Recently I was sitting in the founder of  YourBellaLife.com’s living room along with 8 other dynamic, successful and powerful entrepreneurs. What started out as a vision board party quickly turned into one of those ah-ha moments that you never forget. As we were each cutting pictures out of magazines to put on our vision boards a powerful conversation was started by one of the women in the group which resonated with all of us. The topic was why is it that we, as entrepreneurs, procrastinate in seeing an idea or project through that we are excited about? We discussed common fears that we learned as children that can keep us stuck and dragging our feet with certain ideas or projects that we want to create. Sometimes the fear of success, the fear of failure and the fear of being visible can be so strong that we sabotage our own success. We all have fears, but it is what we DO to help turn the volume down on that voice inside our heads that can sabotage us from moving forward. That night we did three things which helped all of us move forward on a particular goal that we had kept putting off in one way or another…and the results were powerful!

Step 1 Acknowledgement - We all acknowledged each other out loud but then we each acknowledged what was going on within ourselves. Giving yourself permission and allowing yourself to feel any feelings (whether they are positive or negative) about a particular situation is the first step in moving forward. After you give yourself permission to feel the feelings, the second step is accepting where you are, instead of being in denial or blaming yourself for anything that has happened to you up until this point; this is huge in releasing any negative energy you have been holding onto. By being aware of your habits, patterns and why you do what you do is also a step in the right direction in order to create sustainable change in your life and in your business. Acknowledge where you are right now and accept it.

Step 2 Accountability (For A Particular Goal) – The scariest, most uncomfortable yet liberating part of the whole night was stating a goal, that we had been procrastinating on, out loud in front of everyone. You could see each and every entrepreneur get physically uncomfortable before they stated their goal out loud to the group. I highly recommend doing this with friends, business associates or anyone who you know will hold you accountable for achieving your goal. A great way to create some accountability is announcing a goal to the masses! Setting a goal and being held accountable to someone is scary at first but freeing at the same time. I recommend picking a goal that you either have been putting off or a goal that is going to take your life/your business to the next level and tell someone to hold you accountable to get this done; then watch what happens!

Step 3 Set A Deadline – The most important step is setting a deadline of when you will accomplish your goal. This creates a sense of urgency, momentum and initiative. In our group that night our deadline was the next day at 9pm. It was nice to know that 8 other entrepreneurs were all working on their goals and would have to report back on what they accomplished by 9pm the next day. It created a buzz, a sense of urgency and a team effort towards moving each other forward. Setting a deadline is critical and will keep you on track and focused on what needs to happen in order to move forward!

Kelly Lynn Adams is a featured Business Maters contributor and her purpose on this earth is to empower, motivate, and inspire women to live the BEST life possible, to achieve their maximum potential. For more about her click here for her full bio and all of her articles!