Your mindset says it all!

Whether you are looking to make a change in your life or take your business to an entirely new level of success, if your mindset is not in alignment with your goals, you will struggle. However, the beauty of this tip, from an executive coaching point of view, is you have COMPLETE control over your thoughts. The key, though, is to actually pay attention.

This short video from the movie, "Peaceful Warrior", sums it up beautifully. When you need a little extra motivation or are feeling defeated, watch this short clip to bring you into the right mindset.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/z9N0Q0ASRgE[/youtube]

 

A famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "life is a journey, not a destination," is a great reminder of what life really means. Mistakes, accidents, successes are all part of the journey, and the lessons within each one can be used for greatness. Be vulnerable during your journey and find the love in what you do.

You always, at every moment, have a choice. You can choose to feel like a victim or you can choose to be a success. If you are feeling fear, bring yourself back to the present moment, because fear is in the future.

Change your mindset to be in alignment with your vision. Only then will your true success follow.

How has your mindset affected your life? We'd love to hear. Comment below and share your successes.

Learn how to improve leadership skills, while living and working like Patches.

It’s 8:00 AM, and Patches has started her seven days/week, 365 days/year job: patrolling the house and yard to ensure that everything is in order and everyone is safe. She knows that every inside spot place must be included—closets, beds, inside decorative pots, and the space behind each door. Every bush and tree must be inspected for signs of uninvited dogs, birds, rabbits.

She walks through the property, confident and focused, like her name is on the mortgage. That’s not likely, since Patches is a 20 pound Jack Russell and Poodle mix that we discovered at the local Animal Shelter, eight years ago. We sometimes say that we “rescued” her, but that’s giving us too much credit. In truth, Patches rescued us. In eight years, she has taught us more about love, life, and work than all the decades of living and learning that preceded her entry into our lives.

What have we learned from Patches? (This list is not all-inclusive.)

• Accept others with respect and without prejudice. Whether it’s the pest control guy or our granddaughter or a local “celebrity” political candidate door-knocking for our votes, each person is greeted with the same exuberance, and joyful welcome.

Unless proven otherwise, you are a person worthy of respect and love.

• Share your joy! When people around her laugh, Patches is immediately overjoyed and demonstrates her own style of doggy-laughing. With her tail-wagging, leaping into the air, and running for her favorite stuffed cat, Max, she declares to the world: “Join in the celebration! I’m happy just because you are!” She barrels toward every person present to offer a hug and a quick “I love you” lick.

Share your happiness and celebrate the joy of others extravagantly; laugh and the world will laugh with you.

• Be both a leader and a follower. When we are on the expected daily trail, Patches strains at her leash, eager to show us the way. If, however, we deviate from the customary path, without hesitation she walks behind us with her head high and her tail wagging, willing to let us show her the new way.

Be ready and willing to lead and to follow, and do both with dignity and enthusiasm.

• Take care of yourself. Patches will run to her water bowl in the middle of a fun, catch-the-toy game, or flop down unceremoniously when she needs a quick rest, or give the “put me into my night time crate now, I need to be done with this day” signal if that day’s activities have just been too many for a little dog.

Listen to your body and pay attention to your mood, and give yourself what you need to be joyful and energetic.

Powerful lessons from a furry, black and white, role model! Let’s live and work like Patches!

Without networking, you won’t experience growth of business.

Whether you are connecting with new prospects online or in person, if you struggle with this skill, your business may not reach it’s full potential. Are you required to attend networking events where the room is packed full of people? No. However, you do need to get out there and make some connections.

For some, networking and meeting new people comes easily, but to others it is intimidating. Luckily, if you dislike crowds or are shy, you can network online. However, to maximize your results, using both virtual and in person networking takes connections to a deeper level.

7 Simple Steps to Becoming a Networking Pro

 

1. Make a plan. Networking for growth of business involves making a plan prior to the event. To experience success, you can’t expect to just ‘wing’ it. Go to the event with a goal. Do you want to make 3 really good connections? Is there someone in particular you want to connect with? Make a goal prior to attending, so you are focused, prepared and less anxious.

2. Use your connections. If you have a connection that regularly attends events or is well known throughout the business community, ask them for help. They will have the ins and outs of the events and can guide you to people you want to meet or people you should meet. Ask them to introduce you, so you can feel more comfortable.

3. Don’t be a wall flower. Even if you are shy and dislike making the first step, don’t stand by the wall and wait for people to come to you. Also, be sure you don’t stay in a group of people you already know. Walk around the room and make a connection. You don’t need to meet everyone there, but commit to at least 3 really good conversations. If it helps, find someone who is standing by themselves–they too are looking to connect!

4. 1st impressions do count. Your first few seconds with someone new really do count. Be sure to make eye contact, give a firm hand shake, and watch your body language. Keep your arms unfolded and focus on the person you are talking to–don’t look around the room to see who else is there.

5. Take the focus off of you. Most people who don’t like to network, don’t like talking about themselves. The good news is, to become a networking pro you don’t need to talk about yourself! In fact, spend the first part of the conversation asking questions about the person you meet. Be very curious about them and gain as much information as you can. Ask open ended questions to keep the conversation going.

6. Treat business cards like money. You don’t need to hand out 100 business cards during your event. Hand them out to individuals you develop a connection to. There is no correlation between the amount of cards you hand out and the amount of business you receive. You are more likely to develop a business relationship by taking the time to know a handful of people, rather than speeding through the room handing out cards.

7. Follow up, follow up, follow up! The number one mistake that business owners make when networking is not following up. Just like your cards are like money, so are the ones you receive. Send your new contact an email or even a card in the mail to thank them for connecting. Schedule a time to have coffee or lunch to take your connection to the next level. Do this immediately–the longer you wait, the easier it is to forget.

Networking doesn’t need to be difficult. When you have a goal in place before arriving and take the focus off of you during the event, you are able to relax and develop long lasting business relationships.

Go ahead and try it!

What is your experience with networking? Share and comment below!

 

Learning how to improve leaderships skills doesn’t only affect your professional relationships, but also enhances your personal ones.

The #1 step to taking your skills as a leader up a notch is a simple concept, but for many a difficult one to implement–

Listening

Exceptional leaders are also fantastic listeners. They know when to stop talking and understand the importance of actively listening to those they lead.

Does this mean they always were great listeners? For some yes, but for others they work at perfecting this skill. This means you can too! Read the steps you need to implement below, and if you haven’t watched our training video on effective communication, you can view it here.

7 Steps You Can Take to Becoming a Better Listener

 

1. Learn to stop talking. The first step to improving your listening skills is to stop talking. How can you listen to what others are saying if you are too busy talking? This also includes talking to yourself. Don’t be worried about what you need to say next or how you had the same experience happen to you, focus on the words of the person you are listening to.

2. Listen with a purpose. To help you shut off your inner voice while you are listening, train yourself to listen with a purpose. Whether you are listening to learn something new about the person or learning how they can challenge you, there is a wealth of information for you to absorb.

3. Clarify what you hear. In order to better understand what you are hearing, clarify the information by paraphrasing before offering a response. Often times you will find that what you heard may not be what they were trying to relay.

4. Gain more information. Before you jump in to tell them a solution or offer your two cents, ask more questions to gather additional information, or to dig deeper. When listening, remain very curious to what they are saying by asking open ended questions to keep them talking.

5. Pay attention to body language. Make sure that your body language matches your willingness to listen. Keep your arms unfolded and maintain eye contact. Let them know that you are paying attention. Also, be observant to non verbal cues. What are they saying behind the words ,with their body language, may be just as important as the actual words.

6. Don’t make it about you. When you do begin talking, don’t make it about you. Remember to keep the focus of the conversation on the person you are talking with. Never be too busy or to self absorbed to listen actively. If the time is not right for you to give your undivided attention, let them know and schedule a better time.

7. Close the conversation with a simple ‘Thank You’. One of the most underutilized phrases is a simple, ‘Thank You’. At the end of any conversation, let the individual know that you are thankful for the time you had together and their input. If they offered a valuable contribution, be sure to acknowledge it through your words.

Listening as a leader is one of the most important skills for you to refine. Not only can you learn valuable information about the person you are talking with, you can also learn an infinite amount of wisdom. Take the time to show them you respect them and care about what they have to say–it makes all the difference!

Anyone can master the art of talking, but only a few take the time to become a masterful listener.

Thoughts? Questions? We’d love to hear your comments below.

Are you an effective communicator?

Being an outstanding leader means becoming masterful at communication. For many, using high quality communication skills doesn’t always happen, especially when the stress of everyday life takes over.

Whether you are looking to enhance communication in the office or at home, today’s LeaderSnip is a snippet of training that will help you take your leadership skills to the next level.

As always, enjoy and share your thoughts below. We would love to hear from you.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_BA24E3OEBI?t=1s[/youtube]

 

In the past it was easy for me to be disappointed when I noticed clients not living up to their potential even when they had the coaching, tools and resources. Now I paint the picture of possibility with them, as it is apparent that people have a tendency to play small.  That’s part of what I love about the profession of coaching: create a big vision and give clients permission to Play Big.  Truly I have learned that if you believe it, you can do it!  -Joy

How Belief Perseverance Impacts Your Success

Do you have BIG plans for your future?

Do you feel you struggle with bringing those plans to reality?

Before you can take dreams from your imagination to the present moment, you may need to do a check in with your belief system. Take some time to determine if it is working for you, keeping you stuck, or completely preventing you from attaining your goals.

It doesn’t matter how much you dream or how hard you work, if you don’t believe you can do it, you are setting yourself up for failure.

The #1 secret to success is taking action!

If you don’t believe that it is possible, you won’t even take the step.

In case you need a little motivation to change your belief perseverance from I can’t to I CAN, this video may help inspire you–

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9K4tKs2bfF4[/youtube]

Don’t let fear get in the way–it is only an illusion. Make the commitment to see your goals through to the end. Work hard, remain dedicated, and stay the course.

Throughout your journey to success, there will be times when you feel alone. These are critical times–days when you need to silence the naysayers and keep an eye on the end result.

Remember, it is easier to sit on the sidelines than it is to win the game, but which one feels more like success?

If you are ready to make your dreams a reality, commit to it and take the action to get it started! You can do it.

Tell us you are ready by commenting below or visiting us on Facebook. We can’t wait to hear from you.