kO′ch VA adj. 1. a highly specialized and niched virtual
assistant who is in tune with their coaching clients and customizes solutions based upon their individual needs and goals 2. differs from a general virtual assistant as they only partner with members of the coaching industry [syn: 
Archive for Motivational
Persistence – A Sure Way to Success
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Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Who can disagree with that?
Many, many successful people have touted that persistence and dedication is what has led to their success. Success doesn’t come without pitfalls and when we hear about a successful entrepreneur we often don’t realize that a lot of the times their outcomes have been more negative than positive – they’ve simply been persistent and “pressed on” until they achieved their dreams.
If you’re stuck in a rut or are finding that your persistence is starting to wane a little, these tips will help you build it up once again.
Visualize your goals – When you’re stuck it’s often difficult to see beyond your current place. But simple visualization can help you “see” into what the future may hold and keep you on the persistence track. Take a few minutes each day (preferably at the start or end of the day) and visualize where you’d like your business to be in a year or two years’ time. Be realistic but also positive in your visualization.
Imagine what your improved business will mean to your life. See yourself as a successful entrepreneur achieving your goals. Visualization techniques have worked for many entrepreneurs and can help you move forwards in your business.
Design a vision board – A vision board is a back-up to your visualization. Many of us have difficulty imagining a situation which isn’t tangible at the moment; this is where a vision board comes in. All you need to create one is a simple pegboard and pictures of your ideal situation. These can include your dream home, perhaps something representative of being debt free, motivational quotes, pictures of your family – anything that will help you stay on track and motivated.
One step at a time – When you drive in the dark you can only see at most two feet in front of you at anytime, but eventually you’ll end up at your destination. Just like driving in the dark, you don’t need to see much further ahead in your business. If you concentrate on the big picture too much, you may struggle and feel overwhelmed. Instead concentrate on small manageable goals that you can achieve one step at a time. Once you achieve a small goal, then go on to the next one – slowly, a few feet at a time until eventually, like the car driving in the dark, you end up at your destination.
Attack from all angles – Persistence can slip even the most dedicated entrepreneurs at times, and to gain it back you may need a full-force attack. This means placing yourself in the very best possible position to achieve success.
Look after your physical health - Take time out to avoid burnout. Do the things you love in order to stay positive. And appreciate what you currently have in life.
All of these things will help to put you in a state of mind that is open to success. Staying committed and persistent as an entrepreneur is not an easy feat and the healthier you are overall, the easier achieving that goal will become.
Can’t think, brain numb? Motivation won’t come?
Posted by: | CommentsBelieve it or not, we all have times when we just can’t get motivated to “get up and go”.
Whether that “go” is to go to work or to write an article or to clean house or to tackle a huge project for a client.
How many times have you taken the time to sit in on this or that teleseminar or to even read this or that motivational book to learn hundreds of ways to improve your life? But then all that learning just set up camp in your brain because you didn’t do anything with it.
Instead, you got side-tracked watching that crazy Aflac duck in his latest predicament (I love that duck!). Perhaps you didn’t feel like doing what you ought to have been doing and so you did nothing!
Aflac duck or not, sometimes even the highly motivated of us may sometimes find ourselves in the throes of lazy and more readily disregard the nagging pull to start on an important task.
So what’s a body to do?
Actually, there are probably dozens of solutions. We’ll just focus on six of some of the best techniques we’ve found. Of course, “best” is really subjective but these will be a springboard to get you thinking along these or similar lines.
Try them all or do a mix-and-match. With six, there ought to be at least one or two that will motivate you to get your motivation jumping.
1. Talk to get motivated. It’s the New Year, so now’s the time to tell everyone you know you’re going on a diet. Really! Or you’re going to work out at the gym three times a week. Sound familiar? Many years ago, one or two of the young women I worked with would begin each new year with resolutions like these. And they would talk about it and talk about it and talk about it.
And all of the talk (mostly) worked because once you “make it public” by telling someone, it not only boosts your motivation it does hold you accountable to yourself. Well, it’s supposed to be a means to hold you accountable!
What you do is create energy and motivation as well as a desire to lose weight or to stick to an exercise regimen.
2. Stimulate your desire. I am a “knock on your door” salesman’s dream, and a full shopping cart’s my nightmare!
Over the years, I have managed to amass a cupboard-full of dishes and pots and pans and drawers and closets of jewelry and snazzy make-up, and whatever, from a multitude of sales people hocking their wares on the neighborhood streets or, in latter years, on the airwaves.
You name, it I think I have to have it.
That’s motivation; someone’s message was a significant call to action to motivate me to sign up for or to buy whatever they were selling. Oy!
So, if we watch them we can learn how to be our own sales people. Minus the “you can’t live without this’ push, that is.
3. Stimulate your pain. In this instance, the pain does not refer to the pain you experience with a broken leg or with having eaten something that upset your stomach or that which gave you that famous Excedrin headache number 59.
But rather, it’s the emotional distress to which you might be subjected if you didn’t go to work. Or to avoid a math test you took a snow day from school without the benefit of snow. The consequence maybe resulted in a loss of pay or a lower grade on the test. Or worse.
4. Find a true interest. If everyone around you is thrilled to stand in line at midnight for the latest Harry Potter book or to line up for tickets to the opera and you would rather skip three meals than do either, then figure out something that motivates you to action. Like maybe you don’t like to clean house but if you somehow got word Jon Bon Jovi is stopping by soon, how fast do you suppose your motivation would motivate a clean house? The neighbors alone would probably take care of that for you!
5. Boost your energy. Perhaps you’ve noticed how the desire to lose weight sometimes leads some of us to drink coffee, to use diet pills or to drink diet pop. This is because the energy-inducing ingredients in these products boost our systems and act as an impetus to motivate us. Actually, exercising and getting a good night’s sleep will as well.
Since the “moody blues” can sometimes be brought on by too many sugary foods, and the “sugar blues”, in turn, can quickly put you to sleep in your chair or at best kill your motivation, a wise caution is to limit the use of sugar products.
6. Take any small step. Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind”. He probably didn’t mean it quite like this. But, if you commit to doing just one task for one day toward your goal, perhaps like writing a paragraph in a sales letter, it won’t be long before you get motivated enough to finish the sales letter because you just know when it’s finished you’ll be able to finish uploading your e-book to your Web site and you can then start selling it and earning money. Money speaks pretty loud.
Bottom line, motivation techniques really do work.
Some of the foregoing examples attest to the fact that motivation techniques really do work. However, the “how” is up to you since what stirs your colleagues or neighbors may not stir your soul.
In any case, a good laugh can overcome a lot of things so whatever the path you choose to use to rev up your motivator, let humor be your guide.
About the Author
Want something to read? Click to Konceptuality to get your copy of our weekly ezine, “On the Bright Side”. Karen McGreevey, Virtual Assistant and Expert Author, at Konceptuality specializes in editing/proofreading and general administrative support services to small business consultants, coaches. Contact Karen at kmcgreevey @ konceptuality.com for details.
Can’t think, brain numb? Motivation won’t come?
Posted by: | CommentsBelieve it or not, we all have times when we just can’t get motivated to “get up and go”.
Whether that “go” is to go to work or to write an article or to clean house or to tackle a huge project for a client.
How many times have you taken the time to sit in on this or that teleseminar or to even read this or that motivational book to learn hundreds of ways to improve your life? But then all that learning just set up camp in your brain because you didn’t do anything with it.
Instead, you got side-tracked watching that crazy Aflac duck in his latest predicament (I love that duck!). Perhaps you didn’t feel like doing what you ought to have been doing and so you did nothing!
Aflac duck or not, sometimes even the highly motivated of us may sometimes find ourselves in the throes of lazy and more readily disregard the nagging pull to start on an important task.
So what’s a body to do?
Actually, there are probably dozens of solutions. We’ll just focus on six of some of the best techniques we’ve found. Of course, “best” is really subjective but these will be a springboard to get you thinking along these or similar lines.
Try them all or do a mix-and-match. With six, there ought to be at least one or two that will motivate you to get your motivation jumping.
1. Talk to get motivated. It’s the New Year, so now’s the time to tell everyone you know you’re going on a diet. Really! Or you’re going to work out at the gym three times a week. Sound familiar? Many years ago, one or two of the young women I worked with would begin each new year with resolutions like these. And they would talk about it and talk about it and talk about it.
And all of the talk (mostly) worked because once you “make it public” by telling someone, it not only boosts your motivation it does hold you accountable to yourself. Well, it’s supposed to be a means to hold you accountable!
What you do is create energy and motivation as well as a desire to lose weight or to stick to an exercise regimen.
2. Stimulate your desire. I am a “knock on your door” salesman’s dream, and a full shopping cart’s my nightmare!
Over the years, I have managed to amass a cupboard-full of dishes and pots and pans and drawers and closets of jewelry and snazzy make-up, and whatever, from a multitude of sales people hocking their wares on the neighborhood streets or, in latter years, on the airwaves.
You name, it I think I have to have it.
That’s motivation; someone’s message was a significant call to action to motivate me to sign up for or to buy whatever they were selling. Oy!
So, if we watch them we can learn how to be our own sales people. Minus the “you can’t live without this’ push, that is.
3. Stimulate your pain. In this instance, the pain does not refer to the pain you experience with a broken leg or with having eaten something that upset your stomach or that which gave you that famous Excedrin headache number 59.
But rather, it’s the emotional distress to which you might be subjected if you didn’t go to work. Or to avoid a math test you took a snow day from school without the benefit of snow. The consequence maybe resulted in a loss of pay or a lower grade on the test. Or worse.
4. Find a true interest. If everyone around you is thrilled to stand in line at midnight for the latest Harry Potter book or to line up for tickets to the opera and you would rather skip three meals than do either, then figure out something that motivates you to action. Like maybe you don’t like to clean house but if you somehow got word Jon Bon Jovi is stopping by soon, how fast do you suppose your motivation would motivate a clean house? The neighbors alone would probably take care of that for you!
5. Boost your energy. Perhaps you’ve noticed how the desire to lose weight sometimes leads some of us to drink coffee, to use diet pills or to drink diet pop. This is because the energy-inducing ingredients in these products boost our systems and act as an impetus to motivate us. Actually, exercising and getting a good night’s sleep will as well.
Since the “moody blues” can sometimes be brought on by too many sugary foods, and the “sugar blues”, in turn, can quickly put you to sleep in your chair or at best kill your motivation, a wise caution is to limit the use of sugar products.
6. Take any small step. Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind”. He probably didn’t mean it quite like this. But, if you commit to doing just one task for one day toward your goal, perhaps like writing a paragraph in a sales letter, it won’t be long before you get motivated enough to finish the sales letter because you just know when it’s finished you’ll be able to finish uploading your e-book to your Web site and you can then start selling it and earning money. Money speaks pretty loud.
Bottom line, motivation techniques really do work.
Some of the foregoing examples attest to the fact that motivation techniques really do work. However, the “how” is up to you since what stirs your colleagues or neighbors may not stir your soul.
In any case, a good laugh can overcome a lot of things so whatever the path you choose to use to rev up your motivator, let humor be your guide.
About the Author
Want something to read? Click to Konceptuality to get your copy of our weekly ezine, “On the Bright Side”. Karen McGreevey, Virtual Assistant and Expert Author, at Konceptuality specializes in editing/proofreading and general administrative support services to small business consultants, coaches. Contact Karen at kmcgreevey @ konceptuality.com for details.
Smart Goal Setting – 5 Tips to Success
Posted by: | CommentsEvery January most of us feel the urge to make the New Year our best one yet. While a new year is a great time to evaluate your life and your future, you may feel a lot of pressure to do something big to initiate a life change at the beginning of a new calendar year.
If you didn’t make any resolutions last year as you watched the ball drop, don’t feel bad about it. You can set goals whenever you want – it doesn’t have to be on January 1st!
Do you find it difficult to stick to a goal because you always lose momentum after the first couple of weeks? (How many years have you been trying to lose those same 10 pounds?)
These five tips will help keep you focused – you can reach your goals this year!
1. Write it down. Whether you want to lose weight, double your income or renovate your kitchen you should put it in writing. You’re much more likely to reach your goals if they’re written down and placed somewhere they can be seen every day to remind you.
2. List your past successes. Before you even start to write down your goals, take some time to write down your past accomplishments. Think back and write down anything you consider a personal success. For example, did you run a marathon, recover from cancer, buy your first house before you were 30, beat out hundreds of applicants for a specific job or to get into a certain school, win an award, raise money for a cause, raise happy and healthy children, start your own business? When you remember all the great things you’ve made happen in your life, you’ll feel empowered and this will put you in the right frame of mind to achieve the new goals you set for your future.
3. Be specific. Don’t set vague goals, be very specific and make sure your goals are realistic, measurable and attainable. Instead of a general statement that you want to be healthy in 2009, write your goal as, “Lose 5 pounds per month and exercise 30 minute each day.” And if your general goal is to double your profit and you have your own business, be specific about how that could be achieved. For example, “add one more project or client per month and reduce operating costs by 50%.” This puts you in the right mindset to be able to plan how you’ll achieve that goal.
4. Tell someone. Another good way to increase your chance of success is to declare your goals to others and find someone to hold you accountable as you work towards meeting them. But choose who you share your goals with carefully. It needs to be someone who genuinely wants you to succeed and won’t feel insecure or threatened by your success. If for example, you and your best friend are both overweight and she has no intention of losing, she likely won’t support you in your own weight loss goals. If you’re trying to grow your own business and you’re surrounded by others on the road to bankruptcy, they’ll be in no position to support your growth. For these reasons, it’s sometimes preferable to hire a coach. Their role is to support your success and motivate you to keep going.
5. Use visuals. You’ve probably heard of a ‘Vision Board’. Maybe you have one or maybe you’ve brushed the idea off. The truth is a strong visual representation of your goals can help you reach them. If you want to start your own business, for example, clip out photos from magazines that represent that to you. Don’t be too literal. Think also of what being in your own business will mean to your income, sense of self and lifestyle. When you look at those images, your subconscious will continue to keep you focused on achieving your goals without you even knowing it.
Make 2009 the last year you set those same goals for yourself by setting yourself up for success from the beginning.
About the Author
Debra Gould, president of the internationally recognized home staging company Six Elements Inc. has no trouble attracting clients. An entrepreneur by the age of 30, she also created The Staging Diva® Home Staging Business Training Program with 1000+ Graduates worldwide & is the founder of the Directory of Home Stagers. To learn more visit http://www.stagingdiva.com.
Structured Procrastination
Posted by: | CommentsI came across this article by David Bohl and love it. Why continue procrastinating when you can get a Virtual Assistant? Virtual Assistants have the ability to help you get done the “big” and “small” things you keep putting off.
Enjoy!
Becki 
___________________________________________
Structured Procrastination
You probably know what procrastination is, but have you heard about “structured procrastination”? This definition, from Stanford philosophy professor John Perry, casts structured procrastination as something even “productive” people tend to do:
“The list of tasks one has in mind will be ordered by importance. Tasks that seem most urgent and important are on top. But there are also worthwhile tasks to perform lower down on the list. Doing these tasks becomes a way of not doing the things higher up on the list. With this sort of appropriate task structure, the procrastinator becomes a useful citizen. Indeed, the procrastinator can even acquire, as I have, a reputation for getting a lot done.”
Of course, the problem is that it’s still procrastination, and you’re still not doing the things that really need to be done.
I’m not convinced that putting things off, even in a structured and seemingly positive way, is really the best way to live.
I believe that productivity and “getting a lot done” are overrated, in fact.
I don’t think it matters if we get all of the small, less important tasks done in one day, if we leave the most important things because we’d rather not do them.
Of course there are always things we’d rather not do. That’s why we procrastinate.
But finding a better way to procrastinate is not the answer.
The answer is doing the things that need to be done.
That may sound a little simplistic, but I think this as an area where we can really simplify the issues.
The first issue is, there are things to do.
The second issue is, we don’t want to do them.
The only solution that really works is to find the most important things, designate them as the most important things (“first things first”), and then do them.
I have never heard anyone talk about how great they felt that they managed to juggle their schedule so that the really important things were all at the bottom, but they had accomplished everything else on their schedule.
What I have heard people talk about is how satisfied they were that they had taken care of some important matter, something they had not wanted to do, but that it was now done and they could focus on other things.
Structuring procrastination doesn’t get the major tasks of our lives done.
Only doing those tasks gets them done, and only doing them gives us the satisfaction of having done them. No matter how much time we spend trying to balance our lives, if we’re constantly avoiding doing the things that really matter, we’re not going to feel balanced or comfortable.
While putting things off may feel good at the time, it always makes us feel worse in the long run.
To end your own procrastination and get the important things done,
⢠Learn to tell what’s important and what’s just urgent and beckoning your attention.
⢠Make a list of the most important things you need to do.
⢠Do at least one of those things each day.
About the Author
Lifestyle Mentor, Personal Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. To learn more about this step-by-step strategy for Living YOUR Life YOUR way, and to sign up for his 9 FREE Tips for Finding Happiness in a Fast-Paced World, free teleseminars, free Special Report, free bi-monthly ezine and more, go to: http://www.SlowDownFAST.com
Is It Possible To Have It All and Do It All?
Posted by: | CommentsTurn on the TV or the radio, or pick up any newspaper or magazine, and you’ll fall prey to a form of systematic and repeated societal conditioning posing in one corner as promotional marketing (commercial advertising and infomercials) and popular culture in the other (in the case of morning “news” shows and Hollywood tabloid programs). You’ll be told what you should look like – what to wear, what to eat, and what to use on your body for personal hygiene and attraction. You’ll be instructed on what to drive, where to live, and where to be seen. You’ll be trained on what is expected of you and what to fear.
Taken individually, we all recognize these to be unrealistic, empty promises. When bombarded on every front, however, we begin to believe the notion that we can have everything we want and that we can do everything we want to if only we accomplish what’s expected of us. We become increasingly convinced that we can have our cake and eat it, too. On top of all this, we’re sold on the idea that this is what a balanced life should look like.
But this is a myth. We’ve been sold a bill of goods, and we bought it willingly.
The reality is this: We simply can’t have it all and do it all. We aren’t superheroes. We cannot give ourselves to everything we want to, nor can we give ourselves at all times to each and every part of our lives. We can’t give all of ourselves to our careers (working 9, 10, or more hours a day) and expect to be full of energy and attention in our private lives for our families, our friends, and ourselves.
Many of us go further than that, feeling that we have to contribute our time to virtually everything (further believing what we’ve come to believe is expected of us), trusting that we’re achieving something only when we’re running from one responsibility to the next, only to come up for a breath of air on the weekends. We feel that we have to be valued contributors at work, home, with friends, and in our communities, and all at the same time!
What inevitably happens is that we get so busy doing things that we lose sight of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. We run from one commitment or obligation to the next attempting to have it all and do it all and we forget to look after our own needs and the needs of those around us. We become so all-consumed by doing things that we fail to experience life itself. We forget that we’re human beings, not human doings.
We’ll all be better off if we do ourselves a simple favor by disavowing ourselves of the perception that we can achieve everything if only we labor hard enough and long enough. Once we’ve accepted that, we can get on with the business at hand, that of creating a lifestyle for ourselves that is balanced, or if you prefer, choosing the life that we want.
Sounds overly simplistic, you say? On the contrary – in its simplicity lies its beauty. The key is to create a lifestyle we want that doesn’t necessitate the monstrous expenditures of time, energy, and effort that we used trying to fulfill someone else’s ideal of balance. The goal is to choose to define what our lives should look like – a way of life that doesn’t require all of our strength and ability to maintain.
How do we go about designing this new life for ourselves? First, we step back and objectively look at what’s going on in our lives. Second, we define what a balanced life looks like to us. Third, we determine what’s most important to us and find ways to attain those things.
About the Author
Lifestyle Mentor, Personal Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. To learn more about this step-by-step strategy for Living YOUR Life YOUR way, and to sign up for his 9 FREE Tips for Finding Happiness in a Fast-Paced World, free teleseminars, free Special Report, free bi-monthly ezine and more, go to: http://www.SlowDownFAST.com
Giving and Receiving: How Can One Be Better Than the Other?
Posted by: | CommentsA discussion began on my network forum in which a member posted the very widely accepted belief that “it is better to give than to receive”. Certainly something we think about this time of year when giving goes full throttle – either from a spiritual standpoint or a commercial one.
I thought I would share my thoughts on this timely topic…
Giving and Receiving…yes, a topic relating to our core values.
Note the capital “G” and the capital “R” I used above. I have given importance to both.
Let’s look at a dictionary definition of “better”:
better (adjective) 1: greater than half; 2: improved in health or mental attitude; 3: more attractive, favorable, or commendable; 4: more advantageous or effective; 5: improved in accuracy or performance
For our purposes here, I suppose “better to give than receive” probably refers to numbers 3 and 4: favorable, commendable or more advantageous or effective.
Now let me give you questions to ponder:
~ Is it better to exhale than to inhale?
~ Is it better to be awake or to sleep?
~ Is it better to talk or to listen?
~ Is it better to speak to God/Universe/Creator (affirm/pray) or to listen to God/Universe/Creator (meditate)?
Which of the above are more favorable, commendable, advantageous or effective?
Think about this for a moment or two, before reading on.
Here is a quote that I placed below the title of Tithing Sets You Free, Lesson Five of the Feel Free to Prosper program:
The Law of Giving
The universe operates through dynamic exchange…
giving and receiving are different aspects
of the flow of energy in the universe.
And in our willingness to give that which we seek,
we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.
~ Deepok Chopra
So, if giving and receiving are both aspects of the flow of energy in the Universe, then how can one be “better” than the other? How can one exist without the other? How can we exhale if we don’t inhale, and vice versa?
I am not a bible scholar and I don’t want to bring religious discussion into this, as spiritual law encompasses all religions and no religion. However, the bible is filled with spiritual law and I am familiar with and quote certain scriptures that pertain to the teachings of these laws.
The biblical scripture does not say, “It is better to give…”
The scripture states, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
blessed (adjective): bringing pleasure, contentment or good fortune
In teaching about tithing, for example, I teach that one gives in order to set the flow of prosperity energy into motion. It is establishing our connection to Universal supply. It is the farmer planting his best seed to create a harvest. It is releasing (giving up) fear in order to create the space in our consciousness to receive.
~ The Universe/God is ready and willing to give us our supply. But if we cannot receive, then where is the blessing?
~ The seeds contain the gift within themselves, but if the soil is depleted and cannot receive, where is the blessing?
~ If our good wants to get through to us, to reach us, but fear is occupying our thoughts and emotions so that here is no room for it, then where is the blessing?
~ If we give to someone, but they do not feel deserving to receive, or are ungrateful, embarrassed or feel obligated, then where is the blessing?
So yes, giving IS a blessing and allows us to become individualized expressions of the Creator itself, however, we must come to a very definite realization that receiving is a very important part of giving. With no receiving, there is no giving.
When there is a gracious receiver, then the giver AND the receiver are blessed. Pleasure, contentment and good fortune are bestowed on both.
And a very good way to learn how to be a gracious receiver and open ourselves up to Universal supply is to learn to give to ourselves.
About the Author
Marilyn Jenett, an accomplished business owner in the corporate arena, founded the Feel Free to Prosper program to mentor and teach others to become aligned with Universal laws and accept their right to prosper. Her students, from around the globe and from all walks of life, are enjoying remarkable success applying her lessons and participating in her private and group telephone sessions and audio programs. For more information, visit her website at http://www.FeelFreetoProsper.com and her network forum at http://prosper-network.ryze.com00.
In your business and in your life, intentional growth takes effort and focus. Sure, you may have a so-called business plan or even personal goals. You may even have them in writing. Moving from ideal to action, though, takes very specific attention to three areas of detail. Here’s where some people get lost when they decide to skirt territory that may seem a bit touchy-feely. Don’t be fooled. Defining and addressing your Core Values, Core Essence, and Core Business is not for the faint of heart. Doing so and being consistent about it demands the very best you’ve got to offer. It takes grit and guts and, yes . . . heart.
To address these three areas, you need to first understand what they are and what they mean to you and to building work that you love, which is integral to who you are and the way you conduct not only your work but also your life.
Core Values:
What do your clients expect from you? How do your employees fit into the grand scheme of your business? How do you implement a strategic plan? The answer to any of those questions rests on your core values. These values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a company. They are the essential, enduring tenets on which you stand. You can spend a lot of time haggling over what they are, but that what really matters is that you have them and that you allow them to guide you. Walt Disney’s core values, for example, were imagination and wholesomeness. It’s easy to see how they continue to play out.
Core Essence:
What is it about you that remains consistent through fads and changes in public demand that determine where your product or service line is headed? Beneath it all, there is a thread of consistency. That consistency is your essence, steadfast and true. You may think of it as the combination of your core values and your purpose.
Core Business:
Quite simply, it’s the thing that you do best. Your company may do a lot of things, but it probably does one thing better than all of the others. Coca Cola, for instance, makes all different kinds of soft drinks, but good old Coke is an undeniable classic and without it, the company would probably not survive.
Address the Questions: Getting to your essence is a simple concept, but you’ll have to take an intentional path. Addressing these seven specific questions will make the journey quicker and more fun.
1) If you had to dump all of your products and services with the exception of the one that is most important to the sustainability of your business, which one would you keep and why?
In answering this question, don’t confuse what is most important to you with what is simply a comfortable habit. Frequently, growth is uncomfortable for a time. Go with that feeling and you’ll reward yourself later with tangible results.
2) Your best customer has just called you and told you that they are switching to your competitor. Why would someone choose your competitor over you?
Ouch. That’s a tough question. Maybe you honestly don’t know the answer or maybe you’re not even sure who or what your competition is. If so, take the opportunity to find out who else is out there and what edge they might have that you could learn from.
3) What is the one thing that you stand for so much that you are willing to lose customers and strategic partners for it?
When you know the answer to this question, your team and employees will intrinsically know it as well. Your actions do speak louder than your words, but words don’t hurt either. Don’t be afraid to speak your truth; let it speak in your advertising, your marketing, and all of your communications.
4) When you are gone, what is the one thing about you and your business that people will remember and talk about?
We all have the power to inspire and empower people. Before we can do that, we need to think about the kind of legacy that we want to leave. Be intentional about creating the kind of person, the kind of life that you want to be remembered for. If you want people to think of you as a compassionate, empowering leader, before your feet hit the floor every day, decide to take the actions that define you as such.
5) What does a company or individual gain by doing business with you that they cannot get anywhere else?
Don’t underestimate yourself and assume that other people or businesses are driven by the same values that drive you. They may use strategies that seem to speak your language, but take a deeper look at what drives them compared to what drives you. Again, it comes to intentions. Focus on what is unique and passionate about your business and your 3-5 core values.
6) Your biggest fan has to deliver a 30-second commercial about your business. What would this fan tell the 10 million viewers about you?
You’d be surprised at how people perceive you. Think long and hard about how your actions-the things that you do day in and day out-speak for you and how people respond to what you say and do. Perhaps engage your team in an exercise where each of you writes this commercial for another team member. This engaging activity will hold a mirror to the workings of your team.
7) Your closest colleague bursts into your office and says, “I’ve got the best news about your business and the worst news about your business!” What would those be?
The answers to that will be tied into what is most important to you and your business. What’s the best thing that could happen? What’s the worst thing that could happen? What would emotionally cripple you or your company? What would most empower you or your company?
When you know who you are, what you stand for, why you do what you do, and how to best accomplish it all with consistency, the sky is the limit. But don’t fool yourself. This kind of confidence is not a state of being. It’s a state of constantly becoming; intentionally becoming, every day, the kind of leader at home and at work who inspires and touches lives at every turn.
About the Authors
Bea Fields and Corey Blake with Eva Silva are the co-authors of Edge! A Leadership Story. Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. Blake is an author, screenplay writer and the President of Writers of the Round Table Inc.
You Can Always Get What You Want
Posted by: | Comments“Things that matter most, must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Most of us don’t work out what we want. And most of us end up with lopsided lives as a result. We may get work right and relationships wrong or the other way around. The 80/20 Principle records this sorry state. Twenty percent of what we do leads to 80 percent of the results. But 80 percent of what we do leads to only 20 percent. We are wasting 80 percent of out effort on low-value outcomes.
If we follow the 80/20 Principle, we can work less, earn more, enjoy more, and achieve more. To do this we must start with a rounded view of everything we want.
Do you enjoy life?
Am I living with the right person or people?
Am I living in the right place?
Am I working the right hours and do they match my ideal work/play rhythm, and suit my family and social needs?
Do I feel in control?
Can I exercise or meditate when I want?
Am I nearly always relaxed and comfortable with my surroundings?
Does my lifestyle make it easy for me to be creative and fulfill my potential?
Do I have enough money and are my affairs organized so that I don’t have to worry about them?
Does the lifestyle facilitate whatever contribution I want to make to enriching the lives of people I want to help?
Do I see my close friends enough?
Is the extent of travel in my life just right, not too much, or too little?
Is the lifestyle right for my partner and family too?
Do I have everything that I need right here: do I have it all?
What about work?
Almost everyone needs to work, whether it is paid or not. We should not allow work to take over our lives, however much we claim to enjoy it. The 80/20 Principle can provide a good measure and a good way to see whether you should work more of less. If you are happier outside of work than at work, you should work less and/or change your job. If you are happier at work than outside of work, you should work more and/or change your social life. You haven’t got it right until you are equally happy at work and not at work, and until you are happy at least 80 percent of the time at work and 80 percent of the time not at work.
There does not have to be any conflict between your work life and the things you enjoy outside of work. You may be able to work in an area that is your hobby or even turn your hobby into a business. Enthusiasm can lead to success, it is often easier to make an enthusiasm into a career than to become enthusiastic about a career dictated by others.
Whatever you do, be clear about the optimum point you are trying to reach and view it within your life’s total context. This is easier said than done: old habits are hard to break and the importance of a lifestyle is easily set aside for career.
Which type of career will make you happiest?
Do you have a high drive for achievement and career success?
Would you be happiest working for an organization, as a self-employed and self- contained individual, or employing other people?
Draw 6 boxes, three on top and three on the bottom, label the upper three High and the lower three Low. From left to right label the left two, “Prefer working in organizations,” middle two, “Prefer being a self-employed sole trader,” right two, “Prefer employing or organizing others.” Number the boxes 1 through 3 on the top and 4 through 6 on the bottom. Try to select the box that describes you best.
Box 1 people are highly ambitious but prefer to work in a context organized and provided by others. These jobs are with large organizations and the need for these jobs may be falling. If you want this type of role, you should recognize this and pursue your ambition, however unfashionable it may become. Large organizations still provide structure and status even if they can no longer provide security. I retired from this type of organization at a time when they did provide security in the form of a retirement plan. Few companies now offer retirement plans other than the 401K type plans.
Box 2 people are typically professionals who have a drive for recognition by their peers or who want to be the best in their field. They want to be independent and do not fit well into organizations. If you are like this, you should become self-employed as quickly as possible. You should also resist the temptation to employ other people as they want to avoid professional dependence on others as far as possible.
Box 3 people have high drive and ambition, hate being employed but do not want the lonely life of the sole trader. They may be unconventional, but they are builders: they want to build a web or a structure around themselves. They are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. If you want to work with other people, but not for them, you are a Box 3 person.
Box 4 people do not give a high drive for career achievement but do enjoy working with others. They would ensure that they spend many hours a week doing so, either in a conventional job or in a voluntary role.
Box 5 people are not ambitious but do have a strong desire for autonomy in their work. Rather than set up their own firm, the best role for Box 5 people is as freelancers, working on particular projects for other firms to suit their own convenience.
Box 6 people are individuals whose need for career achievement is low but who enjoy the process of organizing and developing others. Many teachers, social workers, and charity workers are Box 6 people and are well suited to their roles. For Box 6 people the journey is everything; there is no need to arrive.
Many people gravitate toward their “right” box, but where alienation at work exists it is often because the person is in the wrong box.
What about money?
What indeed! Most people think it’s more important than it is and more difficult to get than it is. How do you obtain money in the first place? The best answer, one that works surprisingly often, is to do something that you enjoy. If you enjoy something, you are likely to be good at it. If you are good at something, you can create something that will satisfy others and they will generally pay you well for it. Once you have a little spare cash, it can be easily multiplied. Save and invest. I have a friend, Dave that does quite well pumping stocks. Dave has found some stocks that are cyclic and he has set guide lines for buying and selling. When a stock reaches his high goal, he sells and then places a buy order at the low goal. When the stock reaches his low goal, he buys and then places a sell order again at the high goal. He does not have to work hard or keep track of the stocks, only waits for the orders to execute. If this sounds complicated, then just buy a index fund and hold it for the long haul.
What about achievement?
There are people who want to achieve and then there are sane people. All motivational writers fall into the trap of telling you that you need direction and purpose in life. Then they tell you that you don’t have it. Then they put you through the agony of deciding what it should be. Finally, they tell you what they think you ought to do. So if you don’t want to achieve anything specific and are happy enough going through life having it all (minus achievement), count yourself lucky and read no further. But if you want achievement and want to increase it, the 80/20 Principle can help you. Achievement should be easy. It shouldn’t be “99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.” Instead, see if it’s true that 80 percent of your achievement to date, measured by what you yourself value, has come from 20 percent of your inputs. If true or nearly true, then think carefully about this top 20 percent. Could you simply repeat the achievements? Upgrade them? Reproduce similar ones on a grander scale? Combine two previous achievements to compound the satisfaction?
About the Author: Hubert Crowell, Cave Explorer
I am currently doing graduate studies at Southeastern University, in Lakeland Florida and would like to share some of the insight on making decisions. For a Free Online Training Course on the 80/20 Principle please visit: http://hucosystems.com/articles/The_80_20_Principle_1.htm, which is available on my web site.
Do Affirmations REALLY Work?
Posted by: | CommentsBy: Hanif Khaki
Many successful people credit the use of affirmations for their success. Some even attribute affirmations to causing miracles in their lives. Why then do most people say that affirmations don’t work for them? Is it a question of using the right or “correct” techniques to get the desired results? Many people turn to books to search for answers on affirmation techniques. As many eventually discover, most books are woefully lacking when it comes to providing the needed answers.
Before discussing affirmation techniques, let us look at the purpose of affirmations. The sole purpose of reciting an affirmation is to pass on a command from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. Many who have read the ground-breaking report “How to Magnetically Attract Anything You Want Into Your Life Right Now”, will already know that the subconscious mind has the ability to move towards or bring to life, anything that it accepts as being true. Tell yourself that “I will never succeed” and that is the exact outcome you will see. So how do we fix this? There are 5 rules to making affirmations work. I will discuss 2 of these below.
First, the subconscious mind must BELIEVE the affirmation to be true. If you weigh 300 pounds and you say to yourself “I weigh 150 pounds”, your subconscious mind will clearly not accept this as true. Similarly, if you say to yourself that you “earn $150,000 a year” when in fact you are financially broke, that is going to be a tough sell to your subconscious mind. So how do we get around this challenge? Very simply.
Use the phrase “I choose” in your affirmation. Instead of saying “I earn $150,000″, say “I choose to earn $150,000″. You get the idea.
Secondly, you must provide the subconscious mind with PROOF that what you are saying is true. Here is an example of what I mean. Let us say you are overweight and you say to yourself, “I choose to eat small healthy meals”. Will this work? Perhaps, but the truth is that when you are actually eating your meal, you may be thinking that you are either overeating or eating the wrong food. This negative feeling conflicts with your affirmation and seeks to discredit it as being untrue. In other words your mind doesn’t see the proof that your affirmation is true. Now if you look down at your plate and see a small healthy meal and then say to yourself “I always choose to eat small healthy meals and feel great about it”, you feel better and have actually provided your subconcious mind with proof that you are choosing to eat healthy. This process will easily take you in the direction you want to go.
These are just 2 of the techniques that anyone can use to boost the power and effectiveness of affirmations. Use them properly and they are bound to make your affirmations much more effective.
About the Author
Discover how to start attracting practically ANYTHING you want WITHIN 6 MINUTES! Grab your Free Mind Optimization Report now. You will learn about the powerful scientifically proven method that is helping thousands achieve their lifelong dreams. Go to http://www.mind-optimizer.com/FreeReport before we start charging for this ground-breaking report again.
