Don't forget to pack your pen!

When you go on holiday, I really hope that you don’t take your laptop or business mobile phone with you.  ‘Getting away from it all’ should be exactly that.  The whole purpose is to have a rest from your business, enjoy time with the family and recharge your batteries.

Those of you who have followed my newsletter for the last few years will know that I feel very strongly about the importance of switching off and de-stressing.

And now I’m going to contradict myself – but only a little!

One of the side benefits of switching off from day to day business life and all that comes with it, is that you will often find answers to problems you’ve been wrestling with – and been too busy to give enough attention to until now. 

You may also find that, as you relax by the pool or walk in the countryside, ideas for your business pop into your head quite unexpectedly.

Now, you simply have to capture those ideas and write them down while they’re fresh in your mind.  If you delay, it will be too late and the idea gone, possibly for ever.  I’m sure you’ve had flashes of inspiration before, perhaps in the middle of the night?  I bet that by the time morning came you struggled to remember it.

So I recommend that, when you’re packing your bucket and spade, you also pack a small notebook and pen that will fit easily into your pocket or handbag – just in case you get that great idea that’s going to make your fortune! 

New Beginnings

Last week was both frustrating and rewarding. Frustrating because I had to spend a lot of it catching up after being unwell. Rewarding when my Selling Skills workshop on Friday was so well received.

This week is going to be very different.

I love developing new products, don’t you? It satisfies my creative leanings! But I do find that I need to have ‘cleared the decks’ first so that there are as few distractions and other tasks to do, as possible. This is one of those blissful weeks.

What have I got to show for my efforts so far? At the end of day 1 I have a rather messy looking Mindmap and am very pleased to have so much down on paper. What always surprises me is just how many ideas my subconscious has picked up over the last few weeks, since I decided to work on this project.

I’m going to leave the Mindmap overnight and return to it in the morning to see if I have anything to add, or if it needs changing.