I’m really happy to introduce you to friend Phil Dyer. He’s a speaker, writer, financial planner, strategic business coach and recovering workaholic who’s dedicated to helping lifestyle entrepreneurs transform their business to support their ideal life, create conscious wealth and have fun!  Phil shared with me his transofrmational “3 Truths” today–I liked them so much I asked him to share them with all of you.  Thanks, Phil, for your guest post.

A QUESTION TO ASK YOU ENTREPRENEURS OUT THERE…

Are you ready to create the business that truly supports your ideal life?

If you answered “YES”…like most forward-thinking, conscious-minded entrepreneurs, then I have a follow-up question…

WHY AREN’T YOU DOING IT…RIGHT NOW…TODAY?

For many of the people that I connect with that are trying to build a business that supports their ideal lifestyle, true transformation makes a better hypothetical and theoretical “holy grail” to aspire to than to take positive action to actually achieve.  It is often easier for us to buy another product, invest in another hyper-kinetic weekend seminar with hundreds of other seekers or sign-up of another series of “free” tele-classes that promise a magic bullet solution than it is to take concrete steps towards REAL and LASTING transformation.

Now don’t get me wrong…all of the above tools can be very helpful and I routinely use them myself…but I also strongly believe that many entrepreneurs use this constant activity to avoid doing the deep, soulful and very often uncomfortable inner work to effect true change.  It’s often easier for us to be doing instead of simply being…to feel good about checking of a series of tasks rather checking in with out inner compass to see if we are truly on the right path…to immerse ourselves the the relatively anonymity of a large group event than risk exposing ourselves and our foibles in a more intimate small group session.  We congratulate ourselves on all the “progress” we are making when – in truth – we are simply shrinking from who we are truly called to be and playing it safe.

AM I PUSHING ANY BUTTONS YET? I HOPE SO?

I submit to you that there are “Three Truths” to real and lasting transformation, both personally and for your business:

1. You Must Give Yourself Permission to Unplug: True transformation is – in my opinion – virtually impossible to create when you are running non-stop in the 24/7 world we live in.  You need time, space and separation from your day-to-day life and the constant demands of your business to allow the noise level to die down enough to really hear yourself think, to listen from a place that is below the surface and to open your conscious and unconscious mind to your true potential.  In my experience, 5-7 days is the minimum time frame to really accomplish this.  Shorter retreats are OK, but how much real down time do you get?  Take a 3-day retreat…you really need a day on the front end to let yourself slow down and decompress and often our brains are “powering back up” on the last day as we prepare to go back into the world…so we may only get one good day of clear thought!

2. You Can’t Do This on Your Own: I don’t care how conscious you are or how in touch you are with your inner core…you are too close to your own crap to have any real perspective.  How many times have you been wracking your brain trying to come up with a solution to some challenge or problem…only to have someone else look at it for 30 seconds and then give you a simple, elegant and straight-forward fix?  I have one of those “I could have had a V-8″ moments daily!  To empower yourself to achieve true transformation…you must engage a coach, mentor, accountability partner or mastermind buddy.  We may be great at crafting solutions for other peoples challenges…but we SUCK at doing it for ourselves.

3. Exponential Transformation is Possible with the Right Group: Napoleon Hill was a pretty smart cookie and his admonition for us to avail ourselves of the power of Mastermind Groups was spot on.  Coming together with a small group of like-minded individuals who are serious about transformation their business and their life is the fastest and most powerful way to affect real and lasting change in your own business and life.  Quantum leaps become the norm – rather than the exception – as members urge each other to greater accomplishments, hold space for each other, call B/S when needed and bring the amazing power of multiple minds together.  I am incredibly honored to be part of several amazing mastermind groups and much of the credit for my business growth over the 5 years can be directly linked to these incredible people.  For me, groups of 12-15 are ideal for retreats, while smaller groups of 3-5 are great for Masterminds that meet more frequently.

If you are feeling stuck in your business – and your life — right now and your not making progress towards the lifestyle you truly want to lead, what are you scared of?  What are you settling for?  What are you not allowing to come to the surface?

Consider connecting with these truths to help jump start your way forward!

Connect with Phil Dyer at TotalBusinessTransformation.com

My friend Alden Mills, former Navy SEAL, father of 4, and CEO of Perfect Fitness (Perfect Pushup/Pullup inventor) recently asked me to guest blog on his Charlie Mike blog (designed to help you and me unlock our potential).

Here is the post:

Among the most powerful lessons I took from serving on Special Forces A-Teams (the Green Berets) in the U.S. Army were the importance of possessing a tenacious spirit, and maintaining a positive attitude in the face of difficult and challenging circumstances. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that those who have experienced extraordinary and enduring success in business, the arts, athletics, and virtually every other field have embraced these two powerful “disciplines.”

Continue reading this post on CHARLIE MIKE blog.

4 out of 5 voices in my head said “Share this in a blog post!”

It was during a phone call with one of my business coaches last Friday that I first considered sharing one of my “little” idiosyncrasies with you.   It’s a challenge I generally have under control, but seems to creep up on me from time to time.  You see, I hear little voices in my head.  No, it’s not the kind of voices you’d expect to hear on Scooby-Doo or in The Shining (watch this if you want to be freaked-out).  It has more to do with negative chatter in my head that sometimes says “Quit!  Turn back!  You’re not good enough!  Take the easier route.”  I know I’m not alone…this destructive self-talk is a challenge for most of us.  Although naysayers and past negative reinforcement may fuel it, the reality is that we’re in control of our own minds–we create the negative chatter, and we can transform it.

I was roaming around my friend Darrell Fusaro’s site at PlainPockets.com yesterday and I came upon these cartoons he created that perfectly illustrate the point.  Finding these seemed confirmation that I should mention this to you.

Shortly after I began studying martial arts I recognized that much of my internal angst and self-talk was wrapped up in replaying  the past, stressing about things in the future…and not breathing.   Note to self: I must remember to BREATHE.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it.  By the simple act of deeply breathing air in, and letting it out I’m now able to get back to the present moment (and linger there).  The chatter quickly disappears.  It’s taken some practice, but now I simply push the negative stuff aside and replace it with positive chatter and words of self-encouragement that I repeat throughout the day.

Of course, a daily dose of Cheap Trick doesn’t hurt.

Jan Norman of the Orange County Register featured news of Bandera Hospitality’s expansion in yesterday’s paper (although it ran on-line last week).  It’s great coverage for us, but our “business model” seems to be in question by at least one of the on-line readers.

OC Hotel Group Expands

January 24, 2010

Broughton Hospitality Group in Newport Beach is expanding its reach beyon ownership of boutique resorts to managing hotels owned by others.  Broughton’s subsidiary Bandera Hospitality recently signed on to manage the Holiday Inn & Suites in Fullerton and Holiday Inn resort in Palm Springs.

Of the Fullerton hotel, Broughton and Bandera Chairman Larry Broughton said, “The sleek new look and premium services offered by the Holiday Inn & Suites rival those offered by some boutique hotels, so it’s crucial that staff and management at the property understand the unique psychographics of the boutique hotel customer and can develop and deliver the type of services that will exceed expectations and build…(read entire story here).