Let me ask you a few questions about your childhood:

• Did you ever have a lemonade stand?
• Did you ever get paid to babysit?
• Did you ever sell any of your crafts to friends or family?
• Did you ever sell puppies or kittens?

Of course you did!  Why?  Because children are natural-born entrepreneurs.  And since you were once a child, then you have those innate entrepreneurial characteristics?  However, the problem may be that you’ve buried your entrepreneurial tendencies and traded them in for the security and safety of a paycheck and a job.

Tony Robbins once said:

“Most people live in survival, not in fulfillment.”

If you’re living in “survival mode” and not feeling fulfilled then here are 6 TIPS to help you get in touch with your Inner Entrepreneur:

1. TAKE A VOCATION VACATION – I hear it all the time from my students that it’s “scary” to leave the security of a job and follow their dreams and I get that.  It is scary, but are you going to let your fears control you the rest of your life?  Feel the fear and do it anyway.  A safe way to try out your “Dream Job” is to take a Vocation Vacation.  Go to:  http://vocationvacations.com/ to learn more about how this unique company allows you to test-drive the job of your dreams, completely risk-free, through career mentorship!  Some of the jobs you can test drive are:  Animal Therapist, Bed & Breakfast Owner, Travel Writer,  Chocolatier, Shoe Designer, Wine Maker, Organic Farmer, Jewelry Designer, Musical Composer, Flight Instructor and so much more!
2. FIND YOUR HIDDEN PASSION – Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone was passionate about their work?  I  hear it all the time from my friends, “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow.”  When you love what you do, then work becomes play.  Passion leads to purpose so you need to remember what you are passionate about.  That may sound simple, but it’s usually not for most people.  If you’ve veered so far away from your dreams and passions, it may take you a while to figure this part out.  I’ve got a few questions that can help you remember your passions:
   • What Gifts/Talents do you naturally have?  What do others say you are good at?
   • If you had $100 million dollars in the bank what would you be doing to serve others?
   • What creative, fun stuff do you love doing?
   • What genuine interests do you have?  (If sitting at the beach is one of them, write it down!)
   • What is it you really, really, really like?
   • What do you love to do where you lose all sense of time?
3. HAVE A “PLAY DAY”– It’s important to allow yourself to have pleasure in your life.  All work and no play, make’s Jill a dull girl!  Julia Cameron, in her book, “The Artists Way“, suggests that you have an Artist Date with yourself once a week, for at least 2 hours, to “nurture your creative consciousness and your inner artist.”  Cameron also says, “Your artist needs to be taken out, pampered and listened to.”  Spending time alone with your artist child is an important part of self-nurturing.  This is a sacred time for you to have a little fun and will help you make great strides towards making your work feel like play.  Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”  So go out and play and have fun!
4. GO EARN YOUR FIRST “PLAY-CHECK” – That’s right, go figure out how to make your first $100 doing something you love to do.  Something that you consider fun, not work.  Once you know what it’s like to get paid to play, you’ll start taking  more risks and give yourself permission to play and get paid!
5. PLAY-DREAM! – You did it all the time when you were a kid — daydreaming — now I want you to learn how to play-dream.  Playdreaming is simply allowing your mind to fantasize about playing full time and what that would be like.  In your imagination there are no obstacles to having your dream life.  Einstein once said, “Imagination is better than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”  Give yourself permission to play-dream and see what your imagination can create.  Write down your thoughts and ideas and watch them germinate and take on a life of their own.
6. CREATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF “PLAY-CHECKS” – If you did #4 above and earned your first $100 from playing, then you are now hereby officially a “she-player“.  You are a woman who gets paid to play!  Once you have one business up and running, why not create more.  After all, in today’s world, it’s easier to create 5 businesses that generate $20,000 each, than it is to make $100,000 from one business.  So go ahead and pro-create!

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS CASE STUDIES:

Here are a few of my favorite Lady Entrepreneurs.  Women who get paid to Play…

•  Angela Wills of http://www.marketersmojo.com/

• Kim Parsells from http://www.surfisup.com/

• Jackie Woodside from http://www.jackiewoodside.com/ and her newest website http://lifedesign.jackiewoodside.com/

• Sylvia Henderson from http://www.springboardtraining.com/

• Luanne Simmons from www.goddessonpurpose.com

These are ladies who have chosen to work for themselves full-time and who have a “laptop lifestyle”.  A laptop lifestyle is a portable business that allows one to be an Entrepreneurial Gypsy in a way.  As long as they have a computer and an internet connection, they can run their businesses from anywhere in the world!

If you are feeling stuck or in a rut and would like some individual coaching from someone who has been where you are, then I have a few spots open for my monthly one-on-one telephone Coaching  program that will help you get unstuck and create your Dream Life!  Click here to learn more.