-Marilyn Monroe-
❤

How can you live the high life if you do not wear high heels?

-Sonia Rykiel-
❤

 I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet

-Carrie Bradshaw, Star of Sex and the City-
❤

Men may have started the fashion trend of wearing {high} heels, but the once popular shoe is now a fashion must have for almost every woman. Through the centuries, {high} heels have helped transform the image of women from the lesser sex into the powerful, natural leaders that are in business today. A number of these women are at the top of the ladder of success in charge of running some of the largest, most influential companies and brands in the world.

Heels were originally a man’s fashion statement and worn by Aristocratic men in 16^th century Europe during the Renaissance. Heels show-cased a man’s calves – the heel lengthened the calf and made it stand out in conjunction with tights. Heels made men taller and they were viewed as being more powerful. Men eventually stopped the practice of wearing two-inch wide heels in favor of flat-soul shoes and women began to transform the thick heel into the modern thin heel, known as the stiletto. In keeping pace with women’s success, the heel continued to rise as much as she did, into heels of five and six inches in height.

High heels make a woman’s legs look very sexy and it certainly gets a man’s attention. Today, women use wearing heels to their advantage. Heels make you taller and being taller is a symbol of power. In the media, a woman wearing a power suit and heels is often associated with a high-powered lawyer or high positioned woman. Heels don’t always make the woman, but it is the power behind their statements that make them successful. A woman’s strength lies in the fact that she is a natural leader and communicator. Today, a woman of influence tears down the walls of division between men and women. She builds her brand or the companies brand with beauty that is more feminine, embraces passion, power and purpose and if you take a moment to look, she just might be wearing high heels.

This is why I called my book, my anthology ‘Success in (High) Heels’ because regardless of the size of your heels, if you are a woman, you know exactly how to run the show as a woman. We are different from men and the way we run our lives and our business is proof of this. I wanted to show you that to be successful, you must include other elements in the equation such as your health, your physical condition, your family, your friends and everything that makes you who you are.

So I decided to gather together an extraordinary panel of 30 women (me included) to showcase what success is all about in business as much as in life….Wearing (High) Heels or Not!

Each co-author is a power house having learnt through difficulties and mastered their achievements in a brilliant way. Together we bring you new insights to help you on your own journey.

30 authors = 30 lessons.

30 ways to improve your business and your life… A whole month’s worth of treats!

Put on your nicest heels and join us in this wonderful adventure….get your copy today!

Send me a Copy Today

If somebody else was trying to do that to us, even by just a tenth as much, we’d be lashing out all over the place and apoplectic with rage. But as long as we dig our own cosy little hole, we are so obedient to ourselves in a weird kind of way.

Since my book ‘Success in (High) Heels’ has been in production, I must have heard the following at least 22 different times: ‘Oh I’d love to publish my own anthology BUT….’ and I end up almost giving out the same 22 reasons as to why not.

Because…

• I have a small list
• I don’t know a lot of people
• I live in a small city
• I’m brand new at this
• I have nothing to offer
• Who would agree to go for it with me….

And believe me, this list could go on and on….but I’m glad I had the chance (yes, I mean chance) to hear all this within a very short space of time. It helps me see how easily we can come up with the strangest of excuses. It’s a bit like kids at school pretending that their grandmother had died on 3 different occasions.

Although everybody I spoke to was a grown-up, despite that, their excuses just had a different meaning and purpose. This time, the goal was to avoid a ‘possible hurting’. Now I’d like you to bear with me for a moment, because the term ‘possible’ represents the hurt in this matter. The reason for you to say ‘But…..Because’ has nothing to do with getting hurt, with failing, with missing out …it ONLY has to do with the possibility that it may happen. When you look at it from this angle, you are preventing yourself from achieving your greatest dream JUST because you think there is a possibility that you won’t achieve it.

So let me ask you, how can you know for sure if you don’t try?

When your dream is stronger than the fear of failing at it, believe me, there will be no more doubt in your mind.

Have you reached that point yet? I’m asking you because there is nothing worse than being stuck ‘in-between’, so you are at the point of being scared enough not to do anything but not yet sufficiently scared to give you the strength to get out of it.

If you feel you are in limbo between the two, do yourself a big favor and go one notch further and make a decision that will scare the heck out of you….!

Then come to me and tell me all about it at christine@coachingandsuccess.com

How many times have you turned your back on a project because your inner voice told you that you were being stupid?

How many times have you thought: ‘No, it’s not for me!’

How many times did you get the:

-  I’m not big enough

-  I don’t know enough people

-  I’m not good enough

-  I’m not rich enough….

….. throwing cold water on all the great ideas that were flying around in your mind?

Do you know how many times I hear this type of ‘self-inflicted killing prophecies’ from my clients? All of them have said something along these lines to me at one point or another.

And, you know what….that’s GREAT! Because it means that you have ideas, that you are creative and that you are motivated.  Now all you need is a dose of confidence.

It can be quite difficult to gain confidence in your ideas when your Board of Directors is composed of you, yourself and maybe you. It’s difficult to bounce around ideas when you’re alone, it’s hard to expand on ideas all by yourself. And it is even more challenging to carry your ideas all the way through to the execution stage when you do it all alone while still trying to stay motivated at the same time.

This is why leveraging the power of others is so crucial to your success. And one way to do that is through collaborative work (aka Joint Ventures). There are so many different kinds of collaboration that the issue here is rarely about which one to choose.

Here are the top 5 false ideas many people have about collaborative work:

1.  I hate telesummits

Well, that’s terrific then, because the great news is that you don’t have to get involved in one. One big mistake I see my clients very often make is to only look at JVs through the eyes of what has already gone before. Remember, a JV is only a vehicle for a few people to work together towards a common goal….just innovate, find a different vehicle or modify an existing one.

2.  I have nothing to offer my collaborators (JV partners)

When it comes to ‘what to offer’, people tend to imagine having a ‘huge list’ and while this may be an advantage, it’s by no means the only thing you can offer. You can facilitate a wonderful event which will have a huge impact for your collaborators. You expand their circle by helping them meet other people and being exposed to their list. You may also be able to showcase them via a very unique event. Don’t overlook this part, because all these elements will play in your favor.

3.  I don’t know how to do it

This one is easily solved. Ask around; better still, participate in one and see how you can reproduce the model with your own particular sauce and brand in your own way. Or, if you are really serious about it, hire the right person to help you put it all together.

4.  It’s going to cost me too much money

While some JVs can be costly in terms of technical support, others can be organized quite easily using free Social Media. Once again, take stock of everything you have to bring to the table and see what type of event you could come up with.  On these particular occasions, you will realize that having created business relationships is your best asset.

5. What if it doesn’t work?

Now this question is always interesting because in fact it all depends on your expectations. If by ‘working’ you mean that you expect to increase your list by 5,000 people in 5 days and make $10,000 on the back-end, it may be a challenge……. although it could be possible – after all, everything is! Just make sure your goal is aligned with where you are right now and where you want to be. Don’t rush into a specific collaborative work just because you heard somebody say that it jump started his or her business. Do your homework and then run it by your ‘love radar’.  Do you feel really passionate about it? Now from the passion stance, ask yourself: ‘What do I need to see happening with this JV to feel it is a success?’

A collaborative work could very well be the only thing you’ll need to jump start your business or to step up onto the next level, but to make sure it is, you first need to choose one that nurtures and fires up your passion. Then ensure that your expectations are in the right place.

Most of the time, Joint Ventures are considered a flop because expectations are not met.  But, remember, a Joint Venture is always a success because it always brings people together to unite behind a common goal.

So what’s your idea?

About 2 years ago, I had the idea of creating an anthology, even though I didn’t have a clue about how to bring it all together.  But I knew right there and then that some day in the future, I would compile one.

Well, that ‘some day’ became ‘THE day’ on a cold December morning when it hit me that kicking off 2013 with my own anthology book would be the best start ever to the New Year.

Now, we are almost in production mode – in other words we are just about to go to print. And this weekend, I spent some quality time reflecting on what has made this particular Joint Venture so exceptional not just for me but, most importantly, for all the wonderful women who participated. I took the chance to pause, relax and enjoy my achievement but also to savor what we, all together, had achieved.

Now, as I ponder over the reasons why this JV was so thrilling for me, I came to the conclusion that a JV’s Success starts way before the launch date; it starts right from the very first contact. I know many of you would love to create your own collaborative work, so here are a few Success elements to include in yours:

1. Decide on a collaborative work that you are truly passionate about. So, if you are not ecstatic about giving interviews, don’t go down the route of a telesummit, or if you dislike writing, then an anthology may not be the right choice for you.
2. Avoid the temptation to go body shopping. Make sure you only invite people who share your vision, who see the benefit for them BUT also the benefit for the whole JV group. Look for the team players who are happy to collaborate for the greater good of the group.
3. Give a cause to your Joint Venture. Money alone is rarely a sufficient reason to be part of a JV or to organize one. You have to be strategic and ask yourself these questions: What can be done because we are a group that I couldn’t do just by myself? How can my mission have a greater impact? How can I share my message through a wider audience?
4. Make your offer enticing so it’s easy for people (the right people) to say ‘Count me in!’
5. Develop your organizational skills so you make the entire process from the initial ‘Yes’ to the actual Launch very smooth and easy for everybody involved.
6. Aim for quality. Don’t hesitate to ask for a little fee to participate. NOT to make money upfront but to provide you with the necessary cash flow to pull it altogether like a pro. You don’t want to be counting pennies, so learn how to budget, do your sums and calculations with due diligence so you get the numbers right first of all. Then charge as little as possible.
7. Exceed expectations!  If you’ve included 3 elements in your JV package, then surprise your collaborators with a few more (which you will have accounted for in your budget, of course).
8. Welcome and encourage ideas and exchange but don’t forget that you are the leader, and it’s you who calls the shots at the end of the day.  So, yes, you’ll have to make some of the decisions and stick with them.
9. Create dynamics and facilitate bonding within the members of your group; help them shine and be the catalyst for other collaborative work.
10. Have FUN! This one is so often forgotten. By all means, take your  work and your mission seriously but take yourself lightly.

This is my Top Ten list to make any collaborative work a success.

I’m so proud to be presenting you with my forthcoming anthology ‘Success in (High) Heels’. Still a bit skeptical?  Check out my last Joint Venture, come and see for yourself what 30 amazing women can achieve in a very short time when they put their minds to it and all join together.

It’s all happening right here….www.successinhighheels.com

However, what I came to realize is that it takes certain qualities and a few well-planned steps to be able to walk into the world playground.

This may seem pretty obvious but you must be sure of what you really want.  For example, if you are scared of flying, then wanting to be an International speaker, coach or consultant may not be the right choice. Frequent traveling will be a necessity and your car/train etc. may not always be viable alternatives.  So, needless to say you’ll have to make sure you’ve got it covered from all different angles.

So, just to help you get started, here are a few points to bear in mind:

1.  Marketing

Where do you market yourself? Your local newspaper may not be the best fit if you want to advertise your services worldwide. If you want to be seen in the world marketplace, well, you’ll need to show off your wares there. Does that mean that you need to become invisible on a local level? Of course not, but it won’t cut it if that’s the only marketing you do.

2.  Invest in the right place

It doesn’t matter if your local newspaper is cutting you a deal, if you are not putting yourself up for show in front of the right crowd, you won’t get the right clients. Instead, keep your money and select one or two avenues where you can market your business effectively while showing who you really are and what you are all about.

3.  Step outside of your comfort zone

1. Participate in one retreat or one live event in another state or, better still, in another country.
2. Collaborate in a Joint Venture with colleagues from other countries. Soon, I’ll share with you all about my new Joint Venture….a book called: ‘Success in (High) Heels – 30 Day Diet Feast to Success’ in which 29 women (+ me) from everywhere in the world gathered together with me to write an amazing book…but I won’t spoil the surprise just for now!
3. Meet people from other countries virtually; use Facebook, Pinterest or Linkedln.

4.  Take a stand! Have a voice and make it heard!

There is no longer a place for the ‘mishy-mashy’ kind of pseudo business. People want leadership, your clients are craving to belong, to being part of something bigger than themselves, to be sharing a deeper meaning. Make it happen for them while you do the same for yourself.

5.  Observe, listen, question and innovate

Look around you, observe, listen and question your crowd, even if they are 10,000 miles away from you. People are usually very vocal about what they want; I know I am and I’m sure you are as well. So listen! Yes I know: ‘Everything already exists out there, how can I stand out?’….the answer is INNOVATE! Innovation is about taking something that already exists and modifying it in a way that makes it more responsive to today’s demands.

Identify the end result you want, then ask yourself: ‘How can I achieve that without doing x, y, z? How can I achieve that by doing x, y, z differently? What will different x, y, z mean?

This is exactly what I did with my magazine The Women’s Edge Mag.

6.  Create REAL value

If you want to stand a chance in the World Playground, you cannot afford to replicate mediocrity. Let’s face it….you can find nearly everything for free online. Now, the downside to this is that MOST OF IT is outdated, downright wrong, or simply unrealistic. The difficulty is to determine which piece of information is good and which isn’t. So, why would you want to have your crowd facing that challenge? Why would you want to make it hard for them to hire you?

Free eBooks, newsletters, telesummits are all out of trend because they don’t deliver value anymore. Or, I should say, they don’t most of the time.

You know your message is worth being heard. You know you can help shape a better world, so create the perfect vehicle for it and step up boldly to share it with the world.

The world is calling for women to stand up, to collaborate strongly and to change what is no longer adequate around us.

The question is – do you want to be one of them? If so, let me help you become one…. christine@coachingandsuccess.com

Each time you share a piece of information with someone, you are teaching something. Now the accuracy of what you put out there may be a matter for discussion but, in any case, it is still teaching.

This is how we learn by transference of information from one person to another. So there you have it – you are a teacher!

And this notion applies to everything you do, in your circle of friends, with your spouse, your children, but also with your CLIENTS.

Yes, you teach your clients every day, in your blog posts, in your articles, in your Facebook blurbs; even in 140 characters you are transferring information.

But it’s not just because you willingly share something that you know for sure that the person on the receiving end is ready to hear it, even less take it on board.

As the Zen proverb says: ‘Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.’

How many times have you been offered opportunities to learn something, to help you grow but have turned away for fear of taking a step in? I grant you that it’s challenging to step out into the unknown just through your belief, by your intuition that it is the right path for you to undertake.

How many times have you walked through the wrong door? That happens as well!

So, how can you know for sure which door to enter and which one to walk away from?

My best answer to that is that YOU know the answer. Yes, you hold the key inside your heart.

The key is called your dream. If you take an honest look deep down into your heart, you will be sure that somehow you know what to do. We have that emotional radar which enables us to feel the direction we ought to be taking, when and only if we decide to listen.

A dream is strong; it’s so powerful that it can keep you awake, unsettling you until you get moving with it to make it come true. That dream will also show you which door to joyfully and fearlessly enter.

I use the term ‘Dream’ deliberately because I do know it conveys a different meaning for everybody. For some it is an imaginary illusion of the mind, for others it is meant to be unattainable, and yet to some it is a path, a direction, a clear sign of what needs to be done.

Usually your dream will thrive on passion, and thanks to that passion you’ll never get tired of it. You’ll work at it until it becomes your new reality.

But guess what, your dream will evolve with you, will change with you and at a certain point will become your teacher.

Your dreams are the teacher and the key to their teachings if you dare to listen and enter through the door.

Dreams are not goals or steps or actions. Dreams are the path, the mere external vision of what is nestled in the very depth of your soul. This is exactly why they are so powerful. They exist because they represent your mission, your purpose.

How many dreams do you have?

One of my dreams was to publish my own magazine, and I kept that dream buried for more than 30 years…until it woke up as naturally as possible as the next Dream for me to make come true.

The Women’s Edge Magazine was born in just 1 month!

Visit the magazine page at www.thewomensedgemag.com and see for yourself what a dream can do for you.

It’s not just because your business is online that it will miraculously take off from the minute your site is published; even if your site is absolutely breathtaking!

There are a lot of misconceptions at this level. When I say to people that a site should be beautiful as well as functional even if it’s not these 2 elements that will make it generate revenue, everybody agrees but only superficially, because most of the time, they still dream that it will be different for them.

A lot of work is involved in ensuring that your site, your business, your name, your face is seen, remembered and loved. And this work should be your primary focus for many months.

However, something else is occurring right now. It seems as if it is becoming harder and harder to stand out among the crowd. But is it really?

An overcrowded market place is an advantage because it forces us to go back to basics, to strive to be different, and by the word ‘different’ I mean being ourselves.

Hear me out for a second here. People, I mean clients, yours and mine (myself included) are desperately looking for honesty and authenticity. The time of selling a few information-based products saying what to do without revealing the ‘how’ is now officially over! If you take the time to surf the net, you’ll see that you can find everything you want and for free. Now, of course, you’ll need to spend a great deal of time sorting it all out, separating the wheat from the chaff, because unfortunately a lot of this information is out-of-date, not working or simply wrong. However, it is there for you if you choose to use it.

What our industry is lacking more than anything right now is real partnership. While tools to get in touch with or stay in contact with the world are created everyday…. we still don’t seem to master the art of relationship.

Get a conversation going with your crowd, talk to them, be available, accessible, then foster the bond and provide them with what they so deeply want; a partner who will walk the path with them, a supporting shoulder to lean on, a heart that will share their tears with them, a helping hand that will show them exactly how, a friend who will celebrate their victories. This is what your clients want. This is what all human beings want.

There is no alternative; if you want to build your business, you need clients, and to get clients, they need to know you exist….and to make sure they know you…you need to stand out.

Then go back to basics, invent ways to work very closely with your clients….create avenues to foster the relationship with your clients, conjure up new experiences for them. Partner with them to facilitate THEIR Success, not yours!

Your Success will be a direct consequence of their victory.

Now is the perfect time to set your ideas on fire. Dare to implement at least one and see where it leads you. There is no better way to be aligned with your business. Make innovation and creativity your allies, because it’s yours and yours alone….nobody would get it the way you do, and in that you immediately become different.

I always try to innovate, I have so many ideas, and, yes, it can be scary to launch something that has never been done before…and, yes, your Gremlins may say: ‘Don’t you think that the reason why it has never been done before is because it’s not worth it, not because nobody thought of it?’ I had that conversation with my own Gremlins…and here is my answer: ‘Maybe, but nobody could do it the way I see it!’

What about you?

I’m not trying to enter into a debate here, nor do I want to play the finger pointing game. I do believe, however that this shift is a great thing. It’s about time men got more involved in raising their offspring.

And for us women, the time is now due for us to start running the economy so our world rises again from its ashes, just as the phoenix did.

We proved ourselves as skilled in keeping the country afloat in times of war, a role that we had to hand back to men when they came back from the battlefronts and peace was finally and officially declared. There is no question about our abilities and competencies, and the world today is crying out for a change in perspective, a change in point of view, a change in the way economics, external affairs, internal affairs, social topics and many more subjects are directed.

Studies have shown that in third-world countries, women are taking the lead through the means of their own businesses. Women, more so than men, have built businesses from adulthood while raising children. Many of them were left alone in the first place, giving them the unavoidable role of bread winners in a land where nobody would give a job to a woman! It is, therefore, not surprising that most clients of micro-financing were women.

Women have the skills, the instinct and the desire to build a new world through their business, be it a sewing business, a bakery, a single or even a multi-million enterprise. There is no difference. Regardless of the environment, like so many women have demonstrated in India, Vietnam or Honduras, where there is a will, there is a way.

The difference usually comes from what comfort you are willing to give up in order to create something bigger and better later on. Not everybody is capable of letting go of something they know to set out on the crazy path of the unpredictable and unknown in an economy that the media continuously portray as ‘in crisis’. As I wrote before, this term in itself is the best example of a buzz in action. If you don’t know what a buzz is, then just listen to people talking about the crisis in stores with their cart full of shopping…and you’ll get the idea.

The next question to ask yourself is, how can I change the world if I didn’t study politics, if I didn’t go to post-graduate school?  What could the world expect from somebody like me?

The answer is ‘everything’! First of all, even if I had studied a lot, I really believe that what you need to build and grow a successful business is NOT learnt at school so that is already one pre-requisite thrown out of the window and one less worry for you.

On the other hand, what you need is a huge thirst for learning, you must be curious about everything; you must transform yourself into a sponge, aspiring to and drinking in every single piece of information you may need to be successful and to get a chance to shape tomorrow’s world.

This change should be part of your bigger ‘why’. All great business entrepreneurs have a bigger why than just making money and being recognized; these are only 2 by-products. Each one of them has at heart a bigger mission and they use their businesses to try to achieve that mission.

So what is your mission? Why do you want to create a business?  Why do you want to stay in business?

So, it’s Christmas Eve and yet it feels like any other day here. No spectacular lights, no decorations in the stores, no Christmas music – nothing!

But, hey, we still want to celebrate and get in the mood, right? Otherwise, how can it be Christmas if we don’t feel it!

So, together with my daughter, Camille, we decided to recreate the experience at home. Our apartment is decorated with lights, garlands and a beautiful tree and from this morning, traditional Christmas music has been playing.

What does that have to do with the LAN’s 787? Well, if you’re wondering, go check out that plane on Google. Everything in this plane has been thought through to create an experience for its travelers…to make sure they come back!

OK, you got my point, but you may still be wondering what the heck does all this have to do with your business? In reality, everything, because you cannot work efficiently, you cannot be working joyfully if your working environment is as dull as a Christmas in Catalonia.

You have to create your office in such a way that it welcomes you, in a way that invites you in. Make sure you use colors that call for your creativity. Maybe use texture to help you calm down if you are particularly stressed and make sure this space is organized in a way that makes working easy and fast.

I know it may sound a bit difficult at first, especially if you are just starting out. But, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you need to be making money and have plenty of clients to give you the right to invest in your deco.

See it for what it is – it’s an investment in your business, just like a computer, a book or a pad of paper.

So, right after the holidays, clean up this room and make it yours! It will be your first step towards a successful 2013.

Good luck!

I love this time of the year (I'm sure you know that by now) and when I read other articles, I feel like I'm reading the same thing every year …planning, planning, planning!

Although I'm not saying that you shouldn't plan – being an 'Ex-Project Manager' I cannot really say that – however, what I see year after year is people telling you, showing you, recommending to you that you should plan. They teach you how to plan at the end of a year (well, let me tell you that you really must do this exercise all year round) so how come you are still where you are, 12 months later?

Was the product bad? Was the teacher, coach, guru that bad? Was it the economy? A recession so bad that the world became paralyzed?

You know just as well as I do that it's none of these. I actually laugh when people talk to me about recession, because to be honest with you, it seems to me that it is one of the best buzzes we've created for a long time. Of course for some people it is hard, of course some people are suffering, of course people are dying all over the world. And NO, I'm not a cold, selfish, narrow-minded b….! But, can you honestly say that this wasn't already the case 5 years, 10 years or 20 years ago?

I'm just being me. I travel a lot, I meet a lot of people and one thing I can tell you is this:  courage, drive, motivation, action and resilience is what makes the BIG difference, not the economy.

What happened to your grand resolutions from December 2012? A study showed that usually these great decisions barely make it through to the second week of January.

Plan YES but learn how to PLAY the plan if you want to stand one tiny chance of being among the players in December 2013.

The truth is, and I truly believe this, that EVERYBODY can succeed, everybody can realize their dreams. But what makes or breaks it is one simple question:

'Do I really want it?'

Why do you think my clients achieve huge results?  Because right at the very beginning they showed me that it was what they really wanted, and working with me or not wouldn't have changed anything.

Do you know how to play the game of your dreams so you make sure you get what you want at the end?

This is where I can help you. There is no point having the best GPS if you have no means of getting where you want to be, right? Well, I'm the vehicle to help you reach your  destination.

Why do I call it Plan & Play?  Because playing is way more fun than working, and besides, it's also a lot easier.  So why choose the hard option when a far more agreeable one exists?

Do you want to try and see how it goes? Just click HERE and follow the instructions.   Nice & Easy…that's the name of my game…LOL