Never before in my life have I felt such an outpouring of gratefulness, generosity, and caring as I have witnessed over the last several weeks. Don’t know if I was just wearing the right clothes, or smelled just so, but I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing things first hand. And, I feel glad from it.

Everywhere around us, we witness the world. Some of it can seem frightening. If you listen to the general attention monger media, you might conclude that we should all be in a constant state of fear.

But here’s the deal – fear is a state of mind, not an automatic reaction. When we open our eyes to beauty and miracles, we see that instead. Call me a rose-colored glasses wearing optimist, but hope and forward looking visioning feels better to experience. It gives me more strength of spirit to face the issues that need addressing and to take action. Fear cripples – hope and love uplift. Fear is a choice and it is not my choice today.

In honor of this elation and well…gratitude I feel for the wondrous and hopeful things I see around me, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite causes. If you have one you love, please list it in comments below so we can all know about the good work they are doing and how we can help.

Kiva.org – Microlending site: For as little as $25 you can provide much needed credit assistance to deserving entrepreneurs worldwide. Most entrepreneurs who use microlending are women.
RoomToRead.org – Literacy program started by ex-Microsoft executive, John Wood, that builds libraries throughout the developing world. Room to Read’s programs have reached more than three million children so far and hopes to improve literacy for ten million children by 2020.
WomenForWomen.org – Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.
Charity: Water - Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

We have the power within ourselves to create a world of peace, understanding, tolerance, and health. Thank you to everyone who is working toward this vision – know that many of us stand in gratitude for what you do.

Together, we are stronger!

Vicki Flaugher, CEO
SmartWomanGuides.com

1.  Get help

The value of coaches and mentors and heroes cannot be underestimated. Prideful stubborness, where you confuse doing it “your way” with a closed minded unwillingness to entertain a variety of opinions, is a mistake. Yes, you are the decider. That is your job and your responsibility. But, every great leader surrounds themselves with high level advisors, specialists in each field that is needed to succeed. The idea is not to do it alone but rather to be the singular visionary who coordinates the expert activities of amazingly talented people toward completion of the mission.

Another way to get help, if you’re not interested in including a group of real life individuals in your business, is to do your research. Sites like EvanCarmichael.com offer you profiles and interviews of some of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. Entrepreneur focused magazines share the views of experts on how they run their businesses in this modern time, if you want a contemporary rather than historical view. Scientific business journals that study the science of networking, sales technique research studies, and more give you a greater view than you could possibly have on your own.

What it gets down to is, whether you choose physical helpers or virtual ones, you need helpers. Do not reinvent the wheel and don’t be afraid to share information with others. It will magnify your efforts tremendously if you simply widen your peripheral vision and deepen your knowledge base.

2.  Brainstorming is an art that leads to brilliant ideas

The hardest part of brainstorming is keeping the phases of idea creation and idea editing apart from each other. It’s too easy, as you are creatively throwing out wild ideas, to stop the creative flow and pick apart how it will or won’t work. Don’t do this. It kills the creative process. How to make your ideas happen is for after the creative process is done.

Once you start the brainstorming process, put your critic on hold and let the ideas flow. Crazy ideas on top of crazy ideas lead to new, brilliant ideas that are outside the box. Especially if you are brainstorming with other people (highly recommended), you will find that power plays interrupt you, critical analysis interrupts you, and “logical realism” will intrude. Have a white board ready to park those ideas so they don’t get forgotten to discuss another time, but actively insist that the practical does not intrude on the whimsical.

3.  Pen and paper are your friends

Some of your best thinking will solidify when you write your ideas down. There’s something inexplicable that happens when you put your ideas down in black and white. They become real. If you are a fan of the Law of Attraction, you already know this. If you are a list maker with a practical streak, you know this too. It’s a simple concept, and many very successful entrepreneurs do it, so I would suggest that you try it. Something magical happens when your logical brain is focused on the mechanics of writing that allows your imaginative spirit to run free. I do it and it works.

When you write down your goals or your ideas, write them down from a present tense, positive point of view. For example, instead of saying “Someday I will not be fat” (using a personal example) but rather “I am slim and healthy”. It feels a little weird at first, but it will help. Shifting your focus from being against something (I am not poor, I do not have debt, my business does not fail), move instead toward concentrating on the positive result (I am wealthy, I have a positive net cash flow, my business continues profitably and successfully).

4.  Last but not least, time is golden

Hard working entrepreneurs sometimes mistakenly interpret spending time thinking and imagining as wasting time. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The time you spend thinking about your business, envisioning your future, and solidifying your dream is time that will magnify your success.You must schedule time to reflect and keep that appointment as religiously as you would any client appointment.

It’s very challenging to manage the detailed day to day issues and also use what I call your “big thinking”. I recommend that you spend at least one day each week- that’s right, one full day – working on your business instead of it in. Examine how you can improve your processes, examine where you are doing repetitive tasks that you could outsource, spend time thinking about the next big idea you are going to implement. Get outside your grind and think bigger, think more, and imagine sensational success.

Would your current sales process even work if you were to be wildly successful? What would happen if a million visitors came to your website today? Would it net you any profits or would it just crash your server? Spending time thinking of the mechanics of success not just hedging against disaster is a profitable endeavor. You are the visionary of your business and anything less than that is not stepping up. Every week you need to commit to and act upon that job of being the leader.

This is a subject that I feel sometimes gets overlooked and ignored. I am a strong supporter of clarity, so grab yourself a cup of coffee, find a quiet place without distractions and think bigger. Know that you are worth this time and that it is bringing you success. Be sure to have a notepad and pen with you and get it out and get it down on paper. Then, go do it.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Even with so much on the line, and maybe especially with so much on the line, it’s can seem hard to really put words to your vision. You know what “it” is, but being able to communicate that passion is crucial to getting the exposure you need, the help and financing you need, and the depth, width, and reach within the community you desire to serve. Money and influence are your friends in this venture, so it’s very important that people understand your goal. Marketing is also your friend, so you have to tell your story so it resonates and attracts like minded others.

How do you do that? How do you put words and maybe a face to your meaningful work? You do this by fully understanding your target audience and their needs and how you intend to fill those needs.

To help you get started, ask and answer the following questions:

• Who are you serving?
• What are their day to day concerns?
• What problem are you solving or opportunity are you providing to that audience?
• How does that solution provide value to your target audience?
• What stories could you tell that put an emotional context to your mission?
• Why are you doing what you are doing?
• What is your personal story in relationship to your mission?
• How would you feel to be successful in achieving your goal?
• How would you feel if you failed in achieving your goal?
• What unique skills do you bring forth to serve your target audience?
• What do you have in common with your audience?
• What do you know that they want to know?
• Why here?
• Why now?
• Why not?
• What will your target audience lose (or not gain) if you (and they) don’t act?

Get as specific as you can. I, for instance, have identified 35-55 year old beginning female entrepreneurs worldwide as my target audience. I desire to empower and inspire this group to take action toward living a passionate life doing their unique meaningful work. In my heart, I firmly and fully believe that this group of women is the single most influential group in the world, with the power to revolutionize our society, eradicate poverty and illiteracy, and enable a more peaceful and equitable world to become manifest. I want to provide them the tools they need - products, advice, encouragement, connections – to fully embody their magnificent power.

I care about this group because I AM that woman. I am the one who woke up one day, after years of reflection and inaction, and said “enough”. I walked away from a difficult marriage, a high stress job, and a stifled, uncreative existence to find my true passion.  I know the doubt, the fear, the uncertainty and the intense difficulties of getting to the other side. I know, too, the rewards – the insight, the joy, the friendships, the contribution, and the peaceful satisfaction. And, those things are what drives me to do all I can to help other women find themselves also. It’s like a bell I can’t unring, so instead I ring it again, every day.

So, give it a shot – answer those questions as clearly and explicitly as you can – and you will be amazed at the clarity you will begin to demonstate. That clarity will enliven you and motivate others to join in. And, the rewards will start to flow. What have you got to gain? Your very happiness.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

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