Please join me in welcoming our third guest contributor, Kathryn Wiseman from Fulfilled Life Coaching, for our five part blog series “Business Health”. Inspired by the work of some of my fellow small business friends, this series is all about keeping “healthy” in business and life. In it are the voices of great business people sharing their knowledge from various fields. We hope you enjoy the rich and diverse topics of keeping you and your business healthy.
———————————-
The magic ingredient to a healthy business
There are two key ingredients that all entrepreneurs in business need to have in order to thrive and survive.
You know these.
- Know what you want (your goal).
- Know why you want the thing you want.
When you know what you want and why, the next question we often ask is:
“What do I need to do to achieve this?”
Our answer often goes something like this:
Hard work. Discipline. Long hours. More hard work. More knowledge. More strategy. More hard
work…. (definitely no magic here!!)
Yet many of us find that when this is our only means of achieving the business outcomes we desire we end up fatigued, frustrated, drained, discouraged and despondent. So, we try even harder. We work even longer. We feel we are so close, yet our desired outcomes elude us. Or we do actually achieve what we’ve set out to achieve, yet feel too exhausted to enjoy the fruits of all our hard work. We wonder if it is worth it.
So, where is the magic ingredient? Is there something to make it all worth it? YES, there is!
It is called soul food.
Soul foods are the little rituals you have (unique to you) that give you access to your best you.
Rather than asking “What do I need to do?” try asking “Who do I need to be?”
Here is an example.
Meet Jane. She wakes to her alarm at 6am feeling exhausted because Facebook has kept her up late AGAIN. Her thoughts and intentions of going for that early morning run are quickly squashed by the desire to sleep for just 30 more minutes. She oversleeps and suddenly wakes at 7am because her room is bright with sunlight. Now she is late! Really late! She throws on her trusted grey dress, black shoes and red bracelet, skips breakfast and decides to detour through the drive- through for a cappuccino and croissant on her way to her 8am appointment with a prospective new client. As she thinks about her ‘elevator pitch’ for this meeting her stomach immediately knots. This client has always been so stern and abrupt with her that she wonders why on earth he has even agreed to the meeting. She is no longer hungry, so settles for coffee alone. She gets to her meeting and tries to concentrate on all she has prepared, but cannot seem to remember a thing. She has no access to her magic. ‘I should have prepared longer and harder’ she chides herself….
Meet Kate. She wakes to her alarm at 6am and goes for her 30 minute run because this is her soul food. During her run she notices the early bird sounds, the beauty of the sunrise painted in the sky, and how good it feels to breathe and be fit and healthy. More soul food. She thinks about all that she is grateful for, big and small. She gets home and takes a hot shower using her favourite shower gel. She picks an outfit she knows she feels great in and eats her favourite weekday breakfast. More soul food. Before leaving home she dabs on her favourite perfume and checks she has all her notes for the meeting with a new prospective client. On the drive to the meeting she listens to her current favourite playlist and marvels once again at all her blessings. More soul food.
She ponders her 8am appointment. This client often seems so stern and abrupt. She reckons he must be really stressed about life and wonders what he does to feed his soul, if anything….
I have been both Jane and Kate. Maybe you have too.
Who do you need to be to access your best you?
What rituals do you have that you know are soul food for you?
Purposefully include these into your day and watch your magic grow.
Not sure what your soul food is?
Find out by visiting www.fulfilled-life.com to book your free discovery coaching session.
During this session, we will discover your own unique soul food so you can see your magic grow!
p.s. While implementing my own soul foods into each day, some magic happened for me this year. I wrote and published my first book to Amazon….and it quickly became a best seller! It is called “Hiding in the shade.”
Click here to find out more and to download. This makes for a unique digital Christmas gift (especially if elbowing through the crowds doing Christmas shopping is not your thing).
Co-owner of Verve Design, Teegan’s 12+ years of experience in design and marketing, and her love of mindfulness and meditation brings strategy with intention and creativity with purpose.