Many entrepreneurs talk of having days where they are been as busy as a bee and yet they feel like they have accomplished zero to nothing by day’s end.

Sometimes this happens because as business owners, we have a multitude of things coming at us at any given point in time. AND they all seem important. And yet at the end of a day or a week, the most critical items are left undone.

Can you relate?

Have you ever been in the middle of such a day and you find yourself defaulting by allowing a barrage of stuff to bulldoze you over? Inevitably days like this tend to leave you feeling weary, unfulfilled and sometimes defeated.

Thank goodness, there is a power tool that can help you muster enough mental fortitude to STOP and make a course correction. You can get back on track with the priority tasks of the day.

This power tool comes in paper form (which I’m happy to share with anyone who asks for one).

And the same tool comes in a 99-cent i-phone/i-pad app (since this is my app, I’m happy to send you a gift certificate to get one for free if you wish).

Here’s how to STOP being bulldozed by an abstract random case of busy-ness and gain a new sense of control/productivity back:

First, list out on sticky notes (one item per note) all the things you have to do.

Second, only put the “critical” things that must be done today or you get a kick-in-the-butt into the Today – Critical slot. Everything else goes somewhere else.

Third, prioritize your “critical” list so you know what order you complete your tasks.

Fourth, get going!

If you want an i-phone app version of Today and Not Today search in i-tunes for it. Or send me your e-mail address associated with your i-tunes account so I can send you the free gift certificate. Send your request to:  lyn@coachingtoolkit.com.

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., and a co-founder of Ultimate Coach University – http://www.ultimatecoachuniversity.com/. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting  www.soulsalt.com or  http://lynchristian.com/. You may also contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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The proverbial rat race is the one paradoxical location that most people have just as hard a time getting into as they do getting out. While this statement may seem contradictory, it is true. The rat race, according to Robert Kiyosaki, is the “churn and burn pursuit of a paycheck.” While the Rich Dad organization helps people find their way out of the rat race, this article pauses a moment to reiterate how important it is to first find a way to get into that rat race. Being successful at business is basically a proposition of learning how to create your own little flywheel of commerce. Once you create a system for financial gain, business becomes a game of duplication. However, finding your own money stream can be difficult. This topic is of great concern to me since the workforce I generally support is the Free Agent, the small business owner, or the individual who is a self-proclaimed “Me Inc.” entity. I work with people who want to live their lives and earn their livings by doing those things that inspire them.

Therefore, finding a way into the “rat race” is more than a proposition of being able to eat. It is a necessary step on the path to owning your professional satisfaction. The good news is that neither magic nor voodoo is required for success. Here are a few ideas for those who want to learn how to make money.

1. Interview someone who is doing exactly what you want to be doing, earning what you want to be earning. Find out the key behaviors that they consistently perform and attribute their success to. How many presentations, sales calls, follow-up e-mails and new business networking meetings must they complete in order to get a new account or client? Take notes. Experiment. Discover which components work for you. Create your own system of monthly, weekly, daily tasks that contribute to your bottom-line. Create a system for charting your progress. Keep track of your statistics.
2. If you are looking to get hired for a particular job, read C.J. Hayden’s book Get Hired Now! Another handy reference book is the most recent version of What Color is Your Parachute? Both offer you ideas and lists of key activities and behaviors that typically land folks jobs.
3. If you are looking to build new business for yourself or your own small company, invest in C.J. Hayden’s book Get Clients Now! You could take a course on this same material. Learn the basics of client acquisition. There is a science to the process.
4. Sit with your own intuitive nature and generate your own creative ideas. Then be brave enough to experiment on these ideas. Use a coach or a sounding board to debrief after each experiment. Note what worked, what didn’t, what you learned and what new action can now be generated by what you’ve experienced.
5. Read the book Now, Discover Your Sales Strengths or Strengths Finder 2.0. Take the test that comes with the book and learn what talents are waiting for you to develop so you can better sell yourself and your offerings.
6. Regardless of the industry, seek out the people you admire. Shadow, observe, as well as interview them. Then adapt their formulas and apply to your own situation.

This is a simple and short list of how to get started in creating your own system to show yourself the money. Everyone has the capacity to build a system for creating an income. Find yours. Learn to duplicate it, and therein lies one basic secret to your own business success.

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Richard Paul Evans

Sometimes it takes guts and audacity to create a seedbed for success. One writer that I consider quite entrepreneurial is a great example of both. Bestselling author Richard Paul Evans is a local legend here in Salt Lake City. And for me he is even a bit of a hero – an example of doing the “gut honest” thing in those critical moments when all that separates fate from fortune is a tightrope walk of courage.

Several years ago he realized how much joy he found in being a parent. He wanted to put his passion into some tangible form and leave a legacy to his children. He wanted them to someday understand how he felt about them. The project became a book titled The Christmas Box. He self-published about 20 copies and gave them as gifts to his family and close friends. Buzz began to build around this book and soon Richard was getting calls from local book stores wanting to know where to order them.

Richard took notice and dove into his own bank account, invested in more books, purchased marketing materials and eventually showed up at a book show in Colorado.

And this is where Mr. Evans really made an impression on me. While at the book show he noticed that his plan to give out books was failing.  Hardly any book store owners came to his booth. He inquired and learned that most of the owners were avoiding the displays such as his. Instead they were out in the halls getting free books from the rows upon rows of authors who had been invited to be there. He could have settled with the fact that he had spent time and money to be in the wrong place at the show. That’s not what he did. Instead he grabbed his books, snuck into an empty space on a table between two authors and set up camp to sign and give out his books. Almost immediately Richard was approached by one of the show organizers. She had caught him at his ruse. But he had come too far to give up so instead of choking he looked up at the organizer and said, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

She blinked, cleared her throat and announced that she’d get him some water. Richard spent the rest of the day signing books and giving them away.

So how does this tie back to you? I have three suggestions:

First, Richard was awake enough that when the market told him he had a winning product, he listened and believed.

Next, he ran at the market. He didn’t wait for things to happen to him. He created and crafted a way for things to happen by going to places like the book show.

Finally, in the clutches with obstacles, Richard did the bravely crazy acts that such moments call for like sneaking onto a table.

If you are a small business person like Neil and I. you have to admire someone who is willing to be both gutsy and crazy about their own success. Do you have a story about how you’ve bravely gone where you’d rather not go? We would love to hear about it.

If you enjoyed this story find out more about Richard Paul Evans at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/soulsaltcoaching?feature=mhum

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Fear is a part of owning your own business. It may never go away, not if you are growing and changing. Fear is a fact of life.

Some of the most common times we encounter fear as an entrepreneur is whenever you are facing something new, a.k.a. the unknown.

Knowing how to manage yourself well while facing fear is one of the most powerful skills you can have as a business owner and as a human being.

Some helpful hints would be to:

• Realize that everyone feels fear when facing the unknown
• Working your way through the fear by going through the unknown
• Adopt the wisdom that dealing with a scary situation is far better than feeling scared and helpless.

Should you like more useful hints and an entire book on how to deal with fear, I recommend reading Feeling the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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If you’d like to view or share the video clip of this article please visit: Be a Work Warrior.

Ever had one of those moments, or days when you face a task (or two) that needs to be completed and you’d rather do anything other than that one “hard” thing?

Avoidance or even denial simply makes things worse:

• It creates anxiety.
• It makes the task seem more difficult than it really is.
• It eats away at your sense of worth and confidence.

Here’s one sure way to get through the situation quickly:

• Run at it!

Yes, run at it! That means you take one deep breath and charge. You take the task by the horns and do it! Maybe your task is large enough to take on one chunk at a time until every piece is completed. Maybe you just need one strong slash with your broadsword and you can finish it off at once.

One thing I’ve noticed and so have my clients, is that when you charge during these difficult moments, the tasks seem to get smaller and smaller and we start to get stronger.

Be a work warrior now. Run at not from what needs most to be completed.

http://www.youtube.com/user/soulsaltcoaching#p/a/u/0/JzuYPzjBIUA

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Lyn and I earn our living through coaching. The power tools we reach for daily are Active Listening and Powerful Questioning.

For today, if you allow this blog entry to be your self-coach, we have just one question:

Is there purpose in your passion beyond the energy?

About the Author: Neil Phillips is an internationally known network marketing and direct selling coach. Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter. You may contact him directly through neil@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Lyn and I earn our living through coaching. The power tools we reach for daily are Active Listening and Powerful Questioning.

For today, if you allow this blog entry to be your self-coach, we have just one question:

Are you seeking resolution or restitution?

About the Author: Neil Phillips is an internationally known network marketing and direct selling coach. Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter. You may contact him directly through neil@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Lyn and I earn our living through coaching. The power tools we reach for daily are Active Listening and Powerful Questioning.

For today, if you allow this blog entry to be your self-coach, we have just one question:

How will you go from “sizzle or substance” to “sizzle and substance”?

About the Author: Neil Phillips is an internationally known network marketing and direct selling coach. Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter. You may contact him directly through neil@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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If delegation is not working for you, you might need to improve how you delegate.

The truth is we are always delegating. We don’t really think about it, yet it is true. In our modern society we’ve gotten pretty good at allowing other people to: deliver our mail, milk the cows, build our cars and design our clothing.

It isn’t difficult to perceive how we are fairly skilled at delegating within a collective. However, most of us need to imagine ways to start delegating better in our smaller circles of influence. As entrepreneurs we believe in ourselves so much that we forget, or have never learned how to leverage the talented folks around us.

So I suggest the first place to begin delegating better is to let go of some of the reasons why you might not be doing it well to start with:

• We don’t delegate because we don’t know what we can or should give away
• Sometimes we don’t delegate because we think we don’t have enough support to hand things off. However, usually we don’t pass things off because we don’t have enough trust or faith in other people’s abilities.
• At times we hold onto things because we want the experience or credit for the work that will be completed.
• We forget or don’t even think of including the people we delegate to within the planning stage of the work that will be passed off to them.

If you stop doing the above activities, you can immediately be better at delegating by doing the following:

• Ask for help in knowing what to delegate. Generally I find that my clients can eliminate 5 to 10% of what they are currently doing. Coaches, friends and co-workers are great at helping get a reality check on you can delegate and what you can’t.
• Begin believing in others and giving other people a chance to grow, learn, do, and contribute.
• See yourself as a builder of other people’s capacity. Get credit for mentoring rather than from doing everything.
• Bring people in early, listen to their ideas, implement some of their ideas and remember that one big lesson you learned in preschool – Play well with others!

Rest assured that when it comes to delegation, if you do it right, everyone is happier and healthier. The world sure could use a few healthier and happier entrepreneurs.

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Lyn and I earn our living through coaching. The power tools we reach for daily are Active Listening and Powerful Questioning.

For today, if you allow this blog entry to be your self-coach, we have just one question:

Are you seizing the day or designing your tomorrow?

About the Author: Neil Phillips is an internationally known network marketing and direct selling coach. Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter. You may contact him directly through neil@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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