Staying Focused Through Your Faith

Faith

Growing up, faith is the one word I never heard, never knew the meaning of nor did I understand its’ importance and the life-changing positive impact it could have on my life.

When I first discovered my gifts that God had given me, I became passionate about using them because I loved and appreciated the wonderful blessings God was gracious enough to bestow upon me. Thank You, Father. I love You, too.

Focus

Starting my entrepreneurial journey, God had equipped me with all the tools I would need to reach my destiny; His word, His principles, His promises, my gifts, skill set, knowledge, talent, wisdom, abilities, goals, dreams, visions and inspiration. When I tell you that I have truly been blessed to be able to create from scratch (self-taught) a portfolio of unique and brilliant designs I have been blessed beyond belief and I enjoy it more than I could ever explain. With all that God has given me, the way that He expresses His love to me through the gifts He’s blessed me with I still fell short of His glory. I was like an emotional roller coaster that was up and down.

For some strange reason I just could not stay focused on my business. My mind was, as I like to say, all over the map, which simply meant that achieving my goals would be harder than it ever had to be. Here I am blessed beyond belief with multiple gifts, highly talented in so many different areas of my life with the amazing ability to easily create my own wealth with the power God had given me and yet I’m not able to scale, leverage and grow my design business?

Why? Why am I sabatoging my own business. Why is it that I can’t take my business to the highest level possible that my passion and smart work deserved. I put in countless hours creating and designing my unique collection of masterpieces. My light work designs were in a class all alone and yet they weren’t moving like I had dreamed, prayed and hoped that they would. Reason being, I just could not focus on my design business. The only thing I seemed to be able to focus on was making new designs.

Cultivating my Passion with Faith and Focus

Designing was my passion and I just wanted to cultivate my passion for others. It was easy for me to sit down and create something breath-taking. I also thoroughly enjoyed website creation. Designing my own logos and headers for all of my businesses was sheer joy for me. It gave me a true sense of peace and joy, almost like buying and wrapping Christmas gifts for my family. After the building of my websites the thrill and excitement always seemed to fizzle out. The thrill stopped right after I completed my websites. I immediately lost interest and focus on what I was doing, on the business I was desperately trying to build. I had veered off from the path of my amazing journey ready to begin a new adventure that I already knew would end before it had a chance to live, breathe and thrive.

It seemed like every other month another brilliant mind blowing business was being presented to me, but instead of incorporating these gems into my present businesses as they pertained to my businesses, I would purchase the domain name, write the content, create the designs in an attempt to brand another new business model. This was no way to do business especially since everything was relative.

The reason that I creating this map and traveling from point A to point Z was because I focusing on all the wrong things. I knew my businesses had the potential to be a blessing to a multitude of people, like sand on the beach and I knew that Cyndi’s Light Work Designs could solve problems for people in more ways than one; at least this is what my heart was and is still telling me today and in all honesty I knew that my design business could make me a lot of money, but I was too busy going from one business to the next instead of just focusing on one business and growing it. I was literally wearing my mind out. Why, why, why???

Incredibly talented and gifted, as many women are, I didn’t know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together for my business. Yes, I had all the tools that God had gifted me, but I was lost. Yes, I was lost and I knew that I had to do something as time was not waiting for me. Either I was going to focus and work like I did when I worked in corporate America or I was never ever going to find my way. After careful thought I knew that I had to pray and ask God for His guidance for my business. He had given me everything I needed, but it was all me. My faith was as deep as the deepest ocean, but I wasn’t applying it to every aspect of my business. For me to focus on my business I had to use my faith and using my faith comes from God and His word. When I think about having faith in God it is then that I begin to focus on the all the things that He was lovingly instructing me to do. I have to admit that there are always other things going on in and around my life, but I decided that I was not going to use that as an excuse, no, not when my God is much bigger than any obstacle or giant I had to face.

Time to Shift

There was a shift in the way that I began to think. I now think about how God expects me to run a highly successful and thriving design business that my customers would also love and appreciate as well. Here is how I began to focus on my achieving success for my business:

I bought several notebooks that I like to call journals.
I began writing a to-do-list every single night Monday to Saturday. I now adhere to it.
I write down all my goals right before praying prayers of thanksgiving.
I include my goals and dreams in my prayers always giving God thanks for His Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and for giving me the gift of dreams and goals.
I look forward to working on and achieving my goals by staying focused, with thanksgiving, on my business ventures.
As I accomplish each goal, even if it is only one for that day, I strike it out and put the date and time next to it. This keeps me highly motivated as well.
I surrender my life to God and commit myself to Him.
I also ask God to speak clearly to my heart because I need clarity.

Okay, the above list is what I started doing to help me to stay focused on leveraging my business and I am thankful because this is the brilliant plan that works great for me and I’m so sure that it can work phenomenally well for you.

So every evening I write down all my goals for the next day, I pray and then I go to sleep. My mornings are usually busy and consists of an early rise to spend time with God reading, studying and meditating upon His awesomeness, lifting Him up through prayer with a sincere and thankful heart, mind, soul and spirit. All of my challenges then begin at 10 a.m. which is the start of my business day! For me, it is vital that I keep my notebook filled and visible to serve as a reminder to always pen my goals directly into my to do list every night. I cannot stress this enough. I keep my notebook on my desk which is right next to my bed because this is where peace abounds, calm exists and rests deep within my spirit.

For me, all these things make an enormous difference in how I now run my business. Writing a daily to do list helps to keep me focused and truly motivated because it helps me to envision accomplishing my goals, building my business and seeing my business thrive in ways I could never imagine.

Written by Cynthia G. Boyer

Called to Be Me

I wasn’t called to go to college to earn a Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s. I was called to use my God-given gifts and I use them prudently and passionately.

How to Stay Focused in Business

Focus, Focus, Focus

For most entrepreneurs, coming up with a brilliant, executable idea is easy. The hard part is staying focused on it long enough to actually see it through to fruition.

Sound familiar?

That’s why the power of focus is so crucial. I like the definition I heard podcaster John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire give, using every letter of the word focus: “Follow one course until success.”

So what’s one thing that you want to really accomplish this year? I challenge you to focus on it until you complete it. Don’t be distracted by the many shiny objects that will inevitably pop up throughout your journey to finish what you’ve started.

Here are four principles to help keep you on track:

Related: 5 Ways to Sustain a Long-Term Career Focus

Staying Focused on Your Business

1. Focus on your priorities.

Do first things first. Map out your day the night before. If you don’t have a clear goal for your day, you will pilfer your time and not accomplish what you set out to do.

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “Lack of direction, not lack of time is the problem. We all have 24 hours in a day.” Focus on the benefits of sticking to your set course.

2. Focus on the end results.

If the one goal you set will take the entire year to accomplish, don’t get tired half way and give up. Keep reminding yourself why achieving this goal will make your life better.

“Whatever your goal for this year, you can get there — if you’re willing to do the work,” Oprah wrote in her magazine.

3. Focus on the present.

Zig Ziglar also said, “Yesterday ended last night. Today is a brand new day and it’s yours.”

Even if you get off track from pursuing your goal, remember that tomorrow is another day.

Don’t get stuck on the trivial or mundane — or yesterday. Jump back on the horse and give things your best shot the next day. Focus on the positive things that you can do in the future, not on what you failed to do yesterday.

4. Focus on strengths.

Everyone has some things he or she is good as well as things he or she is not so good at. Make sure the goal you set is something you can realistically accomplish and preferably something you are good at or can become proficient in over time.

Mozart, Beethoven and other musical geniuses developed their skills through practice and sheer dedication to their craft.

If you want to achieve similar results, you must have laserlike focus.

Written by Meiko Patton

Never Give Up

Never Give Up and Never Stop Doing What You Are Doing!

When I started Cyndi’s Light Work Designs my goal was to have my own line of t-shirts and other various items that people love to buy and use; coffee mugs, tote bags, key chains and more.

Pressing For the Mark

Having done what I thought was all my homework on how to make this happen, I found it to be extremely difficult because I was traveling all alone on a road leading nowhere or so I thought. I was ready to give up more times than I care to admit. I tried every avenue, every platform searching for that star that had my name on it. I deeply became discouraged and was ready to give up on my dreams and on ever accomplishing all my goals. I didn’t realize how easy it was. I made it much more difficult than it had to be which was why I was ready to give up. My husband kept saying you have to keep plugging away; somebody, the right person is going to see your designs. I believed it and continued pressing on.

I, Woman, Aspire

With each new day I was making more and more designs; Scriptures on the Table, Praise Him, Personalized Keepsakes and more. I was amazed at the unique beauty in each one of my one-of-a-kind masterpieces even if I say so myself. My girlfriend told me that I had enough designs and that I needed to take the next step. For some reason I could not stop designing. Every time the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart I was in my studio creating more and more masterpieces. This, for me, was the peace in my day. Designing was the hope that would inspire me. It was the joy that encompassed every inch of Cynthia G. Boyer. I love to design. It is, I do believe, one of my callings. Every week I was coming up with a new topic for my designs. I was making things that I thought would bless women, children and people in general.

The Great MindShift

In addition to designing a new collection of light work designs every week, I was writing; writing to accompany my new portfolio of designs. To give them more of a purpose; to give them life and to give them meaning. God has truly and deeply blessed me to build this business and I was determined to help it to bless people, to serve a need and I finally realized that this could only happen if I did things differently, but more importantly I had to shift my mind to thinking and speaking greatness over my business. I didn’t have to stop doing what I was doing. I didn’t have to give up. I just needed to think positive thoughts and be grateful to God for giving me this amazing business in the first place. Just because I thought people weren’t seeing my designs didn’t mean that I had to give up. No, I had to shift my mind into thinking positive thoughts about my business.

Making Plans To Prosper My Business

I also knew I had to come with a plan to grow my business and growing my business meant marketing my business which would in turn help me to explode my business. After many years of researching and researching it was time to stop messing around and just do it!

Starting Over

I revamped my entire design business. I kept my name, Cyndi’s Light Work Designs, because I love the name and all my customers liked it as well as did my family. My name was out there in the world wide web. My name had been established and I didn’t think it was necessary to change it. I just needed to grow my business. I needed to be more serious than I had ever been before. If I was going to be an entrepreneur I knew I had to get moving and stop the feeling of wanting to throw in the towel.

Writing, Speaking and Believing in Positive Affirmations

Now, there were days when I still felt a little discouraged, but when I shifted my mind once and for all, which wasn’t an easy process, everything changed. I decided to write my own affirmations. I knew that if I was going to soar in my design business I had to encourage myself first and then speak encouragement over every goal, over every aspiration, over every desire, over every dream, over every endeavor along with having mountain moving faith in God in addition to trusting and believing that things in my business would change. The very second that I began speaking affirmations into my life every day, can you believe that I was getting design work the same day that I shifted my mind. I was elated and could not believe that it was just that simple to prosper my business. Cyndi’s Light Work Designs is a real and breathing business that is alive and well because I never gave up. I never stopped doing what I love to do.

Be Encouraged!

I encourage you to never give up and to keep doing what you’re doing even if you don’t see any progress, please keep pressing on and moving forward in your business especially if you are operating from the gifts you’ve been given.

Cynthia G. Boyer

Why You Need to Focus on Focus in Your Marketing Plan

Focus — it’s something I’ve tried to instill into my kids through the years. It’s something I teach in my class at New York University. It’s something I try to place into every client assignment.

Focus is a key tenant of any marketing plan.

Without focus, a marketing plan is all over the map. It lacks a mission and a purpose. It lacks a central objective that guides its every move. It lacks clarity and a specific call to action for the team.

Without focus, you don’t have an actionable marketing plan.

Truth be told, focus isn’t something you suddenly think about when you’ve completed your plan. It would be a lot of work to go back in and add focus at the end of your planning.

But hopefully what you’ve been noticing as this series has progressed is that the process we’ve been following to build your marketing plan has had focus built right into it. If you’ve been following it step by step, then your plan couldn’t be anything but focused.

It all started with a clearly defined objective to kick off the process and a single-minded question: What do you want to accomplish this year?

The plan got rooted in some fundamentals of the brand and then we kicked into gear with some data about the target customer, the competition and your own past marketing initiatives.

The plan then followed a somewhat regimented approach to map out strategies and tactics as well as a measurement protocol to make sure that you were accomplishing your objective along the way.

There was focus the entire time!

But don’t take focus for granted. We could have easily strayed and added in a litany of tactics that could have put us in a spin. We could have decided on strategies that wouldn’t really accomplish the objectives. We could have mishandled the budget and tried to do too much with too little.

We could have easily lost our focus. It happens every single day.

Which is why I have to say that while focus is built into the process, it’s not automatic. Focus is not an innate talent for most of us. We have to learn it along the way.

As human beings, we are enticed by shiny objects, and as marketers we are constantly bombarded with new ways of doing things. We are constantly sidelined with new problems that have to be fixed and fires that have to be put out.

It’s so easy to lose focus at any given moment in the process.

So as you write your marketing plan and begin to execute it throughout the year, keep your focus sharp. Challenge yourself to bring even more clarity to your tactics and even more acuity to your marketing spending.

It’ll not only make for a closer adherence to your plan and to your goals. It’ll also set you up for even greater success next year.

Good luck to you!

JIM JOSEPH
CONTRIBUTOR
Agency President, Author, Blogger, Professor

Category: Women in Business