You may have already heard of the popular career planning book called, “What Color Is Your Parachute”, written by Richard Bolle. Here’s a new take on the parachute concept: Your parachute is your segue between passion and profit. Before parachuting into the sunset, you need to know this: In the art and science of hand analysis, there are 14 Life Purposes, 14 Life Lessons and 4 Life Schools. Each person (including you) was born with life purposes, lessons and schools in hand (*pun intended*). Without these, you may not know: what direction to take your parachute (i.e. your business or career), nor how to steer it successfully and enjoyably.

Now, imagine this: You are jet setting across the country you would love to visit and experience through parachuting. You are excited and perhaps also a little nervous about going on this parachuting adventure. It’s your first time being in this country and/or parachuting. (It’s similar to starting your own business, wouldn’t you say!) So, to help you allay any fears you may be feeling about this wild adventure, which will implicitly teach you how your parachute is your segue between passion and profit, take a look at these three common business scenarios outlined in hand analysis language.

If you’re not living on the edge, then you’re taking up too much space: The life of an entrepreneur means that every work day, you choose to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. For instance, do you know what happens when you adopt this belief: “My business will be successful when it makes me millions of dollars”? Either it takes you a very long time to get “there”, or you never reach this goal. Why? - Because success is the result of being of service to others. And if you don’t continually and consistently sell your services and/or products, your business will be short lived or nonexistent. It’s a simple fact of life and yet it can be so easy to lose sight of this fact, especially when our impatience gets the better of us. Also, expect that as you move along your purposeful path, you will be prompted to make decisions. Whenever you procrastinate making them, or aren’t fully and firmly committed to your decisions, the Universe will send something your way that will add to your delay or wavering, including for example late payments from clients and indecisive prospects.

Your parachute fails to open up: A common Life Lesson I’ve spotted in the hands of my clients and collaborators are issues with trust and intimacy. These issues manifest as low or fluctuating numbers of clients and cash flow. What would happen if you went parachuting and you didn’t trust that your parachute would open up as soon as you released it, even though it had passed the quality assurance test? Would you still want to jump out of the plane? Or would change your mind about parachuting and say: “Maybe another day!”

Your business is barely getting off the ground: Is your business vision is too small or nonexistent? This is more common than you may think. What’s interesting is that when clients know what their are destined to do, they are much more likely to create a vision and one that’s aligned with their Life Purpose(s), passions, and level of ambition. Conversely, when they don’t know what they don’t know about themselves – as in their Life Purpose(s) and where they get stuck (aka Life Lessons) – this is what usually happens: they either won’t bother creating a vision, let alone a dream board, or it will be outdated. Or they’ll create a much smaller vision … one that is congruent with what they think they can attain. No wonder people give up on their dream boards and goals! Lesson learned: Create a vision that’s aligned only with your purposes and passions. Then and only then will it become a reality for you. And the more you change, adapt and grow with the life lessons presented to you on your journey, the more frequently you will be removing the images from and updating your dream board… because you will have attracted these very things into your life. How exciting!

To help you navigate your business journey more joyfully and abundantly, I am giving you 15 minutes of quality time with me, Monique MacKinnon, Creativity Expert. Here, I will teach you how to clear on the spot what’s currently blocking your financial prosperity. To schedule your Create Prosperity Session (value: $100 US; limited time offer), contact monique@energeticevolution.com and put “Complimentary Create Prosperity Session” in the subject line.

By Matthew Stewart, Financial Education Expert

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” ~Henry Ford

Throughout the past few years in business and in networking I’ve noticed more and more that most people are not satisfied with their current job or career. I’ve also seen this increasing trend: Many people contemplating and exploring starting their own business. These people are from all different walks of life and all have an interesting story to tell. Their reasons for wanting to be in business for themselves are many and varied. A few of the main ‘Why’s’ that I hear are… to: make more money, have more time and freedom (including a flexible schedule), leave their current boss, and follow their passions.

Now when it comes to building a successful business, there are 3 Keys to Failing Forward. This is especially important in these fast-changing times we now find ourselves living in. Either we learn to adapt to the changes or we might find ourselves out of business. As entrepreneurs the first rule in business is to stay in business. However the statistics about new business start up and failure rates are still alarmingly staggering:

The benefits of entrepreneurship and small business are undeniable for both the owner and the economy. In reality, as astounding as the statistics are for small business success, the statistics for failure are equally daunting. A common statistic repeated when an aspiring entrepreneur seeks advice from friends or family is “Nine out of ten new businesses fail within the first year.”1

Although the statistics seem to show the odds are stacked against us business owners, there is hope and that brings me to the 3 keys.

1. Have a detailed game plan.

2. Most people take many weeks or sometimes months to plan their next vacation or to plan home renovations. Why not take at least a few hours or a few days to plan out your vision for what you want your life and our business to look like 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 25 years and 50 years from now. I think the main reason why most of us do not do this is because it can be a very daunting task. A question I always ask people is “how do you get to your desired destination? The answer is one step at a time!” The same applies here for your vision/business plan. Often I find it is easiest to start at the end of one’s life and work one’s way backwards. So ask yourself, “What do I want my life and business to look like 50 (or even just 5 to 10) years from now?” Then you can start to determine what you need to accomplish this year, this month, this week and most importantly today! Now you have the framework to get started. Small habits performed each day will eventually lead to amazing results.

3. It is all about having a powerful attitude about Failure. Most people hear the word failure and cringe or it brings to mind a time when they experienced failure. However, the most successful people seem to have a very different response to failure. How does the word Failure make you feel? Switch your emotional response to a more positive one that serves instead of hurts you. It is so important for us to see failure for what it really is: an opportunity to improve. One of Neuro-inguistic programming (NLP) basic suppositions is “There is no Failure, but only feedback".2 Anytime I face a setback, I remind myself that I never see failure as failure but rather as an opportunity for me to learn, grow and further develop my skills.
 
Overcoming FEAR - The most accurate description of FEAR is:

F = False
E = Evidence
A = Appearing
R = Real

When I really learned and internalized this important key, it transformed my business. Identify first what fear is holding you back from getting the results you truly want? Is it fear of failure, fear of success, fear of rejection, fear of criticism, fear of the unknown or fear of not having the security of a job? Whatever it might be. Once you identify it, then you can begin to work towards overcoming it.

1 http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2004_fall/16.pdf
2 http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/There_Is_No_Failure_Only_Feedback.html

Matthew Stewart, Financial Education Expert, is dedicated to teaching people (like you!) the secrets of how to put money back into your pockets that the financial institutions don’t want you to know. To schedule your complimentary Money Back Into Your Pockets visit (20-30 mins), contact Matthew directly at 613-858-6999 or matthewaaronstewart@gmail.com

By Connie Dunn, Creative Life Coach, http://www.playfulroots.com

Have you ever watched butterflies flitting from flower to flower to flower? There is usually more than one butterfly. They tend to travel in groups. Even when they migrate, they go in groups.

These gorgeous, dainty creatures flutter around our gardens, bringing smiles to our faces. Butterflies tend to play rather than work, at least from our human perspective. That’s why we often equate freedom with the butterfly.

Women can be as free as butterflies. The key is in the plural use of the nouns. When women work together, they gain more freedom in their work and lives. As solopreneurs, women tend to be workaholics, driven as if some monster was chasing them and would eat them up if they stop to take a breath or smell the flowers and see the butterflies in their garden. Collaboration is one way women can retain their solo business, yet create strategic partnerships that can grow their businesses.

Since the 1970s when women began migrating from the kitchen sink to the business rink in unprecedented numbers, women have had to be better and work harder than their male counterpoint at everything just to stay in the competition. Four decades later, women are still in the fast lane. However, women today have many more options and tend to opt for opening their own home-based or small business at a higher rate than their male counterparts. About 70% of the 17 million home-based businesses today are woman-owned, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis.

“Here’s another crack in the glass ceiling: New research shows that high-pressure jobs can raise the risk of heart disease in women as well as in men,” writes Karen Kaplan in an article in the May 6, 2010, Los Angeles Times. Just because a woman is operating her own business, does not mean that there is any less stress than in high-pressure corporate jobs. “Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men,” according to Dr. Yehuda in an interview with Discovery Health.

Another perspective on stress is that peace is the flip side. If women are working toward lessening their stress of work and family, they will creatively look for other options, such as collaboration. Joining forces with women in similar businesses can be as simple as exchanging articles for newsletters or e-zines. Projects can often be more fun with partners, and it allows everyone to participate in something that they might not attempt alone.

Women are as free as butterflies, because women can create flexibility in the way they work. Collaboration allows women that freedom. Women can also flutter from one project to another, but filling the soul is as important as butterflies’ need for nectar to fuel their beating wings.

Connie Dunn empowers stressed women by teaching them fun and spontaneous ways to add peace to their daily lives. To claim your complimentary illustrated e-book, “The Most Magical, Awesome, Delicate Creature of All” (limited time only, exclusive offer for Energetic Evolution clients), contact playfulroots@gmail.com.