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Faith and Fear In Your Life and Business

July 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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Faith and Fear In Your Life and Business

by Frederika Angus

This week we returned from a wonderful family vacation in Tennessee. Taking a break from the everyday norm is so necessary. Particularly as a business owner it helps to rejuvenate and refresh you. Unlike many of our vacations, we had no agenda or plan for what we would do. With no alarms set we focused on enjoying family time together, seeing relatives, spending time on the lake along with lots of food, fun and laughs.

 

 

During our time away the kids also played unspeakable hours of video games. Instead of complaining about the amount of time they spent entertaining themselves while it rained outside, I made it a point to get into their world and experience those things they enjoy. We usually have great conversations and I can relate some teachable moments because everyone’s guard is down. (Parenting tip!)

Learning to play Mario Kart provided a lot of laughter and jokes. (I crash more than I drive!) At one point I was pressing both the buttons to go forward and go in reverse at the same time. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize it is impossible to go both in a forward and backward motion simultaneously. Everyone else was passing me by in the race because I was basically stuck in neutral. No progress was being made although I had the same tools everyone else playing did. I was holding my own self back.

How many times have you felt just like I did with your business and life? Knowing that you have the potential to go just like everyone else but feel like everyone else is passing you by?

Are you pumping the brakes to your success?

brake-gas-pedal-quote

Cars do not move if you have your foot on both the gas and brakes at the same time. The same is true with the vision you have for your business and life. Faith is the gas that moves you and the vision for your life and business forward. It accelerates you. Fear, however, slows momentum down to a slow crawl and eventually a halt if applied long enough.

You may see fear in your life and business any many different ways. Fear could be showing up through procrastination, not outsourcing or getting help, doubting you ability or value and even failing to follow up and follow through with friends, family and clients.

Dale Carnegie said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

So release the brakes of fear and take action.

I believe in you!

Talk to you soon,

Frederika Angus

Filed Under: Mindset

You Are Now Free to Fly

July 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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leap-of-faith

You Are Now Free to Fly

by Frederika Angus

Here in the United States, we are celebrating the 4th of July or Independence Day. By this afternoon, backyards and parks will be filled with family and friends gathered together to celebrate the holiday. Fireworks will fill the night sky as we look up with childlike wonder at colorful displays with reverence the freedom we have.

But what does freedom really mean?

Freedom is defined as 1) The right to speak or act without restriction, interference, or fear, or; 2) a country’s right to rule itself, without interference from, or domination by, another country or power, or; 3) the state of being unaffected by, or not subject to, something unpleasant or unwanted.

On today, I believe the 2nd part of that definition is what immediately comes to mind. But the freedom that we have and live daily is more than a corporate freedom by default of living in a free country. I believe freedom is much more personal than that and can be expressed regardless of the location or country in which you live.

Daily, I’m honored to serve brilliant entrepreneur and visionary business owners all over the world. When asked how they started their business, you’ll the hear multiple stories from just looking to add an additional (or primary) income, chasing dreams to turn their passion to profit, being laid off, wanting to bring a bigger change to the problems they see around them or even just sick and tired of being sick and tired of the same thing day after day. While each story is individual in details, you can hear woven together in the telling of their business beginnings one common thread; business gives you freedom to be and do what you love.

And on the surface it means, you get to do what you want, when you want, if you want. But much on a much deeper level your business has the right to speak a message of light to those in darkness, and the ability to share hope and show love to every person you serve. You are free to face your own fears BOLDY and say, “I do not choose to shrink down and accept what is given to me. I am determined to take leaps of faith (often daily) to build and create the business and life that I love!”

Bald Eagle Soaring

You are now free to fly!

Take a look at that definition again! You can speak and act without fear. You can look at limitations and restrictions and choose to go over, around and even through any hinderance to you living your best life right now. You can choose to not be affected by those things that are unpleasant or unwanted. Freedom is your right to live as a creator of your circumstance based on what you say and do! You can soar like an eagle.

So today and everyday remember that you have the right and full on permission to be more and impact many others with your business and your life. See you in the friendly skies. You are free to fly!

Talk to you soon!

Frederika Angus

 

 

Filed Under: Mindset, Motivational Moment Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Important vs Urgent: Time Management Tips To Keep You Effective and Efficient

September 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Important vs Urgent: Time Management Tips To Keep You Effective and Efficient

by Frederika Angus

 

Raise your hand if 1440 minutes doesn't seem to be enough time in a day to get all your tasks accomplished. Do you have friends, spouses or colleagues that seem to be more productive and produce bigger results? After years of business management consulting and project management, I've been able to develop surefire methods that consistently allow me to work effectively and efficiently. I'll let you in on the secret. Lean in close….

Effective people utilize the bulk of their time focused on the important over the urgent.

We have all had days were we have been busy with presentations, going to the gym, meetings, phone calls, errands, doctors appointments, social events and chores. Feeling exhausted from all the activity of the day, we fall into bed and marvel at how much work is still left to been done and how little has actually been crossed off the to-do list. Our bodies are weary and we look over at the alarm clock, wishing for more time in the day to get it all done, knowing 5:30 am will be soon approaching for us to start the grueling process again.

Tip #1 – By learning the difference between which tasks are important over what is urgent, you can be more effective and efficient while alleviating stress and anxiety over the things you have yet to accomplish.

  •  Important  activities produce an outcome that leads you and your business to the achievement of goals.
  • Urgent activities are usually reactive over being proactive and demand immediate attention.

In other words, important things are valuable; urgent things simply have a looming deadline. Urgent things are not necessarily important, nor do important tasks have to be urgent.

Tip #2 – Maintain a master to-do list and prioritize each task based on it's level of importance and urgency. Having a written list is a business strategy people have used for years. Adding a column to mark priority will keep the most critical items to be accomplished from becoming lost.

Tip #3 – Review your task list each evening and select 3 important activities for the following day. We often set ourselves up to fail by producing daily agenda's that are jam packed. By primarily focusing on the 3 must-dos, we leave room for any urgent needs that may arise and space for flexibility.

Tip #4 – Deal with important things before they become urgent. This can reduce the number of urgent items added to your to-do list. This strategy will reduce unnecessary, last minute stressors.

Tip #5 – Check and respond to email in between the transition of completing one task and starting another. Constant immediate response to emails as they arrive slows progress. Instant access to emails via our smartphones has become a gift and a curse. Don't allow instant communication to steal your productivity.

Tip #6 – Learn to say NO to demands on your time that don't benefit you or your goals or align with your core mission statement. Too often we find ourselves saying 'Yes' to help out other people when in reality we don't have the capacity to take on more. If the activity is not important to your development, kindly decline.

If you'd like more strategies on how you can be effective at prioritizing your activities, be sure to follow me now on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Mindset, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Having A Life and Being Successful in Business – How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Having A Life and Being Successful in Business – How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

by FREDERIKA ANGUS

There is a common school of thought that believes that you can’t have the best of both worlds. I’m not sure where it came from or how we all started believing this proverb was true, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship and leading a company to success. What I am sure of is that you have a choice in deciding what is true for you. Rather than affirming this saying by never attempting to be balanced in both your professional and personal life, I am encouraging you TODAY to change your mindset and prove this idiom wrong.

You can maintain work – life balance while successfully running your own business.

Don’t look at me with that tone of voice! While I understand that is a rather bold and somewhat radical statement, I make it my personal mantra. As a wife to the most amazing man, mother of four incredible children, daughter, friend, entrepreneur, business consultant, etc, I comprehend your reservations. How in the world can anyone accomplish all that needs to be done to lead a business, service clients, research new products, balance the books, support community fundraisers, network AND enjoy social outings with friends, attend their child’s sporting events, have dinner with the family and most importantly, rest your mind, body and spirit.

Well don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a quote from one of the most successful and significant businessmen of our time.

Having kids has been a fantastic thing for me. It’s meant that I’m a little more balanced. In my twenties I worked massively, hardly took vacation at all. Now, I, with the help of my wife, I’m always making sure I’ve got a good balance of how I spend my time.
~ Bill Gates

When a man who has voluntarily released his claim to the richest man in the world title by giving billions of dollars to his charitable foundation shares wisdom of the need to be balanced in life and business, I listen. I hope you do too.

Practical application to create a work – life balance

I would be remiss to not help you understand HOW to create this balance in your business. I’ve compiled 4 strategies to help you obtain harmony between your personal and professional time.

Define your personal mission statement and core values. Knowing what you believe in and what your purpose is in doing it is sometimes overlooked. When you don’t know where you are going, time is wasted getting there. Having a clear plan of action and vision of your goals will allow you to better filter what is important and what you can say no to.

Organize your time! If you have multiple hats that you wear daily, you comprehend that time is always of the essence. Having a system of time management will enable you to have smooth transitions from business to pleasure. It’s far less important about the tool you use to manage your time and more important that you are consistent in actually utilizing whatever strategy works for you.

Outsource tasks that take you longer than an hour. Most entrepreneurs are do-it-yourselfers. Often as a means to save money, business owners will take on multiple tasks in running the company. To achieve a more balanced lifestyle, be willing to invest money in surrounding yourself with the tools, processes and/or people that can alleviate your load. The time you save will give you more time to go build and grow your business and enjoy your life.

Give yourself grace. NO ONE IS PERFECT! Now that you’re freed from the perfectionism bondage most businesspeople have, forgive yourself if you can’t make that great networking event or a little-league game. It is impossible to be everywhere at one time and be everything to everyone. As long as you are striving to maintain a nice balance between your work and your life, there should be no guilt.

Share a comment below with your thoughts. If you are looking for more support in building the business of your dreams and living the life you envisioned, be sure to join me on Facebook now and follow me on Twitter.

Talk to you soon!

Frederika

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Mindset Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Life Comes At You Fast

September 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Typically our weekends are a whirlwind of excitement. We usually have sporting events or activities for the boys that keep us on the move from place to place. This past Saturday was no different. As we were talking and driving up the highway to watch our oldest participate in a scrimmage with his football team, my husband interrupted me pointed out to me that it isn't even fall and the leaves were changing.

I didn't think much about it until later that afternoon as we were sitting in the bleachers cheering on our middle son at his first tackle football game. Leaf after leaf floated from the trees behind us. After being smacked in the face for the third time I exclaimed, "Why are the leaving changing so soon? It isn't time! I'm not ready!"

Have you ever felt that way?

You look around and it seems everything around you is changing and you are just not ready. There is no way you can stop the changes from happening. And if you just had a little more time beforehand, even a little advance notice, you would have been more prepared.

Changes next exit

Welcome to life! It comes at you fast and some days you aren't prepared for all the change in front of you. You pick up the remote and press pause yet nothing stops or even slows down.

We've all been there. I'm here to tell you that whether you've had that feeling a day, a week, a month, THERE IS HOPE.

I want to encourage you today to change your perspective on the "Life comes at you fast" moments. As much as they signify the ending to one chapter they are equally the beginning the next. Here are a few quotes to remind you of the positive side of change.

Change brings opportunity.
Nido Qubein

Change in all things is sweet.
Aristotle

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Gail Sheehy

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou

Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
Alan Watts

Do you have a favorite quote on change? Share it below now. I'd love to hear it.

If you are looking for more support in building the business of your dreams and living the life you envisioned, be sure to join me on Facebook now and follow me on Twitter.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Mindset Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,