Annemarie Cross | Branding | Online Marketing | Business Building | Internet Marketing | Marketing Online | for the Ambitious Service-Based Entrepreneur

I’m currently in week three of the 9-week Fast Video Results course, which I’m thoroughly enjoying! Check out my first video creation here – I’m quite impressed with how it turned out, if I do say so!

Anyway, this week we have to get in front of the camera and start filming ourselves, and to be honest, I’m a little hesitant to do so. The thought of having to watch myself while I’m editing the footage is something that I really don’t want to do.

Even with my radio show (that I’ve co-hosted for the last two years) I could count the number of times that I’ve listened to even a small part of a show on one hand, as I don’t really like listening to the sound of my own voice.

I know that I’m going to have to ‘deal’ with this pronto and confront whatever reasons that are holding me back, as I’m not going to progress as best I can in the video course if I’m hesitant to get in front of the camera.

Three words that I find very motivating are the words Nike using as their brand statement – ‘Just do it!’ Stop judging myself, stop aiming for perfection and just work towards completion. Just do it! Just do it! Just do it! That’s going to be my mantra as I move forward!

What about you? Is there something that you’ve been avoiding that you just need to go out and DO! Remember, completion NOT perfection. JUST DO IT!

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One of the branding programs I take clients through (the ‘Unearth Your Brilliance’ program) incorporates a section: Branding with Archetypes, which enables them to put their heart and soul into their brands by discovering their Primary and Influencing Archetypes.

It’s powerful information that not only provides amazing insight into your authentic and unique brand; it also identifies your natural gifts and talents as well as areas of weakness that can impact your business’s growth.

Anyway, my Primary Archetype is the Explorer (we love to support our clients in discovering their unique brilliance and originality) and my Influencing Archetype is the Ruler (which empowers leadership, prosperity and success in others).

As a Ruler Archetype I also love to create order and therefore value having systems and processes in place to keep me focused and on track.

I was reminded this week of how powerfully my Ruler Archetype shows up for me in my business, when I began to feel quite overwhelmed by the number of projects I was involved in. After stepping back and observing the situation from a distance, I was able to see that the reason I was feeling overwhelmed was because I had no system or structure in place to help me manage my hectic project schedule.

As soon as I recognised this, I created a Powerful Bold Goal for each of the projects I was working on. This is a tool I use which allows me to get totally clear on what I am working on, as well as the steps that will support me in achieving my goal.

[I’ll be speaking more about this powerful tool in upcoming newsletters and within my soon-to-be–launched Rubies: Biz Acceleration Coaching Club. For all of you who have a little of the Ruler Archetype in you and therefore need systems and processes to keep you focused and on track – you’ll love the Powerful Bold Goal tool.

Here’s to setting up systems and processes to keep you on track and focused!

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Do you ever have days (or weeks) where things are just so chaotic you don’t know whether you are Arthur or Martha? Well, I’ve been having quite a few of those days – in fact a little more frequently in the last few weeks than what I would like.

I’ve recently had one of my assistants leave due to the distance she was travelling to the office after she had moved to another suburb. Instead of replacing her, I’ve taken on a lot of her tasks myself – because I’ve just been too busy to recruit a new staff member. It’s no wonder that I’ve found myself struggling to cope.

After a few weeks of ‘organised chaos’ I’m now doing something about it as I realise that it was only a matter of time before things start to slip through the cracks – something I definitely don’t want to see happen.

I’ve started to list various tasks that I’d like to outsource; am in the process of reviewing and updating relevant instructions/processes; while also creating an overview of the person (qualities, characteristics and skills) so that he/she can take over those tasks and allow me to free up my time to work on business/program development and other creative business building tasks, which I love!

What about you? Are you avoiding something that you know is not serving you or your business? Perhaps you need to look at hiring another team member to free up your time to work on business building activities? Perhaps you’ve put off addressing an issue that you know is costing you and your business dearly? Or perhaps you’ve been tolerating an ineffective process or under-performing staff member?

If you were to add up the emotional, physical and monetary costs of what that ‘thing’ you are tolerating is really costing you, you may be surprised at how high that cost really is when added up over a week, a month, or even a year.

So, my coache’s request for you this week is to stop tolerating that issue, stare it directly in the face and address it. Doing so will ensure that you can invest your energy and attention into activities that will drive your business forward, rather than keeping you stuck worried and annoyed about that ‘thing’ you were tolerating. I know you can do it! Pop across to my blog and let me know what you’ll be working on! Me? I’ll be sending out requests for new people to join my team!

Have a great fortnight!

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One of my mentors has a saying that has struck a chord with me over the past few weeks. She says, “How we show up in one area of our life often shows up in other areas as well.” Wow, she was right.

In my last newsletter I explained how I was experiencing difficulty completing various tasks because I was getting quite distracted with other ideas that would take my attention off what I was working on. It wasn’t till I sat down and identified six areas where I was letting things slip through the cracks that I realised why this was happening. Thank goodness I now have a solid plan and process that helps me remain focused and on track.

Doing some soul searching, I recognised another area in my life where I was not truly honouring myself and it was really starting to bug me – health and fitness. Health and wellbeing is extremely important to me, however because I was so busy, my attention was being taken away from the importance of ensuring I looked after myself, especially with the food I was choosing to consume and the exercise (or should I say – minimal exercise) that I was doing.

Not anymore! I have hired a Health & Fitness Coach as a support person and accountability partner, so that over the next 12 weeks I can create positive habits that will support me in honoring my health and wellbeing.

I’m excited as I know that with this support system in place – I’m going to achieve my goals. Here’s to achieving your goals and showing up the best you can be – in all areas of your life! What areas of your life are you not showing up fully?

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Recently on Facebook I asked this question: “Is it just me – or do you experience this as well?

I often have so many things circulating in my mind that I start one thing, think of something else that completely takes my attention off what I was working on, and then I start working on the new idea before I forget it, and on it goes.”

Quite a few people commented and it seems I’m not the only one that experiences this. What a relief!

I spent some time thinking about why this may be occurring and I’ve been able to identify five things that can cause me to go off track. Here’s my list:

1. Not setting clear intensions for what I want to work on therefore not being committed to the project at hand.
2. Having a cluttered desk, which then blocks my energy, attention and can cause me to become distracted very easily.
3. Not having a formalised to-do list with most important things at the top so I just keep jumping all over the place.
4. Keeping my email and social network platforms open – tempting me to join in conversations as they occur rather than specific times during the day.
5. Not blocking out time in my diary to dedicate time to work on tasks that I want to give my undivided attention to.

Gosh, just looking at this list I can see now why I was finding myself loosing concentration and getting disrupted. So, tomorrow, I’ll make sure I do the exact opposite of what I’ve listed above to keep me on track!

What about you? What do you do to keep yourself focused on the task at hand? Feel free to write your suggestions here on my blog. Ok?!

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For those of you who know me quite well, you may be surprised to learn that I’m really quite a shy person – particularly when it comes to meeting new people. It’s something I feel quite uncomfortable doing.

This was brought home to me again this past week. I’d promised to collect funds for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal and it wasn’t until I put on the badge and headed out the door that my heart started beating rapidly, my mouth became quite dry, and I felt a slight twinge of nervousness.

I feel quite silly thinking about it now, particularly as I am regularly speaking in front of crowds and I run my own Internet radio show that broadcasts across the globe to tens of thousands of listeners – and here I was nervous at the thought of having to speak to a few people that lived in my own street – for goodness sake. Thankfully it didn’t take me very long, and it was rewarding to know that I raised money for a wonderful organisation.

Here are some of the things that helped me complete the exercise without giving in to my fear:

1.   I had made a promise to someone (Salvation Army) and I didn’t want to let them down. What a great motivator that was!

2.   I kept the ‘end’ in mind each time I knocked on the door, knowing that this was bringing me one step closer to my end goal.

3.   I changed the [negative] language in my head to positive talk, which enabled me to introduce myself with confidence and continue to explain why I was there.

It’s amazing what you can do, when you put your mind to it, isn’t it?

Wishing you a rich and inspiring week! Till next time …

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