A Creative Businessperson is a crossbreed. You’re part artist and part moneymaker.

As an artist, you are driven to express your authenticity. To do that, every artist necessarily opens him or herself up… to feel.

Moneymaking, on the other hand, is all about being a pragmatist, a strategist and a go-getter. There’s not much room for emotions except perhaps that of motivation.

An artist goes inward; a pragmatist shoots outward. An artist pays attention to his or her reactions and feelings, and finds ways to deliver them; a pragmatist figures out what the market wants and supplies it.

Somewhere between the artist and the pragmatist, conflicts invariably arise. At the center, it’s an epic battle between your emotional self and your utilitarian self.

The selves are two opposing archetypes, giant stonemason statues pillaring two ends of the human experience. Neither side budges. And neither side alone is enough for the successful expression of you and your business.

The Challenge Set Before You

The challenge of a creative businessperson is how to appropriately reconcile your two masters so you may lead a healthy life doing what you love – the sweet spot.  Metaphorically speaking, you’ve got to first learn:

• How to slay the dragon that guards your tower?
• And, how to bring your humanity to the desert?

This is an art all onto itself, and it’s the ultimate key to your success.

Every creative businessperson confronts this struggle, and everyone has failed the challenge at first. Everyone. While some of us learn to improve and thus doing better overall, most choose to keep blundering on, minimizing their rewards.

When you don’t learn how to rise to the challenge, you spend your life torn between your two masters, getting in your own way, sabotaging your efforts, impotently struggling in exhaustion.

My suggestion is to get out of the pit and learn the skills to come into your center. When you know how to do that, you’ll hit your stride and swing with purpose and effectiveness. You’ll be both prolifically creative and business savvy.

Herein lies the unique dilemma of a creative businessperson: the artist vs. the pragmatist.

The only question is: are you ready to slay your dragon?

This topic goes into much greater detail. I have organized them into teachable bits via my newsletter.

Sign up below to receive them all sequentially, so you can learn how to balance the struggle of a creative businessperson step-by-step.

If you are already on my list, you will automatically receive the articles. If you have any questions, just shoot me an email.

Finally, if you like this article, share it please. I appreciate you spreading the word. Till next time. – Rebel X

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

So what better to contribute but the thing that moms need the most: TIME. The article was well received and I promise you, the steps work well for everyone.

So have a read:

Can’t Keep Up? 5 Steps to Simplify Your Work/Life Balance

And don’t forget to trotting around Karen’s site. You’ll find TONS of great information especially if you are an entrepreneur.

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

“Just because that’s the way it’s always been done doesn’t mean that’s the ‘right’ way for everyone, for every business. One size does not fit all… every business is as unique as their founder/owner.”

I must have been quite inspired by Joyce’s attitude or had a little too much coffee that day, the piece I wrote for her is useful to say the least. I encourage you to read it:

The Minimalist Guide to Staying on Track with Your Goals

Happy February, everybody! This is also known as the time when New Year resolutions begin to wear off. Fear not, staying on track is not as hard as you think. Let me share with you a few mind tricks you can adopt right away to stay with your ambitions.

 Whether it is a personal or a business goal, staying on track is all about keeping the motivation going. I have assembled a list of six top mind techniques that target different thinking patterns.

Click here to read the rest of the article

I’d love to hear what you think about staying on track with your goals. Share your thoughts below on the subject.

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

When distilling life rules, I have to generalize. This means these rules are applicable for most situations; please read them in that frame.” Here are my Five Rules for Life:

1.) Seek self-knowledge.

If you know who and what you are, you will know where and how to go about your life. This is the most effective way to get to what you want. To gain self-knowledge starts with being discerning: listen to your own thoughts, be cognizant of your actions, and really feel your feelings. Whatever comes up, don’t react, just accept.

2.) Don’t react, just accept and motivate.

Negative experiences in life tend to stall us. The trick is to move on from them as fast and as effective as possible. Moving on does NOT mean to reject the bad experience, living in denial, or wallowing in it. Instead, when you encounter a negative experience, simply pause, acknowledge something bad has happened, and then find a peaceful and motivating way to move on.

3.) Be authentically successful.

If you can align what it means to be successful with your authenticity, then achieving one will allow you to achieve the other simultaneously. To be authentically successful means bringing fruition, realization and materialization to your dreams. This is a worthy goal, as this is what YOU are about.

4.) Try everything twice.

We are often too quick to judge. When we don’t like something, the impulse is to reject it. Yet, that often carries the price tag of limiting our horizon unnecessarily. One rule that works well is to try everything twice. When you don’t like something at first brush, withhold judgment, and try it again. You’ll have a much better formed opinion that reflects what you truly like or don’t like. This will be a clear road sign for you as to where to go and where not to go.

5.) Laugh.

See the humor in things, especially when you feel stressed out. Alleviating intensity allows you to be clear-headed, and therefore able to act from a place of power. One quick way to see humor in things is to simply pretend you are an observer rather than the person going through the situation. As an observer, you’ll have a much easier time to laugh at the situation. After your laugh, trust me, you’ll have renewed energy to tackle the challenge.

When you know who you are, unperturbed by negative experiences, willing to stay open, able to see the humor in things, and always align your work with your authenticity, you are bound to be successful in life.

Like it ↓ and Share it ↓  please if you enjoyed this article. Till next time. – RebelX

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

I have been giving this bio forever: My name is Xin Gu. It’s pronounced SHIN. I am Chinese. I came here when I was 12. I’ve been in the US for 21 years now.

It never ceases to surprise me when people ask why I didn’t change my name to something more Americano. Why? Because my mother didn’t see anything wrong with my name, so Xin it was.

Just today, I got a message from this girl on a forum I belong to. She goes on about how she Anglicized her name, and how that was so great for her business. In a backhanded way, she suggested that I’d consider it too.

Look, I know she meant well, and I understand her points about conformity yaddi yadda (sorry for the uber sophisticated English here).

I’m not going to judge how anyone chooses to live their life. It’s not my job. Even when I coach people, it’s about finding out what works for them, not necessarily I would do.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about AUTHENTICITY. It allows you to be the BEST of who you are. So what I’m saying is: give yourself and others the permission to simply be.

To borrow the urban prose from Jay-Z:

No matter where you go, you are what you are player
And you can try to change, but that’s just the top layer
Man, you was who you was ‘fore you got here

Yes, life often tries to seduce us to conform. But when conformity doesn’t speak to you, you have the power to rise above it and say: this is what I trust in, for such is my self-truth.

You have YOUR self-truth as I have mine. Live by yours AND let others live by theirs. THIS is the most coveted secret to your personal success. This is also the biggest open secret.

I encourage you, no, I compel you to live by your dreams, your visions, and most importantly, YOUR TRUTHS.

Back to my story, if you really have a problem with my name, then my sympathies. Let me know if you want a coaching session to fix that.

Signing off!

If you like the article, share it please. Till next time.  – RebelX

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

Why? Because this is the same brain process that facilitates the creative process. To dream something up is all about lateral thinking, making seemingly odd associations and brainstorming. In other words, it’s about keeping options open.

Flip the coin, and suddenly you run into a big problem: how do you use the same brain that likes to jump around to actually carry out tasks?

You know the feeling. You are in the middle of one task, and suddenly you remember a dozen other things you need to do. Or, alternatively, new ideas just keep pushing into your head. Somehow, the new ideas always manage to look much more appealing. Before you know it, you get sucked into the vortex of distraction. You put your current task down, and start to chase the new shiny object. Do that often enough, you’ll have a whole lot of unfinished projects. Not effective. Not high performing.

So here’s a basic tip on how to get around the problem.

First, when you feel the compulsion to leave your current task before it is done, pause, and take a moment to notice it. Don’t fight it. Fighting our compulsions is a very natural response, but it just makes it stronger. It’s like getting angry at an angry person. You would hope the other side get the hint and back down. But they don’t. They just get more upset. Instead, give your compulsion an internal nod. That helps to calm it down more than anything.

Then, think about a time when you can focus on a task from beginning to end with no fuss. It doesn’t have to be anything tremendous. It could be doing dishes, cleaning or working in your wood shop… Basically, look for any task that you perform without taxing feelings. Slowly, try to relive the mind frame you adopted when you were doing that task. Recognize to yourself that you DO in fact possess the ability to simply stay with a task.

Taking this mental break at this point is crucial. Doing so, gives your compulsion an opportunity to chill out. Usually that takes only 30 seconds to a minute. Once you feel the compulsion receding, you are now safe to go back to the task at hand.

That’s it. It’s simple, and it works! Try it the next time when your old habit tries to derail you. You’ll be prepared.

If you like the article, share it please. Till next time.  – Rebel X

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

Here is a much cheaper and faster way to de-stress anywhere and at anytime. Just follow these four simple steps:

1st Step: Close your eyes, scan your body for where the stress points are physically located. For most people it’s in your chest, neck or shoulders. (If it’s more than one place, just pick one for now.)

2nd Step: Keep your eyes closed, center in on the stressed body part.  Imagine a swirling energy in the body part. Notice its color, notice its movement, notice its density, just notice… Stay here for 30 seconds, slowly feel the heat of the energy, and just breathe.

3rd Step: Visualize a vacuum up against the stressed body part. Run the vacuum. Let it suck the swirling energy out. As the energy drains, breath out. You can allow your body relax as it naturally wants to at this point. Keep repeating this draining visualization until your breathing and heart rate is noticeably slowing down. 2 minutes.

4th Step: With your eyes still closed, recall someone you admire. See the person in front of you, and s/he says to you, “[Your first name], it’s all going to be fine.” Breathe out.

Repeat the above steps if you have more than one stress point. And that’s it. It really works. Try it and tell me how you like it.

If you like the article, share it please. Till next time. – XG

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

I’ll give you an example. Last night I was in the weight room at my gym. Two guys started talking to each other within my earshot. They were quite loud to my dismay. That also meant, I had to hear what one of the guys said, “So did you find any hot chicks on New Years Eve? Did you find your future ex-wife?”

My immediate reaction was, “What happened to the neighborhood? Is my rent going to drop now?” Next, I could hear a few things about the loudmouth.

In the context of love:
1) He is disconnected — he is looking for women
2) He is status conscious — notice he wanted “hot” chicks
3) He has low self-esteem — you would only objectify others when you see yourself as crud
4) He has problems connecting to people — his assumption about relationship is it’s going to end
5) He likes to avoid reality — notice he reframed his pain into a semi unsuccessful joke
6) He is pessimistic — projecting a negative future
7) He is prone to both depression and anxiety — it is just what disconnection and negative future bring on

That’s just the top layer from a 2 second listen. That’s the magic of how I do what I do. I just listen and sort out the personality traits.

It is amazing how much we say without ever realizing we have said it. Listening, really listening, tells you everything. We are human beings. We can’t cover up, nor should we. Refer back to one of my philosophies — In the end, we are all trying to express our gifts. This guy has got quite a few blocks to get through first though.

What blocks are holding you back? Just think about the things you want to do, you ought to do but that you are not doing now. That will give you some clues. Removing your blocks is a necessary step to putting yourself on the right path to your success. Sign up for a power hour with me and start your success right away.

Like it ↓ and Share it ↓ please if you enjoyed this article.  Till next time. – RebelX

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

Here’s the re-post of the article. Share the article please, and chat with me in Comments!

Thankfulness and Positive Mental Health

Thanksgiving is the day many people associate with thankfulness, but this state of mind or feeling can travel with us daily and impact our mental health in a positive way. Experts and everyday people have insight into what thankfulness is and how it’s linked to positive mental health.

Xin Gu, a “performance coach specializing in helping people getting through the neuroses that stand in the way of getting to what they want,” defined in an email what thankfulness means to her.

“Thankfulness is a state of gratitude,” Gu said. “That means to look upon everything we have had as a blessing.”

She has a certain exercise that works well in helping people be more thankful. Here are the steps:

1) “To get the process started, think of something good that has happened to you in the recent past and noting just what a blessing that was.”
2) “As you process that thought in your head, you will note that your emotional state is changing. You are likely to be in what we … would call ‘a good place.’”

“This is a very helpful exercise because it allows us to focus on something positive,” Gu said. “It’s like receiving a really great gift – it just makes you feel good. You do that often enough, it becomes a habit.”

However, the real challenge can be to think of bad past situations as experiences to be thankful for.

“Ask yourself, ‘How can I look upon that as a blessing?’’’ Gu said. “It might be hard to do. And you don’t have to push it. But if you attempt that over time, it will start to work, and that’s when the real breakthrough comes in. That is when you begin to develop the mentality that no matter what happens to you, it is something to be thankful about.”

Willie Joley, a motivational speaker and author of “A Setback is A Setup for a Comeback,” has a similar definition of thankfulness.

“Thankfulness is being blessed by all the wonderful things around you,” Joley said. “It’s your family, your health, your success and waking up every day with the opportunity to do great things.”

Being thankful is linked to being positive.

“Being thankful improves mental health because it makes you more positive,” Joley said. “When you are thankful for the things in your life, you are living with an attitude of gratitude. You may not be able to choose what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you. Choose to be positive and thankful for everything in your life. Develop an ‘It’s All Good’ attitude.”

Thankfulness can trickle into other areas of your life as well.

“Despite the little things that would get most people down, you remain calm, continue to work hard and enjoy life,” Joley said. “Being thankful puts you in a much better emotional state and people enjoy being around you.”

You can be more thankful by doing simple actions like:

1) “Trying to be a better listener”
2) “Saying thank you when someone does something nice for you”
3) “Take a few seconds to compliment someone and tell them how thankful you are for them”

“Thankfulness is contagious, so it will usually rub off on the other people around you,” Jolley said.

Hazel Palache, a mindset expert and author of “The Astonishing Power of You,” suggested in an email that she sees the link between thankfulness and improved mental health as well.

“[Thankfulness is] gratitude for what we have instead of focusing on what we don’t have,” Palache said. “People who are not thankful and don’t feel grateful will often have very negative mindsets that create depression, overwhelm, procrastination and a host of other negative thoughts.”

She personally has felt the effects of thankfulness, and knows that others can too with a little effort.

“Being grateful to me means I feel more joyful and happy about my life never mind what’s going on,” Palache said. “Being grateful is often something that is learned rather than natural. It’s really about looking at the positives in life instead of looking at the negatives.”

Women especially can be stuck in a rut of focusing on more negative thoughts than positive ones.

“Women can get stuck in negative thinking until they learn to think differently,” Palache said. “Once they understand how positive thinking and gratitude can change their lives, they are usually pretty quick to change things.”

Rachel Starck, a licensed professional counselor and life coach, suggested in an email that the effort to be more thankful can have many rewards for mental health.

“Focusing on what we do have, practicing thankfulness every day contributes to a ‘glass half full’ outlook,” Starck said. “Research shows that those who have a positive outlook, glass half full attitude, experience many health benefits, including increased resiliency, improved immune response, and decreased rates of depression.”

She feels like a better person when she is more thankful.

“Holding a thankful attitude helps me to focus on the positive, to move away from deficit thinking (pining for what I do not have),” Starck said. “When I am focused on what I am thankful for, it puts me in a warm, giving, happy space. A space from which I have energy and motivation to give back (to community, family, friends, causes).”

You can start the process today of being more thankful by putting your mind to it.

“When you start setting the intention to focus on thankfulness, gratitude and appreciations, it will become more natural,” Starck said. “It takes a good 21 days to set a new habit, but we can create the habit of thankfulness. A practical way to do this is to start each day with a two minute [meditation] on what you are thankful for that day, what are you grateful for, who do you appreciate, why do you appreciate them, what blessings are in your life and how will you express this through out the day.”

Sources:

Gu, Xin. Email interview. Nov. 22, 2011
Jolley, Willie. Email interview. Nov. 22, 2011
Palache, Hazel. Email interview. Nov. 22, 2011
Starck, Rachel. Email interview. Nov. 22, 2011

Reviewed November 24, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up

You see, I’m a bang-for-your-buck kinda gal. In my model of the world, efficiency comes high on the list. If I were to spend time on something, I want RESULTS. For you biz whiz, I’m talking about maximum ROI (Return on Investment). I am downright greedy when it comes to time and effort I need to expend.

My M.O. is “Let’s get get it done and move on.” That’s what I do with myself and that’s what I do in my coaching practice. So one of the first questions I ask all my potential clients is simply:

If you can do one thing to ensure success and happiness, would you do it?

The answer is usually yes. Great. So here’s the one thing you gotta do:

Cultivate Your Authenticity!!

Authenticity is the expressway to success, happiness and all the other good stuff in life. You do that, and you are golden.

Just about everything I do in my coaching practice is built upon the idea of connecting you to your authentic self. It’s the bang-for-your-buck strategy to zero in on your stuck points.

Psss… anytime you find yourself stuck, it’s because you can’t get to your authentic self. And once I move you to reconnect, you’ll see possibilities, you’ll move on, you’ll “heal,” you’ll be optimistic… like I said, all the good stuff. See? Simple. Elegant and simple.

Like it ↓ and Share it ↓       …Till next time – XG

I put the really good stuff in my newsletter. Sign up for it: Smash Blox Newsletter Sign-Up