Have you ever reached the realisation that you've completely lost touch with yourself? You don’t know who you are anymore. It hits you like a ton of bricks. I had that revelation a few years back. I had moulded myself to fit other people’s expectations of me. At the same time, I had eroded my sense of self and who I truly was. 

It was a lightbulb moment that something needed to change. I wanted to be myself. But I had no idea who that was, I needed to sort my real self out from who I had become to please other people. Much of my journey of rediscovering myself happened in my journal. I would journal to explore what I liked and disliked, what I believed in, what I was passionate about, what I wanted to do with my business and where I wanted to take my life. My journey of self-discovery is an ongoing one. It has already got me to a place where I am living much more happily with who I am, as well as who I am becoming because we are always changing and...

How does it feel to say the phrase “I love money”? Even in an empty room, it can trigger feelings of shame and guilt. Or it might ring true for you. It depends on your money mindset which is essentially your perception of and beliefs around money that influence how you think about, make and spend money. So it’s pretty important for business owners as we determine how much money we make and how we allocate money to grow the business. 

What has been underrepresented in the discourse around money until recently is that money is intrinsically emotional. Our relationship with money can be one of fear and shame or one of appreciation and respect. The emotions involved in our relationship with money unavoidably impact how much we make, how much we save and what we spend it on. So what exactly do emotions have to do with money and what does that mean for taking ownership of our financial situation?

Money is emotional

The human experience of money is fascinating. I...

Business mindset is vital to business success, whether you’re a small business owner just starting out on your own or the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. How can it not be? Your mindset is the framework of beliefs in which you process information and make decisions. 

For example, say you’re in a sales call with a potential client and they question your pricing, claiming it’s too expensive. Do you respond to that information by doing a U-turn, lowering your pricing and feeling guilty for attempting to charge so much? Or do you trust in yourself and your product or service and acknowledge that it's just not right for them right now?

It depends on your mindset AKA the perspective you choose to take. In that way, your brain can hold you back or enable you to achieve ambitious goals. 

How the brain can block business success

Do you feel like you are capable of more but you’re not sure how to actually achieve more? Of course,...

I first came across gratitude journaling when I was in therapy for depression. Needless to say, I was in a dark period of my life and didn’t see much to be grateful for, but as I picked up the habit of gratitude I did start to notice a change. I was beginning to see shimmers of hope. Gradually, I was able to see more positivity in my world. 

That’s the thing about gratitude journaling, it seems silly at first, especially if you are starting small by writing down things like how grateful you are that there were fresh oranges at the shops. You may be thinking that you are already grateful for your life. There’s a difference between being grateful and practising gratitude. 

When we turn gratitude into a conscious habit through journaling, we ensure our minds acknowledge the good in our lives. The more good we acknowledge, the more we see. Then the more positive we feel about our ability to experience good things, the more good things we are able to create in...

What’s the psychology of success? There are very few hard and fast rules in business. 

Some people become millionaires by selling low-priced products at a high volume. 

Other people become millionaires by selling high-priced VIP services at a low volume. 

Some people become millionaires by having a really specific niche. 

Other people become millionaires by having a pretty general customer base. 

Patterns begin to emerge when you examine the mindset of successful individuals. Most successful individuals invest in inner work to consistently show up as their best selves in their business, whether they're riding high during good times or navigating through tough challenges. A great example of this is fostering a growth mindset. 

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset

The concept of a growth mindset was coined by Carol Dweck. Her focus was on academic success in students but it’s very widely applicable. Her work relates mindset to achievement. 

If...

It’s time to emerge from winter hibernation, bask in the sunlight when it finally graces grey old England, and embrace the energy of springtime: new life, new colour, new opportunities, new excitement. 

For me, I think now is a perfect time to clear away the dead leaves blocking your path forward, get your ducks in a row (Can I think of any more seasonal analogies?) and initiate the progress you’ve been longing for. It could be to wake up 15 minutes earlier. It could be to start a whole new career. 

Whatever you see for yourself, it’s useful to tidy up the 4 main areas of your life. Your physical environment, mental wellbeing, digital presence, and time management can drag you down or propel you forward. I’ve come up with a list of techniques to help you make sure they are doing the latter. 

Spring Clean Your Physical Space

You deserve to have an environment that enables you to focus on your ambitions. A messy and chaotic space can...

There’s a good reason why I built my coaching business around journaling after using it myself for years and enhancing my knowledge and experience into practice during my Journal Therapy diploma. It’s a powerful tool for achieving meaningful results.

It's not just me saying that either, it's also backed by science. Among other proven benefits, this study shows that journaling can effectively reduce anxiety and check out this study to show that it can improve physical health too! It sounds crazy I know! It goes to show that when you look after your inner world using techniques like journaling, it reflects in the outer world.  

You may hesitate because it doesn’t seem like writing down your endless thoughts will particularly help you.  However, there is a strategic way to approach journaling for self-improvement that will allow you to enjoy benefits like these.

Reasons journaling can be so powerful

As the studies above show, journaling isn't...

Business isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. It’s a lot of hard work. That’s fuel for self-doubt and procrastination to fester, leaving you frustrated that you can’t make this ‘running your own business’ thing work. Well I say - You absolutely flipping can!

YOU can find YOUR way forward so you can achieve everything deep down you know you’re capable of, become the best version of yourself and enjoy a life that fulfils your truest wants and desires.

Like I said, this business thing isn’t easy and can get you stuck in stagnation (or a downward spiral!) Let’s start with bumping up your motivation and tripling your energy levels so you can do the damn thing. How? By spring cleaning your business! 

The 4 Part Spring Clean

Spring cleaning can be more than just taking a bag of clothes you no longer wear to the charity shop or cleaning the kitchen cupboards. You can use it as an opportunity to filter out what is holding you back and...

It’s that time of year again.  The daffodils are about to blossom and spring is about to begin. And with it spring-cleaning season! Woohoo! (or not!)  Now while I’m all about finding your vibe and ditching the ‘shoulds’ to do things your own way, I do think springtime is a nice reminder to have a clearout. 

Life can get messy, especially during the wintertime when all you want to do is hibernate under a cosy blanket, but you’ve got to navigate the chaos of Christmas and New Year.  In the push to get things done, blockages can build.  Like the pile of stuff in the corner of your office that you were going to sort out 11 weekends ago but has now become a feature in your workspace.  It’s not exactly helping your productivity.

Spring cleaning isn’t just reserved for physical things.  What could do with a tidy in your digital world?  How could you bring a bit more calm to your busy mind?  Are you happy...

Is networking part of your visibility strategy?

Visibility is an ongoing conversation in the small business world. The more you put yourself out there, the more people know about your business and become interested in it. Interested enough to buy from you. There are all sorts of techniques to make your business visible such as social media marketing and SEO practices (all of which make me yawn I have to confess!)

However, I do love a bit of good old-fashioned networking. Yes, it can feel more intimidating because you can’t hide behind a pretty Instagram photo but it can be really impactful.  You’re giving potential clients, referral partners and supporters the opportunity to interact with you as a person. It’s a memorable and impactful way to be visible and for me, it's made the biggest difference to my business growth.

I hear a lot that you have to make sales when you go networking or it's pointless, but I believe making direct sales isn’t the...