LIVE AN INSPIRED LIFE!
Advice from a Business Book Every Woman Entrepreneur Should Read
By, Esther Spina, Business Coach for Ambitious Women Entrepreneurs
Today I want to talk about how to get re-inspired when you’re feeling unmotivated, and how to get out of that fresh-out-of-ideas slump.
We all have days when we get tired when we are struggling to keep the ball rolling and the wheels moving. Feeling overwhelmed with everything on our plates is very common for the female entrepreneurs and business owners I work with as a business coach for women.
So how do we find the motivation to keep going when we feel like we aren’t getting anywhere or it’s just taking too long to reach our goals?
In the first chapter of, The Ambitious Women, a must-have book for every businesswoman, I talk about how we can find inspiration at any point in our lives. There is no such thing as too late. And inspiration is always out there ready for you to discover and leverage to keep your dreams alive.
1.Think about what inspired you to start your business in the first place.
It’s important to remind ourselves of our passion and what compelled us to share that talent, skill, or service with the world in the beginning.
Once we get into the day-to-day aspects of running our businesses, (You know . . . the tedious social media posting, accounting, and email writing), it can bog us down and kill our original inspiration.
Take a minute to write down 3 adjectives about how you felt when you first launched your career, whether that was a new business or a corporate position. Were you “excited,” “fired up,” or “determined” to succeed? This short exercise will help you to re-focus on your intentions and breathe new life into your routine by remembering that initial spark.
Write these inspiring words on a post-it note then put them on your mirror as a daily reminder.
2.Keep the big picture in front of you.
Make a list of your short and long-term goals and post it on your fridge. This will remind you of the doable next steps every day while keeping your biggest dreams at the forefront of your mind. It’s easy to lose track of the big picture when we get mired down in the day-to-day.
According to a study mentioned in this article, “you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.” Now imagine having to face them every day.
If you are more visual, try making a vision board by cutting images of the type of lifestyle you want out of magazines and finding inspiring quotes by ambitious women entrepreneurs. Paste these into a collage on poster board and hang it somewhere you will see it every day.
You will be surprised at what this visualization exercise will allow you to manifest in your life!
However you choose to do it, know that having to face your dreams every day will hold you accountable for staying on track to achieve them.
3.Focus on your “why” and the deep reason you have to keep going.
Maybe you are a single mother and you want to teach your daughter to be an empowered woman through your example so that she knows it’s possible to be the next female CEO. Or maybe you want to share your story about overcoming with other women, so you can inspire them to live bigger, fuller lives.
Whatever your reason is, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture sometimes.
As a business coach for women, I know how important it is to stay true to our purpose. That’s why I enjoy helping others clarify and achieve their goals.
4.Get creative inspiration from nature and art.
If you’re feeling a lack of inspiration, take a trip to your local art museum, or go for a walk in beautiful scenery. When we see how easily things come together in nature, it shows us that everything doesn’t have to be so HARD. As women entrepreneurs, we just have to take the next best step.
Viewing creative pieces of art, or works by masters in their field, can re-activate the right brain and reinvigorate your work.
Here’s an idea that works even during quarantine — If you aren’t near any places that inspire you or they are still closed, try the Masterclass app, where you can take classes and get advice from successful female entrepreneurs of all genres.
Get business tips from Sara Blakely, Founder of the Billion-dollar company, Spanx, and other experts in their field, like Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, for less than $200 a year.
Also, if you’re interested in seeing an Ambitious Woman Mastermind,
let me know by contacting me here.
According to this article from The Healing Power of Arts & Artists, not only does viewing art increase blood flow to the brain by almost 10% but it also fires the same neurons as the artist used when they were creating it, stimulating inspiration.
In this day and age, there is no lack of inspiration around us, even from home, we just have to keep reaching for that excited energy that keeps us going. And even looking at successful women entrepreneurs in unrelated fields can bring a refreshing new perspective to our work. It refreshes us to see things from a different perspective.
5.Identify your idols or mentors and live by their example.
We can learn a lot from women who have already “made it.” How did they do it? Valuable insight and inspiration can be gained from learning how others got to the top. In The Ambitious Woman, you can read more real-life stories of successful female entrepreneurs who accomplished their wildest dreams and the habits that lead to their success.
And we don’t just have to look at modern-day businesswomen either. Some of my biggest inspirations are Nelson Mandela, who endured 27 years in jail to defend his beliefs, Gandhi, and Jesus, true examples of how to live from a place of serving others.
We also have to remember the bigger purpose of what we are trying to give to the world. This is the legacy we are leaving for humanity. Focusing on how we are serving the world helps us overcome the mundane daily tasks that can weigh us down by seeing how we are really making a difference in our society and communities. Think BIG!
As Gandhi famously said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
6.Don’t forget to take breaks (and don’t feel guilty about it!)
As a business coach for women, I know sometimes the constant pushing through and striving forward can get exhausting and overwhelming. So often we undervalue stepping back and taking a break from everything we are dealing with daily. Resting actually helps us recalibrate once we let go of the guilty feeling that we should be “doing” all the time.
This article from the Harvard Business Review states, “Some evidence suggests that entrepreneurs are more at risk of burnout because they tend to be extremely passionate about work and more socially isolated, have limited safety nets, and operate in high uncertainty.”
Entrepreneurs, especially women, who have to balance the demands of their career with raising a family, face a lot of stress. In fact, according to this article, 41% of entrepreneurs feel stressed every day. We have to remember to take vacations, put work aside, do our self-care routines, and not give up when things get busy.
The alternative is we burn out and give up altogether, so don’t forget to take a day or two off when needed. Listen to what your body is telling you — if you’re tired and you can’t think straight, take some time out to recharge, your business and mindset will be better off for it.
We all have to replenish from time to time to stay sharp and stay in the game.
Go on that vacation you have been putting off. It will make you more productive in the long run.
If you are eager for more tips from successful female entrepreneurs, pick up a copy of my book, “The Ambition Women,” and get inspired by other women who are making waves and living the life of their dreams!
If you are struggling to stay motivated on your own,
email me at [email protected] to get help and support
from a fellow woman entrepreneur who has reinvented herself many times over.
