Blog

Happy International Women’s Day! (and a Dionne Warwick video )

Many times when a door closes, as entrepreneurs and business-owners, we allow ego to swoop in…wreak a little havoc. I’m not necessarily saying we’re a mess but we are human and when you add to that being so invested in what we do it’s maybe no surprise.

Though this is true for all of us to varying degrees, being what I call a business yogi, I do my best to allow thoughts that don’t serve me to walk on by…(are you smiling?)

Being the witness versus a player inside the drama that happens is extremely powerful.

And, really, this is something we all do as humans, not just as entrepreneurs. We allow false thoughts to take center stage.

We allow thoughts to become these things that are then more and more difficult to erase. You and I have control of our thoughts.

Recently, an event I was supposed to attend  in Amsterdam for International Women’s Day was cancelled. I was so looking  forward to going…to meeting interesting women, celebrating the important day in a city I love (I lived in Amsterdam 2002 – 2006) AND also be able to speak on one of the topics I’m passionate about: happiness and how to get it from your business.

I think the excitement was just compounded by planning the move back to Amsterdam this Summer (I’ll likely go June to August). I expected momentum from this trip that was cancelled, plus it’s always a great experience to be in Europe.

After my few human minutes of feeling the effects of the un-expected detour, I saw an opportunity to create anew. I love my business yoga™.

What to I create now that I wasn’t going? It was too short a time to turnaround an event or even a telesummit…

I ended up creating a spontaneous program that will not only allow me to continue supporting more women in their quest for brand clarity which adds to our power and happiness as women but I’ll also be helping an organization called Women for Women International that supports female war survivors: (www.michelleghilotti.com/clarity-is-queen). Win-win-win. Support. What thhe holiday is all about.

The opportunity I created, though it looked different than an event in Amsterdam would look like, the intention was the same and that’s the most important part. In the end, I am supporting the growth and happiness of women and that’s a great day.

And essentially that’s what it’s about. When twists, turns, our “mistakes” or detours happen, we have it in our control to decide to continue chasing what it is that we truly want vs allowing to be taken back two, three steps or even two to three months in our growth.

“When a negative thought arises, I chase it out with a positive one”. Try that. Use that as your mantra.

Another thing I practice during times of change is asking ‘what I want to feel right now’ (as opposed to what I initially feel after the detour/the incident). My answers to that question typically range from ‘happiness’, ‘peace’, ‘support’, ‘stillness’, ‘joy’…

Once I know what I want to feel vs what I currently feel, I go after that feeling, as if my quality of life depended on it (it does). I create, I do, I call, I get support, I dis-connect…whatever will get me the desired effect in life and business.

And the thing about entrepreneurship (especially entrepreneurship), when so much of us is on the line, is realizing we have great possibility catching ourselves immediately and DO something different in that moment.

As I mentioned in my last blog post and newsletter, give yourself permission to be happy, even when a door has closed.

Practice the doing of this, immediately.

…continue growing that muscle memory so that it ~ finding our happiness ~ becomes our ability.

Can you get down with that?

Connect with Michelle on Facebook and Twitter.

Standing at the podium.

On Saturday 2/25, I auditioned for the Listen to Your Mother Theatre show (a spoken word “thing”) in San Francisco. It’s part of a national theatre show that’s happening all across the country on Mother’s Day. This was another lesson in stepping outside of your box being trés rejuvenating. I’m convinced it’s great for younger-looking skin too 😉

Two more weeks to find out if I “snagged” one of twelve spots. . . will keep you all posted.

After that awesome experience at Fort Mason, I headed for an intensive with KC Baker, founder and owner of The School for the Well-Spoken Woman.

She and I are working on my talk to women/moms/women in business. Naturally while talking about what I believe about life, business and generally HAPPINESS, the tenets at the foundation of my work came shining through again and I wanted to jot some of them down here.

As always, I hope it inspires you to take the time to think about and write down what you stand for and what your potential clients and customers will (actually) be buying…it’s hardly ever just your product.

They’re buying you…they’re buying the WHY of what you do.
This is branding, this is marketing but, most importantly, it’s the truth.

Here’s some of what I believe that may not sound like it’s connected to my work but it absolutely is…

1) Most women think in order to experience success, they must hide or change a certain part or parts of themselves. “Be professional.” Act like someone else or SAY something else.” I believe the opposite is true. I believe we have to bring more of ourselves (the most of ourselves) and what lights us up into the focal point of our business in order to achieve extraordinary amounts of success.

2) Most women think in order to be a good partner, Mother or friend they have to put themselves second, last or not at all. Once again, I believe you have to do the opposite in order to create a happy existence; a happy home. I believe, if women focus on their happiness, they raise happiness.

3) Most women think you’re either born “happy”/”a happy person” or not.  I believe happiness is a muscle that can be strengthened and stretched, stretched and strengthened. Essentially, it’s totally and completely inside of our control, this happiness thing, no matter our past or current circumstances.

Now, the key to success in these areas ~ in your business, home life and, yes, even in your branding, is to make all of THIS your business. Make happiness your business.

Here’s how I think we can do that:

1) We must give ourselves permission.

2) We must practice doing it.

3) We must gain the ability. Essentially this means following the instinct we’ll gain from doing the above two things that then allows us to follow-through (and quickly) on what we truly want to do, authentically, in our lives and businesses…each time listening less and less to any version, sister, brother or cousin of fear…

Just as happiness is in our control so is this idea/illusion we have of fear…it’s all simply what we say it is.

Connect with Michelle on Facebook and Twitter.