Changes and Chances
Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category
Changes and Chances
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” – Harrison Ford
Do you look for the opportunities when faced with change? Or do you waste time resenting the upheaval? Change is inevitable so you might as well learn to embrace it and let it enhance your life.
Aligning Your Business and Personal Goals
Friday, April 8th, 2011
“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
–Earl Nightingale
While most goals aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s still important to align them in such a way that they complement each other. This is never more true than in your business and personal life. If you find that your goals are competing for your time and resources, realignment is necessary. By decreasing the energy required to accomplish your goals, you’ll increase your success and decrease your stress.
So how do you align your business and personal goals? First, think of the last two or three goals you accomplished. What were they and how were they related? Chances are that even if they weren’t expressly related, they all shared a similar direction and focus. This is because we often set goals that move us in the same direction.
In addition to these directionally-related goals, we set other goals. But as you evaluate your personal and business successes, you’ll probably notice that the complementary goals have a high success rate. The outlying goals that lack a clear focus generally fall to the wayside.
As you set business and personal goals, identify a master destination. Where do you want to be at the end of the week? At the end of the month? At the end of the year? By aligning your goals with your chosen milestones, you’ll find that it’s easier and more rewarding.
Build Your Way to Success One Habit at a Time
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Image by epSos.de
There are plenty of inspirational quotes about developing good habits that you don’t need another pep talk about how our habits define our character or something like that. What you need are actionable items to help you actually develop those good habits that will lead to success.
So here are a few:
- Start by brainstorming. First, you need to ponder about what sorts of habits you’d like to adopt. These could be related to your health, career, relationships, or any number of other aspects of your life. Look toward the example of others and, if possible, discuss with them the various habits they may have in place that have helped them achieve success.
- Approach them one at a time. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Don’t make a list of 30 life-changing habits and think you’re going to implement them all at once. Prioritize the list and start at the top. Focus on one, establish a plan on how you’re going to accomplish it, and go from there.
- Enlist the help of others. Whether it’s just to add a layer of accountability or to establish a support system, talk to friends, family, or coworkers and let them know about your goals. Not only will they be able to ask you from time to time about how your habits are coming along, but they may be able to provide valuable insight on how to accomplish those goals.
- Reward yourself. Whether you do it throughout the process whenever you reach each milestone along the way or a larger reward at the end (a reward apart from the fact that you’ll now have developed this successful habit) is up to you. Just be sure you don’t use that reward as a false motivator; if you do, that receiving that award could remove the motivation and cause you to fall back into old (bad) habits.
Set Your 2011 Business Goals
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
This week marks the beginning of a new year full of possibility. A clean slate. A chance to set new goals and start fresh on old ones. Will 2011 be your year?
It can be if you are willing to put in the effort. If you don’t want your dreams for the new year to dissipate sometime in February, be sure to focus your work in the right places and keep a positive attitude. Hard work properly focused will help you succeed.
Use these tips to help keep you focused on today’s heartfelt aspirations.
- Plan your work, then work your plan. Take some time now to determine exactly what you want to accomplish. Be specific in your goals, then outline some general steps that will get your there. Each week, revisit these goals and set manageable tasks you can complete that will lead you to your desired results.
- Don’t get sidetracked by negativity. Growing a new business takes time. Changing and learning can be hard. If you aren’t careful, negative thoughts can creep in and eat away your well-intended New Year’s resolve. There will be bumps on the road to success. Things will be hard. But learning to deal with difficulty in a positive way is essential. Resist the impulse to complain or blame others for your challenges.
- Celebrate your successes. And we mean every success, no matter how big or small. If you think money is the only indicator of a successful business, you are missing out on opportunities to acknowledge your own growth. Try assessing the previous week’s progress every Monday. Did you learn a new skill? Did you expand your knowledge of your industry? Did you do something difficult and expand your comfort zone? Keep track of these successes and celebrate them. Though you might not see it now, these things will lead to monetary success over time.
So this year, dream big. 2011 can be the year that you see significant growth, both in yourself and in your business. The choice is yours. This year, choose success.
Success Profile: Katharine Graham
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Katharine Graham was born in 1917 into a world of privilege. Her parents were wealthy; they owned homes in New York and Washington DC and were so busy during Katharine’s childhood that she was partly raised by nannies and governesses. When she was old enough to attend university, she went to Vassar College and then to the University of Chicago. Despite her sheltered upbringing, Graham befriended people from all walks of life at the University of Chicago and took a particular interest in labor issues. Shortly following her graduation, her father purchased the Washington Post which was headed for bankruptcy. Graham took a position at the Post in 1938. A few years later, she was married and left the newspaper to have children and attend to her family. Graham’s husband Philip took the helm of the Post in 1946. After suffering from mental illness for years, Philip committed suicide in 1963, leaving Katharine and their four children devastated.
Katharine made the decision to take over the post soon after the death of her husband. Though she inwardly questioned her ability to run the company, she improved the quality of the publication by hiring talented writers and making the company a better place to work for women and minorities. In 1972, she made the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers that would unveil the Watergate conspiracy. She has since been recognized as one of the most powerful women in journalism. Katharine Graham’s memoir was published in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for her candid account of her husband’s illness and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated workplace. Thanks to Graham, the Washington Post is now one of the most widely read news publications in the nation.
The social status and financial situation Katharine Graham was born into didn’t set her up for a life of hard work. She could have easily been a party-going society girl and lived off of her family’s income, but that wasn’t enough for her. Graham’s determination to find her own success, carry on in the face of adversity, challenge gender roles, and publish important stories is inspiring to entrepreneurs, journalists, and people everywhere.
Focusing Your Full Power
Monday, October 11th, 2010
“Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve.”
–Wilfred Peterson
Achieving quality results does not happen by accident; instead it takes careful planning and, most importantly, organized and effective action. You may have the best, most fail-safe plan in the world, but unless you take some kind of action on that plan, you won’t reach your financial goals. But for many reasons, sometimes taking action is not as easy as it sounds. So here are some ideas from PMI Education that can help get you through those difficult times when you may not feel like doing much with your business.
Start with the end in mind. Develop a clear picture of what it is you want to accomplish. Make sure you understand exactly what the end is and why you want it. Then, record your vision of the end result in a clear, concise sentence that spells out all pertinent details so that nothing in your description is lacking.
Develop a Written Plan. Make your plan as specific as possible including exactly what will be done and the date by which it should be accomplished. Produce a hard copy of your plan and put it in a place where you will be able to see it often. Study it and know ahead of time the things you need to be working on and accomplishing so that you can meet your end goal.
Enlist the Support of Others. Consider making a list of people you are well acquainted with who possess skills that may be able to help you accomplish your goal. Let these people know what you are doing and how they will benefit from the results you are going to produce. Don’t hesitate to invite them to help however they can.
Set up Milestones and a Reporting System. Once you have your plan and people who can help you, take the tasks that need to be accomplished and break them into small segments. Set specific dates by which you will have completed each segment and create or find a good reporting system that you can use to stay on track. Send progress reports to those who are involved in each segment so that you all work together as a team.
Monitor Your Progress and Make Necessary Adjustments. Understand ahead of time that even the most precise and well-laid out plans require adjustments periodically; there are just some things you cannot anticipate or plan for. Don’t get frustrated when you find that your plan requires some adjusting. If you find that you just can’t get over a roadblock, don’t hesitate to get help.
Celebrate Progress Along the Way. Recognize when you and your team have accomplished something important. Make sure to thank those who have helped you achieve the results you are celebrating. People like to be recognized for a job well done and will almost always be more willing to help the next time they are needed if they were given proper recognition for their efforts. Also, don’t hesitate to give yourself a pat on the back and take some time to celebrate your efforts as well. Taking a bit of a break now and again can help you maintain focus and excitement. So go ahead, enjoy the ride… and the accomplishments.
Starting a Business Takes Courage
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Starting a business may be one of the most daunting tasks you will ever undertake. Not only do you have to tackle a mountain of uncertainty, but you also have to tackle an equally-formidable mountain of inexperience. There’s likely an element of “learn as you go,” all while not being exactly sure where you’re going.
But in order to overcome the hundreds of reasons you and others have come up with as to why you shouldn’t start a business, you’ll need to dig deep and find the courage necessary to take those first steps.
- Take Action Hemming and hawing and pondering all the different options you have does not build courage. Be proactive not only in starting your business, but on an ongoing basis.
- Do The Work Put in the time necessary to not only become confident in your abilities, but also in your business. By getting the ball rolling and doing the work, courage will grow.
- Avoid Discouraging People Those who are dis-couraging are obviously those who hinder your goal to have courage. If you can’t avoid them altogether, try to avoid talking about your business while you’re around them.
- Be Self-Aware Take time to evaluate yourself. Think about what you’re doing and how those steps are or are not helping you build courage.
- Have Conviction Perhaps the best thing you can do to build courage is to be committed to your cause. Whatever product or service you’re providing, by believing in it the courage to promote it and grow it will naturally come.
- Look To Others Whether historical or modern, fictional or real, it’s important to have role models and mentors you can look to in order to build your own courage.
- Set Goals If you currently only have a little bit of courage, you may need to start small. But as your goals grow, so will your courage.
- Try New Things Being successful at new ventures is a great way to build confidence and courage.
When starting a small business, you may be the greatest indicator of its success. So embrace those good qualities that make for a good leader and a good entrepreneur.
Determination
Friday, September 24th, 2010
“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.”
–Calvin Coolidge
Just Get Started
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen
Starting is usually the hardest part of achieving any goal. Whether you want to launch a blog, start a business, or lose weight, it’s easy to get hung up at the beginning. When facing any potential life change, people frequently overanalyze their situation to the point of paralysis. The person wanting to lose weight will get hung up on finding the perfect diet or the perfect gym or making time to exercise consistently five times per week. The person that wants to start a business will worry about designing the perfect website or launching the perfect advertising campaign. It’s healthy to feel some trepidation at the beginning of a new project or undertaking, but the key to success is turning your thoughts and ambitions into actions.
No project worth taking on will ever be perfectly planned or able to run without a hitch. You have no way of knowing what life with throw at you once you start pressing toward your goal, and if you try to anticipate and prepare for every setback, you will never start. The bumps along the road to success will teach you better ways to work and live and will make you a better person overall. Most people will attribute their analysis paralysis to a fear of failure, but you should also consider the opposite possibility: a fear of success. What if that website you build ends up being a huge success? Some people are just as afraid of getting what they want as they are of not getting what they want. Change can be scary, but if you can find the courage to get started, your experiences along the way will prepare you for the success and changes you will experience. You can do it if you just get started!
State of Mind
Friday, September 17th, 2010
“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Useful advice from Dr. Dyer that reminds us our attitude has more to do with our success than we often remember. Using the power of a positive attitude and the contents of our thought we can move toward our goals and dreams.
Copyright Professional Marketing International 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Changes and Chances
Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category
Changes and Chances
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” – Harrison Ford
Do you look for the opportunities when faced with change? Or do you waste time resenting the upheaval? Change is inevitable so you might as well learn to embrace it and let it enhance your life.
Aligning Your Business and Personal Goals
Friday, April 8th, 2011
“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
–Earl Nightingale
While most goals aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s still important to align them in such a way that they complement each other. This is never more true than in your business and personal life. If you find that your goals are competing for your time and resources, realignment is necessary. By decreasing the energy required to accomplish your goals, you’ll increase your success and decrease your stress.
So how do you align your business and personal goals? First, think of the last two or three goals you accomplished. What were they and how were they related? Chances are that even if they weren’t expressly related, they all shared a similar direction and focus. This is because we often set goals that move us in the same direction.
In addition to these directionally-related goals, we set other goals. But as you evaluate your personal and business successes, you’ll probably notice that the complementary goals have a high success rate. The outlying goals that lack a clear focus generally fall to the wayside.
As you set business and personal goals, identify a master destination. Where do you want to be at the end of the week? At the end of the month? At the end of the year? By aligning your goals with your chosen milestones, you’ll find that it’s easier and more rewarding.
Build Your Way to Success One Habit at a Time
Thursday, January 13th, 2011Image by epSos.de
There are plenty of inspirational quotes about developing good habits that you don’t need another pep talk about how our habits define our character or something like that. What you need are actionable items to help you actually develop those good habits that will lead to success.
So here are a few:
- Start by brainstorming. First, you need to ponder about what sorts of habits you’d like to adopt. These could be related to your health, career, relationships, or any number of other aspects of your life. Look toward the example of others and, if possible, discuss with them the various habits they may have in place that have helped them achieve success.
- Approach them one at a time. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Don’t make a list of 30 life-changing habits and think you’re going to implement them all at once. Prioritize the list and start at the top. Focus on one, establish a plan on how you’re going to accomplish it, and go from there.
- Enlist the help of others. Whether it’s just to add a layer of accountability or to establish a support system, talk to friends, family, or coworkers and let them know about your goals. Not only will they be able to ask you from time to time about how your habits are coming along, but they may be able to provide valuable insight on how to accomplish those goals.
- Reward yourself. Whether you do it throughout the process whenever you reach each milestone along the way or a larger reward at the end (a reward apart from the fact that you’ll now have developed this successful habit) is up to you. Just be sure you don’t use that reward as a false motivator; if you do, that receiving that award could remove the motivation and cause you to fall back into old (bad) habits.
Set Your 2011 Business Goals
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011This week marks the beginning of a new year full of possibility. A clean slate. A chance to set new goals and start fresh on old ones. Will 2011 be your year?
It can be if you are willing to put in the effort. If you don’t want your dreams for the new year to dissipate sometime in February, be sure to focus your work in the right places and keep a positive attitude. Hard work properly focused will help you succeed.
Use these tips to help keep you focused on today’s heartfelt aspirations.
- Plan your work, then work your plan. Take some time now to determine exactly what you want to accomplish. Be specific in your goals, then outline some general steps that will get your there. Each week, revisit these goals and set manageable tasks you can complete that will lead you to your desired results.
- Don’t get sidetracked by negativity. Growing a new business takes time. Changing and learning can be hard. If you aren’t careful, negative thoughts can creep in and eat away your well-intended New Year’s resolve. There will be bumps on the road to success. Things will be hard. But learning to deal with difficulty in a positive way is essential. Resist the impulse to complain or blame others for your challenges.
- Celebrate your successes. And we mean every success, no matter how big or small. If you think money is the only indicator of a successful business, you are missing out on opportunities to acknowledge your own growth. Try assessing the previous week’s progress every Monday. Did you learn a new skill? Did you expand your knowledge of your industry? Did you do something difficult and expand your comfort zone? Keep track of these successes and celebrate them. Though you might not see it now, these things will lead to monetary success over time.
So this year, dream big. 2011 can be the year that you see significant growth, both in yourself and in your business. The choice is yours. This year, choose success.
Success Profile: Katharine Graham
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Katharine Graham was born in 1917 into a world of privilege. Her parents were wealthy; they owned homes in New York and Washington DC and were so busy during Katharine’s childhood that she was partly raised by nannies and governesses. When she was old enough to attend university, she went to Vassar College and then to the University of Chicago. Despite her sheltered upbringing, Graham befriended people from all walks of life at the University of Chicago and took a particular interest in labor issues. Shortly following her graduation, her father purchased the Washington Post which was headed for bankruptcy. Graham took a position at the Post in 1938. A few years later, she was married and left the newspaper to have children and attend to her family. Graham’s husband Philip took the helm of the Post in 1946. After suffering from mental illness for years, Philip committed suicide in 1963, leaving Katharine and their four children devastated.
Katharine made the decision to take over the post soon after the death of her husband. Though she inwardly questioned her ability to run the company, she improved the quality of the publication by hiring talented writers and making the company a better place to work for women and minorities. In 1972, she made the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers that would unveil the Watergate conspiracy. She has since been recognized as one of the most powerful women in journalism. Katharine Graham’s memoir was published in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for her candid account of her husband’s illness and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated workplace. Thanks to Graham, the Washington Post is now one of the most widely read news publications in the nation.
The social status and financial situation Katharine Graham was born into didn’t set her up for a life of hard work. She could have easily been a party-going society girl and lived off of her family’s income, but that wasn’t enough for her. Graham’s determination to find her own success, carry on in the face of adversity, challenge gender roles, and publish important stories is inspiring to entrepreneurs, journalists, and people everywhere.
Focusing Your Full Power
Monday, October 11th, 2010
“Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve.”
–Wilfred Peterson
Achieving quality results does not happen by accident; instead it takes careful planning and, most importantly, organized and effective action. You may have the best, most fail-safe plan in the world, but unless you take some kind of action on that plan, you won’t reach your financial goals. But for many reasons, sometimes taking action is not as easy as it sounds. So here are some ideas from PMI Education that can help get you through those difficult times when you may not feel like doing much with your business.
Start with the end in mind. Develop a clear picture of what it is you want to accomplish. Make sure you understand exactly what the end is and why you want it. Then, record your vision of the end result in a clear, concise sentence that spells out all pertinent details so that nothing in your description is lacking.
Develop a Written Plan. Make your plan as specific as possible including exactly what will be done and the date by which it should be accomplished. Produce a hard copy of your plan and put it in a place where you will be able to see it often. Study it and know ahead of time the things you need to be working on and accomplishing so that you can meet your end goal.
Enlist the Support of Others. Consider making a list of people you are well acquainted with who possess skills that may be able to help you accomplish your goal. Let these people know what you are doing and how they will benefit from the results you are going to produce. Don’t hesitate to invite them to help however they can.
Set up Milestones and a Reporting System. Once you have your plan and people who can help you, take the tasks that need to be accomplished and break them into small segments. Set specific dates by which you will have completed each segment and create or find a good reporting system that you can use to stay on track. Send progress reports to those who are involved in each segment so that you all work together as a team.
Monitor Your Progress and Make Necessary Adjustments. Understand ahead of time that even the most precise and well-laid out plans require adjustments periodically; there are just some things you cannot anticipate or plan for. Don’t get frustrated when you find that your plan requires some adjusting. If you find that you just can’t get over a roadblock, don’t hesitate to get help.
Celebrate Progress Along the Way. Recognize when you and your team have accomplished something important. Make sure to thank those who have helped you achieve the results you are celebrating. People like to be recognized for a job well done and will almost always be more willing to help the next time they are needed if they were given proper recognition for their efforts. Also, don’t hesitate to give yourself a pat on the back and take some time to celebrate your efforts as well. Taking a bit of a break now and again can help you maintain focus and excitement. So go ahead, enjoy the ride… and the accomplishments.
Starting a Business Takes Courage
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Starting a business may be one of the most daunting tasks you will ever undertake. Not only do you have to tackle a mountain of uncertainty, but you also have to tackle an equally-formidable mountain of inexperience. There’s likely an element of “learn as you go,” all while not being exactly sure where you’re going.
But in order to overcome the hundreds of reasons you and others have come up with as to why you shouldn’t start a business, you’ll need to dig deep and find the courage necessary to take those first steps.
- Take Action Hemming and hawing and pondering all the different options you have does not build courage. Be proactive not only in starting your business, but on an ongoing basis.
- Do The Work Put in the time necessary to not only become confident in your abilities, but also in your business. By getting the ball rolling and doing the work, courage will grow.
- Avoid Discouraging People Those who are dis-couraging are obviously those who hinder your goal to have courage. If you can’t avoid them altogether, try to avoid talking about your business while you’re around them.
- Be Self-Aware Take time to evaluate yourself. Think about what you’re doing and how those steps are or are not helping you build courage.
- Have Conviction Perhaps the best thing you can do to build courage is to be committed to your cause. Whatever product or service you’re providing, by believing in it the courage to promote it and grow it will naturally come.
- Look To Others Whether historical or modern, fictional or real, it’s important to have role models and mentors you can look to in order to build your own courage.
- Set Goals If you currently only have a little bit of courage, you may need to start small. But as your goals grow, so will your courage.
- Try New Things Being successful at new ventures is a great way to build confidence and courage.
When starting a small business, you may be the greatest indicator of its success. So embrace those good qualities that make for a good leader and a good entrepreneur.
Determination
Friday, September 24th, 2010
“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.”
–Calvin Coolidge
Just Get Started
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen
Starting is usually the hardest part of achieving any goal. Whether you want to launch a blog, start a business, or lose weight, it’s easy to get hung up at the beginning. When facing any potential life change, people frequently overanalyze their situation to the point of paralysis. The person wanting to lose weight will get hung up on finding the perfect diet or the perfect gym or making time to exercise consistently five times per week. The person that wants to start a business will worry about designing the perfect website or launching the perfect advertising campaign. It’s healthy to feel some trepidation at the beginning of a new project or undertaking, but the key to success is turning your thoughts and ambitions into actions.
No project worth taking on will ever be perfectly planned or able to run without a hitch. You have no way of knowing what life with throw at you once you start pressing toward your goal, and if you try to anticipate and prepare for every setback, you will never start. The bumps along the road to success will teach you better ways to work and live and will make you a better person overall. Most people will attribute their analysis paralysis to a fear of failure, but you should also consider the opposite possibility: a fear of success. What if that website you build ends up being a huge success? Some people are just as afraid of getting what they want as they are of not getting what they want. Change can be scary, but if you can find the courage to get started, your experiences along the way will prepare you for the success and changes you will experience. You can do it if you just get started!
State of Mind
Friday, September 17th, 2010“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Useful advice from Dr. Dyer that reminds us our attitude has more to do with our success than we often remember. Using the power of a positive attitude and the contents of our thought we can move toward our goals and dreams.
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy