Recent Blog Posts

Why “Hell Yeahs” Are Good Business

By Amira Alvarez You know what's a good business practice? Showing up and getting things done. Pretty obvious, right? Yet many of us make this unintentionally hard for ourselves. How? We have a way of ignoring what's working, what we've done, and only see what's still left to do, the unfinished business, or the…
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May 27, 2016UncategorizedAmira Alvarez

You know what’s a good business practice?

Showing up and getting things done. Pretty obvious, right?

Yet many of us make this unintentionally hard for ourselves.

How?

We have a way of ignoring what’s working, what we’ve done, and only see what’s still left to do, the unfinished business, or the next task or project.

This is called “success dysmorphia.”

We change our successes to be something that is not enough. In our pursuit of more, we don’t see them as successes. In fact, we often ignore them entirely in our focus on what’s next or what’s not working.

This can feel like you’re always carrying a burden and even causes anxiety.

One quick and easy way to turn this around for yourself is to celebrate your wins consistently.

At the end of each day (or the beginning of the next) ask yourself… What were your 3 wins from today? Or if you’re doing it the next morning… What were your 3 wins from yesterday?

This particular framing of the question comes from Dan Sullivan.

If you consistently ask this question of yourself, you’ll start to walk through your day looking for the wins, as opposed to looking for the “not enough.”

This is an immediate mindset reset.

If you use it consistently, over time, this will become your default stance.

When you start to say “hell yeah” and high-five yourself consistently, you start to recognize all that you are already doing.

You’ll start to feel more satisfied and happy with yourself and it’s from this feeling state that you can really soar.

This is a powerful way to unleash your power to show up and take action in the world with ease.

Sure, we can use the fear of not doing enough to motivate ourselves but that doesn’t feel particularly good and it doesn’t have to be that way.

Instead, motivate yourself by seeing your wins.

This is fearless motivation. Be fearless.

5 Unconventional Ways to Easily (and Consistently) Create Great Content

By Amira Alvarez Part of running a successful business is putting out great content consistently. Whether you're creating video training courses, writing newsletters, submitting articles to magazine or developing presentations or pitches to JV partners, Boards of Trustees, or investors... you need to be able to produce great content and you need to…
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May 18, 2016Creating EasyAmira Alvarez

Part of running a successful business is putting out great content consistently.

Whether you’re creating video training courses, writing newsletters, submitting articles to magazine or developing presentations or pitches to JV partners, Boards of Trustees, or investors… you need to be able to produce great content and you need to be able to do it easily.

Not being able to do this can really hang you up, take up a huge amount of time, and generally spin you out.

(If you’re spinning out about this or anything else in your business, I offer you a 5 minute mindset tool that will completely stop your spinout. Get it here.)

We don’t want that. Instead of struggling with this, let’s figure out how to approach this necessary component of your business with ease.

I’ve compiled five of my favorite, unconventional strategies for creating your content easily. They’re unconventional because they go against some of the tried and true methods that are out there. They are my own particular twists and innovations that I’ve used to make my creative production faster, easier, and more true to my own spirit and message.

Since I believe in creating ease in my business, I pay attention to when things are easier for me. That’s where many of my innovations often start and this leads us to tip #1…

Tip #1: Pay attention to when things are easy for you.

There is so much to learn by simply paying attention to when things are easy for you. You’ll notice all sorts of patterns.

How do you find it’s easiest for you to write your blog posts, do your videos, draft your courses, finish your book, build your powerpoint presentations?

For me, I’m super creative and alive in the mornings. It’s when I do my best writing and content creation. It just all spills out so easily. The creative downloads pour in and it appears that I just channel the info and viola, out it comes. Easily.

For you, is it after you’ve meditated? Is it following a great inspiring conversation with someone? Is it during a walk? (I often compose entire pieces in my head while walking and talk them into my phone for editing later.)

Conventional wisdom says work needs to be hard and a struggle. I believe we can always find an easy (or easier) approach that works for us.

Tip #2: Know your daily rhythms and energy cycles and work with them, rather than against them.

For instance, it often feels like an uphill struggle for me to do my big content creation in the afternoons. That’s not when my energy is conducive to creative expression, so I don’t do that anymore.

For a long time though, I tried to force myself to create content whenever I had time, including the afternoons. Conventional wisdom says make use of ever free moment you have.

Yet, I found that it actually took me longer and was depleting to do this kind of work in the afternoons. This in turn created an even larger energy drain and thus had many negative follow-on repercussions.

Tip #3: Set up your schedule to support what works for you.

For me this means getting up early and having 4 hours of uninterrupted me time before my first client call. I don’t book any calls prior to 9:30 in the morning. Conventional wisdom says make yourself widely (always) available to clients so you don’t “lose the sale.” But in actuality, you do everyone a disservice by not creating space for your important business development work.

[By the way, not all of that time is content creation time… there’s breakfast, walks with the dog, and the mindset practices and centering rituals I use for myself. This is part of how I set myself up for success every day. The point is, I consciously created my schedule this way. I developed it to work for me, rather than being fear driven or reactive to what I think others may want.]

Another example of this is that I used to think that I needed to set aside a whole day for content creation or block out a weekend to create a month’s worth of newsletters, for instance. I’m seduced by this idea. It makes so much sense, yet it never works for me. (It might for you though!) That’s not how it’s easy for me to create content. It feels like a struggle and I don’t want that struggle energy in my business or my content. Instead, I chose a structure that works for me. What structure would work for you?

Tip #4: Pay attention to the ideas and interactions that strike you throughout the day.

For instance, this series of tips was sparked by a comment in one of the threads in my Facebook group a few days ago. I had a distinct thought… “Oh, I could share my experience with her” and today, it popped in my mind again… so I followed it. Easy.

What’s hard for me is going back to a list of titles or ideas I’ve got written down that no longer have a spark for me. This works for some people (and is suggested by many experts) but I tried it and it didn’t work for me. (If it works for you, do it!)

However you work best with your inspirations, do that! The key point is to pay attention to those ideas… don’t blow them off. They’re beautiful gifts!

Tip #5: Have a very distinct and friendly audience in mind.

For instance, I often start my writing on Facebook with the female entrepreneurs in my group as my audience. I know them well through all our interactions, so writing becomes like a conversation. I then take it and use it elsewhere. I augment it and develop it. This is a tool that helps me get over any formality blocks that tend to come up for me and block my creative expression.

Conventional wisdom says to speak directly to your ideal client. It’s great advice… but not if it causes writer’s block or keeps you from actually creatively expressing yourself. Take the pressure off and imagine a very friendly audience who “gets you.”

Maybe you it’s your BFF that you pretend to speak to when you do your video? Maybe you could imagine presenting to your networking group that you know well when you do your podcast? Maybe you imagine a room full of your enthusiastic ideal clients reading your content on their laptops? Maybe it’s the always supportive board member who’s got your back?

Keep a well-known, friendly audience in mind and speak directly to them as you create your content. When you imagine speaking to a friendly audience, you quickly get over the fear of “saying it wrong.” You have rapport with them and know they understand you and are forgiving.

There you go… 5 somewhat unconventional tips to get you in the flow and consistently producing your great content.

This is how I’ve made creating content something that gives me energy rather than saps me of energy.

Some of these ideas goes against the tried and true advice that’s out there. But you know what? I’d rather do it my way and have it be easier. You too?

Figure out what works for you and do that!

Are you in the maybe??

By Amira Alvarez Commitment is part of what makes the quantum leap possible. Are you wholly embracing and showing up for what you want? When you're not fully in the YES of what you want, then you're in the maybe or the no. 'Maybe' doesn't cut it. It's the 'maybe' that gets us…
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April 21, 2016InspirationAmira Alvarez

Commitment is part of what makes the quantum leap possible.

Are you wholly embracing and showing up for what you want?

When you’re not fully in the YES of what you want, then you’re in the maybe or the no.

‘Maybe’ doesn’t cut it.

It’s the ‘maybe’ that gets us in trouble.

It’s the wanting but not stepping into the actualizing of your dream or goal.

Its a “sort of” liminal land that hurts and is painful. Sometimes we hang out here a long time. Sometimes for a lifetime. (This feels like crap. Don’t do this.)

We fence sit in rationale decisions and safe choices.

But it hurts. Good gawd it hurts. It’s that painful feeling in your heart when you want something but deny it to yourself.

It’s the dashing of dreams, the saying… “No, you can’t have what you want.”

You’ll survive it. But it hurts. And that discontent? It doesn’t really get better until you fully embrace your desire.

This does NOT mean stopping at “I have a goal” or “I have a dream” or “This is what I want.”

That’s the beginning, yet that is not enough.

You need to COMMIT through your choices and actions, through how you show up every day.

It means taking action in alignment with your desires consistently.

This looks like showing up everyday and taking action toward achieving your desire. Not frenetic action. Clear, aligned action.

This means making CHOICES that move your toward your desire… not away, not more of the same.

This means investing resources, your time and money, into your dream.

Sometimes this means making a bold decision, something that scares the pants off of you, yet it forces you to step into your dream.

And when you do this, when you step up and commit, you activate the processes involved in making the quantum leap in your business.

You are making a bold stand for what you want.

You are saying loudly and clearly YES and it resonates for the world to hear.

With love and light, ease and grace,

Take the Risk, Step into the Unknown

By Amira Alvarez If you want to move forward in your business and you see your next step, what do you do? You take it. That seems obvious. Yet often the next step is moving into the unknown. It's doing something new, something that we have no experience with (yet), that we're not…
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April 18, 2016InspirationAmira Alvarez

If you want to move forward in your business and you see your next step, what do you do?

You take it. That seems obvious.

Yet often the next step is moving into the unknown.

It’s doing something new, something that we have no experience with (yet), that we’re not sure of.

New = change. Change = risk. Risk = danger. Danger = potential for hurt, pain, death.

And down the rabbit hole we go.

This is where we stop ourselves. This is how we deny ourselves our dreams.

The answer lies in part in acting in faith instead. Acting on what we consciously want and desire. Taking that step, despite the unknowns, the risks, the potential for hurt.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

You need to take that risk and step into the unknown (on the daily) in order to GROW your business. There’s no other way.

What can you say yes to today in faith despite the uncertainty of not knowing how it’s going to play out and in honor of your desires for your business and your SELF?

Small or large, what is this?

Clarity = Cash Flow

By Amira Alvarez Clarity is so important. It's the state you want to be in to get the results you want in your business. Confusion leads to haziness, doubt, worry, fear, "stuckness", inaction, and not achieving the results you say you want. Confusion is NOT the same as not knowing. You can be…
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April 13, 2016Tips of the TradeAmira Alvarez

Clarity is so important. It’s the state you want to be in to get the results you want in your business.

Confusion leads to haziness, doubt, worry, fear, “stuckness”, inaction, and not achieving the results you say you want.

Confusion is NOT the same as not knowing.

You can be in a state of not knowing without being confused. Simply not knowing is a peaceful, allowing state, of not having the answer yet. It is a clear state and it brings in answers. There is no mental or emotional noise.

Confusion is the noise.

It vibrates at a different level than clarity. You can feel the difference.

If you want to have different results in your business (more money, more clients, more sales, more ease, more free time, etc) and don’t have them, you are confused about something.

Do what you need to to clear up your confusion.

Dig. Think. Get help.

Ask…

What am I unclear about? What is causing this confusion? Where is the internal conflict?

You’ll probably want to ask this numerous times, digging ever deeper.

If you don’t see the point of confusion for yourself, that’s not uncommon.

The confusion or blind spot in your thinking often sits squarely in a place that’s wrapped up in our deeply engrained mindsets (thinking) of how the world works, of how business works, of what we must do, of what’s possible… so we don’t see it ourselves.

This keeps us from making quantum leaps in our business.

My advice to you?

Keep seeking clarity wherever there is confusion.

This is what I do with my clients because when you’re clear, right action comes easily and the results you want happen. And quickly.

The clarity piece though is the heavy lifting. I won’t kid you.

This takes focused, yet gentle and respectful attention. It takes commitment. It’s an investment.

Yet, one that’s so worth it.

It requires staying in the room and continuing to ask “what is not clear here?” until you get to the source.

Stay committed to this and you’ll see your results (including your cash flow) skyrocket.

It’s kind of obvious… now take action…

By Amira Alvarez The action comes before the receiving. That's the order of events. It seems kind of obvious... if we want dinner, we make dinner. If we want to go to the library, we walk or drive there. There is some sort of action that takes place *before* we get what we…
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April 11, 2016Tips of the TradeAmira Alvarez

The action comes before the receiving. That’s the order of events.

It seems kind of obvious… if we want dinner, we make dinner. If we want to go to the library, we walk or drive there. There is some sort of action that takes place *before* we get what we want.

Sometimes it’s a very easy and automatic action, like the two examples above.

You already are someone who cooks and walks, so you just do it. It’s obvious. We don’t even think about it as “doing” something. But we have most definitely done something. There is action.

But let’s say you want something that you’ve never experienced before where the action isn’t as known or automatic.

Maybe you want an amazingly intimate and passionate relationship or you want to TRIPLE your income or you want that new position at work, something that you desire, but have never had or done before?

You still have to take action. Kind of obvious when we put it like this.

Yet so often we take action that is not associated with our desired result, but with our current experience.

We keep doing the same thing we’ve always done and we expect different results.

We assume that our desire for it is enough. That our partner will make the first step, that our boss will recognize our potential, that people will flock to our business.

This isn’t how it works.

You have to BE the person who does the kind of actions associated with this desire. (Not actions associated with another desire or your current experience.)

You have to BE an intimate and passionate partner. You have to BE the person who has that position at work. You need to BE the person who makes three times what she is making now.

This new way of being is what leads to the action that leads to the actual result you want.

So how do you BE in a way that you haven’t up until now? Or in a way that you have limited experience with?

You ACT AS IF.

You BE THE CHANGE.

Ask yourself, who would I need to be to be someone who has… (what you desire)?

What comes up for you? What’s her life like? What is she doing? What is she saying? How is she acting? What is her energy? What is her environment? How is she interacting with her environment? What are her daily habits? How does she show up?

Get really clear about that. See it. Feel it. Know it.

This is what you need to BE now.

Start to create this in your life now. Start acting like that person.

This change in BEING is what comes first. It leads to the actions and the results.

To have the change (the result you want), you need to BE the change.