When we were tiny babies no one had to teach us how to live in the moment. We just did so, naturally.

Time was magical, with toes to discover and rattles to play with. As long as our basic human needs were met, only the present moment mattered, only the present moment existed.

Then we began to grow up and many of started to forgot how to stay fully present. We started remembering experiences from our past and rehearsing for our future.
I wonder how much of your life is spent thinking about some goal or event in the future-worrying about things that need to be done next week or fantasising about how great life will be when….?

It’s these very thoughts that continually lean toward your future that can rob you of your present moment – YOUR life.

Remember the saying ‘enjoy the journey’, or as Zig Ziglar would say ‘Success is not the destination.’

Your life is created by how you feel in the moment. The feelings that you have NOW attract the building blocks for your future.

So, if you aren’t at ease with who you are now or how your life or business is going, you are going to attract experiences that are a reflection of those feelings, and it will be difficult to ever reach a state of contentment or satisfaction.

It’s easy to lose touch with just how amazing life really is when you continually think about the future and what you’re going to gain, do or accomplish down further down the road.

A simple way to live in the moment and enjoy the journey of life is to find everything and anything that you can be grateful for and to give thanks.

There’s a wonderful Zen passage, “Success is not found in what you have achieved, but rather in who you have become.”

“Who you have become” is directly related to the growth that happens along the way to your future.

Stay on course in the direction of your dreams but keep your mind and heart in the present moment, because that’s where the richness of life lies and where transformation happens.

So don’t worry about what you could’ve or should’ve achieved last week or what you might do tomorrow. The only time you can effect is NOW, the present moment.

You read that correctly!

Having an online presence in the form of a website is absolutely a waste of time.

IF….

You believe that having  a website is going to be your answer to finding clients and doing more business.

I hear it time and time again from women who go to great lengths and expense to have a pretty looking website built for them and then can’t understand why they still aren’t finding clients.

Why do we get so hung up about the websites?

In fact why do so many people become hung up about having business cards and promotional material printed BEFORE they feel ready to do business?

One of life’s little mysteries perhaps.  Or maybe not.

Agreed it’s fabulous to have these resources BUT,  and here’s the thing……..

Whilst you are spending time right now, writing copy, selecting pretty little images from istockphotos  you could be out there doing what you do best, serving other people and benefiting financially.

Let me tell you something.  You are the front window of your business. You are the equivalent of your online presence, so why not start from where you are, use the wonderful resources you’ve got and stop procrastinating behind your desk.

We haven’t always had websites – people prospered in business for 100’s of years before the web became a marketing tool. Not only that, it is becoming increasingly challenging to make yourself visible online by website alone.

You don’t need to send people to your website before they will buy from you

So take a deep breath, stop focusing on your website and go out and look for the people who need your help.

Today’s post is inspired by my eight year old. She was playing with my iphone the other evening and unbeknown to me at the time, this short video is what she captured of herself.

1. Do what you enjoy
2. Grab Attention
3. Use Video!
4. Communicate your message clearly without fear of rejection
5. Don’t let the fear of failure, judgement or criticism hold you back
6. Be your authentic self
7. Be creative and innovative
8. Get out of your comfort zone

From time to time I will be sharing articles from guest bloggers, if you enjoy writing and have an article you think would be of interest please contact my VA at myva@allisonmarlowe.com

Are You Living In Your Own Skin?

By Shuri Morgan-Radford –

The Consciousness Architect

I don’t want to do this!

How often do you say to yourself I really don’t want to be here or I don’t want to be doing this? How often do you find yourself saying ‘yes’ to someone when actually you mean ‘no’? How many times do you find yourself crossing your own bottom line? Do you even have a bottom line? If you recognise these things going on in your life, it may well be because you are not being your Authentic self. Being Authentic means being unique. It means living your life your own way and not following another person’s way of doing things. It means being confident and self-assured enough to do what makes you happy and fulfilled so that you get the maximum out of life’s experiences.

Square peg in a round hole!

If you aren’t living in your own skin and in a way that is natural to you, you will constantly feel like a stretched elastic band. You may feel that you are a ‘square peg in a round hole’ or ‘stuck in the mud.’ You may feel as though you don’t ‘fit’ anywhere. You may find yourself spending a lot of hours in the day doing things which don’t feel natural to you, or make you sad or unhappy or just plain annoy you. Whatever you feel, it won’t be pleasant. You will struggle on but will never really feel ‘right.’ You may even get ill, drink too much, find it difficult to relax and generally find life tough.

 I feel great!

So why is it important to be your Authentic self? Well, living in your own skin means that you are doing what is right for you. You are being driven by your own values and desires and therefore your life will have more meaning and be much more fulfilling. Communication becomes easier as you stop feeling as though you are pretending to be someone else. You make your own decisions on what you know to be right or wrong for you. You will be happy to listen to someone’s advice but ultimately will make your own informed decisions. You will feel more confident and have more self-esteem. You will know your worth and you will feel altogether more secure. Although it is about pleasing yourself, it isn’t about being selfish. Think of the analogy of the plane crash. We are told that in the event of the air masks coming down, we must put on our own before our children’s.  Authenticity is like that. When we know that we are secure then we are in a good position to help others.

Feel the fear and …..!

Some people say to me ‘but I’m too scared to go out there and do what I really want to do.’ My answer is always that there are times when there is fear attached to doing something but your Authentic self will say ‘I’m scared but I really want to do this.’ The more that you can ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ as the author Susan Hay says, the more fulfilled and strong your Authentic self will become. Practice makes perfect in this case! And sometimes you may find that what you thought you wanted to do or be isn’t actually what you wanted at all! But that’s ok. – at least you are one step closer to knowing your real self by knowing one more thing that isn’t Authentic to you! This is when the really good changes begin to take place.

Weird man!

Being unique and Authentic for some people means not running with the herd; it means being different than the norm and that’s ok. Other people may find it strange that you are behaving differently at first (particularly those close to you) but soon they will begin to respect that you are making your own choices. Some people may even think that your ideas and ways are odd, but you will unconsciously be giving other people the message that we don’t all have to be clones. By your actions you will be giving others the permission to live Authentically. Also your contentment will be their evidence that you are making good choices in your life.

The power of it all!

Being your Authentic self is a powerful thing. By your authenticity you are connecting to your Higher Self and life inevitably becomes much more rewarding. When you understand and start acting in an Authentic way you are able to let go of jealously, envy, fear, insecurity and all of those other negative emotions because you are doing what you want to do with your life. Living in and appreciating the moment becomes more important than dwelling in the past or the future. Real contentment, love, compassion and understanding enter your life. If we all committed to living authentically what would happen to the world then…..? That’s a powerful thing, isn’t it…..! So – could you choose to find your Authentic self today – right now? Could you give your true opinion, dress in a particular way, take up a hobby, do something that you’ve been dying to do for years? Start to create your own future. Whatever it is, do it in the knowledge that each time you make a personal choice and act on it, it will feel more and more natural because it is already part of you. Go forth in Authenticity!

I knew from a young age I was here to look after or take care of others, I always wanted to care and nurture those around me. I still treasure  family photographs taken of me dressed up  as nurse aged four.  If someone ever fell and hurt themselves in the playground, it was always me to who arrived first on the scene to provide comfort and reassurance. Maybe you aren’t old enough to remember, but there was a children’s comic, Twinkle.  The first story on the inside cover was Little Nurse Nancy and I couldn’t wait to hear her adventures.  My path didn’t quite work out in that way, but the nurturing side of me never left. I always wanted to make a positive contribution in some way.

I now know my purpose here is to help and support womenpreneurs just like you, to make a difference to the world through running your own business.  It’s taken me a long time to reach this point, I’ve been patient, I’ve been frustrated but deep inside I have always know that with persistence everything would all come together and over the last  few years business has really started to flourish.

One of my favourite quotes is from Doreen virtue, who says God doesn’t give us our dreams without the ability to make them happen.” All those dreams, desires and yearning for something more, is  like your higher self calling you, pulling you towards your potential.  We are designed to work in ways that suit us that draws upon our natural abilities, talents and skills. Elizabeth Kubler Ross says in one of her books that if you can find and do work that you love you probably have an excellent chance of being able to accomplish what you were sent her for.

Whatever your talents, background, your race, your age you are capable of being an inspiration to someone else. Right now, there is someone out there looking for exactly what you have to offer. You are actually doing your prospective clients a disservice by not offering them the skills and talent that are so uniquely yours to give.

So I invite you on to explore the possibility of stepping into your greatness, your purpose, so you will live your best life serving others through the business you run.

When we choose consciously to do the things we enjoy, we become more alive, our energy raises we make things happen, they become seamless, easy and we are rewarded for our efforts.  Who doesn’t want that!

Hi, it’s Allison here, I’ve just reinstated my blog and I wanted to share this with you.

Last week was half term and my two youngest daughters joined a 3 day tennis course. I dropped them off at 9 am at the local tennis club, full of excitement and I guess some anticipation as neither daughter had played tennis before.

One hour later they came home beaming, great big smiles spreading across their little faces, ‘We love tennis, we love tennis’ they squealed in unison. What astonished me was their openness and willingness to grasp an opportunity full on without knowing the outcome and ‘going for it’ with such gusto.

Mark Twain said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

I believe opportunities are waiting around every corner. You never quite know when that door of opportunity is going to open wide. I’m also a great believer in the Law of Attraction, one of the fundamental laws of the universe, which states, we bring into our lives a reflection of what we are attracting, be it negative or positive.

My girls on average have 630,000 hours ahead of them to do with what they will, sleeping, working, playing, living, being, doing and having.

I’ve learned so much from observing my children. How about you? will you be ready to reach out and grab opportunity when it next knocks, to throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbour, Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover?

Watch out for opportunities coming your way.

With love,

Allison x