7 Tips for Heart-centered Entrepreneurs & Business Owners

Originally, this article was published with 6 tips. So many people read it and let me know how helpful it was, I wanted to republish with an additional tip. Enjoy and please let me know if it helped you.

How many times have you cried in the last month? How many times have you felt like quitting? How many times have you told yourself “Who the hell do I think I am???” How many times have you felt truly joy-filled and happy? How many times have you told yourself “Daaaaamn, I’m pretty awesome!” How many times have you felt WORTHY in the last month?

Wishing for more highs than lows? This article is for you.

With over 25 years of being a heart-centered entrepreneur, at different stages of my life I have learned many lessons. I earned a lifetime pass on the emotional roller-coaster, however I seldom ride it anymore! I share some of my most valuable advice and perspectives I have learned for emotional well-being below. Enjoy!

Don’t listen to everyone. Confusion leads to lack of focus and lack of focus leads to failure. You will soon learn the lesson “Stop listening to people who don’t understand your vision.” This is not the same as “Stop listening to people, they don’t know what they’re talking about.” Many people may know lots about what they are talking about, however it may not apply to you. Their advice may lead you down the wrong path and rabbit holes. Evaluate if someone who is offering advice and support qualify for you to incorporate what they say into your decision making and more so, how it impacts your mental well-being:

-       Do they understand your goals?

-       Do they care about your well-being?

-       Have they demonstrated traits and actions you wish to emulate?

-       Are they a good person?

I specifically address mental well-being as we spend more time in our head stewing in our thoughts from information we have been exposed to. Ideas and advice that may have been just a blip in time yet, can affect everything we do in the future.

You build beliefs around your thoughts of information you have been exposed to and processed. Actions are taken on what you believe, not necessarily what is true, right or good.

Take care with what, and who, you allow to impress ideas upon you! The actions you take based on the advice you received can have consequences or rewards. Remember the old phrase that is used as a condescending excuse for someone’s actions that led to unfortunate results; “They didn’t know better.” Sometimes it’s a case of “They didn’t BELIEVE better.” Don’t let your beliefs keep you from achieving the success you seek and deserve. Be selective with who and what you listen to.

Follow your heart. When you are in doubt, ask yourself “What would I do if ____________” and fill in the blank. Often, we react out of fear. Feeling of sears are real, however if you allow them to run your decisions, you will derail your mission. Lack of funding, lack of support, physical sickness, set-backs, etc. all cause fears to bubble up. For example, “What would they think of me.” “I can’t do this.” Etc. If you allow these things to guide you, you are not listening to your heart. How can you listen to your heart?:

-       Take a breath and stop for a moment. Do not make decisions in pressured situations.

-       Sleep on it.

-       Review your core values.

-       Seek a mindful practice that allows you to tune into your divine purpose. (Walking in nature.)

-       Verbally ask yourself: “What do I desire as my ideal outcome from the action I am about to take?” then “What action should I take?” (Meditation helps with this.)

Educate yourself. Spending a little time researching pays off big in the long run. With the abundance of information available to us, it is wise to spend time seeking out tools, resources and evidence for what supports your mission, vision and goals. The abundance of resources is overwhelming, so hone in on what you need specifically to support your success.

Praise yourself. It is essential to stop along the way and pat yourself on the back. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day hamster wheel and feel like things are moving at a snail’s pace. The longer you are at something, the more sense this will make! We are filled with ambition and big ideas upon the onset, but life gets messy and business plans may go askew. Looking back on your small, or big achievements and allowing yourself to claim them as successes, boosts your energy and pushes the reset button on your drive.

Find your tribe. Know one knows better than the solo-preneur, writer, artist, designer, inventor, how lonely life can be. Getting moral support, as well as having people around you that ‘get you’ is essential. The further you retreat into isolation, the more difficult it is to be successful. It may seem like you are working hard in your business, but you are doing yourself a disservice mentally, emotionally and financially. By networking and finding a community of people to bounce ideas off, ask and offer advice to and get together with, will keep your spirits high knowing you are being valued for your contribution an well as knowing you have trusted support when you need it.

Have a mantra. My new mantra is “I only seek mutually beneficial relationships” Right now, this feels perfect for me. For a long time, I attracted many ‘takers’ and in checking my energy, discovering a new confidence and re-tooling my self-beliefs, I am more confident and deserve a solid circle of meaningful relationships in which I give and get value from.  

Your mantra may be “I can achieve anything, because what I achieve will make the world a better place.” Or “My success is achieved one breath at a time.” Or “I allow the fruits of my effort to sustain me and lead to prosperity.” Or “I know what I know.” Be creative and ask your heart what your mantra should be. It will change (and should) as you reach new levels of development and success!

Embrace intentional evaluation. Practically speaking, you and your business will need support for success and many things exist to aid you. From business coaches to marketing firms to getting certifications and so on; Be mindful of what tools and products are at your disposal and ask yourself "Is this what I need, at this moment, to fill my life with joy, allow my purpose to unfold and my business to grow and thrive?"

Evaluating resources intentionally and making the investments where it makes sense and you feel good about, is important. The financial return may not be right away, so feeling good about where you invest your time and money is so important for the long run.

I have added this tip because I see so many resources out there it is confusing to know if it is of benefit to ME and MY SUCCESS. Because of savvy marketing, we are made to feel we need the solution they are selling when it is not a fit and therefore wasting our resources.

At the same time, we need to realize we MUST invest ourselves. A dear friend of mine who is an entrepreneur put is perfectly "If we don't believe in ourselves enough to invest in ourselves, HOW can we expect ANYONE ELSE to invest in us?" Well put. I liked that! Be intentional of evaluating your needs.

Utilize a FREE Resource! I highly recommend a free masterclass from my friend Cristina Smith: Define, Claim & Share Your Expertise and like I mentioned, getting to evaluate resources that can help your business to be successful, is as easy as meeting the human being behind the service in a free class. THAT is a great investment of your time and you may find solutions and inspiration that you have been seeking! I will be there and hope to see you too.

I hope to have given you some motivational bits of encouraging thoughts and perspectives. We all need encouragement from time to time.

Did you need to see this today? I welcome your like on this article, comments and share this if it hit home for you.

Wishing you blessings beyond your dreams,

Anna