Here at Big Picture Connections we are honoring the seasonal changes and taking a one-week break as everyone gets ready to move into the summer months. My VA, Tara and her family are off on a week long vacation. Things don’t really slow down, but it’s an opportunity to shift gears, enjoy a bit of meandering, integrate all that’s happened the first 5 months of 2013 (five months OMG!) and re-evaluate new things that are brewing.

I hope you also enjoy a great holiday weekend before we move into summer months and the second half of the year.

Feature Article:

Some of you may be planting your herbs and tomatoes this weekend while others tackle end-of-spring chores or plan a remodel project. All of these require a set of specific tools.

Creating a career path or building a business also requires a set of tools for efficiency and success. This week’s article is entitled The Career or Business Building Toolkit: 10 Essentials You Need to Succeed. You’ll find a pdf CAREER and BUSINESS BUILDING TOOLKIT checklist at the end of the article.

Much Love, Big Hugs and I’ll see you in June!

Dr. Jan

Get your PDF 

Whether you have own business or work independently—running a group, accounts or project within a company—long-term career success requires a well-stocked toolkit you can count on.

Essential Tool #1: Strap on Your Safety Belt

No matter what they say, for the small business owner, building and running your own business is an adventure. It’s not for the faint of heart! But if you have an entrepreneurial bone in your body, if you prefer to be your own boss, if you have a vision, want the freedom and love the adventure of starting and running your own thing, strap on your safety belt, get some great guidance and enjoy the ride!

Essential Tool #2: Weigh Your Risks

Every growth step along the way, do an honest assessment of your basic

security needs and how they are being met on a regular basis -this is so you can enjoy the ride and focus on your best work.

The body reacts with fear and anxiety—it will slow you down or cause poor decision making or lack of clarity—when your basic security needs are not met. This includes assessing everything from having delicious foods in the frig to locks on the doors to support from your family to enough money in your bank account. When you address your security needs first, you’ll be able to proceed at a pace that won’t frighten or derail you as you move forward.

Essential Tool #3: Create & Follow a Blueprint

This is where your Big Picture Vision, with realistic stages of business growth—from start-up, growth, to leverage and excellence—and strategic steps come in. Learn to match your expectations to these stages in your blueprint.

So get clarity on your Vision—the Big Picture—and then get clear on strategic next steps. These are what I call the “daily details” needed each week as you work toward goals for the next 30, 60 or 90 days.

Essential Tool #4: Screw Up Your Courage; Nail Down Your Anxiety

Building your business can be a nail-biter.

I’d rather have you learn to re-label that anxiety and call it “excitement” every time it arises. But even excitement can be stressful. So learning to pace your self, taking breaks during your day and remembering to BREATHE is important; not to mention exercise, healthy nutrition, good sleep, socializing and vacations!

Developing a balanced life will give you the energy to courageously step into your vision, and enjoy both your business AND the lifestyle you are creating.

Essential Tool #5: Cement Your Foundation

The first years of business building and growth are a time to carefully lay the foundation of your business plan. Stay focused on the basics. Get help learning best business practices, and implement them carefully—even when you want to rush ahead. It will benefit you in the long run 

Essential Tool #6: Saw Your Perfectionism in Half

This one is a real challenge for some of us! Most successful small business owners are visionary, perfectionistic control freaks! I say this humorously—and lovingly—because I too am one of them! It’s a fine balance and constant learning to clearly guide your vision and yet not micro-manage your growing team of helpers you will need.

As you grow, periodically make a list of tasks for yourself and team members. Discuss expectations and lay out a workflow each team member follows. Hire carefully, train them well then let them go. Let them serve you and your business with THEIR expertise. Turn your energy toward developing the services and products your customers want—that only you can create.

Essential Tool #7: Put On Your Knee Pads & Learn to Walk on Stilts

When you put on your knee pads, you are working on the details and the foundation—like builders installing floor boards and carpet. When you strap on stilts, like painters do, to easily reach high places, your perspective takes in the Big Picture.

These tools are to practice zooming in and zooming out—as you focus on your blueprint—especially when you make decisions. Zoom back out to your Big Picture Vision to make sure your detailed daily actions are a wise fit for the vision you are building toward.

Essential Tool #8: Measure Your Success

This is where you need to track your financial goals and progress, your metrics and statistics. Depending on your business model, these may vary, but the sooner you put these tracking systems in place, the sooner you will see where the actions you implement are directly tied to your profits

Essential Tool #9: Climb the Ladder; Scale the Scaffolding

…and do it Gracefully! And raise others up with you as you succeed. You are here because you want to serve, so share the wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise with others…and when you can, share the dollars through gracious charitable giving.

 Essential Tool #10: Build To Last

Whether brick and mortar, virtual or remote–be a CONSCIOUS business owner. Build a business that’s green. Walk gently on the planet and leave a legacy. Whether “going green” in your business is real or metaphoric, vow to use non-harmful, long-lasting green business practices, and materials if you can, so they won’t decay or be toxic to you or anyone else. That’s a foundation you can build on—and be proud of!

Alright, it’s your turn. Download your pdf CAREER or BUSINESS BUILDING TOOLKIT checklist that I’ve provided here and fill it out. Make a plan to get the coaching and the resources you need to fill in any gaps in your toolkit.

I’d love for you to SHARE YOUR INSIGHTS: I hope you’ll share your discoveries and insights with other Big Picture Career and Business Builders in the Comments section below.

A catalyst, it was hard to put down and delicious along the way.

Speaking of family, I had an opportunity to spend a lovely Mother’s Day at the Arboretum with extended family.  Over brunch and a trolley ride around the grounds, we shared many things that connect family members ranging in age from 20’s-70’s: from the gardens we intend to plant (30,000 tulips planted I think they said!) to personal DNA discoveries from ancestry.com research to sharing ideas for my young cousin’s job search as he readies himself to step into the world of work post-schooling in sound engineering quite soon. Josh’s mom, Beth has a full-time position as a nurse, but she’s also a part-time student so she and Josh share developing careers at different stages. (By the way, Happy 21^st Birthday today, Josh!)

I hope you had a pleasant day spending time with or commemorating your connections to your mom or all those who have helped you grow-up every stage along the way.

That brings me to another highlight of this past week. My good friend, colleague, and International Feng Shui expert, Carole Hyder and I had such a delightful time offering our FREE conversation: Simple Ways to Create Space, De-Clutter + Arrange Your Office + Life for Greater Clarity, Joy + Prosperity.  We were honored and delighted that nearly 400 people signed up to share in the rich blend of content we shared that evening.

Feature Article:  

You have One More Opportunity to receive the recording of this conversation before we take it off the air! You won’t want to miss all the Bonus give-aways and resources we shared.

Check it out and register for this FREE teleseminar recording, handouts and resources down below: Simple Ways to Create Space, De-Clutter and Arrange Your Office and Life for greater Clarity, Joy and Prosperity! 

Today’s article is How to Become a Catalyst for Change in Your Career + Life. It offers many suggestions to utilize the see-saw or wave capacity of your Inner Catalyst. One aspect “gathers in”—organizing, preparing, readying. The other aspect acts to “set in motion” —acting as a stimulus, a motivator to mobilize and take action.

Take a look. You might find some ideas that will help you when going through career + life change.

Experiencing Change

When you go through a change in your career or life, you naturally experience moments of excitement or anticipation of the new.

On the other hand, you may also experience change as upsetting, disruptive or at times, even scary because it’s the unknown.

Your intellect, brain, mind, spirit may seek and enjoy the creativity of the change; while your physical body may find it stressful, for some flooding or even paralyzing, if you don’t sooth it.

A Catalyst sets things in motion through two actions

Think of your Inner Catalyst like a see-saw or wave motion.

One aspect “gathers in”—organizing, preparing, readying.

The other aspect acts to “set in motion” —acting as a stimulus, a motivator to mobilize and take action.

When working in sync, the two aspects move smoothly back and forth, like a rocking motion.

The aim is to smooth the rocking motion.

If you fight it or ignore this natural ebb and flow, the two energies collide and result in a little—or big tsunami—pain, fear, doubt, overwhelm, inner chatter and so on.

When you allow both aspects of catalyzing energy to co-exist, and you allow the natural ebb and flow of your mental and physical responses to ebb back and forth, this powerful catalyst works more smoothly and in your favor.

The result is that the catalyzing energy gradually comes center.

As you gently contain the catalyzing energy vs. denying, it functions to encourage, inspire and motivate you to achieve the change—the dream—you desire.

When you allow it to flow smoothly back and forth

—gathering in, taking action, gathering in, taking action—Catalyzing Energy encourages, inspires and motivates.

It Assists You to Create the Change,

The Dream you desire.

Become a Catalyst for your own change

It’s a well-known fact that when you feel powerless, like you have no choice, like something is out of your control, it feels more disruptive than when you choose it.

So often this happens when people experience career disruption, dissatisfaction, change thrust upon them or desiring a change but damning it!

No matter what outside factors, people or company or life circumstances may be “causing” your current career situation, own it as best you can. Take charge of it. Embrace responsibility for any and all aspects.

What can I learn from this?

How do I want to respond, to BE?

How can I behave with wisdom, grace and dignity?

How can I stay connected to others who love and support me?

How can I care for my mental, physical, emotional, spiritual health?

What am I willing to accept?

Am I willing to eventually forgive?

Can I use my anger as fuel for my own change vs. destruction?

What supports can I reach out for?

What resources am I willing to receive?

And so on….

Embrace your Inner Catalyst

This may sound so simple; you may be saying “Geez, Jan! I thought you were going to give me something more! Something BIG.”

Trust me. This may sound simple, but it’s big.

This may be one of the biggest or most challenging parts of taking steps to make the changes you desire, because it asks you to

Go inside instead of scrambling

Be kind to yourself instead of spinning in circles

Get quiet sometimes instead of doing something

Building a rock-solid foundation for the next phase of your career and life deserves to be done with care. Or it’s going to have cracks and eventually crumble.

As you uncover the changes you desire, if you implement some of these suggestions, you will

• Move more smoothly through the process
• Work through the disruptions by accessing your inner clarity
• Have more confidence in your choices and actions because they are grounded deep inside
• Tap into your courage because it is Your Inner Truth—and you desire the positive outcomes you are creating for yourself and your future.

Your Inner Catalyst Extra Credit Homework

Involves two aspects:  

Calming the Body

Engaging the Senses

Some Basic Ways to Calm Your Body

There’s lots of research to show that any or all of the following activities contribute to calming your body through body/brain chemistry. You do some of these already, but pick a few new ones and try them for the next month. Choose a few simple ones and then one new or unusual for you.

• Get good sleep. If it’s disrupted, not to worry. Have a good book nearby.
• Check out brain entrainment audios for relaxation, creativity or sleep. Some reliable resources are Brainsync.com and Synchronicity.com.
• Take time to just daydream
• Make time to play, be with family and friends
• Walk
• Exercise regularly
• Eat healthy, especially things that nurture and feed your brain
• Drink lots of water throughout the day
• Take your vitamins
• Remember to take 4 deep breaths, frequently
• Contemplate or Meditate 15 minutes/day or twice a day a.m. and before sleep
• Or simply sit quietly. Don’t force anything.
• Once a day play with a child, hold someone’s hand, make love, clean a closet, scrub a floor, do laundry, chop vegetables, make your bed, floss your teeth, wash dishes…..earthy activities that make bodies feel grounded anytime, but especially during times of change
• If you become afraid ask yourself if there is any reason to be in fear right now? Typically there isn’t anything imminent. You may be anticipating the other shoe to drop.
• Stand with your back straight, feet apart and hands on your hips. Puff out your chest and tell the walls, the room, the tree (and the people in your life if you don’t feel too silly!) what you intend to achieve and create, what you are going for!
• Arms outstretched above your head in a Victory sign also increases confidence. It’s behaving “as if” that becomes your reality as you move into action.
• And so on…..

Add to this list so you become conscious of all your options, all the ways you have control over your personal experience of the transition you are experiencing.

• xxxx
• xxxx
• xxxx
• xxxx

Engage Your Senses

Again, there’s lots of research on how engaging your senses can be calming as well as increase clarity of thought, improve memory and open channels to options and creativity. So I’m not going to outline those here. I’d rather have you experience.

What is pertinent to your experiencing this Career Clarity coaching program is to find ways to engage your senses. All of the above activities will do that so simply paying attention to sights, sounds, smells, touch, taste and so on will engage, soothe and open your sensory awareness.

Shake Yourself Out of a Rut

One immediate way to engage your senses is to find new ways of doing old things—to shake yourself out of a rut!

As you experiment with this assignment, try to get all aspects of yourself involved in the shake-up including mind, body, intelligence, spirit, fingers, toes, emotions, and so on.

Take a look at this list of 27 things you might try, then think up some more. Your brain LOVES novelty and it will enjoy this activity!

Here are just 27 ideas to get you started:

1. Take 4 deep breaths periodically throughout your day
2. Practice smiling for an entire day – see how you feel
3. Say hello with your eyes
4. Hum, whistle, sing
5. Walk instead of taking the car
6. Take the stairs instead of the elevator
7. Drive different routes wherever you typically drive
8. Talk to the person who checks you out at the store
9. Brush your teeth with your opposite hand
10. Wear 2 different socks
11. Turn off TV, radio, news; put the ipod away
12. Listen to silence
13. Or play some beautiful music and listen
14. Do a crossword puzzle or play a game with family or friends
15. Wash the dishes together instead of using the dishwasher
16. Take a bath instead of a shower; or a shower instead of a bath
17. Go to bed a ½ hour earlier; take a nap on a weekend afternoon
18. Read a novel instead of the newspaper
19. Notice your dog or cat’s antics; engage in the play
20. Smell a rose; Go to the flower shop or conservatory if needed
21. Walk in the snow
22. Watch a cloud go by
23. Watch a sunrise or sunset
24. Stop at a coffee shop and sit peacefully before going in to the office
25. Leave work ½ hour earlier once this week
26. Call your mom; Call someone you haven’t talked to in awhile
27. Wrestle with your kids on the living room floor

Now you try a few more and add to this list!

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Engage Your Senses Through Writing

I want to highlight one activity that will definitely get you Gold Stars on your path throughout this course. Believe me, it reaps great benefits. I know because I use this process whenever I am going through a transition or dealing with change, my coaching clients have used it successfully for years, and we all swear by it!

It is handwriting Three Morning Pages. Before I share with you how to do this activity, let me describe why handwriting is so important.

Evidence has repeatedly shown that humans don’t change unless they are in some sort of pain or discomfort. Then there is a short window of opportunity to ride the wave of that discomfort to make the change…or sadly to say you slip back into complacency.

Evidence also shows that when you are in such discomfort, desiring  change, if you handwrite for a mere 15 – 20 minutes per day for a period of 5 – 6 consecutive days you become more conscious of what is bothering you. This exploration of your thoughts and feelings leads to more clarity about the changes you wish to make.

In this age of technology, it may seem odd or even old-fashioned to think about handwriting.

Yet handwriting engages our senses and body in a way that is cognitively very positive. Again, for clarity, memory and creativity. And you need all those right now, right?

So write!

Paper or notebook or journal, and pencil or your favorite pen.

Create a pleasant place in your favorite chair or corner of the couch. Have your tea or coffee, juice or water and all your writing stuff nearby.

Three Morning Pages

Each day do what are called Morning Pages. Morning Pages are the invention of Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, many other books on the topic of creativity. Her books include many other wonderful activities to recover your creative self, but she says, and I agree, if you do nothing else, everyday write three morning pages.

“If you do nothing else…

 Every day write three morning pages.”

 -Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

They start out like data dumping, negative thoughts and feeling dumping. They are not to be edited because no one is going to reread them – even you are simply going to tuck them in an envelope.

They are meant to move the gunk so you can become clearer about what is really important to you.

My years of experience using Morning Pages is that at first I am just “babbling” onto the page……after a time whatever is confusing or discouraging or stressing me turns to what I want, what I desire.

The Morning Pages contribute to my personal blueprint and next steps.

So, write. Don’t just think or talk.

Handwrite. At first it may aggravate or make you feel antsy, but it typically it smoothes out and becomes enjoyable. Some of my coaching client’s say it is “addictive.” They feel off-kilter when they don’t do for a few days in a row. What a healthy addiction, a new habit, a new tool in your Success Toolkit!

by Dr. Jan Hoistad

In this day and age of shifting economics, entrepreneurial encouragement and longer working horizon, more and more people are opting to work at least part-time from home. Many have started home-based businesses. And many are working with their mate, bringing their mate into their business venture or they are considering starting a small home-based business with one another. Some of these couples are at the young family stage and many are nearing what we used to think of as retirement, but no longer.

For some, the idea of working with their mate seems like creative bliss; others envision a powder keg.

So what makes it work on a personal and a business level? You know you love one another, but working together might drive you crazy!

This week’s Feature Article tackles this topic. It is the 3^rd and final in a series for the HOME-BASED Business Owner, entitled: Just Because I’m Home Doesn’t Mean I’m Not Working! (These suggestions are also applicable to enlightened two career professional couples or couples who partner while one is at home and one goes to the office.)

PART III highlights Ways to Work With the One You Love—Without Driving One Another Crazy! These are important tips you should discuss before starting a business together. Or, if you are deep into it, make sure to get some outside coaching to help you keep you the romance and the fun of doing business together sparking.

If you missed Parts I and II on training yourself and everyone around you so your home-based business runs smoothly, you’ll find those links here.  Take a look and be sure to add your suggestions in the Comments section at the end of each article.

And don’t miss my conversation with Carole Hyder, International Feng Shui expert as we discuss Simple Ways to Create Space, De-Clutter and Arrange Your Office and Life for greater Clarity, Joy and Prosperity!   Check it out and register for this FREE teleseminar down below.

Simple Ways to Create Space, De-Clutter and Arrange Your Office and Life for Greater Clarity, Joy and Prosperity

Tune in on May 9 at 7pm CST to enjoy FREE and lively conversation between good friends and colleagues, Career Coach and Business Mentor, Dr. Jan Hoistad and International Feng Shui Expert, Carole Hyder. They’ll be sharing daily rituals, inside practices and small changes in your environment to take you from feeling overwhelmed, distracted or lacking passion in your career to greater clarity, energy, growth and prosperity. ssss A recording will be available following this live event, however you must register to receive it.

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