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Growth Management Operations Skills Women In Business

Does Everyone Want a Piece of You?

Does Everyone Want a Piece of You?

Whose agenda runs your life? Yours or someone else’s? At the end of the day, do you feel you accomplished what you wanted to or is it another one of “those days”?

In the fast pace world we now live in, there are so many distractions.  Our inboxes fill up with unwanted messages and too many of the ones we do want as well. Think of how much time the dreaded “reply-to-all’ alone takes. We react to the crises that others create and are often more reactive than proactive.

The one thing we can never recapture is time. There are 28,500 days in the average person’s life if we live to 75 years old.  How many of those days do you have left? If I am depressing you then do something about it – it’s not too late.

Ask yourself what you want to do, see, or experience in your life so that at the end you will say that your life is a success. Not how other people define success, but how you do. That’s what The Big Five for Life philosophy is all about.

Ever since I learned about the Big Five for Life™, I realized that I must make time for those things that really matter to me. There is nothing more important, for example, than family and enduring relationships. If I don’t write another book summary or spend another hour at my desk it won’t matter to anyone at the end of the day so I now give myself a break.

When you are very clear about what matters, make time for those things that you want to do see or experience. Make a list at the end of every day about what you want to accomplish and if those things aren’t in alignment with your purpose or that of your organization – then don’t cheat yourself out of doing what does matter.

The best advice I can give you is live every day with purpose. Stick to your own agenda and don’t get sucked into that of others. When someone asks you to do something that is going to distract you from your purpose just let them know it’s not in your “time budget.”

 

Categories
Growth Management Operations Skills

Why Share Your Vision?

Those with a tightly focused cause and Purpose for Existence (PFE) have a vision.  They don’t seek to cram it down anyone’s throat.  Instead, their passion and enthusiasm attracts others.  It soon becomes a common vision shared among many.

A good example is Tony Hsieh (pronounced, Shay).  Hsieh was already a wealthy man (having sold his startup, LinkExchange, to Microsoft for $265 million).  Nick Swinmurn asked him to invest in his online shoe store, ShoeSite.com.  Hsieh and his Venture Frogs partner, Alfred Lin, put up $500,000.  They changed the company’s name to a snappier, Zappos.com (a variation on zapatos in Spanish, meaning shoes).  They had just three very simple goals.  One was to bring great customer service—they just happened to sell shoes at an affordable price.  Another was to hit $1 billion in sales by 2010.  The third was to become one of the best places to work in the country.

Hsieh built Zappos completely around customer service, which started with happy, committed employees—that was his purpose.  This purpose required complete control over the customer experience.  They made the stomach-churning decision to stop drop-shipping product, costing them 25 percent of their 2003 sales.  They did it because drop shipments removed their control of the customer experience.  Since their purpose was to provide a great customer experience, this decision was one that they felt compelled to make.

By 2008 Zappos hit Hsieh’s second goal, $1 billion in sales.  The next year, Hsieh hit his third goal, entering Fortune’s list of “Top 100 Companies to Work For”, by debuting all the way up at number 23.  Amazon purchased Zappos in 2009 for $1.2 billion.

The story of Tony Hsieh is rare, but not necessarily unique among ultra-successful, employee/customer-oriented companies.  Facebook is reputed to have such a corporate culture.  The reason these enterprises treat their people and customers so well is because it is a key part of their purpose. How are you communicating your vision and PFE as a leader?

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing News and Politics Personal Development Women In Business

How to Read Body Language to Negotiate Effectively

“The better you read body language, the better you’ll be at understanding someone’s mind.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert.

 

“How To Read Body Language To Negotiate More Effectively”

When you negotiate do you know how to read body language? When you read body language, do you know what to observe?

The following are some examples of body language signs you can observe to negotiate more effectively.

  1. Forehead Wrinkles – When someone displays a wrinkled forehead (unnatural wrinkles) it’s a sign of stress. Thus, the absence of wrinkles is a sign of calm and easygoingness.
  2. Eyes (wide opened versus closed and narrow) – Wide-eyes indicate someone’s attentiveness, interest, and open-mindedness. A narrowing of the eyes signals a higher degree of focus on the subject, which is usually accompanied with a furled brow/forehead.
  3. Smile – A genuine smile is denoted by turned up corners of the lips.
  4. Hand movements – Hand movements give insight into the mental thoughts you’re experiencing at the moment the hand gestures are made. Thus, open hand gestures are usually displayed when someone is not fearful. When hand gestures become closed (i.e. kept close to the body, rubbing each other, rubbing other parts of the body), that’s more of a mental display of being guarded, anxious, and/or cautious. When you see such actions in others, take note of what might have brought about a change from open to close. In situations in which you seek to impress others, keep hand gestures more in an open mode and don’t make gestures that might be perceived as manic, indecisive, and/or not in rhythm with the words you speak. Doing so will detract subliminally from your likeability and persuasiveness.
  5. Feet – When the feet of two people engaged in a conversation are facing one another, the individuals are mentally engaged in their conversation. When one person turns a foot away, that’s usually the point at which that individual has mentally begun to disengage in the conversation and soon they’ll exit it in that direction.
  6. Touching – The degree you touch someone and where you touch them conveys a sense of familiarity. Thus, you should be mindful of what someone might perceive as too much familiarity per you touching them too much. To gain insight as to whether you’re touching too much, take note to what degree the person you’re touching flinches and/or slightly pulls away/back when you touch them. That’s a nonverbal sign that you may have overstepped a boundary. Pay very close attention to such feedback. It will be the gauge from which you’ll gain insight per how well you’re being received.
  7. Voice Inflection – Since 80% and more of your message is conveyed nonverbally, take note of how your words can possess different meanings based on the way you announce them. Thus, note the inflection and tonality you convey with them. Ending a sentence on a high note can turn a statement into a question, which could make you appear less authoritative than what you intended.

 All of the above body language and nonverbal gestures impact the perception of the words you use to represent your thoughts. Thus, the meaning of your words can be altered by the body language signals that accompany them. As such, you should be very mindful of the signals you send to make your body language work for you and not against you … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Belle’s World – Security

Has your personal information ever been hacked?

There are towns across the world, where people still leave their keys in their car and keep their houses unlocked. However, for many of us in urban or suburban areas that would be unheard of. If we were to do that the likelihood of having our car or having items from our house stolen would increase or has happened. Until people felt the effects of these robberies they continued to leave things unlocked and didn’t prepare with cameras and security systems which became the norm after these types of attacks happened. It wasn’t until individuals experienced it that they felt they should do something about it.

In today’s world we have another growing issue that is similar to the past but different in how its done – cyber security. Many of us have received phishing emails and the stats say that almost 30% of them get opened1. These phishing emails can come in both personal and professional emails. Therefore, as a company the risk is increased because the data is expansive and includes more

than just an individuals information. Why does it take an attack for a leader to realize they need to spend the money before to prevent these attacks versus after. Mostly, it about the human element of feeling too powerful and big that anything would happen to their company. Secondly, they are not truly understanding the power of cyber security to actually keep their companies safe.

One of the stories I heard recently was how the Boomer generation is still all about interacting with humans and the millennials are about interacting with technology. There is a little truth in this statement but it is after all a generalization. As I work with folks who have experience and have been very successful, it is hard for them to wrap their head around how far technology has come and the fact that people who be stealing data. They get the concept but not the enormity of the issue. Unless they get hacked personally they really don’t understand the need for their companies. Large companies are still getting hacked and many times its because the leadership has decided that it won’t happen to them and the financials at the moment are more important than a potential risk. However, the potential risk is much larger than what they can truly understand. The younger folks on the other hard are unable to influence their leaders to make the change and connect with them from the human element and therein sometimes lies the issue.

Even when it comes to cybersecurity, it is all about people. The hackers are people who are preying on companies and individuals. They put phishing emails or hack into systems through individuals. Individuals who are part of companies that house lots of personally identifiable information for employees and customers. Each of our devices are becoming smarter and connect to each other in many ways that we may not even comprehend. These devices are going from our homes to work to public areas. In our home, each person that has a different device is being connected and will be able to “talk” even more. There are so many channels from which a hacker can now infiltrate and do what they need to do. It is a real problem and the leaders who think it won’t happen to them need to spend some time truly understanding what cybersecurity is all about and get the right products and safeguards in place for the benefit of their own career and their companies.

There are too many leaders sitting on their previous knowledge and not moving with the times. In our lifetimes, technology is changing at an exponential pace. If we want to be successful for 50, 60, 70 years (due to us living longer) we will have multiple lifetimes and will have to continue to learn and grow at each step. It’s not easy when you have been the best at what you do for years and now the world is changing around us. It takes times, motivation and the right guidance to change your mindset to be able to handle the new things happening in the world.

How are you protecting your personal and company security information?

Welcome to Belle’s world. Everything in this world is based on a bell curve. Our media concentrates on giving advice to make everyone be a part of the masses.

This is a weekly series of Urvi’s insights on her perception of the world. They say perception is reality and she lives in her own fantasy world. This allows her to delve into the human element of our lives, helping individuals decipher their own souls, to understand, who they are and what they want, in the journey of life.

Belle’s world explores the extremes and goes beyond the surface. Ready to read about some of the “elephants in the room?”

Contact urvi, to discover your self-awareness that will unleash the innovation mindset within you and help you become both emotionally and financially wealthy. https://www.radicalroamer.com/ belle-s-world #thehumanelement

Categories
Growth Human Resources Leadership Personal Development

Belle’s World – Being

Do you truly know what your natural state of being is or what leadership books label as “your authentic self”?

Every leadership book at some point focuses on being your “authentic self.” However, in today’s changing paradigms of how we live, work and play people are no longer truly aware of what is their “authentic self” or natural state of being. The environment and the factors around them have changed and many individuals are still trying to adapt to the acceleration of technology and what impact it makes in their life. Others are realizing that the paths they had set out for themselves, based on who they, are are no longer there to follow. Many individuals have had changes in their life they never expected whether it be early deaths of loved ones, divorce, breakups, moves, career changes or even loss and the list goes on for each person. We don’t continue to be in the same authentic state when life altering changes happen to us. These changes have an affect on how we think, feel, act and even make decisions in the future. Many people become stronger with each step they have to take to overcome the challenge of obstacle in front of them.

Leaders are becoming better at being real in the the corporate arena. However, we still have rules and perceptions of how people should behave in this environment. There are internal perceived prejudices against those individuals who may sport tattoos, piercings (beyond earrings), color their hair vividly, dress differently etc. It is hard for these individuals to then become leaders because they are not easily accepted by the team and organization. Yet these individuals could be brilliant in their thinking and help the organization move forward. They are risk takers willing to be authentic to themselves as every leadership book says but they are not able to get the full support because everyone should be mostly the same. We are biased on what is on the outside rather than truly understanding the natural state of being for each person.

One thing many books do not teach is how do you stay self aware through this process of change around us. Individuals just keep moving forward with what they think is who they are without reevaluating if that is truly how they want to be and live. When massive life changes happen like divorce – you change. Your internal norm changes and you must evaluate how this event has affected you. Your own authentic self may have changed a little and its important that you become self aware of it otherwise you will continue on paths that will make you feel unhappy or unfulfilled and you wont know why. After my second divorce I had been at AT&T for three years and three different cities. At the time, I was at AT&T HQ in Downtown Dallas, TX. I had a great role as a Chief of Staff in the Marketing organization and I loved the role and the challenges it provided me. At first, I used to be in power suits with heels, long hair and always dressed in a traditional corporate manner. However, as I went through processing the major change happening in my life I wanted to bring out my creative side within work a little more. The changes happened slowly but between what I outwardly was perceived to almost two years later the physical difference was noticeable. I had short hair (almost spiky), blue contacts, cowboy boots (all the time), fashionable but tasteful clothes and an attitude that helped me truly be creative to find solutions and push the business forward. By bringing my inside self to be more noticeable on the outside I was able to do better in my role and even get more noticed. I still remember the day, our brilliant but conservative CMO telling me that she really admired my new style.

Just a note – The CMO was a brilliant lady who came up the ranks as a sole female officer and dressed and thought conservatively yet supported some of the most innovative thinkers in her organization. Even though she wasn’t quite there she understood the importance of letting some of us shine in our own ways. If I had not taken the time to understand who I wanted to be at this critical time I wouldn’t have been involved in things that eventually led me to have my next role at AT&T which truly allowed me to be a leader in innovation and exposed me directly to many of the things I work on today.

There is no cookie cutter process of becoming self-aware through change and challenges. However, there are some basics that each person must process for themselves. It is an iterative process that takes time and true dedication to wanting to be self – aware. Some people are afraid of change even if its coming from their own internal psyche. If you want to be a better leader and help others go through the self awareness journey you must do it yourself. Our team supports the process of getting deep into who you are and where you want to go in this changing paradigm. We help you find your current state of being and how you can bring that authentic self to every aspect of your life.

Do you know your current state of being?

Welcome to Belle’s world. Everything in this world is based on a bell curve. Our media concentrates on giving advice to make everyone be a part of the masses.

This is a weekly series of Urvi’s insights on her perception of the world. They say perception is reality and she lives in her own fantasy world. This allows her to delve into the human element of our lives, helping individuals decipher their own souls, to understand, who they are and what they want, in the journey of life.

Belle’s world explores the extremes and goes beyond the surface. Ready to read about some of the “elephants in the room?”

Contact urvi, to discover your self-awareness that will unleash the innovation mindset within you and help you become both emotionally and financially wealthy. https://www.radicalroamer.com/ belle-s-world #thehumanelement

Categories
Growth Human Resources Leadership Personal Development

Belle’s World – Motivation

Do you know what factors motivate or discourage you?

I completed my second half iron man yesterday – September 24, 2017 in Cozumel, Mexico. For those that don’t know – a half iron man is 70.3 miles comprised of a 1.9 mile swim, followed by 56 miles on a bike and ending with a half marathon (13.1 miles) run (or in my case a walk). My timing was horrendous at 8 hours 55 minutes and I technically didn’t get an official time that would be accepted by the Ironman organization. However, I finished just as I did in 2013 with a time of 7 hours 39 minutes.

My motivation to do a second half ironman was to beat my first time. It’s good to note that I was basically one of the last 5 participants, both times. A second motivation was that I was never an athlete but I know I have the mental capacity to finish things no matter the time and I wanted to challenge myself physically. As a swimmer I knew I could beat my time from 2013 which would give me a little boost to get on the bike course pretty quickly. I completed the swim in 39 minutes compared to 41 minutes in 2013. 2 minutes may not seem like a big deal but it is when you are swimming with 100’s of people around you and the water is slightly choppy. I felt great coming out of the swim when I saw that I had beat my original time. Now I had to tackle the 56 miles on the bike.

In 2013 I took 3 hours 34 minutes and had struggled at the end. I got on my bike and rode 2/3 of the way enjoying the view and feeling good about the ride. Then I hit the town center and because I hadn’t done some detailed due diligence I thought I had about 5 – 8 miles to go. I had 18.6 miles to go. A couple miles in, I hit an internal physical wall. My legs were starting to lock up on me and I was feeling dizzy. I finally reached 9 miles to turn around to go back up the course into the city and had to stop. I asked how many miles I had left and he said 9.3. I was highly disappointed, tired and my motivation went down except for the fact that it was the last stretch of the bike portion. I had to finish the bike portion – I had already done the majority. I couldn’t let myself down. I also knew I had already added a whole hour to my time and that would mean I would have to run some of the half marathon. The lesson in the bike portion was my negligence on understanding the details on how many miles I had left after the town center. In my mind I had finished almost 85% of the course before I reached the town center when in fact I only finished 2/3. Lesson 1 – If I had mentally prepared how long each part of the course was I probably wouldn’t have hit the internal mental and physical wall and lost some of my motivation to do the race. It was the first time I almost felt like quitting. I felt sick to my stomach and I was already very tired. Knowing the facts can either motivate or discourage you. Knowing the facts because I should have done the research would have motivated me to ride smarter in the first 2/3. Knowing the facts when I had drained my engine discouraged me even more but my mental strength allowed me to keep going and stay safe by taking breaks along the last stretch of the bike course. I knew my internal motivation was to finish this race no matter what and that outweighed the facts that I had calculated the bike portion wrong.

As I dismounted from my bike to go into the run portion, my mind and my body had to switch to a different thought process. I had 13.1 miles to do on my tired feet with my body already exhausted. I started looking at the time and realized I would have to go a little faster than a 15 minute / mile walk to finish. I thought I could walk the first half and run the second half. I started the walk and realized that people were already finished with the entire race and I still had almost 3 hour 15 minutes to go. I felt motivated because I knew it was 13.1 miles and I could finish in 3 hours 15 minutes. However, somewhere in between mile 2 and mile 3 I heard that the course closed at 3. I started panicking in my head as I wanted to finish! I had calculated the course closing at 4 that would give me enough time to just barely make it. So I set about trying to ask race officials on the course what the cutoff time was on the course. I was highly discouraged after hearing about the 3 PM cutoff time. I came all the way to Cozumel to be taken off the course and not completing my goal. As I was going into my second lap on the course I asked the officials the same question. Mind you, I don’t speak Spanish and most of them were only Spanish speakers. The two officials mentioned the 3 PM cutoff time and we would be taken off the course. This is one area I had done my due diligence I had calculated the times correctly – making cutoff 4 PM. I was already upset so I could barely get the questions out because I felt like crying. I think internally in my own way I was. I had completed 57.9 miles and I was being told that I wouldn’t have the chance to finish. After asking two more officials I found out that the cutoff time was 4 PM as I had thought.

However, at this point I had lost 20 minutes which was critical to my on time finish. I stopped crying internally and told myself I only had about 6 miles to go and I would finish no matter what. I was about 10 minutes to the finish line and I was told the course was closed but if I could finish I could still cross the finish line. I was happy and sad at the same time. It meant I would finish but it also meant that I definitely didn’t beat my last time but I also didn’t meet the cut off time. So lesson number 2 is that if you have done your due diligence trust in yourself and be confident that you know what you are doing. If I had just pushed through knowing that the cut off was 4 PM I would not have been discouraged when I had heard otherwise. Lesson number 3 was that because I knew I was confident in my calculations I took the time and effort to get to the right answer to help motivate me to get back on track. Make sure dig deeper if you are getting conflicting answers. Getting the facts right will help keep your motivation on track.

As I came around the last 200 meters of the run a girl who had already completed the run and about 27 years old came next to me. She started speaking in Spanish and I had no idea what she was saying. I responded in English and she quickly switched over to ask where I was from and started telling me that I only had 200 meters to go. She was going to stay with me till the end. I mentioned that I was disappointed that the course was closed and she responded with – “You are almost there and finished.” This stranger saw me at the end and motivated to put my last bit of strength to finish strong. Lesson number 4 is that my motivations in life are fully supported by being emotionally wealthy with the love of my family and my life family (friends who are family.) When you have a positive attitude even strangers will support you and motivate you for the moment.

I have realized for myself my motivation comes from my internal strength but also my family and closest friends. I knew many of them were cheering me on even though I wouldn’t know till later that evening. I heard their voices in my head and they were proud of me for attempting a second half iron man and I know were even prouder that I accomplished it even though I didn’t get an officially accepted Ironman time. I am motivated by the love that I receive from the people in my life and am grateful to have them accept me as I am. I live my life, to my own drumbeat, and the people in my life support me which is my motivation to be as is.

It is important to understand where your motivation in life comes from. It helps you through the struggles – real and self induced (ie half iron man)! It is also important to know how to conquer discouragement and know the it is real and will happen.

Do you know your motivational and discouragement triggers?

Welcome to Belle’s world. Everything in this world is based on a bell curve. Our media concentrates on giving advice to make everyone be a part of the masses.

This is a weekly series of Urvi’s insights on her perception of the world. They say perception is reality and she lives in her own fantasy world. This allows her to delve into the human element of our lives, helping individuals decipher their own souls, to understand, who they are and what they want, in the journey of life.

Belle’s world explores the extremes and goes beyond the surface. Ready to read about some of the “elephants in the room?”

Contact urvi, to discover your self-awareness that will unleash the innovation mindset within you and help you become both emotionally and financially wealthy. https://www.radicalroamer.com/ belle-s-world #thehumanelement

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Skills

How To Use Mind Probing Questions to Negotiate Better

“Rest your mind when reflecting, move to action with conviction.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

When it comes to negotiating better, the questions you ask will be the gateway through which success awaits. The more probing the questions, the more engaging will be the mind. The more engaged the mind becomes, the greater the opportunity to alter the state of mind.

The following are mind probing questions you can pose to yourself and the other negotiator to achieve greater negotiation outcomes. By thinking deeper about the negotiation mindset you should possess, you’ll also deepen the thoughts that you engage in during the negotiation.

Questions to ask yourself and to consider about the other negotiator:

Do you know where you’re really going in the negotiation (i.e. end goal), and the detours you might have to make/take, if you encounter roadblocks you’d not considered? When putting your plan in place for the negotiation, you should consider the style of the other negotiator, what style you’ll display in response to the opposing negotiator’s style, and how you’ll attempt to sway his perspective once the negotiation has begun.)

Do you know how long it might take to reach your negotiation goal and what other obstacles might compete for your time and attention? In this sense, you have to consider how time might be used for and against you. The longer it takes to reach a negotiation outcome, the more likely you and the other negotiator may fall prey to the pressures of time, which means, you may make concessions that are not beneficial to the outcome you’re seeking.

At what possible points might you exit the negotiation based on what you’ve achieved or not achieved at that point? Always have exit points in mind whereby you’ll exit the negotiation if it’s not going according to your plans and you don’t see the opportunity to salvage a plausible outcome.

What’s your ‘fallback position’ if you have to exit the negotiation? You should always exit a negotiation by letting the other negotiator feel respected, even more so if you don’t come to an agreement when you exit.

What body language and other nonverbal signals will you be vigilant of in seeking added meaning to a statement or question made by the other negotiator? Negotiators exhibit body language signals that give insight into their mindset when they make offers/counteroffers. The better you are at deciphering such signals, the greater insight you’ll gain into what’s really on that negotiator’s mind.

What is the opposing negotiator really seeking from the negotiating, and what will he really settle for compared to what he says is his best offer/deal? The way he makes such statements (i.e. leaning towards/away from you when making such a declaration, exhaling strongly after making the statement, raising/lowering the tone of his voice, etc.)

Be very aware of the questions you ask during a negotiation. The quality of the questions will determine the quality of the answers you receive, which will enhance or detract from your opportunity to enhance the outcome of the negotiation. By being vigilant to the body language signals that are displayed, you’ll receive hidden meanings that’ll add value to the answers. Thus, by asking mind probing questions, coupled with reading body language, you can increase your negotiation win rates substantially … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Truth Versus Lie

“Truth Versus Lie”

Have you ever been deceived, or lied to? The answer more than likely is, yes. When that occurred, how did you feel? Were you happy, elated, or overjoyed with a sense of exhilaration? Again, probably not.

Here’s the point, when we label an occurrence as a lie, it takes on a different meaning per the way we act, versus thinking of it as the truth. Nevertheless, in some situations, because someone has lied to us, we move towards a more positive outlook in our life but we don’t realize it at the time. Even though we may not know it at the time, that person has done us a favor. Now, I’m not suggesting that you seek to associate with those that lie to you to have them extend a favor. Instead, be mindful of the benefits derived from not being told the absolute truth about something, per the benefits it may hold for you. That may sound strange, but in life we get what we expect, so expect something good out of the situation.

The next time you catch someone in a lie, appreciate the fact that you’re seeing the person in a different light and be glad of that additional insight. You can use it to improve yourself, which might mean getting away from that person. If that turns out to be the case, you’ll be moving your life upon a path of future discovery and  be away from the environment that’s not serving as well otherwise … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

In a negotiation, deceit can reign supreme, as negotiators go about playing jet-eye mind tricks to position the other negotiator. It’s expected that neither will be so transparent as to disclose their full negotiation position. So, if it’s expected in a negotiation, and you’re always negotiating, why do you allow it to be permissible during a negotiation and not in other aspects of your life? The answer lies in the fact that you more than likely see one aspect, negotiations, as being something more formal than other aspects of your life. In essence, it’s the mindset you possess in one situation versus another. If that’s the case, and you’re the person controlling your mind, you can give the meaning of a lie a meaning that’s beneficial to you. That doesn’t mean you have to drop your guard, it means, be mindful and understanding of what you’re guarding. Do so … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Categories
Entrepreneurship Personal Development Women In Business

Daily Habits of Highly Successful People

Jump-Start Your Day. One of the first habits of successful people is they don’t hit the snooze bar several times before finally rolling out of bed and easing into their day. They hit the ground running!

Read and Reflect. Hitting the ground running doesn’t mean their life is a whirlwind of chaos and confusion. Instead, highly successful people invest the first hour of their day to lead their life from quiet.

Fuel up. Highly successful people eat food that taste great and is nutritious. Since they have a lot on their “plate,” they make sure the food on their plate fuels their body.

Work hard. Highly successful people work harder than others for two reasons. (1) They usually enjoy their work, so work feels more like play than work. (2) They know hard work beats talent every time talent doesn’t work hard.

Work smart. Successful people also work smart. They set goals. They prioritize those goals. Then they take steps each day to accomplish those goals. Focused work is one of the most important habits of successful people.

Don’t Complain. Successful people are not immune to bad things; bad things happen to all of us. What makes highly successful people so successful is they don’t focus on the event, but instead on how to best respond to the event. This is why their outcomes are often successful no matter what circumstances they face.

Exercise. Regular exercise is one of the best routines you can establish in your life to become highly successful. You’ll be in better shape. You’ll have better energy. You’ll think better. You’ll be more positive. You’ll even be happier. (That’s why I do yoga and spin each day).

Serve. Contrary to popular opinion, highly successful people do not focus primarily on money. They focus on serving and giving because serving and giving creates value. Value often leads to financial reward, but successful people know the reason behind financial reward is value, so they focus on creating value and serving others.

Run at problems and decisions. Average people run away from problems and decisions. Successful people do the opposite. They run at them.

Invest in Yourself. Did you notice everything listed above is about investing in yourself? Yet highly successful people go even further to invest in themselves. When they really want to learn something, they look for ways to supercharge their learning. They attended conferences, take classes, hire coaches, and even join mastermind groups. Of all the habits of successful people, this might be the most powerful because of the principle of The Slight Edge.

Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post, want to know how to apply them, or how to help others with them? If so, contact me at connie@pheiffgroup.com or CLICK HERE to schedule a 20-minute discovery call to discuss with you personally.

 

Categories
Entrepreneurship Personal Development Women In Business

It’s My Prerogative

I’m working with a new client who reminded me our emotions could quickly and easily derail our goals. Mix your emotions together and you come up with a lethal cocktail.

“There are four emotions sure to undermine our goals:

fear, uncertainty, doubt, and shame.”

~Michael Hyatt

Seasons of life change often. Each season of life brings new events. Such as job change, divorce, sickness, or something else. Our emotions are then subjected to fear of the unknown, shame, uncertainty of our abilities, self-doubt, and acceptance.

Before respectively earning the title of Unstoppable DIVA, I did not speak. I would avoid social interaction. My colleagues just assumed I was anti-social. If I did attend a social event, I would have a glass of wine to relax my nerves.

An event that derailed my behavior, its called divorce. Initially it was embarrassing and the shame consumed me. My self doubt and fear of the unknown was too much to bear at times. Everyone was looking at me, they knew about me. Or so I thought.

Perspective

As I’ve come to learn, it’s human nature to have these feelings – these emotions. It doesn’t matter if I’m coaching corporate executives, entrepreneurs or speaking. These emotions are a common affliction.

There’s no manual or playbook telling us how to feel or behave. It’s our prerogative to make it up as we go along. The nerves of acceptance by clients when launching new products still creep up on me. When I speak I still get those butterflies in my belly. The truth is if you don’t feel that way, you’re clearly egocentric.

We will always endure these emotions it’s human nature. It keeps us real. Just don’t allow the emotions to derail your goals.

Realization

I came to realize when developing my programs I must focus on my audience. They want to know how I can help them, they’re not thinking about me. Everybody is infected by emotions at every season of life. When I realized I wasn’t alone in the divorcee club, I got out of my way, got out of my comfort zone and I felt better about me. The wart on my nose went away.

Socializing became enjoyable. Asking for dollars became enjoyable. Owning the title of UNSTOPPABLE DIVA became natural. I was stepping out and using my emotions to keep me on track to reach my goals.

Emotions could derail your goals. It’s up to you to keep your goals in perspective and overcome the negative influence around you. It’s your prerogative. Let’s Be Unstoppable Together.

Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post, want to know how to apply them, or how to help others with them? If so, contact me at connie@pheiffgroup.com or CLICK HERE to schedule a 20-minute discovery call. I will be happy to discuss with you personally.