The Healthy Wealthy Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business it’s a way of thinking… Yes I really believe this, if you look at the original definition of the word entrepreneur, it’s a French word that means ‘to undertake’ – entrepreneurship is an undertaking. My belief is that there is no greater undertaking that your life’s purpose.
Entrepreneurship is a mindset and this mindset should not be exclusive to those who want to run a business. You can be entrepreneurial when you are employed, this means, thinking outside your normal thought patterns, dealing with setbacks, communicating, having a solution first mindset, collaborating with other team members from different departments, coming up with innovative ideas to more the business forward, even if it is not part of your immediate responsibilities. Entrepreneurial thinking allows you to not come from a ‘this is how it’s done mindset’ but from a ‘what could we do different mindset’
The healthy wealthy entrepreneur does not settle, they don’t allow negativity to get in the way. They note the little voice in their head then ignore it.
They also look at their whole life, their physical health, their daily habits and routines, their thoughts, their financial wellbeing and their personal relationships.
You may have heard of the wheel of life, you score yourself in all these areas, career, finance, personal growth, family, relationships, health, hobbies and give yourself a score out of ten on these various areas and see how balanced your life is.
To live a healthily wealthy entrepreneurial life I have identified 6 components that are practical areas all entrepreneurs, whether you run your own business or work for an organisation, would focus on to have rounded success.
These are the 6Ms of Entrepreneur Success. 1. Motive – This is about your why & your purpose. Having your motive clear give’s you direction and an anchor to work from. Why is this important? There will be times when it is tough, really tough and the clients aren’t there and money is short, this is when you need your why, your purpose, your motive, so clear to remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Simon Sinek in his TEDs Talk, Start with Why illustrates this perfectly https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=sioZd3AxmnE
2. Mindset – Your mindset is the foundation you will build your entrepreneur success. This is what will determine how you deal with self-doubt, failures, success, opportunities, the little voice, deadlines, the food you eat, how healthy you want to be, how much you push yourself on a daily basis, your choices, other people’s success, your own results, everything. This is not only about having a ‘positive’ mindset it’s about having a strong mindset that you train, to deal with all you eventualities that life throws at you. How do you train this mind? Three simple ways, surround yourself with people who have the mindset you want, read & watch personal development books & videos and stop watching the news. Try this for 1 month and see how stronger you feel.
3. Model – This is about the system or framework of your business and life. What are the habits and rituals you practice each day that create the model you work from? What is the framework you need in place to make success occur? This is how you are going to reach the goals you have set yourself. An example would be if you sell products, is the model selling direct to the consumer or using partners. This is your business plan, but also plan for your life. Build a new model that will create a life you want.
4. Money – We live in a world, that without money it is very hard to make progress. This doesn’t mean you need money to get started, but to sustain and thrive in business, career & life you do. This is about understanding where is the money into your business coming from, if you run a business From a personal point of view, how you are going to generate personal income to create the kind of wealth and health you desire. If you run a business you need to create multiple ways to generate income. For example take Disney, they are known for films, but then they have theme parks, merchandise to generate additional income. There is no job for life and there is no business that can rely on one way of doing business, especially in this ever-changing world of social media, tech and connectivity. The message here is to have multiple streams of income for your business and personal lives.
5. Mechanics – We all ‘knows how a car works, but all we see is the nice bodywork, the slick dashboard, the alloy wheels and the luxury extras, but without the mechanics and engine under the bonnet working properly, the car won’t go anywhere. This is the same in business and life. In business this is having your systems and processes in place so your business runs smoothly, the marketing, invoicing, CRM, PR, dealing with customer queries, ordering, development of new products & services, all the things someone outside the business doesn’t see but are vital in success. In life this is about being organised and allowing the rituals and habits that serve you to continue to serve you. To eat healthy, putting things in place to ensure this is planned, setting up your diary to have ‘me’ and ‘family’ time. To build in a fitness program that happens without you having to plan it. The right mechanics ensure you get what you need done without reacting to situations and thinking about it. Remember when you turn the car on, if the mechanics are working, everything else takes care of itself. This should be the same in your business and life.
6. Marketing – This is about being visible, being present and at service to your tribe. Personal branding is also key in this. Staring with, if you run your own business, people want to know the face behind the business because even today, actually especially today, people buy people. Without marketing nothing happens, you can have the best product or service, but if people don’t know about it, nothing will happen. The biggest issue I see is not businesses seeing marketing as not important, but not being open to the many different ways to ‘market’ your business and your personal brand. For example social media and video can give businesses many many different ways to market and interact with their audience, but through a limited mindset and thinking…’that platform won’t work’ for them, many don’t even try. From a personal point of view, there are no careers for life - these are magical times we live in where we all have our own media channel. Don’t be afraid to create your own personal brand, whether you run your own business or not. Everybody who works in my organisation EnSpirit Inc., will be encouraged to develop their own personal brand.
The healthy wealthy entrepreneur is aware, courageous and adventurous. A great hero of mine Gary Vaynerchuk talks about getting the bigs things sorted but also being aware what needs to get done that ensures it all works, watch this great video ‘Between the Clouds & Dirt’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4bAVgMJo8w
I look forward to hearing how you get on being a healthy wealthy entrepreneur, tweet me @BaijuSolanki and let me know
Baiju Solanki 07968 533918 @BaijuSolank www.BaijuSolanki.com www.EnSpiritInc.com
Healthy Acrmous Kathryn Huber We in the fitness industry love to use acronyms so I thought I’d give you just one more: exercise
Excitement If you know me you know I believe in excitement, energy, and everything positive. The fitness industry is a beautiful place full of people who want to help others achieve their health and fitness goals. It’s also a place where there is a lot of growth. The industry is growing as demand grows due to the interest in living a more fulfilling life. I have been fortunate to meet a lot of fitness professionals who even after decades in the fitness and health industry are still excited to work with clients, learn about the latest and the greatest new trends, and are still excited about helping others.
X 10 There are 10X the opportunities in the fitness industry than there ever was before, and a lot of people to meet. It is X10 the best way to meet new people, from all types of backgrounds, and all walks of life. I have been fortunate to make friends with clients and other trainers in my time in the fitness field. These “fitness people” have been my greatest supporter and biggest cheerleaders. I used X10 because there infinite opportunity in the world of exercise, for people to grow, work in new realms, and learn more information.
Energetic When clients come to you they will be scared, they could be nervous, but somewhere inside they will be excited. They will have a little flame in them that wants to make a change (or they wouldn’t be at your front door). I have found that this energy can help them push to the next level when it comes to duration, effort, and intensity of their sessions. I really enjoy that immediate energy you get right after a workout. Its one thing I make sure my clients focus on, it’s the one thing you can get without spending weeks of healthy eating and good exercise. That endorphin high is something especially for new clients I get them to focus on because of it’s immediate result. Energy is vital to my sparkle spitting personality and one of the best ways that I have been able to attract clients and develop strong relationships with other trainers.
Responsible
Being in the fitness industry we find a lot of different points of view. There are thousands of programs, supplements, and ways to “train the best”. I love having the responsibility for my client. I love making sure I know what will work for them, what might not work for them, and how I can push them to achieve their goals. Some people don’t like responsibility but I find that this responsibility helps me not only care for my clients, but also helps me grow as a fitness professional. I want to be able to direct my clients to an option that works best for them, and the only way to do this is take on the responsibility to know what is out there and keeping up with the latest advances in the fitness and health world.
Casual yet professional This is one of my favorite things about being in the fitness industry. This could mean casual dress, this could mean causal attitude, and that is why I like this element so much. The apparel, especially now many brands are putting their focus on active wear so there are so many options to wear that is comfortable but also professional and at the same time trendy so you feel like you can go from the gym to the grocery store without looking like a crazy mess. I love the apparel element (obviously because I am a total girl), but apparel can also inspire a client. It can make them feel confident, it can be a reward for doing a good job (what girl doesn’t like a new pair of shoes), and it can also be a measure of how well their progress is. You should never underestimate the inspiration a pair of pants can give someone when they realize they have gotten looser or don’t even fit any more. I also like that I can be my unique me while I am coaching, instructing, or training. Where are lots of fitness professionals but only one me. As fitness professionals we have create a brand, we have to develop it and we have to exude it. So what better way to build a brand but build one upon yourself and your unique self-more importantly. Because we are working with people to deal with a lot, it is fun to be able to be real and raw with them. This doesn’t mean unprofessional it just means being yourself and accepting that your best clients are going to stick with you when you are being true to you and true to YOUR brand.
Inspiring I was meant to inspire people. I think all of us in the health and fitness field are looking to help people. We want to lead people to better lives, we want to help them lose weight, we want to help them get off medication, and we want to help them change a part of themselves that makes them better. But you can’t help people if you don’t inspire them. You don’t have to the inspiration, but at the very least you have to inspire them to inspire themselves. I love making people feel inspired by who they naturally are, by how far the have come, by even just making the decision to make a change. There is nothing more powerful or rewarding than this when it comes to being an exercise professional.
Sincere
I always tell people there is no one better at being you. I also like to say that you can’t always be nice. This is where the sincere part jumps in. I love having the ability (because I run my own business) that I can be completely honest with my clients. I am a nice person, I am a people pleaser but if I want to do my job I have to be sincere with my clients and sometimes address things that they might not want to hear. I love that in the fitness world that we can care about our clients, we can be honest with our clients, and this will insure they are getting the best information, and superior help.
Empowered I mean let's just get real exercise makes all people feel empowered. With exercise we produce change, something that the body doesn’t like, doesn’t want to do, and will resist with every fibre of its being. What is more powerful that helping people do something that is one of the hardest things to do? This is why I love the industry, the professionals, the opportunities because exercise gives people power. It gives them strength. And it makes people believe that anything in life possible. I found out the hard way this past year, without our health we are nothing. When you don’t have your health you feel weak. You feel like nothing else matters. I love helping clients, talk with other pros, and learning new information about the health and fitness industry. I love finding empowering information to help others, because not only does it help them, it empowers me to be a better coach, a better trainer, and a better person.
I hope I spit enough sparkles on you to get you excited to join in the fitness industry, to stick with the fitness industry, or even to make a few changes in your life live healthier and fit. After all, all we do as trainers, coaches, and leaders is push others to live better more fulfilling lives.
Healthy Communication I am a communication specialist. That has not always been the case. I’ve learnt the difference between healthy communication and the kind of communication that will mess you up.
I’ve worked hard to learn what healthy communication looks like, how it sounds and what impact it can have. I learnt the hard way what the other kind of communication has to offer and I implore you to learn the difference and become a practitioner of the healthy stuff. Most of what is good in my life is a result of communicating in the right way; with myself, my friends, my family and with those I care for most dearly. This form of communication is not rocket science but it is incredibly rare. So rare, in fact, that you will be blown away if you experience it on a regular basis. Get it wrong, regularly, and you will need to prepare for tough, unfulfilling, even miserable times.
The basics of healthy communication look like this: 1. 2. 3.
Listen to your inner coach, not your inner critic – both are present and are ready to support your over riding view – explore the positive and your coach will be right by your side. Listen to others and hear what they are saying – put yourself in their shoes and see things from their perspective before adding your view. Really listen, this takes effort. When you communicate give it your full attention, share your truth, give examples, illustrate with stories and pause to allow your messages time to sink in.
Sounds simple and it is. Let me add some more detail and let’s see if this reflects how you regularly communicate. Listen to your inner coach You know that voice inside your head that passes comment on your ideas? The voice that tells you not to be so stupid, not to even try and lose those pounds. After all, remember the last time you tried to manage your weight, it was a disaster and you put it all back on again, with interest! That voice is bad news and you need to stop listening to it. How we communicate with ourselves is an essential ingredient for a fulfilled and contented existence. The good news is that we get to choose how we manage this communication. This voice is not a sign that you are cracking up by the way – we all have both a negative and a positive inner dialogue and you must listen to the constructive opinion. Occasionally your inner critic will keep you from harm, which is useful, but mostly it will hold you back. Your inner coach, however, will set you free, will back your progress and help you fulfil your dreams. If you want to lose weight then your positive voice will remind you of the success you’ve had in the
past, how it feels to see the pounds fall away and why it is worth the effort to keep going. The negative voice will have you reaching for the chocolate. Your choice. Coach or Critic. Up to you. They are both in your head, vying for your attention. Who do you listen to? Think of the last challenge/opportunity that you faced, it could be a personal one, a financial hurdle, a career crossroads, something sporty or academic – recall that decision, the action you took. That decision was supported by either your inner coach (you can do this, go for it, excellent idea) or your inner critic (don’t even think about it, crazy plan, not for you I’m afraid). Think again about that hurdle (or was it an opportunity) and consider whether listening to your inner coach could have made all the difference. For me, my inner coach is my positive and optimistic guide across 99% of what I do. I may not be successful at everything I attempt but I sure do learn from the process and with my coach by my side, I’m ready to give it another go. Listen to others and hear what they are saying Of course I am listening to you, I can hear everything you are saying. Are you certain? We’re you distracted, in the slightest? Was the TV on? Were you thinking of what you were planning to say next? Were you considering the thing that has been playing on your mind? Were you discreetly checking your mobile device? To fully hear you need to remove all distractions (external and internal) and focus. Focus hard and concentrate on the words being used and, ideally, the things that are not being said. If you have the opportunity then observe the body language too as this will help you fill in the gaps if the words aren’t conveying the complete message. If you can listen with real empathy you will find it the most powerful communication technique; you will learn so much, connect with more depth and build stronger relationships. Try putting yourself in the shoes of the person you are communicating with. How does it feel from their perspective? What pressures are they under? Where does this communication come from? These may sound like rather philosophical considerations but they are essential to fully understand the context and the meaning behind the words themselves. To fully listen, to truly hear, is a skill that too few practice regularly. Give it a try, immerse yourself in the moment and absorb as much as you can about the communication before providing your response. Consider their words carefully and take your time with your reply. The more you practice the easier it becomes but in our time poor increasingly busy world we rarely find the time to really listen and hear. Make the effort – you will be amazed. Communicate with your full attention What do you remember from yesterday? Who communicated with you in a way that stuck? What about last week or the week before that? What is still having an impact and still resonating with you from months ago? The answers to these questions are likely to be the communication that was easy to absorb, was relevant (to you) and was delivered with power and passion.If we make it easy for our audience to absorb our messages then we have a real chance of making a difference. The most memorable
communication, at home, at work and at play is not complex or detailed, it is honest and illustrated with stories. If you have something important to say or even if you want to ensure your message is remembered, then you should consider how best to illustrate your communication. The easiest way to provide superb illustration is through the power of stories. We all have them, they are universally acknowledged as a method of getting information to land and we are all used to telling them so why do we hold back so often when we have the opportunity to really communicate? Think about the last message you wanted to stick with your audience. It may have been a conversation at home, with your kids, in the office, with your team or even a post on social media to your audience. What stories did you use to help your listeners/readers understand and resonate with your message? The stories don’t have to be elaborate, long winded or complex but they should reflect your truth and, ideally, be yours. My childhood was dominated by boarding school; an all-boys, military funded environment that robbed me of my ability to communicate with empathy or any emotional flavour. It has taken years of work to repair the damage that emotional barriers can create and to become the open, emotionally available and powerful communicator that I am today. I see the difference that healthy communication has made on my life and on those that I communicate with regularly. It has not been easy, or without pain but it has so, so been worth it. I will now pause to allow the information time to sink in. I encourage you to practice healthy communication, give your current methods some thought, explore the techniques in this article and open the doors to some amazing communication adventures.
Nick Looby is a communication specialist and inspirational educator. Nick works with teams and individuals to enhance the power and success of their communication. If you’d like to speak to Nick about increased impact and greater success, he can be contacted at nick@feetontheground.co.uk or on 07800662450.
Karen Daniels “My Journey back to health.� 6 years ago I was looking for a flexible way to earn some money. I had had to give up on my job at a bank 12 years prior to this as I had developed severe sciatica that meant I could not stand or sit for long periods at a time, which made it very hard to do most jobs. So I concentrated on bringing up our son and running our other business, a villa we rent out in Florida.
Though this was wonderful it did not give me money in my back pocket to buy things for myself, and I wanted to help out with the family’s finances. I also only had a small pension from my work at the bank so wanted something to help my finances in that area too. I did not really know what to look for but fate took a hand and I got invited to an evening All About Aloe. Having had problems with my digestion most of my life and knowing aloe was meant to be good for this I decided to go along We got to try a wide selection of the various products which fascinated me and I was making a list of what products would be good for various members of my family. I also got to try the drinking gel and decided that it was okay to drink, and since it came with a money back guarantee I thought what have I got to loose by seeing if it would help me So I placed my order My ears pricked up when I heard there was a business behind this and for anyone who would like to know more to say to the hostess, so I did and we arranged a get together so I could find out more. By the time of the meeting I had fallen in love with the products. The drinking gel already had started to change my life and I saw a way to help others, both with the products and a flexible way to earn an extra income At that time I already had lots of things planned for the summer months and into September so I decided to start my business in earnest in the October and give my business as much time as I could in the November as we were due to be going to our villa for Christmas. Come the November I had my first team member, someone who had been a client for a few months after a meeting at the very first event I did
Within Forever Living you get a chance to gain promotions, which means you get to earn more money. And though I was just concentrating to do as much as I could with my business by the end of the month I found myself very close to getting my first promotion. I had two weeks to get the the volume of business I needed, so I set about doing just that. And then it snowed. Not just a little bit but enough to stop everyone, and I lived in a small village. So I had to change my plans. I concentrated on the fabulous 9 day nutritional cleansing program we have and spoke to enough people about it to get very close to what I needed, but by then it was time for us to go to Florida. However, the promotions are a joint team effort and my new team
member had some orders of her own coming in too, I was so so close by the end of the month. Knowing in January the very popular Clean 9 flies off the shelves I put in an order for some of these to secure my promotion, not that I should have worried because my new team member true to her word got some extra orders and therefore I got my first promotion Fast forward a few years and various members of my team got their promotions too and it was a fabulous day when in 2014 I had three members of my team get their promotions to supervisor, and another became assistant manager and I became manager. It was a magical day when we were recognised at our Success Day
Things were going really well and I was looking to take my business to the next level, helping more of my team get promotions when life throw a spanner in the works. I discovered a lump in one of my breasts, so went through the Drs and then onto the hospital to have tests, only to be told that it was breast cancer.
I was told I was to have chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy alongside a targeted chemotherapy called Herceptin So in May 2015 I started my treatment which wiped me out, I had two weeks of feeling lousy and one week when I felt so so. My clients were great and either called around to collect their orders or my husband was able to drop off to them. We also have a great support network within the team and have a variety of trainings both online and in different of locations so my team were well looked after and I was able to use messenger on FB to answer any questions they had
My main treatment finished in December 2015 but I am continuing with the Herceptin injections and hormone suppressants as a safe guard. My oncologist and surgeon are very pleased with my progress and I have been given the all clear
I now look forward to helping lots of of new people both with the products and with developing an extra income for those who would like to. I love change people’s lives for the better