I’ve discovered the key to successful entrepreneurship, something that is vital to all business owners, irrespective of experience, size, number of employees or the nature of the establishment.

Before revealing the key- that one piece of information that every business owner needs to know- I’m going to share a bit of my story.

For me, the birth of my physical business began with the creation of a Facebook page, followed shortly thereafter by my website. Subsequent business cards, signage and marketing followed the publishing of both my memoir and a self-help book. Obtaining business bank accounts and the formation of an LLC occurred naturally as a result of my growth. This week, I purchased a building in which to house my work with other like-minded professionals, slated to open June 1, 2016.

All of this occurred within the last year. That’s right, within one year all of this expansion developed (but of course the IDEAS brewed long before that!).

Now, my line of work (at this point anyway) has not created independent wealth, and I’m okay with that. It has led me to realize, however, what the key ingredient is to remaining focused on my goals and ensuring success at each and every level of expansion.

No, it’s not hiring an analyst or a marketing team. It’s not choosing Weebly over GoDaddy or self-publishing over an established publishing house. It’s much, much simpler than that:

It’s following your gut. That’s it, following your intuition.

Before you roll your eyes and stop reading, consider this: All amazing, fantastic and innovative ideas were birthed through intuition (think Disney, Tesla and Edison). I’m quite sure they had gut feelings about their ideas and designs, felt passion in their hearts about them, and moved forward (mostly) fearlessly, to their fruition.

True entrepreneurship today requires leading with the heart, not the mind. Sure, our minds do the critical analyzing about insurance rates and leases and such, but the heart should be our compass.

Stop for a moment and feel…does your heart sing with joy over the direction of the business? Do you feel passion about your commitment? These feelings are critical, because they are what will guide us when we are faced with roadblocks while moving forward. We all face challenges as we develop and grow our businesses, this is natural.

But it is vital to check in with your heart and gut…does it still feel right? Does that next move resonate with your goals and values? If not, time to shift gears until it does resonate. Your confidence will come into question and you’ll need to be able to validate your decisions with 100% certainty.
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Today’s entrepreneurship means leading with our heart, not our ego. Those days are over, as evident in our current political agenda. Want to be on the cutting edge of success? Employ your mind, the ego, as assistant to the president, and nominate your heart and soul as the leader. 

(This article first published on Entrepreneur-toolkit.com)

Merriam-Webster defines spiritual as "Of or relating to a person's spirit" and spirit as: "The force within a person that is believed to give the body life, energy and power."

"Life, energy and power" manifests itself in hundreds of ways; from the emotions we feel, the food we eat, the games we play in our free time and the career choices that we make. 

As a Spiritual teacher, these are the things that are my focus...the components that make up our whole being and what connect us to each other. We need to have spiritual wellness in order to feel our very best about life; to immerse ourselves in the joy that humanity has to offer. We can do that through food, exercise, play, art, music...you name it.

If religion contributes to this cause, then go for it! But religion is not a necessity to grow your spirituality- your "life, energy and power."

Love does that. Love for people, nature, even things...but most importantly, love for yourSELF. You need to love yourself 100% unconditionally, without judgment on your feelings and decisions. Operate from a heart-centered place of love for all you engage in and you cannot go wrong.

So when someone encourages you to tap into your spirituality, remember that it's your, our, driving forces. Our life, energy and power. Don't equate it with religion, but most importantly, don't fear it.

It's what makes us TICK.

Contact me if you'd like to tap into YOUR spirituality. It's my mission...

Live in love!

I'm not soliciting "Happy Birthdays," I promise! In fact, sometimes don't you wish they would just slide by?...

 We all have birthdays (whether or not we acknowledge them!). We all have those moments that make us reflect and review our life's decisions thus far, and this tends to be one of those days for me. Where have I been? Where am I going? What is left that I need to accomplish?

Fortunately for me at this point in my life, the answers to those questions have become abundantly clear (and more on THAT exciting news shortly)! But the singular thing that I'd like to point out today, on one of my life-review days is:

We are not separate from each other. The sooner we recognize this, the easier life becomes. We all have birthdays, but it's much more than that. We all give and take the same exact universal energy. Our souls all have the same mission: to experience the joys of life as frequently as possible. We all need to give and take love (even if you've convinced yourself you don't...)

Our religion, parenting styles, values and political parties do not separate us from each other, they unite us. They interconnect us through the things we are passionate about. When we stop thinking we are separate, we realize that what we do to others affects us, and what we do to ourselves does affect others. 

I have a birthday wish: to break down the fear-driven myth that we are separate from each other. To realize that when I bring joy into my world, it allows joy into yours as well. And when judgment doesn't find you, it won't find me, either.

Enjoy my birthday wish to live in love!