Connecting Mind, Body and Business

Issue: IU League 3 Week of: June 27, 2011

NETWORKING COMMUNITY

Inspired Living is a publication from

Inspiration University for the IU League.

www.InspirationUniversity.com

IN THE NEWS

Staying Healthy!

INSPIRATION

3 Reasons Why Goal Setting

Leads to Success

BUSINESS

SOLUTIONS

Use an E-Book to

Brand Your Business

5 Daily Habits of Successful

Entrepreneurs

CONNECTIONS

Why Women Need Mentors and

How to Get One

IN THIS ISSUE:

IN THE NEWS Page

Staying Healthy Facts 2

INSPIRATION

3 Reasons Why Goal Setting

Leads to Success

3

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Use an E-Book to Brand Your

Business

4

5 Daily Habits of Successful

Entrepreneurs

5

CONNECTIONS

Why Women Need Mentors and

How to Get One

6

IN EVERY ISSUE

Sponsor Offers 7

Up Coming Events 7

Business Highlight 7

Publication Information:

Inspired Living is a publication for the

IU League of Inspiration University, a

networking community. This publica-

tion is distributed for members only.

Membership information can be found

at www.Inspiration-University.com

or contact:

info@Inspiration-University.com.

Editors: Valerie Stuut and

Vicky Pestrichelli

Copyright 2011 Inspiration University

Food for Thought: Staying Healthy Facts

What do you think causes

more deaths in the United

States each year: car crashes,

drug overdoses, alcoholism

or firearm accidents? The

truth is that all of these com-

bined would come in third to

food and smoking!

The number one cause of

death is smoking with

435,000 annually and obesity

causes approximately 400,000 deaths each year, ac-

cording to the Center for Disease Control.

Page 2

3 Reasons Why Goal Setting Leads to Success

Page 3

Are you intentionally cre-

ating your life on your

own terms or is life just

happening to you? “What

is your destiny”…have

you ever asked? Goal

setting is the first step to-

wards reaching achieve-

ment and charting your

destiny. Here are 3 Key

Reasons to start setting

clearly defined goals now.

1. Clarity and Focus- Goals give you a target to

shoot for and provide a specific direction to point

your time and energy. Everything is created

twice…first as a thought and then as form. Without

the conscious creation, there could be no physical

creation. When you set a goal, you have taken the

first critical step. You have begun the process that

allows the universe to actualize the goal into physi-

cal form.

2. Motivation and Inspiration- We are motivated

by our desires. When you set a concrete goal

around one of them you have made a decision to

create it. Visualize every category of your life and

business then formulate goals for each one of them.

See them as if they already happened. Next, write

out each one including as much details as possible

with the necessary action steps towards obtaining

each goal Oh, and one more thing, it is vital to set

deadline dates with timelines that are achievable,

measurable, and keep you moving forwards.

Knowing when it has to happen makes it happen.

3. Accountability and Results- Setting goals

makes you accountable plain and simple. When

you make a commitment to yourself you then be-

come obligated to follow through. The all knowing

voice inside of you reminds you that you have a

goal to achieve and keeps you moving towards

achieving it. When I was writing my first book, I

set a goal to launch my book at The Hay House

conference, which was only 60 days away. To hold

myself true to my word I committed to a booth at

the conference, paid for it, and announced it to eve-

ryone I knew. So what if you suspect you might

become a slacker? That is when a mentor or coach

will keep you motivated and inspire you to keep

forging ahead down the road to success.

Wishing you Much Success!

By: Wendi Blum: Wendi is a Published Author,

International Speaker, Success and Strategy Coach

and Visionary who specializes in helping others

create a satisfying and fulfilling life.

Use an E-Book to Brand Your Business

Page 4

By: Karen Leland

eBooks are now a viable way of building your brand and

getting word out about your company and expertise

Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old current indie queen of

eBooks, was rejected by so many New York publishing

houses that she decided to go the entrepreneurial route

and put out an eBook instead. To date, she's sold more

than 500,000 books and made more than $1 million dol-

lars. The movie rights to her popular "Trylle Trilogy"

series have been acquired and, a few weeks ago, she

closed a US$2 million deal for her four-book "Watersong" series with (yes, you guessed it) St. Martin's

Press -- a traditional publishing house.

While Hocking's paranormal romance novels are probably not what the typical entrepreneur is looking to

publish, the best-practice business point is that eBooks are now a viable way of building your brand and

getting word out about your company and expertise.

Here are the basics: An eBook (electronic book) is an electronic document that can contain text, images,

audio and video. They can be viewed on a personal computer, smart phone, PDA and eBook reader, such

as a Kindle, and are sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and dozens of other outlets.

Depending on the length and content of the eBook, they sell from between 99 cents and $99. But the cur-

rent rage is pricing eBooks at the lower end of the spectrum for around $2.99, or even giving them away

for free as a promotion.

The five best reasons why you should be writing an eBook, beyond the immediate financial return of

book sales, include:

1. Increases name recognition for your company and personal brand, as well as drives traffic to your

Web site via links from book excerpts, free samples, reviews, newsletter distribution and blog

mentions.

2. Introduces you to potential customers looking for what you offer via press releases about the

book, an Amazon listing and book reviews from bloggers.

3. Provides a perfect free, downloadable giveaway on your blog to entice visitors to sign up and give

you their contact information.

4. Makes a great calling card to send before you meet with a potential client to show your knowl-

edge, expertise and point of view.

5. Forces you to develop content you can then repurpose for marketing collateral and turn into pod-

casts and Webcasts.

Oddly enough, the easiest part of eBook publishing is getting the finished product up and running for dis-

tribution. Many can be uploaded with just a click of a few buttons. But where most entrepreneurs face a

challenge is in finding the time, or having the writing chops, to craft the eBook in the first place. Even if

that's the case, it's no excuse, since there are scads of eBook-savvy small businesses whose sole purpose

is to ghost write, edit, design and publish your eBook.

By: Elaine Pofeldt, www.openforum.com

Have you ever noticed that when you get things right in your

business, other opportunities start arriving, with almost no

effort on your part? It’s all about momentum. Other peo-

ple—potential employees, prospects, vendors—naturally

want to be part of a good thing, so they flock when your

business is growing.

In interviewing many successful entrepreneurs over the

years, I’ve noticed that they often rely on small daily habits

and routines—both in business and their personal lives that

keep the needle on their business moving in the right direc-

tion. These disciplines aren’t complicated but they pay big

dividends.

1. Plan Tomorrow’s Agenda Today: Scott Cullather,

CEO of inVNT, a live events agency in New York, meets

with his key support team before the close of business to go

over what’s coming up the next day. “We review and fore-

cast what tomorrow is going to look like and how we’re go-

ing to get through that,” he says. “It gives us an opportunity

to re-prioritize. It also allows us to go to bed at night. Your

mind does a lot of work for you while you’re sleeping. You

get there the next day and are much more efficient and pro-

ductive.” This focused approach has helped growth, he says.

The company expects sales to rise from $20 million last year

to at least $25 million this year.

2. Put Your Meetings on a Diet: Ask entrepreneurs who

left corporate America what they don’t miss and they’ll tell

you it’s those endless, often unproductive gatherings around

the conference room table drawn out by flabby agendas and

presentation technology that takes forever to get set up.

Many fast-growth companies keep meetings short, so em-

ployees have time to get projects done. For instance, Cul-

lather limits his afternoon huddle to about 15 minutes.

3. Find a Way to Manage E-mail that Works for You:

They key is to avoid getting sucked into constantly respond-

ing to and sending e-mails, which delays you from finishing

projects on time. Many business owners like the system

suggested by David Allen, the well-known author of Getting

Things Done. He offers a free PDF full of smart tips, such as

putting e-mails you need to act on—and those you don’t—in

separate places in your inbox.

Another strategy that many use: Find ways to reduce the

number of useless messages you view, so you have more

time to work on what matters. OtherInbox, for instance, pulls

e-mails from various senders into folders you’ve designated

and even unsubscribes you from e-newsletters you no longer

want. You can use it for functions such as filing all of your e

-mails from a particular client in one folder. It’s available on

AOL and Yahoo! mail. Some enterprise systems offer filing

systems, too—so if you use one, make sure you set aside an

hour to master it.

4. Never Stop Selling: You’ll lose productive days if you

wait until you’re almost done with your current projects to

pitch new business. Projects can get dropped, clients can run

short of cash and other things can go wrong in an economy

like the one we’re in. The smartest entrepreneurs I know are

always cultivating new business, so they can quickly plug

holes that open in their schedule. Often, it’s a matter of send-

ing in a project with a quick note saying, “Anything else I

can help you with?” at the end. They are, of course, prepared

to bring on temporary help in case they get overbooked as a

result—even if it’s simply through an arrangement with a

reliable freelance colleague.

5. Exercise Regularly: Cullather puts on his running

shoes at 5:30 or 6 a.m. daily, and then hits the streets. “It’s

amazing to me how many creative ideas have come to me

during these long runs in creative solitude,” he says. “Not

only does it give you the physical endurance to work 18 or

20 hours a day and travel around the world but it helps

stimulate your mind and your thinking.” When Cullather is

traveling, he hits the gym—often a great chance to spend

time with clients or network informally. “When we’re work-

ing with Fortune 500 companies, their senior executives are

there at 5:30 or 6, before the conference begins,” he says.

Shouldn’t you be there, too?

Page 5

5 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Why Women Need Mentors and How to Get One

Page 6

During her first job out of college, Ally Sperber never went

in search of a mentor. Instead, Mary Ellen, one of the man-

aging partners in the financial firm where both women

worked, found her. In Sperber, Ellen saw a kindred spirit.

And despite their nearly 15-year age difference, the mentor-

mentee relationship quickly blossomed into a close friend-

ship. "Early on, she embraced me and really showed me the

ropes," explained Sperber, 27, who now works at a public

relations firm in Los Angeles. "She showed me basic stuff,

from how to be a professional to how to prepare for meet-

ings. And when it came time for my next job, she even

taught me how to negotiate my pay."

A good mentor can play an important role at any stage in a

woman's career. But it's especially important during the first

few years on a job. "Time is of the essence," cautioned Vic-

toria Pynchon, a co-founder of She Negotiates, a consulting

firm that empowers women to stipulate equitable pay.

"There's a very narrow window of time for women to be

pulled into existing networks, especially inside corporate

America."

Christine Silva, a research director at Catalyst, a nonprofit

research group that focuses on women in business, also

urged women to identify mentors as early in their careers as

possible. Silva also advises women to seek out a sponsor,

whose role is different from a mentor's. While a mentor can

help an employee navigate the nuances of office politics, a

sponsor is someone who has her back when it comes time

for a promotion.

Sponsors "have to be senior enough to have a spot at the

decision table -- but they don't necessarily have to be a

woman," says Silva. The mentor doesn't need to be female,

either. "It's about having a variety of people in your corner,

regardless of their gender." "Don't pick a mentor based on

their gender," Pynchon agreed. "Pick someone because of

who they are." She encourages women to develop their own

personal "board of directors": "You should align yourself

with not only who has the power, but who has the courage

of their convictions and who tells the truth."

In busy offices, many women are reluctant about asking

would-be mentors for guidance. Lisa Maatz, director of

public policy and government relations at the American

Association of University Women, tells women to be

upfront and clear about what they're asking. "Don't just

ask someone, 'Will you mentor me?'" said Maatz. "If

you’re asking someone to be generous with their time,

realize the commitment might sound intimidating. Be

clear that it doesn't require lunch every week or an end-

less chain of email."

Maatz also reminds mentees that they aren't the only

beneficiaries of mentoring relationships; it's a two-way

street. "When you do it right, it's the kind of thing that

comes back to you ten-fold," says Maatz, who is cur-

rently mentoring a young woman in her office. For the

mentee, she said, "The goal is to create an army of past

and present coworkers who care about what you've done

and believe in your work."

Here are four tips for finding (and keeping) a great

mentor:

1. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. The search for a

mentor should begin right away. Don't put it on your

future to-do list for a year or two from now. Especially

when starting a new job, strike while the iron is hot.

2. SECURE BOTH A MENTOR AND A SPONSOR.

Look for support at varying levels of your company's

hierarchy. Seek out a mentor to help navigate daily con-

cerns and a sponsor willing to sing your praises when it

comes time for a raise or promotion.

3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. If you wait for a

mentor to seek you out, you could wait a long time. Re-

member, the worst your prospective mentor can say is

no. When you ask, be clear and up front with what's

required in terms of time and commitment. And don't

limit yourself to only women. Men make great mentors

and great sponsors, too.

4. BE ASSERTIVE. If you want a strong and assertive

mentor, start acting that way yourself. Stride into a

room. Make eye contact. Use a firm handshake. Choose

the best available seat. Stop apologizing. And then,

when the time comes, say thank you.

_________________________________________

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Mark you calendars for our upcoming networking

opportunities:

September 20, 2011 - Tuessday:

IU League Meeting: Location TBA

October 18, 2011 - Tuesday:

IU League Meeting: Location TBA

November 12, 2011 - Saturday:

Total Working Women’s Convention:

Broward County Convention Center

Here are some great offers from our sponsors. Just

print them out and enjoy!

Print out the above inspirational message and

display it in a place you can see everyday like

your refrigerator. Page 7

We would like to thank Park Lane Jewelry for

participating in our Total Working Women’s

Convention.