Browse published articles attributed to Leslie Cunningham, with full-archive search.
Many years ago I listened to the audio book, "Fish Tales." This is an incredible story about John Yokoyama, the owner of the Seattle Pikes Place fish market and how he took it from a struggling work place, where staff fights and employee walk-outs were the norm to the financially successful, world-famous fish market that it is today.
When I reflect back at the times in my life when I achieved my goals and dreams with the greatest ease I realize that these were times when I wasn’t attached to or trying to control a particular outcome.
"I don't know what to do - I've been trying to make $4,000 in my business each month and it just isn't happening. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm very clear about my bold money goal and I even have it written out where I see it everyday. Plus I've designated a clear time frame to achieve it by. But I'm still struggling with making anything beyond a few hundred extra dollars. I'm just not sure what to do!"
When I first started my coaching business I felt inept and powerless when it came to making money. I had a difficult time imagining that I could ever make a decent income. I believed that the only way I could end up with any money at the end of the month was to manage it very frugally.
The experience that I share in this story occurred eight years ago – I’m excited to share this story with you in the hopes that it will inspire you. “It’s my husband’s responsibility to pay most of the bills,” the voice inside my head stubbornly insisted.r
This is an article that appeared earlier this week in a monthly column that I write for "Balance: A Magazine for Montana Wome "… Have you ever experienced times in your life where things were unfolding with ease, and life seemed to be humming along just great when suddenly, without warning, your "good fortune" came to a screeching halt and you found yourself feeling stuck and stagnant?
In his book, Free Play, Stephen Nachmanovitch writes about the joy of playing. He describes play as a state of mind where we focus on the process – the sheer joy of play, and not the end result. He encourages us to recognize that the act of play in and of itself is the destination. When we play we have nothing to gain and nothing to lose because we have no expectations.
Do You Have a Healthy Relationship With Money? I remember many years ago having a pretty amazing insight about a client's relationship with money. I was looking at her financial numbers and she had asked me what steps she could take to improve her situation. I looked at her debts and quickly assessed which ones she should focus on paying down first.
Many entrepreneurs wonder how to manifest in their business and life. There is a wonderful story that explains this concept so beautifully... An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.r
I've come to realize that the situations that challenge me the most as a leader and business owner are the ones that bring up a lot of emotions for me. Immediately my internal dialogue kicks in. In the moment it seems like my internal dialogue is simply reporting the truth about my situation or the person I'm upset with. And before I'm aware of it I get caught up in my inner commentary and self-made internal reality and forget that it's simply an internal conversation that I've created about my situation.
Lesson 4: Inspire Others With a Future That Creates Their Desired Results getyourfuturestartedI have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #4 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I inspire and invite others to create and commit to a future that naturally expresses their desired results.
At first glance this story might seem like it has nothing to do with building a thriving business. However, as you read this, I invite you to consider where you haven't been willing to "get off it" with someone or something in your business. Getting off it is a willingness to take responsibility for your part in the drama and the story you've been telling yourself about those situations in your business where you feel stuck.
I remember feeling confused, stuck and burdened when it came to handling my money. My husband and I had multiple piles of traveling bills that I could never seem to locate when it was time to pay them. There were even occasions when I avoided opening my bills for fear of how much they were. And to make matters worse I didn’t have a clue as to where my money was disappearing to each month and how much debt we had.
Do you know that less than three percent of the population has a list of written goals? You can put yourself in the top successful three percent by learning how to write out your goals, either by yourself or with your partner, so that you too can reap the magnificent benefits of living your life on purpose and achieving your dreams. Do You Know Where You're Going With Your Financial Goals?
I once received an invoice from my former bookkeeper. The amount didn't seem accurate so I contacted him to inquire about it and was shocked at his reaction. He became defensive and said, "If you don't trust me then perhaps it's best that we don't work together anymore."
Like most solo entrepreneurs when I first started my business I was hyper-focused on making money. It made sense - I had to make money to pay my bills and meet my monthly expenses. Then there was always the "in-my-face" annual income goal that I held in the forefront of my mind (which I never seemed to be able to achieve). I was constantly struggling with making money; it occurred as a lot of internal pressure and hard work.
Lesson 3: Recognizing That People Want to Avoid Accountability I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #3 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I realize that it’s part of the existing human culture to avoid accountability. People avoid accountability because they are afraid of being punished if things don’t turn out.
I've realized that regardless of the current circumstances that I'm experiencing in my business, I have an opportunity to create a brand new future. As a leader and business owner, I have two choices: I can choose to create a future based on my past or I can choose to create a future that is inspiring, exciting and based on pure possibility. To distinguish this, I ask myself 3 questions: 1. What is the future that I've been moving in to? In other words what is the current conversation that I've been living in my mind? This is the default future that I've been creating.r
I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so that you can lead your team to achieve extraordinary results. In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable: How to be a Leader who holds others Accountable 1: Clean Up My Own Act For starters, I take the time to reflect and identify those areas in my business and personal life where I have broken agreements or promises.
I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #5 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I am powerful when holding others accountable. When we think of holding others accountable, we automatically assume it means babysitting them – knowing that they don’t want to do something and that they will resist.
As a leader, have you ever experienced times in your business where things were unfolding with ease; life seemed to be humming along just great¦when suddenly and without warning, your good fortune came to a screeching halt and you found yourself feeling stuck and stagnant? So what do you do when you realize that you've lost your mojo? How do you get it back? Remember, every situation is an opportunity to hold an internal conversation of possibility REGARDLESS of the current circumstance is that you find yourself in.
"I want to be able to create money easily and authentically, and to have it flow naturally to me, just like my breath does," my client excitedly shared with me. "And yet when I think about making money and identifying a bold money goal for myself I have a disconnect and I start to shut down." We explored her statements further and she realized that she was shutting down because her beliefs about making money and her money mindset told her that it "had to be hard."
I was facilitating an on-site training for a business recently. Several times during the training the request was made by the employees, “for managers and leaders to acknowledge the positive.” I have found this to be a common theme in most every business. Employees often feel like the only time they get attention is when they are doing something wrong instead of when they are doing things right. This is why I intentionally choose to begin my leadership training's by having the owner acknowledge something that they sincerely appreciate about each of the leaders.
I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #6 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I am willing to support team members when they don’t follow through on their commitments or word.
I’ve noticed from my own and my clients experiences that money has a way of showing us where and when we’re on or off track in our lives. To understand where you’re off track ask yourself these questions: “What are my primary operating beliefs about money?” And, “What are my consistent money actions or behaviors?” In other words, are you so frugal that you’re practically starving yourself (of important necessities and healthy pleasures) just to watch your savings account grow as much as possible?