The Six Aspects of Courage Part 2 of 2

March 17, 2015 By dinah Leave a Comment

Maya Angelo courage quote (Special thanks to Melanie Greenberg, PhD for inspiring this article)

“Courage is more exhilarating than fear…and in the long run it is easier.” Eleanor Roosevelt

As entrepreneurs, we are faced with fears and challenges every day. From ones that are seemingly small, like picking up the phone to build a collaboration relationship, to ones that are big, like stepping out to speak for the first time, our fears have the potential to take us out of business on a daily basis.

But when we harness the power of courage…watch out world! We can accomplish more than we imagined possible. Courage is one of THE most important innate qualities to tap in to as an entrepreneur because it is the bridge between inspired ideas and real world outcomes.

In my own life, I’ve been the first to say “I love you”, walked on fire, done athletic feats that most people prefer to watch on TV, sung half naked in front of 200 people (yep!), challenged authority figures, bungee jumped, taken responsibility for things that failed, packed up and moved across country then came back three months later, and I’ve extricated myself from relationships and environments that kept me small –all in service of my soul’s evolution.

By following my intuition – my gut instincts – no matter how scared I was and holding integrity as one of my highest values, I can congruently say that yes, courage IS more exhilarating than fear and it IS easier in the long run. And it is a key quality that has helped me dramatically increase my income, get amazing singing and speaking opportunities and boldly follow the voice of my soul.

So if you find yourself weak in the knees when it’s time to state your new higher fees or sweating buckets when it’s time to step on stage, today’s quotes and questions will help you dig deep to find your courage and act in spite of fear…ultimately enriching your life experience AND business results.

In my last article I talked about the first three aspects of courage:

1. Feeling Fear Yet Taking Action In Spite of It
2. Following Your Heart and Intuition
3. Persevering in the Face of Adversity

(You can read the whole article by clicking here)

This article is about the other three aspects of courage:

4. Standing Up For What Is Right

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” – J. K. Rowling

“There are a group of people who would like to silence everybody and have everybody go along to get along, but that’s not going to be very helpful for us in the long run, in terms of solving our problems. And somebody has to be courageous enough to actually stand up to, you know, the bullies.” – Benjamin Carson

“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes” — Maggie Kuhn

“Half a century ago, the amazing courage of Rosa Parks, the visionary leadership of Martin Luther King, and the inspirational actions of the civil rights movement led politicians to write equality into the law and make real the promise of America for all her citizens.” – David Cameron

Access Courage: Get connected to what you REALLY care about on behalf of your clients. It will give you the fuel to accelerate through fear.

Q: What are you a stand for on behalf of your clients – like if they only got one thing from working with you, what would you want them to get that would change their lives?

5. Expanding Horizons, Releasing the Familiar

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Lord Chesterfield

“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.” – Erica Jong

“In Endymion, I leaped headlong into the sea, and thereby have become better acquainted with the soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice.” – John Keats

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anais Nin

Access Courage: Remember when you were a kid and you played Truth or Dare? It probably gave you that alive and alert feeling of being excited and afraid at the same time, right? Do something each day that gives you that feeling. It will create momentum in your business.

Q: If you chose to Dare in your business, what would you do?

6. Facing Pain and Sorrow

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.” – Victor Hugo

“It requires more courage to suffer than to die.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.” – Rollo May

“Some people are walking around with full use of their bodies and they’re more paralyzed than I am.” – Christopher Reeve

Access Courage: Pain, sorrow, setbacks and circumstances are a natural part of life. Contrast is how we learn to appreciate the seemingly little things in life like the wind in your hair or the touch of a loved one – often the things we take for granted.

Q: Who or what do you want to express your appreciation for right now?

And I’ll leave you with one more quote from Christopher Reeve.

“I am a very lucky guy. I can testify before Congress. I can raise funds. I can raise awareness.”

What can you do with an ounce of courage?

The Six Aspects of Courage And How to Activate It – Part 1 of 2

March 4, 2015 By dinah Leave a Comment

20 seconds of courage quote (special thanks to Melanie Greenberg, PhD for inspiring this article)

Courage is one of THE most important innate qualities to tap in to as an entrepreneur because it is the bridge between inspired ideas and real world outcomes. When you allow fear to take you out, your inspired ideas never see the light of day and you end up shrinking back to the perceived safety of the known – and suffering from depression.

When you embrace courage, doors open that you could not previously see or anticipate. Your energy rises and fuels you to keep going. You come to know yourself as someone who is strong and capable and people hold you in high regard.

Fortunately courage is not just in some of us. It is in all of us. And it is a capacity that everyone has access to at any given moment.

There are different types of courage, ranging from physical strength and endurance to mental stamina and innovation. In this article and the next I share quotes and stories from some of the world’s greatest philosophers, writers and thought leaders that demonstrate six different ways we define and express courage. In each section, I offer a tip and question to help you and activate your own courage.

1. Feeling Fear Yet Taking Action In Spite of It
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear…and in the long run, it is easier.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

“Courage is about doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. Have the courage to act instead of react.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

TIP: Get connected to the dream or desired outcome to pull you forward. Your love has to be greater than your fear.

Q: What if it works out exactly as you want it to?

2. Following Your Heart and Intuition
“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” – Amelia Earhart

“You have to really be courageous about your instincts and your ideas. Otherwise you’ll just knuckle under, and things that might have been memorable will be lost.” – Francis Ford Coppola

“Passion is what drives us crazy, what makes us do extraordinary things, to discover, to challenge ourselves. Passion is and should always be the heart of courage.” ― Midori Komatsu

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs

“It takes courage … to endure the sharp pains of self-discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.” ― Marianne Williamson

TIP: Your heart and intuition are speaking to you all the time. You just might need to give it permission to be heard above the inner critic and outside nay-sayers.

Q: If money and/or what others might think was no longer important to you, what would you do?

3. Persevering in the Face of Adversity

“I know of no higher fortitude than stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds.” – Louis Nizer

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.”  — Soren Kierkegaard

“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

TIP: Who you think of yourself as – your identity – has everything to do with how courageously you live.

Q: Think of a time in the past when you were courageous and persevered. Who were you BEING – identity – in that moment that you can re-activate now to pull you through?

What act of courage is percolating in you? What will be the tipping point to move you into action? Leave a comment and let me know!

Leaning In To Your Hero’s Journey

October 7, 2014 By dinah Leave a Comment

Special thanks to Joseph Campbell and Barbara Marx Hubbard for being the inspiration for this article.

Beauty woman showing her hand palms. Selective focus.

Following your soul’s calling and building a business with your on-purpose gifts is undoubtedly a hero’s journey.

Our evolution as human beings and conscious entrepreneurs requires that we leave the comfortable predictability of our known environment in pursuit of that which brings us bliss – not the passive lying on the beach kind of bliss, rather the kind that comes from knowing we are actualizing the innate seed of potential within ourselves, opening up to the unlimited co-creative force within and around us, and expressing it outward through the contribution of our gifts for the betterment of humanity.

We are wired with this expressive urge from birth. Barbara Marx Hubbard calls it “vocational arousal”. Joseph Campbell calls it the “hero’s journey”. I call it your soul’s path.

Whatever you call it, it demands that we heed the call to adventure. If we don’t our spirits wither, we become dis-eased and all manner of strife falls upon us until we wake up to the call. You don’t get to choose that innate impulse. It chooses you.

The good news is, you have a bottomless well of courage to lean in to the uncharted territory of speaking, leading, marketing and enrolling all in service of the betterment of others.

When you heed the impulse you are choosing to evolve by choice not chance. And when you do doors will open that you couldn’t have imagined, dragons of fear and worthiness will appear, you’ll access and claim your inner resourcefulness through the test of all the challenges, and you will emerge a strong and more whole human being as a result.

There is no stopping you when you say YES to the quest!

Spirit gives us a sense of purpose and passion. The rest is up to you.

~ Who do you choose to think of yourself as to navigate this journey successfully?

~ What would you have to believe to make this possible?

~ What are the laser focused decisions you’ll need to make to move your quest forward, even if it means getting uncomfortable?

~ How will you celebrate your successes along the way?

~ Who will hold you as powerful no matter what when you can’t do it for yourself?

(This is one of the primary reasons to have a masterful mentor, because family and friends may have good intentions, but they will relate to you from their own limited paradigm of possibility and likely won’t fully grock who you are becoming.)

Following your inner voice is not about evolution for personal gain, although when we are “on path” we attract abundance in many forms, including material wealth. The hero’s journey requires that we return from our quest and share our wisdom gained with others. That is often why the challenges you have overcome in your past are what you are compelled to help people with through your business.

And you are meant to use the Spirit-given gifts you came in with as the vehicle. Like your soul’s path, you don’t get to choose them. They chose you so embrace them, celebrate them and use them to do good.

At times you will need a sword to cut through obstacles and at others you’ll need a shield to deflect the words of nay-sayers. And then there will be those times when you lay your armor down and let yourself be surrounded with love and support.

Stress and fear ALWAYS precede breakthroughs and evolution. There has to be contrast for something new to emerge. On the other side is our own personal transformation as well as that of our clients.

Spirit speaks to each of us in our own way of hearing. And every time you give voice to that which inspires you, you take your hero’s journey to another level. You activate the co-creative force that flows in and through you and you attract the situations and circumstances that will propel you forward.

For my local Denver Metro tribe on the hero’s journey, I invite you to join me for my newest workshop, Own the Power of Your Voice. We’re going to be untying those knots of holding back and suppressing your voice so you can step fully onto your soul’s path and claim the inner resources you need to show up powerfully.

Simple Tips To Stop Fearing Your Sales Conversations

May 28, 2014 By dinah Leave a Comment

Professional woman on phone Dread. Anxiety. Angst. Worry…

The feelings many women have associated with picking up the phone and speaking with a potential client are anything but positive or confidence-affirming.

“Inspired and Unstoppable” author, Tama Kieves, captures the sentiment brilliantly.

“Forget therapy, baby, selling what you love is where it’s at. If you want to unearth all the places where you feel wounded, unlovable, inadequate, a cross between your mortified junior high self and dreams where you stand before the FBI in your underwear, try self-promotion. Seriously, I’d say it’s right up there with primal scream therapy.”

Yikes! It’s as if our flawed self-image is buck naked in the spotlight and we’re hoping no one will notice!

Which is why enrolling conversations, along with your fees, are a mirror of your self-esteem.

And yet, at heart, we women entrepreneurs love sharing what we do. We feel in service when we connect with someone’s needs and are happiest when we are genuinely helping create our own version of magic for our clients.

The truth is…all that fear and worry is a figment of our fragile ego’s imagination. The sales conversation really can be transformed into a safe and nurturing space where you are simply exploring together and opening a doorway to possibility.

And it is through that doorway that the life blood of your business flows – serving people and welcoming revenue in return. It is why you are in business in the first place!

So let’s start with this question: Do you know in your heart you can help people? Great!

Now let me share with you a few simple tips that will boost your confidence and soothe your deservability wounds when speaking with potential clients!

DECIDE to be unattached to the outcome

There is nothing more freeing than going into a sales conversation with zero attachment to “closing the sale.” The whole purpose is discovery. It might be a match made in heaven. It might not. One thing is for sure…you are not selling you. You’re offering a solution, a hope, an awesome experience, a tool or a tincture to help them solve a problem, seize an opportunity or fulfill a dream.

Get CURIOUS

They said “yes” to a conversation with you for a reason. Get curious and imagine you are a doctor seeing a patient for the first time. You probably want to get a little history, hear about the symptoms, assess how their condition is impacting their life. It’s a time to pull back the curtain and explore the ouchie spots.

So often we’re afraid to make people feel uncomfortable, but until they see for themselves how big their need is to hire you, they will likely go on suffering.

LISTEN profoundly

And care deeply. It’s the greatest gift you can give. What they are saying, what they are not saying, listening between the lines. How often do you stop and do that without judgment or trying to fix the situation? Simply give the unspoken room to be voiced and heard. A priceless gift for your prospective client.

ASK if they are ready for help

It’s a simple question, really. If they are not ready for help, bless them and flow to someone else. If they are not sure, get curious again and explore the uncertainty. It might just be they are not ready yet. If they do want help, take the next step.

OFFER information with clarity and dignity

It’s about sharing WHAT gets to happen for them when they say “yes” to themselves through your service. It’s walking them through HOW you will guide them, step-by-step to the result they want. Use your love to educate them, not obligate them. And whether it’s a relationship that continues or not, you leave the call empowered by your courage and leadership.

Remember, this is just ONE conversation out of dozens, even hundreds and yes, maybe even thousands that you’ll have over the life of your business. When approached as THE ONE that will make or break your business, you’re putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and setting yourself up for a major freak out.

Which is also why embracing sales conversations is so healing for your self-esteem and essential for your business.

3-Step Mindset Reboot to Get Unstuck

April 16, 2014 By dinah Leave a Comment

When you are an entrepreneur you don’t have anyone handing you a job description and saying, “Go do this.” You are it! It’s all up to you to motivate yourself, make critical business decisions, move profit projects forward, and carry out the strategic marketing actions necessary to grow your business.

And when you’re doing new stuff, stepping out, taking a leap, facing money pressure, it’s likely to feel hard.

Flow, ease and grace happen with practice, experience and dissolving old paradigms. So when you’re building a new entrepreneurial muscle, anything that’s not in alignment with where you WANT to be is going to show up as resistance, avoidance, fear, anger, and obstacles that create a high emotional charge.

The problem is that when emotions are high, intelligence is low. And all of a sudden, you feel un-resourceful, stuck, blocked and maybe even have a melt-down. (We’ve all been there!)

So for those moments, hours and even days when you feel like everything is so hard, and just taking a breath doesn’t cut it, I have a quick, 3-step mindset reboot for you…

Because here’s what I know to be true for me:

Aligned solutions come to me when I am connected to Source/Spirit.
Contraction – fear, doubt, confusion, anger – disconnects me from Spirit.

In my experience, emotions need to be acknowledge and felt (to some extent) before they can be released. They are giving you information and if you try to ignore, stuff or overindulge them they’ll sabotage you sooner or later. Like a child, your emotions want to feel seen and heard. Once they are, they can settle down and let you come back into alignment.

So for those moments when you need more than just a breath, try this quick mindset reboot:

Step 1: Release
Set a timer for 5 minutes and fully experience the feeling you want to release. Cry. Growl. Scream. Stomp your feet – whatever gives that emotion the air time it needs to be acknowledged.

Step 2: Reconnect
When the time is up, take a cleansing breath (or two or three) and ask yourself, “How do I WANT to feel?” Desire is an incredibly powerful force!

Step 3: Re-Source
THEN…from that aligned feeling, you’ll be able to connect to Source and see how you can delegate more or differently, ask for help (what an empowering action!), find ways to bring play to learning how to do something new, etc.

Remember, when people make things look graceful and easy, they’ve likely either gotten past the “everything I’m doing is new” phase or they’ve given themselves a mindset reboot to pull them through the learning curve. The rough spots are just temporary blips on the radar informing you it’s time to release something that no longer serves you.

Have you taken my Quick Quiz yet to see if you are taking aligned actions? If not, do it now in the banner above.

Dinah Snow

VOICE YOGA FOR SINGERS AND SPEAKERS

The Six Aspects of Courage Part 2 of 2

The Six Aspects of Courage And How to Activate It – Part 1 of 2

Leaning In To Your Hero’s Journey

Simple Tips To Stop Fearing Your Sales Conversations

3-Step Mindset Reboot to Get Unstuck

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