About three and a half years ago I met Val Hood who was keen to leave behind her secretarial business to focus purely on her work as a medium. I’d never met a medium before, and as with everyone I work with, my job is simply to help them to find and be themselves. We worked together for a couple of months on Val’s goals and dreams and I was thrilled to catch up with her recently to hear about her success, tour or Australia and New Zealand and her forthcoming book. Here’s her story in her words.
Preparation is important in most areas of life to some degree or another. But in business it is crucial. If you’re thinking about, starting out or growing a business then one fundamental is to do your research. If you don’t then it may be you - not you’re hoped for customers - who’ll pay the price.
We’ve all heard the statistics and horror stories of businesses that fold within the first few years of trading. Whilst there can be a number of factors for this, a lack of adequate planning and research is one thing.
Very often this is a lesson that many entrepreneurs learn along the road. In my own case whilst I had all the training and I had done some market research and customer research, I could have gone into a lot more detail. And planning and research will remain important at various stages in your business’ growth and as your market changes.In fact I’ve been astounded how much the business landscape has changed in the years since since I’ve been running my coaching and motivational speaking business.
Whilst it can be a little dull and dry - it’s worth it in the long while. One of my clients has been spending ALL of his free days working at the British Library to get his new business venture right.
Some key factors
* Know what your strengths and weakness are
* Know what you want & need from your business; personally, financially and professionally
* Research your market, the competition and tastes and trends
* Ensure that you have the relevant qualifications, training and legal compliance
* Gather both qualitative (direct/ real people) and quantitative (stats & facts) research
* Spend time talking to people who’ve been there and done it - a mentor and coach may help
* Market segmentation: break down all your different customer types, their pains, problems, interests, location,
preferences and why and when they buy
* Gather a strong, skilled real or virtual team - perhaps set up an advisory board for example
* If you have innovative designs, products, ideas or name then look to have them protected
* Get in professionals to help you as and when you need it
* Keep your eye on the ball - the business world is continually changing
* Above all talk to your prospective and real customers… this is the best way to gain/ retain business.
Want help with research: Probably the best single place to help is the British Library’s Business & IP Centre. Not only can you access market data, reports and journals and databases for free - but there are also a range of inspiring events and additional support available. www.bl.uk/bipc
Work, work, work. If you’re not careful this will be the very nature of your existence from leaving education to retirement (if ever reach it). This is the case whether you’re employed, your own boss, freelance or indeed in the arts.
The fact is that rest is essential to your growth, goals, creativity, sanity and your health. Of course we all rest and relax and recharge in different ways… which is great. But it can be wise to avoid the temptation with filling your time out, holiday or breaks with too much activity. Very often it is the space that you need in order to attain clarity, perspective and focus for the road ahead.
You may feel that you are so busy you don’t have time to take out. But without the time out you’re productivity, clarity and energy levels will be greatly affected. I remember when I worked in the media - I had a full on job and worked crazy hours without a lunch-break. Sure I worked long hours but my productivity levels dipped so significantly after lunch I would have been far wiser and far more efficient had I given my self the lunch break and trimmed back the hours.
Time after time when I’m coaching clients the first thing we address is giving them down-time, social time, free time, family time, looking-forward time. The impact is often profound.
Have a wonderful day.
Rasheed is a leading coach and author of The Gift of Inner Success
In my last blog I wrote happiness is an illusion. You may be surprised that someone who has the title ‘life coach’ would say or write such a thing. Surely happiness is what I am helping people to achieve and why they come to me?
Happiness - as you’ve been taught it - is an illusion. This is because it is relative to sadness. They’re two ends of one scale. Two sides of one coin. Like day and night, you cannot have one without the other …the other will come sooner or later.
When people come to me they want to move beyond this cycle of happiness and sadness. They want to find lasting fulfilment and their true self. They have tried the happiness game and they realise that it does not work. They are ready to become who they are. You may enjoy this 2min warning / calling about happiness below:
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Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading speaker, coach and author of The Gift of Inner Success.
Over the last few years there has been an increasing focus on ‘happiness’. The media, psychologists, academics and various pundits have all explored ‘what’ makes us happy. Countless people I meet feel that they should be happy. Perhaps you are one of them; waiting to find happiness at some point in the future when you arrive at the right job, relationship, life balance, income level… or whatever.
The ’sad’ truth is that happiness has a direct relationship to sadness. They are mutually dependent. You cannot have one without the other. Just like ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and all the rest … We live in a dualistic world of these opposites. But all opposites are relative. They are related because they spring from one.
In order to ‘arrive ‘ at contentment one must accept and embrace this. You cannot have sunshine without rain. The embracing of these facts of life could be called wisdom.
This wisdom of course brings into question the very premise of everything we do. Because everything we do is based on goals, aspirations, improvement, enhancement. The idea that you are flawed now but can be perfect later. Meanwhile the magic of life passes you by.
Stop. The invitation of life, as I put it, is to ‘become who you are’. This is a paradox because you already ‘are’ and you are lost in this idea of ‘becoming’. In other words the invitation is to look before, beyond and between all the notions you have been fed and gathered and to realise that these are just clothes that you wear. At best they are aspects of who you are.
So if you are ‘unhappy’ with who you are it is no surprise because you are not what you think you are. You are what resides beneath.
Rasheed is the author of The Gift of Inner Success
Funny how we obsess about the junk we feed our mouths and overlook that which feeds our minds.
This time of year our physically well-being is something we tend to, quite rightly, turn our attention to. Perhaps you’ve tried or considered dieting, losing weight, stopping smoking, detoxing and new habits. This can have all sorts of benefits - one of which is that it actually helps re-balance mind and body, because we tend to overly live life in the mind.
But while you may have (often) thought about what you are feeding your body, how often have you thought about what you are feeding your mind? Perhaps you are a parent and you may be quite mindful about what your child’s mind consumes, but what about your mind? What has been the mental diet you have consumed throughout your lifetime and what has the result been?
If you suffer from stress, unhappiness, anxiety, low self esteem and self-doubt, more often than not these are dis-eases of the mind. They may well, sooner or later, have an impact on your body, but the root is your mind.
The invitation is for you first to become aware of this. As you become aware of this a shift can begin to happen.
To help this shift I invite you to do nothing… That’s right, most of the time we do something: we take action, set goals, make plans, set to work etc. But by doing nothing I am inviting you to take a break from your mind.
Switching off the TV, going for a walk in the park, meditation, exercise, being silent are all ways of helping this process. Bit by bit your over-interest in an overly-noisy mind will begin.
Through this space it is possible to arrive (back) at peace of mind. You will be surprised how appealing and even healing this is. You will be surprised how many of your ‘issues’ with you and others will fall away. You will find yourself being more quiet, content, alert, compassionate. Far less interested in speculation, strife, arguing, fighting, gossiping, comparing, worrying. Your sense of self will shift and become more light and subtle.
Rasheed is a leading motivational speaker and author of The Gift of Inner Success.
2010 is underway which means back to work for billions worldwide. And that means back to work for you too - unless you’re one of the few who cannot, need not or choose not. But as you settle back at your desk, shop, factory or workplace do not forget play.
Whether you work for yourself or someone else it’s all too easy to get caught up in the serious stuff of work / business. It’s also easy to forget that lightheartedness, humour, fun, playfulness are also important aspects of not just your personal life, but your professional one too. Used aptly the spirit of fun can boost productivity, overcome negativity, help problem-solve, boost innovation … and beat off boredom. And very importantly it can charm, disarm and enchant bosses, customers, colleagues and suppliers.
But as you settle back to work and focus on your work / business objectives, do not forget your own. So here are my 3 Tips for success, progress and happiness in 2010…but ensure you build some fun into these too.
Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading coach, motivational speaker and author of The Gift of Inner Success.
So here we are: New Year and new decade. Right now millions of people - perhaps yourself included - are setting goals for 2010. But too often those ‘well meant’ New Years Resolutions to get fit, stop smoking, shed weight etc dissolve in weeks. Why do we fail and how can you succeed? Well because too often those are the goals, dreams and resolutions you ‘think you should’ pursue based on social, peer, media and other pressures. And often because ‘your’ goals out of the holistic big picture of what will really bring the biggest impact in your life as a whole - and sometimes because you haven’t identified the right help, assistance and milestones to succeed.
So here are my 3 Top Tips that will help you achieve more peace, progress and happiness. They are based strategy, simplicity and support.
Rasheed’s Top Three Tips for Success, progress & happiness in 2010 :
1. Strategic:
• Identify the 3-5 overall priorities in your life (home, health, career and relationships).
• From this identify 3-5 actions that would have most positive impact your life overall
• Based on this set 3-7 goals over 1-3 year (be specific who, what, where, when, how much)
• Break all your goals into small manageable chunks – review progress. Celebrate each step.
2. Simplicity
• Clear your home / work space regularly: space helps you gain focus, clarity and control.
• Keep to-do lists short – (no more than 3 items per day – this will keep focus, priority)
• Avoid arguments and gossip. Be grateful. Keep in mind what is most important in life.
• Take regular breaks. Reduce time online/ watching TV.
3. Support
• Identify people who have the skills, style and experience to help you.
• Drop negative relationships and build positive ones.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help – develop a strong personal / professional network.
• Be helpful and supportive of others – and see how they and you grow.
“If you look at things differently you will see things differently.” - Rasheed Ogunlaru
In life it’s easy to get caught up in the same way of seeing things. While this may be fine, it can mean that you get caught up in a narrow view of seeing yourself and everything else and it may be this view rather than the realities of life that can be holding you back.
Just as stepping back a few spaces can broaden your view on a landscape, the same is true by stepping back and taking a wider view of yourself, your situation, the people around you and the world.
Whether you are are finding challenges at work, at home or in your relationships I invite you to look afresh and to look again. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you see.
Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and business/ corporate coach.
As we head to the end of the year now can be a good time to identify priorities for your life, home, work or business between now and the start of the New Year. It may be the case that there are a few things that need to be cleared in order for you to have a clear mind to enjoy the holiday season… this exercise will help.
1. List your priorities (no more than 7)
2. Re-write this list in order of importance
3. Identify how much time it will approx take to complete each task
4. Be mindful of issues, distractions that may arise
5. Write when you’ll address each task in your diary organizer.
Be mindful that the nature of life is change. It may well be that other priorities or matters may arrive that require attention. The purpose of this exercise is merely to make you more mindful and focused. But know yourself. If you’re the kind of person who works best intuitively and without lists and goals then this exercise will be unnecessary for you.
Rasheed is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and business / corporate coach. He is also author of The Gift of Inner Success.
Leading life coach and inner fulfilment speaker, Rasheed Ogunlaru
explores how to balance being true to your ‘self' with finding a
‘meaningful' life path in today's material world. [read more / hear extracts]
