you’ve written a good sales page for your services you have listed the benefits. Put a monitory value on those benefits and see how your current pricing holds up in the comparison.

 Look beyond the surface for the value you give and the value you receive. I know that each of my coaching clients comes bearing gifts for me as we solve their problems and set their strategies.

 How long has it been since you raised your fees? I’m certain you are offering more value than you were even six months ago. You can usually charge 20% more than you think. Put that in your calculator and think about it. That’s because so many people undercharge that even the industry standard is under priced

 

One approach to raising your fees is to add more value. For instance, when I offer a teleclass, I would much rather add bonuses than offer a discount. Then I get the money I want and the participants get added value in the form of e-books and MP3’s or added service. You might charge more for your coaching but add a once a month 15 minute check in or some other bonus service. You get the idea.

Think about how much you know. Look over the acknowledgments people have given you for your work. Notice how you have improved your services or your products. Put a price tag on the benefits you offer.

Then use this knowledge of your added value to raise your prices. 

Mellowing Into Our Creative Genius

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Every time I start to think it may be too late to achieve something exciting, someone reminds me of Colonel Sanders who started Kentucky Fried Chicken in his 80’s

But a recent article by David W. Galenson & Joshua Kotin that originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times, pointed out the difference in creative styles between those who did awesome things in their 20’s and those who developed over time—the Conceptual Innovators vs. the Experimental Innovators.

Young people are often “Conceptual Innovators. They get an inspired idea and often work it into a unique masterpiece. They have a tendency to be the rule breakers. Picasso created cubism at 25. Orson Wells made Citizen Kane at 25. Mozart wrote full symphonies in his teens and 20s. Conceptual Innovators are often driven by the need to express a new idea or particular emotions. The flash of insight comes and they follow their ideas and create a new concept.

But there is another way creativity emerges. It is the trial-and-error experimentation and contemplation that ultimately leads to a unique expression of the collected wisdom and life experience. These people are called “Experimental Innovators” and they seek to describe what they see and hear and understand. They examine the over-view based on their life experience and their personal quest for knowledge, and organize it into a unique and individualized offering.

The list is long of people whose quest for expression involved a long journey. Paul Cezanne was an experimental innovator. After failing to get into the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he left Paris feeling totally discouraged because he felt he could not compete with other young artists of his time. After years spent in contemplation and exploration, he finally came to understand what he wanted to do. He wanted to bring solidity to Impressionism. He was 30 years old at the time. Then he spent the next 30 years, primarily in seclusion, developing his unique style that ultimately influenced every important artist of the next generation.

It’s important to have a goal. It’s important to make a commitment to the problem you want to solve. It’s important to keep on learning and to examine your life experience as you formulate your personal philosophy.

Mark Twain wrote Tom Sawyer at 41 and Huckleberry Finn at 50

Robert Frost dropped out of both Dartmouth and Harvard, retreated to a rural environment, and published his most famous poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” at 49.

Frank Loyd Wright completed Fallingwater at 72 and worked on the Guggenheim Museum until his death at 91

At 63 Frost observed that young people have flashes of insight, but “it is later in the dark of life that you see forms, constellations. And it is the constellations that are philosophy.”

It is our unique philosophy that we can put into information products that will possibly change the lives of others. I think it’s important that we pass forward the wisdom we have accumulated over the years. If we share our successes and our less-than-successes and others will learn from them. We’ve come too far and know too much to allow ourselves to move into a sedentary existence as we age. Pick up your pen, get on that computer, go to that art class, take the creative writing course, write that e-book, lead that workshop, follow your passion, follow that dream you’ve been carrying in your heart all your life. Now is the time. Now is the time for you to step up to the plate and go to bat for what you have leaned and what you believe. Get active. Get creative. Rejoin that you have finally mellowed into your own creative genius.