Keeping Hope Alive When Business Slows Down

EIGHT WINNING TIPS TO "KEEP YOUR HEAD WHEN OTHERS ARE LOSING THEIRS" 1. Stay Motivated: If you are isolated it’s hard to feel optimistic. Hang out with uplifting friends and listen to professional mentors who know the rhythms of the successful entrepreneur. Avoid naysayers and dreamkillers – too often such people can be well-intentioned family members and friends who are afraid for you. 2. Resist Procrastination or Self-Pity: It’s easy to fall into a slump when business seems to dry up. You wonder: “Is it me?” “Should I face the facts and give up?” or “Are my negative thoughts attracting negative outcomes?” More often than not we fall into a routine of inaction, obsession or some kind of anesthetizing distraction (all of these responses are based on fear). Ice cream and DVD’s are my narcotic of choice – Hey, at least it’s not heroin! Either way, action stops and so do my possibilities. And, “Action,” according to Margaret Bourke-White, “is always the antidote to fear.” 3. Know the Seasonal Nature of Business: Profits are like gardens and in the summer heat; it’s natural for our Irises to wilt a little but that doesn’t mean we have to. Just because there are ups and downs in the summer does not mean we need to shrivel in doubt, get cynical, or cancel out our livelier hopes and dreams. 4. Get out of Your Head and into Your Body: Physical movement of any kind—even going to the mailbox or stretching can break mental catastrophizing. Any momentum can help you shake the doldrums and give you more endorphins which we all know will help you ride with the tide and go with the flow. I like to go for after-dinner walks with my mate because that time of day is the coolest here on Bainbridge Island. Because one of the creative counseling services that I offer clients is a <a> “walk and talk”</a>—getting physical sponsors both of us as we strategize for their next creative endeavor. This habit of moving keeps both of us breathing more deeply, inspired and increasingly fit. And, as Einstein says, “To keep your balance in life, you must keep moving." 5. Simplify your Space: My home and office get trashed when my mind gets cluttered with worry and could use some focused and loving attention. Just as I have to plant seeds, turn soil, water and weed my garden at different rates during the year, I need to pace myself to catch up on personal projects that have heretofore been ignored—when marketing my business in a daily way becomes my only obsession. Making dump runs, selling stuff on craigslist.com, putting clothes in consignment stores, or asking a good friend to help me feng shui [pronounced fung shway] my office can make my space magically send an invitation to new clients, especially now that there’s more room for them. 6. Get Outdoors with Friends: Going to outdoor concerts, browsing yard sales, throwing a BYOB (BBQ), or even selling my wearable art at a local outdoor market can be a fun way to reconnect with others. Because I spend so much time on my computer as a writer and writing coach, I can feel like an anemic geek. Breathing in the Pacific Northwest’s natural surroundings, greenery, mountain air and sunshine, gives me a Vitamin I’m missing nine months a year (Vitamin D).  7. Attend Only the Fun Networking Events: Filling my professional and creative cup sometimes goes by the wayside when I’m feeling desperate. But, one of my favorite mentors advises, “Now is the time to expand your visibility: Write a press release, have a new photo taken, bump up your ezine. Get yourself interviewed on a local radio show or Access TV, revamp your Web site.” All this seed planting takes time and is easy to overlook when you're too busy during the other times of the year. 8. Try any New Form of Renewal: Sure massage, hot tubs, or napping are always awesome but what about trying something new? Flamenco is taking off in most cities and more and more people are returning to square dancing (gay and straight alike). The brave and bold are giving Capoeira a chance – a blend of Brazilian dance, martial arts and sparring. Anyway you slice it, like all success, putting your pedal to the metal is required at times and swinging slowly in your hammock is required at others. I’d love to hear what works for you. 2008-07-03T04:51:13Z

2008-07-04T17:25:28Z

-20.8159

645 1218

true

9117

keeping-hope-alive-when-business-slows-down

2008-07-04T17:25:22Z

Just because there are ups and downs in the summer does not mean we need to shrivel in doubt, get cynical, or cancel out our livelier hopes and dreams.

Keeping Hope Alive When Business Slows Down

2009-02-24T09:45:00Z