August 2010 I dumped the day job and went into full swing as a business coach entrepreneur. I was super excited and scared to death!

Thirty days later I found out my live in lover and partner to a five-kid-blended-family-home was having an affair. I was devastated. My whole future fell apart. I was in a fog but knew that I had two choices: build the business or go back and get a job. Bile rose up my throat at the thought of going back to a job I hated so I choose to hunker down and build my business, which had zero clients and zero income.

Unfortunately my world kept hitting me over the head with the proverbial 2×4. Over the next twelve months both my eighty-something year old parents fell, they both broke their hip and they both passed away within a few months of each other. The same weekend that we had the funeral service for Mom was the same weekend I moved out of the family home and started over in a new city with my two teenage girls. We had borrowed furniture from my ex’s ex wife!

Somewhere in that sea of chaos I woke up one morning completely paralyzed in my arms. The weight of the world had a strangle hold over me. I could not move for more than a year. But the good news in all of this was that I took my business in that first year (and we know how hard year one is) from zero to 6-figures despite all of my life circumstances.

Then the 2×4 reality check hit: Most business owners are not successful because they are paralyzed by their life circumstances. Then they use these circumstances as an excuse to not go after their dream.

We all know that excuses are stupid and stupid is expensive. It’s our excuses that are stopping us from living our dream, not our circumstances.

It is more expensive to not invest in our business or your life than to stay stuck in a life you hate. The cost is your self-esteem and self-worth. Time is a non-renewable resource and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Money is something that can be lost then found, lost then made, not earned then earned. Money is constantly flowing around us. So don’t fear the loss of money, fear the loss of time.

I often get asked: “Odette, how did you do it? How did you get through that horrible year and come out the other side whole, complete and with a solid money making business?”

I always reply: “I harnessed the power of those that have gone before me, those that know the pain and struggle of life and business and those that have come out the other side stronger and more complete. Those that have made it their life mission to help others get what they want out of life. Here’s the thing; if I can do it, so can you.

Odette Laurie

Join myself and Bob Proctor, and 38 influential thought leaders and famous names in Canadian business as we gather together in a one of a kind forum to give you everything you need to build a wildly successful business and have a kick ass life! Go here to find out more www.canadiandominationtelesummit.com

Odette Laurie is a professional speaker, author and business coach for entrepreneurs who are serious about their business and their life. Her first business started from a whim and grew into a seven-figure success story. She has won numerous awards in Academia and Business including Entrepreneur of the Year. Odette holds a black belt in Karate.

Her first book is called: “Profit Domination: How Successful Women get on top and stay there – 201 Rules for the Road” and her second book is titled “Paralyzed: Getting Past the Excuses of why you aren’t Successful”.
Odette lives in Toronto, Canada and can be reached at: www.businesswomenontop.com