Open Up To What's Possible In Business And In Life

My mother-in-law shared this statement with me while we were together for Hannukah regarding non-profit work shes doing and it immediately touched me. I love the message in this statement. Ive learned a lot of crucial lessons this year as I launched my new businessone of the biggest has been the need to stay open. Open to change, open to feedback, open to trusting my intuition and open to new opportunities that perhaps I never considered before.

What might be closing you down?

It can be challenging to stay open to the possibilities. Its easy to close down when faced with negative influences in our life be it a skeptical friend or family member or the never-ending media cycle of more and more bad news.

It can also be challenging when were too focused. How so? Goals are an important way to achieve momentum in your business. However, the danger is that if youre SO focused on your goals you may close down other opportunities, maybe even better opportunities than the ones youre chasing after. It requires a fine balance to stay focused but not narrowly focused so youre always open to whats possible.

Staying open helped me expand my niche.

When I originally launched by online community for women at www.metromom.com it was with a focus on providing support for women in direct sales. Soon after launching I realized that my focus was too narrow, and I needed to open up to the possibilities.

This realization came to me as I led a 4-week Incubator Program in my local area for Ladies Who Launch. (Ladies Who Launch is the first platform to recognize and cater their program to the uniquely feminine approach to launching a business.) I met with six fabulous entrepreneurial women. Not a single one was involved in direct sales, yet these women were entrepreneurial and they were moms. I suddenly realized that they could benefit from connecting with like-minded women as part of my online community.

I decided to expand my niche. I didnt abandon moms in direct sales, in fact, by making our community more inclusive they benefit even more because I truly believe that every member has something valuable to share or teach. The lesson I learned was that by staying open I was able to expand my business and reach out to more women.

Here are some questions to help you determine whether youre being open to new possibilities:

Am I open to my environment? Do I notice and adjust to shifts in the world around me, whether its the state of the economy or a change within my own family life?
Am I open to feedback? How do I respond to the observations and even criticisms of friends, family and colleagues?
Am I open to myself? Do I trust myself? When I observe a shift in my attitude or my energy am I open to what that might mean?
Open your eyes by noticing your environment, feedback from others and your own inner awareness. Open your heart by embracing the truth. Then, open your mouth by sharing your truth with others. I believe that the New Year is going to be an important year for all of us if were willing to stay open to the possibilities.