Savor the Success - The Premium Business Network for Women Entrepreneurs.

Deena (single mom) asks, "As natural caretakers, it's easy to get swept away.  How do you effectively juggle both (kids & work)?"  Wow!! I'm not sure there is really a good way to answer this question within the confines of a blog. But, I will give it a shot.

I currently have children, 3 grandchildren, a spouse, an 80 year old Mom, and 2 mid 80's parent-n-laws, who all need my attention in some form or another. My children are grown, but my grandchildren live right across town, they are 3,4,& 9 and need their Nana. My mom is in an assisted living facility, my father in law is in a nursing home, my mother in law is 85 and shouldn't be driving. I am an only child, my husbands only sibling lives in Wyoming. That leaves US to handle whatever needs done. OMG...... I would loose what little is left of my mind if I didn't look for a creative way to handle my life. But, the answer is simple.

You have to have help.  Our society has over the last 50 years or so, decided that we should ch [...]

Last month was Spring Break in my area. We moved our corporate offices and I took my 3 grandchildren, ages 3,4, & 9, to the zoo. I love my grandchildren very much. They are very smart, loving, and funny kids. But after taking the three of them to the zoo, I felt like I had spent a week in a terrorism camp. I have no idea what I was thinking.

My oldest grandchild, Reagan, was an only child for 5 years. Spoiled silly by everyone in the family, She was used to being the center of attention. The year she turned 5, she was very excited about having a big birthday party with several of her friends. That’s all she talked about for at least two weeks. And then, the world came crashing down on her poor little head. Her mother went into labor early and had the colossal nerve to give birth to a little boy the day before her birthday. Party canceled. That little runt stole her birthday!

We didn’t realize just how bad things were until 2 months later when they came to my house f [...]

I grew up in a very ethnic home, raised by 2 extremely different people. My father was a very loving man, who always told me that I could be anything I wanted to be. Being a "Wop or Dago" (insert any other ethic slur here) was my choice. He told me that I should grow up and change the world or I could be just another dago. It was up to me to choose the life I wanted and then to go for it. So, I spent hours as a kid, pretending that I was the queen of the world. ;)

My mother, well that was a different story. She criticised everything I ever did. Nothing I acheived was ever good enough. If I got an A in school, she wanted to know why it wasn't an A+.

My dad died while I was still a kid and I had to make a choice, which voice would I carry in my head for the rest of my life?  Well of course, I chose to be the Queen of the world.

But, every once in a while, I hear that other voice. The one that tells me I will never be good enough. The one that tells me I am just a fat old woman from Te [...]

Do you have trouble saying NO to people?

Do you feel self conscious when people complement you?

Do you think people who put themselves first are selfish?

Do you procrastinate starting a really big project?

Do you have a hard time making a decision and then sticking to it?

Do you think asking for help makes you a bother?

Do you  compare yourself with people who are more successful and feel you will never measure up?

Do you think that wanting something to much is setting yourself up for dissappointment? 

When things are going well, do you worry that your going to do something to screw it up?

Do you feel guilty about being happy when others are depressed?

Do you keep your success to yourself in order to keep from making others jealous?

Did you answer yes to a lot of these questions? Believe it or not, these are the primary symptons of the fear of success.

Many of us have been conditioned to believe that the road to success involves risks such as "getting one's hopes up [...]

Loose transcript: 

(Angela Jia Kim of Savor the Success.)

I recently heard a powerful quote from Tony Robbins: "Don't surround yourself with people who just affirm you... surround yourself with people who challenge you."

During our last 7FC retreat, we were sharing with each other in an honest conversation what we felt each person's self sabotage or blindspots may be. You can do the same thing... get a group of women together (who you really trust and who have your back) and take an inventory of where you may be holding yourself back where your blindspots may be. Write it down. 

Notice when you are about to uplevel your game or about to hit upon bigger successes, some of these self-sabotage techniques or blindspots start to pop up.

Awareness alone is extremely powerful and can help propel you forward. 

Stay tuned for more tips... until next time, savor the success! :)

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Comment on what sabotage comes up for you just as you are ready to uplevel. It can show up in your [...]

I led a workshop last week on Resilience, where we covered ensuring peak performance, recovering from mistakes, and maintaining long-term focus. This was for a group of type-A research analysts at a leading financial institution, so they were already operating at a high level. One of the senior participants asked a great back-to-basics question:

I'm inundated with emails - several hundred. I understand the importance of focusing on my other work and not checking email all the time. But part of my job is to be responsive (to market news, to client requests). So if I keep responding, I don't get my other work done, but if I don't respond, I'm also not doing an important part of my job. How do you handle email overload?

A lot of the advice on email management is tactical - chunk your time, only respond at certain intervals, use folders, tags or filters, etc. Tactics are great, but if you don't have an overarching strategy for managing your emails, you won't stick to even the b [...]

Ok, you've made it through steps 1,2,& 3 and you are still considering this idea.  

Step #4 -  What happens if this idea actually works?  Are you prepared for the sudden increase in work load? Can your supply meet the demand? Do you have sufficiently trained customer service help? Will your website handle the spike in traffic? Have you got a backup plan?  Many of us are one woman shops or have only a couple of employees. Are you prepared to handle "overnight success."

Let me give you an example of something that happened recently to someone I know. She owns a music studio with only about 6 teachers and thought that doing a Groupon ad would help to fill her studio. Her offer for 50% off  one lesson was purchased 200 times in 3 days. If you don't know how Groupon works, here is a big lesson.  She sold Groupons for 50 % off, Groupon keeps 50% of the sales price, so she only receives 25% of the normal price. She was prepared to take a loss on a dozen or so lessons, but 200 lessons [...]

Do you feel like you need to WIN all the time? Hello! Who doesn’t like to win? I sure do! However, let’s consider what kind of energy is present when you have to do “better” than someone else. I’m not saying it isn’t good to do your best and be the best you can be. I am totally a fan of that! But, at the price of someone else losing? Yuck! That’s not the kind of energy you want swirling around you, is it?

So, how do we win and let others win, too?  The true WIN-WIN?

Try these simple tips:

1.  Be self-confident; you don’t need to outdo the Jones’… Be satisfied with what you have now and filled with the joy and expectation of what you want blossoming (as if you already have it, not from a place of lack or envy). Appreciate what others have and be happy for them. It gives you the contrast you need to know what you do and don’t want, so you can attract what you desire. This is an abundant Universe and there is enough for everyone!

2.  Intend the highest good outcome [...]