3 Reasons “Your Mindset” Matters Most In Your Life

As we head into another new and exciting year, I really want to offer you the push you need to realize your potential in 2009. One reason I get so excited this time of year is because I always feel a sense of unlimited possibilities as the new year approaches. I love the starting over and reworking of what didn’t work in my personal and professional life last year. And after years of learning and growing and accomplishing some of the many goals I have set for myself, I decided that no matter what you decide to do in and with your life, your mindset matters most.

In fact, your mindset makes or breaks your success in this life in three ways:

One—Believing in Abundance

Right now you believe many goals are attainable and many are not. The way we were raised and our current environment dictate our beliefs and unless we are challenged and taught to believe differently, we stay stuck. Today—open your mind up to abundance. Take a goal and rewrite it in an abundant mindset. Try to make yourself believe that you can accomplish it even if there is a nagging voice saying “no way!” Then put it where you can see it every day. It can be a financial goal or the number of articles you want to write next year. Whatever you want to accomplish, have, or do. It doesn’t matter. Think abundantly and think big for yourself.

Two—Manifesting What You Want

Once you begin to think more abundantly and do it enough that it becomes a practiced mindset, then you will begin to easily manifest what you need, want, and deserve in life. Since manifesting is done in the mind, it in itself is another mindset. You should begin to consciously manifest what you dream of and what you need to accomplish your dreams. That is why writing down your goals is so powerful. It forces you to consciously manifest your wants and desires.

Three—Welcoming the Change

The third mindset and the hardest and most important is being open to change. Many of us are very fearful of change and don’t recognize that we are resisting an abundant life because of the safe choices we make. Me included. We limit ourselves because of that risk of failure. We get used to believing what other un-abundant thinkers think because at least then we don’t have to put ourselves out there and fail. Change is good—it helps you grow. When you begin to expect change and thrive in the middle of it, you will increase your speed at which you succeed at your goals.

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My Top Twelve HIGH ROI To Do’s For Your Business in 2009

By Sheri McConnell

Create a Timeless and Focused Marketing Plan for Your Business
As you probably have heard by now—you aren’t in the business of (fill in the blank here). You are in the business of marketing. Your marketing must be automated and systemized. Period.

Create Passive, Income Generating Information Products
Create your own advances and get paid to create information products. Many, many target markets are considered “information hungry”.

Build Your Most Important Asset… Your List
Success on the Internet is about providing high-quality information, solving problems AND the list.

Use Social Networking Sites Such As Facebook, Linked In, My Space, and Twitter
Used strategically, social networks extend your brand and funnel thousands of new leads into your business funnel each and every quarter.

Create A Very Profitable Internet Launch for Your Information Product or Book
Set up correctly, these launches generate thousands and tens of thousands dollars of income, new leads for you, and all your partners.

Create Your Own Certification Program
Certification programs aren’t just for large companies. Solo online entrepreneurs can also benefit from building and creating a certification program within their company.

Build Your Own Virtual Team
Learn how to find, build, and manage a virtual team. The key to “leverage” is the team. We all have weaknesses. Don’t make the most common entrepreneurial mistake: thinking you can do it all.

Approach, Create, and Solidify Long-Lasting Joint Ventures
All successful businesses are built on thriving relationships–on and off the Internet. And with all relationships, you should focus on who and how you attract partners.

Know Which Publishing Options Are Right for YOU
Learn what your publishing options are and make a choice based on the path that is right for you based on your personality, strengths, and weaknesses.

Double Your List Size With A Virtual Event
One of the best strategies for growing the list is an online virtual event with multiple partners or joint ventures. Give customers free access and structure the event correctly and it is a huge list builder.

Develop Your Intuition
Most entrepreneurs spend so much time focusing on all the “outside” stuff that they forget to get help on learning how to “think” like a CEO. Your success and ability to run a profitable company depends on your leaning how to develop your CEO intuition.

Use Visual Tools To Set Goals and Stay On Track
All successful entrepreneurs incorporate visual components into their strategy planning. They spend as much time planning as they do in the marketing, operations, finance parts of their business.

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Ready to Gain Access to me as I teach these HIGH ROI to do’s in detail in 2009?

Join my “Ultimate Learn to Leverage” Mastermind!

www.smc-mastermind-online.com

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Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? You have my permission, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Sheri McConnell is the CEO of Sheri McConnell Companies, Inc. and the president and founder of two national organizations, the National Association of Women Writers-NAWW and the International Association of Web Entrepreneurs-AWE. Under the same corporate umbrella she is also the owner of two high-level product and consulting companies: Create Your Group and My Millionaire Friends. You can visit Sheri, access her free article archive, and find out more about all four of her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.

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The Big Shift

Hi Creators and Big Thinkers!

This week, I wanted to share a video called The Big Shift. With books like “The New Earth” being accepted by mainstream America, it is evident that The Shift is happening here.

This video is inspiring as it reminds us that people from all over the world are ready for more peace. And most importantly, people from all over the world are starting to understand that The Shift must happen from within each of us first before we can empower others to shift.

To your success,

Sheri McConnell
Mother, CEO, Activist

Technorati Tags: The Big Shift, Sheri McConnell, the new earth, mainstream America, empowering others, empower others to shift

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Hi Creators and Big Thinkers!

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Here’s another great TED video that explores the dynamics of how “brilliance” is cultivated in our present day culture. The speaker is funny, witty, and insightful. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: TED, TED.com, schools, creativity, schools kill creativity, brilliance, culture, Ken Robinson

The Girl Effect – New Video and Important Cause

Hi Creators and Big Thinkers,

Many of you know my mission with all my companies is to empower women simply because I know that empowering one woman means I will inevitably and exponentially touch many other women in a very short time. Women (and girls) are so amazing that way. So when one of my clients sent me this powerful video last week titled, The Girl Effect. I knew I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

Sheri McConnell-CEO

The Girl Effect

Want to learn more about the Foundation?

http://www.girleffect.org

Technorati Tags: Sheri McConnell, Girl Effect, The Girl Effect, poverty, empowering women, empower, empowering, women in need

Video That Encourages Us To Use Our Brain and “Think” About Our Choices

Hi Creators and Big Thinkers!

I have an amazing video to share–please take 18 minutes today and watch this video: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

It is very, very powerful. I think it helps you understand why people think the way they do. This one helped me understand on so many levels what I am to do with my own life and also as a mother. Now I understand that my children may be more geared to think in a certain way–my job is to engage them and help them develop both sides of the brain and be more balanced in their lives. Take care and make sure to come back and post your reactions.

Sheri McConnell
www.sherimcconnell.com

Technorati Tags: encourages us to use our brain, encourage, think about our choices, our choices, choices, Sheri McConnell, TED, powerful video

Accomplishing Your Dreams Requires Balance

Achieving balance in our lives is accomplished by saying no when we need to and learning to set priorities. And we cannot achieve balance without understanding what our particular needs are. Balance is different for everyone. It means that you have identified your priorities and have not overextended yourself. Balance means you are aware of the dangers of burnout. Balance means that when asked the question, “Are you happy?” you can answer yes.

The following are 4 core values I use to live a balanced life and achieve my dreams easier.

One–No Guilt Allowed

One of the biggest struggles for women today is learning to say no without guilt. One of the core values I teach my coaching clients is to adopt this new rule into their lives called—No Guild Allowed. Guilt can hold you back from many of the goals you want to accomplish if you let it. Guilt doesn’t make you a better mother, or employee, or even more fit. Most of us know this, yet we still allow ourselves to fester in guilt. Guilt actually creates an imbalance in your life because you are left with feelings of inadequacy.

From now on when guilt creeps into your life—take action by noticing that the emotion is present and replace it with positive choices or joy as quickly as you can. As you retrain yourself to purge guilt, you will notice how much easier it is to move forward and accomplish your goals.

Two–Embrace Positive Choices

“The art of positive choices helps you to create the life you want. Positive choices help you to discover what truly makes you happy and realign your priorities. Life is a series of additions and subtractions. You control the calculator.”
~ Gail McMeekin ~

Another core value that allows you to achieve balance in your life is being able to make positive choices. What are positive choices—these are choices that propel you forward… they benefit your mind, your body, and your soul. These choices allow you to feel productive and focused because they are in alignment with what you really want to do on a daily basis. And remember—how we live our days is indeed how we live our lives.

Three–Cultivating Moments of Pure Joy

“The worst sin—perhaps the only sin—passion can commit, is to be joyless.”
~ Dorothy Sayers ~

One of the best things I personally ever did was follow my heart when EVERYONE else thought I was crazy. The first time I did this—I was scared, but at the time I was so miserable, I didn’t really feel like I had a choice. From that experience I learned to trust my gut and I learned that to follow my dreams meant that I was the architect of my life and that it was actually up to me to cultivate moments of pure joy in my life. For me-that means I spend most of my time either with my kids having fun or I am in the process of creating. Creating—for me is writing or decorating. To follow your dreams—you will have to take giant leaps and be willing to get your hands dirty before you learn how to cultivate a life full of joy.

Four–Practice Conscious Living

Another core value that will help you achieve balance is to practice conscious living. People who achieve their dreams do it with a plan. They may start out simply doing something they are passionate about, but eventually to achieve substantial results, they had to sit down and map out a plan. They made changes in their lives and began to live in a very conscious way. They began to pay attention to what they said yes and no to. They began to choose how they reacted to negative people and situations. They began to consciously choose to surround themselves with other people who had fun accomplishing their dreams. They decided to be disciplined about their choices and they also chose to consciously enjoy every moment they could going forward.

From this day forward, begin to practice conscious living—make sure you aren’t on autopilot. How do you know if you are on autopilot? Sometimes making excuses or blaming others can be a sign that you are living your life on autopilot. Sometimes situations in our lives or behaviors we have learned from our childhood can be the reason we don’t know how to live life in a conscious way. One of my favorite phrases ever is “You do better when you know better.” Don’t look back, just look forward. And don’t wait another day to get busy living life in a way that feels joyful to you.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? You have my permission, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Sheri McConnell is the President and Founder of two national organizations–the National Association of Women Writers and the Association of Web Entrepreneurs. She teaches women writers and entrepreneurs how to discover, create, and profit from their intellectual knowledge. Sheri has a Masters of Arts in Organizational Management and a Bachelors in Social Work.

She has four published books for women writers and in February 2007 she started a new site— www.createyourgroup.com and published Create Your Association–The Complete Blueprint and Tool Kit for Building a Profitable and Sustainable Membership-Based Business for anyone wanting to create a profitable membership-based business from their home.

Her latest venture—a high level product for lifestyle entrepreneurs–My Millionaire Friends is at www.my-millionaire-friends.com. You can visit Sheri and see all her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com and to access her free article archive. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.

Technorati Tags: Sheri McConnell, NAWW, AWE, CYG, MMF, National Association of Women Writers, Association of Web Entrepreneurs, Create Your Group, My Millionaire Friends, accomplishing dreams, dreams, guilt, positivity

You Are The Architect

Hi Creators and Big Thinkers!

I wanted to share a really great post. I had the pleasure of interviewing Christine Kane last year at the National Assn of Women Writers. She is a singer/songwriter and much more. In this post, she discusses 5 Simple Ways To Invite Delight. I love them and so I put her 5 below and then linked to a few past posts where I had already practiced a version of what she suggests. Feel free to do the same and share… and remember, You Have Choices–You Are the Architect of Your Life.

Side note on inviting delight into your life even when it seems really hard. I personally learned many years ago after my divorce that I was the only one who could truly create or rebuild the life I desired for my children and myself. I couldn’t blame him or his family or even myself… I could only get busy learning to do it different and do it better. This mentality helped me to reinvent my mindsets and our lives completely.(I plan on blogging on 3, 4, and 5 in the upcoming weeks)

Christine Kane’s “5 Simple Ways to Invite Delight”

1 – Create a “Here’s What I Love” List

My version is the 37 Reasons I Am Grateful

2 – Create a “Fun To-Do’s” List

My version is 10 Things I Want To Do By The Time I Am 40

3 – Create a “Friends I Want to See More” List

4 – Consciously Choose to Enjoy Something In Your Day

5 – Do Things Imperfectly On Purpose

To your success,

Sheri McConnell
www.sherimcconnell.com

Technorati Tags: Christine Kane, 5 Simple Ways To Invite Delight, You Are the Architect of Your Life, Architect of Your Life

Girl Power Music

Hi Creators,

What music do you listen to?

My favorite music usually features strong women who are feisty and funny and so not afraid to be themselves.

Here is the list of 11 of my favorite girls–enjoy!

1. Dixie Chicks
2. Meredith Brooks
3. Jewel
4. Cristine Kane
5. Kelly Clarkson
6. Alanis Morissette
7. Sarah McLachlan
8. Jennifer Nettles
9. Sheryl Crow
10. Wynonna
11. Ani Difranco

*These aren’t in any particular order–I love them all!

To your success,
Sheri McConnell

I Am Many Things

Hi Creators!

Do you believe you can only be great at one thing? I don’t. I KNOW I can be awesome at many. A few times I was pushed down by the societal belief that I would some how be mediocre at what I did if I chased more than one dream at a time. I read something really powerful by Maya Angelou once–she essentially said she just didn’t believe that she could only be great at one thing but owed it to the world to not hold back and to pursue multiple dreams–she felt that by holding back, she was holding back on touching so many lives! Now when someone says something to me about how much I choose to pursue or even worse–they make that their excuse for not pursuing a dream of their own–I think of Maya’s words and move forward.

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So yesterday when I read this post (see below) on one of my favorites sites by one of my favorite people on the web: http://girlatplay.com/blog (Side note: I had Alex speak at one of my conferences over at the National Assn of Women Writers a few years ago and she is an amazing creative spirit. She is one of those people that inspire you just by being in the room with you…)

Here is the post she shared about one of her favorite women–I LOVE this and I say to all of you–Don’t Hold Back-Ever!

Rock yourself out.

“who says you must only be one thing? who says you can’t be an artist and want to make money? would you only invest in one stock? would you bank your life savings on that stock? hell no! it’s all about diversification. it’s about being honest with regard to your value and your potential.”

Felicia Sullivan, all-around rockstar whom I’m so freaking proud of.

To your success!

Sheri McConnell

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