Cynspiration

Welcome to Episode 18 and get yourself ready for a Cynspirational uplift! 

Today we are talking about embracing your power and making your vision a reality by harnessing and building the courage within. 

The question is, how bad do you want the life you want?

 

You Can’t Make An Omelette Without Breaking Eggs.

All change, even positive change, is innately uncomfortable, as it requires trading the familiarity of the known for the uncertainty of the new.

You already leapt by choosing to follow your path and turn your back on a conventional way of living. You joined the brave band of entrepreneurs the moment you told yourself ‘I want more’. Starting up a business and sustaining it requires you to build and flex the muscle of courage regularly. 

If you are starting your second or third career as an entrepreneur, it IS scary to suddenly realise that everything is down to you. When those whispers of self-doubt start at the back of your mind, it can be tempting to throw in the towel and revert to the familiar (How was THAT working for you?)

For others, and especially women, the issue of leading, being seen as a leader and standing out is very challenging after a lifetime of trying to fit in and conform. 

You don’t serve anybody (and least of all yourself) by playing small. It’s time to think about what YOU want. It’s time to get cracking!

Dreams Don’t Work Unless You Do

So what do you want to achieve? Think of all the things that you have ever dreamed of doing or being. Don’t censor yourself. Have some fun with it by allowing your imagination to fly free. There are no limits unless you limit yourself.

Imagine how it feels to be that person who rises to the occasion and lives their life with integrity and fully aligned to their purpose – It feels great.

Don’t think you can do it? I am here to tell you ‘Yes you can!’. 

All Our Dreams Can Come True If We Have the Courage to Pursue Them – Walt Disney

Let me share some techniques that you can practice regularly to give your inner warrior the strength and resolve to excel, expect more and elevate your life in every area. Let’s do this!

Bookmark 

Your favourite sections of the podcast at these points in the recording so that you can listen again to reinforce your focus

* Know your Why [02:49]

* Confront Your Fears [03:44]

* Trust Your Capabilities [06:56]

* Embrace Uncertainty [08:45]

* Think Big, Start Small [10:58]

* Embody Your Inner Bravery [13:30]

Words to Live By

Action is the only antidote to fear.

Only when your desire for something transcends your desire for safety can you rise above the fears hardwired into you.

When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt. – Honoré de Balzac

A life half-lived is the ultimate tragedy.

You don’t have to see the whole staircase; take the first step. – Martin Luther King Jnr

Takeaway Points

* What would I do if I were truly courageous?

* When we shine a light on our fears and realise the actual cost of inaction, we loosen the grip fear has on our psyche.

* Within you lies all of the courage you will ever need—to make that change or take that chance—in your work, relationships and life.

* Nothing worthwhile is accomplished with a guarantee of success

* If you find yourself overwhelmed by your dream, focus on what you can do in the next day or week.

* One day, one hour, one daring act of courage at a time.

* It’s far better to be moving forward slowly than to remain stagnant.

* We all have the capacity for greatness within us.

 

Need more inspiration throughout your week? Don’t forget to check out more episodes on the

There are moments in our life when we hit a brick wall when we think we’ve tried every solution and still get nowhere. It is in those times that we need to step back and reassess.

In particular, we need to check three simple things:

* Am I working or trying?

* Is this the right work?

* Am I look for real success?

Steve Greenhalgh, a life coach and guest on the Cynspiration podcast, shared some hard-hitting, powerful truths about how we can answer the above three questions. Steve underwent an incredible physical and mental transformation into a powerful life coach on a mission. Because of that transformation, he encountered some practical insights that ultimately challenged his ideas about “hard work”.

The 3 Questions of Hard Work: Are the Answers to these Questions Blocking Your Success

The three questions above are based on that insight and can be used to help get unstuck when getting bad results while chasing success.

 

Let’s take a look at each question:

 

1. Am I working or trying?  There is a big difference between “working” and “trying”, but our brains often mix those two concepts. For example, if two people must move a couch, but only one works while the other “tries”, who will complete the task? The one who does the work.

 

Quick Tip: Remove the word “try” from your library

 

2. Is this the right work?. Often, when we are pursuing a goal, we choose a strategy and start working. While this is the ideal way to reach your dreams, it’s essential to realise that your plan should adapt with you. Don’t stick to doing or thinking the same ideas without making sure your actions and thoughts are bringing you closer to your goals, you could end up repeating things that take you away from your goal.

 

Quick Tip: Follow your daily routine for 24 hours. Identify all of the actions that help move you closer to your current life’s goals.

3. Am I looking for the right success? It can be so tempting to choose an impressive goal for your success. It can be extremely motivating, not just for you but for others. There is a downside to working with that big goal; your reality may not match your goal. While the path to creating a goal is short, the path to completing that goal can take time.

A better approach is creating goals for the success you can achieve very soon.

 

Quick Tip: Review all of the significant goals last week. Look at the one that had the most failures and compare it to the initial goal you set.

 

Conclusion: Focus on small, unique, and valuable goals

While achieving success with an impressive goal is thrilling, it is only part of the story. The real work lies in small, unique, and valuable steps. Identifying what you want, defining a clear path, and adapting are the keys to success.

The problem lies in our perspective. Instead of focusing on our goals, we compare our success to others (which is even faster now with social media). This comparison makes us question our steps and wonder why we aren’t succeeding like the other person.

The key lies in letting that go.

By letting go and focusing on your small, unique, and worthwhile goals, you define the success you want to achieve. That is the kind of success that change people’s lives.

In this Cynspiration episode, Cynthia talks with Steve Greenhalgh (aka Stevie G), a coach who works with truckers and entrepreneurs in overcoming their negative thinking patterns and habits to live a life of gratitude with what they have so they can thrive.

Steve shares the story of his incredible weight transformation, powerful lessons on gratitude, and life-transforming wisdom on the power of every single person on the person to be happy while pursuing success.

CALM DOWN MIND

& Ask for Help When You Need It

 

When  I started my business, I dreamed of a flexible schedule, a destiny I controlled and products that I co-created. I was so excited to be my boss.

What I didn’t realise was the number of decisions I would be making every day and what an impact they would have on the potential of the business, my health, and my overall life.  Sometimes, it felt overwhelming. I often came home tired and not wanting to make another single decision.

Entrepreneurs are great at starting projects alone, but sometimes when we hit a bump in the road, we don’t know which way to turn. That’s when we need some help. 

H-E-L-P is a four-letter word, both literally and emotionally.

Some of us, believing it’s a sign of failure, hesitate to ask anyone for advice or assistance. We worry that we might inconvenience a friend or overstep a professional relationship. Other times, we don’t want to appear weak or needy, but actually, it takes courage to reach out and acknowledge that sometimes, we can’t do it all

Entrepreneurship can be painful, and most business owners choose to do it alone. However, if you don’t ask for help, you deny your friends and colleagues the opportunity to assist you, which many of them would be delighted to do. Moreover, if you try to do everything and make every decision by yourself, you’ll stress out and burn out. It’s essential to use the network you’ve built when you need it.

When I look back, there are a few things I wish I had thought about:

Acknowledge your need.

 

The higher the need, the more hesitancy most people feel before asking for help. We don’t like to think that we are burdening others with things that we find tedious. Eliminate any hesitations you have. Your need doesn’t make you weak. 

Just because you could do it alone doesn’t mean you should. It’s unhealthy (and unproductive) to tough it out.

For example, writing a book is an endeavour most people are afraid to tackle because they don’t know how or where to start. Why not seek the advice of a writing coach who holds you accountable and helps you become a better writer. This person will keep you on track and helps you reach my goals.

 

Ask for Help.

 

Not everyone dares to start a business. Most people don’t. But they are in awe of you, and they want to help you. Let them. Think about what you need and who can provide it for you.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs admit that they could not have done it alone. So, don’t be shy. Ask for precisely what you need, when you need it and how you need it done. People want to help, but they need to know what you need to be helpful.

So tell them. 

 

Discover new Business Opportunities.

 

The next time you ask for help, you may discover a great, unintended consequence. Business needs often lead to new opportunities through collaboration.

Let’s say you’d like to host a webinar, but your audience is small, and you aren’t sure if your idea is worth the cost and effort. Instead of trying to do it yourself, contact someone in your network who holds webinars frequently and who has a good reputation and a substantial following. 

Through collaboration, you’re more apt to build that relationship and get exposure and experience. It never hurts to reach out and see what happens. The answer is always “no” if you don’t ask.

 

Learn to Take Advice.

 

Asking for help is hard enough, but taking someone’s advice can be an even harder challenge. That’s when the ego comes into play. After all, it is your business, your baby and you know best right? Some new entrepreneurs feel defensive when they receive guidance from more expe...

We Live in a Goal-Oriented Society. 

 

Finish one race? Someone asks “When is your next one?” Have a good project launch? The media is already asking “What’s next for you?”

While consistently chasing higher goals is the way we grow, it can also lead to burnout and overwhelm. Eventually, we will hit a point where you’ll get tired of “chasing the higher income” goal or “hit the next fitness: milestone.

What do you do then?

Dan Holloway reached the point where he was tired of chasing the goal. After struggling and sacrificing, his business had become a success. He was making money he always wanted and living the life he could only dream about.

Yet, he wasn’t fulfilled. He wasn’t happy.

Fixing the Story: What Happens After the “Success Story”

 

A lot of us would like to have the problem Dan had. Sure, we’d all like to have the problem of having a big bank account, travelling around the world, and own a multi-figure business. We’d like to get the media attention, fame, and all the opportunities that come with it.

But, as Dan Holloway, no one is after that success story. No one is after that business hit that income goal or the magazine articles find the next “hot entrepreneur” to write about.

No one is there when we reach the peak.

We tell ourselves that things will get better once we reach “after”. No one is there to tell us what to do once we reach a goal, yet the way we deal with one success is critical to the future.

 

Reframing the Story: The Cinderella Story Behind Success

 

There is a story that is painted about success. You might call it the “Cinderella Success Syndrome”. In that story, everything is permanently beautiful “after” the sacrifice.

Once we land that big-name client, things will be easy. Once we get that promotion, it will be easier to get the money. Once we get more sales, we won’t have to fight as hard.

These stories we tell ourselves are what drive us to work late nights and early mornings, to stay on the job when no one else is there.

The truth is, success is not a destination. It is a stopping point in our journey.

Throughout your life, you will have experiences that you (or others) call “success” or “failures.” These are moments, they are not destinations.

Yet, our brains hold onto these moments as “destinations”.

When these “destinations” are gone, we have to deal with the next moment.

 

Unravelling the “Perfect’ Success Story: Why Success Isn’t What We Think It is

 

In the chase of success as a “destination”, we lose sight of the fact that success is a moment we prepare for. We aren’t given success, we become successful. We earn it. We become it.

This is why most lottery winners go broke in less than 7 years. They don’t develop the management skills to manage that massive windfall of cash. It’s also why most one-hit-wonder unicorn startups have trouble inventing their next big product.

Why is that so important?

The stories we believe about success impact what we do with it. If we think success is just a “moment”, we will miss the point. We won’t appreciate the journey getting to the successful moment. We won’t focus on the big “WHY”. We won’t become a success.

Ignoring the journey or our “big WHY” is a recipe for burnout. If we don’t pursue success as a journey, we will treat it as a sprint, exhausting our body and mind to get to the finish line. If we don’t understand our “big WHY” we will wonder why we are working so hard in the first place.

 

A Better Approach: Chase Fulfillment You Will Create Success No Matter What

 

So what’s the takeaway here? It’s not to reject success or the gifts it brings,

 

Tempted to Quit or Ready to Commit? – Toss the Top Ten Reasons for Quitting into the Trash!

 

Should I call it quits? It is the question that every aspiring entrepreneur asks themselves at some point. It is rooted in the deepest of anxieties.  It is symptomatic of toxic thinking that cheats people out of the hope and possibilities they have to become master of their destiny.

 

But there’s only one reason you should ever quit. Before I  get to that, I am going to list off all the insidious, self-sabotaging reasons that cause entrepreneurs to give up on their dreams.

 

There are ten far too common reasons that entrepreneurs use to give up on good business ideas prematurely. Let’s look at them a little more closely and hold them up to the light for a proper examination.

 

Expecting Fast Results

Aristotle said: ‘Patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet’. There is nothing of lasting, concrete value that has been created by an entrepreneur that didn’t require significant patience.

 

If you started out as an entrepreneur expecting overnight success, the only thing you need to give up is that expectation itself. Stick around. Play the long game.

 

Losing the Faith

They say that it is mandatory that a great salesperson believes in three things: The product they’re selling. The company that sells it and themselves.

 

They have to believe in their abilities as a salesperson to do the selling.

 

Being a salesperson is much easier than being an entrepreneur. When you start as an entrepreneur, you don’t have a product or a company to believe in. That only leaves you.

 

Every entrepreneur is figuring it out as they go. When we start, we don’t have much of an idea of what it is going to take – or the capabilities we need – so we develop them along the way.

 

Self-belief is your greatest asset. We aren’t talking about grandiose, overblown ideas of yourself and your abilities but a quiet acknowledgement that you have what it takes, the humility to know that you will stumble and fall but also that you can keep on keeping on. Everyone else who has succeeded before you felt it too, but they continued anyway. It’s the continuing that guarantees a big win. Keep the faith in your ideas and your talents.

 

Missing the wave

Entrepreneurship is all about dancing on the cutting edge.

Why is it that young people are so drawn to the entrepreneurial world? It’s simple: The cutting edge is where they grow up, they don’t know any other way to be.

 

Age is irrelevant if you want to be an entrepreneur; you have to stay future-focused. The most successful businesses capitalize on emerging trends. The most successful entrepreneurs are always looking at the pointy end of innovations. They utilize that edge to get an advantage in the marketplace. Like a surfer scanning the ocean to identify a wave, you too need to stay open to upcoming developments in your field so that you can catch the wave and ride it!

 

Never allow yourself to quit because you can’t keep up. The thing about being cutting edge is that you qualify yourself to be there just by going there.

 

Dwelling on mistakes

 

Got burnt by a partnership gone sour? A falling out with investors? A deal falling through?

Are you beating yourself up because you made a mistake or took a wrong turn?

 

Get over it! 

 

If you don’t, your baggage will prevent you from succeeding in the future. Your backwards-looking fascination with “figuring out what went wrong” will scare you from trying again.

 

Entrepreneurship requires crazy levels of optimism, which means that you have to reframe your past mistakes into learning experiences.

Karena Thomas – Behind the Mask

 

Are you hiding? Is the real you in there somewhere? The you who has the right to be happy, create your lifestyle and build a business that suits your needs and lifestyle? Well, time for us to stop playing ‘hide and seek’ because, in this episode of Cynspiration, we are going to fast forward counting to ten and shout ‘Found you!’

 

Karena Thomas is here to share what it means to give yourself permission to strive for you that is happier and more at peace with yourself and the choices you make.

Karena’s Walkabout

 

With self-deprecating Aussie humour and gusto, Karena explains that she started as an actor after studying at drama school. Karena liked to make people laugh. She loved the connections she made with her audience, but she hated the shallow and ultra-competitive nature of the industry, not to mention the drudge jobs that all jobbing actors end up doing to pay the bills.

Doing a complete 180-degree turn, Karena left her thespian roots behind to take up steady employment at a large organisation. Sure, she enjoyed the regular money and had great colleagues, but she hated the bureaucracy and rigid structure. She needed to find a way to gain skills and give herself the freedom to create a way of life that meant she wasn’t tied to a salary or way of working that didn’t fit her ideals.

 

En route, she also gained a whole lot of insight and perspective that has helped her re-frame her life, reconnect to her spirit and show you that you can too!

 

The Hamster Wheel of Life

 

Like many people, Karena has endured her share of failures, hurts and not feeling as though she was enough or that she had enough. It hurts to feel as though there is a deficit inside us and to try to avoid these feelings; many people get stuck on the “hamster wheel” of life. An endless cycle of work, responsibilities and obligations. Seldom do they pause to reflect about who they are or why they do what they do? The lack of deeper meaning or connection to their work and life roles causes them to shift into autopilot, living in a state of unconsciousness and stagnation. 

 

Karena explains that we spend our time wanting to feel safe, and we take the actions that we think will give us what we want. So we stick with that job that we hate because it pays the bills and enables us to have an enjoyable holiday once a year. We will cling to that relationship that we know isn’t working because we are scared to be alone or our lives have become so entwined it will take a massive effort to separate. We will continue to put a brave face on hurtful actions by others because we want to feel accepted. 

 

The common denominator in these scenarios is that they require us to hide our true feelings and needs in order to feel ‘safe’ and project the image that we are doing well. 

 

Karena says ‘We have 24 hours in a day and you spend half of that time hoping that something doesn’t happen or wishing that something would happen. That stops you from being present’. It leads us to move from one decision to another doing anything we can to feel safe, but we forget ourselves and move further away from our real needs in the process.

 

Keeping it Real 

 

We all think that we don’t have much to bring to the table. Women especially suffer from the habit of downplaying their skills and achievements because we feel that our soft power skills are not valued in the wider world. What we often don’t acknowledge is how much those skills contribute to making the world a better place or the bravery we demonstrate when we expose our weak spots and vulnerabilities to others. 

Every relationship, whether personal or business, can be revitalised by re-engaging with authenticity, compassion, empathy and vulnerability. 

 

What will happen if I stop being afraid? What changes are possible if I start to shift my thinking? Will it help my business? Will it affect my relationships? Can I handle it? Do I have to do it alone?

 

For many people but especially for women, limiting self-beliefs stop them from achieving their full potential and stepping into their own power.

 

I met Kat Smith, a fellow entrepreneur when I was broke and struggling at a SatoriPrime seminar, just before in fact, when I was worried about how I would even find the money for a place to stay.

 

Kat’s generosity of spirit and willingness to give a hand up to another woman was the start of a beautiful friendship and a demonstration of love in action.

 

So this week, my question is, are you ready for a self-love revolution that will encourage you to embrace your power, improve your relationships and give your business a boost?  

 

If so, then listen in to Cynspiration and guest speaker Kat Smith’s Hour of Power! It is time to take flight, my friends!

Kat’s Odyssey

 

Kat Smith started her transformation from a place of feeling broken. Having endured an abusive childhood and abusive relationships, Kat found herself as a single mom to two kids, suffering and bedridden due to the devastating effects of Lyme Disease, with no self-confidence and financially broke.

 

Feeling desperate, Kate realised that she was being shaken up to take on her life and to step up and not be a victim of her circumstances. She always knew there was something better and decided to take her first steps on her entrepreneurial journey.

 

Kat hit a roadblock and realised that she wasn’t going to progress without being able to invest financially and in herself, so she started selling the digital skills that she had acquired and doing the deep, hard work on herself that shone a light into the darkest corners of her life.

 

That light turned into a beacon, guiding her onto a new path. As Kat says, her business escalated, but so did her mindset.

 

Now, five years later, Kat is a successful practitioner of Expansion Coaching and the owner of a thriving private coaching practice called Guided Open that specialises in group coaching and working with women.

 

Kat says that her superpower is the ability to take people deep within themselves and help them to transform. She shares her wisdom on the process needed to realise your strengths and metamorphose into a new modality, one of freedom, creativity and healing.

 

Finding Diamonds in the Dust

 

We all have within us stories that can change the world. We all have the seed of creativity, waiting ready to germinate deep inside us.

 

So, what stops us from unleashing all that positive power, sharing our talents with the world, with our families friends and with our customers?

 

A whole load of negative conditioning, self-limiting beliefs, and feeling ‘stuck’ in our lives, that’s what!  

 

Many people spend their entire lives just treading water and thinking that this state of being is their due.

 

It can be terrifying to step out from under the weight of other people’s expectations, our own low self-expectations and the world’s expectations of us based upon gender roles.

 

For the roughly 50% of the world population that is female, this can literally mean losing yourself and your voice.

 

We are raised to serve, to put our needs last, not to speak up, so if you are a woman and a new entrepreneur, it can be doubly challenging to step into our own space and live life on our own terms.

 

There are gems to be found if we dig deep and key into a richer, more abundant life is a mindset that shines with the brilliance and clarity of a diamond…

 

Trust Yourself