by Ann Evanston | Oct 30, 2013 | Women Inspire
Thursday night is date night for my relationship. I know; I have written about it before, I just truly believe that becoming a mental warrior is about taking care of ALL of you. I have been with my husband for a long time, okay,I know many of you’ve been with yours longer, but 17 years isn’t that bad! We have been through time together much of it very good and honestly some of it very bad. There have been trials and struggles and tribulations that we have had to work through to have a successful relationship.
We didn’t always have date night. It started about six months ago.
See, five years ago, I felt that we truly got into a “groove” with each other if you will. We were comfortable; we trusted each other, we were committed. The problem was I got too comfortable. And one day I discovered that he was not interested in this relationship as it is anymore.
Talk about scared. Sad. Overwhelmed. Freaked out. But I had to wake up and recognize the importance of nurturing my relationship.
He was willing to work on it with me too, gratefully. And that is when date night started. I’ll be honest I learned a powerful lesson: never take your relationship for granted. Never get too comfortable.
On date night we talk, we have dinner together, we ask each other a powerful open ended question and answer it, we take a dance class; we enjoy each other thoroughly. It is the most powerful and important thing in my life. People see us and think we are newly in love. THAT is the kind of relationship I always dreamed about. Not comfortable. The kind others wished they had.
And interestingly my business has been far more successful because I now step away and take care of my relationship. If you are honest with yourself do you nurture your relationship the way, it deserves? Have you neglected it because you so desire to have a successful business that it consumes your energy? Or maybe like me, you are just comfortable?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Oct 24, 2013 | Influence Factor
Your Influential voice and copying…that has been our topic. Last week I shared WHY I know it doesn’t work. This week let me expand further and share another powerful point as well as THREE steps to be your influential voice.
See, there’s the bigger deal that I see happening especially because of the Internet: you are running around copying YOUR competitors stuff. You are copying: strategies, design, names, words on the sales pages, and types of products or services…you are just copying it. You figure if it’s working for them…won’t it work for me?
And then to make it even worse? You’re spending all this time on social media sites looking at what everyone else is doing to “get their business out there” and guess what? Most of those people that you’re copying from are flat broke! Why do you think they spend so much time on Facebook! And copying marketing from people who are broke is really not a smart business strategy.
So what do you do if you want a more authentic influential voice and Bad-Assery business?
1-Step into your most authentic self. Believe in you. Own your self-worth as I said in this Showcasing Women article. Stop telling yourself lies. Realize how extraordinary your life really is. TELL your story. Know that you call your TRIBE when you do. THIS is your influential voice-not someone else’s.
2-Step away from watching what everyone else does and decide what makes you uniquely you. Build it into your brand message and energetic connection. (Yes, I even do this with my beauty business clients, not just consultants and coaches, everyone needs it) Now I know some of you think your lives are very ordinary but trust me you all have a unique point of view, I wrote about that in my Empower Your Truth post.) It’s been given to you; you are on this earth to stand out uniquely among others.
3-Spend time journaling daily. “Oh, Ann!!! And now you’re going to make me write?” Yes, I am. Here’s what I know of the hundreds of small business owners that I have worked with over the years: every single one writes. And those that stick to it find their story. Those that stick to it see their uniqueness. Those that stick to it are more creative. Your writing will help you find you and your unique approach. Breakthroughs happen when you write, which is why I do a 30 day writing challenge if you are up for it!
Please understand, I’m not saying that some techniques and strategies aren’t important to copy, absolutely there are sales and marketing strategies that work. Follow the ones highly successful business owners are doing! And I’m going to say something that is often hard to hear: that boils down to $$! You are NOT in business to be broke! There are business practices in terms of managing your money that are smart, follow them of course, using your influential voice!
Creating your message that calls your tribe is how you stand out Build your Influential Voice, and have a Bad-Assery business! Where might you be a copy and need to stand out in your originality?
After you’re done reading this article, I want you to do TWO things:
#1. I want you to tell me a story about a time when you copied someone else and it just didn’t work for you long term. Tell me what you changed, and how it helped you. Leave a comment. Share anything you can that you think will benefit the Warrior-Preneur community.
#2. Do you have a friend who you think is stuck in “copy mode?” Someone like a life coach, a social media marketing expert, or anyone that offers products and services? Send them a link to this article.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Oct 23, 2013 | Women Inspire
I absolutely love to read. Do you love to read? If I could get paid just to read, I would do it LOL! I thoroughly enjoy reading for work, but I mostly enjoyed reading for pleasure. And I’m a book addict, I love a bookstore and have a hard time walking out without a new book. I’m an Amazon prime member, and they give me all kinds of cool deals on books that I love to read. Just this week I bought shoes for my husband on Amazon and still managed to purchase four books!
There’s never enough time to read through it seems. My goal has always been 25 pages Monday through Thursday and 50 pages Friday through Sunday. But when my garden is exploding with few fruits and vegetables, and my business is booming with clients and private coaching (I THRIVE on what I do for my clients!), reading takes a back burner.
I remember when we were little; the library was a big deal. My mom couldn’t afford to buy us books, so we checked them out. My sister and I would walk to the library and one day we told each other that we were going to read every book in there. Wow! Talk about a lofty goal! Because guess what? New books every day keep getting added even to the library.
I found that my favorite types of books were series books, where strong females were the leads. Now I have a super duper guilty pleasure. I happen to thoroughly enjoy what is called paranormal Romance. Back in the old days they probably just called this fantasy, but honestly it has a sexy spin to it that wasn’t in most fantasy novels I read as a teen. As a matter fact, I don’t understand all the hype about 50 Shades of Gray because most of the paranormal romance novels I read have some hot sex in them!
And there’s nothing wrong with a little hot sex right?
So now you know my guilty pleasure, I love to read and in particular books with werewolves, vampires, fairies and gremlins in them. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Oct 17, 2013 | Influence Factor
Building an Influential Voice in marketing can be challenging. Especially if you want to have a Bad-Assery business! In my book, the Influence Factor I believe copying is a critical mistake for your influential voice. Remember what Bad-Assery means:
See Bad-Assery, and having an influential voice in your marketing requires that you DO YOU. Copying is an epic fail on many levels!
So let’s talk about COPYING. Such a stinky word eh? Remember as a child being told how bad it was? And the Internet today has made it so easy…. We often don’t realize we are doing it. Interestingly we are TAUGHT to copy…and we only loose ourselves in the process. YES, we are taught:
- Play by the rules.
- Color inside the lines.
- Talk this way, look this way, act this way.
- Do what the people you want to be like do…
See my point?
Let me share with you a crazy story related to copying that impacted me for years. I was told that if I wanted to be seen as a professional in the speaking industry I needed to dress a certain way, and wear my hair a certain way….and… I fell for the okey-doke! I thought that in order to be successful as a speaker and coach that I better dress and act and talk and wear and BE like them.
Now if any of you have gotten to know me personally, you know that I have wild natural curly hair, that I like to wear brightly colored nail polish (royal blue and green), that a pair of kick butt heels with jeans rock, and if I can add some sparkle somewhere in my jacket or tank top I’m all over it! But for years I dressed the way I thought I should because that’s how others in my industry did. I copied them.
It wasn’t until years later at a conference while video recording myself and then meeting with now one of my best friends that I realized the trouble with this. I wasn’t authentic to me; to my influential voice. I immediately made these changes and embraced me-wowza, business flowed. I did lose a client who said I was inappropriate. Well, I found two more even better ones in their place! See, when you stop copying and do you, you create space for the RIGHT unlimited space and potential to show up.
But some of you are scared of that huh? Some of you are scared that if you stop copying everyone else, no-one will BUY YOU.
And some of you are thinking and that’s just silly. That changing what you wear will help to make more money. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Your customers can see through your in-authenticity.
Some of you reading this are saying: “But Ann I just sell soap what has this got to do with anything?” See, people by experiences– they buy with their heart first, then their wallets. So no matter what you sell YOU create the experience. And when the experience is inauthentic to you, it isn’t YOUR influential voice- it is someone else’s.
Oh feeling frustrated? Come back next week and learn how to be your most influential voice in your marketing with three steps!
After you’re done reading this article, I want you to do TWO things:
#1. I want you to tell me a story about a time when you copied someone else and it just didn’t work for you long term. Tell me what you changed, and how it helped you. Leave a comment. Share anything you can that you think will benefit the Warrior-Preneur community.
#2. Do you have a friend who you think is stuck in “copy mode?” Someone like a life coach, a social media marketing expert, or anyone that offers products and services? Send them a link to this article.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Oct 16, 2013 | Mental Mind Shifts, Women Inspire
This morning I got up for my typical routine.
No not my ritual if you’ve read my blog about the difference! This is the mindless morning that I do pretty much every day! Part of my routine is the COFFEE. I don’t know how you feel about your morning cup of coffee, but it is a very important part of my day.
This morning, like any other morning I ground my beans, put the cold water in the pot, and set it up to brew. No, I don’t own a Keurig
because I love the ritual of fresh ground beans and cold water in a pot. And my coffee pot is old (I got it in college…that was 20+ years ago)! I don’t like those new fan dangled one cup brewers that do it right into your cup because I like super strong coffee with nice warm cream in it. So part of my routine is while the coffee is going I actually heat up some cream to go in the cup.
While doing this I heard a weird sputtering from the counter where the coffee pot is. I knew instantly what it was. I had not set the pot back far enough on the burner to push the lever that allows the water to drain, or stop when you want to pull it out early pour yourself a cup why it’s brewing.
Dang it! Grounds and water are everywhere. What a great start to the morning huh!
Reality is though I have two choices when these kind of things happen. Let it ruin my day, or laugh clean everything up, and still love my cup of coffee…just 15 minutes later.
Routine…Choices, they are just so powerful huh?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Thursday night is date night for my relationship. I know; I have written about it before, I just truly believe that becoming a mental warrior is about taking care of ALL of you. I have been with my husband for a long time, okay,I know many of you’ve been with yours longer, but 17 years isn’t that bad! We have been through time together much of it very good and honestly some of it very bad. There have been trials and struggles and tribulations that we have had to work through to have a successful relationship.
