• Music
  Our lives are filled with experiences of music changing our moods (for better or worse!). Use this to your advantage by making a morning playlist. Include songs that lift you up and put you in a positive frame of mind. You’ll be humming along in no time!
• Exercise
  A little bit of exercise can go a long way! Exercise stimulates chemicals in the brain that make us feel better and more relaxed. A walk around the block, a trip to the gym, whatever your thing is – do it and feel better!
• “Eat that Frog”
  It sounds strange (and a little gross), but this saying comes from a book of the same name by Brian Tracy. Essentially, do the thing you dread first thereby making the rest easier and free from procrastination. Try it — once you’ve “eaten the frog” the rest of your day should be more productive and just a bit brighter.
• Work on What Excites You
  Now this may seem to contradict the point above, but remember everyone works differently and the goal is to find what works for you. Sometimes when I’m stuck on a project, putting it aside and working on a project that I have been looking forward to is just what I need to help me “un-stick” the other project.
• Step Outside
  There are so many reasons why taking a break and going outside can help your mood. It can help clear your head to improve your focus, you’ll get a little sun that helps produce Vitamin D (which we all can use more of), and you’ll have the opportunity to interact with your community — something that many of us who work on the computer all day can easily miss out on.
• Do Something Else
  This last items piggybacks on the previous two. Sometimes it just isn’t going to happen. Instead of beating yourself up about it (and thereby making your mood worse) go do something else. If you work for someone and you can’t physically leave, switch to a different task. If you work for yourself, go to a museum, go to the beach, work on a home improvement project that has been on your mind. When you return to your desk, you will find that you are ready to get started!

A couple of points to keep in mind. Not everyone likes to lift their mood in the same way so find what works for you. Try a technique and if it doesn’t work try something else. Keep a list of those that do work, so when you are feeling blah, you can scan the list and do what feels best at that moment. Also, don’t try too hard to lift someone else’s mood. Energy is contagious so focus on yourself and see the shift take place across the office.

Have a great Monday!

Further Reading:

• Seven Ways Music Influences Mood
• 7 benefits of regular physical activity
• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
• Nature Deficit Disorder: The Top 10 Reasons To Go Outside

There are a few people we’d like to thank in particular:

Melissa and Thane Magee – They have been with us from the beginning. Their friendship, unwavering support, cheerleading, and generosity without hesitation is the definition of selfless love. When things looked bleak, they were always there with love (and sometimes a Flurry).

Stacey and Chris McKibbin – For their guidance, hugs, belief, motivation, celebrations, perspective, uncomfortable conversations, butt kicking, and most importantly love and respect have not only made Belladia better, they have made us better.

Chris Keith and Eddie Fisher – These two have been clients since our first year in business. (Chris has been with us since before the beginning, when Jessy was just freelancing on the side!) Their loyalty and support have meant so much.

And special recognition to our friend Sharon Pugh. She was a beautiful friend, cheerleader, and b**** session partner. She always had our back—believing in us even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. We miss her smile and amazing laugh every day. But her support lives on in the form of two cards she gave us at the beginning, they are now in frames on the office wall as a reminder to never give up because things do get better.

Thank you to all of you. Thank you for letting us do what we love every day and letting us be a part of your business. We hope that we have been able to help you in some small way conquer a hurdle in your business. Our cheerleading (as well as marketing and design) services are always available. Just give us a ring to let us know how we can help.

With much love—

Jessy + Lisa

Why not take a few minutes today to contemplate your vision for your business? Do you have a plan to realize that vision? Are your daily actions supporting your ultimate goals or is it time to make some adjustments?

Take stock, review your first quarter, and take one action today that gets you one step closer to your goal. Maybe it’s time to create a marketing plan, get a new headshot, seek help to better balance your home/work life, or give to that charity that has been on your mind. Whatever it is, use a few of your extra 1440 minutes today to make a difference in your life and in the community–then tell us about it! We’d love to hear what you’re up to. Click here to share!

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers  about you at all, but goes on making his own business  better all the time.” – Henry Ford

 

 

We hope you have a faulous holiday season!

Lisa & Jessy

Enjoy this beatuful weather!

-Lisa

Your Strategy Session may Include:

• Determining Your Unique Selling Proposition
• Defining Your Target Market
• Differentiating Your Business from Your Competition
• Writing a Guarantee that Takes the Risk Out of Buying
• Crafting a Compelling Offer
• Creating a Cohesive Message for All Your Marketing
• Tracking and Analyzing Your Results

We Guarantee that your ad will be designed to spec and delivered on time to the GDBA office or we will pay your re-submission fee!

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When we first started our business, we were terrified to go to mixers and networking events, as many people are. Who wants to be dumped into a room full of strangers and hand out business cards? But soon after we lost our salesperson, we were forced to – even if we’d rather stick a fork in our eye. Two things that changed our minds about networking were going to events regularly and finding a group that embraces you. For us, the GSDBA (Greater San Diego Business Association) and the SDGLN (San Diego Gay and Lesbian News) community have been nothing but a pleasure to be a part of. Once we started going to events, we starting seeing the same people and actually having fun! Now we look forward to going to mixers because we know we will see our friends and the business connections we make come easily because we are relaxed, confident and enjoying ourselves. Networking will work for your business, check out a few different organizations, find the ones that fit your business and your personality the best and then go and have fun!

Happy Friday!

-Lisa

PS If you business is located in the Hillcrest area and/or Gay and Lesbian friendly, I can’t recommend highly enough joining the GSDBA and listing your business in the SDGLN Equality Directory.

Below: Jessy and Melissa from Lullababes at the SDGLN Mixer

Happy Friday!