There have been many instances this week that have caused me to stop and think about friendship and support.

Meredith Vieira left the Today Show and I was reminded about how many people work in the background to put on a show like that and of the camaraderie that the entire Today Show staff had.

I have a great friend visiting me all the way from Melbourne, Australia. We used to work together and I haven’t seen her for many years. Talking to someone who knows me and my talents is brilliant and I am tapping into her perspectives. We were talking about my business last night and she had some amazing insights into my strengths and how to play them up. I felt reassured and energized.

I don’t want to dwell on the Twitter affair that is happening in Washington, DC but it has given us the opportunity to meet Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin. How reassuring it must be to have such a talented person with you all the time, advising, coaching and helping all along the way

What does that person look like in YOUR business? Is it a coach, an online business manager, or a virtual assistant? Who do you need to make it past those points in your business where you don’t know what to do next? What is that you need to grow your business? More than likely, these are different people with different talents.

Isn’t it a great time to get a friend in your business, supporting you and your goals? What would it be like to spend more time working in your brilliance and less time working in your business?

I have spent many years learning and now I’m so excited to be finally doing what I love to do which is teaching. In one sense the Internet is quite straightforward but in practicality the technology involved makes it quite complicated, so it’s great that I’m able to share my knowledge and experience with others starting on their online journey. Read about my program here.

Today I had a challenge. Something came up that could have stopped my call from happening today but instead I decided that everything was going to be okay and that I was going to forge ahead with the call I had planned. I was a little bit worried that something would come up that I hadn’t predicted but in the end, everything worked out perfectly.

I know I would’ve been disappointed if I had canceled the call today and had to wait till next week. It can be a slippery slope, missing one call one week and then the next week something else comes up and pretty soon, once again, I am stopped in the water.

Life is full of obstacles and I’m inspired now to really work at finding ways around the obstacles rather than giving up.

Building a business that you’re passionate about takes dedication, focus, consistency and knowing when to get help. Those are some of the traits that I see in successful businesses. Successful business owners don’t try to do it all themselves. They know what they love to do, they know what they’re good at and they know how to reduce the obstacles in their way.

One of the best ways to reduce the obstacles in your business is to surround yourself with a team of people that can handle anything that comes along.

What is your strategy for reducing the obstacles in your business building endeavors?

Last weekend I attended Andrea J Lee’s 3 day event, The Wealthy Thought Leader in San Francisco. It was my first trip away on my own since I had my first child 5 years ago and it was great. The event was small and intimate and Andrea had some very profound insight about being a thought leader.

I was surrounded by amazing individuals who had a dream and made it happen. As I listened to their stories, I realized that their success had not come overnight. They put one foot in front of another and with dedication, focus and time, built successful online businesses.

I will talk about the many things I learned at this meeting throughout the next days, weeks and months. The important lesson for today – just do it. Focus on the necessary steps and make it happen. If the steps are too big, make them smaller. If they are too small, make them bigger. Building your online business shouldn’t be a struggle but a labor of love. I am not saying that it will be easy.

It is easy to think about building something but the strength and accomplishment comes in the actual doing. For instance, I have read many articles and have thought to myself "I could have written that". But the point is, I didn’t and they did. It is all in the actual doing.

I have just committed to a year-long mentor program and will be making my business dreams come true.  I resisted but came to realize that having a clear and detailed road map and having an accountability partner/mentor is important so that I can move forward. I can't wait to get started.

What is it that you want to build? Put together a plan and find the support you need to make it happen.  Your idea is great! If not now, when?

There is a constant debate about whether to share your prices/hourly rates/retainers on your website. One suggestion I heard recently was to put a range of prices so that your potential clients know the range and can discuss the specific price, depending on their wants and needs.

I was window-shopping the other day and saw a handbag in a consignment store window. I called the store when I got home to find out how much the bag was and I got someone on the phone who could not answer my question. She suggested I wait for the manager who would be back the next day. What was that about? It was only a price check!! Are your employees able to answer basic customer questions and inquiries?

A couple of days later I passed the store and went in, with my two three-year-olds in tow  (an extra hassle because I had them out of the stroller because the store had steps down into it) and asked the price of a bag in the window. The woman behind the counter looked up at the window and said she thought it was around $200. Around $200 – what kind of answer was that?  I left the store wondering how they possibly stayed in business.

There are websites for products that don’t share their prices and I find that can be intimidating. Are their services meant for those where price is not an issue and don’t need to ask? Does posting your prices help more potential clients call you? At least they are aware of your prices or price range before they start a conversation with you. Do you think you miss out on business because your prices aren’t listed?

What do you think about posting prices for services? Does having a price listed help you make the decision to call and gather more information or do you not make the call if you see the prices?  I would love to hear what you think.

I am reading the book 'Your Brain At Work – Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus and Working Smarter All Day Long' by David Rock. I am only a chapter or two into it but I thought I would share a few thoughts.

Just like our bodies need fuel for movement, our brains need fuel. Focused thinking take much more energy than doing something like driving a car. We tend to drive our cars on automatic pilot but creative thinking takes real effort. Just like our body, our brain can't run at top speed all day. We need to take a break and do more mundane jobs throughout the day to give our brain a break.

We need to feed our brain. Like pandas whose diet almost entirely consists of eating bamboo, our brain's only source of fuel is glucose which is moved through our body in our bloodstream. When we don't eat, the glucose levels become depleted and our brain gets starved for energy. We find we can't think through an issue, can't stay focused and generally feel 'fuzzy'. Avoiding this downtime is a very good reason to keep our bodies fueled with the right foods consistently through the day.

In addition, we are all different. We need to figure out when we can do our best thinking and when we need to focus on the more mundane jobs of the day. Prioritizing your day is hard work for your brain. That is why at certain times of the day we are unable to figure out what we should be doing, we get distracted, can never get organized and waste time.

Working smarter all day long involves understanding our bodies and designing your work day so that you are making the best use of your time.

I will continue to share thoughts that come to me as I read this book.

Is there a book that you have enjoyed reading and would like to share here?  I would love to hear from you.

I was out on my morning walk and noticed a girl plucking her eyebrows as she waited for the bus. Now I am not suggesting that we all pluck our eyebrows on the bus or subway but you have to admit, she was making good use of her time. She had a few minutes before the bus came, the equipment she needed was small and compact and it obviously made sense to her at the time. 

I am also not suggesting that we cram our days so full of tasks and jobs that we reach the end of our day breathless and exhausted. I know that there are times when I am in the groove and get a lot done. There are other times when I am not as productive. Sometimes my ineffectiveness is the result of the actual job I am doing. I am easily distracted, don't really want to be doing it or am simply not organized enough to get it done efficiently.

Often I can attribute my productive days to my being more organized, having everything that I need at hand and feeling truly excited about getting it done.

Like the tides, our energy and enthusiasm can ebb and flow. Now I have heard some say that we should just plow through even though we are not feeling motivated.  I prefer to acknowledge the ebb and not force myself into spending time doing a project when I know it is not the best use of my time. 

However if there is a specific project that I am continually putting off,  I ask myself what is going on. What is in my way? Am I afraid or worried that I won't do it well enough or that I don't know enough? Am I waiting until I have everything else done before I start?  Sometimes I do what is easy rather than what is important.

Do you make the best use of your time??

In Boston, just a few blocks from where I live, is the newly painted 114th Boston Marathon Finish Line. Tomorrow many thousands will test their hard work and determination over the tough 26+ mile course.

We find a vantage point about 1 mile from the finish line and I find it to be a very emotional moment watching the runners come past. I completed an IronMan Triathlon many years ago and maybe I remember all the feelings of accomplishment (along with the exhaustion and blisters) of completing my goal.

I can't say that I was all-consumed with my triathlon training but there was an expectation that my training was a priority. I needed to build structure into my days so that I had time for the different aspects of my training. I am reminded that we need to keep on eyes on our priorities and keep focused so that we can complete the goals that we set for ourselves. 

It is not the size of the goal that is important. Accomplishing any goal is great, whether it is big or small. Focus is key. Telling others your goals help spur you on. I have a girlfriend who has two young children and was feeling like she needed a goal. She is running her first half-marathon in a couple of weeks in New Hampshire. She doesn't talk about it to everyone but appreciates the encouragement from her friends. She downplays it since as she says "it is not the marathon" but we don't let her get away with it. It is a major accomplishment and only the start to bigger goals.

There are dreamers and those who make things happen. Tomorrow we are going to watch thousands of people make their dream happen running the Boston Marathon. Congratulations to you all!!!

Take a moment – Do you have a dream that you would like to make happen? I know I do. Break it into manageable pieces and make a plan. Focus and just do it.

Get ready, set, GO!!!!!!