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Great business idea or great flourishing business? (+ scholarship opportunity!)
At its very heart, ‘Do What You Love’ is all about helping people understand that their life path is their choice, that they have the power to change things that aren’t working, and that they find their own way to happiness. It sounds pretty huge when you say it like that, but it is our fundamental truth.
We believe that the world would be a better place if everyone was doing what they loved (no commuting hell, no whinging or complaining, no stress-related health issues and on and on…) And everything we create or support is intended to help people find their purpose and live it, in whatever way makes them happy. That goes for you too.
Building a business around what you know, love and are committed to is one brilliant way to do what you love. By creating your own financial freedom through your hard work, you make yourself master of your own time, and determine your future. Running your own business isn’t for everyone, but if you have an entrepreneurial spirit there is nothing like it.
But the thing is, the best business idea in the world won’t bring you that freedom if people aren’t aware of it, or if they aren’t buying what you are selling. The missing piece of the puzzle? Marketing. In a truly purposeful business you are serving your customers with what you offer, giving them something they need. In a well-marketed truly purposeful business you are serving many more customers, and helping many more people get what they need.
Getting marketing savvy gets you and your business where you want to be much faster, and opens many new doors for you along the way. That’s why we are honoured to be a partner of what we feel is the best online marketing programme in the world – Marie Forleo’s B-School – and encourage you to check it out if you want to do what you love in business faster, more effectively, and with outstanding results.
If you are interested to hear more, check out this video, where Marie chats with some B-School graduates who have had serious success since taking the programme. You can also find out how to win a FREE place on B-School, through an exciting scholarship opportunity (inside the video).
And if you are being held back from going for it by fear or overwhelm, be sure to watch because Marie responds brilliantly to these seven common barriers faced by would-be entrepreneurs (see, it’s not just you!)
1. Will my friends and family think I’ve gone insane for wanting to run my own business instead of getting a “real” job?
2. There are people a lot smarter than me doing what I do, how could I possibly have anything new to share?
3. I’m so busy. How in the world can I find the time to do this?
4. Not only do I not have enough time, I don’t have the money for fancy new equipment and my own office space. How can I start a business with no cash?
5. Sure, she can do it because she has a team. How can I do this all by myself? I can’t afford to hire someone to help.
6. How can I figure out all the techy stuff that I have to know to have my own online business?
7. I don’t have an outgoing personality, so why would anyone be interested in following me online?
If you want to hear the answers (which will definitely make you rethink your concerns) go here to watch now.
Five signs you’re suffering from digital distraction (with tips for finding balance)
This is a guest post by one of the UK’s leading experts in digital distraction and digital detox and author of The Distraction Trap: How to Focus in a Digital World, Frances Booth. Find out more about Frances here.
How digitally distracted are you? Often we don’t realise how attached we’ve become to our smartphones, social media or email. But being distracted by a digital device all the time can have an impact on our productivity, wellbeing and relationships.
The first step to achieving balance in the digital world is to increase your awareness of your behaviour around digital devices. Here are five signs of digital distraction, along with five strategies you can use to increase your balance, productivity and wellbeing in the digital world.
1. Smartphone separation anxiety
You take your smartphone with you everywhere you go – often actually carrying it in your hand. As soon as your phone beeps, you leap. This is not prioritising. This is phone-in-hand syndrome. Your phone accompanies you everywhere, including to the dinner table and to bed. It muscles in on any conversation you have. It interrupts your thoughts, keeping you constantly ‘on call’.
The solution: Be realistic. It won’t be easy to suddenly go without your phone. You might find that as soon as your phone isn’t there, you need something to do with your hands. You might feel like something is missing (I see this in one-to-one sessions I run). It’s like giving up smoking, in a sense. Be aware of this. Try putting your phone in another room for just 15 minutes. Make sure you have something to do, like read a magazine. Hold something like a pen when you’re talking to someone. Next level: Go to the corner shop without your phone.
2. Journeys pass you by
What do you see on journeys? The light falling just so? Interesting happenings through the window? Or is your field of vision restricted to your smartphone screen? Journeys by bus or train provide a great opportunity for thinking time, or a short rest. They can be a chance to catch up mentally on the day so far, or to dream and plan. But all too often, we miss this chance. We begin our journey, and immediately stare down at a screen, processing yet more digital information. We arrive feeling rushed, and we’ve no idea what happened out of the window.
The solution: Become an observer
Try this exercise: Count ‘em. Next time you are on a train or bus, instead of staring at your phone or tablet, put it away. Start to observe other people. How many digitally distracted people can you spot? What do you notice about their behaviour? How do they look? Stressed? Absorbed? Can you spot pairs of people together who are both staring down at their phones? Sometimes it’s easier to observe behaviour in other people rather than ourselves. See what you can learn by doing this on just one journey.
3. Memory lapse
You blame your bad memory a lot these days. Or perhaps it’s not you, but other people you know who are using the excuse of their bad memory. Ask yourself whether this is really a memory issue, or whether you (or they) could be distracted. If you’re trying to pay attention to more than one thing at once, you might forget to reply to messages, and even forget the contents of the messages you’ve read. This is because you are not storing memories. I look at this in more depth in my book, The Distraction Trap: How to Focus in a Digital World.
The solution: Do one thing at once. It sounds simple, but we often don’t do this. Try it and see what a difference it makes to your memory, and to your productivity.
4. You can’t walk in a straight line
Do you use your smartphone when you walk along the street? Do you veer around the pavement as you look down at your phone? Do you stop and start, and even cross roads without looking up? Have you seen other people doing this? Digital distraction is extremely dangerous for pedestrians and drivers. Take this seriously. Put your phone away when you’re anywhere near a road. Never use your phone while driving.
The solution: This is an issue we really need to raise awareness of. Not only should you do this yourself, but you should tell other people to do the same too.
5. No time to think
A thought pops in to your head. This could be it … the answer to that thorny business problem you’ve been struggling with. Then – pling!!! – your phone demands your attention or an email pulls you off track. All too often, when we leap to answer to digital demands, we neglect time for deep thinking. Somehow, answering our email seems more urgent than just having a think. But if you (or your team) are short on good ideas right now, then the chances are, this could be why.
Do digital distractions mean you have no time left to think? (Photo: J Devaun)
The solution: Leave time for thinking. A simple way to take a first step here is by switching off digital devices when you are doing simple daily and weekly tasks round the house. Allow yourself to use this time for thinking.
A little love inspiration
“One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love.”
― Leo Tolstoy
Download a high res version here.
Five top tips for surviving (and thriving!) in the future
This is a guest post by Louise Armstrong. Read more about Louise here.
In my first blog I talked about how quickly the world is changing and why we need to adapt and evolve in terms of how we live, work and connect in order to overcome the challenges the future holds.
As Albert Einstein recognised: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Of course, while we can never be sure of what lies ahead we can all adopt some simple techniques to help us navigate our way into the future. And the great news is that they don’t cost a penny!
These techniques are designed to unlock innate capabilities within each of us. All you’ll need to do is be brave, be willing to try new things, be ready to embrace new experiences and be disciplined enough to do them all regularly.
You can start today! Here are my five top tips for a flourishing future…
Why doing what you love is the key to success in business
We seem to be getting more and more questions lately about how to create and run an online business, as people are increasingly seeing it as a fantastic way to do what you love on your own terms. We have learnt a huge amount over the past five years, always trying to push the boundaries and stay ahead of the game, and are happy to share that if it inspires even more of you to go for it.
We are working on some fantastic new business resources which we will share over the coming weeks and months, along with links to some of our favourite business websites, blogs, magazines and books. We will also be sharing a number of our most valuable lessons through this newsletter and dedicating the whole month of April to online business – the pros and cons, ups and downs, opportunities and how-tos – so if you are interested in finding your freedom through being your own boss, stay tuned! And even if you have never even contemplated running your own business, try to have an open mind and consider all the possibilities. You never know what might spring to mind…
One of the keys to our rapid growth over the past few years has been our commitment to collaborations. We have built some really strong partnerships with leaders in their field, which have enabled us to grow together, and make more of an impact than we could have made alone. We are grateful to be in the position where we turn down many more partnership opportunities than we take up, but when we do take a new partner on board, it is always from a place of real belief in their work, their approach, their expertise, and the relevance of their teaching for our audience.
And that is why we have chosen to partner with Marie Forleo in the promotion of her upcoming (awesome) online marketing course B-School. You may have heard a fair bit about B-School lately. That’ll be because Marie and her team are the best at what they do. But we have chosen to be a partner because the essence of what they teach – how to get your products and services in front of a huge audience of people who NEED them – is absolutely key to doing what you love in business.
Think about it for a minute – if you get clear on what doing what you love means to you, and you find a way to make that into a business, you have overcome the first hurdle. But if you don’t find the customers who want and need what you are offering, you have no business – certainly no long term sustainable business. And that will just leave you frustrated and sad. Great online marketing is a non-negotiable in this digital age, if you really want to carve out a place for yourself running a business doing what you love. You can have the best product or service in the world, but if no-one knows about it, your dream isn’t going to last.
If you want to find out more, here are two really useful free training videos from Marie, which explain a bit more about why this is so crucial to your long term success:
The power of love
Shared story: Lisa Langer
The first thirty years of Lisa Langer’s life were guided by habit, conditioning and the external distractions. And then she found yoga. With regular practice she was empowered to throw off the shackles of the past and live more consciously, compassionately and happily. Today she shares how she’s doing what she loves and supporting others do the same. Here she shares her story…
In 2004 Hugo Cory, my self-inquiry teacher, asked me the question that changed my life: “If you had two weeks completely free, with no responsibilities and no schedule, how would you spend your time?” Well, I said, that’s obvious, I’d practice yoga, read about yoga, teach yoga and study yoga. I had been a yoga practitioner since 1999, a teacher since 2001 and considered yoga as my hobby. But I’d never actually considered yoga as a legitimate career until that moment. You see, until then, I lived in the way that I thought I should live – I did well in school, followed rules, celebrated obligatory holidays, was active with family and society, married a brain surgeon, became a corporate lawyer, had a baby, etc… I valued the external world over my internal truth every time until Hugo and my yoga practices taught me otherwise.
The big idea
This is a guest post by Lara Tabatznik. You can find out more about Lara here and read our interview with her here.
I wish I could tell you that this has been my dream since I was five years old, that I have thought about it every day of my life, and that I knew this was what I wanted to do with every ounce of my heart, but this is not how the story goes.
In some ways I have been a seeker my entire life: searching for answers, searching for meaning, and always searching for happiness, but it wasn’t until I turned 28 that I formally set out on my journey of self-discovery.
I remember the moment so clearly; I didn’t realize it back then but it was the beginning of a whole new chapter. I picked up a magazine and started reading an article about the Hoffman Process*. I had heard about it years before as my cousin did it and it had a profound affect on her. The headline read something like: ‘The equivalent of eight years of therapy in eight days – a process that will change your life.’ The words spoke to my soul, and I just knew I had to try it. I wasn’t sure what it would involve, or why I felt so compelled to go, but I trusted the voice deep within me. (more…)
Growing pains (and pleasures)
Some of our lovely team having fun pasta making at a recent team awayday
An old friend and colleague used to say “The teamwork makes the dream work” and I have been reflecting a lot on this lately. In the beginning Do What You Love was my baby – I made all the decisions, some of the progress, and most of the mistakes. But now we have a team she has grown into something far bigger than that.
Every now and then a small part of me wistfully remembers the very early days, when I had a deep seated feeling in my gut about why I had to do it, even if I didn’t really know what I was doing. It was a heady, innocent time, when I was at once inspired and overwhelmed by the possibilities.
Many lessons, hurdles, questions and twists in the road later, that feeling of why hasn’t changed, but the difference is I’m now surrounded by people who know exactly what they are doing.
And the best bit about having a team? You build something together. You share the excitement, the plans, the dreams, the ups and downs, the workload, the celebrations. This is no longer my big idea, it’s OUR big idea.