Whether spring has come to your part of the country or is right around the corner, that ritual of packing away the heavy, winter things and getting out the lighter ones is one emulate in your business. It's a ritual where we check things out, see if they still fit, and get rid of what isn't right anymore.

It is time for the fresh and the new!

Spring clean your business this month. Clean out the old to make room for the new. In the same way you clean out your closets, take a look at business practices that aren't working, old paradigms, your physical and mental spaces & people & obligations! If there are areas that just aren't giving you the return they used to, it's a sign that you need to upgrade and create new ways of being effective.

You'll find you will attract better business as you consciously create space, fine tune and revamp your procedures, your environment and yourself, and you'll find things will become easier and more fun!

Give Yourself more space

Simplify and clean out the "stuff" that is cluttering your office or your life. Your physical surroundings can either make your life easier or drain energy. The things you spend your time on are the same way.

What old stuff should get tossed? P> There's an interesting dynamic with space and time: If you have enough space, you will not feel time crunched. Creating physical space actually impacts your feeling of having enough time.

ACTION STEPS:

One tool I use with my coaching clients is a 100 point checklist, developed by Coachu called Clean Sweep. This assessment identifies 100 items that are the little annoyances or subtle energy drainers.When handled, you are freed up to have lots more vitality & energy & be more effective.

What are you tolerating? Things that are broken? Don't represent your image? Make yourself a long complete list and start to whittle it down. Yes, even those things you think you can't do anything about are stealing energy: either accept them (and quit whining or wishing it weren't so) or take an action to make a request or impose a boundary.

Clear up 5 things this week on that toleration's list. Or, if you really can't think of any toleration's and you have a life and environment that support you being the best you can be, choose one area to buff up so it is really perfect and reflects your personal style.

Purge the Rolodex

Speaking of creating space, what people are sucking energy? It's time to treat some of the names on the rolodex like you would the old furniture in the living room: replace it with new furniture that makes you feel great and that you enjoy looking at and using.

Is everyone in your rolodex a fit for who you are today? Have they outlived their usefulness? Or are they just plain whiners, complainers and high maintenance?

This may sound a bit harsh, but as we go through life, we grow and evolve. People who we enjoyed may not have grown and evolved in the same direction. They are on a different path. Nothing wrong with the direction they have moved, but if it doesn't match where you are or where you are headed, you begin to feel the relationships take more energy than nourish and create joy.

ACTION STEPS:

Spring clean your databases: quit holding onto people you really wouldn't want to do business with again. Stop prospecting in areas that aren't your ideal business niche. Do a month-long blitz to contact each of those cool and warm leads and determine if they should stay on your lists or are they just consuming your marketing dollars? A small loyal database is much more valuable and allows you to leverage your funds better than a large, lukewarm one.

Do you have listings you know are not going to sell? Or, perhaps worse, buyers you know are not going to buy now? Let go of them! Refer them to someone else or simply tell them you can't meet their needs right now. The relief you feel will create space for new better business to show up!

Who in your personal life drains you? Quit letting them do that. Set boundaries, make requests or simply stop saying yes to spending time with them.

Upgrade The Operating System

Perhaps you had some New Year's resolutions about what new habits you wanted to create this year. How are you doing? Or, perhaps, you didn't have any because you knew it was hopeless..

If your own personal operating system is not in good working order, how can you expect to work at peak performance for your business and your clients? Are you living a life you love or supporting a lifestyle that is more reflective of what's expected? Irish novelist Edna O’Brien says "In a way, winter is the real spring, the time when the inner things happen, the resurge of nature" If your life doesn't give you joy and satisfaction, it is time to see what spring cleaning is in order to free you to simplify and clear space.

ACTION STEP

What old habit is most in your way? What new habit would make the most difference? Raise the bar. Create a new standard you will feel great about. Not one you think you SHOULD do, but one that will make you proud of who you are. Maybe it is a daily habit that would increase your contact with clients. Even 1 more call a day will add 20 contacts a month or 120 for the year.

Or maybe you need to take better care of yourself. Treat self-care as a pre-requisite to being successful and don't worry about feeling guilty. I tell my coaching clients if they are feeling guilty, it is a GOOD sign. They should be making sure they are taken care of FIRST!

A book you might enjoy, if you'd like to discover more on the dynamics of this topic is The Portable Coach by Thomas Leonard

Taking 30 minutes a day just for you-to meditate or exercise or just to take a walk and reflect might be the best gift you can give yourself. Your feeling of peace will increase, you'll be more focused and problems will cause less anxiety.

Ever notice the people who are peaceful, focused and free of anxiety attract more business? They make it look effortless. Good balance and self-rejuvenation are the foundation of this. You actually become irresistibly attractive!

Upgrade yourself: identify that one habit to stop or to add and set up a plan to focus on that for the next 30 days.

Renewal Is the Buzz

Spring is a time of renewal. A spring cleaning clears out the old and makes room for the new. The seeds you plant this month, will be your bounty & harvest in a few months.

Be ruthless in simplifying, letting go and clearing out and watch that space increase. Nature abhors a vacuum the space you create will attract new, fresh opportunities. There is no scarcity. When you trust yourself to stay focused on attracting the best business, it will come to you.

Published: March 16, 1999

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Joeann Fossland only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Co-creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAME® and NoBloggerLeftBehind.com, she provides coaching solutions to enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free weekly tips, attend free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at .