Let’s talk about the idea of “flow”. Everyone has heard of the “flow state”–that magical state of peak performance being when you lose track of time blissfully and effortlessly engaged in an activity you absolutely love!  It’s a state of being that eludes many creative entrepreneurs and solo professionals who are stuck in their businessess.

As trite as it may sound, to experience flow, we have to step out of our own way and follow our individual path of least resistance.  That’s what flow is- your individual path of least resistance! If you don’t walk your own individual path, you’ll never experience your flow (an awesome life).

Flow doesn’t just show up because you want it to. You first have to know who you are, what you stand for, and how you will create value for people– and play your natural game. You have to know “who you are” in order for you to align “what you do” with “who you are”.  Knowing “who you are” is the only means to experience, with absolute clarity, the game you are playing is the perfect one for you.  Your own unique path is the only path in which you will ever experience “flow”­­–  defined as your endless capacity to create and achieve what you desire in an easy and relaxed way!

For many entrepreneurs, what they do is stressful, and feels like hard work!

Believe me, if what you are currently doing to create success feels anything like hard work, that’s your cue you’re not “walking in your path of least resistance”.   You’re burning daylight on the wrong path doing all the wrong stuff.  That stuff keeps you and your business from breaking thru to the next level of game. Doing the wrong stuff steals your most important business asset–TIME!

Following your path of least resistance means choosing to play your own natural game. This will attract to you others who are playing the same game at higher levels than you, new opportunity and possibilities to up your game will seem effortless and endless, and you will sense that everything and everyone is favorable and supportive to your ideas.

By now, you’re probably asking yourself “how do I get me some more flow mojo”?

The seven phenomena of flow
According to the 5,000 year old Chinese system of thinking known as the I-Ching, as you follow your individual path of least resistance, you will experience seven phenomena that will accelerate your progress, growth and success. I’m confident you have experienced and recognize one or more of these during those times when you were experiencing moments of peak performance:

The flow of critical moments
You recognize those moments where the game is won or lost. Your sense of timing, discernment, and decisiveness enables you to capitalize on opportunity long before anyone else does.

The flow of learning cycles
You recognize that everything is a learning cycle. The more you play, the deeper your passion, and the better you get. This knowledge sharpens your effectiveness in future critical moments.

The flow of failing forward
You know there are only two kinds of failure­– one gives you learning, the other ends the game.  When you experience outcomes you don’t want, you’ll know immediately what to do next to play bigger and better.

The flow of new opportunities
You recognize there are only two kinds of opportunity. One you create, the other you attract. You have no problem saying “no” to anything that keeps you comfortable and holds you back, and you attract only the opportunities that will continue to expand your scene.

The flow of your commitments
You know your decision to follow your path is irrevocable. Being certain and “all in” on your vision demonstrates your faith and escalates your attraction of resources necessary to make it physical reality.

The flow of your perseverance
You know that ideas take their own sweet time coming into form, and you are willing to persevere on your natural path through thick and thin, no matter what.

The flow of your momentum
You recognize that momentum is the force created by the previous six, all working in harmony to accelerate your performance like a precision racing motor.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”.

– Oliver Wendall Holmes

Flow is within you not outside of you– the well spring of your flow is found at the core of your white hot center. You have unique talents, gifts, capabilities and insight that have always been there. You may not recognize their value because they are so natural to you. You hardly give them a second thought.  But if you carefully assess your past peak moments of performance and brilliance, you will notice a pattern emerging. That pattern of being and doing is you at genius levels. Do more of that, delegate or find partners to do everything else!

You must know with certainty the “game you want play”, and follow the rules of how your game is played. Your growth and success (flow) is determined by who you are, not by what you do. You can be the best at what you do, and still not find a way tap in to the greater flow available for you at the next level of game.

At the end of the day, more flow requires playing a bigger game completely aligned to your individual path of least resistance.

Please share your comments.

Many of us have been taught to believe competition is a good thing. Competition builds character and strength. Competition insures the survival of the fittest, the strongest, the smartest, the richest, and the most worthy. If you’re not competitive, you’ll lose. This is a corrosive belief.

Get rid of the idea of competition.
Competition is based on the debilitating premise that you must win and some body else must lose. Competition is the basis of all human misery and division. Competition draws a line between the have and have-nots, the good from the bad, the desired from the undesirable. As an entrepreneur your mission is to create, not compete for what is already created.

Your success, and all that comes with it, does not mean you take something away from another. You do not win by driving hard bargains, selling at the cheapest price, paying employees or suppliers less than they deserve.  Success secured on the competitive plane is never truly satisfactory, fulfilling, or permanent. It may be yours today, but it will be another’s tomorrow. Your success in business and life has nothing whatsoever to do with your capabilities as a strong competitor.

You are a creator– your mission is to create, not compete. Your higher faculties of perception, reason, will, memory, intuition and imagination are the tools you employ to create value for others, not compete with others. To be a creator, you have to get your head around a fundamental counter-intuitive principal:

There is an infinite supply.

There is no shortage of supply. Everything needed is always available; it’s just not always in a visibly formed state. Ideas come from infinite supply. There’s no shortage of ideas. Everything that ever was, is now, or ever will be, is at first a seed. Ideas are formless thought seeds. Just because ideas lack physical form, does not make them less useful or powerful. Infinite supply is everywhere and in everything–including you and your ideas!

As an entrepreneur, you create ideas from the infinite supply that increase life itself.  Your idea seeds, when planted into the ground of your business, spring into activity (all by themselves) and like life itself, produce more seeds (think results). Your ideas, by living in your business, multiply themselves becoming more. Every fact you learn, leads to more learning. Your knowledge is continually increasing. Every talent you possess cultivates more talent in yourself and others. Your business operates on the very principle of all life. Your business, seeking its fuller expression, is compelled to know more, do more and be more. The same energy that compels your desire for business success makes the planet live and grow.

When you understand and believe in the principal of infinite supply, you’ll know there is no lack or limitation that requires you to compete for business.

Opportunity is always available everywhere right now.  Remember you drop out of the higher creative plane to the lower competitive plane the very second you think you have it all cornered, or a competitor beat you to it. Never put your focus on the “visible “ supply. Keep your thoughts focused only on your formless ideas and visions for growth. No one else, by controlling the visible supply, can prevent you from creating more value in the world.

As a creative entrepreneur, you don’t seek the success that is possessed by another. Equally so, your success can’t prevent another from becoming successful.

You can learn more about how this principal can work in your business by downloading the free report The White Hot Center Guide to Building a Competition Proof Business. Simply enter your name and email in the subscription form at the top of the the opposite column.

On this journey
the way is unmarked,
there are no maps.
The terrain is steep and rocky.

Each day, trusting my feet, steadfast in my purpose,
I go forward, my eyes on the horizon.

In awe of every potential and possibility,
I travel light, experiencing the freedom
of every movement
towards my heart's desire.

Blessed is my quest,
knowing all too well,
this journey
will end soon enough.

Most of us are raised to believe that we must fit in and adapt ourselves to the outside world to be useful and successful. But the truth is your greatest strength – and your biggest contribution – lies in who you already are!

That’s the premise of a fascinating and useful book I have recently been studying, titled “Unique Ability – Creating the Life You Want”.  It is published by The Strategic Coach.

The Strategic Coach is a company that teaches successful entrepreneurs to create balance in their business and personal life, while at the same time, creating unprecedented results and rewards through their business activities. A core concept of the teachings of the Strategic Coach, is the concept that every person has a talent that they love to use that translates into activities that they do exceptionally well… a unique ability. Sounds simple enough. But don’t let the obvious simplicity of this idea dismiss its powerful and transformative effect on the results you will create when you operate from the core of your unique ability.

Unique Ability is a way of describing a powerful force that is at the very core of who you are as an individual. Every human being comes factory-equipped with this ability. It expresses itself in the world from the earliest ages of your development.

You are such a genius at this ability that you don’t even realize its importance because your mastery is so automatic, like breathing. As a result, most people do not experience the full rewards that come from developing and harnessing the power of their unique talents and pursue their passions wholeheartedly. However, the more you are able to clearly identify and consciously develop your life around your Unique Ability – the more freedom, happiness and success you will experience. And the world will be the beneficiary of this because of the value you will be adding to people. Talent fueled by passion, especially when directed from greater self-knowledge and focused on creating value, is a powerful creative force and an awesome personal resource.

Of course, your own discovery and mastery of Unique Ability is a life-long process. And it does not show up in a vacuum. It expresses itself throughout every area of your life. As you study the information in the book, you will become more aware of your good habits, the good things you “always” do. For example, one of my good habits is:

“I always” follow-through on my commitments.

Try it. Make a list of the good and useful things you always do. Then you begin to carefully evaluate your daily activities, the big and small things you do in your daily life. These are all methods of discovery to get you to a point where you can express with confidence (and in a simple sentence) what your Unique Ability really is.

From this awareness, you can evaluate which of your activities fall into four important categories: incompetent, competent, excellent, and Unique Ability. The big idea here is to spend your time engaged only in those activities you have identified as Unique Ability activities. Activities in which you have the capacity of superior skill, energy, passion and never-ending improvement.  Those activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. And what of the other areas? Delegate them to others on your team whose Unique Ability is defined by the activities outside of your own. Now you have the recipe for building powerful teams of people pursuing common goals from the power of their respective Unique Abilities. Big time results will follow! Imagine if all the structures in our society were built in this manner.

In my own personal and professional life, I am in the process of reinvention and creation of a bigger future. This Unique Ability concept has been tremendously valuable for me to determine the areas where I can make quantum leaps in my progress.

So go to the Strategic Coach site and order the book. I read it through several times and then several times more!.  Now I use the information as a handbook to keep me focused on daily activities that express my Unique Ability. There are also other tools available from the Strategic Coach that I recommend highly. You can check those out in the Resource section of the site. And make sure you subscribe to the Strategic Coach newsletter too.