What is going on? I have been facing many challenges in recent weeks. But regardless of these challenges, I know that these present opportunities for personal growth and development. In a recent blog post, I wrote about how I view life as a journey, and not a particular destination to be reached.

So how do we deal with the tough and challenging times? I wish I could provide the magic bullet and offer a one-size fits all solution. But the reality is that we’re all different, each of us walking a unique path for our own self growth.

A friend e-mailed me recently, and he told me about some of the challenges he’s been facing. I told him that although we can’t always control our current circumstances, we always have a choice. We can choose to play victim, or we can choose to feel empowered.

I’m sure many would like to choose the latter, but often times it is much easier said than done. This is not an overnight process. It’s rare for someone to just wake up overnight and feel great and wonderful after experiencing something very challenging.

Again, it’s about the journey, not the destination. This is not a race on who can bounce back the fastest after major setbacks. Everybody is different, and everybody has their own unique path and own time and way of dealing with things. Some may bounce back faster than others, but it doesn’t mean that one person is better than anyone else.

When I’m faced with challenges, especially those that are completely beyond my control, I do my best to step back and take long deep breaths. A few years ago, my initial reaction would be to blame external factors and play victim. Through meditation and inner work, I’ve learned to just step back, breathe, and observe the situation as it is.

I allow myself to feel the emotions, whether it’s fear, anger, grief, guilt, jealousy or frustration. Although I’m feeling these emotions, I make sure not to make any major decisions at this time. Fear-based decisions, while providing some temporary solutions, may not benefit me in the long run.

Once I allow these emotions to pass through me, I spend time in contemplation reflecting on what it is that I really want. What is the life I want to create, and what are the emotions I’d like to experience in this life? That’s when I turn my attention and focus on things that bring me joy, peace, freedom, fulfillment, prosperity and love.

I ask myself powerful questions such as:

• How can I turn this situation into my advantage?
• How can I grow from this experience?
• What lesson am I to learn from this in order to move forward?
• What action can I take right now to move closer to achieving my goals?
• What can I do to help others who are going through similar experiences?

By asking myself powerful questions and listening to my inner voice, I feel more empowered to deal with challenging situations, and I gain the clarity to make important decisions.

I’m still learning and growing, and there are times when I just want to crawl underneath a shell and hide from the world. But I know that when I follow this process, I can move through my challenges with a bit more ease.

Sure, achieving those successful moments felt great, but after that fleeting moment, I always felt I had to chase the next best thing. I was constantly chasing for the next best thing, and not truly appreciating each moment.

I felt inspired to write this blog post after feeling an incredible AHA moment. I enjoy being an entrepreneur, and relish the challenges that come along with it. I’ve realized that I’ve been forcing things to happen, doing whatever it took to make it happen.

Then I sat down with myself and started asking what is it I really want. Sure, I desired success, and also to create a business that helps other people achieve success.

But was that enough? I spent the past day digging even deeper as to Why I am doing this, like putting myself through all the struggles as an entrepreneur and learning hard lessons along the way. From the outside, it may seem like I’m crazy and torturing myself.

Then I realized it’s all part of my personal growth experience. I’ve heard the saying “It’s about the journey, not the destination” so many times in my life. In my head, I understood it. But today, I truly felt it. For the first time today, I can truly and authentically say that being an entrepreneur is a journey for me, not a destination to be reached.

What is it that I really want? My true desire is to create a life full of joy, peace, prosperity, fun, passion, freedom, adventure and love. These are my core values, and everything I create will embody these. These are the people I know I will attract into my life, the type of people who share the same values and mindset. These are the feelings I want people to have when they cross paths with me and come across anything I do.

It feels great to know more of Who I Am, and I’m more inspired than ever to create projects and businesses that reflect this.

So back to my original question. Why am I doing this? Because what I create right NOW is truly reflecting what I feel inside. It feels natural, and I feel like I’m in the flow. I don’t have to force things and make things happen – I naturally do it. I don’t need to create things to please other people or seek approval.

I’m doing it because it’s something I feel in my core being. And if I don’t’ do it, then I’m not being me. The challenges I face don’t seem so bad anymore; they’re just blocks that I can work my way around once I understand the lesson behind them.

And now I’m inspired to help people do the same. Why are you an entrepreneur and walking this path? Feel free to comment below.

Aside from enhancing the leadership skills of people, leadership development also serves as a way for people to reflect on their own sets of values towards work. It also paves the way for people to be inspired and motivated at all times despite challenging times and without depending so much on others.

Experts say that leadership development is a very important factor in a leader’s life because this will help him or her see things in a positive way. This will also enable him or her to overcome challenges by developing an attitude that could withstand challenging situations and failures.

If a leader is inspired and motivated, he or she is able to develop a good outlook in life. In fact, he or she might even be surprised of the things they can accomplish in a short span of time.

If you are conducting a leadership development program for your group, include the subject of motivation in your talks and activities. To help leaders who are being hindered by their personal issues, it would be best if you encourage them to:

1) Re-assess themselves. Many leaders assume that they know themselves already, so they often neglect doing self-assessment regularly. Experts say that these people often do not realize that the more they ignore self-reassessment, the more they get stuck with their own habits, leaving less room for self improvement. During leadership development, help them understand that it is best for them to know themselves very well. If they know themselves well, they will know their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Once they were able to identify all of these, it will be easier for them to set goals for themselves that are within their reach and their capabilities.

2) Start with small and simple goals. Tell them to not put too much pressure on themselves. If you just stepped into a leadership role, it’s best to tell your developing leaders to start small so they won’t feel defeated if they are unable to meet their goals initially. By starting with small and simple things, they are giving themselves the chance to accomplish bigger things ahead.

3) Keep track of their progress. This will help them find ways that would work best for them. If you do this, they will know what areas they should improve and what things they should continue doing.

Kris de Leon
(702) 635-9571
kris@krisdeleon.com
Skype: krisdeleon

I’m passionate about empowering people and helping them reach peak performance. For more articles on leadership and personal development, check out my blog http://www.krisdeleon.com

If you want more courage, use the gift of giving and find a way to encourage someone else. If you want confidence, instill confidence in someone who needs it more. My mentor told me a story about how one of his employees developed self-confidence by simply instilling confidence in someone else. In this article, let’s call her Mary. When my mentor conducted a performance review, he discovered that Mary lacked self-confidence to perform her role to the highest standards. He knew that Mary had a great deal of potential, so he decided to help her build her self-esteem and self-confidence.

My mentor knew that pep talks and positive reinforcement were not enough for Mary to boost her self-confidence. He knew that Mary would need to help someone else gain confidence in himself before she could develop her own confidence. So he encouraged Mary to spend some time with someone who lacked self-confidence. Mary knew a girl who lived in her neighborhood that lacked confidence. Mary talked to the girl, and found out that she enjoyed soccer, but did not excel in it, so she didn’t feel confident in herself. Mary excelled at soccer, so she decided to coach the girl as her gift of giving. After spending time coaching the girl, Mary noticed that the girl’s self-confidence grow dramatically. When Mary saw how this girl grew in confidence right before her eyes, her own self-confidence started to grow because she knew the value she was contributing to the girl’s life. Once her self-esteem and self-confidence expanded, my mentor mentioned that her performance increased dramatically.

While it’s important to stay focused on your goals and doing everything you can in your power to achieve them, take a step back once in a while and think about what area in your life you would like to develop. Then find someone who needs it more, and help that person develop in that area. Through that gift of giving, you will see yourself making improvements in that area without even thinking about. Just remember what Zig Ziglar said about helping enough people get what they want first, and then you can have anything you want.

You can get better results and quality output if you just focus on one activity and stay with it for a sustained period of time. This is like athletes who reach peak performance and stay “in the zone” for quite a long time. They do so by creating a success cycle. My mentor suggested to structure goals around a 90 day time frame. Within those 90 days, break it down into three 30 day cycles.

Here is one success cycle example – let’s say your main goal is to become more proficient in social media marketing in the next 90 days. Break that success cycle down by focusing on each of three platforms of social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. You could spend the first 30 days mastering the basics of Facebook marketing. Spend the next 30 days learning Twitter and how to properly use that tool for marketing. Finally, spend the last 30 days understanding how to use Linked In. Try not to get distracted by learning all three platforms at the same time. You will lose concentration, feel overwhelmed, and risk burning out. However, by focusing on one platform within a 30 day block, you will feel less overwhelmed and master the concepts more quickly. Mastery of the basics and how to use each medium well will lead to better results in the long run.

Once you achieve your quarterly goal through focused effort, make sure to complete the success cycle by including a rest period before you start with pursuing your next quarterly goal. The human body can only push for so long without breaking down or burning out. While some of us think we can work like a machine, we do not have super hero powers, so we start to wear down and became mentally and emotionally exhausted. You cannot keep such an intense focus for long periods of time without proper recovery.

The first step of building a business is to set clear goals. If you have already set your goals for both your business and for your personal life, take the time to review and refine your goals, and set a plan of action for completing them. If you haven’t set your goals, make sure you spend a couple of days working on your goals. Once you identify your goals, identify the potential obstacles that you might encounter that could prevent you from achieving your goals. For example, do you lack financial resources? Or perhaps you lack training? Take some time to think about the solutions to these obstacles. Finally, write an action plan to complete each goal.

Next, envision the direction of where you want to take your business. What do you see happening in five, ten, and twenty years? What will you accomplish as a result of your business? By having a clear vision, you will be able to prioritize your work and help yourself make decisions.

After setting your goals and creating your vision, go to your company’s website and make sure to download information such as the company’s mission statement, vision, products, services, compensation plan and policies and procedures. Make sure to pay particular attention to the information on the company’s products and/or services so that you can get an overview.

The next step is to master the skills of a successful network marketer. Perhaps the most important skill to develop is your leadership skill. Become a student of network marketing, and attend training seminars, read books, and listen to audio programs that will help you build your marketing business. Brush up on skills such as sales, networking and goal setting. You can do this by modelling after successful people in the industry, so it’s very important to have a strong mentor.

Finally, organize your work environment. Find a suitable place in your home to do work, such as a corner of a bedroom if you do not have a spare room to set up as your home office. Some people like to work from the kitchen or dining room table. Make sure to speak to a qualified accountant who can give you advice on tax and IRS requirements for having a home office and what counts as a business expense. You will most likely receive a 1099 form instead of a W2, so make sure you understand the differences in tax structures.

In addition, make sure you have a lot of privacy, especially when you’re using the telephone and speaking to prospects. You don’t want to have your children screaming or dog barking while you’re in the middle of an important conversation or presentation. You’re no longer in a corporate environment, so make sure you have the proper equipment and basic supplies such as business cards, computer and printer, notebook, stationery, and a telephone.

Good luck with your new home based business!