Today I heard four words that almost made me weep tears of joy.

We were having a bit of a challenge with some online technology. We have this fancy form that we are asking people to fill out in order to get a Jump Start session with one of my coaches. Hopefully by the time you read this it will be working: http://www.successconnections.com/jumpstart/

And every 2 or 3 times someone filled it out something wouldn’t work. Argh!

My team had tried very hard to handle it without me. But alas, someone found me on a site and said, “Help, I can’t get this form to work!”

So being the diligent problem solver that I am, I started to troubleshoot and test the system to see what the problem was.

I called my Marketing Manager, explained the problem and said, “OK I’ll call [my virtual assistant] and see what needs to happen.” 

My Marketing Manager uttered these four words that almost made me weep… 

“I’ll take care of it!” Ahhh…..the relief in knowing that someone else is in charge. 

As a visionary, creative and leader of my empire, the last thing I need to be doing is solving technology problems. Thank goodness my team has been trained well in “owning” the problem and keeping me out of the middle. 

It’s what I call the grown up business model. It’s one where I do what I do best and leave the rest to the experts on my team. And this is the strategy that separates the “empire builders” from the rest – being able to let go and let others take charge. 

So what’s your gig – where do you get caught up in solving problems that suck your time and energy away from what you really should be doing? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Wow, this was one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed.

I’m not typically a big Mexico enthusiast. Not being a big partier and knowing that the water in Mexico is always a risk to Montezuma’s Revenge, I tend to keep to the Caribbean and Hawaii for my exotic vacations.

As luck would have it, as we were planning our “birthday get away” two of the Hawaii airlines went bankrupt so ticket prices were insane. And I’m glad, because this trip was a slice of paradise.

Could it have been the 5-star service? Having a private butler? A concierge dedicated just to us? Great food at the Japanese restaurant and steak houses? The most amazing view of the ocean from our suite? The all-inclusive resort experience? Yep, all of that and more.

The lobby of our building, where our
butler and concierge are. This is actually where
we checked in…very nice to have the golf cart take
you directly to your building and not have long lines to check in.

The view from our ocean-front suite.

This is in front of one of the restaurants –
every place on the property seems to
have a fantastic view!

One of my two fav spots — in the pool on
my raft or in the cabana reading a book.
It wasn’t even a business book –
I finally dug into an Oprah’s book club
recommendation called Middlesex.

We left the property only once to go in to Cancun for
a nice dinner at Laguna Grill. It’s a Fodor’s Choice
and well worth the $140 US dollars to eat there.

This crocodile decided to join us for dinner
he swam right up to our table (which was on the lagoon)
and waited for us to share a tasty morsel with him.

The best part? While I was off recharging, my amazing team of virtual assistants keeps my business making money. I’ve built my business to make money with — or without — me being present. That’s one of the distinctions of a lifestyle business. Otherwise, you just have a job!

If it were not for the Mexican water, I’d go back in a heart beat. My only issue with the whole experience is that as a 5-star resort, they were giving out crappy locally bottled water. When we figured out what was bothering out stomachs, we asked for Evian and they gave it to us immediately. So why not just give out Evian to start with?

Last week, I had one of my usual Mondays.  I got up, ate breakfast, meditated, went to work out, went to an appointment, had a nice long lunch with my honey out by the lake, ran a couple of errands, came home, took the dog for a long walk in the hills, read another chapter of

Ok, I admit that once in a while I fall prey to the overwhelm beast.

Last week was definitely one of those weeks where I was pulling my hair out and wondering if I was ever going to feel sane again.  But being as I teach this stuff, I have a little bit of a leg-up on what to do.

My strategy to beat overwhelm might not necessarily be the what you think though. As we say in my Platinum Elite Mastermind program, sometimes you have to “Put on the big girl panties and make a grown up decision.”

My 3 strategies to eliminate the feeling of overwhelm quickly and get me back on track is as follows:

FIRST: Make a list of all the things that are swirling around in your mind. Prioritize the list and ask yourself, “What could Iget off myplate first that is causing me the most stress?”

Rather than focus on just getting things done I really want to get things off my plate that will create more emotional and energetic space.

For instance, I made time to handle some energy drains that needed to be “plugged”:

• A relationship with a marketing person that was causing us more overwhelm than results.
• An efficiency issue that requires adding a new system (which might seem to add more work to my list) but will actually free up a ton of time for one of my team members.
• Hiring an additional virtual assistant. Again, seems like it adds more work in the short term but in actuality, I created a ton more bandwidth.

SECOND, I took time off. Now I know this is really going to make some people doubt me. I cleared my schedule and read a book, squeezed in a yoga class and didn’t go any work for 2 days straight. What happened was that I ended up with more energy so that I could focus better and accomplish more faster. The truth is nothing fell through the cracks and I didn’t lose any money in the process (that’s the power of a team though.)

THIRD, I went back to my foundation of self-care. I don’t have the best habit of taking care of myself first but when I’m stressed it becomes completely obvious that my energy is off. I exercise more, meditate daily and make sure I’m eating really good. Giving myself the time to strengthen my core foundation gives me more stamina to handle what is coming at me during the day. I make better decisions, I listen to my intuition better and overall I just feel stronger.

If you find yourself geting overwhelmed, its worth it to slow down a tad and get yourself back on track — from the inside out!

Do you have a “counter-intuitive” strategy to beat the overwhelm? Would love to hear it by sharing your comment below.

If you are reading this…you probably noticed a new look on the blog!

My team of virtual assistants have been working away on rebranding the Success Connections websites. I’m so excited about all the changes that are taking place.

We will be unveiling the new website and ezine look soon…stay posted!

 So, what do you think of the new look? Share your comments below…

Have you ever wanted to try out a Virtual Assistant but think you can’t afford one?

Now is your chance to see how you can get more done, make more money and enjoy more of your life with a Virtual Assistant. Elance, one of our preferred virtual team resources, is holding a contest where you can win $5,000 of services with their providers.

WHAT A VA CAN DO FOR YOU

1. Handle incoming email and voice mail quickly
2. Manage your weekly or monthly ezine (or print newsletter)
3. Enter and pay your invoices on time
4. Implement your online marketing tactics
5. Do research for upcoming presentations or client meetings
6. Make updates on your website
7. Format documents and powerpoint presentations

These are just a few of the over 100 ways you can make more money by delegating and outsourcing.

HOW TO ENTER 

Registration is free. Enter the contest at http://www.elance.com/p/promo/win-virtual-assistant.html?rid=18DEX by 11:59:59 pm PT on January 25, 2008. 

Good luck!

Have you ever wished you could have your very own money tree?

Well this year, my virtual assistant, Ann, gave me my very own money tree for Christmas. I loved my money tree and it now has a prominent place in my office to create more “money energy.”

The little card that came with it said that in the Chinese culture, money trees can be placed in an area of your office or home that you wish to infuse with more wealth.

Thought this was such a great gift idea I thought I’d share it with you too.

Have a favorite gift you’ve received? Share yours by posting here.

I’m sitting at my desk and I hear this HUGE crash downstairs. My heart starts racing and for a moment, I have a vision of my honey sprawled on the garage floor, bleeding to death…or worse.

As I race downstairs Mark is walking in the door (whew, he’s not dead) with his hand covered in blood. Since he isn’t cussing I know he must be in shock. His hand is covered with huge gashes, spewing blood and I quickly grab the first aid kit.

“What happened” I ask?

“The d*$# garage door broke on me,” he says. Now, I practice the art of being silent while internally I process the scene from four days earlier when I suggested that his time is too valuable to install a garage door. (Mark sells real estate.) The reply I got is, “This will be easy, I’m fine, I don’t want to waste $100 for someone else to do it.”

Mark has now spent 6 hours, 2 trips to Lowes and now a near physical disaster. Mark now comes to the realization that he has to hire a handy-man. We now spend $140 for them to finish installing it.

Cost to Mark: $40 more, 6 hours of lost “client time” which could result in $1000 - $25,00 in revenue and a hand that barely can move due to massive swelling and huge gashes.

How many times in your business do you find yourself saying, “I can do this quickly” to only find out that hours later you are still struggling to get it done.

The power of having a virtual assistant or outsourced expert is that you are focusing on your high payoff jobs (sales, marketing, visioning, planning, moving the business forward, etc.) When you let yourself get caught up in the things other can do faster, cheaper or better, you are throwing money and opportunities away.

It’s really a mindset issue — thinking you will save a few bucks or get it done cheaper by doing it yourself is a myth. Thinking you can do it better, well, you might. But to what expense?

It’s time for you to start exploring ways to get bigger in your success so be willing to delegate and outsource. Need some help learning how to build a team? Check out the two free chapters of my new e-book, The Power of the Virtual Team at www.thepowerofthevirtualteam.com.

Be sure to share it with your friends and colleagues too!

… For as little as $5/hour?

Great article on the Financial Post on the power of Virtual Assistants. It also gives some great distinctions between the American & European Virtual Assistants and the new trend of using overseas assistants that are much cheaper (ie. you get what you pay for always stands true I guess.)

I highly recommend using Virtual Assistants and Virtual Contractors to delegate many of your mundane tasks. It is one of the few key strategies I recommend to create a consistent, thriving 6 & 7 figure lifestyle business!

Want more ideas on building a virtual team? Check out my new ebook at www.thepowerofthevirtualteam.com.

Every year at the end of November I steal away for a week or two to recharge and meet with my board of advisors (technically, it’s just me but it makes for a great reason but I do have to have this meeting somewhere…why not in a tropical island?)

I always find I’m much better at playing a big game when my batteries have had a chance to recharge and I can spend a few days only thinking about where to eat and what beach to go to!

This year my honey and I checked out St. John in the Virgin Islands. I’d been for a few hours about 10 years ago during a cruise and loved it. But this time, we decided to be very decadent and stay for 10 days!

The most important aspect of our vacations is first and foremost, where we stay. Mark is very good at using the internet to find us the best places to stay. He found us this great villa called “Island Time.” We used www.tripadvisor.com to research the best island, restaurants, snorkeling spots, etc.

Read on »