wisdom

How to Honor & Protect Your Time and Energy, Part 1

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I’ve always been what I call an “over-responsibility” person. I used to feel that I had to make other people happy, had to meet their needs, no matter what. Regardless of what it might cost me.

When I first started my coaching practice, I did anything for any client – I charged ridiculously low rates, and I would meet them anytime, anywhere. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but in the beginning, I charged just $15 for a 45-minute session. I agreed to sessions at 6:30 AM. I did 11:00 PM sessions. I traveled to clients an hour each way, and still only charged $15 for the session – no charge for my travel time. As you can guess, that did not work! Not only was I under-earning, but I also had no time for marketing to grow my business, or for taking care of myself. I was stressed, exhausted, and often annoyed at my clients. But it wasn’t their fault I felt this way. The fault was mine – because I wasn’t setting any boundaries.

I’m sure many of you can see yourselves in my story. So, so, so many entrepreneurs, artists, and leaders have trouble with boundaries around time. Typical problems include:

  • Not enough time to work because you have guilt around childcare
  • Giving away too much time by constantly emailing clients
  • Excusing a client who cancels frequently (wasting your time)
  • Doing the work of others who are doing things incorrectly or not on time
  • Working overtime consistently because you fear telling your boss that the workload is too heavy

Once you realize that you’re dishonoring your time and dishonoring yourself, it’s time to sit down and get really clear on what you need. I have formulated a series of exercises that will enable you to establish a schedule that allows you time and freedom to accomplish your business and personal goals, and a series of healthy boundaries to serve as a framework for your success. With these boundaries, you can stop feeling overwhelmed, taken advantage of, or scared. You can stop worrying that you’re over-worked and start stepping into time and energy well-spent.

How you spend your time is how you live your life.

In this first section of How to Honor & Protect Your Time, let’s look at scheduling and prioritizing, because setting boundaries for yourself begins with time management.

First, get clear on the top two or three things you don’t have enough time for because of unhealthy boundaries. Is it marketing? Is it self-care? Is it time to write?

What are you losing out on because you’re not honoring your time?

Create Your Ideal Schedule

Creating an ideal schedule is KEY to setting time boundaries for yourself. The more clear you are on your schedule, on what you’d like to be doing at what moments, the easier it will be to honor your time, your energy, and what’s important to you.

 

 

 

To create your ideal schedule:

1) Draw a grid with a column for each day of the week, and a row for each hour of the day.

2) Assign work time and personal time.

3)Get more specific: Identify what you need to do and when you need to do it. Start with Monday – Friday, or Tuesday – Saturday, or whatever works for you. Include each thing you would be doing each day throughout the week, and at what time. Block out time with clients, marketing time, travel time, shopping for supplies time, yoga time, family time. Include team meetings, networking events, even dentist appointments. When you can see that on your schedule, you’ve begun to create boundaries for yourself. The more you get clear on your schedule, the less scattered you are, and the more you are able to open time for yourself.

Determine Necessary Tasks

The next tool you need is to be able to get clear on what tasks you do that are worth your while. This is so important to being able to honor your time because it allows you to really prioritize what is most important and stick to it.

For this, make a running list of every single thing you do for one week – start today. Once you’ve followed yourself and your activities for a week, the next step is to categorize your activities this way:

  • Category 1 – essential tasks you currently don’t lose time on because the boundaries are good
  • Category 2 – essential tasks you want to keep but could use a better system or could streamline
  • Category 3 – non-essential tasks to either eliminate or to save for another time
  • Category 4 – tasks to delegate, which are essential but which you can give to someone else

Be honest with yourself. You’ll see some important things as you mark your tasks in this way. You might see that you need an intern or a team member. Or maybe there are things you’re spending time on that aren’t benefiting you. When you compare your actual schedule with your ideal schedule, you can apply the task categories to bring the actual schedule closer to your ideal.

Look for How to Honor & Protect Your Time, Part 2 next week, in which we’ll examine specific tactics and conversations to have for boundary-setting around time!

Audre Lorde and Putting Makeup On in the Dark

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Don’t Hide!

Years ago, Audre Lorde wrote: “We fear the visibility without which we cannot truly live.”

She was right about visibility in so many ways, and especially when it comes to making your dreams a reality. You need visibility to thrive and to create success. Yet being seen in the world can sometimes be scary or overwhelming.

It certainly was for me.

Be visible!!

Two years ago, I presented at a conference to over 200 women. It was my job to inspire the women to a place where they could love themselves deeply to reveal their soul and spirit to themselves and the world. The problem was that I wasn’t loving myself that day. Post-baby, I looked exhausted because I was nursing. I couldn’t get my hair to do anything I wanted. I didn’t fit in any of my clothes. The morning of the event, I wanted so much to hide from the world that I put makeup on in the dark and avoided the mirror at all costs.

Fortunately, I managed to inspire and deeply transform the women that day, but the truth is that I almost didn’t make it on stage! I almost backed out at the last minute because I didn’t want a single person to see me. Sadly, the fear of being seen – whether it’s because you don’t like the way that you look or you’re scared of being rejected or you don’t have enough confidence in your message – rears its head often for many soul-centered visionaries out there. The result is often self-sabotage, or hiding out or quitting … or simply feeling tortured with each marketing or PR step you take.

I don’t want you to miss out on the visibility you want any longer.

To help you learn how to create visibility for yourself and your Soul-Centered project, I’m going to teach you what I’ve learned about visibility since that conference 2 years ago.

At BE SEEN, we’ll be together in–person for a powerful and groundbreaking afternoon. You’ll receive:

  • a sacred women’s circle and ritual to help you overcome your visibility fears
  • my favorite method for getting crystal clear on your message
  • lessons on creating effective marketing copy that will get your message out in the world in BIG ways
  • a last opportunity to learn with me in person before I leave NYC!

Part content-rich business workshop, part internal excavation & transformation, this totally unique event is not to be missed!

Register NOW at http://soulfulcoach.com/be-seen.php.

We’re already 50% full, and it’s so important that you be there. I don’t want you to go another month or year hiding out from the world and keeping your message a secret.

Wishing you wild success and joy,

Joanna

p.s. I’ve overcome so many of my struggles with visibility … AND as I evolve, sometimes new visibility fears come up. The latest has been a huge block to creating videos of myself & a message to share with others. In honor of BE SEEN, I blew that fear out of the water and created a video just for you. Check it out here: http://soulfulcoach.com/be-seen.php

5 Tips for Soul-Centered Presentations & Previews

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Presentations are an important tool that provides you and your business an opportunity to connect with multiple prospects in a powerful & authentic way. If done correctly, presentations are one of the most effective ways to help you attract clients and income easily and quickly.

Typically they are either no cost or low cost – an easy investment for the audience – and for you. They can include Preview Teleclasses, Community Talks, Free or low cost workshops, or Open Houses – any scenario where you give the audience valuable content, and also a taste of what they can expect when working with you.

No matter how large or small your audience, no matter how formal or casual or intimate your presentation is, you want it to be Soul-Centered. What is a Soul-Centered presentation? It’s a talk or presentation that is authentic, of high-content, and of high value. It’s true to your soul-centered mission, your soul-centered vision, and speaks directly to your ideal client with confidence, gracefulness, and total integrity.

This may seem simple – just be true to yourself, right? – but creating presentations can become a minefield of potential mistakes and lost opportunities if you don’t have the right strategy. Here are five of my top tips that I share with my clients to help them create presentations that are effective, powerful, and Soul-Centered.

1. Give at least 4 presentations a year: This may seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how many people go out of their way to avoid presenting at all. So I want you to be honest with yourself: Have you been staying far away from invitations you’ve received to speak, or from reaching out to set up presentations? Are you operating under a fear of giving talks or presentations because you’re scared of being seen or not being good enough? If yes, I encourage you to work through your obstacles so that you can get in front of your target audience and show them what you’ve got (‘cause you KNOW it’s good!).

If you recognize you’re not really showing up to give presentations, my coach’s request is that you set a goal of setting up at least 4 for the following twelve months…and more if you’re already giving presentations!

2. Script out a powerful and effective Call to Action: Probably the #1 mistake I see folks make when they give presentations is that they do a beautiful job of giving valuable content to their participants, and then….they don’t tell their audience how to take the next steps with them! Or maybe you mention your services, but it’s super-brief and beside the point. My recommendation is to spend a full 10% of your presentation time on your call to action. Don’t rush it. Script it out (even if you don’t read from it). Speak passionately about how your prospects can take the next steps with you. Stand up for the powerful service you provide, let your audience know about it, and create a super-duper easy invitation for them to connect with you further.

3. Don’t give away too much: Your presentation should be high-value and chock-full of content – ALWAYS – however beware of over-giving. Don’t give so much information that your prospects’ experience is so complete that they don’t feel the need to take the next steps to buy your service or product. Let me be clear: This is absolutely not a business trick. This is about really serving your prospects: if you give away so much in a presentation that people leave feeling like they don’t need anything further from you, you’re doing them a disservice. They may feel complete in that moment, but we know the value of ongoing support. Whatever your service or project is, your work is more valuable when it is in a deep ongoing experience rather than a stand-alone half hour or 60 minute interaction.

4. Be authentic & make a personal connection: When giving presentations, it’s common to feel that you “have to” use a certain voice or language or energy or style. Sometimes a big audience feels scary, or sometimes the intimacy of a small group can be worrisome. But please remember: Don’t try to be anyone else other than yourself. If you’re not being authentic to who you are, your presentation, content, and call to action probably isn’t going to connect deeply with your audience. Remember: your audience is there to hear YOU. Speak from your heart, speak what you know to be true, reveal yourself.

5. Follow-up with your participants:The presentation doesn’t end when the actual talk is over. Always remember to follow-up with your participants within 24-48 hours to let them know how much you enjoyed being with them and to remind them of your call to action. Follow-up is KEY.

Your Soulful Coaching Call to Action

1) What is your biggest block or fear when it comes to making presentations? Maybe there are two; write them down. Awareness is so important here.

2) Make a list of 5 local or virtual venues, communities or associations that you could speak at and send out inquiry letters.

3) Script out your presentation and make sure to include a powerful call to action, an authentic and personal connection, and plans to follow-up afterwards.

Do you want to learn more about soul-centered marketing strategies, visibility and being seen in the world in a BIG way? I invite you to register for BE SEEN! We’ll spend a full 3-hours together at this live workshop. If you are in the NYC area on July 19th, please join me for a transformative experience that will radically change your approach to visibility and to being seen for your message. Register today (it’s my LAST live event in NYC before I move)! http://soulfulcoach.com/be-seen.php

I Told Off A Client!

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Do you have a client who pays you late… if you get paid at all? Or a friend who is always late to meet you, or breaks the date at the last minute? What about a boss who throws work at you just as you’re about to leave for the day, and then expect you to stay to complete it?

These situations are typical of what happens when your boundaries are not respected, and those kinds of scenarios used to be far too familiar for me. But let me tell you what happened one day, after years of “over-giving”, when I pushed past my boundaries for a client couple who just didn’t get it, didn’t appreciate what I was doing for them and kept on taking me for granted.

yelling-at-phoneI finally got really mad, and told them off!

I’m not necessarily proud that I lost my cool, but I am proud that I finally stood up for myself. Let me explain…

As some of you may know, I have a sideline business officiating weddings in the NYC area. A couple of years ago, I took on a couple who were getting married a month later. They hired me to officiate, and almost right away, the boundary-crossing started.

After I explained my services and the rate, the couple agreed. At our next conversation, they told me they were on a very tight budget and couldn’t afford me. I felt I wanted to do the right thing, so I cut my rate almost in half to meet their needs. Then we set up another meeting, and, in the meantime, I got to work creating a beautiful, meaningful ceremony for them.

An hour before the meeting, they called to reschedule. They “suddenly” realized that they would have to come meet me, rather than the other way around, and didn’t want to do that. So we agreed to a conference call the next day. They never called. I waited and waited, and finally I called them to find out why.

They simply said that they decided to hire someone else to officiate. After I did all that work in good faith, and they couldn’t even be bothered to let me know!?! I was furious, and I let them know that they absolutely acted with zero integrity!

That incident was a turning point for me. I realized that the reason I was so angry was because I let these clients cross boundary after boundary without getting clear for myself, or for them, what my requirements were. It was my responsibility to do that, and to stick by it.

Now, I don’t recommend raising your voice at clients who annoy you (however good it might feel in that moment!). However, I do know that it is critical to set clear and firm boundaries for your time, your payment, and your service.

If this resonates with you, and you recognize the need to change the ways you’ve been dishonoring yourself, your health, and your work, then join me this summer and transform the ways you approach yourself, your business, and everyone around you.

Activate your inner Warrior Woman so that you can stand up for yourself fully and confidently!!

Warrior Woman energy is the part of you that refuses to be a doormat. It’s the part of you that knows when and where to draw the lines with work hours, commitments, and how to set rates. Your inner Warrior Woman can create scheduling, marketing, programming, and administrative programs for your business that really work for you, rather than making you work even more.

I invite you to join me for a BRAND NEW, 6-week, master training that will dramatically change the ways you approach yourself, your business, and everyone around you. If you have a hard time setting boundaries for yourself and others in your business, you will feel over-stressed, underpaid, undervalued, and you might be tempted to just give up. But please, don’t quit!

Instead, learn to move forward powerfully WITHOUT burning out: activate and cultivate your Warrior Woman energy!

Sign up for the Warrior Woman Entrepreneur Program and learn how to establish essential boundaries and systems for your Soul-Centered Business.

You will:

  • Learn how to set rates that really work for you…and cultivate confidence and commitment from your prospects
  • Create sacred boundaries around your time (one of your biggest assets!) so that you serve in the best of ways while also conserving your energy and nourishing your well-being
  • Receive tools for building a business that works for you and your needs INSTEAD of catering to your clients FIRST
  • Develop marketing and operations systems that will help you stay on task and have time left over for yourself

Register here.


Special opportunity!
Three days only: Sign up between May 29th through the 31st and pay only $247! (That’s $150 off the price of the program)

This program is for you if you are ready to create deep, fundamental changes in the way you run your business and your life – you will discover a deep confidence in yourself that you never had before, so register: http://soulfulcoach.com/warriorwoman-entrepreneur.php!

I’m looking forward to seeing the Warrior Woman in you STAND UP!

A Foundational Formula for Marketing ANYTHING

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No matter what you’re wanting to gain visibility for – your next new program, your book, your private client offerings, your clothing line – it’s VITAL that you market yourself and your offering in one way or another.

And, whether you let people know about your stuff via your website, blog, social media, prospect calls, inquiry letters, or presentations, you want to make sure that you are incorporating an effective strategy into your marketing. If you aren’t using a strategy in your marketing that really connects you and your target audience, then chances are you’re having a lot of trouble attracting in new clients, new publishers, new boutiques to sell your clothing line, etc.

I want to share with you today a highly effective and easy marketing formula I use and teach all of my students and clients. I use it every single day in my own business, whether I’m writing web copy or giving a teleclass or speaking with a prospective client.

The thing that makes this formula so effective is that it allows you to connect fully and deeply with your ideal client/target audience. And after all, the key to good marketing is about making an authentic, intimate connection with your prospects.

Let me walk you through this foundational marketing formula step by step:

1) Connect your prospect to what’s missing in her life : Your prospect/target audience is looking to you to help fill a void or bridge a gap in her life that she can’t fill herself. For example, if you’re a health coach, your ideal client’s void might be that they are exhausted all the time, or that they feel terrible about the way that they look. The best way to connect in with this person is to let them know, through your copy and words, that you get it. Instead of avoiding the pain they’re in, gracefully name it or ask them about it.

2) Connect your prospect to what she wants for her life: Once you’ve made space for your prospect to see what’s missing for her and how it feels, then you want to get her really connected to the possibilities that could open for her. By doing so, she’ll not only feel even more connected to you and that you understand her, but she’ll also then be in a position to get excited about making a change in her life. So to continue the example of the health coach, your ideal client might want to feel energized or beautiful or active or in full well-being. No matter what marketing avenue you are using, you want to really activate your prospect’s vision and create the space for her to get excited about possibilities for her health and well-being moving forward.

3) Let Your Prospect know how you can help them get from where they are now to where they want to be: Now that you’ve really helped your prospect understand what’s missing for them currently, as well as what possibility they envision for their life, then it’s time to get really clear and specific and tell them how your product or offering can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. You’ll want to talk about or list all the ways that you can help them specifically.

4) Make a Powerful Call to Action: This is the final step. It’s the step that so many leaders and entrepreneurs skip over, and it is so, so important. You want to clearly and confidently invite your prospect, potential publisher, potential buyer, etc. into a next step with you. Perhaps the call to action is a connection call or perhaps it’s an invitation to buy your service or join your newsletter community or to have lunch with you. Whatever it is, state the invitation clearly with as much detail as possible.

There you have it! I’ve given you the quick, down and dirty version here. There are, of course, many more details to consider and add in, but you’ve got the structure now.

I hope you start using it right away!

Your Soulful Coaching Call to Action

It is definitely an art and a skill to craft effective, soulful marketing materials…and it is so necessary to do. So if you’ve got a soul-centered project that you’d like to put out into the world and you would like powerful support around creating your marketing and visibility plan, get in touch at info@joannalindenbaum.com, and we’ll get you set for a 45-minute, complimentary and private Intuition Activation call so you can get crystal clear on your visibility needs and how a Soulful Coaching program might be able to help you.

5 Ways to Connect to Your Inner Wisdom

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In our Modern World, life can get really busy and really fast. We spend a lot of time and energy running around, and also place a lot of importance on our left brains – our rational minds.

Despite all this, somewhere, deep in our souls, we know the importance of slowing down and connecting to our inner wisdom, connecting to our right brains – that place of deep intuition and creativity that holds so many answers and so much richness for us.

Here is a list of my absolute favorite top 5 ways to really settle in and listen to the treasury of wisdom that your heart and soul has for you. None of them need to take up a lot of time or effort! Connecting to your inner wisdom can be easy and flowing.

1) Journaling: To cut through the mind’s chitter chatter and get straight to your inner wisdom, journaling works best if you write fast, without stopping, without worrying about grammar or language, or even full sentences. The name of the game is here is to write quickly without judgement or even thought, and see what comes up for you. It helps to start with a provocative phrase like: “I am a woman who…..” or “I am here….” READ MORE

Make Better Decisions About Your Career

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Our bodies contain treasures of important and valuable information about our lives and our careers. This body wisdom is called intuition, calling our intuition to action can help us navigate our lives with more ease and confidence.
 
Many of us, however, aren’t in practice of hearing and listening to those valuable clues and facts that are bodies give us everyday. Luckily, there are ways that we can embrace our bodies and our body wisdom, and begin to hear valuable information about our careers (and our finances, our relationships, and lives!!).
 
Here is an easy and quick 4-minute technique that will support you in beginning to become re-acquainted with your body wisdom: READ MORE