May 7, 2010
Work Less and Earn More
Work Less and Earn More by Joan Sotkin Mary B. is a talented graphic artist. For years, she worked for a large corporation where her work was appreciated. Yet she yearned to be in business for herself. In September, 1995, she took the plunge and opened an independent graphic arts studio. Unlike many new entrepreneurs, Mary had a large enough bank account to survive for six months with a minimum amount of income. She also had many contacts from the corporate world that she could use to establish her customer base. Mary was in great shape to start her own business. Mary knew she was in a good position for success. She was also very conscientious and wanted to make sure that she did everything possible to make her business work. She put in long hours on the phone, going to networking meetings and planning her marketing. She wrote articles for local publications, volunteered her time when she had something to offer, and even appeared as a guest on a local talk show that had a business focus. When she did work for a client, Mary often worked to exhaustion to get the job done as quickly as possible. Mary began to realize that something was out of balance. Her whole life was wrapped around her business, and, although she had created a positive cash flow, she was no where near her earning potential. After a year in business, she was exhausted and constantly worried about where her next client was coming from. What Mary needed was to learn to let go and allow her life to happen -- rather than pushing to make it happen. She also needed to see her work as something she did during the day and not what defined her as a person. Although it was scary at first, Mary learned to set boundaries. She established specific hours that she would work. During the week, she limited herself to eight or nine work-related hours per day. Weekends were for her, not for the business, unless she chose to take a day off during the week. She set aside days that were specifically for her spiritual growth. During these days, business of any sort was entirely off limits.During the hours designated for work, Mary often took people breaks: having lunch with a friend, meeting with another graphic artist, talking to a far-away friend. She learned to have short breaks within her workday when she would focus on something other than her work. Mary also learned to spend 10 to 15 minutes each morning and 20 to 30 minutes every night, sitting quietly and letting her mind slow down. After a few months, she began doing specific meditation techniques. Because Mary had more time for herself, she started exercising regularly and found her energy levels increased rapidly. The big change for Mary was learning to let go in order for her business to take shape by itself. If she really wanted to go to networking meetings to be with other people she did. But she didn't push as hard to get new clients. Whenever she felt the fear of not earning enough coming up, she learned to take deep breaths and not take any overt action. Mary was amazed at the results of her new approach to life. It didn't take long for enjoyable projects to come her way. New clients started coming as a result of referrals rather than her marketing efforts. Within a few months, she was able to vendor out some of the work that came her way so that she could earn more without putting in extra hours. Mary also noticed that her business was moving in a new direction -- one she could not have foreseen if she kept plugging away and doing everything she thought she had to do before. Mary learned to take care of herself and her life became a reflection of that care. The less she pushed to make her business happen, the easier it was for it to support her. Mary's new-found trust in herself and how life works paid off for her. Mary never stopped paying attention to her business. She also had clear income goals and a picture in her mind of what she wanted her life to look like. What she stopped doing was pushing to create what she wanted in the way she thought she had to do it. She let herself believe that she could have what she wanted and let her life take shape. When we aim for a goal, if we don't take pauses in order for the energy of our life to reshape itself, everything we do comes from a previously known point of view. In order for something new to take form, we have to give it time for the energies to gather -- and shape themselves. What we have to do is not do anything and give our creation room to breathe. It may look like goofing off, but there is a lot going on deep within our creative being. Try taking longer pauses in your life. If you find the concept frightening, ask yourself what you are afraid of. Don't let the actions you take come from fear. Let them come from knowing that the action is the right one to take. That knowing can only come from a silent space that you create by not doing. Joan Sotkin is the creator of ProsperityPlace.com , author of "Build Your Money Muscles:9 Simple Exercises for Creating Wealth Prosperity" and "Prosperity Is an Inside Job" and publisher of Prosperity Tips, a free monthly ezine. Visit ProsperityPlace.com .Copyright copy;2003 by Joan Sotkin. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com

Posted by Staff at 1:44 AM