Sometimes I just find myself feeling overwhelmed, distracted and a little confused. Do you ever feel this way? Running a small business requires that I fill several key roles. Unlike a ‘normal job’ that has a job description that says what you do, being a small business owner requires me to be the vision caster, the manager and the deliverer of the services and products. It also presents opportunities that, if followed, would be a distraction to my business.

As I stepped back to evaluate and pray about what was going on, I realized that I was not living by the two principles that were foundational to my business. These two principles are in the tag line on my website, business cards and in each Email I send. These two principles are also on the masthead of this electronic newsletter. What are these principles? Authentic and intentional living.

Authentic:

By authentic I mean, “To live and walk through life based on an accurate knowledge of one’s strengths, talents, gifs and personality. To know and align oneself with core values and temperament.” It means to discover how you are designed and in what the optimal environment in which you work.

For example, I’ve been taking a leadership coaching class where we’ve been discussing the need for good Emotional Intelligence to be an effective leader. Two key parts of Emotional Intelligence is learning how to manage one’s own impulses and the ability to relate in a wholesome way with others. Although this term is focused on business relationships, all of us would benefit from really understanding ourselves well so we can manage ourselves effectively and develop better relational skills.

Intentional:

By intentional I mean, “To make deliberate decisions based on what is authentic for you. To create goals that align with your values and priorities. To order your calendar so that your schedule reflects your values and priorities. It means to choose ‘systems’ that allow peak performance for your life.

What about you?

Take a step back and look at your own life. Each of us need:
– clear understanding of ourselves and where we are headed,
– a system that allows us to get there and
– then we have to actually do the things that move us forward.

Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately this isn’t that easy to actually do. Why, because we are all driven by distractions. From the urgent things that need our attention to the interruptions from other’s to the demands of 21st century living.

So what did I do? Once I realized that that I was not living with intention I set about to change this. I recognized that I have to be true to who I am and the way I work and am wired. So I talked with another coach and developed a plan. I’ll share more about this plan in the next article but if this has resonated with you, please call or email me and let’s spend 20-30 minutes discussing how you can begin to develop an authentic, intentional plan for your life. There is no cost or obligation.