Episode 7: Taking Small Steps to Big Change with Claire Kerslake

An important part of being an entrepreneur is learning from your peers. “Unstoppable Entrepreneur” profiles entrepreneurs just like yourselves who have taken the leap to follow their passion and create their own work & lifestyle. They share their expertise: tips for success, tools they use and valuable things they have learned along the way.

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to Claire Kerslake of Loving Life with Diabetes and we discussed the importance of taking small steps towards change: whether it is starting a health plan or even tackling social media!

Key Takeaways:

In this interview we will discuss:

  • Figuring out what is motivating you to make change
  • Why you should only start with 5 minutes a day when starting something new
  • The importance of mindset and the shift that happens when you spin a negative into a positive

Enjoy!

Claire Kerslake is a Credentialled Diabetes Educator, Health Coach and Founder of Loving Life With Diabetes. She helps others create the health they need to live lives that make their hearts sing.  You can connect with Claire on twitter and like Loving Life With Diabetes on Facebook.

 

Enjoy Unstoppable Entrepreneur? Want to be featured or recommend someone? Email  sandy@sidekickpm.com.

Arianna Huffington

Insights on Innovation & Creativity from Arianna Huffington

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the C2MTL conference in Montreal where Arianna Huffington was one of the speakers.

C2Mtl brought together some of the brightest business and creative minds from around the world. The goal of the conference was to see how creativity could be used to answer commercial questions.

Give People What They Need

In a conversation with Mitch Joel, Huffingtion discussed the motivation behind her new mobile app, “GPS for the Soul” launching in June.

The app will use your smartphone camera and through your finger detect your stress-level and help you course correct through-out the day. Users can upload pictures, quotes, songs and create what Huffington calls “Guides” and use these throughout their day to bring them back to a more creative, harmonious, less stressful place.

Why this app and why now? Not your typical app from a media company!

“Successful innovation follows the zeitgeist, give people what they need and you will have the wind at your back.” says Huffington.

And right now people are overwhelmed and stressed. More and more people are claiming that they only sleep 4-5 hours a night and thus perceived to be more “productive, busy” when in fact it is only hampering their health, productivity and creativity in the long run, argues Huffington.

And she would know, having worked herself to the point of exhaustion, fainting and then requiring stitches after falling.

Innovation, Creativity & SLEEP!

More nuggets from Huffington:

  • Joy is fuel for creativity.
  • Key to innovation is iteration. Listen to feedback, be flexible and quick to respond.
  • Breate deep, meditate and SLEEP!

Personally, it was refreshing to hear a super successful woman talk about the importance of finding joy, meditating and getting more sleep. Not the typical advice you hear at a business conference!

In the TED video below, Huffington shares some of the insights that were covered at the conference last week.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

3 Essential Resources for Budding Entrepreneurs

From idea overwhelm to actually starting, let’s face it, the life of an entrepreneur is not easy!

I’d like to share three resources that I value that have been really helpful in putting those ideas down and taking action.

Taking on the World Starts with Mindset


Natalie MacNeil’s book as I mentioned in my review is an absolute gem. Not only does she share her story about how she got started but she guides you through creating your ‘Master Action Plan’ to help you embark on a successful journey towards buildng your dream career/business.

The $100 Startup: Reinventing the Way You Work

What I loved about Chris Guillebeau’s new book, The $100 Startup, is the practical advice. He shows you that you don’t have to spend tons of money to get your idea off the ground through his interviews with hundreds of entrepreneurs (as well as accidental ones) who share their stories and how they did it. Chris gets you thinking and acting like an entrepreneur and makes you realize that transforming an idea into a business does not have to be hard (but there is work involved!!)

 

WEMastermind: Accountability & Support

Get Killer CoachingThere is a lot to but you don’t have to do it all by yourself!

A mastermind does not replace the hard-work that you will have to do to get your business off the ground but what it does help you with is accountability, support and access to people who have “been there, done that “.

That is huge.

What it means is that you don’t have to go at it alone and can reach out to people to bounce your ideas off and benefit from group wisdom.

Here are 3 ways I benefited (but there are SO many more!)

Accelerated Personal Growth

Because there is access to a whole new set of ideas and perspectives, my personal growth accelerated during this time period. Each day and week I found myself immersed in new ideas, readings and unique outlooks that I normally may not have come across.

Commitment

No slacking off here!

Because you will have to carve out time to work on your goals and have something to show for when you meet your accountability partner, each week I was motivated to make time to work on my projects and ideas. Having that weekly call really pushed me a long.

Of course, life does happen and some weeks may not be as productive as others but that’s why your accountability partner is there to help you get back on track!

Community

I now belong to a global community of action-taking, driven entrepreneurial women who I can bounce ideas off and also cheer me a long. I look forward to checking in with them on a regular basis and see what progress they have made and am always learning. Amazing!

If you are looking to move forward & launch your awesome ideas to the world, I highly recommend you take action and join WeMastermind. There’s still the better half of 2012, so get to it! The next program starts on May 24th and you can take advantage of a special where you sign up with a friend and you both save $300 each!

 

What are some of the resources that you find valuable? I’d love to hear about them!

Promote yourself!

Hi there!

Welcome to a page dedicated to you! I want to know who you are, what you do, and how can we help each other.

So please go ahead and use the comments below to share more about yourself.  These comments will be here permanently!

  • Introduce yourself.
  • Tell us about what you do: your work, website or blog.
  • Talk about your talent as well as your challenges!
  • Promote yourself!

You can learn more about me here anytime, essentially I love helping budding entrepreneurs get unstuck and launch their ideas. Whether it is getting clairity, figuring out the techy-stuff and which tools to use, or keeping up with the fast-paced changes in the online-world, I’m here! I’ve also started creating products to help you do this like my ebook:

From Stuck to Unstoppable: How to go from Idea to Launch

Enough about me! Go on, let’s hear from YOU!

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