I share this with you not to brag – but rather because, for me, this has been a pretty significant breakthrough that I think brings lessons I can apply to other areas of my life. For as long as I can really remember, certainly since high school, I have struggled with food and maintaining a healthy diet. For years I have known that I wasn’t eating particularly well – but dealing with it in any sort of lasting and meaningful way – has always seemed more than a little bit overwhelming. At least twice a year, I’ve discovered a new book at Barnes & Nobles, with the latest low carb or high protein or food combining “solution,” and have convinced myself that finally THIS is the diet I am going to follow. THIS one will be the answer to those extra pounds. THIS time I’m going to stick with it. I get started with a vengeance, making lists, hitting the grocery store, sorting through new recipes. And time after time, usually in less than a month, one day “off the diet” turns into 3 days, which turns into a full week…you get the picture.

So what changed? I think there was a powerful shift for me in defining what it means to be disciplined when it comes my diet.  First of all – you notice I said 90% vegan…In the past I have really hurt my chances of success by approaching eating with an “all or nothing” attitude. I tried to eat a certain way ALL of the time. For most of us this leads to feelings up deprivation that we simply cannot maintain long term. Now, if I really want a cheeseburger, I have a cheeseburger. If I go out to a restaurant or a party with friends, I don’t try to convince myself not to have whatever delicious things are being served. If I want them – I have them.

Another important aspect of my success with this diet has been my commitment to actual education. Not the latest fad…but actually finding and reading the research that has been done on the ways our bodies respond to the food we feed ourselves. I’m certainly not suggesting that there is necessarily one right way to eat. However, the key is that I have a clear understanding of why I am making the choices I am making. The more I read, the more committed I am to this change in lifestyle and the results I’m seeing right now, support the belief that I will continue to see amazing long term benefits.

What if we take these two “tips” and apply them to how we approach discipline in our businesses?

Specifically, I think that for many of us there are strong parallels between the ways in which we handle our diets and the ways we handle our money. Like being healthy, consistent money management and financial organization is not something that is going to happen automatically. It does take discipline to ensure that your financials are in order. You can’t organize those receipts or sit down in front of Quickbooks once or twice – and expect to have any last results. Still, acquiring this discipline is without question worth the effort as the rewards will certainly last a lifetime. Strong financial management and organization is the only way  you can expect to have the necessary information with which to make informed business decisions regarding your company.  As entrepreneurs we can also only  reach our financial goals and objectives if we regularly take the time to evaluate our progress, set new targets, and define the tasks required to hit those targets.

But I encourage you to look at whether you have been approaching financial management with the same “all or nothing” attitude that I mentioned earlier in this post. Are you perhaps guilty of having an image in your mind of what it means to really be on top of your financial situation – and then actually doing little or nothing because you recognize you are falling so far short of perfection? Do you dive into financial projects with a vengeance – spending hours  creating charts and sorting receipts – only to exhaust yourself and get so burned out you don’t even look at your bank statements for 3 months? How much better would it be if you tried to take more bite sized, but consistent actions when it comes to handling the business finances?

Also – have you neglected the financial education that is critical for your success? Small business owners often mistakenly believe we can have a loose understanding of money because once we have “lots of it” we won’t need to worry about all that accounting stuff. The problem of course is that it’s extremely unlikely we will ever have “lots of it” because we don’t understand the money rules and activities that will actually bring financial prosperity.

Discipline itself is a characteristic that every entrepreneur should work toward. What business partner, investor, customer or employee for that matter would not want to work with or for someone who has mastered this important quality?  Not only will you feel better about yourself, but your business will be so much more likely to succeed if you are able to develop the discipline necessary to maintain the daily, weekly, and monthly activities that keep your business growing and moving forward. But be kind to yourself. Find the ways you can steadily improve – moving towards the ideal – but not beating yourself up for the ways you fall short.

At Abundance Bound we teach entrepreneurs how to consistently take these small but powerful steps forward. Visit http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem for more information.

It was wonderful watching him try so hard and as I stood there, I realized that even 35 years later in life, I too struggle to wait – and to let things happen in their own time. As I speak with entrepreneurs, I find that a common ailment amongst us, is patience. We want our efforts to pay off now! We want to see our labor unfold into immediate success. Small business owners often must work months and even years at a time before achieving the goals we’ve set for ourselves. And while it’s not quite as simple as sitting on our hands, we too must find a way to stay the course, even when things take longer than we would like.

A related lesson for entrepreneurs – one that  we also work to teach our children – is Persistence. It’s not just a question of waiting for the things we want. We must also persist in whatever work it takes to achieve our goals. And of course the work isn’t always fun and inspiring. Sometimes it’s tedious and challenging and just plain hard. And yet, if we give up when it gets rough, in all odds we won’t be long in business. Ultimately, persistence pays off. And if I can just be terribly annoying and use a favorite bedtime story as an analogy: Are you going to be the little engine who could, OR the entrepreneur who can’t?

Especially when it comes to financial education, persistence and patience are qualities an entrepreneur simply cannot do without. While effectively dealing with money is rarely something that comes naturally, it is like learning to ride a bike or anything else that’s new. If you stick with it, you will ultimately master money management and the tools you put in place to stay on top of your business financials will become like second nature.

Success rarely happens overnight. And yet, of those business owners willing and able to stay the course, most look back with gratitude for the patience and persistence that brought them across the finish line. At Abundance Bound we believe that these two virtues come significantly easier to those entrepreneurs who surround themselves with support systems.  To learn more about the ways we can support you in the patient but persistent growth of your business, visit http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem.com.

It’s important that we cultivate a sense of gratitude for everything good that exists in our lives NOW.  Where affirmations speak into the future you plan to create, gratitude is about being thankful for what is currently so.  In her wonderful book, Zero to Zillionaire, Chellie Campbell suggests, “Thank whatever Higher Power you believe in for all that you have.  Gratitude is the only thing that studies have proven increases happiness.”

We get more of what we focus on.  If you start consciously paying attention to your thoughts, it may surprise and frighten you to realize how much time you spend thinking about everything that is wrong in your life and your business, and beating yourself up for everything you should have done differently.  What might happen if you started taking time every day to focus on what is good, what you have done right, what you love about who you are and what you have?  Personal growth expert, Anthony Robbins, suggests starting everyday with a gratitude exercise.  This may not come easily at first.  You can focus the exercise by “working from the inside out”, either speaking out loud or silently to yourself as follows.  First, state all of the things you are grateful for, focusing only on yourself.  “I am thankful for my health.”  “I am grateful for my commitment to regular exercise.”  “I am grateful for my beautiful singing voice.” (Or your ability to paint, or your work ethic, or your intellect – whatever you feel are positive traits you have.)  Really take the time to think of everything you can.  Perhaps you are a brilliant mediator.  Do you consistently strive for and achieve high levels of integrity and honesty.  Are you kind, a loving mother, a good friend?

Now you are going to expand your circle of gratitude.  Move outwards to your family and close friends.  Perhaps you are grateful for all your parents did to raise you, or the health and happiness of your brothers and sisters.  Do you have friends that are always there for you – who love you – and make you laugh?  Continue the exercise, just growing the circle wider and wider to encompass everything for which you give thanks in the sphere of your business, then your community, followed by society and even the world.

The fact is, if you do this exercise genuinely, not making things up, but sincerely looking at all that is good, it is literally impossible to come away without feeling happy, positive and truly energized.  Imagine what would be different if you truly made the commitment to start your day, every day, this way.

We can all find things to be grateful for.  Once you get started, the floodgates will open and you’ll discover that having an “attitude of gratitude” can actually become a natural state.  And from that state – absolutely anything is possible! At http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem.com we’ll help you create the lasting mindset and space of gratitude to support your ongoing growth as an entrepreneur.

“The secret to my success is determined by my daily agenda – by the daily decisions I make, and the daily disciplines I practice.”– Dr John C. Maxwell

I heard that statement a few years ago, and it is something that has always stuck with me, because I fundamentally believe that it is true. Another way of saying it is that, if what and where I am today is a direct result of my previous actions, what I am tomorrow depends on what I do today. The problem is, most people underestimate what they can do today, and over estimate what they can do tomorrow.

Now, if you think about this for a minute, you will see how true it is.  You constantly hear “I’ll do it tomorrow.”  I know I say that, and then, when it doesn’t happen tomorrow, it becomes “the next day,” then the next, then the next, until either we hit a crisis and do it at the expense of something else, or we just never quite get around to it.

Let’s take an entrepreneur building a coaching business as an example: how can you get new clients if people don’t know who you are? And how can people know who you are if you’re not publishing informative articles on your area of expertise, and attending networking events to expand your circle of contacts? So how many articles are you posting on the internet this week? What networking are you doing today? But maybe you’ve got writer’s block, so you put the article off to tomorrow, and traffic is really bad tonight, so that networking event can wait.  You get the picture.

The same is true in your finances. If I am struggling with debt, what can I do to get out from under it? Can I call the credit card companies and beg for a break? Can I tear up my bills, move, and hope they won’t find me? You certainly could, but it wouldn’t be recommended. Instead, wouldn’t it be better to look for ways to generate multiple streams of income, shave some money off your expenses, learn how to pay a little less in taxes, put a solid debt plan in place, and move forward freely, rather than constantly worrying about how you are going to handle those student loans?

What expenses can I track today that can be used as tax deductions? How can I work a bit more today to earn the money I need to cover those expenses? What financial seminar can I take or what book can I read today to build the money management skills I need to take control of my finances?  How can I alter my spending habits today so that I have to worry less tomorrow?

Oscar Wilde said “every action of the common day makes or unmakes character,” and, beyond that, everything you do today affects where you will be tomorrow.

All of this is a process. No one expects you to flick a switch and suddenly have amazing organizational skills, perfect credit and financial savvy.  But there are two kinds of pain in this arena: the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret. Now, especially when it comes to ensuring a strong financial foundation, we can play now and pay later, or we can pay now and play later. The problem is, payment compounds, and increases with time and missed opportunities. So if you suffer the pain of paying now – of discipline, of doing the things you need to do long after the mood in which you said them in has gone, of paying attention to your actions today – tomorrow’s rewards will come far sooner than you imagine.

Visit http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem.com and join our community of entrepreneurs, committed each moment to creating the success that they deserve.

Have Discipline – a wonderful aspect of being an entrepreneur is the freedom to create your own schedule. For the most part no one dictates when you have meetings or when you start and end your workday. However, for many entrepreneurs this freedom is also their curse as they struggle to develop the daily disciplines that lead to success in any small business.  We cannot imagine the Olympic runner pausing between laps to check his e-mail or agreeing to grab coffee with a friend in the middle of a scheduled training session. Likewise, as you plan the daily and weekly activities that will result in growth and business progress, block out concentrated work periods where nothing is allowed to interrupt.

Don’t Train on Your Own -  If 100 people were asked to name the single most important thing needed by every serious athlete, you could put money on the fact that the majority of responses would be a Coach. It would be unthinkable for any athlete wanting to reach elite levels to even consider training themselves. Additionally, most athletes spend the bulk of their training time working in groups – fueled by the natural support, energy and accountability that comes from a team. And yet, so many small business owners work completely on their own (thus the term SOLO entrepreneur) and wonder why they are struggling. At every stage of your business it is absolutely critical that you surround yourself with the individuals that will help you progress to the next level. This group should consist of both “experts” – those who have already accomplished the things you are working to achieve – AND fellow entrepreneurs who essentially make up your “training team.” No single person has every achieved great things on his or her own. Don’t fall into the trap of being a lone ranger – find the people who have gone before you and learn from their experience.

Take Breaks When you Need Them – This may seem to contradict our first paragraph about discipline, but in fact, a part of discipline is the creation of balance. Athletes train hard but they also take the breaks they need to allow their bodies to rest. Without these periods of recovery, injury and burnout become inevitable – taking them (sometimes permanently) out of the game. As an entrepreneur, you must also create the periods of downtime that will allow you to refuel. This allows you to return to your business with the renewed sense of energy and purpose that will keep you moving forward.

For step-by-step tools to financial success as a small business owner, visit http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem.com and register to join us for our next FREE teleseminar The Power of Prosperity.

It goes without saying that a lot of people are in the midst of financial struggle. The stock market is running at a 12 year low, unemployment is close to 8%, and many are predicting the recession to run at least into 2010. This means less income, greater levels of debt, and a tightening of belts across all levels of careers, from bank executives to McDonald’s employees.

For us, as entrepreneurs, it can mean all those things, except that we have the additional need to continue growing towards success as small business owners, and finding the money it takes to do that. Sometimes, that can feel overwhelming. We go through periods where we make good money, and periods where there isn’t enough. Often the down times are subsidized with credit cards, which then increase our expenses when we are making money again, and only add to the financial pressure we feel.

So what are we to do?

It is critical to your success as a small business owner that you not allow your financial challenges to knock you out of the game. This is not intended to suggest that you ignore the very real issues you may be facing in terms of your money.  Instead, consider these three habits that will help you work through financial obstacles.

Don’t do it alone.

Many of us seem almost hardwired to try to handle our problems on our own.  This way of being is intensified when it comes to financial difficulties.  Society suggests it isn’t appropriate to talk about money and it’s normal to fear you’ll be judged if you “come clean” about a financial problem.  Still, one of the best ways to work towards a solution is to get perspectives and ideas from other people.  Build a team.  It may consist of friends, family, professionals or even fellow students in a financial seminar – but it’s essential that they be individuals you trust, who support you and who want you to have success in your small business. Seek communities of financially motivated individuals and you’ll be able to help each other work through hurdles, while continuing to challenge each other to achieve the goals you set for yourselves.  It is almost impossible to grow financially and build success as a small business in a vacuum. The phrase “self made millionaire” is hugely misleading, because no one reaches high levels of achievement in any arena, without first surrounding themselves with the energy and strength that comes in numbers.

Take action

One of the terrible things about financial anxiety is its ability to rob a person of their will to take action – stalling your growth towards success as a small business. Someone is worried about a problem, so they ignore it and do nothing about it, which makes them more worried, which further paralyzes them, and so on. The only way to break this cycle is to take a deep breath, screw up your determination, and go to work! Make a list of everything you can think of – small and big – that could help improve the situation.  (Again, your team can help with this.)  Pick something on the list – start with something easy – and do it.  Then pick something else, and do that.  Action breeds more action, which leads first to small successes, and then grows into significant accomplishment.  But you must get started.  Quickly. Now! The longer you put it off, the more daunting it will seem.  Once you get that first thing done, you will feel good about yourself for having made a positive step, and can then use that energy to take another… and another… and another, until you have smashed the old negative cycle, and have established a cycle of forward moving, positive action in its place.

Find the Lesson

We’ve all been told that we can learn from our mistakes.  Still, when we’re in the thick of it, finding the lesson we’re meant to take from the struggle is far from easy.  But there is an enormous benefit to taking a few steps back and identifying the choices that contributed to the problem.  When it comes to financial difficulty, did the issue stem from an unexpected crisis such as illness; or is a pattern emerging such as spending more than you are earning, or disorganization leading to late bill payment and overdrawn accounts?  We have to truly recognize that there is a problem as well as the role we played in its creation – in order to be able to do anything about it.

It’s probably not realistic to believe the day will come when all of your financial troubles will completely cease to exist.  However, practicing these three habits will certainly make them less daunting and long lasting.  Joining our entrepreneur community at http://www.AbundanceBoundSystem.com can help you to overcome each challenge. The strength and confidence you gain will have lasting effects in every area of your life, and will certainly increase your success as a small business owner.

However, it is true that the first step to creating significant positive changes in your business finances, is honestly examining and shifting some of your deep seated, negative attitudes towards money.  Your financial conditioning is something that you must begin to self-manage, be aware of and correct the rest of your life. This isn’t something that you can check the box and say – I’m done, I’ve arrived. Your psychology will always impact your decision making process along your wealth building journey.

I encourage you to take the time to actually write down some of the beliefs you have about money.  Honestly examine the list and ask yourself which beliefs continue to sabotage you.  Now, make a second list of what you would like your thinking about money to be.  Start carrying those lists with you.  Stop yourself when you find your mind on a thought from the first list and make a conscious decision to shift that thought to one of your new, empowering beliefs.

We believe that with the right tools, all entrepreneurs can be successful. Our mission as a company is to give you the clear action steps you need to build success as a small business owner.  Visit us at http://www.abundanceboundsystem.com for some ideas that will get you started. Accept the responsibility for changing your negative attitudes about money. By doing so, you’ll gradually reduce the mental blocks that are keeping you from consistently and powerfully doing the work to create the financial stability and profitability you so richly deserve.