Tag Archives: business logo

Faith is your shot of wheat grass…

Make faith in yourself your religion…

Faith in ourselves as entrepreneurs and business-owners is vital. In fact, if you’re visual like me, I see a shot of wheat grass, espresso, cup of joe or cup of fresh-squeezed OJ going in…

We must drink it in (faith in ourselves, our power) every single day.

Particularly, every single morning because tuning into this faith is the life juice to getting what we want. It’s the life juice in growing our businesses… (and by the way, if you’re wondering if you can grow the business/brand to what you want…yes, yes you can!).

If this faith doesn’t exist first thing, the glass will continue to seem half empty all day long (that’s a long day). What you think about not only grows but attracts more of the same.

What you think about not only grows but attracts more of the same.

The way we get there:

First, recognize what you’re currently waking up thinking..”What am I thinking about right now?” It’s the seed that grows.

Second, if you don’t like the answer, ask yourself, how do I shift this? And ~ stay long enough to hear the answer…

Take action immediately.

What are you waking up drinking in? (tip #11 in this video series shares a similar topic:

What would you like to feed and grow in you versus what’s been your drink of choice lately?

Good.

Now, let’s hit repeat on that question and awareness each morning; drink it in. Get your groove on.

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Thoughts from the Dalai Mama…

This article is 150% inspired by my clients as of late…their haute fearlessness. And this is not just in branding or marketing themselves or their businesses but in living their happiest lives truly doing what they love.

This never goes out of style.

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What would SHE do?

What would that woman do? (as in the YOU one year, two years and five years down the line)

When you think of the woman you want to become, what does she say to herself?

We are what we think about most of the time…

Would she focus on her accomplishments or her course corrections? Her trip-ups or the two steps forward she made after that door closed?

Celebrating our accomplishments, no matter how small, helps create more of what we want. Focusing, excessively, on what’s left to do or the opportunity “missed” creates more of what we don‘t want. It’s just the way it works and it’s not just yogis, the motivational speakers, the life coaches, the business coaches or inherently happy who say it…

When we celebrate and acknowledge all we’ve done and where we are now as a result, we allow for the making of additional space emotionally that allows for more of the same goodness to come in. And when we hit repeat and do this as a constant practice is when we truly give ourselves permission to not only receive success in our business but to live our best life.

We get what we focus on most of the time.

Let’s get real; you have gotten so far and there have been so many successes.

Focus on those things.

• Focus on having done the deed. On moving past the fear.

• Celebrate immediately having done it. No matter the outcome.

• Write down the top three things you learned from the experience (whether the full outcome you wanted presented itself or not). Leave that card or post-it in plain sight for at least one week afterwards. It will lessen the propensity to focus on the “not getting it.”

• Repeat.

We are what we think about most of the time.

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Brand You (loudly) and love the process.

On Saturday 2/25, I’m auditioning 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 and I’m thrilled!

I hit on something yesterday I’d love to share something with you…

Last year, I auditioned here in LA (for the LA show).

Though I would have loved to have taken one of the 10-11 spots (but of course), I wasn’t upset I didn’t get the part. How could I be?

I do what I do (and give it all I got) regardless of the outcome.

What’s important is the doing, not the outcome…falling in love with the process.

I was EXCITED to have gone through the process, felt uber comfortable and had so much fun. In fact, as I walked out of the audition room with the producers in 2011, I told myself regardless of what happened I’d keep going in search of these unique speaking/performing opportunities. The mesh of my love of writing and performing is pretty awesome.

Anyhow, this is what I wanted to share…my piece last year was comedic. It was much more intellectual / coming from “the head” versus the heart. There’s nothing wrong with that, however, I’m convinced if there’s a chemistry match between myself and the producers this year, I’ll grab one of the spots because this piece is ALL heart. All my story. All truth and, truly, all of my (personal) brand…

It’s exactly what I coach my clients on…not leaving anything on the table.

For ideal clients to know, like and trust us we must show US.

This goes if you’re branding yourself or branding a company name. Essentially, you’re behind it all. So…show WHO you really are.

I joke that just as the camera adds ten pounds, so does your website, networking events, newsletters and all of your touchpoints. So…showing up as the true, brightest you helps. Oh does it ever.

How could you show up as more of who you really are? What are you hiding behind; anything?

How could you show up as more of you on your blog, in social media, in your newsletters, at networking events etc?

Of course, branding and showing up as the authentic YOU requires more than just the sharing of stories, of course, however, this is where branding starts; getting to the core of you and the unique flavor you bring to what you do and the industry you’re doing it in…do it. Show your special sauce.

And love the process. The outcome we truly have no control over but I’m willing to bet if you’re giving it all you got, it will be a good one, even if you have to audition twice 😉

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Just decide to and do it!

Nike was a client of mine a few years ago and this…is one of my favorite stories.

In the 70s, Phil Knight needed to come up with a name and mark to register what was to be the “Just do it” brand when he was branching out and creating something new from his previous company of Blue Ribbon Sports.

Asking a designer to create something quickly, the Nike swoosh was born for $35 and Phil Knight is known to have said something like ‘I’ll learn to like it…’ Clearly, whether he initially liked it or not, the combination of product and branding would render the swoosh (and biz) in the top three of iconic companies and logos in the world. And though Nike achieved this iconic logo and biz greatness through what could have been coined a “temporary” logo, this is no everyday occurrence.

a design & shirts MGI designed for Nike

In fact, many entrepreneurs and business owners go through quick-decisions and temporary route alot. Not only for their marks but for other elements that make up their business. The number one thing I’ve heard in ten years helping men and women-owned businesses is exactly that: “Oh, it’s just temporary / It was just temporary.” I’ve heard it about hundreds of logos (that clients come to MGI to “fix” or re-do), websites, business cards, offices/studios, printing methods/materials, a client’s pricing, email systems, colleagues, vendors, even about some products gone out (and list goes on). I’ve been guilty of using the word “temporary” at times too, it’s human, however I can tell you with 150% certainty it didn’t serve me at all! It’s actually very un-like me to think in terms of temporary but so many times time isn’t on our side as business-owners.

I think it’s important for all of us to watch what we’re putting out into the world. “Temporary” newsletters or “temporary” products or business cards, however small or insignificant they may seem, do add up. I think it’s an especially precarious situation when playing temporary is on repeat. Clients and potential clients might excuse it for a variety of different reasons and for a length of time, however, the crux is really this ~ if the majority of what you’re putting out into the world is “temporary”, won’t that be what you get back? Temporary income, temporary clients, temporary blips of what you would consider success?

Having convictions and making firm decisions and being proud of what you are birthing is not only important, in my opinion, it’s crucial to our success.

I constantly remind clients if they’re not excited about what’s going out, how should we expect anyone else to be excited about and pay for it? We need to be proud. Not only of our products or services but in how far we’ve come and only focus on our forward movement from that place.

Essentially the message here is we need not play small, nor to shrink but really tell the world what we think and stand up in our permanence. And because hardly anything here at MGI is only about business, take this as a mantra in life too. Stand up in everything you are.

Prior to the year, make a conscious decision to achieve through intention (grow your actions/habits from the seed of “I intend…” vs “I try” as try is an admission of potential defeat). Phil Knight might have learned to love his swoosh but we can love what we do from the start. Just decide to and do it.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to download the free Business Yoga MP3 on the MGI home page.

Life is good.

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