When I started my coaching practice, I didn’t put it together right away that I was going to be a business owner.
I simply wanted to do something I love – helping people be at their very best. Maybe you are the same – lots of entrepreneurs and coaches I talk to have similar experiences.
It dawned on me rather quickly that in order to support my coaching practice, I was going to have to create systems and supportive structures. In other words, step into being a business owner.
There are lots of pretty tangible structures and systems that we put into place to create a foundation for success in our business – accounting for money, filing on our computer and filing paper, how we communicate with clients, deciding how to reach our people, creating a time management strategy that supports it all… but what about the intangible support systems we need to succeed?
It’s easy to get sucked into being “too busy” to take care of ourselves when we take the leap into being entrepreneurs. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with having to “do it all” and to spend all of our energy on our business. It’s easy to get burned out. Being an entrepreneur, it can feel like everything rests on your shoulders and it all must be done now. In fact, maybe yesterday.
This is a slippery, dangerous slope, which I have definitely gone down and many of my clients go down as well.
Some of the most important support systems that we put in place for our business are the ones that support us – as human beings.
As entrepreneurs, we are the heart and soul of our business. If we don’t nourish ourselves, we won’t be as well-equipped to serve our clients. And, I know for me, when I have fallen into this trap, I just get plain cranky and unpleasant with the people that really matter – my family.
My support structure includes: regular exercise, healthy food choices, 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night, weekly time with my own coaches, a schedule that allows me maximum time with my family, and, a daily practice of yoga and meditation.
Entrepreneurs can benefit tremendously from a practice of meditation.
A daily dose of stillness has been shown to change the brain, change the way we react to external circumstances, and make us more aware of how we think, which makes positive change that much easier. Meditation provides us an ongoing practice of staying in our direct experience.
Yes, I’m a yoga and meditation teacher as well as a coach, so it’s natural that I would advocate this practice. But you don’t have to take my word for it – you can experience the benefits for yourself. Simply take 5 minutes a day to focus on your breath, to take in your surroundings, without getting lost in the stories your mind tells. Notice your thoughts, without pushing them away — simply let them pass by, like clouds in the sky.
By bringing a mindful attitude to your life and your business you can learn to:
- Use your energy well – working hard, but knowing when it’s time to rest and renew.
- Experience the full range of emotions that go along with being a business owner, but express them appropriately.
- Recognize fear, but do what needs to be done.
- Be fully present and engaged with the people in your life.
- Find creative solutions to problems, easily and naturally.
- Be self-aware, open to improvement, always striving for higher and higher levels of functioning.
By practicing in this way each day and developing these characteristics – you, your business, your clients, and your family – will benefit.
If you’d like to learn more about this amazing practice, join me for a special, 6-week telecourse just for entrepreneurs – Meditation for Busy Entrepreneurs.
It’s going to be an amazing course! Check it out.
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