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Have a Little Faith in Yourself

July 6, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 13 Comments

Would you like to listen to this post? CinchCast audio is just above the related posts, sharing links, and comments at the bottom. Look for the purple play button.
Ever feel like the woman on the left – biting your nails nervously when you think about running your own business?  Good thing you stopped by today, it’s a Tuesday pep talk!

Personal and business get so intertwined when you’re a solopreneur – personal progress IS business progress and growing as a person is required to grow your business…

My greatest challenge in business isn’t marketing, or my technical services, or writing… it’s doing the work to be a better, stronger, bolder version of myself and to have faith and confidence that I’ll succeed.

So if you find it challenging, too, know that you aren’t alone! And you can do it.

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Filed Under: Challenges, Inspiration, Mindset, Work at Home Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Make a Difference… Go Get It…

June 29, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 10 Comments

This week I took the kids and flew to Anchorage (that’s the “big city” for us Alaskans) where we celebrated my Grandmother’s 80th birthday with her. She’s had a very long life and it was wonderful to spend some time together with so much of my extended family in one place.

Then I got the news yesterday that a wonderful lady I knew online had passed away. I’d known Denise Willms for years – she ghostwrote articles for me, helped me with press releases, and I did website design and hosting for her. She was a wonderful person, full of kindness and she always inspired me. I can hardly believe she’s gone.

It’s been one of those weeks where I realized that life is so unpredictable. We never know whether it’ll be 80 we make it to… or whether we’ll leave the world much sooner than seems fair.

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Don’t Quit: Weekend Inspiration

June 27, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 3 Comments

If life or business has been a little tough lately, overwhelming or discouraging, this post is for you. There are ups and downs on the way to every goal. Know that you can succeed if you just keep on. Don’t give up! It’s worth hanging in there to reach the goals you’ve set.

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$5 – Entrepreneurial Thinking

June 24, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 2 Comments

Today I want to share a fantastic video from Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner that offers a great look at how to think more like an entrepreneur.  (Thank you to Shel Horowitz for sharing this video with me.)

Thinking outside the box.  Changing the rules.  Not allowing yourself to be limited to by the “means” you’ve got.  Check it out.  Then think about the problems or challenges you’re facing in your business and try to look at them from a different perspective.

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Join the Mini Blog Challenge!

June 21, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer Leave a Comment

The brilliant Jeanette Cates (who put together the 30 day blog challenge I’ve been participating in this month) is now sponsoring a mini blog challenge between now and the end of June – 7 posts in 10 days.  Come on, give it a try!

You can sign up free by clicking that image on the left.

Why join in the blog challenge?  I can tell you why I’ve *loved* participating in the 30 day challenge.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Challenges, Goals, Inspiration Tagged With: , , , ,

A Weekend Gift for LOA Fans

June 19, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer Leave a Comment

If you’re a law of attraction / positive thinking fan, you’ll like these cards I created a while back. Each card has an inspirational quote at the bottom and space on the top for you to write down your tasks to complete and then things that you need to allow/trust the universe to bring you.

Just click here to download free. No opt-in required.  The link is to a ZIP file which contains three PDF files.

If you’re not into Law of Attraction don’t panic – you don’t have to download these, and I rarely post about these sorts of topics.  I’m still analyzing a lot of stuff in my head, to be completely honest.  :)

If you’d like, you’re also invited to sign up for the mailing list (top right corner of the page) and get even more great free stuff from me including worksheets, checklists, and special reports, and then weekly business articles from me. Or connect with me on Facebook using the box on the right side of this page.

Filed Under: Business Growth, Goals, Inspiration, Mindset, Organization, Staying Balanced & Inspired, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

How to Stay Motivated

June 19, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I was reading on Michele Scism’s blog and ran across a video with some great ideas about staying motivated. If you struggle with staying motivated, you’re not alone!

Here are some great suggestions from Adam Urbanski on how to keep yourself going when you hit those tough moments where you want to give up (or, turn off the computer and crawl behind your couch and hide…)

I pin up note cards on my bulletin board, and keep a folder on my computer that has screenshot images of nice things people say about me online or via email. It definitely helps on the challenging days. If you don’t have a “Fans Folder” or positivity file yet, you may like this post I wrote last year on how to create one to help you through those confidence crises we sometimes run into when we run our own businesses: http://thesmallbusinessmuse.com/handling-a-confidence-crisis-with-your-own-positivity-file-2/2009/02/17

What do you do to stay motivated? Please share your tips in the comments!

Filed Under: Guest Brilliance, Inspiration, Mindset, Staying Balanced & Inspired Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Do Vision Boards Really Work?

June 18, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 12 Comments

When I was in 4th grade I got my hair cut in a short bob.  By 6th grade my hair cut required the stylist using clippers it was so short on the sides and back.  So when I decided to grow out my hair, it wasn’t a one month kind of goal.

A few years later my hair was waist length.  It’s not a gigantic goal, but it is more impressive when you know that I worked as an espresso barista at a hair salon during this time period.  Every day the talented stylists would give women gorgeous haircuts.  And there I was… watching it all… wavering… LOL

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Filed Under: Goals, Inspiration, Mindset Tagged With: , ,

Self Help Giveaway – Grab Your Gifts!

June 17, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 5 Comments


You may have noticed a banner on the bottom right of my blog the last few days.  Have you checked it out yet?  It’s a great giveaway of hundreds of self-improvement gifts.

How’s it work?  Hundreds of entrepreneurs have contributed free gifts so they can introduce themselves to you and get the opportunity to show you what they offer.

You’ll find ebooks, courses, mp3 audios, videos, and more.  Some do require an email address/name to receive the gift (but you can always unsubscribe if you want) and others don’t.

Check it out and you may just find something cool.  :)

Couple of gifts I liked: Lisbeth Tanz from Savvy Freelance Writers contributed a great ebook on Stress Relief, Meridith Alspektor has an ebook called Chief Executive Mommy about balancing home and work responsibilities, and there’s much more hiding in there!

After you sign up, just click the “General Downloads” link near the top right to find everything.

Collect your free gifts here: http://selfhelpgiftsgiveaway.com/giveawayevent/go/405

Filed Under: Balance, Inspiration, Work at Home Tagged With:

#Blog30 Challenge – Halfway Point!

June 16, 2010 By Michelle Shaeffer 10 Comments

Whew!  This is post 16 of 30 in my attempt to complete the 30 Day Blog Challenge.  I’m halfway there!  So I’m celebrating.

If you’re participating in #blog30, feel free to post a “Yahoo!” or “Weeee!” in the comments to celebrate you being halfway through, too!  And be sure to either link to your blog or have CommentLuv bring up your last blog post.  :)

So, back to #blog30, what I really want to share is how much I’m enjoying it! Sometimes a challenge can be just what it takes to get me motivated to take action – how about you?

I’ve met so many cool bloggers and made connections with people I probably wouldn’t have run into otherwise.  I’d like to introduce you to a few of the other bloggers participating in #blog30.  Click on over to their sites and see what they’re blogging about.  If you like what you see, don’t forget to subscribe in your RSS reader or follow them on Networked Blogs.
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