A Sure Winner Who doesn't like to bet on a sure winner? If I offered you a sure fire way to know whom to bet on... you'd be there with the biggest bet you could raise, wouldn't you? What if I told you that I have a sure fire winner for setting and crushing your goals? According to Dr Gail Matthews of the Dominican University in California, those who write out their goals are 42% more likely to fulfil them! Those who write out their goals are 42% more likely to fulfil them. It has been estimated that only 10% of people ever write out goals. And of the people I have encountered over the years, I'd say a vast majority of the ones who do write down their goals, do not write them out in an effective way. So let's remedy that today and get you well on the way to crushing your goals! SMARTER Goals I'm going to give you an acronym for writing out your goals. A lot of people have heard the SMART acronym (and there are many variations of it) but I have brought together the essentials for Goals with Soul in this 2.0 acronym: Specific A lot of people set goals that are so nebulous that you really don't know what they are aiming for. For example, to say that you want to be more healthy... means? You want to loose weight, or do you want to eat healthier, or do you want to sleep longer, or do you want to exercise more... The more specific you are when writing out your goal the more likely you are to crush it! Measured There is an old African proverb that says, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." So break your goal down into sprints. This makes it much more attainable and also allows you to track your progress. Attainable Your goal should require a stretch. You want to set it outside of your comfort zone so it requires personal growth, but it should also be attainable. It's not much setting goals that are so far out there that you can never win at accomplishing them. Relevant Your goal needs to be relevant to your vision, values and season of life. Dump the 'should do's' and 'nice to's'. Your goal should be moving you toward becoming the person you want to become and accomplishing your 'MUST do' in the world. Also, remember that when we compare, we despair. So often we look at what others are doing and think we should be doing what they are doing. But a person who is single, to whose children have moved out of home, can work at a different pace to someone who has a young family. So be realistic about the season that you are in. Time Bound Without a time restriction, your goal is simply a dream. Simply put, setting a time for a goal to be fulfilled lights a fire under your behind and causes one to spring into action. Energising  So may people set goals that are 'should do's' and 'nice to's'. But if it doesn't fire you up, you'll never make it through the challenges and setbacks that are inevitable when going after a goal. Make sure your goal fires you up. Reward In a world that is moving at a break neck pace, where we simply move from one goal accomplishment to the next, we need to learn to STOP and celebrate. Why? Because the celebration is what will fuel you to go after the next goal! So set a reward for yourself, something that is meaningful to you and that you won't give to yourself unless you crush your goal. Celebrate the heck out of what you have accomplished, then move on to your next goal. We never want to rest on our past success, but we do want to pause and refuel on it. After celebrating, you'll feel more energised and your confidence will go to a whole new level. It Is Over To You... Now that you have the SMARTER acronym, what will you do with it? By simply writing out your goals you will be 42% more likely to crush your goals. And now that you know how to write them out SMARTER, what can possible keep you from crushing them? It is time to go get after it my friend!    Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic. I have dedicated the last episode of the season to YOUR stories of how you have implemented Goals with Soul! So send in your stories! In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we can often times be our own worst enemy. Episode 7 is called Calendar For Success Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.  

Discovering Your Why I Have The Power As a kid I used to love watching He Man (I'm so dating myself here!) It was so awesome seeing him powering up before he went after the bad guys. And while you might not be going after the bad guys, if you are going to overcome all the challenges, disappointments and setbacks that are inevitable when you go after your goals, you need to power up to. In episode 4 we looked at the power that having a Why will bring to our goals. So now we need to go one step further and look at how you can discover your Why. The Meta Questions Before we look at the Why of your current goals I believe that we must first step back and get clear on life's 2 meta questions: Who do I want to become? What do I want to accomplish? The best way that I know of discovering the answers to these 2 questions is to go on an imaginary voyage. The Funeral Before we head on our voyage I want to share with you a quote from the famed martial artist and philosopher, Bruce Lee: Feel, don't think. The depth of impact of our voyage will be determined by how deeply you feel this exercise. I want you to vividly and emotionally experience your own funeral. Picture who is there. Picture their emotional states and what they are saying about you. Really go deep. This exercise will help you uncover what is truly important in life! Current Goals Here are some questions that you can ask of your current goals to dig out the Why behind them: Do my current goals help me to become the person I want to be and do they help me accomplish what is most important? What is the consequence or the result be if I did not accomplish this goal? When Re-Writing or Setting New Goals If you're re-writing your current goals or are setting new ones I highly encourage you to add these 2 words to your goal: '...so that...' This will help you to connect your goal to the purpose, the Why, behind the goal. This is where you get to strap on a rocket to your goals! Well, there you have it. You are now equiped to uncover the Why behind your goals... and now it's time for you to go and get after it!   Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we can often times be our own worst enemy. Episode 6  is called Writing SMARTER Goals Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.  

What If... Imagine the unthinkable has happened... you've come home from a business trip to find that your family has been kidnapped. There was a ransom note left on the dinning room table that demanded you come up with one million dollars in 3 months if you ever wanted to see your family again. The shock leaves you slumped on the coach in a cold sweat. The room is spinning and you feel yourself hyperventilating.  After a few minutes you start taking some deep breaths to calm yourself and you immediately find ideas coming to mind of how you can make the money. It's amazing how creative you are now that your family's future is on the line.  Simultaneously you're playing back a meeting you had with your coach 2 weeks ago where you were coming up with every reason under the sun why you couldn't make a hundred thousand dollars that year.  My friends, this story illustrates the massive power behind having a compelling why. Without a compelling why you will submit to excuses. But, with an undeniable why you will find a way to overcome any challenge or mindset! The Truth About Goals The reality is that if setting and crushing goals was easy, everyone would be doing it.  But going after big, hairy, audacious goals requires us to tackle our fears, to face off against our limiting mindsets, and to play a bigger game than we have ever played before. The road is full of challenges, failure and setbacks. Without a stirring why, you'll never go the distance. New Years Resolutions This is why so many New Years resolutions simply fade after just 3 days to 3 weeks. They resolutions were simply 'nice to's' and 'should do's'. And those are hardly going to inspire you to keep going during the bumpy ride of goal fulfilment. When I question many of my clients around the why of their financial goals, many don't have a compelling why. It is simply a vanity metric, a 'nice to' or 'should do'. No wonder so many of us don't crush the goals we set! My Challenge to You So my challenge to you is a simple one... do your goals have a compelling why? If not, get it! (and I'll help you find your why in the next show)   Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we can often times be our own worst enemy. Episode 5  is called Finding Your Why Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.  

When We Are Our Own Worst Enemy St Paul makes an interesting observation about our human nature:  "What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise." Romans 7:14 (The Message Bible) We have all found ourselves procrastinating going after our goals, heck, we even want to try and avoid setting those big hairy audacious goals. But why? The Primitive Brain Our primitive brain is interested in one thing, our survival. And while our brains have evolved over time and we have developed a more evolved brain, the primitive brain is right there along side him (or more accurately, buried beneath). And thus we have a struggle. Our primitive brain has 3 goals: Conserve energy Avoid pain Seek pleasure And this is where the battle begins, because our more evolved brain is interested in going after goals which require a great use of our energy, a great deal of discomfort and a denial of immediate pleasure in favour of a long term reward. Accomplish goals requires us to be creative and to make a way where there may seem to be no way. Accomplishing goals requires us to come face to face with our fears and mindset blocks so that we can play a bigger game. Accomplishing goals requires us to put in a great effort while others around us are coasting along and having a 'good time'. Our primitive brain is at war with our evolved brain. It will do whatever it can to sabotage our evolved brains efforts at getting after those big hairy and audacious goals. So How Do We Win The War? The first key is to become aware that there is indeed a battle going on inside of us. Awareness of a problem brings us 60% of the way to it's solution. The second key is to feed the right wolf! The Two Wolves An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."   The Good News The truth is that this is indeed going to be a battle that you will have to face daily. But the good news is that each day that you choose to feed the right 'wolf'... the next days battle is easier! So my friend, feed the right 'wolf' daily... and let's get after it!   Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we can often times be our own worst enemy. Episode 4 is called It all starts with your why. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Elastic Beings Need To Be Stretched How are we as human beings just like a rubber band? A rubber band is useless unless it is being stretched! And I believe that we were designed to be stretched. We kicked off this season discussing the 4 pillars of happiness and we saw how many people are running after a false definition of happiness. I believe that sometimes, the best way to truly understand what a word means is to look at it's opposite. Take love for example. Many people think the opposite of love is hate. Rather, it is indifference. Think about it, when you love someone, you put your focus and attention on them. And think about all those marriages and relationships that fall apart. It is not that they hate each other but rather they have become indifferent towards one another. The Opposite of Happiness So what is the opposite of happiness? Is it sadness? No, it is boredom! Just think for a moment... who are those people whose eyes light up, who are the most interesting to be around? It is those people who are in the fray of learning, growing, stretching and discovering!   Goals are essential because as we strive to make these outward goals happen, we must grow and continue to be stretched on the inside! At Beyond Average Coaching I have a tag line that says, The best version of this world, starts with the best version of you. Not only do we need to grow for ourselves... but we must grow and be stretched for the sake of others. As we grow, we glow, and that light encourages those around us to grow too. The Challenge - It Is Time To Be Stretched! In order to grow we must commit to a regular habit of learning. This can be through reading, listening to great books and podcasts, watching great videos and online courses. But 80% of our time should be in the fray of action. It is here we get to apply what we are learning. It is here that we face challenges and must use our creativity and tenacity to find solutions. I also want to encourage you to seriously consider getting coaching. Coaching helps take you further, faster. A coach will be able to provoke you to think bigger, will hold you accountable to your goals and will help you smash through growth ceilings. I offer a free 45 minute coaching session: Business Breakthrough My Best Life In this free coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This session is NOT a high pressure pitch-fest, but you will walk away with some insight and action steps that will add value to your life. To find out more and to schedule your free coaching session visit my Work With Me page. The scheduler is at the bottom of the page.   Quote As we bring this episode to a close, I would love to share one of my favourite quotes with you: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we can often times be our own worst enemy. Episode 3 is called Evolution. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.    

The 4 Pillars of Happiness So many people today are running after happiness and feel stuck on a hamster wheel, where they are running with tremendous effort but are getting nowhere. I believe that this is because we've started with the wrong definition of happiness. We believe that if we can have more money (and just a little more) then we'll be satisfied. I suppose this is why the richest man in modern history (he was a billionaire in the early 1900's), Rockefeller, when asked by a reporter "How much money is enough?" replied saying, "Just a little more." And along with our money we believe that if we can amass enough stuff, enough possessions, that they will bring us joy. But we've all experienced the initial thrill of buying something only to have that excitement dissipate quickly and eventually that purchase just ends up as more clutter in our lives. And so we try and fill the void with becoming successful or at least by obtaining some measure of fame... even if it is just for a fleeting moment on social media. A New Definition (Or An Old One) I really believe that the ancients had a much better understanding of happiness and how to achieve it. Aristotle defined happiness as 'human flourishing' and the ancient Greeks defined it as 'the joy you feel moving towards your potential'. I believe that we can achieve happiness through connection and growth. There has been a lot of scientific research into happiness (see Shawn Achor's book 'The Happiness Advantage') which has revealed 4 key pillars to achieving happiness. So let's take a look at each of the 4 pillars. Connect Deeply Isn't it crazy that in our modern society, that while we might be surrounded by more people (10's of 1000s, even millions more) that we have become more disconnected and lonelier? In fact, the pandemic of our age is the disease of loneliness! While we may have hundreds of 'friends' on FaceBook and other social media platforms, we're lonely. Social media is a place to put on masks, to show off how great life is for us... not where we take  off the masks and invite people to truly connect with us on an intimate level. True connection is where we invite people into intimacy with us. Into in-to-me-see. It's a place of great vulnerability as we allow others to see our flaws and failures, our shadow selves (the darker side of us) ... but it is also the place of true freedom. There is nothing more freeing than taking off your mask, revealing your flaws and being accepted and loved, warts and all! Be Positive It just stands to reason that if we're going to lead a life of happiness  that we need to be positive. And for those who have always seen the glass as half empty this can be challenging. Now, when I say positive, I'm not talking about being one of those people who live in La-La Land and pretend everything is sunshine and roses all the time. I'm just talking about a way of viewing life that takes in reality but seeks to make lemonade out of the lemons that get tossed your way. Life is all about mindsets, and we can change our mindsets! One of the best ways to develop your positivity is to practice grattitude. I am naturally a very positive person, but even I have found the practice of gratitude to be a game changer. And trust me, during those challenging times, this practice will be an anchor for you! I encourage you to get a blank journal where you can write down the following each day: 3 things that you're grateful for about your personal life 3 things that you're grateful for in your value exchange (work) life 3 things that you're grateful for about yourself 1 thing that you're grateful for about each of those who are closest to you If writing isn't your thing, then at least mentally go through this list daily. Be Curious Watching babies and toddlers lets you realise that we all are born with an innate sense of curiosity. But somewhere along the line we tend to lose that curiosity, especially as the speed of life increases. But in our break neck speed of life, we tend to miss out all sorts of opportunities and serendipity that are happening all around us. And we simply get stuck in a certain groove. This leads to more of the same and boredom. It means that we never break out of our patterns and experience the joy of all the serendipity that is waiting to meet us. I believe that one of the best practices to keep us curious and slow us down enough to look for opportunity and serendipity as we move through the world is to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation has become more mainstream but many people still have meditation in the woo-woo box. To be honest, that was me for the longest time. What brought me around was that I kept hearing from successful people in all spheres of life, that meditation was one of their keystone habits that led them to become successful. Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I deep dived into meditation. And what I found was a beautiful practice... without the woo-woo. In fact, in 2015, I wrote and published a book on Amazon called, 'Meditation for Beginners, Without the Woo-Woo'. It is a great short read (I know, what a shameless plug!) that will give you the right mindset and skills to succeed in your meditation journey. Do yourself a favour and get it on Amazon. Its just a few bucks, but it will be one the purchases you make this year that you'll be the most thankful for. Grow After It This fourth pillar of happiness is what the next 6 weeks of the podcast will be devoted to. We come alive when we pursue meaningful life goals. In fact, in the next episode of the podcast we will see that we were designed to be stretched! My Challenge to You So now you know the 4 pillars to happiness. The question now is what will you do with this knowledge? I challenge you to create the habits and routines in your week that will make sure that you are connecting deeply, practicing gratitude and mindfulness and pursuing goals that matter. In fact, I'd encourage you right now to calendar time for these 4 practices for the next month. I also want to encourage you to share this episode with others. The journey is always better together!   Connect Leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm also available to answer any questions you may have on today's topic.     In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at how we are designed to grow after it. The episode is called Elastic Beings. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This season of the podcast is brought to you by Beyond Average Coaching. There is one-on-one and group coaching available to help take the business of you further, faster. To find out more check out the Work With Me page. To help you discover if my coaching is right for you, I have a FREE 45 minute Business Breakthrough or My Best Life coaching session available for you. In this coaching session we will: Chat about where you are and where you want to be Chat about mindsets and the hidden obstacles to your growth Get clear on a few action steps that you can take right away Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to take action Discover if we're a good fit for each other Discuss opportunities for us to work together This isn't going to be a call with a high-pressure pitchfest going on. This is going to be a high-value call that will give you actionable steps that can create value in your life. So what are you waiting for? Just click HERE to book your session.     Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.  

Welcome to Episode 16 of Season 1 – The Biggest Mistake That Entrepreneurs Make Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'     The Biggest Mistake Entrepreneurs Make One of the most harmful ideas that is popular in entrepreneur circles is the idea of needing to be in hustle mode 24/7, 365. And like all deceptions, it has an element of truth in it.  Successful entrepreneurs certainly don't sit on their hands hoping for things to happen. Entrepreneurs are go getters who aren't afraid to take action. But successful entrepreneurs also realise that they can't hustle 24/7, 365. They understand the rhythmic nature of the world, and they embrace it.  What Happens When We Don't Stop Burnout If we just running at full speed all the time then, no matter how passionate you may be right now, you are headed towards burnout. And burnout will leave you incapacitated, lead to a loss of vision and suck you dry of all energy. It is not pretty and takes a really long time to recover from. A lot of people are never the same after burnout.  Trust me, you do NOT want to experience burnout. The time you take out now to rest is nothing compared to the loss of productivity you'll experience when you hit the wall. Getting Lost in the weeds The biggest mistake that most entrepreneurs make is working solely in their business and never working on their business.  Countless opportunities are lost, essential pivots are missed, and obvious problems go unnoticed as your nose is down to the grind.  If you want to be successful, you need to learn to pull back from the day to day (this is so much harder than it sounds as the pull of the urgent is difficult to ignore) and to invest time to work on your business. We Loose Our Creativity Creativity requires space. Have you ever noticed how your best creative thoughts seem to come to you in the shower, on walks and during other random moments. This is because creativity requires space. Your subconscious requires the time to come up with brilliant solutions. You will find that the most creative of people block out space to just do nothing.  How To Build This Rhythm Into Your Life Life is relentless. Our to-do lists grow by the minute, the demands on our time from our clients, business partners, family and friends seems to never be satisfied. All of this will ensure that we never get a second to step out of the hustle to relax and recharge, to reflect and refocus. So this means that you need to become intentional. You need to plan ahead of time and commit that no matter what, tis block of time will not be interrupted. This needs to be the commitment that you are most serious about. Block out the time in your calendar. You may even want to plan to get away from your usual surroundings to enhance your creativity. Here are 5 blocks of time that you want to calendar to reflect and refocus: Daily for 5 mins I love this block of time as it's so small and yet so impactful. At the end of each day, ask yourself, "If I were to do today over, what would I change?" Now, if you were able to improve yourself and your productivity by just  a tiny 1% each day... by the end of the year that would amount to a massive 365% improvement! Never underestimate the power of small habits! Weekly for 30mins - 2 hours At the end of each week I like to look back over what I have accomplished, see what still needs to be done and then focus on the upcoming week. Monthly for 2-4 hours At the end of each month I like to focus on how well I'm doing in accomplishing my goals. I especially focus on what is working and what isn't working. This shows me where I need to pivot and make adjustments so I can reach my 90 goals.  Quarterly for half a day + At the end of each 90 day goal run is an opportunity to look back, celebrate and then look forward to what the next 90 days will hold. Do goals I set earlier in the year need to be adjusted. Have new opportunities arisen?  I also use this time to break the goals down into 3 main chunks for each month. Yearly for a day - a week My yearly review is an opportunity to celebrate. To really enjoy the fruits of my labour.  It's also where I look ahead to the next year. But the most important thing I do is review if I am becoming the person that I want to be. Is my business the sort of business I'm proud of and is it helping me to become the best version of me and support my desired financial / time & location freedom?   Take a Minute I want you to take a minute to imagine you and your business 5 years from now and how different everything would be if you learnt to take the time out to work on your business and not just in business. Can you feel how enjoyable life is and how proud you are of your business and the person you are becoming? Can you feel the esteem you have in the entrepreneurial space? Can you feel the energy surging through your body because you took the time out to relax and recharge and to reflect and refocus? My challenge to you is to right now book in your 5 min evaluation this evening and to block a chunk of time to do your yearly review. Leave a comment and let me know how you got on.   It's The Close Of Season 1... Season 2 Starts Latter Half Of January   To make sure you don't miss the start of season 2 get yourself  subscribed to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations. This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business. Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!   This Show's Highlighted Tool: Acuity Scheduling   Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Welcome to Episode 15 of Season 1 – Essential Metrics For Online Business Success Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.' In todays show we cover Essential Metrics For Online Business Success It is so easy to look around the landscape of online business and feel overwhelmed with other people's successes. In fact, the first lesson we need to learn as entrepreneurs is: Compare & dispair. One of the other temptations that we face is to look at successful online personalities and want to imitate what they are doing. The trouble with this is that they are in a completely different season of business than you are. So how do we market and grow our business. Do we just follow the latest and greatest shiny object that entrepreneurs are raving about? Do we just keep throwing things out there and see what sticks? It used to be that marketing was a hit and miss activity. But today marketing has become a science thanks to the wonders of the internet and the amazing apps available to us. You don't have to do business blind! How do you know what is working and what's not? How do you know what needs adjusting and what doesn't? How do you know where to place your time and resources? Tracking your metrics is the answer. Marketing is a science, not a shot in the dark. And while you can get buried in the sea of metrics that are available, I'm going to save you the overwhelm and share the essential few that you want to track. The Free Tools You'll Need To Get Started: You're going to need two powerful and absolutely free tools to start tracking your metrics. The first is Google Analytics. Google Analytics will give you a tracking code that you need to install into your website. They give you the needed instructions and it really isn't too complicated. If you're using FaceBook ads then your FaceBook Ads Manager will provide you with a FaceBook Pixel that you can install in your site. This will enable you to track all the metrics that we'll discuss in this post. Your 6 Essential Website Metrics: Visitors to Your Site  You can find this in your main overview page of your Google Analytics page. Here you want to see a general upward trend from month to month. If your numbers go down suddenly then investigate any changes you've made to your marketing. (You can of course also measure the traffic to individual pages , etc.) New Visits - Returning Visitors (You can find this as a pie diagram on Google Analytics under your Audience Overview tab.) What you want to pay attention to here is if you are getting returning visitors. This lets you know if your website is sticky enough for people to want to return to it. Traffic from Channels (You can find these details in Google Analytics under the Acquisition tab.) This shows you your traffics point of origin: Social Media Referral Direct Search Organic Search The beauty of this metric is that you can see exactly how your visitors are finding you. You may realise that you've been investing a lot of time and effort in a strategy that just isn't producing results for you. You may also find for example that a source of traffic is referring a lot of traffic to you. You may then wish to invest in or formalise your relationship with them. Bounce Rate (This metric is found in your Google Analytics under the Audience Overview tab.) A 'bounce' happens when someone comes to your site and immediately leaves. This usually means that people did not find what they were looking for. For a variety of reasons you will always have some bounce rate. Here's a benchmark for you: 26% - 40% Excellent 41% - 55% Average 56% -70% Higher than average, but not a cause to panic 71%+ You need to change some things Conversion Rate (You can set this as a goal in your Google Analytics or work it out manually.) This is the percentage of people who have achieved a goal on your site (e.g. signing up to your opt-in, making a purchase, etc.) This is your most important metric! You can work this out by dividing your total number of visitors who took the goal action by the total number of visitors to the site. Here's a benchmark for you: 3% is the average conversion rate when people visit your site Some tips to improve your conversion rate: Make it easy for your visitors to find what they're looking Make use of videos and images as these capture people's attention Make the opt-in and checkout process faster by streamlining and removing unnecessary steps Top 10 Pages (You can find this in your Behavioural tab in Google Analytics) Knowing what your top 10 most visited pages is important as this information lets you know what is important to your site visitors and allows you to make more of the same type of content. You can also increase your conversion rate by adding content upgrades to these pages such as check lists, cheat sheets, etc.   Your 2 Essential Email Marketing Metrics Your email marketing service provides these for you. If you'd like to know more check out Episode 5 of Season 1 of the podcast or you can check out Aweber HERE. Open Rates This is how many people open your email. The industry average is 20%. Tip: Look at your emails  with the highest and lowest open rates and see what you can learn. The subject line is the main reason why people do or don't open emails. Click Through Rates This is how many people have clicked on a link/s in your email. The industry average is 2% -4%. Tip: Over half of emails are opened on mobile devices make sure that it is easy to click on the links. Check your emails on your mobile phone to see how easy it is to read and click on the links.   Your 5 Essential FaceBook Ads Marketing Metrics Plus A Few Others You May Want To Glance At Your FaceBook Ads Manager provides these metrics. To view the metrics that matter in your FaceBook Ads Manager, click on the Columns button on the bottom right hand side of the page. Then select customise columns. Here you can add and remove metrics that you want. Be sure to save these settings. Cost Per Acquisition / CPA This IS your most important metric. What is the cost of getting your new client / sale? To work out your CPA you first need to know your CPL and the average number of leads you need to get a new client / sale. E.g. if you generally get 1 new client / sale from every 10 leads and your CPL is $10, then your CPA is $100. Cost Per Lead / CPL To work this out you take the amount spent on your ad and divide it by the number of leads that it produced. E.g. If you spent $100 on your ad and you got 10 leads. Your CPL would then be $10. Click Through Rate / CTR This is the number of people who clicked on your ad and were directed to your opt-in page, etc. Anything 2%+ is good. Conversation Rate This is how many people clicked through to your opt-in page, etc., and completed the desired action. This is worked out by dividing the number of link clicks by the number of leads / opt-ins. You should expect to be getting 20% - 30% conversion rate from your ad. Tip: If you're getting a decent CTR but low conversions then you need to work on your landing page: Does your the look, feel and language of your FB ad match your landing page? The more information you ask for on your opt-in page the less you'll get. All you need is their name and email. Is there a clear call to action on your landing page? Frequency The importance of this metric increase with the amount of money you are spending on your ads. This is the number of times that the same person is seeing your ad. If they see your ad too much they get 'banner blindness' or worse, they'll get annoyed. Aim for a frequency of 1-2. These are your absolute must metrics for your FaceBook metrics. But below are a few others that you might want to have a glance at. Relevancy This is how relevant your ad is to the audience that it is being shown to. The better the relevancy, the cheaper your ad will be. A relevancy score of 7-10 is exceptional and 4-6 is average. Cost Per Impression / CPM This is the cost per 1000 views. Cost Per Click / CPC This is the average cost of each click from your ad to your website   Well, there we have it my friend. Your essential metrics or your website, email campaigns and FaceBook ads. By paying attention to your metrics you'll be able to scientifically work out your marketing actions and get a great ROI (return on investment).   Leave a comment and let me know what you metrics you see as most important.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode I'll wrap up the season I look forward to reading your questions and comments! Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations. This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business. Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!   This Show's Highlighted Tool: Audible Suggested titles: Extreme Ownership The One Thing Level Up Your Life   Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.  

Welcome to Episode 14 of Season 1 – Systems Bring Business Growth Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.' In todays show we cover Business Mindsets Business is 20% mechanics and 80% mindset. Speak to any successful business person and they will acknowledge that the most critical ingredient to your business success is your mindset. This is why I have dedicated my coaching business to help men overcome limiting mindsets so they can achieve what was previously impossible. (If you're interested in finding out how to work with me then click here.) It has been estimated that 70% of people have Imposter Syndrome. This is the thinking & feeling of being a fraud and that everyone is going to find out about it.  John Steinbeck, American author of 27 books, including greats such as 'Dubious Battle', 'Of Mice & Men', and 'The Grapes of Wrath', wrote this in his journal in 1938 (after releasing 'Of Mice & Men' the year before), "I'm not a writer. I've been fooling myself and other people." Some other notable high achievers who struggle with Imposter Syndrome include: Chuck Lorre - creator and writer of hits such as 'Two & a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory". Tom Hanks Chris Martin - Cold Play Robert Patterson - actor Michael Uslan - Producer of Batman Movie  Seth Godin - author, speaker and marketer  "The first problem with any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you are getting away with something and that at any moment now they will discover you. It's imposter syndrome, something that my wife, Amanda, christened the fraud police." Neil Gaiman - author, audio theatre, screen writer   "There are still days I wake feeling like a fraud." Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook COO The Dangers of the Imposter Syndrome You become stagnant, afraid to try something new because you fear failure and being 'found out'.  You won't raise your prices and this is bad news as your prices are connected to your perceived value. Self Sabotage which leads us to say we want something, but then go about making sure that it never happens. Some self sabotage tactics include: Procrastination Indecisiveness  Hiding away / not stepping up Pushing others away Portraying yourself as incompetent Not accepting help from others How to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome: Stop comparing yourself Compare & despair! "Comparison is an act of violence against the self." - Iyanla Vanzant - author We know ourselves from the inside and see others from the outside Focus on the value that you bring Keep a folder of the compliments you have received and re-read these. Swap perfectionism for kaizen There is no such thing as perfection. It's a trap. It doesn't exist. This includes the thinking that says that if you don't know everything then you know nothing. Kaizen is the Japanese word for 'continual improvement'. If you are not releasing products /services that you'll be embarrassed about a year from now... then you are waiting too long! Get it out there... get feedback.... Improve. That is ho you grow. Name it Meditation teaches us that thoughts loose their power when we simply acknowledge their presence without trying to fight against it.  If you're wanting to learn more about meditation then check out my book on Amazon: Meditation for Beginners, Without the Woo-Woo   Remember, you have incredible value to share with the world! I believe in you... you CAN do this!   Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this episode.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at Metrics For Online Business I look forward to reading your questions and comments! Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations. This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business. Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!   This Show's Highlighted Tool: Host Gator   Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below

Welcome to Episode 13 of Season 1 – Systems Bring Business Growth Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.' In todays show we cover Systems Bring Business Growth. Entrepreneurs start business as they dream of the positive  impact they can make and the financial / location / time freedom it can bring. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs dreams turn into nightmares. Entrepreneurs work 80 hours a week for themselves to avoid working 40 hours a week for someone else. This is exactly why I offer my coaching program Business Success Foundations. The truth is, if passion was enough, there wouldn't be any starving artists or business that failed. There are 2 key ingredients to your business' success: Mindset Systems A lot of people resist systems, but the truth is that systems free you to do what is most important and systems free your business to thrive. SYSTEMS Acronym: Saving You Stress Time Energy Money I recommend that at least once, but preferably twice a year that you take time out to look at your business from a different vantage point. During this retreat, imagine your business at 10X its current size. Then ask yourself, "What can only I do?" and "Who else can do the rest?" The 3 Step process To Create Systems: Define the roles List all the tasks Make a checklist for each task This may sound like a lot of work, and it is, but this investment of your time will bring sensational returns! And the great news is that you don't need to make your systems for everything right away. Just record a system a day or week. You'll be surprised how much you can accomplish with these small investments of your time. The Payoff: Because you have these checklists for yourself and others to follow you can: Delegate with confidence Maintain consistency Maximise efficiency Remove the bottleneck (you) from your business Save money by not having to hire top dollar super starts. Your secret sauce is your systems. 5 Areas To Systematise: Lead Generation / Marketing (getting people to your door) Lead Conversions / Sales (getting people through your doors) Client fulfilment Finances Leadership (working on your business and not just in your business) 5 Tools To Help You Systematise: Scheduling - Acuity Scheduling Project Management Software - Asana & BaseCamp Checklists, Forms & Canned Responses - Google (Docs, Drive & Forms) Organiser - Evernote & OneNote Finances - FreshBooks Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this episode and what systems and tools that you are using right now.   In The Next Episode: In the next episode we'll  look at Mindsets I look forward to reading your questions and comments! Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.   Show Sponsor: This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations. This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business. Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!   This Show's Highlighted Tool: Audible Suggested titles: Extreme Ownership The One Thing Level Up Your Life   Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review. Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE. Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.   Double Karma Points! Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.