The #1 most valued takeaway from the feedback I have received from the 2013 Soul & Strategy Retreat was about a very powerful principle & if you embrace it, you will dramatically change your results. Whether you are the master of your home, sell rugs out of the back of your VW or are a virtual solo-preneur, how you show up is at the heart of how you experience your world & what it reflects back to you. 

Become the CEO (Chief Empowered Officer)  

of your business & life.

It is challenging to run your business & navigate  life when you are reactive & continuously riding an (often self imposed) roller coaster. When business is up, you are up. When a client is unhappy, you feel bad. The examples are countless.  Becoming the CEO means creating a healthy degree of separation that enables you to see your business & life clearly & objectively as it’s own entity, ask hard questions & make critical decisions.

You are not your business nor your life. Your business & your life are the mediums for which you serve & express yourself in the world. It’s where who you are – meets what you do & create.  

 

Like all relationships, it’s wise to ask yourself whether the relationship & the business & life you are creating is truly serving your needs. Stepping into your CEO shoes helps you to do this & take full responsibility for the results you are achieving.     

 

There are several big & small ways to proactively put those CEO shoes on. Here are three powerful ones to get started:   

1. Define what you want. Then get clear on what you are not receiving.  When you do this, you will quickly & easily be able to identify the very specific gaps & pieces that are not aligned. From this clarity you can focus on key areas & step by step make the necessary changes.     
2. Take action “as if”.  Show up, manage, decision make, take action “as if” your business & life already reflected back to you what you want. For example; if you want to own & operate a six figure business then you need to show up, manage & decision make like a six figure business owner. If you want to feel like an athlete then take the action steps that an athlete would take.   As simple as this sounds it is incredibly powerful.  
3. Find/ buy your CEO shoes. This is about the only material item I will ever suggest purchasing.  Consistency is key. It’s critical (& fun) to create ways to become mindful of how you are showing up. Put on your CEO shoes, place a sign on your desk or a picture on your fridge. What we focus on grows so strategically incorporate reminders that you are the CEO!     

Some recent client CEO shoes