What is This Blog About?

November 17, 2011 By 3 Comments

Once again, an evolution is occurring. Writing has been sporadic as I redefine my goals, purpose and work. I’m back and I want to take a moment to share a little bit about what to expect here moving forward.

The Audience

The Feel Good Living blog is written with a particular person in mind. You are active, health conscious, success-driven and interested in helping others through your work. You might be a health, fitness, solo professional or life coach. Or you’re thinking about becoming one. Either way, you want to increase your success as a speaker, leader or professional and you want to feel good about yourself and your work at the end of the day.

The emails I receive suggest this is the audience most often reading my posts. And it fits because it also describes me. When like-minded people come together, great things are possible.

Topics covered focus on increasing personal and professional success and include (but are certainly not limited to):

  • Maintaining Calm: reducing stress and staying composed and in control under pressure
  • Maintaining Confidence: Worrying less about what other people think and believing in yourself more so you can take action towards your goals
  • Creating Strong Connections: Creating and leveraging relationships – to self and to others
  • Communicating Clearly: Speaking and communicating clearly and confidently
  • Miscellaneous: Sometimes I write about ideas that don’t fall into any of those categories

The combination of personal stories, research/data and practical advice make this blog unique. Everything I write about I’ve experienced personally. The tools I talk about and promote I practice, study and actively teach.

Through my work and this blog I want to help others (you!) feel good about yourself and your work by sharing the lessons I learned on the road to “feel good living”.

Expect 2 posts per week – Tuesday and Thursday. If I feel inspired, maybe more.

What else?

Changes to the website are coming soon to better reflect how I can help you through my work as a stress relief and confidence speaker and specialist. I’m hoping to announce that change in the next week or two.

If you are looking for health and fitness information, I hope you’ll visit my new project Healthy South Shore (www.healthysouthshore.com). My vision is to create a comprehensive resource for folks living in and visiting the South Shore of Massachusetts (That means you don’t have to live there to enjoy the content!). A new website will launch in the new year. You can also find us at facebook.com/healthysouthshore and on Twitter @healthyss

Thank you

Thank you to those who continue to read the Feel Good Living blog! And thank you, too, to those who take time out of their day to email me about what they read. I love it!

If you want to feel good about yourself and your work, you’re in the right place.

You can get updates by RSS or by email through the newsletter or connect me with more often on Twitter or LinkedIn.

I look forward to connecting with you through the blog, social media or in person soon!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Inspiration

Best Business Advice I Heard When I Became A Solo Professional

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Recently on Facebook the folks at Chic CEO asked the question, “What’s the best business advice you ever heard?”

When I first left my corporate job to become self-employed I didn’t know a thing about self employment. Below are the three pieces of advice I learned and still carry with me today.

If you want to grow a business, you need to network.

I didn’t even know what networking was back then! I Googled “women’s networking South Shore, MA” and found the South Shore Women’s Business Network (SSWBN). I attended one event and never looked back. I became the President of the organization and even wrote a short guidebook on networking. My business has evolved into what it is today in part because of the connections I made through SSWBN.

If you are a business owner or professional on the South Shore, MA, I highly recommend checking them out at www.sswbn.org

Are you a member of any networking groups?

*   *   *

Give them the coke, not the coke machine.

When I first started marketing my services as a speaker/consultant I sold the coke machine – stress reduction and confidence building. But for what? What’s the end result? I started paying attention to what clients and workshop participants told me. I listened to their language. I remember one woman who experienced shoulder pain for 6 months. After participating in the relaxation exercise her pain disappeared. I could say I help alleviate shoulder pain due to muscle tension (coke) through relaxation and stretching exercises (coke machine).

Do you see the difference? One way to differentiate yourself in your industry is by offering the coke instead of the coke machine.

Side note: you might have many cokes! To avoid overwhelm (for you and your customers!)  focus on one or two benefits at a time

If you’re a (solo) professional selling a service, do you know the difference between your coke and your coke machine?

*   *   *

Your revenue doesn’t have to come from one place.

This in my experience this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it leaves you with options and opportunities. A curse because if you have trouble focusing, then you might feel challenged.

I have one main umbrella I work under: To help folks feel good about themselves and their work.

I do that in many different ways: Speaking & workshops, Teaching yoga, Developing products, Consulting with Health/fitness professionals and organizations, Community Building.

In addition, I’m always open to additional opportunities that allow me to have a positive influence on the health and well-being of my community (and beyond).

How can you diversify you’re revenue stream? Have you already?

 

Your turn: What’s the best business advice you ever heard? Care to share in the comments?

Filed Under: Confidence, Miscellaneous Inspiration

How Public Speaking Can Grow Your Health and Wellness Business

October 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I recently learned of Wellx a “social networking site for all wellness professionals and students.” You can join the community for free, set up a profile, network with other professionals, look for a job. You get it – it’s comprehensive. For more benefits of joining this free community, visit wellx.com.

If you’d like to check them out first, I recommend a visit to the Wellx blog, where you’ll get tips and information on health and wellness, self-care and the business side of starting a practice. They offer a lot of great information from a variety of people, providing different perspectives and advice.

I’m excited to let you know that I recently became a blog contributor and will share practice management tips on the business side including public speaking, networking, marketing. My first post is available, 5 Ways Public Speaking Can Help Grow Your Health and Wellness Business.

I hope you’ll check out the site, the blog, (my post!) and if you’re a health/wellness professional consider joining.

Do you use public speaking to grow your business or career?

P.S. I haven’t been here much as I work on solidifying plans for new projects and a slightly evolved direction for this site. I look forward to sharing the information with you as well as how I can best help you.

Filed Under: Communication, Confidence

Why I Procrastinate

October 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

It’s been 2 weeks since my last post. I’ve been procrastinating.

Often when I read tips on how to stop procrastinating and get work done the tips include prioritize tasks and just do it!

As I work to launch and grow my latest project, Healthy South Shore as well as identify the best use of this blog space, I’ve noticed the what’s and why’s of my procrastination, or inability to take action.

As a curious person I always need to know why. When I paid attention to what I do and don’t do, I learned a lot. My inability to act falls under one of the following categories:

Fear. When I’m afraid of taking some action or the outcome of some action, I freeze. My thoughts go something like this: “It won’t work so don’t bother.” Or “People won’t like it.” Sound familiar?

Not wanting to take that path. As I’ve evolved over the years, my writing and speaking interests have changed. I find I stop doing something when I’m no longer interested in that path. (Stay tuned for a post explaining how I plan to use this blog space)

Too much time blocked off for one task. If I have too much time blocked off for a project, it’s easy for me to think “I have plenty of time! I can start in 30 minutes”. Tell me I have 1 hour to write an article and I’ll sit, get focused and have it to you by the deadline. Structure is critical.

Overwhelmed. When I feel overwhelmed about my to do list, I get stuck. This is when I need to ask for help.

Don’t want to do it. When it comes to cleaning my house, I stall. House cleaning is not a favorite activity and I just don’t want to do it.

Shortly after recognizing my own procrastination patterns a friend introduced me to the book The Tomorrow Trap by Karen E. Peterson, Phd. In it Karen describes two types of procrastination:

  • Task related procrastination – for example, my dislike of house cleaning.
  • Person related procrastination – which she describes as “the possibility of unresolved interpersonal issues (between you and another person) or intrapersonal issues (residing within you from previous life experiences).”  For example, were you criticized as a young kid? That criticism may show up from time to time to keep you from taking action on what really matters today.

Much (not all) of my procrastination is person related – both intra- and interpersonal.

Botton line: In some cases a “just do it” philosophy may work – especially when talking about “task related” procrastination. But if it doesn’t, you might consider digging a little deeper. Perhaps there is a past experience that needs healing, attention or a reframing of beliefs in order to move forward.

What do you think? Do you procrastinate? Have you ever wondered why? Have any strategies to share that work for you?

Filed Under: Confidence

What I Learned from a Weekend at Pacemaker Camp

October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last year I played camp councilor for the first time at Pacemaker Camp in Duxbury, MA. I had so much fun I went back again this year. Each year I’ve learned a tremendous amount and I wanted to share a few of this years lessons with you today.

Be Yourself

So often we’re told to be ourselves, be authentic, show the real you! Who is the real you, anyway? During the weekend I heard a few of the girls talking in the bathroom asking questions like “Do you have a pacemaker?”, “How big is your scar?” and “How many surgeries have you had?”

Imagine if we were able to live our lives completely open about the good and not so good in our lives? Freely and without judgment? Sure it helps to be surrounded with like-minded people (bonus lesson!). It’s also nice to imagine a world where we communicate freely and aren’t afraid of sharing ourselves.

How can you let go of who you think you should be and simply be you?

 

Do Something Different

When did you last do something different? Spending a weekend in a sleeping bag, on a bunk bed watching over 10 girls between the age of 10 – 13 living with pacemakers, needing medication, special attention and lots of love, not to mention creating a tie dye shirt, wearing a duck hat and eating ice cream for breakfast! That is different. And that difference changed my life.

I don’t even consider it stepping out of your comfort zone. That’s uncomfortable. Just do something different.

What can you do that’s new and makes a difference not only in your life but the life of someone else, too?

 

Worry about what really matters

As my co-councilors and I prepared the girls for the Saturday evening activities, we gathered coats, sprayed bug repellent and made sure they had their water bottles. One of the campers didn’t budge. When I asked if she had everything she needed, she looked at me and said, “The only thing I care about is that my pacemaker doesn’t get disconnected.”

Wisdom from an 11 year old.

What are you worried about? The small stuff or what really matters?

 

Pacemaker Camp is a fun filled, fast paced weekend that I look forward to year after year. The campers appreciate it, the camp organizers appreciate it, and I learn so much from this very kind, very loving group of young people.

Pacemaker camp is definitely a weekend of feel good living.

Your turn: what activities do you participate in that make you feel that good?

Filed Under: Feel Good Living, Miscellaneous Inspiration
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