7 Ways to Ignite Your Entrepreneurial Sparkle

By Honeytree on Etsy

What is entrepreneurial sparkle? As Lady Gaga says...you were born this way baby. 

Being an entrepreneur is a fire that's in your belly from a very early age. You know if it's there or not. The thought of freedom to live life on your own terms gets you really excited. You can visualise a big picture and the clearly see the end result in your mind's eye. This foresight is pure creative energy at its best.

When I was 7 I would steal my parent's cigarettes and then sell them back to them at a profit. I'd also play 'shops' frequently as a kid with my little sister, I'd dream about creating my own fashion label by altering clothes, make jewellery to sell in my dad's gallery and the list of entrepreneurial adventures goes on and on and on. In The Power of Influence I write about how I landed a job as a gift wrap designer for Hallmark when I was just 14. They purchased 6 of my designs that went global in all of the major department stores. And with that cool experience came media attention that fed my entrepreneurial sparkle and allowed for a lifetime pattern to emerge.

Here are 7 Ways to Ignite your own Entrepreneurial Sparkle

1. Get inspired by the success of others.

Read business magazines that profile successful business people. I used to love and get so inspired when a jewellery designer or brains behind a fashion label would get interviewed. There's something so cool about reading stories about what triggered inspiration in someone's heart to take action + build an empire. The key is to surround yourself in successful people and absorb their vibration to boost your own. 

2. Write a business plan.

It's imperative to be able to project financially into the future so you can plan for best, most likely and worst case monetary scenarios. It's a great idea to update your business plan at least every 12 months. Things can change quickly, so it's important to create a document that can grow with you. Back in 2002, I won an award for business planning from the SHELL oil company. They funded the start-up of SPROUT CARDS. Crazily, I got 8,000 greeting cards printed! I sold them all but the return was peanuts for a lot of hard work, blood, sweat + tears. My advice? Do your homework and plan accordingly.

3. Value your time and get paid what you're worth.

Too often we're too polite to charge accordingly for our services. Take a peek around at your competitive market and either charge the same rate or slightly higher. You're totally worth it! This was a big lesson for me. I think the key is to be fair with your rates, affordable but not too much of a bargain. Charging more will keep your output at a higher standard to keep your clients happy. It's awesome accountability.

4. Look beyond limitations.

If you complain about there not being enough hours in the day... then wake up earlier! Don't hide behind parenthood either. You need to let your entrepreneurial sparkle shine! I have become a better entrepreneur because of my beautiful children. I've learned to stay focussed and use my time wisely. If I can leave a 10 year marriage with nothing but 20k + debt, no car, no furniture, 2 kids, little child support, little family support, 2 interstate moves and the single mumma's pension...then you can do anything! I turned my life around in less than 24 months. Anything is possible... but you have to look beyond the limitation to see the opportunities. True entrepreneurs see opportunities everywhere. That's why they make the most money during times of recession because of the ability to be so resourceful. 

5. Focus on the joy.

It's sounds so cliche, but when you do what you love...the money will flow. Think about how much joy following your heart and living with passion and purpose is giving you. Always focus on the joy and feel grateful for your work. Entrepreneurial freedom is awesome!

6. Let go of being a control freak.

It's only been in recent times that I've allowed Sean (my business partner) to help me see the beauty of outsourcing. Here at Älska we now have a team of people behind the scenes to ensure that things run like clockwork and that our business grows. Hiring help allows you more time to enjoy your work and be with your loved ones. Our goal is to outsource everything except for the stuff we love to do .

7. Take time for you.

I need to work on this one myself. It's so easy to become addicted to your work and the results it brings in. I feel an odd compulsion to check my traffic statistics on an hourly basis. Just be careful that you allow time for play in your life. Watch a TV show, take the dog for a walk, take a long hot soak in the bathtub...whatever floats your boat, honey. If you can't be healthy and vibrant then your business will suffer. 

I hope this helps you on your entrepreneurial adventures.

Here is one more piece of bonus piece of advice too...

Get clear about your mission. 

Don't become a social media 'expert' because you end up with a lot of followers. That's a mistake I made, and will write a post about this another day. Make sure you genuinely enjoy and feel in alignment with your work as an entrepreneur.

Too often people desire to fill their role of feeling significant rather than being of service. 

Dedicating your work to helping + inspiring others will give you the most amazing sense of fulfillment.

I just recently added a 'to-do' list category on my calendar. It's called 'What Can I Give Today?".

Wayne Dyer inspired me to really think about how I can be more of service. Let's talk about this on Facebook.

Namaste,

Sarah xx

7 Affirmations to Deal with an Online Dipshit

Elizabeth Taylor flippin' the bird

Facebook is a wonderland of interesting discussions - but there seems to always be one person that wilfully attracts attention with their ‘dipshit energy’ no matter what the cost.

For example, today a guy on Facebook was commenting on a thread about being vegan. He said (and I’ll paraphrase here): “But quite frankly these vegan girls... well... they don't have anything to grab. I like myself a handful of ... ahem... nevermind.”

This guy was clearly commenting on a lot of different things in order to get a reaction from someone. I’m a vegan girl and I found myself starting to feel quite offended for some reason.

When people say silly things that rattle your cage, it’s so easy to get sucked into the drama of it all.

I ate my breakfast, expressed to my boyfriend Sean how I felt about the comment, and thought that I’d feel better if I said something. I’m not usually so feisty unless provoked… but thought that someone needs to let this guy know he’s pissed off the wrong lady. And then I realised he’s just looking for a reaction.

I had over 10 cutting comments that would put this dude in his place instantly.  After all, women aren’t pieces of meat that you can categorise! I feel a very strong sense of justice rise in my heart when I think of women being viewed just as things.

After a while, I decided to wield my scorpionic tail in order to lash out.

I posted the comment and then I waited. I eagerly anticipated the smartarse remark to spill forth from the dipshit that had rattled my cage.

I waited for just 10 minutes before I deleted the comment. Why did I delete it?  I stepped back and felt my energy and how it was draining me. My body felt anxious - I didn’t want to hurt this guy’s feelings. Afterall, he might not know any better, right?

Here are my 7 Affirmations to Deal with An Online Dipshit

1. My energy needs to be spent wisely.
2. I will not feed the energy of that I am repulsed by.
3. I will choose to focus on the things that I love.
4. Ignoring comments that displease me will be more powerful than entertaining the ignorance.
5. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if I don’t agree. The contrast of life is beautiful.
6. My levels of positivity rise above all dipshittedness to send LOVE, only love.
7. The word ‘dipshit’ isn’t very nice. I choose not to label and not to judge.

Next time someone ticks you off please refer to the list above. It's just a list of suggested ideals remember.

By stepping back out of the drama of everything, you can see with a beautiful sense of clarity that you can rise above anything and spend your energy wisely.

Let's talk about this on my Facebook page. 

With LOVE,

Sarah 

Why The Word 'Hate' Will Drown You

Awakening by Sugarock99"I hate this...I hate that."

It's time to cut this nasty word out of your vocabulary. It's not serving you, it's drowning you. 

Hate is a verb.

1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest: to hate the enemy; to hate bigotry.

2. to be unwilling; dislike: I hate to do it.

Words carry very powerful energy. Florence Scovel Shinn wrote in her book ‘Your Word is Your Wand’  that says:

Man's word is his wand filled with magic and power!”

On the flight back from Sydney last week (when I went to see the amazing Dr. Wayne Dyer) I picked up a copy of the latest O Magazine (which was lovely) and a copy of a really trashy women’s fashion magazine. Sometimes I love to just get lost in the pages of a glossy magazine. There’s something therapeutic about  zoning out and reading all the funny fake + ridiculous stories about celebrities.

I’m not even going to tell you the name of this particular magazine - but what I read from the editor really put me off reading it again. In the editorial section, the editor greets this month’s readers with a sentence that says: ‘I hate New Year’s Eve’. And then she says the ‘H’ word again, followed by rambling about other things she dislikes.

Is she appealing to the mindset of the majority of readers? Do they associate with the negatively? Or should women’s magazines make more of an effort to enlighten their readers positively? (Please comment below)

I mean, it’s not like it’s Time magazine or O -  it’s a glossy fashion magazine... but the negative energy seemed to really affect me.

It’s cool not to like something and to consciously avoid it, but to hate is to disconnect yourself from the source of all good stuff. It’s halting your creative potential.

You might not even realise how often you use the ‘H’ word - but what I’d like to invite you to do today is reframe it every time you catch yourself describing how you feel about something that you dislike.

How many times a day do you say that you 'hate' something?

People often do it so subconsciously when they're agreeeing with the negative statements of others.

Example: "Oh, I hate that too." OR "I hate it when that happens."

Guess what? The Universe will respond to your energy and the word 'hate' to deliver more things you don't like very much. You get what you focus on. It's an age-old theory that's in all of the major spiritual texts in the world. 

Sean and I are really good at catching one another out on the stupid shit we say sometimes. It’s as if we both catch the dysfunctional language pattern and reframe it the moment we hear it fly out of our mouths. Abraham-Hicks speaks of the 'emotional guidance scale' and that there is nothing more important than feeling good. Expressions of hatred will mess with your happiness.

Next time you go to use the ‘H’ word…think about what it does to your energy, your body and your life.

Have you heard of Dr. Masuru Emoto? Check out his beautiful experiments on water crystals and how they respond to language patterns with emotions behind then such as ‘LOVE’ or ‘HATE’. Since our bodies are made up of 90% water it will make you see how you can impact your body by consciously choosing to be more loving and positive.

Like this post or share it if you would like to help other people get rid of 'hate' out of their vocabulary.

With Love + Gratitude,

Sarah xx

7 Tweet Secrets for Greater Flow

Beautiful Flowing Rainbow Hair via Pinterest

I met my boyfriend on Twitter...

Twitter is a magical place with unlimited possibilities. I've been active on Twitter for 3 years, 5 months and 28 days (to be precise). I've met so many amazing and inspiring people. Since then, I have seen some massive changes. Three years ago it was a much smaller community. There was a much more supportive atmosphere where people concentrated on quality of followers and not quantity. I wrote a lot more about this topic in The Power of Influence. In fact, Twitter was the reason that Wiley came to me to write a book on social media in the first place. I unleashed my tweet flow and landed a book deal, a boyfriend and a blossoming business all thanks to the Twitterverse!

Early on I cracked a code to attracting a targeted list of followers to maintain influence and authentic audience retention. It's called Tweet Adder and I run the software daily searching for people and targeted key words. If you're looking for a cost effective way to manage your Twitter promotion and management then this will be a great tool to collect for your business. 

**Please note: Software like TweetAdder can only really work when used in conjunction with an authentic social media strategy. No one likes a spammer, a bot or emotionless automated messages or tweets. It is, however, a cool tool to find like-minded people. 

Today I thought I'd suggest 7 Tweet Secrets for Greater Flow so you can start to make magic happen in your own tweet stream...

1. The key is connection. Remember that there are real people out there that are looking to make authentic friendships with you. Ensure that your attitude is open to the possibility of forming real friendships. When I first tweeted with @VPSEAN I had no idea that this guy on the other side of the planet would end up being the love of my life. 

2. Be yourself.  Just be you. Share your interests, your dreams, your observations and your view on life. Being you is a true gift that you can share with the world with your own authentic voice. Tweet from your heart.

3. Ask questions. Asking questions is the best way to strike up a conversation with someone. Imagine you were standing by yourself in a crowded room at a party. Joining the party is about asking questions to break the ice and start the conversation flowing. 

4. Don't be paranoid. Only a small percentage of people out there are perverts, stalkers, identity thieves or serial killers. Don't allow yourself to live in fear that your tweets might attract the attention of weirdos. They're out there, but fear only attracts fear... so live fearlessly! Note: Do be sensible about information about your children. Don't ever give out their real names, schools etc. 

5. Keep a list of your favourite people. If you have a lot of followers or are following a lot of people then make lists of people you are interested in keeping up to date with. Twitter allows you to make the lists private so you can create a hot girls list or cute boys list without them knowing. Or you could become a celebrity stalker. 

6. You can't please everyone. Being a people pleaser is a pain in the butt. If I answered every single time a person tweeted me then I'd go bananas. Seriously bananas. Realise that you can't please everyone. However, try to respond as much as you can to the people you do know. Never feel bad if you miss the appropriate window of time to respond. If the tweet is older than three days...forget it. Our attention spans have evolved to be shorter for a reason. It's time to be more present and surrendered! 

7. Celebrate and share awesome content. When you read something cool then re-tweet it, share the love or link to it in your blog. Supporting the work of others is so important. True success is celebrating the success of others when them. 

8. (BONUS) Follow Friday or #FF or #FollowFriday is annoying. This is seriously outdated and cluttering the tweet stream. Ensure that you give compliments or express appreciation to others, but a tweet with 8 twitter handles saying 'Follow Friday' is not effective what-so-ever. Thanks, The Management.

I hope this helps inspire your tweet flow!

Until next time,

Love Sarah xox

 

6 Ways to Feel Better Right Now

Image sourced from Pinterest

Today I thought I'd randomly list off 6 Ways to Make You Feel Better Right Now.

Here goes...

1. Drink plenty of water.

It's so important that you stay hydrated. People often drink more coffee and fizzy drinks than they do H20. Here in Australia it's Summer, so you should aim to drink around 2 litres of water per day. It makes your skin glow, your brain feel more alert and your poo regime run more smoothly. Enough said, drink up!

2. Feel grateful to be alive.

A wonderful, brave man died this week. His name was Kristian Anderson and he had an wife and two amazing boys. He gained global media attention by making the most beautiful video tribute for his wife. He also was an Angel that did so much to help raise awareness for the prevention of Cancer. Watch it now...it will make you feel very grateful for being alive today. WARNING: You'll need a tissue because I cried so much after watching this. 

3. Do some shufflin' 

Every day I'm shufflin'. Sean and I LOVE (love,love,love) LMFAO. Our exercise on some days is turning up the speakers as loud as they will go and listening to dance music. We dance like crazy people around our office and the kids join in too. It's a great way to get the blood pumping, let yourself go and feel the fun of being silly. Life is too short not to dance every day. 

4. Random acts of kindness.

You know what would be cool? If you gifted someone an eBook on Amazon.com. The Kindle books are only a couple of bucks and you can send it through with one simple click. Adventures In Manifesting is a great book to share with someone (wink,wink). All you do is click on the 'give as a gift' button.

Giving to others in Random Acts of Kindness will make you feel awesome. You don't have to spend money to give either. Open the door for someone, let someone go ahead of you in the supermarket or pick someone some flowers. Giving will make you feel like a million bucks within minutes. 

5. Tell people you love them.

Even if it's just in your head, spend a few moments to send love to the people that you adore. I tell my kids each and every day that I love them. Freely expressing love means that the special people in your life feel cherished. You'll feel a great sense of calm when you're feeling loving. 

6. Put on some make-up.

If you don't like make-up then that's cool, but it's one of my favourite things. I adore make-up! The packaging draws me in and I feel like I'm getting beautiful art materials to put on my face. If you want to feel better right now, go and put on some lipstick or lip gloss. Or better yet, put on some mascara! Think of new and creative ways you can apply your make-up too. I remember watching Oprah once and she found women that hadn't changed the way they put on their make-up for 15 years! It's fun to experiment with revamping the way you usually do things. 

Watch this awesome video tutorial below about how create a super-sexy 'smokey eye' by Tarina Tarantino. 

I hope these 6 ideas help you to feel better now. Please feel free to share this post (using the buttons below) to share the love!

Love Sarah xx