Thankfulness as a Success Practice for You and Your Business

Two simple ways to build your confidence and your business by being thankful.Did you know business success is 80% mindset and only 20% business knowhow?  Think of it this way... is there something in your business you know how to do and know you should be doing but you're not doing it?  That's because it's not just knowing how but having the right mindset to do what it takes.  Being thankful/grateful is a powerful tool in getting you in that right mindset, by helping you know what's great about you and helping you feel a positive connection between you and your clients and customers, can help your business tremendously and make everything easier.

Our beliefs about our selves and about those around uscan make everything we do difficult or easy.

1. Be thankful for you, what you do and what you have.  When we are thankful/grateful for our skills, talents and what we do and have done, we are recognizing what we have.  The more you acknowledge and appreciate what you're capable of and will do, the greater your confidence to do the next thing in front of you.  You will feel more able.  Even if it's something you've never done because you know that in the past you were successful (or at least went for it) and this helps you take on bigger goals and push forward when things get tough.What we put our attention on grows.  If you're putting your attention on what you haven't done or how difficult things are, it's easy to get stuck or to move forward very slowly.  If you put your attention on how great and capable you are, everything feels easier.Have I sold you on this yet?  If so, here's the exercise.◊ Every night before you go to bed, list 5 of your days successes.  Take some time to put your attention on what you do and on what you do well.◊ For extra credit, practice saying kind and supportive things to your self while you're working. This may sound corny but try it... Say, "Good Job!" and "Thank you for doing that for me." to you.You have what it takes and the more attention you put on what you do well the more confident you feel and the more able you are to take that next step and do what needs to be done.  That's powerful, and there is more.2.  Be Thankful for your customers and clients (or your boss).This time of year I think back over my year and the people I've worked with, and how thankful I am that they hired me, and that I got to know them.  And, I think of who they are, what they pushed through and how hard they work to make their difference in the world... to make our world better.  I am so thankful for them (for you :)!The more I think of them and how thankful I am for them, the more I want to get out there and do things for them.Whether you're writing a blog post ;) or marketing your self, how you feel about others and how you believe they feel about you can make that very easy or very difficult.When I'm working with clients it's often fear that stops them from going for what they really want and putting themselves out there as boldly as they'd like.  That fear comes from either being afraid we're not good enough (a belief most of us have, sadly) or being afraid that we or what we do aren't going to be liked or well received.Remembering who our clients are, getting into that place of thankfulness or gratitude and seeing "them" out there as friendly, makes it so much easier to put our selves and our products or services out there.  It's not rocket science, in fact it almost seems too simple but along with having business knowhow, this is the stuff that really works.So, here is the second exercise:◊ Take some time to think about or write down what you're thankful for about your clients and about what you love about them.Extra credit:◊ After thinking about it, send them thank you cards and tell them.Imagine how much easier things could be if you are thankful for your self and for "them".  You will feel better about you and the world, and your work should be a lot easier.Try it and tell me how it goes below!To Your Success!Lisa