Straight From The Heart: Four Steps To Running A Heart-Centered Business

by Valerie Jones

This month, it’s all about the HEART. Valentine’s Day may or may not be your cup of tea (or glass of wine), but, like it or not, the holiday tends to cause us to reflect on the themes of love. However, I am going to spin it a bit differently here.

I have a question for you.

Are you building a heart-centered business?

What does it mean to be heart-centered? Whether it is regarding your personal life, your relationships, or your career, being heart-centered means making choices that originate from your heart. Your place of truth and authenticity. Not from your head.

Women are heart-centered creatures. We are created to live from the heart. We are relational, we feel deeply, and we long for connection and intimacy.

And yet, so often, we become disconnected from our hearts. Childhood trauma, messages we receive from parents, teachers, or other members of authority, and circumstances in life all contribute to limiting beliefs that cause us to disconnect from our hearts. We live in a culture that values intelligence, logic, and pragmatism. These things are all good and necessary at times, but when we are trained to believe that these are the only ways to interact with our world and to BE, we lose touch with our hearts. So many of us walk through life existing only in our minds. We think, overthink, ruminate, and obsess over everything. We believe the answers are all in our minds, and rarely pause to consider that our heart might have something to say. To contribute.

The risk of mind-centered living is big. You lose touch with your passions, your desires, what really lights you up. You make choices based on logic and reasoning, which may or may not be the right choice for you. Have you ever noticed that you can talk yourself into and out of pretty much anything? That is the power of the mind! Your mind will lie to you. Your mind, your thoughts, are not your truth. It is your ego. Your ego is a powerful force, one that feeds off your insecurities, your doubts, and your fears. Your ego will keep you trapped in an endless merry-go-round of over-thinking that will drive you crazy.

If you are running your business from your mind, you may be experiencing confusion, chaos, and self-doubt.

Sound familiar?

If so, I’d like to ask you to consider a big change. Consider moving your focus 12 inches down, from your mind to your heart.

Building your career from a heart-centered place changes everything. It changes how you show up. It changes how you interact with others. It changes your motives, your goals, and your direction. You come from a place of authenticity and truth.

Here’s the thing about your heart: It will never lie to you. Your heart always speaks the truth. When you begin to give your heart a voice, allow it to show up, and be a part of your life, you will make choices that reflect who you really are, and others will take note. Authenticity is attractive! Living from your heart is compelling! You will begin to draw customers and clients who connect with you. People will feel comfortable around you. You will walk through your life with more ease and confidence because you are fully connected with yourself. It’s a radical and powerful way to build your business!

If you’re ready to begin shifting to operating from a heart-centered place, or you want to be even more connected to your heart than you already are, I have a few steps that you can take that will really move you in that direction.

1. Know Your Story. So much of your work as an entrepreneur is about YOU. You are the brand and the product. Therefore, it’s vital that you are in touch with your story. The story of your life, of why you do what you do. Why are you passionate about your career? What is it that lights you up? Begin to consider what contributed to who you are today and why you do what you do. Ponder and reflect on your biggest obstacles, and what you learned from them. Think back to your biggest wins, and how it felt. Now, write your story! Take some time and write the story of YOU. Really connect with who you are and what you have to say. The more you connect with your story, the more it will show up in your business. That builds authenticity.
2. Know Your Why.  Now that your story is crystal clear, begin to think about your WHY. Why are you doing what you do? Why do you love it? Why are you committed to doing it? Why are you here on the planet, and why are you meant to be in the exact place and time that you are, right now? Connect to your heart and FEEL into this. Uncover your purpose and your meaning. Declare it.
3. Know Your Truth. Your truth lies in your heart, not your mind. Become a miner of your own heart. Get curious about what your heart has to say. Maybe your heart hasn’t been allowed a voice in years! It’s time to get clear about why that is, forgive yourself, and give your heart permission to speak. You might need some help with this one. If so, hire a coach. You will see progress much more quickly. Just do whatever you need to do to awaken your heart, and connect with its voice. This is your truth. Once you feel connected, check in! Ask your heart what it thinks about whatever you’re doing, and LISTEN! You might be amazed at the wisdom you discover that lies within you.
4. Know Your Values. Do some work around values? Again, you might need the help of a coach here. Dig deep and uncover what’s really important to you. A value is something that was created within you. It’s part of your DNA. This is why, if one of your values is dishonored, by someone else or by you, you will have an emotional reaction. You will feel anger, sadness, or frustration. This is how you can determine if it is a value. Dishonoring a value is dishonoring yourself. For instance, if you find that every time you try to communicate something and you don’t feel heard, and you get triggered by that, pay attention! Your heart is trying to tell you something. Perhaps you have a core value of communication, and that isn’t being honored. Your heart is telling you that this is vital to your well-being. Understanding this can be a key to choosing who will be in your inner circle. Only those that honor your values get the privilege of being in your inner circle! Make it your goal to get clear on your top 3-5 core values.

Once you have completed these steps, check in with yourself. Do you feel more connected to your heart? Do you have a clearer understanding of your truth, and what feels authentic to you? If so, congratulations! You are well on your way to living a more heart-centered life. You will begin to bring your heart into your work. As you do so, things will begin to change. Your decisions will be based on logic and reasoning, but also intuition and trust. Your communications will begin to go deeper, be more direct, and have much more meaning. Your connections will deepen and become richer and more intimate. You will attract customers and clients who feel your authenticity and will instinctively want to work with you.

So this month, as we celebrate the heart, consider doing some work to become more heart-centered in your career. It will transform your world, it will enrich your relationships, and it will increase your cash flow. Your heart is longing to be a full partner in your life, and allowing it to show up and have a voice will bring you peace, trust, and confidence.

Read more from Valerie on She Owns It here.