I recently travelled to the other side of the globe (taking nearly 24 hours by the time I reached my destination) to attend my business coach/mentor’s business training and masterminding event.

During my travels, I took the time to reflect on some of the key changes I’ve made in my business over the years that I now can see has prompted some significant results.

In particular – three key elements.

If like me (several years ago) you are unhappy with where you’re at in your business, perhaps you need to review these three key elements as well?

Here they are – see which ones you need to change:

Your Internal Environment:

Including your self-belief; your inner critic; and what you think and say to yourself on a daily basis.

• Are you allowing yourself to think and play big?

Does your self-belief and inner critic support you to dream and play big? Or are you stuck playing small, and unable to work towards big audacious goals because you just don’t believe you could EVER achieve them?

Constantly listening to your inner critic and letting your fear get in the way will keep you stuck. Especially the: “I’ll be ready to seriously work on growing my business when…” cycle.

I was in that cycle going no-where fast several years ago because my inner critic was telling me:

• “I’ll be ready when… I finish my website.”
• “I’ll be ready when… I’ve done that next course.”
• “I’ll be ready when…I’ve designed my newsletter.”

Sound familiar?

Guess what? If you keep listening to that negative internal voice – you’ll remain stuck because you’ll always keep coming up with reasons why you’re not quite ready.

Trust me. I’ve been there and I know this path extremely well. Thank goodness I was able to break out of the cycle. And if I can do it – you can too.

You’re ready NOW!

Take Action: Go ahead and take that leap of faith TODAY! If you’re ready, but unsure where to start, why not apply for one of my Business Breakthrough Strategy Sessions and I’ll show you how.

Your External Environment:

Including the people who you associate with; your mentor; your suppliers; and the situations you put yourself in on a regular basis.

• Who are you letting into your space?

Who are you regularly spending time with?

Are you surrounding yourself with people who will support, nurture and uplift you? Or are your friends and associates negative, critical and constantly lamenting about what went wrong, what won’t work, and how life is a constant battle.?

Guess what – they’re right.

And, by associating with them their negative outlook on life can seriously impact the level of success you generate in your life and business. Or in this case – not generating.

Take Action: Make sure you surround yourself with people who are willing to hold you in the best possible place and will support you no matter what.

Surrounding yourself with these people and within a supportive environment will help you work toward your mission, purpose and dream of building a successful business doing what you love.

• Are you investing in yourself and your business?

This quote sums my point up beautifully:

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you where they are. “James W. Frick via @AnnemarieCoach Tweet This

Do you think sporting legends and specialists in their field achieve their level of expertise by not investing time, money and energy into learning and honing their craft?

Many years ago in my business, while I was constantly learning by gleaning people’s newsletters, blog posts, and attending their free webinars and teleseminars, it just wasn’t enough.

The biggest leap I took in my business (where I doubled my income and more than quadrupled my fee) was when I took my learning, mentoring and business growth seriously and made the investment in hiring a coach/mentor who was where I wanted to be in my business.

I knew I couldn’t do it on my own and take my business to the next level without this investment and thank goodness I did. Now, I continue to do that every year as I know my mentor/coach will continue to stretch me and keep me accountable and working toward my own big, audacious dreams and goals.

Are you being stretched and held accountable by a mentor/coach?

Take Action: If you answered ‘no’ to the above question, then make a commitment to seek out and hire a mentor/coach that will stretch you and keep you accountable. You’ll continue to see incredible results once you do.

I’d be happy to speak about the possibility of working together. Book in for one of my Business Breakthrough Strategy Sessions today.

• Do your staff, suppliers and other key stakeholders really understand you and your mission and purpose?

At a recent business event, I was speaking to a colleague who had hired a marketing consultancy to help with her branding and marketing. Despite many months (and tens of thousands of dollars) later, she was still unclear on the core brand message, her Signature Brand and overall brand mission, purpose and vision. Why? Because the consultants she had hired, just weren’t able to understand and/or bring to life, her vision, mission and purpose across her core message.

What about you? How well do your team, suppliers and key stakeholders understand your vision and purpose? Are they supporting you in bringing this message alive and out to the world? Or does it feel like a constant uphill battle?

Thankfully for my colleague she was able to find someone who she clicked with and who was able to understand her vision and purpose. After just one planning and strategizing meeting her business is moving forward in leaps and bounds as she now has a strong Signature System and marketing strategy that exudes her core brand, mission and purpose across everything she does.

Is it time you find key stakeholders that will support you in this way?

Take Action: Review your current list of suppliers, contractors, staff and other key stakeholders. If they’re not supporting you in your vision and achievement of business goals – source someone who does. Today!

And lastly, there’s one other very important element when it comes to supporting the growth of your business.

Your Physical Environment:

Which includes your health and well-being; which is impacted by what you put into your body and what you subject yourself on a daily basis in terms of life/work balance and how you look after your business’s most important asset – YOU!

How are you looking after your business’s most important asset?

Take Action: Review your current workload and other commitments? Are you outsourcing and hiring enough team to support you? Or are you taking on too much work, leaving you exhausted and frustrated? Do you need to make better choices in your exercise and eating habits? If you do, then make a commitment to do something about it today.

YOUR SAY: What ‘aha’ moment did you have? Where are you going to make chances in your business as from today? Have you made any recent changes in these areas that you notice have started to make an impact in your business? Go ahead and share. It’s always great to hear from you.

If you found this article helpful, please Like and Share it with your community I’d really appreciate it!

YOUR PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM ANNEMARIE: