Aside from the state of the world, we often have a clear vision and ambition of how we want things to go and what we want to achieve or contribute. Couple that with a high sense of responsibility, a liking to be in control, and perhaps a perfectionistic tendency—and you can see how that’s a volatile combination that doesn’t promote relaxation.

You might be the rare exception, but even if you are, chances are you learned how to deal with stress the hard way. Most of us didn’t grow up learning how to take good care of ourselves…

It’s been said that 90% of diseases are caused by stress. According to McKinsey Health Institute, globally, one in four employees is experiencing signs of burnout. Stress hormones weaken the immune system, increase aging, and the risk of (chronic) disease.

Here are some common signs of stress:

Physical signs:

• You often get a cold or headache
• Trouble sleeping 
• Fatigue

Chances are your breathing is relatively shallow and high up in your chest rather than deep in your belly. 

Emotional signs:

• Feeling overwhelmed
• Irritable or moody
• Mood swings (e.g., crying, bursts of anger).

Mental signs:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Worrying
• Your thoughts are going a mile a minute.

Most likely, you’re not as productive or creative as you normally are. And you might find it difficult to relax. 

Using alcohol, food, shopping, gaming, or social media to unwind and destress (or distract yourself) is another indicator that your stress level is out of control. These are all red flags.

Please note this list is not conclusive. You might experience other signs of stress. Trust your body and what it tries to tell you. If you stop to listen, you’ll know when you’re putting a strain on yourself.

The problem with stress is that when you’re functioning on adrenaline, it seems you’re doing fine. Your body does its utmost to keep you functioning—as it believes you’re in danger—and it will provide you with (false) energy to get you through the day.

If you’re stressed, you need to do something not just to relax but to get rid of the stress hormones you’ve built up in your body. You need to tell your body that you are safe.

Things you can do to combat stress:

1. Ground yourself. Doing so helps you become aware of your body and what it’s trying to tell you. Many of us spend most of our day in meetings, behind computers, or on the phone. As a result, most of our energy and focus is centered in our head. There’s a reason we find it hard to shut down our thoughts. 

Grounding helps you spread that energy and focus evenly throughout your body. You can listen to this complimentary 3-minute audio recording to ground yourself right now.

When you’re grounded, you’ll be able to pick up on the signs your body is giving you, so you can take better care of yourself and steer clear of stress in an early stage. 

2. Take three deep breaths into your belly. Doing so signals to your nervous system that all is well and it helps your body relax. It helps you shift from fight-or-flight mode into relaxation. 

This only works if you shift your breathing from your chest to your belly. It’s probably easier to do when you’re already grounded. Placing a hand on your lower belly helps deepen your breathing. 

3. Give yourself a proper lunch break. I know your to-do list is probably endless, and it might feel counterintuitive to take time out for a proper lunch, but I assure you it’s time that will win itself back. 

Taking even a short twenty-minute break helps increase your concentration and your energy level. It also has a positive effect on your productivity and creativity. Several years ago, I remember reading about research that concluded that people who took a forty-five-minute lunch break were more productive than those who continued working and ate behind their desks. 

While you think you are saving time by not having a lunch break, you are slowing down your productivity so much that your friend who went for lunch and perhaps a quick walk will still get more done during that day. 

4. Do something just for fun. If you like massages, schedule a time for that. If you enjoy singing, dancing, painting, or any other creative endeavor, give yourself permission to do that. If you long to spend (more) time with family or friends, make that a priority. All these things—relaxation, creativity, connection—will help you wind down and release the stress hormones you’ve been building up.
5. Immerse yourself in nature, especially around trees. Forest bathing was studied in Japan, and being around trees showed many positive effects on health. To be clear: this means no running or workouts. Just quiet contemplation around trees. The oils trees emit support our immune system, lower blood pressure and reduce stress hormones. It lowers depression and increases your energy. 

I realize doing these things takes time. Time you probably think you don’t have. Think is the operative word here.

The belief that you need to work harder to get better results is simply not true.  

When you’re stressed and working long hours, you’re less effective and efficient. Your productivity and creativity go down the drain. Something as simple as a nap increases your ability to solve problems and come up with a solution. 

Many cases show a shorter workweek leads to an increase in productivity, quality, revenue, health & well-being, and (job) satisfaction. 

If you’re a solo entrepreneur, you might need to outsource certain activities or become more realistic about the amount of work you can do without impeding your health. 

If you have the staff, this is your cue to start delegating more and checking in with your employees. Chances are you need to support them in managing their stress and workload, too.

Either way, this is the moment to take action and ensure the new year will be happier, healthier, more successful, and less stressed. 😊

What will you do today to take better care of yourself? 

Share your strategies to reduce stress in your business and life in the comments. Learning from one another benefits the community!

If you want to have all the energy you need to live a life you love, then Iris’s book Radiant is perfect for you.

You can get a copy here or at your favorite bookstore.

Blog header photo by RAMSHA ASAD on Unsplash.

The post 5 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Reduce Stress and Avoid Burnout appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

The power of the Marketing Trailblazers Community is found in the passion of our members! I’m excited to share the stories of adventure, challenge, and success that show what it means to own a business in our Featured Member series:   

Adventures in Entrepreneurship

Sue Painter is not only a sought-after business coach, but she’s also a successful entrepreneur running several active businesses while traveling the world with her husband, Bill Painter. I’ve known Sue for many years and am always impressed with her wisdom as well as the depth of her compassion for her clients, student and the global community in which she travels. 

I’m honored to introduce you to Sue Painter, a valued member of the Marketing Trailblazers Community, a colleague whom I admire and trust, and a friend who inspired and recently encouraged me to start my second business, Globetrotting Adventure Travel.

Who: Sue Painter

Your Business: Business Coach

Where We Can Learn More About Your Business:

Confident Marketer, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

How did you stumble on your business path?

So many service professionals kept asking me how I built my first business that I started consulting with them individually and eventually it became my full-time gig.

Who inspired you into this path? What did that inspiration look like? 

No one really inspired me to create The Confident Marketer. It arose out of requests (see above). But I’ve had many mentors along the way who do inspire me.

Who was the first person who believed in you?  

I had a wonderful first-grade teacher, Mrs. Carey. She taught every kid that 1) you are responsible for yourself and no one else and 2) you can work to achieve anything.

What was the moment you knew you could be successful at your chosen path? 

I was making a speech to a local women’s group, and in introducing myself I said something like, “I help you become a more confident marketer.” In that moment, 22 pairs of eyes locked onto me, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. Before I left that day, 8 of the 11 women were clients. 

When did you know you could make a living as a Business Coach? 

About a year into it – I was still running both businesses, and while I truly loved my massage clinic, business consulting was more lucrative for me without having to have a big staff to keep the clinic going.

How do you define success for yourself? How do you define success for the path that you’re on? 

Freedom for me is everything. Freedom and flexibility. I am a big believer in working hard and playing hard. To me, success is the ability to live my desired life. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s less about money and more about living each day how I wish to live it.

Give us a typical day in your life.  

I’m usually an early riser. My best thoughts and ideas hit in the early morning. But first I am a meditator, which I’ve been for over 30 years now. So sitting time, usually in our side garden. Then, typically I get up and write or map out business ideas for myself or for clients. Then smoothie for breakfast with vitamins. Then client work or working on my own business.

I pay attention to various businesses throughout the day but usually focus in 2-hour time blocks on a specific business. Besides The Confident Marketer, I own Travel Changes Life, and I have a busy affiliate marketing business. So I split my time but always in one or two hour chunks of time. My go-to snack is half a protein bar. By 2 or 3 PM at the latest, I’m done for the day. My prime energy is not afternoon. I’m ready to hit the beach, read, or have a solid conversation with someone else. Since we live in Florida, I want to be outside at least a part of every day.

When do you get up?

Varies. Always by 7 AM and sometimes earlier.

When do you eat lunch? Do you eat the same thing every day or mix it up? 

We break around noon for lunch on most days. Usually a salad with some type of protein. Sometimes we go out but usually not. I like variety at lunch since breakfast is always the same (a smoothie).

What do you do from 1 pm to 6 pm? 

Some work, and then knock it off for the day and get outdoors.

What do you do from 6 pm until you go to bed? 

Dinner, probably a little follow up with business, evenings with friends.

Do you have a pre-bed ritual? 

I prep the evening before for the next day. Review calendar, confirm appointments if need be, plan out the day. I usually read a little bit before bedtime, whatever our neighborhood book club is reading for the next meeting, or magazines.

How do you define a successful day? 

That I’ve helped at least one person feel encouraged and stronger in her business, and that I’ve kept my energy and awareness on an even keel. Or, inspired someone to plan a trip.

What’s been the most important skill you’ve developed on your path?

Learning to always follow the energy, which is the simplest and clearest path to manifesting.

What’s been the greatest challenge on your path?

Interested in many things, love to learn many things.

What’s been your greatest reward in the choices you’ve made to do this?

Freedom.

What do you want to learn from a community of your peers?

I try to see what each person’s expertise is, and learn from them something about that particular topic.

Thank you, for sharing your journey as a Business Coach and member of the Marketing Trailblazers Community.

Does Sue Painter’s story resonate with you? Let us know, and share what it means for you to be a business owner/entrepreneur in the comments below!

The post Meet Sue Painter – Business Coach, Entrepreneur and World Traveler appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

I don’t remember my first travel adventure.

I was an infant and my parents never hesitated to take me – and my sisters when they came into being – wherever they were going on a trip. Except for when they went to Hawaii when I was nine months old. After that, we traveled as a family.

My first solo plane ride was from Los Angeles to San Jose to visit my cousins when I was 9 or 10 years old.

I was 13 when we traveled in Europe for three months in a VW camper van.

I was 19 when I hitchhiked across the country with another gal I had met working for the summer on Cape Cod.

I was still 19 when I went on a 2-week tour of China with a group from my university. Then, I continued traveling for six months, sometimes on my own and sometimes meeting up with friends along the way.

Since then I’ve lived in two countries (Germany and Canada) other than the United States and have traveled to 30+ countries. 

I don’t rattle off this list to impress you, but to show you that travel and adventure in lands other than where I was born, is in my blood. I have wanderlust and an intense travel bug.

And, that’s why I’ve launched a new side hustle because it makes sense for me and my love of adventure and discovery of other people, cultures, art, food, and landscapes.

Introducing…

Globetrotting Adventure Travel

It began a few months ago when I had a conversation with my colleague Sue Painter who is both a business coach and an independent travel agent. I felt excitement when she told me about getting involved in the travel industry and how I could do it too.

The idea of becoming an independent travel advisor was intriguing and I took a deep dive into the Internet doing research on how to get started, costs of starting up, and what I needed to learn. Everything you need to do when you start a new business.

After several hiking trips in Peru and recently in Nepal, I knew also that my primary niche is going to focus on small group adventure travel. It’s a fantastic way to connect with like-minded people while experiencing off-the-beaten-path adventures including physical activity, cultural activity, and homestays, for example.

'One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.' ~ Henry Miller Click to Tweet

Adventure travel is not solely about trekking or Bungie jumping off high bridges. It’s about trying new things, sometimes with a bit of risk (or perceived risk), and getting out of your comfort zone to learn more about the world we inhabit.

Your Personal Travel Assistant

I’m here to help you plan your trip. Whatever the reason you’re traveling, I’ve got you covered. My website features a lot of current promotions and if you see one that intrigues you, simply contact me and I’ll do the leg work to get you all the information you need. Think of me as your personal travel assistant!

For do-it-yourselfers, there is a booking tool so you can search for and book your own flights and cruises. Hotel booking will be rolling out soon. In the meantime, I can help you out directly.

Working as a travel advisor is a natural fit for me and I can’t wait to assist you with your globetrotting adventures and exploring the world.

What Kind of Travelers I Work With

One of the members of the Marketing Trailblazers community asked me who I wanted to serve and what kind of trips I will specialize in. Great question!

While I have the resources to book any kind of trip, my passion is for small group and independent travel. It’s what I know and love best personally and where I can call deeply on my experiences. 

• You are called to get off the beaten path and experience local cultures in a more personal way
• You crave an active experience: hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing
• You want to learn more about local life, working, living and cooking, learning a new language
• You prefer intimate experiences: traveling in a small group (10-12 people) or on your own or with a couple of friends
• You’re curious and see yourself as a citizen of the world; you embrace the diversity our world offers

What’s your dream adventure? Together, we can make it happen!

What I’ve Learned So Far about the Travel Industry

1. Travel agents get access to better deals than the general public. In just the last few months, I’ve received emails nearly every day letting me know about discounts and promotions that I can pass on to my clients.
2. This surprised me: most travel agents don’t book flights for their clients anymore. Basically, it’s become so easy for anyone to book a flight, and there are few if any commissions paid by airlines, that most agents feel it’s not worth their time. However, if you have a complicated or multi-city flight plan, an agent can make it easier. As a courtesy, I’ll help you anytime, if you wish.  🙂 
3. For the most part, travel agents no longer get free travel perks. Discounts, yes. Freebies, no.
4. There’s a ton to learn about the industry due to regulations that differ from state to state. I’ve been attending several webinars every week. 
5. Since my main interest is in small group adventure travel, I can get certified as a small group travel specialist as well as an adventure travel specialist so I can serve you with the best information and provide a great experience.

What Does This Mean for Adventures in Visibility

Have no fear! I feel Globetrotting Adventure Travel is an extension of my digital marketing consulting and training business. Many in my communities know about my love of travel. I often use travel metaphors in my work and see a strong relationship between business and travel: challenging, taking risks, experimenting, exploring, venturing out of one’s comfort zone, and experiencing profound transformation as a result. In fact, I rebranded my business to Adventures in Visibility after my second trip to Peru. It made sense considering my history in business and in traveling the world.

My intention is to share my adventure in starting a new business from scratch with occasional blog posts and videos. I know I’m not the only person who has multiple businesses and if I can help guide you through the challenges by sharing my experiences, then I’m all in. Stay tuned…

Travel Resources

1. I’ve been building a list of travel gadgets, books and must-haves on Amazon. Many I own, others have come with high recommendations. Check out the list here.
2. If you take pictures with your smartphone when you travel, I recommend you take Irina Leoni’s Smartphone Photography 101 course. If you’re not a professional photographer, you’ll learn how to take much better photos of your travels. I took the course before my trip to Nepal and India and my best pictures were the ones where I applied what I learned from Irina. Your photos will be Instagram worthy. Highly recommended!
3. How to Stop Jet Lag on your next trip.
4. My reviews on TripAdvisor. (follow me!)

Now, it’s real. I’m ready for my new adventure in the travel business and would love to share my passion for travel with you. Contact me if you have a dream adventure you’d like to make a reality!

Referrals are welcome, too!  😆 

The post Behind the Scenes: From My Passion for Globetrotting a New Business Emerges appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

Two weeks ago I was near Bass Lake, just south of Yosemite National Park, three miles into a half marathon when I tripped and fell flat on my face. I knew I was going down and was cursing all the way. Thankfully several runners stopped, helped me, and called the sweeper truck to come get me. 

A few hours later I was in the ER at a small hospital getting X-rays. The entire right side of my body was banged up good, but the brunt of my fall was taken by the fifth metacarpal of my right hand. A “boxer’s fracture” was revealed in the X-rays. I’m right-handed.

Now what?

I was told to take some time off work. I laughed.

I’m self-employed. I’m a digital marketing consultant. I work on a computer all day. I’m right-handed. I know, I said that already. I don’t get paid sick days or vacation time. 

And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I carry on. Because that’s what we entrepreneurs do, right?

When I got home I recorded this video. The transcript (edited for clarity) is below the video (8 min) if you prefer to read.

[ssp-video]

Greetings from Los Angeles, checking in to do my live video for the day. I am co-hosting a 10-day live video challenge with Lou Bortone and of course, I need to model what I teach and that is, doing a live video every day. Now we’re talking about Facebook Live and that’s why I’m here. We’ll also be talking about Instagram and Twitter live video, but for today I want to talk a little bit about something that’s come up for me in the last few days.

I’ve been faced with a challenge and the challenge is that I broke a bone in my right hand, which is my dominant hand. I broke a bone while I was running a half marathon up in the Sequoia National Forest near Yosemite and that has created an interesting situation for me. My left hand is very weak I’m finding out, and it’s hard to do a lot of things with only one hand that’s not your dominant hand. Now I talked about this a little bit on my personal profile the other day about adapting, and I’ve had to adapt a lot.

Two of the ways I’ve been adapting is in the form of my communication. I have been doing a lot more video when I’m responding to emails to my clients and colleagues. I’m doing them as video emails with a tool [Chrome extension] called Loom. The other thing I found that sometimes doing the video was not as fast as I would like it to be, so I started taking a look to find some free online voice to text software and I found a couple of Chrome extensions that I’ve been testing. [I ended up going with VoiceIn Voice Typing]

I’ve had to figure out how they work and I am now doing some voice to text typing and that is also interesting. They’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. So if you get something from me, if you see a comment on Facebook, or get an email from me that is a little bit weird and doesn’t have a lot of punctuation or capitals letters, it’s probably because I’m doing voice to text since it’s easier than typing with my left hand, which is not easy.

But the main thing that I’ve been grappling with, and you might have grappled with this as well, is the whole idea of how you show up. How you show up when you’re doing a video for example. How you show up online, how you show up at networking events and what that says about you.

I’ve had this tension because I typically try … when I’m doing a video, I want to look professional, I don’t want to have big sores on my face and swelling on my face from doing a face plant on a trail. I don’t want to necessarily be wearing a sweatshirt, but it’s the only thing that fits over this fiberglass cast that I have. So I’ve had to make some adjustments to how I show up.

 When you see somebody show up online and on my video, for example, you may be unconsciously judging what they look like and that may not be really how they want to be presenting themselves and maybe they don’t have a choice. Now with live video, there are two things going on, or there is something going on there that it’s usually more spontaneous versus a planned out, scripted presentation. So there tends to be a more casual feeling about live video.

I was talking about this with a friend of mine and she’s said, “Yeah, well that’s all fine and good, but what if somebody doesn’t know you and they see you casual and then they don’t take you as seriously as a business professional?” and that’s a good point.

The thing about live video is that you can’t get more intimate with people in terms of who you are behind the scenes, that sort of thing, but you also have to be thoughtful about how you’re showing up. So while this isn’t normally how I would show up in a video, I’d probably be wearing a different blouse instead of a T-Shirt, but a T-Shirt is easier to get on. I wouldn’t be wearing a sweatshirt. I might be wearing a sweater if I’m feeling cool, but it’s not so easy with this.

Sometimes no matter what, no matter how you feel, no matter what you think people may think, you've got to take a leap of faith and show up. Click to Tweet

So I have to take that leap of faith that you’re going to be okay with that, especially if somebody who’s never seen me before. This is where the content is really what’s the most important thing. Most people will forgive the visuals if your content provides some value. Of course, I am hoping I’m providing some value. I thought about this question quite a bit, because there are again, two sides to it. How are you showing up?

How are you showing up?

 You need to be prepared for people making judgements about you, especially if they don’t if this is their first impression, so you watching this, this may be the first time that you ever see me and you’re saying, “Wow, she sure is pretty casual, maybe she’s not that serious about her business.” I’m not saying that you think that or anybody else thinks that, but someone might and we just don’t know it.

 So my suggestion is that when you show up, and definitely showing up is an important thing to do to share your message with people. Showing up to serve people, showing up to have conversations with your audience, that’s all super important, but also give some thought to what the visual message they’re getting is too. Food for thought. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. What you think about how you show up, how you see others showing up, do you ever have some of that sort of feeling of judgment when you see somebody that may not look or sound as professional as you thought they were?

Food for thought. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. What do you think about how you show up, how you see others showing up. Do you ever have some of that feeling of judgment when you see somebody who may not look or sound as professional as you thought they were?

 Do you cut them slack or do you just say, “Mm, nope, not happening”? I’d love to hear your thoughts about that. 

I would love it if you post in the comments below… your thoughts and ideas about how you show up, how you think about other people and the way they show up. Let’s have a conversation about that. Okay? Comments welcome and I will reply.

I’m going to jump off now because I’ve got a class to teach in a little while. Take care. Have an adventurous day, and now I’ve got to figure out with my left hand … I’m using a right-hand mouse with my left hand. Very interesting. 

= End Transcript =

Sometimes no matter what, no matter how you feel, no matter what you think people may think, you’ve got to take a leap of faith and show up.

The post Showing Up, Modeling, and Taking a Leap of Faith appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

There are three core principles that have gelled for me over the last couple of years and stand out as essential truths about entrepreneurial success.

The first is Connection. Without true deep connection to your clients, colleagues and your cause, it’s hard to get up in the morning and do the work. There are a lot more “C” words in here that support connection: care, commitment, champion, and compassion are the first that come to mind. Make sure the people in your circle align with your passions so there’s no doubt about why and with whom you’re doing what you do.

The second is Experimentation. In my experience, Success comes through experimentation. Testing and finding what works and discarding what doesn’t. There is no shame in failure when you are moving forward, experimenting to find exactly the right thing for you to do and share with your community.

And the third is Adventure. Being an entrepreneur and having your own business is one big, grand adventure. It’s so damn exciting. Yes, there will be rivers to ford and challenging mountains to climb and yet when you get to the top of the mountain and look back at what you’ve achieved, often against many odds, it’s one of the most thrilling moments you can experience.

At the intersection of Connection, Experimentation and Adventure is Joy. This is the magical nexus that propels you out of bed each day to do what you do. All pretense is stripped away. Your joy radiates and creates a spotlight on your message and your work. Doors open and opportunities abound. Then your job is to just say yes!

At the intersection of Connection, Experimentation and Adventure is Joy. Click to Tweet

You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned any tools or tactics. They are secondary to your entrepreneurial success. When you radiate Joy, people notice and gravitate to you. Then the tools and tactics serve as vehicles to engage and interact with your desired audience.

Start with the big picture: your message, your audience, your connections.

Then, look at where and how to make your impact…experiment to refine and target how you deliver your gift.

Finally it’s time to embark on your journey and embrace all the riches your grand Adventure uncovers.

Looking for a guide for your Adventure in Business? Learn more at mentorwithdenise.com.

The post Three Essential Truths About Entrepreneurial Success appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.