I love showing people the process of building their most influential life. Looking at how you become the extraordinary you are meant to be, is about understanding the six core influencers in your life, and how you develop them holistically. These core influencers are:

1. career,
2. health,
3. spirit,
4. relationships,
5. finances,
6. home.

When I developed The Vision of your Most Influential Life program in graduate school, I realized that these areas are much like the classic Beachball. Each of these areas support and build upon one another. So if your health core is not at maximum influence in your life, it will impact career, home, spirit, relationship.

I did a quirky little video about this in the online course that you are welcome to preview and get a stronger sense of what I mean. Look at Section 2, Lecture 4 of The Vision of your Most Influential Self

I often find that people think that all of their areas need work. Congratulations if you never settle for mediocrity and continue to develop into your highest self, at the same time you have to know where your strengths are in these areas to build upon them and get them to where you want them to be. This will create your influential life.

Ask yourself:

Which area is my strongest?

How can I build upon it to strengthen my other areas?

What can I do to support growth in my influencer that needs development through the places I am already strong?

Then dig deeper and ask:

What are my core values that tie my influencers together? That incorporate my entire Beachball, and way of life?

Where do I need to focus to build my most influential life?

Accept versus Understand is a powerful lesson in becoming your most influential bad ass-ery, warrior-preneur self. Years ago when I first met my husband he would frequently say: “women always need proof, and sometimes they just need to accept that it is what it is.” I always rolled my eyes and thought: “whatever babe, sure whatever you say, your right, love you…”  you know how you make your husband feel happy!

Over the years this though has become a profound and important lesson in order for me to have peace and success in my life. The fact of the matter is we cannot always understand everything that happens around us, to us, even through us. And when we try so hard to understand it; to pick it apart if you will, whatever it may be that we do not understand: the words, the conversation, the emotion, the interpretation and attempt come to a thorough and complete understanding we end up more frustrated and alone. We end up fighting, with ourselves and others, becasue we are looking for proof to better understand.

See reality is this:

“We cannot understand everything. Sometimes it is not meant to be understood, but just to be accepted.”

Imagine just being able to accept that that’s how someone you care about feels right now, versus being determined to understand why they feel that way. Imagine trying to just accept that this is the process you need to go through with your coach right now versus trying to understand why it is they want you to do what they’re asking you to do right now. Sometimes it is not meant to be understood it is just meant to be accepted.

Imagine how much more at peace you will feel if you stop pushing against, fighting against, willing your determination to understand why, and just call to you the acceptance of this is how it is right now. Could you let go and accept?

Accept versus understand. A powerful lesson in the struggle we have to live our biggest bestest lives. Have you learned this lesson?

Leadership: They will follow your lead!

Leadership is a powerful skill set that can influence others to new heights and excitement, but what about when they are disappointed or want to give up? I had an experience where a group of multi level marketers, in the same downline, were disappointed with a online assignment they were working on. I was surprised to learn that she backed up their disappointment.

Here are my thoughts to leaders of teams who want inspired leadership:

1. There is huge learning for you, and leadership opportunity. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a team, disappointed, and my job, as their leader is to help them see value and move through the work. To motivate them to complete it. To help them understand why and how they react to things like this.
2. If they give up over something honestly as silly as a broken url, than what will they do with larger disappointments growing a business? How will they react when they are disappointed in results they are getting?

There is a bigger message here for you.

As a leader, your job is to inspire them to continue, even when they are not happy, it’s not perfect, or as expected. Your job is to help them find value when they don’t see it. You job is to help them keep going even when they are making the mistakes you feel are so obvious. You know the value of the assignment you give them, even through they might not see it yet. So as a leader inspire them to see it as well. Coach them on what they are feeling and how it will relate to growing their business. Bigger yet, who was the person on the team that said: “so what, it isn’t as we would do it, but there are still things we can learn, let’s finish it.”

Honestly, until you as a leader coach disappointment with your team you will be disappointed in their results. Because you will see this with them again. There is power here for you as their leader, and how you learn to inspire leadership in them and YOU though disappointment.

Do you ever feel like some days start out with everyone letting you know what you do wrong? Typo here, bad link, author box broken, and so on and so on. Perfection, it is my biggest challenge. It makes me sad that people want perfect. I haven’t met perfect yet.

I often just wanna say:

Perfection: It’s expected huh?

I appreciate people telling me, when my perfection is lacking because I know how far from perfect I am, but man, some days, I hit the “you f-ed up Ann” jackpot! Saying thank you with grace is the challenge isn’t it? Ok, maybe saying thank you without sounding like you are making an excuse is the bigger challenge! Harder yet, is when you try and say thank you, fix it and they have written you off because you were not perfect the first time.

Breathe.

Did that help?

Some. Maybe we could all learn to love the imperfection of who we are. Man, that would be awesome sauce. Maybe we can love excellence instead of perfection. Hmmmm…that might be how I need to take all this feedback. I am striving for excellence, so thank you! It is a mental mind shift isn’t it?

How do you stay, happy, motivated and influential when everything coming at you says you lack perfection?

Me in April 2012, and me in Sept 2012 still 10 pounds shy of goal.

My weight loss journey over the last two years (stared in November 2010) has been an amazing influential journey. I am in, and have been for about 4 months now, in the “last ten pounds”phase. Holy cow, this has been so hard! Down, and up, up and down, not yet even under five!

Then, I thought about running my business and how similar the journey is. When I started in 1997, the beginning was easy, I had some immediate business, I felt successful. Weight loss is the same way. In the first few weeks you loose several pounds. Then like my business, I moved into the “steady as I go phase,” making small movement towards my goal.

Last year loosing the weight I even went through a phase where I gained. I saw this in my business in 2007 as the economy tanked. I had to rethink what and how I am doing what I do to be influential. I realize that sometimes a ROUTINE is the worst thing towards achieving success!

These last ten pounds? This is the “have to stick to it phase.” This I think, for most entrepreneurs is the hardest phase of business. It is the time when you have to really focus. The time when you really have to know and believe in your influential self. It is easy right now to change course, or settle in, saying your close enough. It is a time when many give up, because you aren’t quite reaching your goal.

Weight loss and business. Interesting how achieving your most influential self is the same no matter which core influencer you are working on.

I actually wrote this in November 2012, and NEVER posted it, but I still think it is relevant. And FYI, because HEALTH is one of the 6 CORE Influencers to your authentic calling, I have exceeded my goal weight, and optimal health