Build a Super-Reserve in Every Area of Your Life

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at Thomas Leonard's fourth of his 28 Principles of Attraction: Build a super-reserve in every area of your life. Each of these principles works to attract more of everything you want in your life and in your work. By utilizing any one of these principles, you will attract more to you. When you combine any two or more of these principles, you will have even greater success in attracting more of everything you want in your life and in your work. So over the next 24 weeks or so, you will have your own personal arsenal of attraction principles that will open more doors for you than you can ever imagine. The real secret here is to be open to the possibilities and make the most of the opportunities that appear right before your eyes.

Build a super-reserve in every area. What this means to me is simply this: Stop limiting yourself and extend your boundaries in all areas of your life. Build more time into your schedule so that you can have more energy. Build more space into your life so you can accomplish more. Build a larger network of support so you can experience sustainable achievement. Build greater friendships with everyone - so you can have a fuller and more fulfilled life. The list is infinite when you stop and really think about it.

Build a super-reserve in every area. Some people think this only applies to money. Of course, some money is necessary in order to live day-to-day; however, money is really not the main focus of this principle of attraction. But it certainly doesn't hurt to build a super-reserve of it, either! In this regard, saving as much money as you can would not be a bad thing.

Build a super-reserve in every area. Time is definitely a huge struggle for a lot of us. There are several ways to build a super-reserve of time - even in the most harried of lives. Some simple ways to build a super-reserve of time is to know what is most important to you - and to live in that authenticity. If your family is most important to you, find ways to visit with them and make each visit worthwhile. If your spouse is most important to you, find ways to express that even when you are running from one task to another. Whatever is most important to you should drive your goals and actions. [Of course we all must earn a living, but we must find ways in which to live in congruence with our values.]

Build a super-reserve in every area. Health, wellness and fitness cannot be taken for granted. We must build a super-reserve especially in this area, I think. Everything we do is a reflection of our health, wellness and fitness. We need exercise, the right foods, rest and recreation - for creativity, for simple movement, for the ability to work and live, as well as for sustainable strength to keep us going for all our (hopefully) long lives.

Build a super-reserve in every area. This is something that we all need to seriously think about - as it relates to attracting more of what we want in our lives and in our work. What do you plan to build super-reserves in? What do you need more of in your life? What do you need less of in your life? Really think about this - and then do something about it. Delay is increasingly expensive - and time is getting away from us. Start building super-reserves today - and see how the principle of attraction works in your life and in your work.

Over-Respond to Every Event - and Attract More of Everything

This Week with Sara Fitts continues with the third of Thomas Leonard's 28 Principles of Attraction. Over-respond to every event. When we over-respond to every event, we leave nothing undone; therefore increasing the probability of success in our endeavors - both personal and professional.

What does it mean to "over-respond" to an event? Basically, it means doing everything possible to ensure successful accomplishment of the intended goal or objective. Some ways include:

• Following up and following through on all correspondence and calls
• Confirming all appointments
• Assuming nothing - and asking specific questions
• Assuming nothing - and repeating back what you think you heard
• Dropping in on new customers or clients
• Dropping in on former customers or clients
• Implementing a 3-pronged approach for follow-up: email, call, card or note
• Implementing a 3-pronged approach for marketing
• Going the extra mile - whether it's a dinner party or a business meeting - making it special and making the person on the receiving end feel important

There are many ways to over-respond to every event. And when we do, it shows that we care about our business life and our personal life - and the lives of those we touch.

So to re-cap the first three components of my Simple Little Formula for attracting more of everything we want in life and in business,

1. Become incredibly selfish.
2. Unhook yourself from the future.
3. Over-respond to every event.

Put these three principles in play in your life this week, and see what happens. My prediction is that you will experience more in your life and in your work.

Stay tuned for more to come!

Unhook Yourself from the Future in Order to Have More of Everything

This Week with Sara Fitts continues with the 28 Principles of Attraction from Thomas Leonard. This week we discuss the second of his principles: Unhook yourself from the future.

I firmly believe that too often we focus on tomorrow and next year and 5 years from now - at the expense of today. If we can simply unhook ourselves from the future and focus on today and the immediate needs of our lives and our work, we will attract much more in our lives and in our work.

The benefits of unhooking from the future are many - but the ones that readily come to mind are:

1. Living more in the moment - experiencing more of the immediate.
2. We actually get more done - because our focus is actually more narrowed in the present.
3. We can "zoom in" on today - and avoid the trappings of being too focused on the future.
4. We can actually assess and evaluate our efforts and results today - and make the necessary changes that will affect the future.
5. We can break down our big goals into bite-sized chunks and can get ahead much more easily.
6. We can see results faster when unhook ourselves from the future.

While I believe in setting long-term goals (both personally and in business), it is often too easy to get so wrapped up in the future that we can forget the joy of each day. Days can become a blur when we focus too much on the future. When we unhook ourselves from the future, we can actually enjoy the journey so much more.

So try this exercise in your personal life and in your business life. For 1 week unhook yourself from the future. Concentrate your efforts on the day-to-day routine and the daily tasks that must get done. At the end of each day, assess and candidly evaluate where you are. Begin each day with a clear plan of what must be done today - and keep yourself unhooked from the future. The old adage "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today" is a form of this philosophy, I guess.

Unhook yourself from the future - and have more of everything in your life.

More to come.....

Become Incredibly Selfish - and Attract More Business

This Week with Sara Fitts is going back to the basics to create more ways for self-employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to bring in more business in this economic climate. Thomas Leonard's 28 Principles of Attraction form the basic tenets for my suggestions. Thomas was my coach and mentor - and a very dear friend - who taught me so much about business - and life.

The principle that I'm focusing on this week is: Become incredibly selfish.

Selfishness doesn't have to be a bad thing. It actually can be the best thing you can do for yourself, your family, your business, your life. When you put yourself first and make you and your business a priority, all kinds of amazing things happen.

How to become incredibly selfish in your business environment:

1. Cut loose all clients who drain you. Do it today, if possible. The energy you gain will bring in more clients almost immediately.
2. Ramp up your qualifying requirements. Just because business may be slower right now doesn't mean you need to jump on just any live client or customer. Be extremely selfish about who you "allow" to become a client or customer.
3. Do only the things that bring in the best business - in other words, rid your environment of all the systems that aren't working for you. Be incredibly selfish about what you do in your workplace. If a system isn't working, get rid of it.
4. Become incredibly selfish by surrounding yourself with only the best staff. Get rid of non-performers today. Cut back on negativity and everything (and everyone) who isn't moving the business forward.
5. Become the best personally and professionally that you can become - and stop at nothing in order to be the best. Hire a personal trainer and a personal coach - and develop your full potential. Begin the process today - because it will take longer than you want it to take.

By becoming incredibly selfish, you will start to see business results fairly quickly. It must become a mission for you - not just a fad to try for a day or two. This mindset must pervade everything you do in order for it to bring in more business for you.

If you'd like to know more about becoming incredibly selfish, contact me directly - and I'll give you an hour of my time to work on your business.

Sara Fitts

Get in Gear for a Fabulous Spring

This Week with Sara Fitts is dedicated to making the most of the springtime and moving forward - regardless of the economy. I say this with all due respect and with all common sense; however, I truly believe that what we focus on expands - hence my focus on getting in gear and getting the economy moving rather than ringing our hands and suffering in the "what-if" mentality.

Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals are extremely aware of the economic climate right now - regardless of industry or specialty. And that is a given. However, I propose that we all (I'm self-employed, too) refuse to focus on the doom and gloom and instead focus on getting in gear with the hopefulness of springtime.

Perhaps it is the Easter season or perhaps it is the spring or maybe it's just more daylight at the end of the workdays that has given me new hope and a feeling of hopefulness - even in the midst of bad economic news. I am forging ahead with a new sense of purpose and am encouraging my clients to do the same.

How can small business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals get in gear and move forward right now? Here are some simple ways to shift the focus to the more positive aspects of our work.

• Relieve your stress. Work out, exercise, engage in a sport or hobby, read a novel, watch a movie. Do anything that gives you a different perspective. Relax and enjoy some recreation.

• If you have extra time as a result of lost business, take time to re-connect with your spouse, your friends, your family, your neighbors. Make the most of the time you have - every single day regardless of why you have extra time.

• Volunteer in your community. Give something back to the community where you live or where you work. Be a mentor or tutor in a school. Coach a sport.

• Make better financial decisions. Seek the help of financial experts. Save money everywhere you can. Cut costs everywhere you can. Cut back on your personal expenses where you can. Cut back on your business expenses where you can.

• Revise your business plan to reflect the changes you need to make as well as those changes you have already made. Your business plan should be a working document and tool for your success.

• Limit the amount of time you watch the news and read the financial and business reports. Remember, what you focus on expands!

These ramblings of mine today may help some of you - and some of you may think I've actually lost my mind. But I firmly believe that what we focus on expands. And I personally am focused on success and not failure.

I challenge all small business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals to focus on success and all things positive and motivational - and to move forward in a spirit of hopefulness and newness in this springtime.

International Coaching Week 2008

This Week with Sara Fitts announces and celebrates International Coaching Week 2008 this week. The purpose of International Coaching Week is to highlight the benefits of coaching - both business coaching and personal coaching. As I celebrate my profession this week, I plan to provide several free resources as my personal contribution to the profession.

Coaching is a forward-moving process that faciliates growth and development while targeting specific areas in one's life and in one's business. The coach has many roles within the coaching process. Some of the roles that a coach plays are:

• motivator and cheerleader to keep you focused and moving forward
• confidential sounding board
• personal advisor and confidante
• accountability
• wake-up call when one is needed
• personal team builder
• a trusted source that provides different perspectives
• a trusted colleague for self-employed professionals
• candid commentator who holds nothing back
• facilitator that moves you forward and helps you get solid results
• someone who asks the hard questions - and expects answers
• someone who asks the hard questions - and gets the answers

Coaching is a powerful tool for any business and any life - at least the ones who want to improve their results, their bottom line, and their productivity. This week there are many opportunities to sample my style of coaching - and I invite you to join me as I celebrate International Coaching Week 2008.

As a reader of this blog, you are invited to schedule a free coaching session with me. Please contact me via my website (http://www.SLFConsulting.com ), via email (thecoach@SLFConsulting.com ) or via phone (703.791.4741). I look forward to showing you the power of coaching this week.

Are you Helping or Hindering Your Progress?

This Week with Sara Fitts asks an extremely important question related to your future success. For those of you who know me personally, you know that I almost always ask questions that are open-ended and powerful; however, today I am asking a powerful question that is of the either/or variety. Are you helping or hindering yourself? Are you helping or hindering your efforts to grow personally and professionally? Are you helping or hindering your staff and their efforts? Are you helping or hindering your own business?

I believe that in order for us to be as successful as we possibly can be, we must be 100% candid with ourselves - first and foremost. We cannot tell ourselves that we are the best in our field if we clearly are not. We cannot tell ourselves that our employees would follow us into battle if they won't. We cannot be less than 100% candid with ourselves if we are to attain the success we are capable of experiencing.

Are you helping or hindering your progress? Take this morning as your own personal example. Did you set yourself up for success or did you set yourself up for failure? Did you get up on time and get to work without unnecessary hassles within your control? Did you schedule a 9:00 a.m. meeting that you know you should have put at 10:00 a.m. - since it's Monday and you know how things go on Monday mornings when you've been away since Friday afternoon? Did you overbook your calendar today? Did you over-promise and under-deliver?

Are you helping or hindering your progress? Do you have a staff that is paid to support you? Do you help them or hinder them? Do you thank them for their support - even if they get paid to do their jobs? Do you hang in there with them to meet the deadlines? Do you help them or hinder them?

Are you helping or hindering your progress? Are you doing everything you can to forward your momentum? Are you doing anything to sabotage your success?

The question that I ask you this morning is not intended to be negative in any way; it is meant to be provocative and motivating. We all have improvements to make in our lives and in our businesses. And we owe it to ourselves and our employees (if we have them) to do everything we possibly can to move forward. This same question was asked of me yesterday - and I'm answering it - and sending it along to you as well. It is a powerful question with almost infinite possibilities for massive, exponential growth in all areas.

So, I challenge you to answer this question candidly - and listen to the answer. Are you helping or hindering your progress?

More to come.....