by Deb Coman | Jun 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Ok, so I keep writing about self-care. Must mean I’ve got some work to do there. Big surprise. When you’re growing a business and still working another job and raising a family, self-care kind of slinks to the bottom of the priority list. Even when we know that to do all those other things well, it really needs to remain at the top, much like that pinned post at the top of our social media pages.
Now, how do houseplants figure in? Well, I realized that mine are looking crappy. Not the bamboo one here. Miraculously, that one seems to be thriving. I couldn’t bring myself to photograph the other, sad looking plants I have in my house. They didn’t start out sad looking. They started out vibrant and healthy. Then they came to live with me.
I got thinking that I used to feel I had a green thumb but in recent years I’ve managed to torture through neglect even the plants touting “easy-to-grow” and the kind of plants that “anybody can keep alive.” Well, apparently, I’m not “anybody.”
Who I am is a person who plans to have time, effort and attention for the plants that have fallen under my care. Then life gets in the way. So, good intentions of watering and feeding on a schedule, figuring out the proper sunlight and repotting as needed, all very soon take a back seat. Funny, these same good intentions can apply to us: staying hydrated and eating healthy food, getting outdoors and giving ourselves the room we need to grow. Perhaps when I master or at least become a little more than a novice at these, we’ll see some healthy new shoots in the rest of my plants.
Though my work consists primarily of writing and editing, nurturing and supporting others is something I also feel called to do. As I develop some programs around writing and editing, there will be a component that promotes self-care. I’m planning some writing retreats with introspective work, self-care practices and plenty of room to write and grow. After all, we teach what we need to learn, right?
Tweet: Maybe our self-care is only as healthy as our houseplants.
So, how are your houseplants looking these days?
If you’d like some help growing your business with a communication strategy of clearmessaging and writing, contact me for a complimentary clarity call here so we can help you and your business practice more self-care!
by Deb Coman | May 17, 2015 | Uncategorized
I know what’s meant by good self-care and I realize one of its greatest adversaries in my life istime.
Why does it always seem to come back to time? (Tweet this!)
You see, I mean to practice self-care every day: to start my day with a brief meditation, followed by a cup of warm lemon water, green tea and something healthy and nutritious for breakfast.
When dressing, I hope to have time to choose my clothing, accessories, jewelry, maybe even a scarf (oh my!) in a way that feels coordinated and polished and might even include a last-minute look in the mirror before stepping out into the world.
And, yet, my morning seems to go something more like this:
Jump in the shower and out in under 7 minutes, even though the warm water feels so great and I’d love to linger in it. Half-dry my hair and apply make-up without the luxury of my much-needed reading glasses to see where it’s actually going. Throw on socks – “Are brown ok with black pants?” “Not really but it will have to do…are they even on straight?” “I think the seam is underneath my foot instead of over my toes.” “They’re not even pulled all the way up because I put them on after my pants and there isn’t time to pull up and straighten as much as I’d like…at least they’re on!”
Does this sound anything like you? I hope not! But I understand if it does.
Here’s the thing: when we start our day, week, everything without the proper time and effort required for good self-care, the wheels soon fall off the proverbial wagon and we limp along in our business distracted by the seams in our socks.
To turn this around and point our business in the right direction, we really ought to think about:
- Planning ahead for what we are going to wear, eat, do with our mornings.
- Allowing enough time for each of the activities (and then some!)
- Making a mental plan for what we want to accomplish in our business each day.
- Recognizing that good self-care sets the stage for us to focus on business and not on our socks.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you use self-care to help your business grow.
by Deb Coman | Mar 21, 2015 | Uncategorized
Why do we write?
In the most simple of terms, it’s a way to convey the thoughts in our head so that another person (or hopefully, many people) know what we mean. Sounds simple and yet, we often have to put a lot of thought into how we want to phrase what we think.
“Why do we write?” can be answered in general terms with broad strokes:
- because it’s how I express myself;
- because I want to make a difference;
- because I can’t keep it all inside.
It also NEEDS to be answered each time we sit down to write a specific piece for a specific audience or purpose.
We must take the time to ask ourselves “Why?”
When writing, “Why?” is Always Step 1. (Tweet this!)
By answering this, we hope to simultaneously answer why our readers will bother to read it.
That’s important, isn’t it? Otherwise, we’d just write in our journal and call it a day.
But those of us who write to reach others owe it to our readers to pursue the answer to “Why?”
Mindful writing is better writing. (Tweet This)
Many of us write because:
- It’s habit;
- A blog post is due;
- It’s ___________ (fill in the blank with: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…)
- I need to teach a concept
- I hope to inspire others
- I want to sell a __________ (fill in this one with: book, product, course…)
By answering the specific why for this specific writing piece, and even writing it down to refer to as we go along, it gives our process a purpose and a direction. If we refer back to the why as we spew out the words, we can catch ourselves, reel it in, and shift the focus when we notice we are wandering off course.
Take me, for example. Tonight I’m writing because:
- a blog post IS due;
- I want to help others to be better writers;
- I’m working on breaking down the process I use with my clients and the “Why?” is always step 1. (Tweet it!)
So, tell me about your “WHYs.” I’d love to hear if they are a part of your writing practice.
by Deb Coman | Mar 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
Bestselling Publisher Linda Joy has inspired me to become a Sacred Sponsor of the Choosing Happiness Crusade and Video Series.
This inspirational series features 30 intimate soul-inspiring video conversations created to inspire YOU to believe that despite the messiness of life – happiness is within reach. Unlike other “interview” style events, Linda makes you feel like you’re sitting at the kitchen table with your dearest friends getting real, raw and vulnerable!
You can reserve your seat today to get access to 30 happiness videos and 42 inspiring gifts. Get started here: www.ChoosingHappinessCrusade.com.
Happiness can mean work. Yes, happiness doesn’t always just land on our doorstep or wait for us on the carpet beneath our feet as we tumble out of bed each new day. Sometimes we have to go looking for it. Or, even harder, we have to create it.
Sounds daunting and, yet, it’s empowering. Create our own happiness? So, if it’s not just there waiting for us to absorb it, we can make it happen? Yes! Every day. Every moment. Regardless of what’s going on.
Now, this isn’t to say that in the face of tragedy or depression or other challenges, we can just paint on a happy face and all will be well. It does mean, however, that we always retain our power to choose.
In times of darkness, we may choose to feel the depths of sadness and I think that is a good choice. We need to feel our feelings to work through them. In fact, there’s almost nothing worse than painting on a happy face and pretending we are unaffected by tragedy. I don’t mean to be judgmental. We all do what we need to do to put one foot in front of the other and many of us have not experienced feeling, acknowledging, and, God forbid – talking about our feelings.
However, feelings are funny things. Like bad pennies, they keep showing up.
We can cover them, hide them, make them into something else but the original, raw feeling is deep down in there somewhere, waiting to resurface, perhaps when we least expect it.
So, I aim to choose to feel my feelings. I’m not awesome at it all the time but it’s a goal. In doing this, I don’t always choose happiness, but that’s a goal, too. In fact, it’s kind of an end goal. To get there, I may have to choose sadness, anger, shame, and guilt for a time, to get them out of my way on my path to happiness. In my experience, it’s the only way to get there. (Read more about these other feelings on our path to happiness here.)
When that bad penny shows up, instead of shoving it in a pocket or trying to ignore it, try bringing it out into the light in all its rawness, experiencing it and then cleaning it up so that its brightness can return?
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by Deb Coman | Feb 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
Happiness is always a choice. We always have the power to choose it.
Today, my friend and best-selling publisher Linda Joy officially releases her new bookInspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness.
In it are inspiring stories from 27 amazing women (many of whom I know, personally). It also includes thought-provoking reflection questions and prompts. In celebration of its release, for a limited time, purchase of the book comes with over 40 transformational gifts. Grab the book here today: http://bit.ly/Happiness_Book
The anticipation of the book release got me mulling over the idea, or I should say “the ideal” of happiness.
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
~ Abraham Lincoln.
Dear old Abe: Is this a challenge? Admonition? Invitation?
I choose “invitation.” And I choose “happiness.”
Now, I’m not saying I choose it all the time and every day but I do find strength in knowing that I have that choice at any moment. Now, certainly events, experiences, even predispositions can make this more difficult at some times more than others. However, I have a role in this performance called my life and it’s not just a supporting actress role.
I, as all of us, have experienced great sadness and I’m not suggesting we should just pull ourselves up by the bootstraps in those instances. I must say though, that even at its worst (and who can say whose worst is worse?) I know in the recesses of my mind that there is a tiny, almost infinitesimal glimmer that hope and happiness will come again – just not right now. And so I choose to feel my feelings and go to the depths of sadness, like racing toward a cold, ever-dimming bottom of the sea with an occasional glance up at the water’s surface where I know the sun is still shining, even as it becomes harder to see.
In order to choose happiness, we must also choose sadness and all the other feelings in between. Or perhaps they are choosing us and we allow them to run their course. They each serve a purpose, whether to protect, inspire or simply remind us that we feel and, therefore, we “are.” And so it is, then, that:
- I choose anger to give me the strength to protect myself when my boundaries are breeched.
- I choose guilt to grow my empathy for those I have wronged.
- I choose shame to learn healthy coping mechanisms so that I don’t stay there long or return.
- I choose sadness so that when it is felt all the way through and begins to fade,
- I can, once again, choose happiness.
How about you? Do you dabble in the palette of feelings so that, in the end, you, too, can choose happiness? Please share with a comment here.
And, before you go, choose happiness by ordering publisher Linda Joy’s Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness today http://bit.ly/Happiness_Book and get bonus gifts from over 40 visionary women (for a limited time only.)
by Deb Coman | Jan 25, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hmm. Over the years there have been a few potential (“potential” being the operative word) clients who said that their clients didn’t care about correct grammar or cleaned up copy; that they loved them and did business with them in spite of the occasional typo or misspelled word in their business writing. I’m sure that is true. To some extent. I often wonder if they realize that for every client they have, there may be one or two who clicked to the next site on their Google search or in that business directory. Perhaps those typos and grammatical errors gave them pause enough to not linger long enough to even explore the “services” page. Then what?
Maybe it doesn’t matter. But, maybe it does. In these times of point and click and your options expand exponentially, why wouldn’t you want to edge out the next option with more polished, professional writing?
Some of the reasons include that it’s faster, easier, and more cost-effective to do it myself. I completely get that (said the person who did their own website, newsletter, opt-in, etc. and spent hours upon hours learning). It is often the only way when your business is starting out. However (and this is a big HOWEVER), good, clean, professional, engaging copy brings more business. What you pay to get it should pale in comparison to what it helps you bring in.
No one expects perfection. We all have the occassional typo slip in (did you see what I did there?) and that can be ok. Really. It’s when it is more than occasional (did you see what I did THERE?) that it can impact your business and your proverbial “bottom line.”
If you’re just starting out, it’s understandable. If your business is not so much about written communication, it’s understandable. If your business is marketing or web site development, or supporting people to run their own business, it really does (and should!) matter. You are passing along bad habits like a rotten egg that will stink up their work. Don’t give your clients a rotten egg. Give them werds they can feel good about. If you need my help, I would love the opportunety. (Just seeing if you’re paying attention!)
I’d love to know your take on this and if you’ve invested in good copy, what kind of impact it’s made in your business. Please leave us your thoughts in the comments.
