by Ann Evanston | Nov 24, 2017 | Vision Values Purpose
Remember when you were little and you were given the opportunity to make a wish? I bet, like I was, you were told to not tell anyone your wish or wouldn’t come true.
When I was a little girl I started collecting wooden nutcrackers. I’d seen the Nutcracker ballet commercials on TV, and was fascinated. I always wanted to see it. I made a wish, and a promise to myself that I would only see a live ballet. Well, at least the first time!
Fast forward many decades, and I still have not seen the Nutcracker ballet live. And guess what? I haven’t told anyone that I ever wanted to see it.
“Don’t tell anyone if you want your wish to come true.”
Earlier this year we were having dinner with friends and our birthdays came up, because my husband and I celebrate the half-century this year. Mine is just a few weeks after his. Some friends asked: “what do you want to do for your birthday?“
I said I wanted to play dress up, and go into the city and see the Nutcracker ballet. My friends bought tickets -no questions to ask! And in just a few weeks, we are going to dress up and spend the night in the city. We will have cocktails at the Top of the Mark (where we got a suite) prior to the ballet. After we will have a late dinner at The Big Four.
[Tweet “Communicate your wishes with others to make them come true”]
Wishes do come true when you ask for them. Wishes do become real when you share them with others. Stop keeping them a secret!
by Ann Evanston | Nov 16, 2017 | Energy
Through a series of e-books I am creating called “Unscripted,“ I’m asking people to share pivotal moments and stories in their lives. One of the books is written for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs and I thought this example from Shark Tank was a great one.
A gentleman who called him self an inventor, not an entrepreneur, came on with the first product he invented as a teenager. When he was asked by the Sharks more about his background he shared:
“One day my girlfriend asked me to move an elliptical out to the garage, I couldn’t get the elliptical through the door without either taking it apart, or taking the door off. The easier solution was taking the door off. So I did and put the elliptical in the garage for her.”
“When I told her I finished getting it in the garage, she said: ‘great, now put the door back on its hinges.’ I teased her about not giving me credit for getting it out there and her comment was: ‘you never finish anything you ever start so go put the door on it hinges.’
He explained further that was the pivotal moment for him. She was right. He went and dug out his dollar store notebook that he has had for 15 years, since he was a teenager. It is filled with all of his inventions and he went to the very first one and patented it and started selling it. And she is now his fiancé.
Are you one to start something and rarely finish it? Do you put conscious energy into completing what you started? This amazing man wasn’t and having something as simple as putting the door back on changed his life forever.
What a great story. So simple and powerful with amazing lessons. That’s what the ebook series Uscripted is all about. I hope you’ll join me in reading amazing stories from people just like you and the lessons that they have learned!
by Ann Evanston | Nov 15, 2017 | Personal Power
I have a girlfriend who is turning the big 4-0 today. Over the weekend we got together for a little celebration. At one point she had huge tears in her eyes. I asked about what’s going on, she’s frustrated. Surprise surprise that at 40 she’s questioning who she is.
It’s an interesting journey to really step into who you are and fully own it. I find it fascinating to watch women step right up to the doorway and then feel tremendous fear and back away.
It also breaks my heart.
It breaks my heart that women fear truly becoming themselves. That deciding to be authentic scares them, because she knows it means that others would disagree. She know many relationships would change. Some feel it is too scary …that it’s easier to please anyone but themselves.
My heart is overwhelmed with joy each time I see a woman step through that door.
She accepts who she is. She actually loves who she is. She’s OK with everyone not liking her. She satisfied with choices that she makes. And she knows she deserves the best for her, and by doing so, those around her tremendously benefit.
Every woman hits this at a different time and space in their life. It’s part of why I love my Woman’s Self-Love Evolution Retreat. It’s a space where women who have gone through the door, women who are standing at the door, and women who are unsure about the door all come together and grow.
This weekend while with my girlfriend, we chatted about what that door means for her at this significant birthday. I gave her an opportunity to try something, a technique I have used with clients for years. I cannot wait to hear if she was willing to try and it helped her step through the door.
Join us at one of my life and career changing retreats!
[Tweet “An influential woman knows she deserves the best and then others around her benefit best!”]
by Ann Evanston | Nov 14, 2017 | Mindsets
In my program for entrepreneurs and speakers, where I teach the five steps to selling from the stage with ease, I speak to the importance of the mindset of expert in the second step.
Too often we as women can give everybody else credit for being an expert. We have a hard time drawing from within and knowing that we really have had a unique experience that allows us to “own” expertise.
The expert mindset doesn’t mean you’re done learning. The expert mindset is just about being able to tap from within and know that you are truly ready to teach others through your experience.
With an expert mindset you can look at your abilities and experiences and realize that there is a way to organize that knowledge for others. Yes, in the beginning that can feel difficult. Trust me though if you evaluate what you’ve been doing over time, you will see and own what you do.
by Ann Evanston | Nov 12, 2017 | Influence Factor, Relationship
This week while facilitating, a participant said: “ this course is just reminding me to be a better human.”
I loved that answer. Because deep down, I hope my work makes people better. I hope that people see that they have the potential to smile, make eye contact and just brightness someone else’s life.
I actually shared an example of that in this class as well. I said there are times when I go in the organizations to present and walk in the hallways and no one looks up, makes eye contact, and smiles. I related that example to being influential. What if a month from now you need buy in on an idea, and I’m the person that walks in to that meeting?
At the end of the program a woman was sure that that was one of her biggest takeaways. She said: “I need to look up make eye contact and smile more.“
I push participants to think about how they’re building a nurturing relationships. I asked them to think about how they can spend a percentage of their day doing just that. After one 15 minute break, another came back and said: “I just spent my break nurturing relationships. I talked to three people and I know I made a difference.“
These are things I’m talking about. Relationships matter.
