Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs
Issue #4
December 6, 2002
Claudette Rowley
MetaVoice Coaching & Consulting
Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs gives aspiring
and seasoned entrepreneurs tools and tips for creating a successful start
up business, enjoying the rewards of risk taking, and achieving balance between
personal and professional life.
Dear Friends:
As some of you know, I welcomed my first child, a son named
Ethan, on October 18 - just seven weeks ago. Becoming a parent
has challenged me in many new ways. For instance, I've learned
that patience and meeting my own needs are vital components of
successful parenting. The experience of childbirth and parenting
has stretched my self-awareness and left it with new dimensions
to explore. Armed with this new learning, I am delighted to
resume my coaching practice in January.
Right now, I’m looking for just the right clients to round out my
practice. If you are an entrepreneur or leader who wants to
engage the power of your internal focus (intuition, self-trust
and emotional connection) to skyrocket your business, I’d love to
work with you. My ideal client loves a challenge and has a big
vision to realize. He or she is open to personal growth in the
service of business development. If you or someone you know fits
this description, please contact me at info@metavoice.org. Thank
you so much.
Last, but not least, please see MetaVoice News for a Special
Holiday Offer.
Best wishes to you and yours for a holiday season full of peace
and delight!
Claudette
Insight of the Month
“I challenge you not to get lost in your own growth - the
purpose of your transformation is to radiate your gifts in the
service of others.”
No Wrapping Required
We each arrive in this world bearing a set of gifts that is
uniquely ours. During this season of gift giving, I invite you
to take a look at gifts that don't require wrapping - the ones
that are innately yours.
How do gifts relate to entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is an act of capitalizing on the ways in which
we are gifted. At its finest, entrepreneurship asks us to
capture that which we do the best, harness it and put it out into
the world in some form or fashion.
I'm convinced that fully acknowledging your gifts - to yourself,
first and foremost - will catapult your business and your life
into bold new arenas. Here's why: When you don't acknowledge
your gift of, for example, building businesses or transforming
houses or connecting people, you hold back from full self
expression. When you don't acknowledge your gifts, you can't
capitalize on your innate human resources. YOU are your
business' most valuable resource.
What stops us from taking full advantage of our gifts?
Judgment. Judgment is the number one wet blanket. Just as
your gift starts to burn brightly, judgment comes along and
throws a heavy blanket over the flame. In our world, it's
perfectly acceptable to wax at length about our failings,
misfortunes and weaknesses. We rarely speak openly about our
gifts and accomplishments without qualifying them. "Well, I
guess I am an okay painter. But it's just a little hobby, and
Betsy is much better."
We are taught not to "brag". How did telling the truth about
oneself become the equivalent of bragging? And because we are so
afraid of being "full of ourselves", we don't even admit the
significance of our gifts to ourselves.
Judgment can also surface in the form of rules about your
talents. For example, "I am gifted in this way, but not in that
way. I should be gifted in that way." "Well, I do have a gift,
but it's not good enough." As if some gifts are legitimate and
some aren't. Environment can also play a big part in the
perception of your gift's legitimacy. In some families, being a
talented businessperson is honored and being of an artistic bent
isn't. In some families, the reverse is true.
Lack of recognition. Some gifts are overlooked because they
aren't tangible the way music or writing can be heard and seen.
We sometimes assume that a gift must be a form of external
brilliance like that of a composer like Mozart or a painter like
Picasso. Maybe your form of brilliance is the impeccable balance
you keep in your life, maybe it's a spiritual relationship you've
developed or maybe it's your ability to manage people in a way
that inspires them to be their best.
Other times, gifts are overlooked simply because they come so
naturally. I've often heard people who are, for example, gifted
networkers or natural musicians downplay their gifts by saying,
"Oh, it's just this thing that I do." Sometimes we assume that in
order for something to be a gift, and to be worthwhile, it
requires hard work. Actually, the reverse is true. A gift
begins as a form of ease. A gift begins to feel hard when we
judge it and don't honor it for what it is.
What do you do most naturally? Ask others for feedback. It's
extremely easy to overlook our own gifts and take them for
granted. Do you have the gift of gab? Do you have the gift of
turning nothing into something - in other words, the gift of
transformation? Each one of us possesses a multitude of gifts,
large and small. In order to enhance your business success and
life fulfillment, make sure you know what yours are.
You are the biggest resource your business has. This holiday
season, give yourself the gift of profound self-acceptance.
Explore your gifts. Acknowledge and accept them. And watch the
miracles of your season unfold.
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Now It’s Your Turn
How do your gifts make an impact on your business? How could
they make a more significant impact? Get a good sense of your gifts. Ask trusted colleagues and
friends for feedback about your gifts, both tangible and
non-tangible. How do you use these gifts in your business
right now? How would your business change if you fully honored
and incorporated your gifts? Notice the next time someone compliments you, and you respond
with the equivalent of "Oh, it's just that thing that I do."
How could you respond differently?
MetaVoice News
Special Holiday Offer! Order A Guide to Getting It: A Clear, Compelling
Vision before December 15, 2002 to receive a 20%
discount and a FREE e-mail report on "Five Strategies for
Overcoming Obstacles". A Clear, Compelling Vision brings
together ten life and business coaches who share their secrets to
designing your dream life, business and relationship. It’s chock
full of superb insights into how to identify and bring to life a
vision that is truly compelling for you.
This book usually retails for $14.95 plus shipping and handling.
Order now to receive it for $11.95 plus shipping and handling.
Don't miss this opportunity to start 2003 with two new tools in
your toolbox!
Order right now by clicking http://www.metavoice.org/book
and I'll send your free report "Five Strategies for Overcoming
Obstacles".
Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs is written and produced by
Claudette Rowley. If you have questions or comments, please send
them to info@metavoice.org. To
find out more about Claudette and her coaching services, visit http://www.metavoice.org.
Copyright 2002, Claudette Rowley. All Rights Reserved.
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