People Become Who They Might Be When They Let Go of Who They Are

I'm sure you recall me saying "People become who they might be when they let go of who they are" quite a few times. It pushes a great deal of buttons, that's for sure. Some think it's having to compromise personal values to do that, but that isn't the case at all.

I’m creating a whole new program based on that statement. We might complain that our bosses, family, friends etc. put up roadblocks to our success --- whoever and whatever we can find to blame for our setbacks --- but the bottom line is we hold ourselves back more than all the other people, circumstances and strokes of fate put together. We have to hold ourselves accountable for our choices in life.

If you get over yourself, then you can let go over who you are at least enough to open your mind to possibility. Everyone in this world knows something you don’t know about something. Until you let go and open your mind, you’ll never know what that something is. Look at what you’re missing out on! In these cases, it's you holding yourself back, not everyone else in this world.

Organizational leaders look for people who don’t hesitate to jump into the deep end of whatever they’re about to embark on. Innovation comes from people who not only think out of the box, but don’t acknowledge there is a box in the first place. Remove your own self-limitations and you’ll attract all kinds of amazing opportunities. That energy will attract others and the ripple effect will go well beyond anything you imagined.

Opportunities whisper, they don’t knock and if you don’t pay attention and are so hell-bent on being the person you’re expected to be or who you’ve boxed yourself into being, those opportunities will go poof into the night. The greatest discovery you will ever make is that you’re unique. By letting go of ‘who you are’, you’ll find out just what that means.

Ceiling? What ceiling?

Best...
Donna Karlin



*Book Recommendation: A new book is launching on July 9th, and if it's half as amazing as the author (and I have no doubt it will be) I urge you to check it out.

"Mayday!: Asking for Help in Times of Need"

"Seven out of ten people say they want to ask for help more often than they do! This book explores why we don't make requests for help, why we should and how to do it in a way that works.

You don't have to do it alone. In this engaging guide to understanding and conquering the personal and professional fears that keep us from turning to others in times of need, coach Nora Klaver offers readers compelling insights on why we don't ask for help, why we should, and how to do it."

Time to Automate

My new motto is automate everything that’s automatable. I want to be doing what I love to do and that’s my work (which is more like play), research, developing new concepts and ideas and models with which to implement them. I do not want to be spending any more time on administrivia than I have to. The thing is, even when we automate processes, we still have to be ready to launch whatever it is the process will broadcast. Thus the delay. Even though I had asked the question a while back “What would you do if you had an extra 15 minutes every day?” which did, by the way, draw quite a few antagonistic responses, we don’t have that extra 15 minutes every day. So I have to find those 15 minute chunks on the run. And d’you know what? I can and I do!

I was on the phone with one of my editors and when I said to him “Another article? I need lead time, I can’t just churn out 1500 words at such short notice” his response was “Hey Donna, you have a plane trip coming up and I know you write like hell when you’re traveling”. OK. So he knows me really well.

Even though I love technology and think it’s the greatest thing since 7-Up as my dad would say, I never go anywhere anymore without my three small notebooks. Hey I create them for clients, why not use them for me? One is for writing ideas, so whenever a lightbulb goes off about something to write on this blog, one of the other two blogs I contribute to or an article here or there, I jot it down so I’m never short of subject matter. The second notebook is all about leadership; nuances, words that come out of my clients mouths that help define and describe leadership. I write programs around these ideas. And lastly I have one for business ideas. That’s the notebook that’s had a lot more action lately. Every time I have an idea about how to create virtual programs, it goes there.

Now that I have a third of my notebook written and in place, it’s time for Sandra to come and help me automate it. The ideas are mine. The collaborative interaction with user is there. The delivery, however is through technology. So I no longer have to worry that I might be out of town and can’t get a module, article or segment to a client. It’s done automatically. I won’t have to worry about scheduling, calling clients back at the end of the day or any scheduling conflicts. My scheduling will be done through the system, updated on my Outlook and the time slots will be updated regularly. Another piece of the puzzle I don’t have to worry about. Oh I’ll control the chunks of time and what will be available and what won’t be. But the systems in place will do all the work for me and I can now ‘play’.

What a concept!

The message I have for you would be, have you automated everything that’s automatable? Bill paying, website and domain name renewals, memberships on auto-renew…if you’re worried about keeping track, make a note in your Outlook for when the renewal should happen to watch for the email and charges that should be coming through. If you’re concerned about costs, just remember how much of a time eater these tasks are and ask yourself what is your time worth? If you’re a solo or businesspreneur time is money. If you’re wasting it doing things that technology can do for you, then you’re wasting time and money. Make sure you find someone amazing to work with so you’re confident the right technology is put in place and teaches you how to use it inside and out, or have someone in place who can do it for you and away you go!

I’ll let you know how it goes. And once it’s all in place, stay tuned for our newsletter, some new innovative products you’ll have access to and maybe, just maybe some of those products will give you the freedom of mental and time clutter for you to play too!

Best..
Donna Karlin