positive thinking

I was scared to post this….

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In lieu of a full blog post, I wanted to share with you a recent post I wrote on Facebook.

I was scared to hit post on it because I know it’s a little controversial….
and I wasn’t sure if it would trigger some people…
but I ultimately decided to post it because I feel so strongly about it.

It’s about coaching & coaching skills & ethics & so much more.

You’ll see it got some attention and a lot of folks commented very passionately on it.

Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/joanna.lindenbaum/posts/10155812738623437

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Leading your clients when your personal life takes over

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Joanna Lindenbaum and children

A few years ago, while I was leading a group call with nearly 30 women, my parents telephoned me on both my home phone and my cell phone 4 times within about 2 minutes.

I could feel my heart start beating faster as I was coaching. My mother has had MS for 30 years, and there have been many emergencies, hospital visits, and even life-support situations over the years.

A version of me 3 years ago would have tried to ignore her calls until I was done teaching — yet be scared & un-present to my teaching the entire time — because I wouldn’t want to come off as unprofessional.

An even older version of myself would have freaked out completely, told the folks on the call that I needed to reschedule, and then go on to deal with whatever was happening.

Last week, instead, at an appropriate pause in between spotlight coaching moments, I let the women on the call know that my parents had called 4 times and that I was concerned enough to feel I should call back, but that it would only take a moment. I asked everyone on the call to hold for just a minute and quickly called my mom. There was a slight emergency situation, but nothing very serious. I was able to get off the phone in under 90 seconds, return to my clients with full presence, and then take care of the situation at an appropriate time.

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Transformational Business & Life Lessons from Winter

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Winter-trees-winter-22173860-1920-1200A few times a year, I have the honor and privilege of training 25 world-changing leaders on how to align your life and business with the seasons and cycles so that you are more successful, more in-the-flow, and all-around happier. (If you’re interested in being at the next training, let me know!).

Whenever I teach this, the room is blown away by the power of living and working in attunement to the Earth.

It is life-changing.

And inevitably there is also some initial disbelief on what the cold, dark, bare Winter could ever teach about life and business.

Most folks shun the Winter and the dark, anxiously waiting for the warm, pastel days of Spring. READ MORE

The Struggle About What To Charge

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In this moment, I can’t actually think of any client I’ve ever worked with that hasn’t at some point wondered or (most likely) agonized over what to charge. And I confess, I certainly have grappled with this many times in the past as well.

The question about where to set your rates brings up a whole slew of internal questions and judgments:

How valuable is my work?

What will people think when they hear my rates?

What are other people in my industry charging?

Will anyone buy from me at all?

Am I undercharging?

Am I overcharging?

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My Top 3 Business Blunders of 2015

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1-8-16MistakesI get deeply annoyed and sometimes angry when I see “gurus” pretending that their lives and businesses are perfect because…NO ONE’s life or business is perfect. We all have our challenges, our frustrations, and I am pretty sure we all make our fair share of mistakes.

I always strive to be as transparent as I can with YOU (my beloved community!) because I know that your personal and business growth will accelerate if you know that you are in very good company when things don’t go your way — it will help you refrain from beating up on yourself, comparing yourself, and judging yourself… all things that slow down your growth.

So here’s what you need to know:
I make mistakes.
Lots of them.
Sometimes, after I’ve made them, they are seriously painful.
They may cost me time or money or opportunity or peace of mind.

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Transformational Business & Life Lessons from Winter

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Winter-trees-winter-22173860-1920-1200Recently, I had the honor and privilege of training 25 world-changing leaders on how to align your life and business with the seasons and cycles so that you are more successful, more in-the-flow, and all-around happier. (If you’re interested in being at the next training, let me know & we’ll set a time to speak – they sell out quickly!).

Whenever I teach this, the room is blown away by the power of living and working in attunement to the Earth. It is life-changing.

And inevitably there is also some initial disbelief on what the cold, dark, bare Winter could ever teach about life and business.

Most folks shun the Winter and the dark, anxiously waiting for the warm, pastel days of Spring. READ MORE

Quickie Inspiration for You

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DSC_0029Whether you live in the US or not, considering everything that is going on in the world right now, this is the perfect week to connect deeply into gratitude and being thankful for all that you have.

While I don’t have all the answers to how we can change our world, I do know one important component of the healing of the world: YOU.

YOU have a sacred responsibility to love yourself deeply.

You have a sacred responsibility to approach yourself with tenderness and with care and with full acceptance for your beauty AND for your imperfection.

You have a sacred responsibility to hold yourself sacred and to have compassion for all of the things about yourself that you don’t always like.

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Leading your clients when your personal life takes over

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Joanna and her kids

Last week, while I was leading a group call with nearly 30 women, my parents telephoned me on both my home phone and my cellphone 4 times within about 2 minutes.

I could feel my heart start beating faster as I was coaching. My mother has had MS for 30 years, and there have been many emergencies, hospital visits, and even life-support situations over the years.

A version of me 3 years ago would have tried to ignore her calls until I was done teaching — yet be scared & un-present to my teaching the entire time — because I wouldn’t want to come off as unprofessional.

An even older version of myself would have freaked out completely, told the folks on the call that I needed to reschedule, and then go on to deal with whatever was happening.

Last week, instead, at an appropriate pause in between spotlight coaching moments, I let the women on the call know that my parents had called 4 times and that I was concerned enough to feel I should call back, but that it would only take a moment. I asked everyone on the call to hold for just a minute and quickly called my mom. There was a slight emergency situation, but nothing very serious. I was able to get off the phone in under 90 seconds, return to my clients with full presence, and then take care of the situation at an appropriate time.

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Some vulnerability about my business…

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I recently posted this on Facebook, and it received such an overwhelming response that it felt important to share with you as well. It’s a short article, but a VERY important one!

The last 15 months with a baby and a 1st grader and a business and a sick mom who lives far away and…well, just life and all that comes with it…has been really hard at times.

In terms of business, there has been massive, massive growth on some levels, and on other levels I’m moving way slower than ever before. I thought my re-brand would be done and ready to go by last January. Ha! I’m hoping now for end of September. I thought my Sacred Archetype Assessment would have been ready by last December. I released it in July. I had plans for writing my book and creating some really, really huge marketing moments this last Spring. That hasn’t fully happened yet.

I’m sharing this for a couple of reasons:

1) I could have easily beaten myself up through all of this, judged myself for being lazy or too slow, compared myself to others, etc. But instead I chose to honor my pace, to honor that my business is NOT my first priority in life, to honor that I choose to make time for my children FIRST, and for my business to fit in with my life and not the other way around.

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I Took A Look At Something Important This Week

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This last Monday, Penina had the day off school, and I strategically set up a playdate for her during Yael’s nap so that I could get some work done. Normally, I wouldn’t necessarily do this, but my babysitter was off most of last week, and I had stuff on my list to do.

As soon as I got Yael to sleep, I went to the computer to get through some emails.

About 5 minutes into it, Penina and her friend came downstairs, all dressed up — they wanted me to watch their play.

My first thought was "I don’t have time for this!"
My second thought was self-judgment that I would even think my first thought, because my kids are more important than anything to me.
My third thought was to chill out on myself.
I went upstairs.

While I was waiting for them to start, my mind was on the email I had left unwritten.

I didn’t even sit down, because I was thinking I’d watch them for a minute or two and then be able to get back to work.

They were dilly-dallying getting started, and I noticed some inner tension, because I wanted to send that email and write a newsletter article before Yael woke up.

And then Penina came "on the stage" and started singing. And as she sang, she looked at me to make sure I was listening closely. So I sat down.

And I decided to forget about the email and be fully present to my daughter and her friend. I started swaying to their singing and allowed myself to get fully caught up in the moment.

I pretty much ended up hanging out with them through Yael’s nap, deciding that this week’s newsletter could be a re-print of an older one I wrote, and that nothing would fall apart if emails went out a day later.

(This week’s newsletter article would have been a re-print, but I posted this originally on Facebook, and then I realized it was the newsletter article that I hadn’t written!)

I am clear on my priorities in my heart and soul, and most of the time in how I act. But I have to admit that every now and again my actions betray me. Sometimes I get caught between home and business. Or forget that one of the reasons I chose to be an entrepreneur in the first place was because I wanted more FREEDOM in my life to do what I want to do.

Today was a powerful reminder for me on how important it is to be vigilante when I slip into "work, work, work" — to realize it as quickly as possible and move out of it, so that I can have the life I want and a business that supports it.

Whether you have kids or not, living and being present to your LIFE is crucial. If you’re part of my community, you’re like me, and I know that while your business is important to you, it can’t be the end all, be all.

Where can you pay more attention to your life, starting TODAY?

What are the “little things” you do for your business that actually are big things and take you away from your life and freedom?

I would love to help you attract more aligned clients and visibility while also making choices that are right for you and your life. Fill out this 2-minute application, and we’ll set up a time to speak and see what you’re needing right now.

With love,
Joanna