Frustrated to Fabulous — Journey of a lifestyle entrepreneur

Creating adventure and an inspiring story

by Jennie

I have spent the last couple of weeks cut off from the world, camping out in the West Australian bush, a couple hours from any running water or facilities.

Just the beach, my family and an overwhelming sense of freedom. My seven-year old son was responsible for catching dinner, a challenge he rose to admirably and my daughter had uninterrupted ‘me’ time.

It was our own little mini adventure and it got me thinking about adventure and how important it is to have in life. Adventures are exciting, exhilarating, challenging, and above all take you out of your comfort zone.

The thing is though, people grumble about not having enough adventure in their life, yet do absolutely nothing to proactively create them. Here’s the key…adventures only happen if you make the decision to have one!

A friend of mine is out there right now having the adventure of her life that blows any thoughts about what is possible in life out of the water.

Natalie Sisson, otherwise known as the Suitcase Entrepreneur lives and breathes by her values of creating freedom in business and adventure in life, and if you are serious about creating a business around your lifestyle then she is one of the most inspirational women out there to follow.

Right now, she is cycling 4,000 miles (6,445km) from Nairobi, Kenya to Capetown, South Africa. She is driven by the challenge, the adventure and her desire to contribute to have an impact on other less fortunate women’s lives by setting herself the challenge to rasise $10,000 for WomenWin.org, an organization on a mission to empower young girls to have the rights they deserve in life through sport.

Quite simply, amazing.

The reality is, Natalie has tirelessly created her life to enable her to do things like this, to maintain her business and income yet at the same time push the boundaries and live life to the max. This hasn’t fallen in her lap, it was a conscious decision that started about six years ago. It has taken months of both physical preparation and business preparation.

So if you want more freedom and adventure in life then you have to actively design it. Get out of the box and live creatively.

Here are Natalie’s top tips, in her own words for laying the foundations to enable you to do this are:

1. Define what freedom looks like to you

If you’re like most people, you see and hear how the `other half live’ like heading off on their super yacht to Monaco for a weekend to watch the Grand Prix. You think to yourself, man that sounds alright, I’d love to have enough money and time off to do something remotely similar.

Guess what? You already do, you can experience the same amount of freedom and happiness, within reason of course, if you define what that looks like to you. What you’re really seeking is the ability to create life on your own terms, and that is totally up to you.

As a Suitcase Entrepreneur who literally lives out of my suitcase, my idea of freedom is to pack up and go wherever I want, whenever I want. No mortgage, no material possessions (aka junk I’ve accumulated), no dependents, just adventures to be had. I can do this for relatively little at the drop of my hat. That’s because I defined early on that my values are freedom in business and adventure in life. So every day I aim to live up to my values.
Action: What is it that makes you feel free as a bird? Write it down. Often it’s the simple things in life which that make you happiest.

2. Get really clear on what your ideal day looks like

So you’ve discovered your own unique meaning that freedom stands for and you’ve worked out it’s easier to obtain than you thought right?
The next part is actually really fun. It’s been coined as the `Painted Picture’ exercise. Simply put, you get to write down, in the present tense, what your perfect day looks like.

For example: I wake up energized in the morning, jump out of bed, throw open the French doors and walk down to the beach from my beautiful 2 story Victorian themed house. I catch the sunrise and then take a swim in the refreshing ocean before heading back to a fresh breakfast laid out. After a lively discussion on environmental matters, I take half an hour to journal about what I’m grateful for, and what I will achieve today…….

You get the picture. It’s an exercise in clearly defining what your ideal lifestyle looks like every day, if you could have it that way. The thing is, you’ll soon see that you can incorporate parts of your perfect day right away. For example, what’s stopping you from making time to make a healthy breakfast and eat with your loved one or family two to three times a week?
Could you schedule in an hour each morning to go for a swim at your local pool or on the weekend to head to the beach? I bet you could.
(P.S. You can apply this to your perfect working day too.)

Action: Take less than 1 hour to write out your perfect day. Have fun with it. What does it sound, look and feel like to you? The more vivid the better. Surprise yourself. Then read it weekly and start to make it a reality!

3. Lay the foundations for how you make a living to lead this lifestyle

Obviously in order for you to live the life you truly want you have to have disposable income to make it possible. Depending on what you’ve envisaged for yourself, you may need to make a lot more than you do right now. In order to do this you have to look at your current revenue generating activities and stop doing things that have no financial benefit to you.
I’m not saying you can’t carry on blogging, volunteering or cycling. I’m talking about when it comes to you making money, quit spending 5 hours on Facebook unless you’re earning new clients or work from that activity. Stop spending hours on your email if none of it is related to increasing your bottom line.

Most importantly please stop playing small. You’re meant for greater things in life and doing everything yourself will never allow you to scale up and achieve far more than you thought possible. There are plenty of ways to get contractors or a team on board for relatively little in comparison to your hourly rate (use oDesk or Freelancer to find your virtual work force that fits your own budget starting from $2 per hour). Hint: freeing up your time to do more of what you excel at will bring you more money and more freedom!

Action: Take 30 minutes to really look at what you’re doing on a daily basis and whether that is making you happy, making you money and making a difference. If not, seriously think about what you can outsource to free up more time to work on the things that count towards building you more freedom and profit.

4. Put the systems in place in order for this to become a reality

This very much speaks to the foundations you’ve laid above. Once you have built the business model that works for you and your ideal lifestyle you need to set up the systems that will make it run seamlessly, for less money and less hours involved. One of the key ways to do this is to automate where necessary. I’m talking about your blogging process, autoresponders on email, documenting each important task and recording a video to show someone else how to do it –then hiring someone to do just that.
Online tools like social media dashboard Hootsuite can be used to send out important scheduled updates regularly to all your social media sites like links to your newsletter, YouTube channel, great quotes, etc. without you having to do this yourself everyday. Chrometa will help you track your time and where you’re spending it online so you can look to keep improving on your productivity. Asana will help you manage your projects and tasks so you can stay focused on what really matters, and so will your team you’re outsourcing work to, right?

It’s taken me a fair amount of time to realize you are the only person responsible for creating your ideal lifestyle. It’s about mindset and momentum.

Action: Start asking the Universe for more of what you’d really like in life and then be prepared to receive it! Just don’t let opportunities pass you by because you think they’re not possible.

You can find out more about Natalie’s epic adventure at http://suitcaseentrepreneur.com/the-ride-of-my-life/ and I know she would be absolutely ecstatic if you were able to support her, however big or small, in reaching her $10,000 target. Alternatively spreading the word would help enormously (she makes it very easy for you, just follow the link).

Above all, go out and plan your next adventure!

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Are you truly experiencing life or are you letting it happen to you?

by Jennie

To take a risk to experience the life you really want or not, that is the question.

We are faced with this conundrum on so many different levels every single day, yet I wonder how often you are aware of this. As I write this I am sitting on a beautiful island called Rottnest, off the coast of Perth in Australia and the enormity of the choices you make with regards to how you live your life really hit home to me.

Seven years ago we made a choice to come here from the UK and visit my husband’s brother and wife for a couple of months. As wonderful as it sounds, it was a decision I fought against because I didn’t believe we could afford it or spare the time, the basis on which I made most my decisions. Thankfully my persistent husband won and here we are now, on our seventh trip in seven years.

I don’t say any of this to brag and I realise that we are exceptionally fortunate to be able to do this. But my point is, had we not stepped out and taken that risk first time round then life would be very different for us.

We are on this earth to grow and create our dreams and stretch towards them. Not to merely exist and ‘get through’. Unfortunately as life takes it twists and turns we often forget this and get firmly trapped in our comfort zones, opting for safety every time because ‘what if’ something disastrous happened if we actually did go for what we truly wanted. Sadly what results is a life that is settled for, whether that comes in the form of a uninspiring job, an average relationship or a pattern of behavior that fails to serve you in any way.

So my question to you is what risks are you taking? Understand that risks can be calculated, they don’t have to be reckless. But to not take any at all, day in and day out, will give you the same day, day in day out. Doing something out of the ordinary that has the possibility of taking you towards your dreams is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

You may feel like you are ‘stuck’ or you don’t know what you could do to make a change but I would like to challenge you on that. The likelihood is that you know what you should do but the fear gets in the way of even verbalizing it. So, instead of verbalizing it may I suggest that you see this exercise as merely a game.

Grab a blank piece of paper and set the timer for 7 minutes. Then start to write down everything you could do, if you took away all those obstacles, that would take you a step towards the lifestyle you desire. It could be to set a date to hand in your notice, it could be booking a holiday, it could simply giving yourself ten minutes a day to focus on your vision.

The more you can get into the habit of thinking about what would take you closer to your dreams, even if they are at the fantasy level at this stage, the more you will find yourself adopting this mindset. Before you know it you may well start taking those first steps as you become more and more aware of where you are now and where you want to get to.

Please do let me know of any ‘next steps’ you may have come up with, sharing them is a risk in itself and can only serve you!

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Keeping it simple is the key to freedom

by Jennie

Love to hear your thoughts on this, please do leave your thoughts below x

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Give yourself permission to stop doing things!

by Jennie

Last week I went to spend some time with the fabulous Lucy Whittington down in Sandbanks on the south coast of the UK.

The purpose of my visit was to get a missing piece of clarity that I needed as I move forward with my business.

As I drove down to Lucy I was surrounded by thick fog and an eerie kind of light. I was a little disappointed to be right by the sea and not able to see it. However, as the day progressed and Lucy worked her magic, I am convinced that the universe had a plan for me that day. As the clarity came, the fog literally lifted leaving us having to get the sunglasses out and have lunch outside.

Lucy helps business owners get total clarity on their ‘thing’, the unique gift that you bring to this world. Interestingly, I would say at least 80% of the people I meet who are in business haven’t quite nailed what that is for them.

One of the most powerful gifts she gave me that day was permission to not do all those things both in life and business that I either absolutely hated or were simply a ‘maybe’ i.e. was ok for me to do them but I certainly wouldn’t cry if someone took them away from me. They are either to be outsourced or simply not done.

What I was left with was a list of things that, yes, I would literally cry if you took them away from me. To be able to move forward and build a plan JUST around these things is one of the most liberating things you could do.

We are bombarded everyday about what we should be doing in business and the end result is to feel completely overwhelmed, and generally spread yourself too thin in too many directions, doing things just because you think you should.

So my suggestion is to identify what you are currently doing because you think you should, regardless whether you are actually passionate about it or not. Then give yourself permission to not do them if they aren’t ‘doing it’ for you, why waste that precious energy.

If anyone is currently trying to ‘nail their thing’ then of course I highly recommend Lucy, and she can be found at: www.beingabusinesscelebrity.com

I would love to hear your thoughts on this so please do leave a comment below.

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A simple way to discover your purpose

by Jennie

Are you one of those people that can put their hand on their heart and say that they are living ‘on purpose’ each and every day? Do you know what your purpose is?

There are so many people out there desperately trying to work out what their life purpose is and if they haven’t quite nailed it yet, then they get stressed about it, feeling that they will never be able to live a life they love, until they discover it.

Personally, I find that a little sad. I think the pressure at times to discover your life purpose can be immensely overwhelming and the process can take a long time for some.

If you are struggling with this yourself I would like to suggest a different way of looking at purpose. You can have a life purpose, a business purpose and quite frankly you can have a ‘right now’ purpose.

If you are struggling to define the first two, then focus on the latter. At any point in your life a particular aspect of your life is going to be more important to you, or you perceive it to be ‘missing’. As you go through the cycle of life, your purpose is going to change. So, for example, before having a baby your social life may rank high on your list of values and therefore your purpose at this point in life is to socialize, network and build relationships. Once you have a baby then more often than not, your social life is going to slip down your hierarchy of values and your family time is probably going to be right up there. At this point your purpose is to nurture your child.

I believe you can’t fail to be living on purpose if you are constantly aware of what is most important to you at any moment in time and you are focusing on that. Not what you think you should be doing. If you live from your heart you will find yourself much more in flow and the people, opportunities and circumstances will turn up in your life to support your desires.

You can apply this to business and personal life. It maybe that your business feels like a struggle right now, if it is then ask yourself if what you are focusing on is what you actually love to do or what you think you should be doing. If it is an essential part of your business that needs doing, then make it your purpose to outsource or delegate so you can focus on what is important to you.

Right now I am off to tend to a sick child – that is my purpose right now in life!!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so please do comment below.

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Sam Crowley’s thoughts on procrastination

by Jennie

One of the things I love about this work is that I get to build relationships with interesting people. This weekend I had the pleasure of showing Sam Crowley from Everyday Is Saturday around London. He was over speaking in the UK and so of course it would have been rude not to introduce him to the English Pub.

I asked Sam about his thoughts on procrastination and whoa! He doesn’t hold back. Apologies for the lack of light, but for those of you who haven’t been in an English traditional pub, light is not high on the list of priorities.

Enjoy!

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How to record and edit audio using audacity

by Jennie

One of the keys to creating more time in your life is to cut out the time you spend performing the same activity again and again. If you are in the business of sharing information, you probably find yourself saying the same thing over and over.

So why not record it so you can send out the information again and again? This can be done for so many different purposes, for example information products, podcasts and faq’s to name a few.

You probably know that. But if you are anything like me you get overwhelmed by the technical side of things and you end up putting it off.

So, I put a quick video together to show you how to do it, you will literally be able to get up and running in a few easy steps.

The video doesn’t go into all the bells and whistles, the intention is to get you to a point where you have a recording in MP3 format sitting on your desktop ready to send out.

If you do follow the steps and have any problems, then please do not hesitate to contact me and I will help further.

One last thing….if you find it helpful and think others would please do feel free to share!

ps: Just had it pointed out that I say ‘it’s not that easy’ at the end – OOPS! Really it is

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Feel the powder and do it anyway!

by Jennie

Happy New Year to you! I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a blinder!

It started pretty well for me, arriving (admittedly after a 5 hour traffic jam) in the French Alps for a week of skiing with the kids. I love starting a New Year by fulfilling one of my highest values which is to give the kids as many experiences as possible that will take them out of their comfort zone and then seeing the glee on their faces when they achieve new things. Start the year as you mean to go on I say.

Hmm, maybe I was a little naive though, as rather than them feeling the fear and doing it anyway, they appear to have very little fear on the slopes as I watch my seven year old fly down past me, heading off piste whenever possible and he has only racked up 13 days of skiing in his short life so far.

It was me that was feeling the fear this time. I don’t know what it is about getting older or becoming a parent but my senses have been heightened and my imagination runs wild as I stare down the perfect powder slope and find myself frozen to the spot. What on earth is wrong with me??? I used to dream of this scenario just for the opportunity to give it a shot.

Fear is simply down to the way that you perceive things aided by the power of your imagination. In this particular scenario my imagination was running wild with face plants, broken limbs and lost skis coming into my consciousness. My mind took over my body as I stood frozen to the spot, as the alternative of climbing back up to the piste wasn’t too inviting either.

I know enough to know that if you can consciously change your perception and use your imagination in a beneficial way, i.e. see myself first cutting some tracks in the virgin snow and imagine how it would feel to do it, then you can step over that terror barrier. I gave myself a good talking to.

This was aided by a pact I made with a friend of mine for 2012 that we would do one thing everyday that we considered to be ‘daring and mighty’. So I found myself chanting to myself ‘daring and mighty, daring and mighty’ over and over before I took the plunge. Was it elegant? No. Did I fall? Yes. Did any of the things that I had imagined in my worse case scenario happen? No! Am I glad I did it? YES!!

Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is damn uncomfortable. But the question that I ask myself is if I had chosen not to do it then would I have felt even more uncomfortable? I know for me that the answer was a resounding yes.

Bring on the powder. (And perhaps a few lessons so I had a slight clue what to do in it!). Take on the daring and mighty challenge – push yourself out at least once a day to do something that stretches you. It’s pretty exhilarating stuff!

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Who are you planning on spending 2012 with?

by Jennie

The festive season is traditionally a time for spending time with the people that you are close to, whether that is friends or family, and celebrating everything that goes with Christmas.

I, for one, am looking forward to it as I am blessed with loving family and friends. I realize that is not the case for everyone and for those people Christmas can become stressful and a chore rather than a celebration.

If that is the case for you then it gives you the perfect opportunity to be grateful for the rest of the year as you generally have a choice as to the people you surround yourself with. Did you know you are an average of the people you hang out with?

It makes perfect sense as you surround yourself with people that you are in harmony with. You will generally find that you have similar incomes and a similar lifestyle.

But what if you are trying to make some changes? What if you are looking to increase your income or change your lifestyle?

The answer is simple. You have to find the people that are already achieving what you want to achieve and start hanging out in their space. If you are not satisfied with your life then one of the most powerful things you can do is actively change your environment.

The minute you do this you will start to see remarkable changes. It sounds like an obvious thing to do, but unfortunately we get so stuck in our comfort zone that even making small changes take a great deal of effort.

If you are serious about make a shift then you need to start talking in a different way about your aspirations, feelings, and beliefs and becoming the person you want to be, even if your physical world isn’t yet reflecting this.

Let’s face it; the people you hang around with currently are probably going to find this a little strange to say the least. They may even start to think you have joined some weird cult or other!

You have to put yourself in the social circles where your new way of thinking is perfectly normal. I am not suggesting that you disassociate yourself completely from current friendships. But be active in making new ones, get out there and make it your mission in 2012 to find your ‘yes’ people; the people that are going to believe in you 100%, understand your mission and support you all the way.

With technology as it is today creating new relationships has become so much easier. Gone are the days where you have to go to relentless networking events (although these are still a good idea).

To get you started here are a few ways that you can start initiating these relationships:

Join a Mastermind Group

A mastermind group is a group of likeminded individuals committed to supporting each other realizing their goals. These can be virtual or in person. I have been a member of a few, and the one’s that have worked particularly well are those that I have paid to be a part of as the commitment from all members are so much higher.

Find likeminded people on social networks

Facebook (in particular facebook groups), twitter and linked-in are the perfect opportunities to get to know people. It is perfectly acceptable to approach people online through these networks that you would normally only dream of having the opportunity to build rapport with. Most of my dynamic relationships have come through these channels. Remember to add value to people first!

Set up your own local networking group

Other people will be attracted to you as much as you to them if you are operating in the same thought frequency. Be very clear about the types of people you want in your group and start spreading the word. Others will be just as grateful for the opportunity to connect!

Invest in a paid mentor or coach

A good paid mentor or coach is invaluable if you are looking for support and understanding whilst gently pushing you forward beyond your current comfort zone. Don’t underestimate the power in this by dismissing it because it costs money. The question you should be asking is can you afford not to?

So make a decision to move into 2012 surrounded by inspirational supporters, all on your team. I think you will find yourself moving much more confidently in the direction of your dreams.

I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below and any other suggestions or tips that have worked for you in building your valuable relationships!

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