Let’s talk about the idea of “flow”. Everyone has heard of the “flow state”–that magical state of peak performance being when you lose track of time blissfully and effortlessly engaged in an activity you absolutely love!  It’s a state of being that eludes many creative entrepreneurs and solo professionals who are stuck in their businessess.

As trite as it may sound, to experience flow, we have to step out of our own way and follow our individual path of least resistance.  That’s what flow is- your individual path of least resistance! If you don’t walk your own individual path, you’ll never experience your flow (an awesome life).

Flow doesn’t just show up because you want it to. You first have to know who you are, what you stand for, and how you will create value for people– and play your natural game. You have to know “who you are” in order for you to align “what you do” with “who you are”.  Knowing “who you are” is the only means to experience, with absolute clarity, the game you are playing is the perfect one for you.  Your own unique path is the only path in which you will ever experience “flow”­­–  defined as your endless capacity to create and achieve what you desire in an easy and relaxed way!

For many entrepreneurs, what they do is stressful, and feels like hard work!

Believe me, if what you are currently doing to create success feels anything like hard work, that’s your cue you’re not “walking in your path of least resistance”.   You’re burning daylight on the wrong path doing all the wrong stuff.  That stuff keeps you and your business from breaking thru to the next level of game. Doing the wrong stuff steals your most important business asset–TIME!

Following your path of least resistance means choosing to play your own natural game. This will attract to you others who are playing the same game at higher levels than you, new opportunity and possibilities to up your game will seem effortless and endless, and you will sense that everything and everyone is favorable and supportive to your ideas.

By now, you’re probably asking yourself “how do I get me some more flow mojo”?

The seven phenomena of flow
According to the 5,000 year old Chinese system of thinking known as the I-Ching, as you follow your individual path of least resistance, you will experience seven phenomena that will accelerate your progress, growth and success. I’m confident you have experienced and recognize one or more of these during those times when you were experiencing moments of peak performance:

The flow of critical moments
You recognize those moments where the game is won or lost. Your sense of timing, discernment, and decisiveness enables you to capitalize on opportunity long before anyone else does.

The flow of learning cycles
You recognize that everything is a learning cycle. The more you play, the deeper your passion, and the better you get. This knowledge sharpens your effectiveness in future critical moments.

The flow of failing forward
You know there are only two kinds of failure­– one gives you learning, the other ends the game.  When you experience outcomes you don’t want, you’ll know immediately what to do next to play bigger and better.

The flow of new opportunities
You recognize there are only two kinds of opportunity. One you create, the other you attract. You have no problem saying “no” to anything that keeps you comfortable and holds you back, and you attract only the opportunities that will continue to expand your scene.

The flow of your commitments
You know your decision to follow your path is irrevocable. Being certain and “all in” on your vision demonstrates your faith and escalates your attraction of resources necessary to make it physical reality.

The flow of your perseverance
You know that ideas take their own sweet time coming into form, and you are willing to persevere on your natural path through thick and thin, no matter what.

The flow of your momentum
You recognize that momentum is the force created by the previous six, all working in harmony to accelerate your performance like a precision racing motor.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”.

– Oliver Wendall Holmes

Flow is within you not outside of you– the well spring of your flow is found at the core of your white hot center. You have unique talents, gifts, capabilities and insight that have always been there. You may not recognize their value because they are so natural to you. You hardly give them a second thought.  But if you carefully assess your past peak moments of performance and brilliance, you will notice a pattern emerging. That pattern of being and doing is you at genius levels. Do more of that, delegate or find partners to do everything else!

You must know with certainty the “game you want play”, and follow the rules of how your game is played. Your growth and success (flow) is determined by who you are, not by what you do. You can be the best at what you do, and still not find a way tap in to the greater flow available for you at the next level of game.

At the end of the day, more flow requires playing a bigger game completely aligned to your individual path of least resistance.

Please share your comments.

Many solo professionals struggle with the discipline to maintain effective new business strategies relying instead on referrals. There is a better way to build your new business chops.

Building your business is a process not an event. It will always involve change. Many factors drive that change– new opportunities, bigger ideas, even a competitor’s threat to a your core business. To grow your business, it might be tempting to copy the success of others. In this podcast,you'll learn why this is not a useful strategy.

Think for a moment about how skillful you are at influencing people. Influence is the most important attribute of a successful person, brand or organization. You simply must be influential, if you are to achieve any goal or desire. Influence is not something with which we're born. It can be learned, and with focused diligence on your part, you can become a master at influencing people and their desire to do business with you.

Let’s begin our discussion by defining what influence really is. First off, influence is not coercion.  Influential people have a highly developed skill that has a direct impact on the thinking, decisions and behaviors of others. This influence moves people in a positive way that instills trust and respect. Influential people have a vivid picture in their mind of how they want others to respond to them, and a high percentage of the time, they make that picture become reality.

As an creative entrepreneur, you already know the value your influence skills have on making every aspect of your business massively successful.  Within the context of marketing and sales, influence is essential for success. How can you be more influential in creating demand for your offerings?  The following principles represent the most powerful "guidelines" to master the art of influence with others.

As you read each of them, assess your strengths and weaknesses. Which principles already shape how you interact with your colleagues, customers and prospective customers every day? Which of these principles do you know to be true, yet don't practice (and why not)? And which ones are new to you, that provide inspiration you can act on to grow your influence right away?

Balance your desire for results with strengthened relationships.
To be influential, you must achieve your results while strengthening your relationships with others. You can push too hard, achieve a result but damage the relationship by being forceful and coercive. On the other hand, if you are timid and passive, and avoid standing up confidently, you diminish the respect people have for you, which in turn diminishes your influence significantly. In selling situations, both are the kiss of death. Influential people have a knack for balancing both their desire for results with actions that build stronger relationships.

It’s all about them and never you!
To be truly influential, create opportunity for others first. People do things for their reasons, never for yours. In every conversation with colleagues and customers, put your focused energy on making them successful first.  Your growing influence will be a natural result. You’ll know you are growing your influence when you hear yourself saying “you” more than “I” in your conversations.

People do things for emotional reasons, not logical ones.
Ultimately, people act (buy) for emotional reasons – even those who seem completely logical by nature. Most of us want to experience pleasure and avoid pain. If you can show people why your ideas, products or services will help them feel pleasure and not pain, your influence with them will grow significantly.

People want more of what is in short supply.
When you give the impression that your services are exclusive, that your business is full, and that you only work with a few clients at a time, you will be more attractive to prospects. That's because people want more of what they believe they can't have. In creating greater demand for your products and services, you have to be special and specialized. When you (and your business) become the known expert for solving a specific problem, clients with the problems you solve will seek you out. This enables you to be selective about the customers you take on. When you create scarcity for your time, you also create more influence. You also can charge a premium for your offerings.

People are influenced by how remarkable you are.
When others are remarking about you in positive ways, you become remarkable!  All influential people are remarkable. The more your clients-to-be hear of you through trusted third party sources, (the web, friends, colleagues, trade magazines, bloggers) the more your influence grows. To build your influence today, you must engage in the social media conversation that people in your market are currently having. Do more of these things:

Ask for testimonials and endorsements from your current and past clients.

Start a blog on your website, share your expertise, and build your credibility.

Develop case studies as digital downloads on your site, or as links in your articles.

Volunteer your time and expertise with leaders in your target market.

People are influenced by people they like and are like them.
To be more influential, be more like the people you want to influence. Talk about things that they care about, show common ground and shared values. Remember that like attracts like. Being perceived by others as a trusted member of the tribe enhances your influence. Of course, in this regard, your actions must speak louder than your words. To be influential with your clients-to-be, there are two questions they need an affirmative answer to:

can you solve my problem?

do I want to work with you?

The more common ground you have with your clients-to-be will go a long way towards their answer to the second question–and it will influence their answer to the first. It’s not difficult to be likeable when you are genuine, humble, courteous, respectful and show empathy for others.

Pulling is more influential than pushing.
There are two ways to influence other people: you can push them, or you can pull them. In a selling situation, nobody wants to be pushed. I believe in this idea so strongly I named my marketing and brand consulting firm PULL.  Pulling implies there is a magical, powerful, attractive and influential force behind your actions. You pull people into your orbit with the gravity of your caring, listening and sharing of ideas that will serve your customer’s success.  Serve another person's  success and you will be immediately influential to them.

Stand on equal ground, and then elevate all others.
Finally, you are more influential when you stand as an equal with the person you want to influence. You must project an image of confidence and mastery. In selling, this is essential. More importantly, your influence takes a quantum leap when everything you do elevates and inspires the confidence and mastery of other people, particularly your clients. I believe this to be a prerequisite for leadership. Lighting the way for others by your own example is the surest method for influencing the thinking and behavior of others.

Of course if none of these principles resonate with you, dust off your old copy of Dale Carnegie’s iconic book and give it a good read.

Part 2 of a 2-Part Series

Hopefully you have taken a moment to think about your level of satisfaction in each of the areas of your life. After studying your score, do you see where attention is needed? Of course you do, we all have areas in our life where we have greater and lesser satisfaction. It is my belief that the experience of satisfaction and fulfillment in life, is the result of an inner sense of living in balance.

Balance produces a sense of wholeness, completeness, peace and inner calm.  You might think of the method for living a balanced life as something akin to the autopilot that flies an airplane. When the autopilot is engaged, the plane is mostly flying off course. The autopilot senses these small, moment-to-moment course deviations (imbalances) and corrects the flight path. This is a subtle movement, and underneath the awareness of the pilots in the plane.  Living life with a sense of balance is a subtle dance. Over the long journey, you’ll guide yourself much like the finely-tuned autopilot, sensing imbalances as they occur in your daily life and correcting them accordingly in real time.

Here are a few suggestions that will help you be in the frame of mind that will support the discipline required to become fine-tuned to what’s happening around you so you can keep all your plates spinning with ease.

Rest and rejuvenate
You can’t be a fine-tuned instrument when you are tired. Good ol R&R is an absolute necessity if you are to find balance in your life.  Many entrepreneurs struggle with the idea that rest is more important than activity.  A mind and body well rested is essential for creativity and innovation.

Keep a journal
I have kept this practice going in my own life for over 20 years. I find the simple act of thinking and writing with my hand to be of profound value in helping me keep my sense of balance and proportion in my life. I could not recommend any technique more enthusiastically!  The thing about a journal I like best is how it brings me present with my own thoughts. I can more easily open up to ideas about the who, what, when and how of my life priorities.  Interestingly enough, I never re-read what I write. For me, being in the stream of consciousness is more important than the subject.

Spend time alone
Many people struggle with being by themselves. Many people are constantly in the company of others– colleagues, family, spouse, friends, even crowds. I can tell you with absolute conviction, you will never get a sense of balance in your life until you learn to enjoy spending time with yourself. There are many ways to enjoy your own company–go for a walk, jog, ride a bike, be out in nature, or just sitting quietly at home.

Move your body
You can’t neglect your biology. You need a vibrant, flexible, healthy body if you are going to be available to live with satisfaction and fulfillment in all the areas of your life. Like anything you do on a regular basis, make exercise a daily habit. It doesn’t take much exercise to reap big rewards. Any exercise that involves physical balance automatically puts the mind in the same state.

Pursue your hobbies
Having an interest that is outside the realm of “money-making” is vital to life balance. It doesn’t matter what it is, but you must engage in things regularly that bring you pleasure, joy, fun and amusement.

Be with your family
Our families are often taken for granted because we are always involved with family obligations. There is nothing more rewarding than just simply being with our families. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do something meaningful for all.  Go to your kid’s ball game, music recital, have a pot luck with relatives– at the end of the day it’s what we’re all working hard for right?

Serve others
Anytime you are in service to others, you are creating more balance in your own life. The reason is simple–to serve others, the focus is not on you!

Everything in moderation
Moderation is just another word for balance. Do everything in moderation–from eating chocolate to developing your next product! If one thing in your life becomes out of sync with the rest of your life, it won’t be long before you are in a state of dis-ease. Over longer periods of time, dis-ease becomes disease.

Indeed, for many entrepreneurs (myself included), passion and persistence for building our business is a top priority.  However, business and financial success alone is not enough for you to enjoy the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from living a balanced life.

Part 1 of a 2-Part Series

Many entrepreneurs and solo professionals express a longing for greater freedom from the bureaucratic structures that seem to envelope them as their business grows. Anyone running a business knows creating success requires a great deal of focused energy. Sometimes your focus can become an obsession.

Many obsess figuring out ways to build their business, create more income, and have free time to enjoy their success. Many become slaves to the enterprise they create– mostly putting out fires with little quality time for creative thinking, innovation, and rejuvenation. What’s the point of expended all your energy pursuing your business goals if other areas of your life suffer from little or no attention?

Indeed, managing the complexities inherent in the pursuit of your business goals can suck up the majority of your bandwidth rather quickly–if you allow it. I’d like to suggest you consider your whole life to be a delicate system. All the areas of your life experience are like the cylinders in your car’s engine–everything needs to be firing evenly in all cylinders for you to experience a smooth and efficient ride. It’s pretty difficult to experience freedom and joy “doing what you love” when your relationships, or your health are in disarray. One is no good without the other.

Spinning plates.

Bringing our life more into balance can sometimes seem like spinning plates on the end of a stick. All of them up there at the same time defying gravity with sustained momentum.  Of course, most of us have a few wobbly plates to contend with. Many have even had a couple fall and shatter to pieces. None of us can honestly say we haven’t dropped a few plates in our lives. I certainly have many times! To spin plates successfully, you have to be paying attention to all of them at the same time– and that’s difficult–especially when your attention is focused solely on the most pressing one… say your business for example.

Check in with yourself.

Here is a simple exercise that will help you check in with yourself to determine your level of satisfaction with the current result you are experiencing in each area of your life. I’d like to suggestion it’s best to do this exercise when you are feeling reflective or introspective because in that frame of mind you’re more likely be honest with yourself.

Step One:

On a piece of paper, simply make a list of these words on the left side:

- Geography / Environment
-  Career / Profession
-  Financial
-  Family
-  Personal Relationships
-  Health
-  Avocation
-  Spiritual

Step Two:

Think deeply about your level of satisfaction in each of these areas of your life, and then place a grade on a scale of 1-10 to the right of each item. Your highest satisfaction is a 10, your lowest is a number 1. (Remember to be uncompromisingly honest with yourself).

Step Three:

Make a visual bar graph of your current level of satisfaction. (See my own example) Your lowest scores indicate what areas in your life need more attention from you.  The highest scores are important too! Take a moment to appreciate yourself for the effort it took for you to achieve that higher score!  You might want to ponder what ultimate score you would like to have in each area of your life and set a goal to check in again six months down the road to see if anything is changing in the right direction. Keep your graph handy as a reference.

Now pay closer attention.

If you do this simple exercise 2-3 times a year, you’ll be tuned in to your whole life scene in real time. You‘ll find yourself paying closer attention to your whole life, not just one or two areas. If you focus your energy on balance, you’ll begin to experience greater freedom from stress and anxiety that will rob you blind of the energy required to keep it all together in the first place.

Of course, life is always dynamic and your focus will change accordingly. It’s unrealistic to think one can achieve a state of “balance” and then have balance be static. Life doesn’t live that way.

Living in balance is a daily activity, created by the choices you make in each and every moment.

People hard-wired for achievement put tremendous mental focus on their aspirations and goals for business and financial success. However, to achieve success in one area of your life at the expense of any other area is no achievement at all.  Your experience of satisfaction and fulfillment in life is determined by the delicate balancing act of shifting priorities of daily life.  No one area can dominate your attention for long before the whole system begins to weaken.

In the post to follow, I‘ll offer some suggestions for bringing all the areas of your life into greater balance so you can increase your experience of confidence, satisfaction and fulfillment.