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The Story of a Big Fish: Dr. Tererai Trent

August 23, 2010

Filed under: Big Fish Business Boot Camp, Big Fish eStory, goals — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 11:52 pm

This year at Big Fish, we launched our Star Fish program. We set out with a vision and the program grew in a way that was not really expected. We had one participant, whose story I would like to share (with her permission).

First, let me tell you how we met… I always DVR Oprah shows. Last year, I got very behind in watching the shows. The DVR machine ran out of space, so I had to watch them in order to keep recording! So in January 2010 this year, I was watching October 2009 shows!!

This one particular show was about women achieving their goals…. The show featured a woman named Tererai Trent who was born and raised in rural Africa where sexism and poverty have kept women and girls in a disadvantaged position. As Tererai explains, “I always wanted to go to school and was denied the opportunity due to poverty which has created gender inequity in most of rural Africa.”

Her story was extraordinary in that she was a young girl from Africa, married off to a man, she had 5 children with him but she also had goals and dreams. She wrote them down on a piece of paper (one of our Big Fish basic tools!). She put that paper in a plastic bag in a can and buried it under a rock. Tererai wanted to get an education in the United Ststates for herself and her kids. Her long, beautiful story very short, she did just that, she not only got just a basic education, last year in December 2009, she received her Doctorate degree and became Dr. Tererai Trent. Give yourself a treat and watch her short Oprah Video: http://www.oprah.com/world/Tererai-Trent-Returns-to-Zimbabwe-to-Share-Her-Story-Video

I was so moved by her story; tears running down my face, as I wrote down her name so that I could call her. Yes, I called her (Big Fish basic tool = Bold Action)! I picked up the phone the next night and called her. She was gracious enough to take my call. I invited her to be a participant in our first ever, Star Fish program that was starting the next week! We got her a plane ticket to Austin where the first retreat was being held.

She was a light for our group, bringing so much gratitude, wisdom, humbleness, and desire to grow even more.
What has happened thus far in the program, is all the participants from the program rolled up their sleeves not only to accomplish their own goals but to be vulnerable and share their struggles, their visions, their goals and successes. And most of all, share themselves. All of them, realizing just 6 months into the program (with another 6 months to go) that they are truly more alike than different no matter if they are from a wealthy family here in the United States or a humble community in Tanzania, Africa. (And this year Dr. Trent just launched her own company: http://tinogona-consulting.com/ !! We are all so excited for her! She is an awesome speaker, trainer and evaluation expert. )

A true sisterhood has been formed. The women cry together, celebrate together, accomplish together and support each other in ways that continue to amaze me. They share their money, they share their homes, they share their families, they share their wisdom, they share their knowledge, they share their experiences and the sharing does not stop. What I realize is that when women come together to accomplish their visions every vision includes supporting others in big ways. That is a Star Fish.

We are filling our 2011 Star Fish program now! For more information call Lorin at 858.794.7299 or lorin@bigfishnation.com

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Turn Up the Volume!

August 17, 2010

Filed under: goals, success, vision — Tags: , , , , , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 8:29 am

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Summer can be a tough time to make progress on our goals.

 

Summer vacations mean we are often travelling, schedules are inconsistent, and our attention is more naturally focused on things other than goals.   Don’t get me wrong – it is definitely important (critical!) to take these breaks… but we still must remember  to return to our goals.   

We have a little more than one quarter of the year remaining, so we really need to energetically pick up speed so we can reach the goals we set for 2010.  Or to put it another way, if your goals were a sound system, let’s get back up to surround sound, then turn up the volume for WILD success!   

Here are some tips to help you “dial it up” to ACHIEVE  your goals: 

  • Change your exercise routine:  If you are in a rut with your exercise, or not exercising at all, your energy may be low.  Try changing it up a little to bring up your energy levels and give you more excitement toward achieving your goals.  The body/mind connection is important.
  •  Take a realistic inventory of your goals and adjust (or not) accordingly:  Do you have enough time left in the year to achieve each goal?  Are each of your goals still important toward making your vision a reality?  If so, fantastic – keep moving forward!  If not, consider revising goals to make them achievable this year and in line with your current vision.   Just make sure your revised goals keep you stretching to accomplish what will make you proud and successful! 
  • Post your written goals where you can see them each day:      If you stop noticing your goals after a while, move them to a different spot whWhen we keep our goals visible, it is easier to remember what we are working towards.ere they will catch your attention again. 
  • Read your vision story every Monday morning:  Our vision story is meant to be a motivating tool, not just something we write then put away.  Many Big Fish (myself included!) report getting energized by reading their vision story because it reminds them of the exciting big picture of their future.   When our vision is fresh in our minds, each goal feels more meaningful and reachable. 
  • Tell someone else your goals:  Accountability is an amazing motivator – just ask any Big Fish!   Sharing our goals with someone else makes it a lot harder to ignore those “stretch” goals, and helps hold our “feet to the fire.”   It also gives us someone else to celebrate with when we reach each goal! 
  • Sign up for a Big Fish program:  If you are struggling to set and reach your goals each year, you might need the extra learning, support, accountability, and energy you can get from the Big Fish programs.  Plan to attend the annual goal-setting teleclass in December, and read about the available Big Fish programs to see which one might fit you best for next year.    We are here to help!

Are you ready to turn up the volume??? 

Let us know in a comment below! 

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Review and Reset: Real-life Goals Work

July 6, 2010

Filed under: Mid-year Goals, goals, success — Tags: , , , , , — Starla J King @ 8:53 am

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[blog post by Starla J. King, Big Fish 2009-10]

Ah, summertime! 

Long days of sunshine luring us to the water, summer vacations giving us an excuse to play hard and relax even harder, and all sorts of external activities encouraging us to step away from work for a while.

Ice cream, anyone? :)

While it might seem counter-intuitive to talk about goals during this time of typical work breaks, it’s actually one of the best times to review and reset our goals.  Our minds are open, our energy is in a positive place, and our dreams are more accessible.  It’s a perfect set-up!

I have my Big Fish Goals Wheel in front of me — created in Dec 2009 during Lorin’s Big Fish Annual Goals-setting Teleclass, expanded a bit in January (2010), revised slightly this spring.  Let’s take a look together at some of my goals:

Personal:
Intention: Mystically connected
- Yoga at least 1 time per week
- Morning Pages [2 pages stream of consciousness longhand writing ] 5 days per week
- Monthly “Artist Date” [anything that fills my creative storehouse] alone

Career:
Intention: Simply amazing
- Set up OutWrite Living (see OutWrite Living biz goals)
- Complete Book 1 concept, outline, and proposal
- Establish myself as expert blogger-for-hire / blogging coach (see OutWrite Living biz goals)
- Set up t-shirt line and begin selling at least 3 designs

Fun & Recreation:
Intention: Main Ingredient
- Daily playtime

A quick review of my Personal goals, and I realize that I haven’t done yoga even one time ALL year.  So I need to look at that – am I the issue here, or does the goal just not fit?  In this case, it’s the goal – I’ve done other body and spiritual work that has met that need wonderfully, so I am erasing that goal because I no longer need it.  (note, always use PENCIL… goals set in stone can actually get in the way of our success!)

Morning pages 5 days per week?  Check!  Celebrate my success there!  With ice-cream, of course.

Monthly Artist Date?  I’ve neglected that, and definitely still need that goal.  No revisions there, no self-reprimand — just renewed focus.

My Career goals are on track, which actually surprises me.  I’ve felt as though I haven’t made a lot of progress towards the career goals, but I see in reality, I’m right where I planned to be at this time of year.  More celebration (and more ice-cream! and a new goal to work out even harder! :) ):
- New business (OutWrite Living) is being formed
- The book concept is becoming more clear as the  new business takes shape
- I have several blog-writing jobs and am coaching people re: successful blog-writing
- Our t-shirts are ready (just need to get them online for sale)

Fun & Recreation?  I’ve had playtime in most of my days, but definitely not all, so I’ll keep that goal as it is and will refresh my determination to make play a MAIN INGREDIENT of my life – a non-negotiable. 

As you can see, this is not a difficult exercise… it’s actually fun (ooh, I just met one of my goals for today!). 

Hopefully you already have your goals written down and refer to them often, but if you don’t, you can create them now.  You still have an entire ½ of this year to make things happen! 

What are some of your key goals??  Share them here to give them even more strength, to get support from other readers, and to get excited about them all over again!

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Need more help with setting and reviewing goals?  See previous blog posts for additional tips and inspiration:
- Resolution Revolution
- Clipping into 2010
- Spring-cleaning your goals

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Taking Women’s Businesses to the Next Level

May 25, 2010

Filed under: Thought Leader, Women Leadership, goals, success — Tags: , , , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 7:08 am

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I read a terrific Wall Street Journal article last week (by Sharon G. Hadary), called “Why Are Women-Owned Companies Smaller Than Men-Owned Companies?”.   I recommend it as a “must read” for all of us!

It’s fascinating to me that even though statistics show that women can own and run businesses with million and multi-million dollar annual revenues, the average revenues of majority women-owned businesses are still smaller than (only 27 % of!) the average revenues of majority men-owned businesses. 

Why is that??  

According to this article, part of the answer has to do with “women’s own self-limiting views” and the other part is “the stereotypes, perceptions and expectations of business and government leaders.”  

 This article does a great job of describing ways to strengthen our internal and external perceptions and beliefs, many of which apply directly to the Big Fish concepts we learn about and practice daily.    For example,

- “Change the Mind-Set”:  We need to ‘think big’ (BIG, BOLD ACTIONS and GOALS) from the very beginning.  Even if we don’t plan to grow a multi-million dollar business, we need to plan for growth, learn more about business finance, and start believing that we will get business capital if we ask for it.

- “Women Learn From Women”: This is not about male-bashing or right or wrong ways of leading.  Women simply lead in different ways than men do, so women need other women to relate to.  We need to support each other in growing our strengths and finding new ways of doing business that feel more natural to us.  Natural = Best Self = Highly Effective!

- “Start with the Goals”:  Hadary says, “Research shows that the only statistically significant  predictor of business growth is not the industry, size of business or length of time in business. It is the entrepreneur’s goal for growth.”  We must set our goals and we must set them for SUCCESS.  The higher our goals, the higher our beliefs, and the higher our successes.  (See other blog posts about goals).

 I would also add a couple key points from my experience:

- It’s Our Choice:   One of the response comments to this article pointed out that not all women entrepreneurs want a multi-million dollar business … that some women specifically choose NOT to grow their business beyond a certain point in order to avoid the potential stressors and demands of a “big” business.   There is no right or wrong size for a woman’s business – the important thing is that we intentionally choose the size of our business and set our goals based on that choice.   When we are “at choice,” we are creating our lives, leaving no room for self-limiting beliefs.

- Publicize Our Success:  If we are to change stereotypes about the capabilities of women leaders, we must share our success stories.  We must celebrate our successes publicly, using a variety of avenues to showcase our successes.   Tell the media about your achievements, join organizations that provide networks to give you additional visibility, and always be aware of ways you can market yourself and your successes.   It’s up to us to change the stereotypes one success story at a time.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the article, something for you to print and post as a reminder to take it to the next level:

 “We have to show women how to embrace change; to be trend-setters rather than simply react; to innovate beyond expectations; to develop global integration; and to practice social responsibility.  We need to help them identify ways to make their enterprises scalable and to build teams of talented people for where the enterprise should be in five years, not just today.”  - Sharon Hadary

See you at the next level!

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Spring Cleaning Your Goals

April 13, 2010

Filed under: goals, success, vision — Tags: , , , , , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 7:06 am

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For many of us, spring is a time of high energy and excitement. Longer daylight and beautiful weather keeps us going for more hours, and we quickly fill our days with tasks and activities.

Our work lives tend to follow a similar pattern. Our To Do lists grow, and we multi-task even more until we start to wonder how long we can keep up this high energy.

This is a time when our goals are even more important than ever. Our goals help us focus our energy on our priorities at those times when we are tempted to try to pay attention to everything at once.

Big Fish Goals Wheel

Spring energy and the end of first quarter make now a perfect time to check in with your goals (you did set them in January, right? See recent blog posts  re: goal-setting).

Take a few minutes right now with your written 2010 goals, asking the following questions for each goal:

  1. Am I still excited about this goal?
  2. Does this goal motivate me to action?
  3. Does this goal still fit with my current vision? (see recent blog posts re: vision)

If your answer to any of those questions is “no” or “I’m not sure,” consider revising the goal. And if you aren’t able to come up with a revision that makes the goal exciting and motivational to you, consider simply removing that goal. As our lives and businesses change, it’s important that we also allow our goals to change.

As Earl Nightingale, motivational writer, says, “The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”

Goals are not supposed to be something we struggle through just so we can check them off our To Do lists. Goals are intended to invigorate us in ways that move us and our businesses forward by taking BOLD ACTIONS and creating HUGE SUCCESS.

Today is the perfect day for some “spring goal cleaning” — why wait??

 

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Spring Growth

March 30, 2010

Filed under: #BigFishIntention, Power of Intention, goals, success — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 12:35 pm

The feeling of spring is all around us.

Although it’s in varying degrees depending on our geographic location, there’s a similar energy of anticipation and excitement.

We are also starting to see more colors as plants begin their spring growth and buds, blossoms and flowers start blooming.

This is a perfect time of year to use that energy to spring into our own growth. We can take that excitement and let it move us forward in our personal and business lives.

For example, I like to take this time of year to:

  1. Clean up and clean out: make room for new emotional and business growth by getting rid of house and office clutter
  2. Take a fresh look at my goals: am I on track? If not, how do I need to change my approach to get back on track?
  3. Remember to play: connect with my daughter, laugh with her, enjoy time outside with her and my husband
  4. Dare to dream: what is greatest big bold success I can imagine for my business? what’s the first step I need to take to get there?
  5. Refresh my DBR and WBR: do my Daily and Weekly Business Routines encourage and allow me to grow BIG? I might add something to my routine – like tweeting my daily intention (see my recent Twitter Party blog post)—or take something away if it’s no longer helpful. 
  6. Enjoy nature’s changes: plant a garden and watch it grow, take moments to notice the signs of Spring

One of my early spring activities this year was to attend the NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Board of Directors meetings this past week. Talk about growth – this organization is an admirable example!

35 years ago, 12 women business owners started an organization to build “a professional community to further and strengthen their entrepreneurial interests.” And now NAWBO celebrates its 35th anniversary as it represents the interests of more than 10-million women-owned business across the country! (See this blog for more info about organizations supporting women businesses).

Whether your goals include figures of tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, or more, new growth is important. Let this spring be your time of growth as we all share spring’s energy!

How are you planning for growth? Please post a comment and let us know… we can all use some fresh ideas!

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Clipping in to 2010

January 19, 2010

Filed under: goals, success — Tags: , , , , , , , — Starla J King @ 3:09 pm

[text and photos by Starla J. King, Big Fish 2009-10]

I just got clip pedals installed on my road bike. Uh oh.

It makes me a wee bit (ok, a lot) nervous that most people respond to that announcement with wide eyes and phrases including wipe-out and falling over.

Really, what was I thinking?? Now my shoes (unfortunately, with my feet in them) will be clipped in – metal thingies on my cycling shoes snapped into metal brackets on the pedals.

The only way to “get out” is a quick twist of the foot. Apparently a non-instinctual move that requires some training. And falling. And road burns.

So — WHY???

  1. Because “clipping in” makes my pedaling more efficient as I become one with the bike and our energies blend seamlessly. 
  2. Because (once I get the hang of those little monsters) a secure hold on the pedals keeps me safer. My feet won’t slip off the pedals, so I avoid a potentially disastrous move when standing up on the pedals for extra oomph up the hills
  3. Because they make me feel tough… strong… like something I never thought I’d be come – a biker! I’m playin’ in the big leagues now… I have CLIP PEDALS!

Turns out that’s exactly what my annual goals do for me.

Before I went through the Big Fish Nation program last year, I thought about setting goals, but actually doing them? Never got around to it.

This year, I started my 2010 goal-setting during the annual Big Fish Goal-setting Call, and now I’ve got those puppies written down and am already making progress on them!

Like those clip pedals, the structure of goals makes me nervous. I’m an artistic, act-on-inspiration, go-as-the-spirit-leads sort of chick.

So why clip into annual goals??

  1. Because I’m more efficient in my work and my whole life when I’m more streamlined, letting my own natural energies seamlessly combine with the focus of the goals.
  2. Because goals keep my feet from slipping off the path of what I want to accomplish and who I want to be. I still get to use inspiration and intuition in reaching my goals – I just don’t wander around aimlessly so much now!
  3. Because simply having goals makes me feel tough … strong…downright invincible at times. And then reaching a goal? Oh, that feels amazing! I’m in the big leagues now – I SET GOALS and REACH THEM!

Go on, try it… I dare you. <grin> Clip into 2010!

My Big Fish goals wheel – get yours plus help writing your 2010 goals by listening to the replay of the Annual Goals Setting Class, available for $59.

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Resolution Revolution

January 12, 2010

Filed under: goals, success — Tags: , , , — Lorin Beller Blake @ 7:59 am

It’s the second week of January, 2010 – how are your New Years Resolutions coming along?  Be honest…

You might be surprised to know that I personally try not to set New Year’s resolutions.  They tend to carry with them the expectation of failure, with success being measured not by whether you achieved what you wanted, but just by how long you stuck to your new plan.  Think about it, when someone tells you they are still following their New Year’s resolution a whole month later, aren’t you actually surprised? 

However, just because I don’t set New Year’s resolutions, that doesn’t mean I dive wildly into a new year without challenging myself and setting a clear plan.  I set GOALS.  They are written down, they are clear, and they are exciting!  AND I set the expectation of meeting them. 

I’m not talking about blah “things I should do but really dislike doing” kind of goals, I’m talking about setting challenges that light a fire under you every day and keep you motivated and reaching for the stars. 

So… have you set your goals and written them down?  If not, don’t worry, there’s still time!  Set aside ½ an hour and take some time to think about what you really want to accomplish this year. 

Need some motivation?  Read this short article about an amazing woman, Tererai Trent, and the incredible goals she set – and reached!

If you are struggling with this process, we highly recommend purchasing our goal setting teleclass that we recorded live in December (click here).  It will make the process highly inspiring and easy!

We at Big Fish Nation love to think about those exciting things that make us just a bit (or a lot!) nervous because those are the goals that make us stretch.  Go ahead, write those things down for yourself!

So, your goals are written, now what?  You should not do them alone!  You will be exponentially more effective (and motivated!) if you have a community to support you in reaching your goals.  Big Fish Nation  is here to support you in reaching your goals, big and small.  We’d love to have you swim with us – come on in, the water’s warm!  

You see, as you reach your goals, it keeps all of us moving toward our vision.

When one women business owner accomplishes something, it not only lifts her, but all women entrepreneurs that are working to have greater impact.

Your success matters.

Our success matters.

Make 2010 matter like no other year you’ve experienced yet !  It all starts with your goals…

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Need more help setting your goals??  This year we are offering a Replay of our Annual Goal Setting Class so you can listen to the 90 minute teleclass on your time and in your space.  We are also including our infamous one page goal wheel as a bonus.  Click here to purchase online now for $59!

The Big Fish Journal is perfect for writing down your goals!  Click here to get yours!

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