Are you stressed out?

If you're an average person then you probably are too stressed. The big problem is that stress can damage us in so many ways both physically and mentally. While you will never be totally stress free you should do everything possible to ensure that you reduce whatever stresses you can.

Stress may be one of the reasons who choose to run your own business. In my last job working for a major retailer I nearly had a meltdown due to the stress in the job. At night I would have serious nightmares every night about work and then turnaround and spend 10 or more hours at work. Essentially I never left the place.

It finally came to the point that I never felt well, I was always having headaches, pains, and assorted other ailments. In one of my close friends the stressed caused him to become diabetic and when he relieved the stress out of his life the diabetes went away.

The Zen Habits blog has 10 ways to live a less stressful life.

One of the suggestions is to simplify your schedule. Many times we will take on too many projects because we are afraid to say no or are too aggressive trying to be everything to everybody. The next time someone wants a commitment of your time consider what you already have on your plate, and if it's too much just say no. There is nothing wrong with saying no especially when you are already over committed in your life.

Another suggestion is do something calming. I was never into mediating or anything like that because I always thought it was something only "those" people did. But a few months ago I started taking time to mediate and I started to feel better. When I get a break I will often find a quiet corner, sit down quietly for a few minutes and let my mind wander. I have been amazed how well it has felt.

The third suggestion I want to point out is having a blast. Sometimes you forget just how much having a good time once in a while really recharges the batteries. A few weeks ago for my birthday we attended the Toby Keith concert when he was in town. It had been several years since we attended a concert and we had a blast. It was nice to get out have a good time and put the worries behind for a few hours.

Stress is a killer. Make sure you are doing everything possible to live a reduce your stress.

Are you doing everything possible to protect your assets?



If you have an invention you are trying to sell or your looking for investors in your business you need to take your assets seriously. How many times have you heard of ideas being stolen by other companies who claim that it was their idea?

You have spent time and money either creating your idea or building your business and you do not want to loose it all by giving away your ideas or too much information. While you also don't want to go hide in a corner scared to talk at all, you must do the right things to protect the important aspects of your business.

The Babe of Business talks about a situation with the invention of the intermittent wiper that most people have on their cars today? Who actually invented it but who made the money?

She also has several good ideas if you're out in the marketplace looking for investors to protect what is yours.

The Zen Habits blog has an entry called Success is not a competition.



In the process of running your business, do you worry about beating the next guy? Of course as a small business owner you have to worry about the big boys but do you think you have to beat the guy next door?

Saying that I am a competitive person is an understatement after all second place is the first looser!! In fact at one time I drove race cars so beating the competition was a way of life.

I remained very competitive even after I stopped getting behind the wheel of a race car. I always fought to be the number one is sales whether it was me as an individual against everyone else or my store against the rest of the company, I did not want to finish in second place.

While the competitive spirit can be good, it can also blind you to things that are just if not more important.

One of those things is helping others including your fellow business owners. As Zig Ziglar says "you can have everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want".

By boosting others you are actually boosting yourself although you need to do it for the right reasons. You need to genuinely want to help the other person to benefit them and not just be helping yourself in the long run. What is in your heart is most important.

While competition is good, success takes something else.

Are you using your creativity to your advantage?



As a small business owner you have an advantage over the chain stores and other big companies so you need to take advantage of it. You can be creative while your competitors are often hampered by bureaucracy that doesn't allow any creativity.

There is a variety of ways you could put your creativity to work and it depends of the needs of your business and your talents. Find some creative ways to entice customers to your store or new promotions that are inexpensive but effective with your marketing niche.

You should also be meeting with your networking group and your mentors to come up with other creative ideas to help your business. Often times with several people brain storming you will come up with ideas you never could have on your own.

As a small business owner you need to use every advantage you have and being creative is one of the best in your arsenal.

Here is more from the Small Biz Trends Blog.

How awesome is your life?

The Zen Habits blog has a listing of 11 refreshing ways in order to make your life more awesome.

Especially for those of us who are at the beginning stages of starting a business, often times you get so caught up in trying to build your business you forget the other important aspects of your life.

If you add your time with networking groups and other attempts to improve yourself it seems as though you never stop running. I feel that I have not stopped in the last two weeks. As an Area Governor for Toastmasters I had to hold an area speech contest, plus do my normal every day work, plus my wife and I had a yard sale this week to gradually get rid of furniture my parents had when the passed away.

The 11 ways from the Zen Habits blog got me thinking on how important it is for me to take a break and enjoy time to myself.

Right now I need to use this list and make my life more awesome, how about you?

Are you a REAL small business person?



The Nitty Gritty Virtual Assistant has a list of what makes a real business person. In short it is someone who is professional, deals with the problems and also doesn't expect everyone to hand them things on a silver platter when things get bad.

This list as all the more meaning considering what is happened in the last couple of weeks. It takes a special breed to become a small business owner. When things go bad you cannot go crying to the government for a bailout because you're just not important to them.

But in the end you have the knowledge of know that you are contributing more than the others that are in the limelight.

In the blog entry about the goal setting software I got asked a question and thought it made a good blog entry. The question is, what about people who have no trouble writing down goals but have trouble getting enthusiastic about them?



That is the million dollar question.

First of all you need to ask yourself why you are not enthusiastic about your goals. Of course the short range goals are not as exciting as your long range goals, but they are the stepping stones to your long range goals. If you do not get exciting about your long range goals and that encourages you to accomplish your short range goals, maybe you need to ask yourself what is wrong.

At one point in my life I had a hard time getting excited about my goals but over time I realized that the goals I was setting were not right for me. I couldn't see it at the time but after looking back with that 20/20 vision I can now see that I was heading myself in the wrong direction.

Look closely at your long range goals and make sure they are working with what you want out of life.

I have mentioned him again but I think Zig Ziglar is a good place to start if you need something to inspire you.

Anyone else have suggestions?