By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

Hindsight is 20/20 they say.  I am grateful Cindy Rose worded this prompt as she did!

“Perceived” setback!  Key word being perceived!  It’s not factual, it often is not even a ‘setback’ and yet in the moment boy oh boy do we think the world is ending and life as we know it is over!  Yes, maybe a little dramatic on the word choices here but that sure has been many people’s thought process a time or two!

I want to share I’m slow to get to the ‘life is over’ aspect of any event.  I have this ability or uncanny ability (scary at times, I might add) to disconnect and just flow in the event and/or circumstances.  I think of this as an asset really – if you were bleeding to death in front of me, I’d be able to control myself and the situation, and then once you were okay ONLY THEN would I go holy crap I could have died with you!!!  However, I don’t view this as a healthy asset at times. 

My largest ‘setback’ or life-changing moment was for sure my detainment in Arizona for 295 days.  I was safe, fed, clothed, and cared for.  I met some amazing people that I am so grateful for.  I learned so much, witnessed so much, and experienced so much that YOU may never experience or learn without having ‘been there’. 

The ‘setback’ of all this experience was not the detainment itself.  I can say that 5.5 years later.  The ‘setback’ was not even having to relocate back to Canada – Though I will say that was ABSOLUTELY a huge struggle and to this day it still is!  Why?  Because I lost my sense of ‘home’.  (Tears well up even typing that for this blog.)  That is one of the internal awareness moments from this whole experience. 

Sure, there were MANY other awareness moments that being detained as an illegal immigrant and coming back to a country I had not been part of for over 16 years brought to me.  There were, and still are, also MANY opportunities from this ‘setback’.  The knowledge, the speaking, the reinventing, the evolving, the making new connections, the restart and so much more. 

Internally though the opportunity to define ‘home’.  To analyze what ‘home’ is and to push aside what society has maybe programmed me/us to think of as ‘home’ has been such a deep ride for me.  I’m still on that ride. 

Life has taken 90% of my material possessions not once (my first move to Arizona), not twice (detainment), but three times.  Are possessions what make a home?  Being surrounded by the ‘known’ does provide a sense of security and comfort, and let’s face it, looking around at material items also brings with it a sense of accomplishment – all you own and have bought. 

Are any of us secure in our living quarters?  Natural disasters, financial issues and more could pull from us these quarters at any time. 

So, what is home? 

My perceived setback has given me the opportunity to dig in and really search for a home.  This search continues – it’s an opportunity within me. I am not necessarily happy with this moment all the time, but I am well aware of the fact it is providing me with learning that I only have as a result of my so-called ‘setback’.  They have all… Led Me To This.

The post February 2024 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

I’m chasing a dream.  It’s not a goal yet. 

What is the difference?  To me, the difference is – the dream I can see, almost experience, and feel the joy, happiness, and positive feelings it all brings.  The goal – I see a goal as having a path to attain it, a list of tasks or resources to accomplish it.  So, for now – this is my big dream and it’s twofold.

One-fold is for others.

The second fold is for me.

Part one of my dream is to be instrumental in assisting two very different populations of humans to move forward and shift from survival to living. 

The first demographic is the immigrant population, and the second demographic is the incarcerated population.  Both populations are frowned upon for different reasons, both populations are not supported with tools and skills, however, both populations are living and breathing humans on our planet.  Both populations are misunderstood – in my opinion.  Both populations are labeled, with not such pretty labels. 

The second fold of my dream is to spend time traveling and loving on these people! 

Speaking OF them, speaking TO them, and bringing awareness and support to all. 

Those who have never been an immigrant or detained – need to understand what detainment means, feels like, and how it changes you. 

To those who are immigrants or have been detained – they need to feel seen, heard, valued, and supported, they need to feel they matter and are not their choices.

Imagine a space where the two meet.  Can you picture the Aha moments and see them with your heart? 

The immigrant being embraced and given some tools to secure themselves and protect themselves. 

The detainee being seen as human and not the choices that led them to being incarcerated and provided tools to help their mindset and reintegration back into the ‘real’ world. 

Then add into this the ‘real’ world having their eyes opened and accepting those in both these categories and being interested in the stories of hope, survival, and resilience!  WOW.

My dream – This is the world I want to live in.  This is the world I want to help create.  This is the world I am part of already – I just need you to join me in it.

The post January 2024 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

I had to stop my brain from making the first response to this blog prompt – I am going to make 6 figures.

I had to stop my brain from making the next response to this blog prompt – I will be debt-free.

I had to stop my brain…

Did you have to pause? Did you have the same sort of thoughts when you stopped and thought about your goals, plans, and intentions for 2024?

I preach money is a result.  (Often a result of a LOT of action, steps, and tasks.) Yet, here I am writing out goals, plans, and intentions around a result!  A result I have no control over – frankly.  I can however control my actions, steps, and tasks! 

So, with all that being said:

In 2024, I will have two business adventures flourishing!

Clark Strategies will serve the entrepreneurial community with connections, training, classes, group accountability sessions, and networking opportunities.

Led Me To This will serve those with a story.  It will serve those with a whisper, a platform where their voice and journey will be given a microphone in a safe environment for real, raw, and deep sharing.  It will serve the incarcerated being freed, the immigrants that lack so much compassion and understanding, and the addict and how they are not their choices and are doing what they know and can do merely to survive.

Both businesses will find me on a variety of stages with speaking opportunities to share and engage with others.  The speaking opportunities will create awareness, educate, and empower others.  Compensation for my speaking will come in many forms including monetary returns, donations for causes important to me and others and so much more.

Both businesses will have a team working with me (not under me) to create a larger ripple than I could ever imagine or do alone.

Both businesses will be recognized and fully translated into at least two languages, English and Spanish, for the year 2024.

I will be fluent in Spanish in 2024.

I will spend time traveling to ‘work’ these businesses and reach people in person in a variety of locations and countries.

I will have at least one office front that is a positive feel-good space holding all my paperwork and décor.  The staff will love being in that space and it will be an open door for many and meet many needs with its resources and connections.

Oh 2024, I am ready.

The post December 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

What a topic!  Habits!  I can see all the quotes and written words of amazing people sharing how habits make or break us.  Habits show our priorities.  Habits are key to success.  Habits are important. 

With all this coming to my mind – I must wonder what habits I have INTENTIONALLY set, taken control of, and made happen.  What habits have I created that work to my benefit, growth, and success?  What habit have I formed that was 100% calculated and intentional?  Why am I struggling to come up with one I can articulate for this blog?

My next brain wander is to all the habits that are not serving me well.  Procrastination is at the top of the list.  I don’t procrastinate tasks so much as I procrastinate implementation!   I recognize that so maybe that is half the battle. 

Let’s talk about this habit of mine, shall we?

My habit – is I am slow to implement.  I procrastinate. I overthink. I overanalyze. I drag my heels (me wearing heels – picture it!).  Why?  I could word this to the positive and say my habit is being calculated, cautious, and sure before I ‘do’.  Nice word plays there! 

Crazy enough most of the time when I do finally give in to the implementation process, I regret not doing it sooner!  I see the value in the implementation almost immediately.  I swear I’ll never procrastinate implementing something again!  Yet here we are….

How did this habit form?
What is this habit feeding? 
What am I getting from it? 

Must be serving something within me or else I’d let it go… is my thought process.

Fear of change?
Lazy?
Lack of priorities?
Busy versus productive?
Time management issues?
Happy with how things ARE?
Lack of trust?

Interesting to ponder. 

In my case, it is the mountain out of a molehill thought process that beats me up and sustains this habit of not implementing till I am often forced to. 

So how do I change this habit?  Calendar what needs to be implemented!  I do have a positive habit of living by my calendar – so use a good habit to help break a not-so-good one!  

What a great thought moment this blog topic has been!  I know I do have a few good habits – loving people, seeing positives LONG before negatives, showing up for my business and myself, being attentive to others… I just don’t know how they formed!  They just are!  These habits are part of me – yet when did they come in?  How did they become a habit? 

Oh, the mind weaves….

The post November 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

June 3, 2017, was a pivotal day in my life!   I had never ever been on Pinterest prior, and I had never ever owned a glue gun!  The blingy things and ribbon I’ll explain later – they were my ‘getting carried away’ moment.

I fostered a newborn baby for the first 13 months of her life.  Her mother was still very much a part of her life, and this foster story has a happy ending – thankfully.  For a few reasons though, Rachel was not able to breastfeed.  It took us a bit to find a formula that worked for the baby and well lo and behold the formula came in a neat can.  I had so many of these cans after a few months!

I kept the cans!  At one time they were going to be used to sort screws and various hardware items like that.  At another point in time, they were being saved just to be given away to anyone who may need them and have a use for them.  I have no idea what led me to Pinterest (up until this day and to be honest from this day till now I had/have avoided Pinterest for fear of the rabbit hole grabbing me and not letting me go).

I want to add at this time in my life I was loving my bullet journal!  The coloring, the creative side of layouts, just had me hooked and I could lose myself in it when the baby slept and or Rachel had her.  As a result of this journalling, I had so many-colored pens, colored pencils, washi tapes, stickers, scrapbook papers, and more.

All these supplies were tossed in a shoe box that I would grab and spread out across the table every time I went to play in my bullet journal.

Baby formula tins, a shoe box of supplies meet Pinterest, and a glue gun!  A few hours later, with a few glue gun ouch moments, I had created 3 ‘daisy’ storage units!  This is when I got carried away!  I did a store run for some ribbon and bling and more glue sticks and now I had personalized my ‘daisy’ storage compartments. 

I literally took these ‘daisies’ and screwed them to the wall near my working/writing table and sorted my colored pens, pencils, and box of creative stuff and each pedal on the daisy held something different. 

It’s funny to me that here we are 6 years later and this blog topic without a doubt prompted this memory and moment.  To this day it’s still my favorite thing I ever created and crafted. 

I have painted buildings, offices, and rooms and done some creative moments in home repairs and office setups, but this Pinterest Project just felt and still feels so different for me. 

My DIY – Decorating moment.  Funny, almost makes me want to search out friends who have a newborn and see if they have some of these cans lying around – I’d make them again!  This round I’d even use more ‘bling’. 

The post October 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

Business versus Hobby.  To me, there is a difference.

I had a few hobbies back in the day that provided me with extra money, afforded me some purchases for my enjoyment, and gave me some freedoms (like traveling) that I would not have had if it were not for the ‘hobby.’

Those hobbies and what they provided helped me go into business.

I went all in.  No safety net, no parachute, no plan B.  I knew little to nothing about owning, running, or being in business.  I knew only the enjoyment of coming and going, money in my pocket, and guiding my own daily actions.

The past 22 years have brought on many lessons.

What inspired me the most was not being ‘tied’ down.  I don’t know how else to put it.  I won’t say it was time freedom because most of us work more hours as business owners than we did when we were employed.  Even if we are not sitting at a laptop or talking to people about our business – the mind doesn’t rest easily when you are in business.  There is a constant dialogue running of what I need to do, what I can do, and reevaluating what I did – at least for me.

I don’t think I am a ‘free spirit,’ or of the ‘gypsy’ mindset, and yet, maybe I am.  I don’t goooo…  I don’t use my ‘freedom’ to go here and there and yet my mind likes knowing I can.  Simply put – I can.

Now often this “I can” moment is hindered by a lack of funds in a bank account however overall, without the financial barrier should I decide to wake up in Mexico, or sleep in a tent by a lake “I can.”  I am not confined by another’s schedule.

Yes, my showing up is how I get paid, but I decide when, where, and how I show up.  I will say setting some of these boundaries and expectations has been the biggest learning curve for me in business and continues to be, this is another blog in and of itself.

Learning the branding, learning what I enjoy doing, learning what needs I can meet in others, and learning the ever-changing tools and technologies out there for us business owners has been time-consuming but truly not that difficult.  I had to learn evolution.  I had to embrace change.  My business ownership is constantly evolving and changing, and I had to be okay with that.

What inspired me to start my own business?  The thought process of NO barriers!  I can come and go!  I have no financial cap!  I am not confined.

The post September 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

I am going to divide this up into two stories.  Why?  Because my first sale as a business owner was so dang long ago – I don’t think I even realized I was in fact in business. 

I was working as a taxi dispatcher in Smiths Falls, Ontario (small town, retirement town feeling) and had stopped working for Chrysler, Canada.  I had a computer.  I had dial-up internet.  I had learned so much about HTML, email programs, ICQ, and other geeky things of the time.  (It is not lost on me that some of you will be like, “What the heck is HTML and ICQ?”  I’m old.)  I’ve always been a learner and hope I always am.  I found many folks were asking me how do I do this, and how do I do that – during conversations.  I knew the answers.  (Yay for me!)  Before I knew it, I was going into people’s homes and sitting beside them watching them type emails to their grandkids and family members not in the local area.  I mean literally watching them painfully one-finger-type a warm hello message, making sure they filled out the “to” field properly, had a connection via dial-up to the internet, and made sure when they hit send the symbol spun until it was gone.  My first side gig!  I must admit, in reflection, it was neat.  Watching mostly elderly folks embrace technology and send simple messages, “Hello. I love you. The weather is nice.”  Then they’d sit in awe that a family member was going to get said message on a screen!  It was a riot listening to the LAND LINE phone calls of them saying I just sent you something!  Boy oh boy.

Story number two is when I knew I was in business for myself, and I knew beyond a doubt it was my livelihood, and I HAD to make money.  Funny how that changed the energy.  I don’t remember who my first sale was purchased by, nor do I remember many details about the ‘job,’ but I do remember the internal dialogue, though, and to this day I have to say this ‘ghost from the past’ can still surface saying the exact same things it said back around 2006.

Say you take their money, and they don’t like what you do.  Oh my gosh! Did you charge too much?  Did you charge enough?  Are they going to be happy?  Can you really do what you said you would do?  How will you know if they are happy?  Say they are miserable?  Then the dialogue of – this amount of money needs to pay this bill and ugh I still have that bill and this financial obligation – how am I ever going to get more clients to pay what I need?  Can I really do this?  Is this worth it?

I don’t recall what year I learned about mindset, internal dialogue, laws of manifestation, and how the universe works, but THANKFULLY I learned!  This ghost of the past can be quickly silenced and starved for attention when I lean into what I know to be true and what I have learned.  17 years later, here I am.  17 years later, still putting one foot in front of the other.  17 years later, still serving clients for the exchange of payment (called a sale).  I say it that way intentionally.  I don’t go for the sale.  I go for serving the client, and, in turn, I get the sale. 

We got this.

The post August 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

Hear that creaking sound??  That is the lid to Pandora’s box opening!  Boy, what a loaded topic this blog post could be!  Talk about picking and choosing what one may want to share for all to see and read!  I’ll share three:

1. I hate olives.
2. I can’t sleep with my feet tucked in – they MUST be out of the blankets/covers.
3. I am petrified of grasshoppers!  Yes, you read it right, and yes you can chuckle!

My hate for olives started about 12 years ago.  I went to a local Subway (sandwich shop) and had them craft me up a sub and said I would love some olives on it.  I took the sub home, opened the wrapper, sunk my teeth in, and gagged!  This was no longer a sub sandwich with multiple toppings. It was an OLIVE loaded, soaked, saturated moment… and Tada!  A disdain for olives has been part of my world ever since!  Some have asked but what about a pizza with olives on it?  Oh, I can get it into me, but I will go the extra mile on a pizza with olives and lift the cheese up to check for any sneaky hidden olive components prior to eating said pizza slice and remove them all before sinking in my teeth!

Why don’t they make sleeping bags with little tuck-outs for feet?  Have you ever thought of that?  I don’t know when or where or why this started for me, but it is very real.  My feet wrapped up and tucked in bring on a sort of small panic attack of feeling trapped and confined.  My feet also sweat if enclosed and I want to say overheat though I know that may sound like I’m exaggerating but they literally feel on fire in what others may consider comfy cozy moments.  Yet, let me add this – I don’t do barefoot hardly ever and always have socks on even when just wandering around home!  Go ahead and analyze this one – and while you are at it wait till you read the next paragraph on something you may now know about me!

Petrified is a level up from scared, isn’t it?  I am petrified of grasshoppers!  My mother said as a child I would play with them, and I can not remember those playful moments, but I can picture it because I do love all things nature and critters.  Give me a snake, spider, mouse any ole day but heck no to the grasshopper!  I faint.  The world goes dark and black, and I just can’t.  During ‘grasshopper season’ you will find me grabbing onto the shoulder of a friend, closing my eyes, and having said friend lead me to wherever we need to go!  You will see me pull my car forward and back and forward again and back until I think I have successfully scared all grasshoppers in the near area as I get out of my car and bolt to my indoor area.  Yes, me… a 5 foot 10 on the larger size gal can not do this bug whatsoever!

Now when you see friends post a picture of a grasshopper on my Facebook wall – you’ll know they are in the know and are one step away from being blocked!  Just sayin’!

Oh, the many pieces of a puzzle that make up who we are and so many pieces are never seen by others!

Great blog topic this month, and I am looking forward to reading other blogs, too.

The post July 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

What need does my business, Clark Strategies, meet for my clients?

I always like to use analogies.

Clark Strategies is the public swimming pool!

Learning to swim?  Come on in!
Learning to dive?  Come on in!
Want to sit on the side and dip your toes?  Have a seat!
Want to sit on a lounge chair and just watch?  Grab a chair!
Want to teach others how to swim?  Reach out and help!
Want to be a lifeguard?  Sit up there and keep an eye on us!
Want to help someone who is drowning?  Dive in!!

A place for entrepreneurs and business owners to gather and meet.  A place for all no matter what level they are at.  A place to learn, grow, or use your growth to help others.  A place to watch and witness others doing laps!  A place… to call ‘your community’.

At least all of that is my hope! 

#clarkstrategies has a few different angles but the connecting of the business community is my favorite.  Why?  I get to sit in their energy, their space, see them splash and play, then grow and go.  That is where it is at for me.

Is it how I monetize?  No.  Frankly, this aspect of my business costs my business weekly. 

My time to populate events, paying Zoom for the account we use to meet, working connections after, and postings about events, working calendars, and agendas so we are on task – costs – but the rewards far outweigh the costs involved for me and for many others.

Where my takeaway may not be in dollars – my takeaways in knowledge, friendships, and support are so valuable to me in everything else my business does and gets involved in.

As a result of the community “swimming”, I have learned how to dive, and know I have seasoned swimmers available if I holler for help, I have observed from the sidelines as others wade in the water and rested with them and so much more. 

Come on in!  The water is perfect and the company is even better.

The post June 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

Walter!  Skeeter!  (If you know, you know!)

All kidding aside, when I read the topic and sat down to write this blog, my mind went in so many different directions. 

There has always been someone ahead of me on my path.  Someone I can look at who is just in front of me and catch a glimpse of them and feel inspired by their journey and position – they make me think I can take this next step and that next step, after all, they have, and look at where they are. 

There has always been someone beside me on my path.  Someone I am bumping shoulders with as we lift our feet and walk and or scrap our knees as we crawl.  Are we ever truly alone?  I think not.

I have been surrounded by entrepreneurs for years and years!  My relationships with these folks afford me the blessing of witnessing their determination, struggles, grind, and overall moments.  Meaning I am not just seeing what they are posting or when the spotlight is on them to show up – I see them with their hair pulled back and or being pulled out (whichever the case may be) and in some pretty raw emotional moments.  Witnessing that ‘to hell with it’, a pause, and then the ‘okay let’s try this’ – pivot is powerful and inspiring!

I’d be amiss if I didn’t share what maybe you thought I would get to if you know my story….

The Guatemalan mother, the Mexican lady, the Honduran warrior, the Brazilian gal, the Russian immigrant – all the immigrants brave and bold enough to pack up, walk, and/or travel for days, weeks, and months in search of a better life for themselves and their families.  I don’t think ‘we’ (you and I) get what this decision and trek is like! 

It is not packing all your belongings, neatly folding your clothes, and buying a first-class ticket on a fancy plane anticipating a smooth landing where someone will be there to graciously pick you up, and get you to a neatly made bed with a warm shower for rest after traveling.

It IS – walking away from all you own knowing if you must return it will not be there any longer for you.  It IS – bidding farewell to others knowing this journey is literally a matter of life or death and many have died taking this path.  It IS – filled with HOPE and FEAR and yet not one single aspect of it falls under the category of ‘walking into the known’.  It is BRAVERY, against the odds, and yet rolling those dice with a determination and perseverance I have yet to see in any others like this. 

It IS more important for these folks to know that they tried – and died trying – rather than to not have ever tried.  Read that again –not trying is not an option for them!  It is more important that they tried, and they are willing to try even at the cost of their very lives.

That inspires me.  They inspire me. 

We get so attached to what we have…

We get so used to the daily routines…

We shrug and become ‘accepting’ of …

These folks…. They are not accepting of – they are in SEARCH of, and I hope I will always be found searching – rather than accepting.  It is in the search we find and will continue to find and learn.

The post May 2023 appeared first on Led Me to This.