As you probably know, I was installed as the President of the Salt Lake Chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) last week. I got to share some thoughts and inspiration at the end of the event after the board was installed and some amazing women were recognized for their accomplishments.

As a leader of this organization, I have definite ideas about where the “leadership” comes. I believe that leadership comes from within. And that my job, as the President, is to empower you to be the best leader that you can be.

Leadership comes in many ways.

My oldest daughter is living with her dad this summer and gets to care for her 7 year old sister who she doesn’t get to spend much time with. We were talking this afternoon about how she is an example of a powerful woman for her younger sister as she cares for her.

My husband is a coach for the American Legion Baseball team in our community. Chris is a leader for those teenage boys who are trying to be adults and learning about respect and team work.

Gretta Spendlove is a leader for women business owners. She was recognized as the Women Business Owner of the Year by our local NAWBO chapter and has accomplished amazing things.

Amanda Moxley is a leader for women entrepreneurs who are getting started in their businesses need an example of someone who has persevered despite life and self-doubt. Amanda was recognized last week as NAWBO’s Rising Star.

Zoe Albert is a leader for young women and adolescents with a vision and a desire to give back to her community. She is the 2010 2nd place winner of the Girls Going Places Award.

Who are you leading?

It’s so cliche, “take time to smell the flowers”.

But Monday’s are my admin days and it is typical to spend 6-7 hours on the phone catching up on details from my team members and a sales team that I manage.

So this afternoon when I was forcing my 6 year old to sit and read to me for a few minutes, I noticed the wisteria scent in my backyard.

When I commented to my daughter, her reply was “and the mornings smell really good!”

In that moment, I realized that I should spend more time with my 6 year old so she can keep reminding me of all those cool things that I just don’t take the time for.

In honor of my father, my husband and all dads out there, here is a quote that has been hanging on my fridge for the last few months.

One of my girls brought it home from school a while back and it struck my today as I was pondering how to appreciate this day and make it memorable for the father in our home. (This has not been easy since the kids seem to be bickering more today than usual…).

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.
And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
–Charles R. Swindoll

P.S. This is the first post Ive created from my new Wordpress iPhone app, so Im not sure how it will look or be formatted…

I was going to share MY definition of success, but decided that it would be more profound to share the opportunity of defining success.

According to Wikipedia…

Success may mean, but is not limited to:

• a level of social status
• achievement of an objective/goal
• the opposite of failure
• the succession of successfully executed tasks and successes

According to Dictionary.com…

–noun

I think I prefer the definition from Wikipedia as it seems more in line with my own definition–all four points.

Success in terms of “social status” for me doesn’t seem like a good definition. While I see myself as a leader, I feel successful in empowering one or many people which is accomplished during daily activities–important or not.

My success goals are currently focused on educational opportunities for my children–getting a good eduction and having a good education that opens doors and allows my daughters to have more choices in life. Another goal for me is to have a lifestyle filled with good food, travel, time with extended family and a dependable, comfortable car.

I guess failure is something I feel when I don’t accomplish my “list” for the day and other mundane tasks. But I really think success comes from persevering despite failures.

To wrap this up, success is the execution of successfully executed tasks–at least one more than the failed tasks. Right?

What do you think?

I was recently installed as the President of my local chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). I was also on the nominating committee for the Women Business Owner of the Year and Rising Star Awards for 2010. And I had the honor of interviewing Gretta Spendlove and Amanda Moxley–the award winners.

It was inspirational to hear these successful women discuss their perspective of SUCCESS.

The first question I asked them both was “How to you define success?” This is a question I have asked many great women and I love the answers I get.  In my presidential acceptance speech, I discussed my own thoughts on this question.

I believe that success comes from the following:

First, success is a feeling, not a destination. It comes from when you are “on the right track”. This is when you have a mission and you are consciously working on that track.

Success also comes from connecting to your PURPOSE–that WHY you do what you do. When you are clear about why you work as hard as you do and juggle all of the pieces of your life and the lives of those around you, their is a feeling of accomplishment.

Also, when you are clear about the VISION of where you are going and your VALUES of how you will accomplish that journey, success becomes the path.

What is YOUR definition of success?

What can blogging everyday for 30 days get you?

1. More online visibility. The more people who see your stuff, the more likely you will start to monetize things, right?
2. Increased credibility. When you are sharing good advice regularly, you become the expert.
3. More traffic to your website. The more often you post good information, the often people will come to your site to read it and the more often they will share it with others.
4. More friends. When you are sharing yoru blog posts in your social media, more conversations will start and new relationships will begin.
5. More money. If you are an online business, then you need visibility, credibility and traffic to make money. And they more friends you have, the easier this is.

Why are you going to blog everyday?

Please see items 1-5 above.

How are you going to blog?

1. Start with subscribing to this blog.
2. Publish a quick post that explains what you want to accomplish over the next 30 days. This is for goal setting and for tracking (and to share with your readers–who want to get to know you more).
3. Make a list of 4 topics that are relevant to your business/industry/expertise.
4. Take each topic and create 5 tips that support that topic.
5. Lay out your 30 day blogging plan: post one overview of the topic followed by 5 tips about the topic. Then move to the next topic. Drop in a weekly podcast or video (either that YOU create or from YouTube) that supports your topic for the week. Along with the first blog post (the purpose) and your last blog post (your accomplishments for the month), you have 30 days.

Your 30 day blogging plan may look a bit different. I really would like you to share some other experts content at least once each week because this can help build great relationships AND share great content that you don’t have to create. Either way, create a plan.

Whatever you do, keep it simple and easy so it doesn’t get overwhelming. And then let us know how it’s going!

Happy Blogging!

Today is Day 1 of my commitment to blog….everyday.

And I would really enjoy having some friends join me on this journey to create a profitable habit for my business. Are you in?

Here’s 3 reasons why you should join me and 1 task to get you started.

Why?

1. IT’S FREE. It only costs your time. And really, that should only be a few minutes…maybe 10 each day. I bet you waste more than 10 minutes everyday. Find that 10 minutes and it won’t even cost you that! If you don’t have a blog yet, you can start one in about 10 minutes on Blogger.com or Wordpress.com for nothing.

2. It gives people something to talk about…you! When you are sharing good information on your blog, and especially if that information is feeding into your social media, your friends and network WILL start talking about you.

3. It builds relationships. After you are done sharing your opinion, ask your readers to add THEIR opinions. Your readers will start to get to know you better, and you will have the opportunity to get to know them.

So “Where do I start” you ask.

Well start by clicking on the SUBSCRIBE button next to this post. That will allow you to keep up on these posts as I share resources and tips for keeping blogging simple and sweet. If you have Outlook 2007, there is a blog reader built in. If you use another email program, simply subscribe to this blog in the box where it says “Emailed to you” so that it lands in your email.

Next, if you don’t have a blog, start one (see tip1 above).

And here is your real STARTING POINT FOR BLOGGING:

Write two paragraphs about what you want to accomplish over the next 30 days of blogging. This is your purpose. And you need to know WHY you do everything in your business so that you can track it and know if it works or not.

And then share that in your first post!

And don’t forget to post a comment here on this blog along with your blog url so that we can follow you!

Happy blogging!

30 Days to more traffic, more friends, and more fun in your business!

Interested in joining me and Karen in our 30 day blogging challenge?

I was on a call with one of my dear clients, Karen Dennison, earlier this afternoon and we were discussing how to get more traffic to her web site. After talking about optimizing her Facebook and YouTube accounts, up-leveling her Twitter account and launching a product on her site, we started talking about the benefits of blogging to drive quality traffic to her site.

Blogging is a great way to drive traffic. But we both agreed, it takes determination and persistence. And neither one of us is in the habit of blogging.

They say (not sure who, but I’ve heard this my whole life) that it takes 21 days to create a habit. So I’m pretty sure that after 30 days of blogging, not only will we have created a great habit for sharing content, but we should also have a number of other great benefits as well.

I am committed to blogging everyday for the next 30. And some of my blog posts may be short. But I am committed.

Join me and Karen in our Blogging Bonanza and we can share this experience together!

Are you in?

What do “values” have to do with JV’s, joint ventures or other business relationships?

Short answer: money, friends, programs and fun!

Long answer: When you connect with people for business and your values–those things that motivate you–are similar or complimentary, then you have a foundation for building opportunities that will support your relationship as you and your business grows!

What are your values?

Money is not USUALLY the value that motivates most people–although some are motivated by the KaChing! Most people–especially purpose-driven, conscious people–are mostivated by other things like family, faith, community, integrity, honesty and relationships.  Click this link for a more complete list of values.

Why are values important in business relationships?

Because these are the foundational pieces for long-term, repeat opportunities. We can all connect with someone for the money once. But after that, there must be a connection that is deeper. We really need to like the person in order to keep “subjecting” ourselves to interviews, programs and events with that same person.

And when we DO connect with someone multiple times for business programs, teleseminars and other list-building and/or money-making opportunities, our tribe comes with us. With each connection, it becomes easier to sell our services and we are all more profitable.

Make sense?

What to do next?

Click on the list of values to identify your top values. There are hundreds of values listed here, so just review the list and write down the top 10 that really resonate with you. Then circle the top 3-5 values that feel the most compelling to you. Just start there. You can update your list as often as you like. But now you have a starting point for connecting with some great people!

The last few months have been spent interviewing and mentoring hundreds of entrepreneurs world-wide (as part of my business and also for my upcoming book). At least 90% had some key recurring beliefs that were FALSE!

And that’s exactly why I’ve written this must-read post. I’ve been making waves in my industry debunking many of these myths – I’m about to address 3 of them right now in this article!

Are you a busy entrepreneur who thinks you don’t have time for a love life? How do you expect things to change if you never take action? Last time I checked, FedEx is not in the business of shipping dates to your doorstep. That would be lovely though, sigh…

Whether you want a travel partner, companionship, more dates, a long-term relationship or want to get married, here’s an easy way to start. The good news is that it only takes minutes!

No more excuses. Let’s dive in and debunk the myths that have making your love life fizzle!

Entrepreneur Dating Myth #1: Online Dating is Time-Consuming.

Entrepreneur Dating Fact:

Online Dating can be quick, simple and successful if you have a plan. Try the “30-Minute Email Plan”. Dedicate 15 minutes a day, twice a week, to answering email. For example, Sunday is a great day to answer e-mail if you’d like to have a date lined up for the next weekend. Wednesday is mid-week and by then you may have some offers for the weekend or the following week. Stick to this simple schedule and you won’t get worn out.

Quick Tip – Don’t worry about men who fret if you take 2 or 3 days to read and respond. They are NOT compatible with your lifestyle and they will auto-vet themselves in the process. This is not about playing games – you’re a busy entrepreneur! Patience and understanding are key characteristics your ideal guy must have.

Entrepreneur Dating Myth #2: Instant Messenger is a quick way to connect with a man to see if he’s your type.

Entrepreneur Dating Fact:

Avoid Instant Messenger at all costs because it typically attracts low quality men who waste your time, leaving you exhausted and fed up. There are plenty of lonely (and married) men who will IM chat you forever. Men should be qualified before you give them that amount of direct interaction. A man who is truly interested in you will ask to speak with you almost immediately – or in 2 or 3 emails.

Actually, a quick chat on the phone as soon as possible is the best way to see if there is a connection. Why? It would be a shame to spend weeks emailing back and forth only to find out there is no connection when you speak live.

Quick Tip – Have men phone you first but keep your number private.

During a session, a woman wanted to know how to let a man phone her first without giving out her number. This is a major concern for many women.

I suggest you get a local number from Skype or another service and route it to your cell phone. That way a man can call you first and you never have to give out your private number until you feel comfortable.

Entrepreneur Dating Myth #3: It is hard to meet men during the week.

Entrepreneur Dating Fact:

Take a more creative look at how to schedule your time. Who said you have to go out at night? You can meet during the day. This is a great solution most overlook. You have to eat or take a break during the day anyway, so why not meet for a quick lunch or coffee a 5-minute taxi ride away from your home or office?

It is less intimate, so there is no “date pressure” and you don’t have to “make time”. Plus, if you don’t click, no worries – you have to get back to work.

There you have it – 3 entrepreneur dating myths exposed and debunked. Listen to my complimentary audios to increase your magnetic attraction (in personal and business) download them now at: http://magneticmojo.com

About Rhonda Cort:

With over 10 years experience living and working internationally with entrepreneurs, CEOs, diplomats and influential people on 6 continents, mentor, speaker and author Rhonda Cort unleashes your powerful presence to quickly, naturally and magnetically attract successful, top quality people to accelerate your business and personal life.

Make sure you download Rhonda’s complimentary audios “Magnetic Goddess Secrets” for powerful magnetism in your personal life and the “Mojo Acceleration” audio mini-course for entrepreneurs who want to create an almost instant know, like and trust connection. Download them now at: http://magneticmojo.com