Let the Play Come to You

Every now and then someone uses a line and I think to myself "I'm soooo using that line."

Pastor Larry Levy of the Vineyard in Lower Sackville (fondly referred to as The Ice Cream Church in the local area) dropped in for a little visit today. Truth be told it's more of a banter with a belly laugh or two thrown into our existential musings - no kidding, this guy could do stand up.

Larry, with his gift of encouragement loves to hear how I'm doing in biz. I shared with him that I had planted so many seeds lately and I was feeling that my internal guides were telling me to relax a bit. It's as if I needed to just hold back....I stumbled for the right word to describe the unique feeling I was experiencing but I  knew that what I needed to do was ........ NOTHING.

"Ah" Larry quipped. "Let the play come to you!!"

I love this term. He went on to explain how during a game of hockey, players often hustle hard to get to the puck. I love analogies. I never watch hockey but I trust the guy. I could see it.

Tony, a seasoned player going flat out skating down the ice, his throat raw from playing hard. All of a sudden the puck goes flying by his head just missing him. He puts the brakes on but can't stop in time and he smacks into the boards. He's riled up now! All of a sudden Larry skates up preceded by a fan of snow crystals as he comes to a dead stop and leans in. Hey Tony "Let the play come to you."

Yes.........that's it.

Think about it for a second though. Haven't you worked your ass off at times and still can't seem to gain any traction? Is it possible at times like this that what you really need is ease up on the pedal a little. "Hey, let the play come to you".

Nothing is Left to Chance - My Sunday Routine

This is me sitting down to tackle my weekly plan. Nothing is left to chance in my business. Every quarter, I sit with a coach and hammer out a broad look at the next quarter but in between those official meetings I do this Sunday routine.

I set aside a chunk of time and get out my pen and paper......and crayons. Pen and paper because I'm a boomer and it works well for me. Crayons because my first language is images and that's how I get creative. Call it wonky if you will but wonky is not too shabby in my world. It allows me to dive deep into what I want to bring about.

I start with a meditation and my first thought is "A week of success". This allows me to become centred and focused.  Meditation has become a staple and it allows me to free up time by only doing what needs to be done.

This is followed by a review of my appointment book. Here I find the things that I can't ignore - the fixed obligations that I have no control over. I write them into my working weekly planner.

Next I go with a brain dump for all the things that I would like to accomplish that week. I'm already primed with the glance at the appointment book - there are calls to make, emails to send, flights to book etc. Those need to get done  - the logistics of my work.

Then I look at my events that I have coming up in the quarter. I reverse engineer them a bit to see what needs to get done in the coming week. I keep an event book and I check in on those weekly to make sure that they're proceeding as planned.

Then I do a visioning exercise. I pretend it's end of week and I'm looking back over the week. In essence, I'm dreaming of what I have accomplished this past week (which is really this coming week). It's really not that confusing - it's about starting with the end in mind.

Having conjured up this vision of a successful week, I engage my creative side. This allows me to hammer out a plan to make those experiences happen. I've always been a dreamer - learning to leverage it in my business has been golden.

That's the gist of what my Sunday plan look like. It works for me. Success is never left to chance. What systems do you have in place to make this week amazing?

Keep Your Money in Your Pocket

Well, hello February!! January zipped by in a hurry and for some folks that was a good thing.

We’re sticking with the money theme this month because it seems to be the focus here lately. Strategic Planning for Business and Women, Money and Mindset were two programs we rolled out in January and we’re heading into tax season. Money is in the air.

Here at PeopleCan we’re all about keeping your hard earned money in your pocket.

If I ask you to raise your hand and holler, "I love making money!" how many of you have a little voice that encourages you to resist saying and owning that statement?

Here’s a few questions to ask yourself.

Have you ever lent money to someone and then cringed at the thought of asking for YOUR money back? If you send an invoice out and you’re waiting to be paid, do you struggle with how to bring up the subject? Can you call the Credit Card company and ask for a lower rate? Or, have you ever done what I used to do when my daughter would bring home a box of chocolate bars for her volleyball fundraiser? I’d purchase (and eat) the whole box just so I didn’t have to *sell* anything.

Yes, folks, you heard it here first. I had a terrible money mindset which I came by honestly. I hear it came from my grandmother.

My father has often said, "We never had anything when we were growing up because mama gave it all away. The old man would get so mad when she had no money for groceries because she spent all of her money giving to charity."

Giving is a good thing but there’s that line that can be crossed - that place where you’re giving beyond your means.

I bring this up because one of the things a lot of us have done is give during the holidays because optics mattered more than reality. We purchased gifts we couldn’t afford and we borrowed from Peter to pay Paul.

"What got you here really won’t get you there."

If any of your focus on change centres around money, here’s the advice I’d give. Go slow, take it easy on yourself, and try to understand why you enjoy making money. There’s nothing bad about money but we may or may not believe that.