Swatch For Success

During difficult years in the 1950s, my great-grandmother was a frugal quilter. She would quilt because we did not have money to buy blankets. Pieces of contrasting fabrics—swatches of plaids, colored dots on white backgrounds, and small checks of gingham from my old clothing, even wool jumpers—were used in her patchwork quilts. Every scrap of fabric was cut into shapes, and the swatches were hand-stitched or “quilted.” These elaborate quilts, which took enormous amounts of time, were for the sole purpose of keeping our family warm during the brutally cold Minnesota nights. Yet today, when I pull them from the storage under my bed, I see them as carefully constructed heirlooms. 

You can learn from the “art of quilt making” by piecing or sewing together swatches of winning days to build a great business or an incredible career.  

Start by having one successful day. Repeat that every day for seven days to get a fantastic week. Repeat for four weeks to make a winning month. If you “sew” together twelve winning months, you get a successful year.

Start every day with focus. I use the acronym SWATCH to help me remember a daily routine. 

A daily forty-minute S.W.A.T.C.H. By following this daily practice, I find that I develop focus, gain new insights, increase creativity and productivity, remove roadblocks, increase joy, reduce stress, and create success.

S  Sit/Stretch/Strengthen—Do twenty minutes of yoga, followed by ten minutes of meditation. Try the Calm app if you’re new to meditation (thirty minutes).

W   Write—Write for three minutes every morning.  You can journal, write unsent letters or letters to yourself, create mind-maps, or make lists. Write to clear your head.  New to journaling? Check out Kathleen Adams’ book Journal to the Self, which provides ideas for easy journaling (three minutes).

A Action Item—Write down three (3)Critical Actionitems you will complete today.  Schedule them in your calendar and accomplish the tasks (two minutes).

T  Thank You—Take a two-minute gratitude pause. Check out my blog post Gratitude P.A.C.T.(two minutes). 

C  Commit—Write down three goals you are committed to (two minutes).

H Hydrate—Drink a glass of water to refresh your brain and body first thing every morning (one minute). 

This focused forty-minute S.W.A.T.C.H. will become a habit. Complete this routine every morning before you start your day. Try it for thirty days, and you will be amazed at how you begin to “sew” together the career or business you have always dreamed of.

Here’s to selling Mastery. 

-Cherilynn

Head of Education and Growth, Sistas In Sales

Executive Coach/Managing Partner, CGI

Cherilynn Castleman, Executive Coach/Sales Trainer, has been a sales executive for 20+ years. With a natural talent for teaching and a drive to sell, Cherilynn uses her skills to coach and train other executives and sales professionals.

“Success doesn’t come to you…you go to it.” – Marva Collins

An American educator, Collins was dissatisfied with the Chicago school system’s apathy, neglect, and hostility towards inner-city students. She set high standards for her pupils and established her own rigorous system and methods to ensure her students achieved.