January 13, 2010 @ 3:09 am | by spxds

The Top Ten Mistakes Solo-preneurs Make in Business
by Christine Kane

The entrepreneurial spirit runs wild in us creative types.

Whether graphic designer, author, or coach – the possibility of freedom and self-generated income is so appealing!

However, many get quickly burnt-out and disillusioned on this path. That’s because no one teaches us how to have a business AND be creative all at once. It’s quite a challenge!

So, from my very own Been-There-Done-That files, here are the Top 10 Mistakes Solo-preneurs Make in Business…

1 – Not scheduling Vision-Time.

If you don’t take time away from your business for visioning and thinking, it’s easy to become a reactor, not a creator.

A business is dynamic and organic. (So are you!) Shape and create your business by taking time out for planning and visioning your desires and new directions.

2 – Too much Vision Time!

Some people are forever analyzing and planning, afraid of doing the wrong thing or of failure. At some point, you must take action. Just know that failure is only failure if you give up!

3 – Waiting for rescue.

Book deals. Hit records. Getting on Oprah. A huge IPO.

Hey, great things can and DO happen all the time in life. However, waiting for something to “sweep you away” is a surefire path to frustration.

Having a business is an on-going relationship. It can be remarkable! But like any relationship, it requires attention and action. Hoping for rescue is a sign that you’re afraid of the potential of your own power!

4 – Living in the “Field of Dreams.”

Remember these amazing words?

“If you build it, they will come.”

Really? I can do that, and everything else will be taken care of?

Well, sort of. There IS truth in that famous line.

But too often, people think it means, “All I have to do is put up my sign – and the world will rush to my door.”

This can lead to disillusionment. That’s because “building it” is not a one-time thing!

Here’s another way to look at it:

“If you build it they will come. But if you build it and market it, they’ll pay you!”

5 – Making problems a problem.

Donald Trump advises something that contradicts every positive thinking tenet out there. He says to expect problems.

Yes, even if you’re a mindset junkie!

Glitches, hiccups, snafus. Hey, they happen. (Like my new web design hitting bumps in the road!) Too often, we let problems paralyze us, and steal our time and emotions. Successful people expect “problems,” and always put their focus on finding the solution!

6 – Taking numbers personally.

Much of business is a numbers game. Sometimes the numbers are low. Sometimes they’re high!

Numbers are just numbers. They are not the Universe’s way of telling you that you should give up and get a job at The Gap!

7 – Waiting to “feel like it.”

Creative types often don’t market themselves until they “feel like it.” Which – let’s face it – is never!

Marketing works best as a system. Robert Middleton says, “Marketing is not only about being known, it’s about not being forgotten.” In other words, learn how to market so you won’t have to dread it!

(If you don’t know how or what to market, then you definitely need to be on my teleseminar on January 20! Click here to sign up!)

8 – The Cycle of Reactivity And Panic.

Is this you?

Every now and then, you realize you have no clients. You react. You go on a marketing/cold-calling binge. You fill your schedule. And for months, you panic – you can barely breathe, let alone hire someone or continue marketing.

Sure enough, it shifts. The projects end. The clients are gone. Suddenly, your calendar is empty. The cycle begins again.

I call this the Cycle of Reactivity And Panic. (C.R.A.P.) It is one of the unhealthiest habits out there. Set an intention to create a new pattern.

9 – Status-before-Spotlight Thinking.

All too often, we wait to “deserve” the spotlight. We hope for enough status, letters after our names, or training before we’ll make the slightest move toward a bigger opportunity.

News Flash: No amount of outside status can create worthiness. Success happens when we take chances and play bigger, regardless of outside status.

10 – Not investing in yourself.

Every successful entrepreneur invests time and money in herself and her business. She attends workshops and teleseminars. She hires coaches.

Too many of us go it alone. This leads to limited thinking, isolation, and burn out.

When an opportunity arrives, don’t ask: “How much does it cost to do this?” Ask instead: “How much will it cost me NOT to do this?” This simple question has changed my life!

NOTE: If you want more great tips on this topic, don’t miss Christine’s Uplevel Your Business Teleseminar on Wednesday, January 20! Click here for more information!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

November 25, 2009 @ 12:15 pm | by spxds

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy and Wealthy
by Christine Kane

Gratitude is more than being thankful one day a year. Gratitude is a practice. For some, it’s a way of life.

Why do some people swear by the practice of gratitude? Why do these people have joy-filled and abundant lives?

In other words, why does gratitude make you happy and wealthy?

• Because gratitude is about presence.

It’s about waking up in this moment and being here - really being here – and noticing what’s around you. Most people are so busy thinking about the next thing, or about their horrid past, that they don’t wake up and look around at their present moment – the only moment there is.

• Because gratitude is about honoring YOUR precious life.

Do you ever compare your life with someone else’s? Do you ever wish your life were better and more like [insert famous person's name here]? Sometimes we can lose ourselves in wondering how we “measure up” to some standard set by our families or by the media. Comparison is the mind killer. The antidote is gratitude.

Gratitude requires that you validate your own life. (And you really don’t have any other life, do
you?) It forces you to say YES to the gift that is you. The choices you’ve made and the changes you’ve gone through – they have brought you here. Even if here is a place that needs a little adjustment, that’s okay. There are always gifts in any present moment.

• Because gratitude is about attracting.

It’s difficult to attract abundance and joy if you are constantly saying “no” to what IS. You say “no” each time you focus on the future or past, or when you criticize something that is in your present moment.

Attraction is about saying Yes. When you say Yes, you shift.

Gratitude says, “Yes, I love this!” And then more of this is attracted, because the this is what you’re focusing on.

• Because gratitude is about choice.

How you translate any situation is the situation. What you choose to see is the truth (for you).

This isn’t proposing that you live in denial or phoniness. It’s reminding you that your translation of any life situation is your choice. We’ve all heard stories of people who have ignored others’ translations of their talent, their projects, their art, their looks, their lives. These people chose their own translations and succeeded. You always have a choice when it comes to how you look at things. Choose to choose gratitude.

• Because gratitude is about wisdom.

I think people believe they’re being smart if they criticize, complain, and focus on the problems of the world around them.

Smart? Maybe.

Clever? Sure.

But not wise.

It is wise to look for and find the knowing place in your heart. It is wise to choose joy. It is wise to honor your riches. It is wise to focus on and grow the blessings of your life.

• Because gratitude is about recognition.

Use your power of focus to hone in on beauty and on what makes your heart sing. Recognize the spirit in your life. It’s all around you waiting to be noticed. In the words of Franz Kafka, “It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

• Because gratitude is about receptivity.

Gratitude makes you receptive. It makes you a vessel, waiting to be filled.

I carry a tiny notebook with me everywhere I go. In it, I write down song ideas. I write down quotes I hear. I write down ideas for stage stories. As I do that, I become more receptive, and more ideas and songs come to me. It’s a tool that says to my subconscious, “Send more my way!” And the subconscious always responds.

Gratitude is the same way. It says, “I am receptive! Send more!” And more arrives.

• Because gratitude is about creativity.

Creativity is really all about attention. (So is genius.)

When I write a song, I build a relationship with that song. I spend time with it. I get to know it. I pay attention to it. Artists do the same thing with drawings. They spend time in rapt attention, and the drawing is born.

Gratitude is how we Live Creative. It is a creative act to notice and pay attention to the moments of your life. Some days it’s an enormous act of creativity to find things for which to be thankful.

Start today.

And have a Thanksgiving of presence, creativity, and gratitude!

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 8,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

November 4, 2009 @ 6:31 pm | by spxds

7 Happy Rituals for the Short Days of Winter
by Christine Kane

Each year, when we turn the clocks back, I am torn.

On the one hand, I’m elated to get some extra sleep and “gain” an hour. On the other hand, it’s a little sad to know that winter is coming, and the days are getting shorter.

A few years ago, I noticed that I was rolling with the change of season much more gracefully – and without the same dread I had often felt. It was around that time I learned to create ritualsin my days. Seasons, after all, show us what our lives are meant to be: dark times, light times, expansion, contraction, and of course… change!

If you are experiencing anxiety or sadness as winter approaches and the days get shorter, I invite you to try one or two of these rituals. Maybe you’ll start to look forward to the earlier evenings as you see the mystery and magic of this beautiful season…

1 – Create a Glow

The great thing about darker evenings is that they allow for the perfect candle lighting ritual. Create a sacred space in your home and light candles at dusk or when you get home from work.

Some of my favorite candles are antique medicine bottles I’ve picked up at various flea markets over the years. I fill them with candle oil and wicks. The glass reflects the flame for even more glow! I’m always on the look out for simple candles and holders. (A quick resource for all kinds of candles is TJ Maxx.)

2 – Start a Gratitude Journal

It’s the season of Thanksgiving, so why not begin the habit of gratitude now, rather than waiting til the end of the month?

Get a beautiful journal and commit to completing your day with gratitude. Start with a list of five things. Write in as much detail as you can.

We live in such lavish abundance, yet it’s so easy to speed through the days without noticing. A gratitude journal will change your life!

3 – Feed the Birds

Wake up to bird song!

One of my favorite rituals is to make sure that the bird feeders are chock full of the best seed possible. Our feeders always have visitors, so we keep a guide to birds near our back door so we can grab it any time we spot a new species. We have regular visits from nuthatches, chickadees, flickers, titmouse, all kinds of woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, bluejays – we’ve even seen rare birds, like the hooded warbler. Spend some blissful time witnessing the pure joy of our feathered friends! (A great resource for bird-feeders is Wild Birds Unlimited.)

4 – Catch Up on Movies

Winter is a great time to catch up on those movies you missed in the theaters. I keep a list in my iPhone, and any time someone recommends a movie, I take note. That way, when I get to the video store, I have a reference. You can also get great television show seasons on Netflix.

5 – Morning Work-Outs

When the clocks turn back, the mornings get lighter. Why not take advantage and wake up earlier to hit the gym? Start a fitness ritual. Exercise has been proven – over and over again! – to remedy everything from disease to depression. Hire a trainer for a month and learn some new exercises! The fitness habit will lift your mood like nothing else!

6 – Complete a Project

Remember that idea you had for a scrapbook? Or that language learning series you’ve been meaning to plunge into? Well, now’s the time!

Winter is a perfect time to learn a new craft, create something meaningful, and get lost in the joyof a new project. Winter is also the time to go inward and lose yourself in creating. What have you been meaning to create?

7 – Get Out!

Any dog will tell you: Winter is a fabulous time to hike! It’s cold. It’s crisp. You bundle up in layers of polar fleece. And you get to experience the hidden treasures of a season that most people avoid.

Make it a point to find some trails or paths near your home. Then, commit to bundling up and spending time outdoors each weekend. There’s rarely anyone else out – so you get to have acres and acres to yourself. (Though you might bump into me and my dog! It’s our favorite hiking season!)

Note: I wrote about one more of my favorite non-fattening winter rituals on my blog this week.Click here to read about it!

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

October 15, 2009 @ 2:19 pm | by spxds

Today is Blog Action Day. It happens every year on Oct. 15, it’s an event that unites bloggers worldwide, to spread the word about a particular issue. This year’s it’s about Climate Change.

Climate Change is part of Global Warming and it’s defiantly effecting our environment. They are many ways you can do your part and help change our environment. Just some of them are:

• Carpool
• Recycle
• Telecommute
• Bike or Walk to work
• Use Green Products
• Use CFLs
• Use Energy Star products
• buy a fuel-efficient car
• know your carbon foot print & try to reduce it
• eat more organic & local grown veggies & fruits

The list goes on what you can do to help with the environment, I do everything I can like recycling, telecommuting, composting, saving rain water to use to water the plants, use cfls, have a fuel-efficient car, eat only organic & locally grown veggies, using, Energy Star products, shutdown my computer or other appliances when they are not in use,  keeping the heat  turn down or not using heating/AC at all. (don’t mind wearing a hoodie  around the house  or keeping the windows open in the spring,  fall or winter). etc.

You don’t have to do everything I do or mentioned here, but if everyone just did a little something like using CFL light bulbs, carpool or even recycle, it would help out in a big way.

October 2, 2009 @ 10:53 pm | by spxds

Every Year I turn my website pink in October, Why?  It’s to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research. For more information about the event check out the Pink for October website.

August 12, 2009 @ 10:33 am | by spxds

What does it mean to Live Simple?

Does it mean you toss out your belongings and head to the woods to live deliberately?

No. (Though you could do worse!)

Does it mean that money is bad, and you can get self-righteous about wealth?

Nope. (This is often just a convenient way to ignore your own money issues.)

To Live Simple is to be empowered and present. It means you honor the massive power of yourattention by making clear choices and creating a life you love – free from clutter of all kinds.

Here’s how to start living simple right now…

Eat Simple

Instead of complicated recipes, get local organic produce at tailgate markets. A tray of sliced raw vegetables dipped in hummus or vinaigrette is a great dinner. Or lightly steamed greens with rice. These are easy to prepare and easy to digest. The fewer foods you combine in a single meal, the easier it is for your body to use the energy.

Shop Simple

My favorite thing to carry with me when I shop is this mantra: “If it’s not an Absolute Yes, it’s a No.”

Heal Simple

The Western approach to health is often about adding stuff to fix symptoms of imbalance. This typically involves more pills – which cause more side effects.

Here’s a better way: Allow the body to heal itself. This means removing the excess – excess toxins, fats, sugar, meds. Healing – while sometimes challenging – can be a simple, lovingprocess when we let our body express its inner wisdom.

Carry Simple

Do you hoist around a giant purse crammed full of stuff?

Bring only the basics. Say, lipstick and a credit card. It’s a great feeling to ditch the purse!

Or, try this: Take all of your membership numbers (AAA, Priority Club, etc), type them onto a small piece of paper, and laminate it. You’ll cut your wallet size in half!

Store Simple

Just because you have storage space doesn’t mean you have to fill it. See your storage areas as a metaphor for your life and your body. Clear out the old stuff that you don’t use. Stop clutching to the, “Oh! But I might need that one day!” excuse. Trust the Universe to provide what you need when you need it.

Feel Simple

Honor your emotions, and learn how to talk about them simply. Emotions aren’t as complicated as we make them. It’s the stories we attach to them that make them feel so complicated.

Nurture Simple

In my Uplevel Your Life Mastery Program, participants often discover that they don’t really love sugar, junk food, or hours of television. They only use these things as substitutes for what theyreally want. (Which is often a nap!)

Junk food and television are often fake comforts. Authentic nurturing is usually laughter, sleep, or a great meal.

Grab Simple

Do you grab that free tube of “acne cleansing lavender toner” the mall employee is handing out even though you haven’t had a pimple in years? In other words, if it’s “free,” do you automatically grab?

Start looking at your space and your energy as more valuable than the dollar. Our culture has it all wrong when it sees money at the top of the value chain. Free stuff isn’t free. Take your power back, and place a high value on your time and space!

Drink Simple

Get a Sigg Bottle and make filtered water your drink of choice.

Join Simple

Remove yourself from membership programs, catalog subscription lists, churches, clubs and/or associations about which you don’t feel passionate.

Intend Simple

When we have too many goals and intentions occupying our minds and spirits then we never get to feel the power of completion. We’re always “catching up.” Honor your deepest intentions right now, and let the hundreds of other possibilities go.

Speak Simple

Listen more. Talk less. Give up the complaining habit. Cease all gossip. Take a moment tobreathe before you answer a question. Recognize that listening doesn’t mean waiting for your turn to talk.

Love Simple

Here’s how I love someone best:

I am really with them when we’re together. I watch their facial expressions and truly listen to them without trying to fix or critique their choices. I delight in them.

For me, this is love at its most simple. It has nothing to do with greeting cards, gifts, or “proving my love.” Loving simple is the easiest of all of these things. That’s why I saved it for last.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

July 1, 2009 @ 10:26 am | by spxds

7 Tried-and-True Ways to Block Your Creativity
by Christine Kane

“I’m totally blocked.”

“I’m not creative.”

“I can’t even begin to work on all these ideas I get.”

These statements have one thing in common.

They’re all totally false.

Like it or not. You ARE creative. You have no choice but to be creative. It’s your nature!

Yea yea yea. I know. It’s WAY uncool of me to point that out.

After all, if you’re really truly creative, then [gasp!] you might actually have to do something about it! Who wants that?

Some people spend years perfecting the art of stuffing down their creative impulses, convincing themselves of their lack of talent and ideas.

How do they do it?

Well, let me show you the way! I’ve been there a time or two. And here are seven of my Tried-and-True Ways to Block Your Creativity…

(more…)

May 20, 2009 @ 12:22 am | by spxds

Top 10 Bodacious Ways to Be Nice to Yourself
by Christine Kane

Just as there was a time when “google” was not a verb, there was also a time when “bodacious” was not a word. Bodacious is a blend of “bold” and “audacious” created in British English dialect late in the nineteenth century.

Still, I’m glad it was created! Some days we need to be bodacious! And some days, we need to remember to apply it to how kindly we treat ourselves. Trust me: You’ll thrive tomorrow because of today’s kindness.

Here are my top 10 bodacious ways to be nice to yourself:

1- Flowers!

This is so simple – and yet so powerful! Fresh flowers beautify any space. I always have an orchid on my coffee table. I see it the minute I walk in the door, and it reminds me to take a deep breath and cherish the beauty of my life. Have a Sunday practice of getting fresh flowers to get your week off to a bodacious start!

2 – Take a nap

Favorite thing: I climb into bed for a nap in the middle of the day. Within minutes comes the soft ploop of cat paws on the cover. I can hear the cat thoughts: Hmm. The human has decided to lie quietly. I’d like to take part. Then the paws walk all around me until they find the very best spot for settling.

Cats know the truth: Naps are bodacious!

3 – Pay full price

The amount of energy we waste on trying to get “deals” is often not worth it. If you see something you love, then get it. I’m convinced that we’d all be so much happier and wealthier if we just got exactly what we loved without looking at price tags and wasting time looking for sales. (We’d probably have much less stuff too!)

4 – Trampolines and swings.

I was at a cocktail party last year. The adults were up on the deck watching the kids jump on the trampoline. At one point, all the kids ran inside. I kicked off my shoes and ran for the trampoline. Three other women joined me. We laughed and jumped for about 15 minutes. It was the most fun I’d had that week.

Swings are fun, too. And they’re easy to find! Who cares if you look or feel stupid? Being an adult doesn’t have to mean being boring!

5 – Truncate your To-Do’s.

How many items are on your to-do list today?

32?

20?

67?

A day should have no more than two or three mission-critical priorities for completion. The rest are extra credit! Giving yourself the gift of completion is the ultimate self-kindness.

6 – Order out.

I love preparing meals. But some nights, it’s just necessary to let someone else do the cooking. We have a great delivery service in our town. I don’t mind the extra expense if it allows me a night of no clean up, and a little extra time to write or just be with my husband.

7 – Take a long walk with your dog.

Are you one of those people who gets home from work and marches your dog around the block with a grim look on your face? (Another to-do item checked off the list!)

Try this: Take your dog for a long happy walk. Revel in the delight and presence of your dog. It will absolutely lift your spirits.

8 – Go on a retreat.

Many of the women who come to my Unstoppable Power of Intention Retreats show up frazzled and nervous. They’ve never done something so bodacious in their lives! They leave refreshed and renewed. One woman hugged me as she was about to drive away from the March retreat and she said, “This was the best money I’ve ever spent on myself.”

It doesn’t have to be one of my retreats, of course. (Though they are pretty great! And the October retreat is already half-full!) You can search google for all kinds of bodacious retreat getaways in your area.

9 – Read for fun.

Do you relish your days on the beach because it’s the only time you’ll allow yourself the joy of a trashy novel or some “light” reading?

Why not get a little bodacious and bring the beach to your work-week? Curl up at night and get lost in some fun fiction.

10 – Step AWAY from the computer. (And the phone.)

Everyone needs a break from social media and blogs and email. (Yes, even this e-Zine!) Don’t include your computer in any of the above activities. And turn off your phone, too! I promise, your computer and phone won’t take it personally! (Neither will this e-Zine!)

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.