During our recent vacation to Park City, Utah, I was enjoying my morning coffee while overlooking a peaceful pond, and was surprised by several hot air balloons making their way high up into the sky. The colors of each balloon were bright, vivid, and unique.  Some were like rainbows; others were bright red or yellow.  They rose to varying heights in the sky, each one navigating their own unique path around the valley.  This got me thinking about how Smart Women’s Big Ideas, dreams and goals are a lot like hot air balloons.

We all have Big Ideas, dreams, and goals that we would like to manifest and share with the world.  Our dreams and ideas are unique to us and come with our own creative thoughts.  Whether it’s a product, service, or book we’ve written, sometimes when we attempt our initial launch at getting our Big Idea “off the ground”, we become “stuck” or realize that it’s not happening as quickly as we would like.  We feel anxious and frustrated with the seemingly slow process.

I happened to meet one of the owners of the hot air balloon company in Park City and was surprised at what’s involved in a successful flight.  In order to take that glorious, colorful ride, the majority of work goes on before anyone arrives to get inside the bucket of the balloon.  Teams of two or more people work together to make sure everything is ready for a safe and enjoyable flight.  50% of the energy source — the heat that creates the air to get the balloon off the ground — is used in the beginning.  After the balloon gets off the ground and reaches its desired altitude, it’s smooth sailing.

How about you?  What color is your dream? Have you made a decision to get your Big Idea, dream or goal “off the ground?”  Have you started the process of getting everything ready to fly your idea high into the sky where others can see it and want to be a part of it either as a customer or a support system?  Plato, the Greek Philosopher said, “The beginning is the most important part.” Getting a new idea “off the ground” is exciting.  The beginning is a time of creativity and designing your product or service that is unique to you.  It’s important to realize the amount of effort it takes to realize your own unique Big Idea, dream, or goal. It requires a lot of energy and commitment.

Here are a few solutions that can help you get it “off the ground” much easier.
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I woke up this morning with two questions on my mind: (and no, one was not, “Do I have time to run to the local coffee shop before my family wakes up?”) “Is what I’m doing in alignment with where I want to go in my life both personally and professionally?” and “What are the things I can do now to move my Big ideas, dreams, and goals forward at a faster pace?” These are two essential questions that all smart women should be asking themselves on a regular basis.

Have you ever been in a situation in your business or personal life where you are frustrated with the process or outcome?  Do you ever find yourself asking, “How did I get here?” or “How did this happen?”  This is why it is so important to make sure that your actions and decisions are in alignment with where you want to go.  An example would be taking on a client or project that you know is not a good fit because you don’t want to say no to the work.  Or maybe you commit to an outing with friends or family because you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.  We, as women, tend to say “Yes!” too often and become frustrated with the outcome because we are “nurturers by nature” and we tend to the needs of others before our own.

Is your current action plan moving you forward at a faster pace toward your goals?  I exercise in Santa Monica in an area where a few of the running clubs meet to train for the LA Marathon.  If you are training for the Marathon, you can choose to do this on your own or you can train with a running club, which appears to move everyone forward at a faster, healthier, injury-free pace.

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I took my daughter Jenna to her Karate class the other day, and after the instructor welcomed all of the children to the class he asked them to “paint your magic circle around you.” I sat there and watched a group of children take their hands and paint an imaginary circle around their bodies and sit down. This exercise was, of course, the instructors attempt to keep 12 five year-olds from running around the room doing things that weren’t meaningful, so that they could stay focused. This got me to thinking about how women “paint magic circles” around their lives as well.

Thankfully, women have a lot of choices in our society today. This can be both good and bad news. Why? Because we can do it all and we do it all very well. Sometimes I think we paint too many “magic circles.” We have the opportunity to fulfill many roles —wife, partner, mom, career, entrepreneur, daughter, volunteer, caregiver, friend—did I leave anything out? With so many responsibilities demanding our time and attention, we need to paint a magic circle called “magic circle for me.” Given all that we do, we rarely take the time necessary for ourselves. It’s crucial that you paint a “magic circle” that is just for you, because you need a place where you can sit and reflect. A magic circle where you can sit and think about where you are right now and where you might want to go next. Sometimes we have “magic circles” where the paint is old, chipped and faded. It’s time to let go of that magic circle and create a new one. Remember, it’s magic, it’s imaginary—you can change it if you want to. Here’s the problem with this sometimes. (more…)

This past weekend, our family went out to Palm Desert to visit my in-laws for Mothers Day.  I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Greg’s father, Lowell.  I enjoy my “chats” with him.  He loves business and marketing and always has great ideas.  One of the topics we landed on was how some people move forward with their big ideas, dreams, and goals, and others never seem to be able to get out of the starting gate.  Why is this?  What makes it happen for some but not for others?  Women will say to me, “I have an idea, but every time I get to a certain point, I can’t seem to “pull the trigger!”

I have been fortunate to have a lot of coaches and mentors in my life.  It’s been a key to my moving ahead with my big ideas, dreams, and goals.  You know the old phrase, “Ready, Aim, Fire?”  Years ago, one of my mentors shared with me, that in order to make something happen, it should really be, “Ready, Fire, Aim!”  Sometimes we want to make sure that everything is “perfect” before we “fire” our new idea into the world.  We want to take that last class or read that last book written by the expert.  (more…)