There are many advantages to becoming an entrepreneur. I asked accomplished entrepreneurs who have been guests on my Navigating Change Radio Show why they started their own business. They often reply that they saw a need, they had a vision, or they wanted to be their own boss to have more freedom in their life.
Entrepreneurship is supposed to bring joy and fun for you and others while making a contribution in the world, right?
Why, then do entrepreneurs often find themselves:
- Trying to hold it all together at the expense of their time
- Overwhelmed or overloaded
- Not having enough energy on those very things that invigorate them, like reading their favorite book, participating in their favorite sport, or walking the dog.
If you recognize some of these points in your own life, these are tell tail signs you may not have created, or have something missing, from your existence system.
What’s an existence system?
Simply put, an existence system is a system designed to put your ideal scenario into reality.
In the Excellerate Success Institute, my clients use a Business Blueprint. Even though it’s called a Business Blueprint, it is designed to align all areas of their life – both personal and professional.
Because the Blueprint takes a systems approach, or a whole view, it’s designed to align your vision, mission and purpose with your goals. When you do, you have an aligned road map. The moment something is not working, it’s easy to refer to the Blueprint to see how you got off track or what’s missing.
To create a business and life you love, one of the first things I recommend to my clients is to look at their goals through four filters. One of the filters is the internal filter or what’s most important to them personally.
All too often, business owners develop their financial goals and forget about creating goals that add meaning in their life. The things that would fall under your internal filter would be spending quality time with your loved ones, taking more vacations, or being physically fit. Often times, however, these are the very things often missing from your goals.
In life, I understand that not everything is planned. This process can be used to address an unexpected event, too. One day my client called me to share that her husband was diagnosed with cancer. My client suddenly found herself trying to juggle multiple areas of her life, feeling exhausted, and out of sync.
We worked together to develop a forward-thinking goal of health and wellness (for her and him). She then jotted down all of the related objectives and action items. She admitted that it didn’t occur to her to apply the intentional approach she takes with her business to her personal life.
Most people don’t use this intentional approach to their personal life but it makes a profound difference. This was a similar approach that I used for myself over 20 years ago when I had a cancer diagnosis. I remember it gave me a sense of comfort during an uncomfortable and emotional experience.
After adding this personal goal and shifting some of the other goals in her business, she conveyed a sense of relief and control. This approach helped her to reprioritize all of the things she had on her plate and lead herself powerfully through this unexpected event. Today, her husband is in remission and is living a life of health and wellness.
As an added benefit, she was then able to spend time on what was most important, use her resources more effectively, and powerfully manage all areas of her life, including her business. She began to see a new possibility of her plan being accomplished with complete ease and peace of mind despite the circumstances.
If things aren’t happening as you would like, you’re scattered, or feel overwhelmed, it may be an indication that you’re simply missing important personal goals in your existence system. If you want to be fit and healthy or attend more of your children’s events, have more vacation, or spend more time on things that energize you, that can all be created through your existence system.
The first step to developing a holistic existence system is simple. List what you would like to create in all areas of your life. Don’t stop there. Create an existence system to take it from possibility to reality.
Resources
If you would like to explore how to set up your own vision, invent new possibilities, and create your simple action plan to bring those possibilities into a reality for you, simply pick up a copy of my book, Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change.
To create your own Business Blueprint, join us for the Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp for Business Owners on April 28-29, 2015 in Honolulu, Hawaii by registering before April 20 at: http://www.wakeupprofitable.com.
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