Monthly Archives: June 2011

Growing Yourself Growing Your Business

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On this blog I write a lot about personal development as it relates to business development because as you grow and develop and hone your skills so will your business continue to grow and move forward. Today I want to take a look at some of the tangible ways that you can work towards developing yourself that will also have a positive impact on your business.

Regular readers know that I am a fan of Napoleon Hill, author of several personal development titles such as, Think and Grow Rich, and The Law of Success. Hill was a great proponent of the concept of the Mastermind, another topic that I am fascinated by and love to write about. In a nutshell, the Mastermind Group is a group of like-minded people who agree to come together
and meet on a regular basis to work together for either a common goal, or to support each member as they pursue their individual goals. The idea is that when the group comes together combining their energy and ideas, there comes into existence a force called the Mastermind that is greater than the sum of all of the members of the group. Thier combined energy, focus,
attention and intention somehow gets magnified and each one is able to accomplish more than they would have been able to on their own.

I have been a member of several Mastermind groups in the past. Some met on the phone, some included email or social network groups, and some were in person. One thing that all of these groups had in common is that they did not last very long. There is a certain process that groups need to move through before they become solidified. If the members of the group are not 100%
committed to the success of the group, they will fall away and the group will dissolve.

Almost a year ago I was invited to participate in a local Mastermind group among spiritually-minded, small business people. I was excited about the idea until I discovered that they were going to meet in Columbia, MD, which is about a 35-40 minute drive from where I live in D.C. I went to the first meeting to test the waters and see if these people seemed serious. I got a good feeling from the group right away and we’ve been meeting every other week since.

This Mastermind group has helped support me in more ways than I can describe. I have a spiritual focus to my life and my business, but I didn’t really have anyone else in my life that shared these beliefs. I didn’t have anyone to bounce my ideas off of, or get advice from when facing a sticky situation. My business has grown as have the businesses of the other members
of the group since we first began meeting. We hit snags along the way, but our core commitment to the success of the group has helped keep us together.

Another excellent way to really grow yourself is to work with a mentor or a coach. Working with someone who has achieved the goals that you have set for yourself is a great way to leap-from over some of the challenges in life and get to your goals more quickly.  I have several mentors, but one that I rely on when it comes to the online aspect of my business is LaShanda Henry. She is a successful mompreneur who is running her business at a level that I aspire to, so I work with her and listen to her advice and guidance. If you want to see some of the resources that she has to offer, I recommend that you visit her social network that has over 10,000 members, http://mybbwo.com, and then check out her fabulous membership program at http://www.sistasense.tv.

So between the horizontal relationships within a Mastermind group to the more vertical relationship between you and your coach or mentor you will have the opportunity to learn and grow and get feedback that will help you develop as a person, which will in turn foster the growth of your business.

Do y0u have any experiences working with a successful Mastermind group, or with a coach or mentor that you’d like to share? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Why Aren’t You Writing? Unlocking Your Potential to Write Books by Carol S. Batey, Ph.D. : A Review

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I became aware of author, model  and writing coach, Carol S. Batey while in the process of writing my first book. I was feeling a bit blocked, and while I felt inspired to write my book, I was experiencing some resistance to actually sitting down and writing the book.

When I opened Dr. Batey’s book and read the line, “A handbook created and designed with you in mind,” it felt like she was speaking directly to me and my needs.  I knew that this message is what I needed to help me push forward in writing my book.  Why Aren’t You Writing? Is a workbook designed to facilitate a self-coaching process for writers who have a book that is unwritten in their souls. In each chapter Dr. Batey shares a bit about her own life and experiences having written and published five books. At the end of each chapter there is space to write your thoughts and prayers.

What sets this book apart from the others within the genre of, ‘how to write your first book,’ books is that Dr. Batey talks about using the writing process to facilitate personal and spiritual transformation. In chapter two she shares her plan of action, which includes prayer, setting intentions, visualizing your intended audience and remaining focused on the work. She talks about practical ways to set aside time for writing, the importance of being committed to your writing and most importantly how we must look to God for inspiration for writing.

We all have limiting beliefs of one kind or another that keep us from realizing our dreams. Dr. Batey talks about overcoming our self-imposed limitations by providing the example of St. Teresa of Avila, who was a 16th century Catholic nun, Christian mystic and the author of, The Inner Castle, and The Book of My Life, among others who overcame significant obstacles both internal and external in order to complete their books.

If you’re an atheist or not interested in finding a way to incorporate spiritual guidance into your writing practice, then this book may not be for you.

But if you feel like you have been called to write a book, but you are feeling intimidated by the idea, or if you just want some inspiration and practical advice for your journey, then Why Aren’t You Writing? Is a great book to have by your side. You will learn how to let go of your personal limitations and write the book that God has placed within you because it is not just for you. He placed it within you so that you could share it with a world waiting to hear it and be transformed by it.