entrepreneur

The Resilient Entrepreneur

June 20, 2017 By Cara Lumen

When I came across the phrase “resilient entrepreneur”, it resonated deeply. Resilience is about flexibility. It’s about being strong, supple, hard working, tough. I wondered just how flexible I was.

How flexible are you?

Being flexible is probably the most valuable quality you can develop in both your life and your work. Life is made up of one cycle after another and that means we must adapt to continuous change. Unexpected change.

It often means finding yourself unprepared for change. You must learn to be flexible in order to grab the new opportunity and be self-aware enough to know if you want to take it. Flexibility is about making decisions on the move, being willing to try out something new.

Flexibility is full of adventure.

Not everyone likes to do that. Or can do that. Some people prefer to stay in the comfort zone of the familiar.

How supple are you?

Supple means to be agile. That’s akin to being flexible but its focus is on being nimble, limber and being able to change course quickly. Supple means you can easily evaluate an idea and make aligned decisions.

Your agility, your resilience, depends on how well you know yourself

Do you take time to reflect? Do you thoughtfully sort out your ideas and meditate on the various possibilities? What are your values? How do you prioritize them and which of them guide your decisions? You need to know so you can make rapid decisions that stay aligned with your overall purpose.

That takes some inner reflection.

Take a close look at how you operate

I kept putting off the completion of projects. I had a ton of mostly finished books. I spent many hours trying to figure out why I kept putting off this last step. Eventually I found out what beliefs were in the way, what habits were stopping me, and what I could do to make myself more productive around the areas of completion.

I experimented. I adjusted. I figured out the unfounded fear that slowed me down and made small steady changes that helped me move forward. But it took a lot of introspective work – and a willingness to change.

Do you take time for that kind of inner exploration?

Are you adjusting with the times?

Technology is moving rapidly. And, like it or not, we have to keep up. If we work with our minds, we have to keep up or become outmoded. If we work with our bodies, we may have to be willing be retrained, as technology replaces some of our work opportunities. We cannot hang on to the past, the familiar.

We also have to resist being caught up in social media and make the choice to purposefully and consciously arrange time for the introspective work that makes us resilient and open to change.

Develop your personalized introspective method

It makes no difference what form you use to truly know yourself, it only matters that you find a way to know your desires, your gifts, your values, and your passion. Then consistently use that awareness to make choices that are aligned with who you are.

You may explore your inner world through visioning or journaling or meditation. Mind-mapping (with a pencil and paper) will help you figure out the overall connections. Let your feelings guide you. How would that feel? What could it look like? Would you like that?

Find your stumbling blocks and figure out creative ways around them. It helped my productivity when I began to work in batches – edit a group of posts at one time over the course of a few days. Record a few vLogs in a week.

Examine your working style and adjust it to become more productive. Change your approach.

I’m a natural organizer and a master list maker. Until I chose to embrace the concept of “unfolding” in my life. Now I approach each day as an adventure and am prepared to explore whatever path calls to me. My life experience is now quite serene.

I found theme days helpful – write, video, books, outreach, etc. Each day a different focus. That helps avoid overwhelm.

Explore your opportunities through meditation. Take an idea or opportunity and move into meditation with it. Explore whatever shows up. How does it feel? Inwardly explore several scenarios of what it might end up looking like.

See how flexible and adaptable you can become as you move forward.

To Sing a Deeper Song Consider:

What Life Decisions Changed Your Direction?

Find and Use Your Power Within

How to Pull Forth Your Strength From Within

How to Nourish Your Inner Fire

Vlog: Your Body Suit and Your Invisible Self

Podcast: 32 – How to See Your Work As Art

What Do You Save Space for in Your Life?

July 27, 2016 By Cara Lumen

I’ve been on two webinars today, heard lots of tempting ideas, and I have to stop and take stock. What do I actually want to save space for in my life?

What is most important to you?

I have to decide what’s most important to me right now and look closely at how much time and energy it’ll take to do what I want.

Whether you call it being in service or having impact or making a difference, we all want to do work that has value and that contributes to our world. We all want our work to have meaning – to us as we do it and to others as it contributes to their lives.

So what’s important to us? What do we make the most space for in our lives? It may be your job or your business, it may be volunteer work, it may be your family or friends. What brings you the most personal satisfaction?

Start there. Make more space for that.

How can you accomplish your goals in a more simple manner?

I’m a writer. I’m an explorer of esoteric ideas that I figure out how to apply to my life. Then I share what I discover with you. So the questions I face are: how much sharing to do, in what format, what is the most effective use of my time and gifts and what works best for you.

That’s a big one. When you have a lot of ideas, when you know a lot of opportunities to serve, how do you decide your priorities? How do you make time for what you truly want to do?

Look at what’s working now

It may be as simple as looking at what’s working now and doing more of that. What’s giving you the most results, affecting the most lives, and giving you the most rewards?

For me, it might be choosing to make the podcasts shorter, or writing posts in batches, or simply getting better at the technical aspect of making videos. A variety of decisions must be made with every new opportunity you consider. Choose with an eye to both efficiency and effectiveness.

Our space is sacred

If we view your life, our time, our thoughts and our actions as sacred, we’re going to carefully choose what we put into our available space. We’re going to choose only the things that both nourish us and are the biggest gifts to others. What’s it in for us? What’s in it for them? Find a balance.

I begin by considering what’s in it for me because if I’m not happy, if I’m not fulfilled, I won’t do a good job of reaching others. Align your awareness with your passion and make choices that nurture and nourish you.

What do you save space for in your life? Consider your choices. Make every moment count.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

Balance and the Flow of Living
Lose Your Attachment to the Outcome
The Prime Real Estate of Time and Space
The Power of the Label You Choose
Hold the Space for Things To Change
41 – How to Make Decisions When Your Let Your Life Unfold
31-How to Cultivate The Power of Simplicity

Are You An Independent Learner?

July 21, 2016 By Cara Lumen

If I was a kid today, I’d be hard pressed to keep up with technology. If nothing else, technology is moving so fast that it’s easy to be left behind. How can you help yourself, or your children, learn what they need and what is helpful for them? How do you nurture an independent learner?

We need to learn what we need to know to follow our passion

After we study for a while, we learn that we are better at some things than at others. We may be drawn to math, or writing, or art and get excited about one subject over another. Our mind may work in a way that enables us to learn one thing more easily than another. That’s why it’s a good idea to become an independent learner. You pick and choose what you need to know and figure out the best way to learn it.

We need to learn critical thinking

Critical thinking is when you explore something deeply enough to make an informed decision. The Oxford dictionary defines critical thinking as “The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.” But I know that whatever conclusion we draw will be colored by who we are and what we’re capable of observing.

In critical thinking, you gather as much information as possible, you sift it through your own values and beliefs. You look at the facts. You weigh your options. You examine your needs and come up with a conclusion. Then you act. Or you don’t.

We need to learn what we don’t know

Until you explore the possibilities deeply enough, you cannot see all your choices. You need to at least have a glimpse of what you don’t know and decide what part of it is necessary to learn in order to move forward and what part can be left for another time.

We need a reality check

As an enthusiastic and independent learner, there comes a time when I get to look closely at what I’m doing to see if it’s creating the results I want. My example is self-publishing. I had great plans to get my books onto other platforms and on several services. There was a lot to learn in order to do that. My reality check was that I needed to determine the best use of my time – either by concentrating on writing or on learning the technical stuff to get my work up in a few more places.

My greatest value lies in my creativity. I get to trust that whoever needs to read my work will find it. It helps for me to know how to get my books on Amazon, but is there a better use for my time than figuring out how to get them onto other platforms? Should I start recording the audio version? Should it become a course? How will voice recognition improve my writing? Those are a lot of choices. How am I most impactful in service?

When I make that decision, I can make informed choices.

Learn what you want to learn

If it excites you, learn it. I recently discovered how much I enjoy Nova. I seem to have reached a certain point that it resonates with me. Now, instead of watching dramas that seem either too innocuous or too violent, I can learn about places and people and ideas that are new to me. I find that very exciting.

Whatever you want to learn, you can go on Google and find a course or a video or someone to take you through the basic steps. TED talks give me access to fascinating thinkers who express their passion well. I often join webinars and listen to podcasts that offer me a fresh perspective.

There’s no excuse for not learning what you’re drawn to. It’s very available. It’s up to you to apply yourself.

Explore

I enjoy painting, even though I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly good artist. A few years ago I took an oil-painting class, and although the result was a very bad version of Gauguin, I was excited that I had filled up a blank space with something from my mind.

I took a couple of art courses during my senior year in college. In composition I got a C, but in drawing I got an A+ because I had literally gone from stick figures to doing a decent three-minute sketch. That vast improvement was rewarded.

Explore what interests you – whether you’re any good at it or not. Just nurturing that aspect of yourself opens new possibilities.

Learn by teaching

A How to Write Magnetic Articles course I taught years ago greatly improved my own writing skills because I had to research and learn more and organize my thoughts in order to teach it to others.

As I’m on a personal quest to discover the meaning of concepts that intrigue me, writing about them to explain them to myself is how I’m eventually going to share them with others.

Keep learning. Share what you know. It will grow you.

Independent Learning is what you do for yourself

You don’t learn something to pass a test, or even to complete a task, you learn because something calls to you, you are compelled to explore whatever it is that fascinates you.

Are you an independent learner? What’s next on your agenda? How do you nurture your need to learn?

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

How Do You Nurture “Different”
The Power of Your Personal Path
What to Do When You Are Between Teachers
The Art of Mastery
Fitting In Is Not What You Do To Be Extraordinary
27 – Why Have You Been Chose

Build on the Distance You Have Come

June 27, 2016 By Cara Lumen

The way you process is to build on the distance you have come. You have skills you have developed, talents you have expanded upon, experience that included success and failure. All of that is the foundation upon which you stand. It is what you build on.

You passion is clear

It’s much easer to identify your passion after you’ve lived a few years. You keep seeking out the same type of experience, the same opportunities. That makes the next part of your journey easy to map out.

Your talents are evident

Sometimes we forget our natural talents. When I started doing videos I loved doing them. Then I remembers I have two degrees in theater. Duh. No wonder I was having a good time. Look back over your life for the talents you developed at an earlier stage and bring them into now.

Your skills have been honed

I know things I didn’t know a few years ago. I do things better this week than I did last week. The more you use your skills, the more choices you have when it comes to a new project – or a new path.

You are wise from experience

Been there, done that. What a time saver that is. And it also keeps us from making the same mistake again. (Hopefully) Let experience guide you but don’t let it keep you stuck. Stay open for change. Embrace change. Take that experience and go exploring.

You know your heart

In retrospect I can look back and see several things I have brought forward steadily in my life. That is my heart. One is writing and the other is an interest in my own spiritual exploration. Now those are coming together for this part of my journey.

Use your past to build your future

Stand firmly in your experience, look deeply into the wisdom of your heart, and build on the distance you have come. Reject what didn’t work. Expand on what did. You have the wisdom now to make choices that are aligned with your passion, your calling, your skills and your talents – all of which have grown richer with age. That’s how you build on the distance you have come.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
The Power of Your Personal Path
Can You Control Your Own Destiny?
The Power of Exploring the Unknown
The Power of the Label You Choose
The Art of Mastery
32 – How to See Your Work As Art
35—How to Hold the Space for Change

What Do You Do for People That They Can’t Get Elsewhere?

June 6, 2016 By Cara Lumen

The major focus of your business is to define and offer those services, ideas, and products that people can’t get anywhere else. I had to think about that because the work I do could be considered “airy-fairy”.

I offer an experience not a service

My first marketing coach, Veronika Noize, figured out that unlike anyone else in the class, I was the only one who was offering an experience, not a product. I am continually grateful to her for recognizing that because, from the beginning, I’ve had to do my outreach a bit differently.

Here’s the catch. Inner growth is tricky to measure. I have to find ways to help people recognize and accept the powerful and sometimes subtle changes my work brings them.

We each offer an eclectic mix

Whatever you offer, you’re doing it with your own unique mix of insights, knowledge and interpretation. That’s going to automatically and organically set you apart from all others in your field.

Just as it sets everyone else apart.

We need to figure out what we do for people that they can’t get elsewhere.

What sets you apart?

I think about esoteric concepts and figure out how to apply them to life.

Now, that sets me apart.

My work is the integration and application of philosophical concepts that resonate with me.

What sets you apart?

Look for clues within your passion

Figure out why you find this (idea, service, product) relevant, interesting, valuable, and exciting. If you’re not passionate about the work you’re doing, no one else will be either.

In this moment in time, I’m deeply called to figure out my spiritual foundation. I’m focusing my work on self-awareness, spiritual expansion and soulful service. They are connected, and interactive, but they each call for separate words, separate steps, and separate degrees of awareness. And each of those steps takes practice.

This calling is so strong for me that rather than start with what my target community needs, I explore and develop my own need for clarity and let my Deeper Song Community find me. I’m following my passion and my inner calling.

What do you give them that they can’t find elsewhere else?

Look at your uniqueness. Examine your passion. Review your gifts. Now figure out what you give people that they can’t find anywhere else.

This may be a service, this may be teaching, this may be an idea to consider. Your combination of skills, interests, passion, knowledge and desire to serve shapes what you offer and sets you apart.

What do you get out of your work?

You need to be doing work that expands you, that grows you, that takes you to the next level.

I’m learning and stretching and absorbing new ideas that resonate with me and my journey. I have created methods to expand my self-awareness. I have explored insights that deepen my spirituality. I share what I discover with others. I’m working on shaping my place of service.

How can you translate what you get out of your work in a way that can help others?

We learn by doing. We also learn when we teach. I learn when I write. How does the work you do help you? What do you learn? How do you change? Can you do that for others?

Share what you need to know

I share philosophical ideas that can change people’s lives. If you resonate with the general direction of my work, you’ll invariably find some idea that resonates deeply with you. If I’ve done my job right, you’ll understand the concept and have some ideas on how you can apply it to your life.

That result is your interpretation and integration of life-changing concepts.

Share what you need to learn

I have a need to explore my personal struggles and successes around feeling relevant. The need to feel relevant is universal so I share what I figure out. Aging is inevitable and has a wide range of manifestations that I seek to understand as I experience them. Those needs make me focus my work on self-acceptance, harvesting the crops only I can produce, learning new skills so I can reach a new audience, and in general sharing my passion and wisdom. I share what I need to learn. And people gain new insights for their own lives.

Figure out ways to apply this idea, service or product that only you can provide

A turning point in my writing was when I first came to the Center for Spiritual Living. At the end of the Foundations class, I created a small booklet that explained the form of affirmative prayer we were taught. I gave it to my class. The response to that choice helped me realize that I had a gift to explain the complex in simple terms that was helpful to others and I like to write in short forms. That booklet was translated into Spanish and Russian and I went on to write others, one of which ended up on the websites of Centers for Spiritual Living all over the country.

You just never know.

What do you do for people that they can’t get elsewhere?

Trust that because you are offering your unique combination of knowledge and insights, you are the only source for your particular work. That means people will find you energetically as well as intellectually.

Learn to identify that uniqueness and explain it to others through the words on your website or in the services you offer. Put what you do into as few words as possible so people get it.

What sets me apart – my gift – is that I explore complex philosophical concepts and transfer my understanding into interesting, entertaining, thoughtful, relevant “information products” that have the ability to change lives.

That’s what I do for people that they can’t get elsewhere.

What do you do for people that they can’t get elsewhere? How do you explain that to them?

TO SING A DEEPER SONG CONSIDER
Hw to Walk Beside Someone in Service
How Are You Harvesting Your Crop?
Fitting In Is Not What You Do To Be Extraordinary
How to Develop Your Distinctive Voice
32 – How to See Your Work As Art