Entrepreneurial Mindset …

As we all know, life as an entrepreneur can often feel like you’re in the middle of a natural disaster … a tornado … sometimes even a zombie apocalypse (if you haven’t had much sleep lately and technology is not on your side). The daily fires, the technology glitches, the endless unanswered emails, the never-ending to-do lists (yes, more than one) and the list seriously just goes on, and on … AND ON. Just like your to-do list.

You’re constantly feeling as though you’re being pushed and pulled into a million different directions, but you tell yourself “this is just normal for an entrepreneur lifestyle”. Well I’m here to tell you today that things can change. Maybe not your workload or your endless unanswered emails or how early you get up in the morning when you’d rather sleep in for just 15 more pleasurable minutes … But you can change your mindset.

If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it. ~ Muhammad Ali

Everything you read online tells you to make it a regular part of your day. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes to help you be more present. It seems like an impossible thing to do when you’re already running circles around everyone and everything in your day. Trust me, I felt that way too at first. It’s not always easy finding 5 minutes, quiet ones to be exact, for yourself and your sanity. Putting mindfulness into practice can be challenging, especially when you’re first starting out. But here’s a handful of simple ideas to get the ball rolling so you don’t lose your mind and can find some time for yourself to breathe, re-center and be more present …

Practice Daily Gratitude:

Entrepreneurship is about the act of creation, no matter your niche. And during all this “creation time”, it’s easy to lose sight of just how far you’ve come. So, practicing daily gratitude gives you time to reflect on the narrative of your journey. Time to quiet your mind and focus. Focus on the good, the bad, the ugly and even the what could have been. And while you’re taking some time to reflect on your journey’s narrative, focus on what you have learned from all those experiences and take time to express inner gratitude for the education you’ve earned from the results.

Learn the Art of Letting Go:

In an entrepreneurial lifestyle there’s a lot that goes on that is out of our control or that may upset us. It can truly be an emotional roller coaster some day (maybe even weeks). And with this we must try to learn what I like to call the art of letting go. It’s the only way we’ll get ahead.

This is honestly one of the hardest lessons yet best things I’ve ever done during my entrepreneurial journey. I have always worn my heart on my sleeve and taken great pride in every project/task I’ve set my mind to. However, there is no cookie-cutter recipe for this. Sometimes we’re not able to cope with the person or situation that’s in front of us but the best advice I can provide is to just dust yourself off, figure out what lessons can be learned and move on. That’s how we grow … by letting go!

“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”
~ Arianna Huffington, Author, Businesswoman and Founder of Huffington Post

Embrace Your Identity:

This one’s easier said than done some days … But never doubt yourself over the way you look. Either as an entrepreneur or your business brand. Too many people spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME looking at those they admire wishing they could emulate their style and charisma. Why not spend your time better by embracing your unique qualities (strengths, flaws, and yes, even your quirks)?

Let yourself flourish and grow with your ideas and do not model yourself onto other. You’re unique – just like everyone else – so BE YOU and enjoy every waking moment of it!

Escape Your Inbox:

Being online is a must for every entrepreneur, especially when it comes to email. It’s an efficient way of communication in today’s business world yet can sometimes become a hindrance on one’s productivity. So, to help you escape your inbox and be more productive, here’s a few small tips:

Filter your emails into folders (by person, company or topic).
Do not feel as though you need to answer every single email.
- One of my entrepreneurial co-companion’s always reminds me … “Your inbox will never be empty when you’re dead”.
Only touch each email once.
- Re-reading emails is a waste of time and sometimes stressful when you’re so busy so whenever you open an email, decide right away what to do with it … Reply, archive it, move it or delete it. DONE!
This one goes hand-in-hand with my point above … Stop writing the same email over and over again. There’s no point in typing the same emails repeatedly. A better approach is to reuse portions of your emails for phrases that you frequently use so you don’t have to write the whole thing from scratch every time. Write, store and re-use.
Get yourself a “throw away email” for spam and junk mail. This way you can avoid having important emails mixed in with the unimportant ones.

Tidy Office = Tidy Mind:

Okay, so you’ve heard me talk about organization time and time again. That’s how important this topic is when you’re an entrepreneur.

So, whether you have a designated office space or just a laptop or tablet that you use in your favourite places and tidy office means a tidy mind. Get rid of all your clutter. Limit your workspace to only relatable items. Clear up space on your desktop (no stray folders – I know you know what I’m talking about), delete apps you no longer need, and empty your virtual trash and downloads folder – at least once a week. A well-organized space is conducive to the same type of mindset. A clean and tidy place for being creative, productive, strategic and HAPPY!

Just one more thing … Remember that you cannot change the past, other people or any of the outcomes you may face in your entrepreneurial journey.

However, one thing you can do is be in control of yourself and by doing so, you will find that your lifestyle, your business and even certain “sticky” situations will prosper all by having a change in mindset.

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become YOUR WORDS. Keep your words positive because your words become YOUR BEHAVIOUR. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes YOUR HABITS. Keep your habits positive because your habits become YOUR VALUES. Keep your values positive because your values become YOUR DESTINY. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

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Crystal Kordalchuk

Crystal is an artist, a writer, an organizer, a dreamer, a doer, and down-right proud of it NERD!.

Struck with a love for #AllThings creative at a very young age, Crystal dreamed of a life fueled by her passion for creating and bringing the stories and images in her mind into reality.

As she worked toward her dreams, she earned a diploma as a Computer Applications Specialist then another in Graphic Design and from there began to develop her extensive background in multimedia and the arts. She began her worked in the magazine industry as a layout designer and had a succession of design jobs thereafter. It was her role as a graphic/web designer that gave her the first real glimpse of her future. Soon she began a side job as a freelance designer while keeping one foot in the corporate world. A spark was lit! She turned her freelance gig into a full-time business combining design work with her other passion: creating organization from virtual chaos.

Crystal is one of the most organized individuals on the planet. She is by all means a Zen master of her crafts. She excels at helping others become “untangled” and provides her clients with tools to run their businesses smoothly while she takes care of the details behind the scenes. Thus Virtually Untangled was born. A successful business where her work as a top notch creative in graphic and web — with a twist of virtual assistant — married into one amazing place where clients can come with their virtual messes and become magically untangled. Crystal can always make sense of even the most unorganized chaos and offers a virtual detox of order and peace, so her clients can get busy doing the work that they love the most.

Entrepreneurial Mindset …

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Crystal Kordalchuk

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