Tag Archives | personal development

Improve Performance by Joining a Group

By on April 8, 2010 in Life Balance, Success

For the next two days I will be away from my office, first attending the WISE Symposium and then in an all-day team meeting with two groups of very inspiring peers. Though the settings and formats, even some topics are different, the result is the same. Every time I come out of one of these sessions, I am completely energized; overflowing with ideas and information, ready to try out new strategies and different concepts. This started me thinking about the value of learning from and building relationships with other members in your industry, mentors and newbies as well as complementary products and services. Especially if you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur, work at home or even stay at home with children(that’s work too) you may not take advantage of these types of opportunities. You really are cheating yourself out of an entire set of valuable resources!

Research what groups, events or organizations exist that you can network with and gain information and support from. Places to look:

  • An industry or trade organization(local or national)
  • A career specific support group(i.e. writer’s forum)
  • A mentoring group (like SCORE)
  • Sign up for a class to further or refresh your skills
  • Find a non-career networking group(book club, play group for SAHMs)

Any forum or setting where you can exchange ideas and get honest feedback is definitely a good investment of your time. I might just come back with some new productivity strategies to share! Stay tuned….

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observe

Observe Successful People

By on January 27, 2010 in Success

observeObservation can be so educational if you really pay attention. Watch those around you who are getting the results they desire.  If you know the person well enough ask them!

  • What are they doing to get those results?
  • What strategies or systems do they use?
  • Maybe more importantly ask yourself what beliefs they might have.
    • Do they seem to think that success comes easy?
    • That they are talented?
    • That they are lucky?

 Often “luck,” success or good fortune are more a matter of the beliefs you hold than the methods you use….

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Top 5 Health Needs You Have Been Neglecting

By on January 20, 2010 in Life Balance

Which of your health needs have you been neglecting? walking

Doctor appointments, tests or other health checkups? Lifestyle changes?

These are the top 5 crucial health requirements that may be preventing you from being your most productive.

1. Sleep – Get good quality sleep in sufficient amounts (needs vary by individual, but studies show that most people need 7 -8 hours to operate at full potential.)

2. Doctor appointments –This includes dental and eye exams and even that chiropractor who eases your back pain.

3. Clean up your diet – You don’t have to be perfect, just make better choices most of the time. You know what you should be eating…..

4. Some form of activity or exercise – can be walking, swimming, tai chi or whatever gets you moving.

5. STRESS RELIEF – Anything you can do to lower your stress levels will benefit your health in particular and your life in general. Try meditation, yoga, journaling, vacation or maybe just a daily walk with your dog.

Pick just one thing or all 5, but these health concerns can have more of an impact on your productivity and personal development than any action you can take in your business.

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go put your strengths to work

Play to Your Strengths

By on January 14, 2010 in Success

go put your strengths to workI first learned the concept of working on your strengths from Marcus Buckingham, author of “Go Put Your Strengths To Work.” In a nutshell, he contends that spending our time trying to improve upon our weaknesses is actually, well a waste of time. I am not saying don’t try to better yourself, but instead focus on the things that you do well. That is where you will see the greatest improvement anyway.

That is the beauty of working on a team, or delegating out some of your tasks. If you know that you are very creative, but not very organized, then fine work with that. Don’t keep beating your head against the wall. Hire someone to take care of the details or get you organized so that you can keep developing concepts, innovations or marketing your product.  Conversely, if you are a detail, planning and money person, then team up with a creative genius!

This works both at home and at work. For example, I dislike making phone calls and my husband is spelling and grammatically challenged, so we have worked out a system. He makes the phone calls and I write the emails and correspondence. I pay the bills, but he does the painting (I am spatially challenged and cannot color in the lines!)

Think about everything that you do in conjunction with your business (or at home) and see what you can delegate, trade or hire out. You will be so much more productive and much less frustrated.

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