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Business 101: Top Values Exercise from TSL Toolkit for Start-up Businesses

Posted by Michelle Girasole on Wed, Oct 17, 2012 @ 03:40 PM

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Is intuition telling you to make a change in your life? Are you worried that this change might affect the things you value most?

Each of us has a different set of principles that we hold dear above others. Losing touch with these values creates an imbalance because we’re no longer honoring our true selves. If you value self-expression, but find your attempts at expressing your ideas and creativity are suppressed at work and/or at home, you’re likely feeling dissatisfied. If integrity is important to you, but your work or personal life requires you to behave otherwise, you probably feel you’re being asked to betray yourself.

When you have identified the values that resonate most with you, it’s much easier to make decisions about your professional and personal lives that you can live with – and live with happily. Think of it as your own individual recipe for satisfaction.

VALUES EXERCISE

List the three values that are most important to you.

(For example: adventure, altruism, community, creativity, ease, elegance, freedom, harmony, independence, integrity, joy, learning, risk-taking, stability, teamwork, etc.)

1.____________________________

2.____________________________

3.____________________________

Fill in the blanks:

How my work life supports my values:

___________________________________________________________________

How my home life supports my values:

___________________________________________________________________

How my relationship with _______________________ supports my values:

___________________________________________________________________

This exercise can help you determine whether the business you want to run supports your values; however, the same exercise can be used to test whether you’re being true to yourself in other aspects of your life as well. 

Excerpt from 'The Sassy Ladies Toolkit for Start-up Businesses', written by Michelle Girasole, and Wendy Hanson and Miriam Perry, co-authors. 

Michelle Girasole is a senior account manager with North Star Marketing, a creative communications firm. Her job is to lead the North Star account management team as they deliver campaigns that WOW North Star's clients (including the Military Spouse Foundation). Her passion is helping businesses grow with smart, creative campaigns that deliver results.

Among Michelle’s personal accomplishments are receiving the Providence Business News “40 Under Forty Award” for community leaders and publishing her own book on entrepreneurship, 'The Sassy Ladies Toolkit for Start-up Businesses'. Michelle obtained her bachelors degree in marketing and MBA from the University of Rhode Island. She resides in the historic seaside village of Wickford, RI with her husband, daughter and son.

Tags: job search, education, career, start-up, entrepreneur, Business 101, Recommended Reading