Happy November!

Can you believe 2016 is already almost over?

Speaking of things being almost over…how ready are you for this election to be done?

If you’re anything like me, I would guess you’re pretty damn ready.

While I am talking about the election, I promise this is a non-political post.

Not because I don’t have opinions on the election.

Trust me, I do.

But whomever we’re voting for isn’t what’s having the most impact on our businesses.

There’s an incredible amount of stress underlying everything people are doing these days.

That stress is leaving many of us paralyzed and unwilling to make decisions.

It’s the stress that comes from uncertainty.

Whether you’ve noticed it or not, that stress is impacting your business.

To me, it feels like people are afraid.

They don’t want to commit because they aren’t sure what’s going to happen.

Yes, we have a Presidential election every four years…

But this time it feels different because the stakes are so high.

This election has stirred up a lot of feelings and issues we’ve been ignoring.

If you’re like me, the scandals have forced you to ask questions about yourself.

Am I as open-minded as I think I am?

When has sexism and sexual aggression impacted me?

How is my self-ignorance causing me to be biased?

This election has demanded that I reflect on myself and my business.

It made reminded me of the tanking economy in 2008.

Everyone who was in business then contributed to an underlying conversation about how nobody had any money.

And that conversation continued way beyond the point when the economy was rebounding.

That was a scary time – and it forced a shift in my business.

Business almost dried up in Portland.

I could have focused on the negative and perpetuated the conversation…

But instead I changed how I was thinking.

I looked outside my immediate vicinity.

I asked myself could I go to do business and maintain my income.

I went to Washington DC because their economy doesn’t have the same volatility as the rest of the country.

Over the next 8 months, I went five times and did enough business each time to cover the gap.

Then, when the economy recovered and the conversation caught up, I stopped going to DC.

I didn’t need to anymore.

Often, as business owners, we get too caught up in the conversations surrounding us.

We stifle our success by getting caught up and perpetuating the energy of fear and uncertainty

Participating in business conversations from this negative place of “it’s terrible out there” turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If you only retain one piece of advice from reading my weekly blog, remember this:

Results = Mindset + Action

During this election cycle, many people will let the collective mindset get the best of them.

Don’t fall into that trap.

Focus on what is possible and how you are showing up in the world.

That’s how you will get results while others get stuck.

Until then…stay passionate!