If you are a small business owner, you know how to wear many hats.  CEO, accounting, sales, new products, marketing, customer relations--initially, you are it.  For all of the different roles. This can be really exhausting and demotivating.  Until you commit to the concept of Grit.  When you really really want something, this is what is takes to get there: It takes tons of Grit to start, and even more to keep on going.  And even more after that.

Firing your clients, I don’t mean, fire them all.  But think about the ones that you absolutely dread talking to.  Because they suck the lifeblood out of you.  The ones that want everything and bring nothing.  You have tried everything you know to turn them into a good client, but to no avail.

Do you ever feel like there is never enough time to do everything and the more you think about it the less gets done?

I have often wondered what Lao Tzu means when he writes in the Tao: “Do nothing and everything will get done”.  Seriously?  What does that mean in our endlessly busy and overachieving culture’s mindset?  Work differently??

Recently, I read an article in Inc. magazine about the golden nuggets for success by 11 powerful leaders.  This was all hardcore business talk and I was surprised to find that it translated seamlessly into my beliefs about life as a whole. Here they are.

One of the most valuable things I learned in the last few months is the importance of giving up striving and driving.

I encountered a great model of this idea in my work with the Academy of Coaching and NLP, when my good friend Helen Attridge introduced the 4 Levels of Consciousness.

And I continue to do so... After 16 years of being my best bud, my right-hand man, now this extends to getting old and yes, dying. We grew up together, were puppies together, learned the hard things and the fun things and he has always been there to remind me to enjoy every moment, focus on the essentials (food, fun), not take myself too seriously and just pretty much have a doggone great time no matter what.