Category: Success Attitude

Article Contributed by Samantha Peters

Mornings are perhaps the most overlooked time of day to be productive. People often take them for granted as free time, or a period you have to suffer through to be fully awake. In reality, mornings are usually the time when you’re most rested and face the fewest interruptions.

Successful people realize the value of mornings and utilize them to their fullest potential with several tested strategies:

1. Track your time 

In the morning, you have an opportunity not only to plan the upcoming day but evaluate the previous one. Look back on yesterday at how you could have better used your time, handled unexpected inconveniences, and been the most efficient and use that knowledge to modify your plans for the future.

Creating a daily and weekly schedule helps many people to stay on track and manage their time well. The morning is a good time to tweak your weekly schedule to meet daily realities. You can then make intelligent edits to your short term goals.

2. Make your morning enjoyable 

Having a nice morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Use this time to have a good breakfast and engage in some activities you may not have time for later. Read the paper, catch up on your favorite blog, or burn through a few more pages of that big novel you’re working on. Pray or meditate. Spend some time with the kids and help them get ready for school.

Even if you only spend this extra time sitting around doing nothing, you’re still giving yourself some much-needed rest and relaxation. For many people, this is a great way to recharge the body’s batteries from the previous day.

3. Strategize 

What do you want with your life? Where do you want to be tomorrow? Next month? In five years? Twenty? What are you going to do today to help achieve those goals?

These are not questions that need to be answered overnight, but they should definitely be on your radar. These are the kinds of questions that are best asked in the morning, when you actually have some time to sit and think about the answers. Once the day progresses, you will be tied up with other obligations and responsibilities.

4. Make it a ritual 

Productive mornings are a habit. Get used to going to sleep and getting up early. Adopt a ritual of events. When are you going to get up? What are you going to do first? Second? When will you eat and shower? When will you squeeze in some time to exercise and get that seratonin flowing? When will you set aside time to plan your day out and get in the right mindset? Perhaps most importantly, when are you going to get that pot of coffee started?

5. Adapt 

Adjust your morning to fit your lifestyle and needs, and realize that those change. If you get a new job, move, or have a lifestyle change, your old morning ritual may no longer fit your needs. Sometimes it’s not your lifestyle, but you who are doing the changing. Either way, changing your habits may be challenging, but failing to adapt can spell disaster. If you’re struggling, try adjusting your rituals in small steps.

By following these steps and making some of your own, you too can make the most of your mornings and be a successful person like Gaston Cantens.  Even if you’re “not a morning person,” you may still benefit from simply getting up earlier and giving yourself a couple of extra hours, or even just an extra hour, to knock out some additional chores or tasks. You’ll be amazed at what that extra time will do for your mindset and your productivity levels.

About the Author:

This Guest Post is written by c, an active blogger who enjoys writing about anything of interest to entrepreneurs and business start-ups.

A couple of years ago, I presented Your Talent Advantage, the psychological assessment and business development system I helped to create, to a networking group.

I thought the focus of the talk was pretty straightforward: the major points behind Perceptual Style Theory (on which our assessments are based), the six innate Perceptual Styles, natural skills versus acquired skills, and how you’re more likely to succeed when you focus on the former. So when I had finished, I was stunned when the first question was, “So, if I take your assessments, you’re just going to tell me how wonderful I am?”

What struck me was the use of the words ‘just’ and ‘wonderful’. The first, ‘just’, implies that hearing about your good qualities, natural skills, talents, and aptitudes is no big deal. The second, ‘wonderful’, amounts to a near-total dismissal of the positive in our lives. (Change the word to ‘talented’, ‘skilled’, or ‘gifted’, and see how differently the question reads!)

In retrospect, I should have been more prepared for such a question, as experience has shown me that embracing a strengths-based approach to building a business is difficult for many people.

When you work with Perceptual Style Theory every day (as I do), it is easy to forget just how radical an approach it really is. But it’s only radical because the ‘grow your weaknesses’ philosophy is so deeply ingrained in our society, for a number of reasons:

1. As a society we focus more on creating well-rounded citizens than on developing the exceptional in each of us. This is a well-intentioned approach designed to make sure that each of us can function adequately within society, but it prevents us from deeply exploring our natural skills and abilities.

2. Many of us have been taught that to focus on our own strengths (skills, talents, and achievements) is to be self-centered or narcissistic. In other words, it is a bad thing – immoral, unethical, or just not right.

3. We have so little experience with exploring our own strengths, we don’t know how to do it. On the other hand, we have loads of experience focusing on our weaknesses and trying to fix what is “wrong”.

We’ve been trained to think of what we’re good at as something “finished” or complete. If we regard life as a series of boxes, many people think of the things they’re already good at as “checked off” – after all, if you’ve already got an ‘A’ in a subject, why work to get better at it?

It’s human nature to want to evolve and grow, to improve. But the things we’re good at are not in any way finished aspects of ourselves. They are, in fact, the very best places to begin our quest to create more success and happiness in our lives.

Also, ‘wonderful’ is a hugely general term, which is often how we receive positive feedback in life, if we receive it at all. People tell us, for example, that we’re “doing great” on a project or assignment, or that we’re good at public speaking.

But how often do people tell us exactly why we nailed that project, or what we could accomplish if we made public speaking more of a priority? Accurate feedback is extremely valuable, and the feedback you receive from our assessments is startlingly accurate.

I have experienced the power of strength- based development both personally and in my work with clients, and I can tell you that the results are nothing less than spectacular. But you don’t have to take my word for it – you can start focusing on your natural talents and abilities today, and unlock the power of the positive.

About the Author:

Lynda-Ross Vega: A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.YourTalentAdvantage.com .

When was the last time you heard a great story?

You know the kind…where you find yourself repeating it to someone else.

You may have heard it in passing. It may have been a friend or colleague that told you something that just kind of stuck. It was compelling, perhaps had an urgent message or simply inspired you. It struck a chord in you somewhere, you may not even know what it was… But you find yourself telling your partner or a friend.

Can you imagine what it would be like if every time you spoke, this happened?

Can you imagine how it would affect your life and your business if your story touched people in this way?

It’s not as difficult as you would imagine.  It’s down to 4 simple ingredients. They are: passion, conviction, clarity and presence.

If you are passionate about what you stand for and what you are saying…

If you believe in your mission entirely… If you have complete clarity as to what are the
benefits… If you are truly present…

How many people actually have this in their business? I imagine, not as many as we would think!

Last week I participate in a storytelling performance for a local festival.  As I stood on the stage, in the middle of the most enchanting forest you could imagine, those four magic ingredients showed up.

I was passionate about my stories.

I was completely committed to my role as
storyteller, peace maker and entertainer.

I was clear about how the audience would be thrilled by the experience of our performance, but also go away thinking about the big issues we were discussing.

And finally, I went through my physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual preparations in order to be fully present.

So, the truth is, it’s much easier when you are ‘performing’…when you are on stage. But what about in life and in your business?

Can you imagine how your life and business would change if it were made up of these four ingredients all the time?

It’s mind-blowing! Seriously, you could change the world! And why not – why not go for it? Create this level of impact in everything you do.

To succeed in today’s economic environment, check your ego at the door and embrace a new way of doing business that is about more than what you can control and manipulate.  That’s your ego talking.

The Ego Economy is dead.

Welcome to the We Economy.

This rising tide of the We Economy can lift all of our companies on thrilling waves of positive profits or capsize and drown us in red ink. We choose.

How do you navigate the change and positively succeed at work?

Here are three positive business conversation transformations to have today that say “good bye” to the Ego Economy and “hello” to the We Economy so you will positively profit.

“I did it” becomes “We did it.”

In the Ego Economy, you could afford to get by on what you alone could do. The We Economy requires the creation of partner relationships with your employees, customers/clients, vendors/suppliers and more to generate a profit built on what “We” can do.

How?

Ask your employees, “How would you build a better business?” They are on the front-line of interaction daily. Listen deeply and tap their wisdom. Act to implement.

Ask your customers/clients, “What can we do better?” They bring you their hard-earned money in exchange for your services and products. Listen deeply for themes and respond immediately.

Ask your vendors/suppliers, “What are some best practices you see out there?” Take notes about the one that makes sense for your business and ask your employees what they think and how they would implement it.

In the We Economy, we succeed as we create partner relationships with everyone who touches the business. We do it, not I.

“I already know that” becomes “Please show me how.”

In the Ego Economy, you stayed on top of the change-of-information trickle with little effort. “I already know that” was a reflection of the predictable growth of knowledge.

In today’s We Economy, the info flow is more like a fire hose than a trickle. You as a business owner or leader simply can’t drink from it alone. “Please show me how” replaces “I already know that” to generate more profits. Be teachable.

Your business is your tuition ticket to matriculate in Biz U. You hire people smarter than you in certain areas and learn from them. You cultivate an “always on the learn” environment in which results are shared, graded, and evaluated for next time and do-over’s.

Keep saying, “Please show me how” until it rolls with delight because you’re about to learn something that makes your company more profitable.

“I pulled myself up by my own bootstraps” becomes “We wear loafers.”

In the Ego Economy, we all wore boots and bragged about pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. As self-made men and women, we created it all.

In the We Economy, we wear loafers. In a boot-wearing market, loafers are innovative—more comfortable, easier to pull on and off, with no socks. In the We Economy, you’re comfortable in responding to the changing demands of your partners and learning as you go. You’re pulled onto and off of teams according to project needs, not siloed departments. And who needs socks?

Relating with all who interact with your business and creating new learning generates creative innovation which takes your company to greater profits and higher margins. In an economy of boot-wearing, ego-driven, know-it-all’s, innovators who are loafer-sporting, team-focused, and learning-as-you-do-it have more to say about success than anyone.

Avoid talking about “I” because the Ego Economy is dead.

Instead, start a positive work conversation about “us.”

Welcome to the “We” Economy.

(Wear your loafers.)

About the Author:

Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), coach, and speaker who helps professionals discover success in the silver lining of their business and achieve their dreams. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org/speaking.

You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.

In a financially-strapped economy like this one, a common response to suggestions to grow business is negative.

“I can’t afford to advertise.”

“I have to cut marketing expenses.”

We focus on what we can’t do.

Will that grow your business?

What would it cost you to follow Zig Ziglar’s advice to positively grow your business?

Here are 3 no-cost ways to positively grow your business by helping others get what they want:

Greet with a Welcoming Smile

Ever watched one person yawn and within seconds everyone else in the group is yawning or stifling one?

Shawn Achor in his fantastic book, The Happiness Advantage, says that happens because our brains have mirror neurons that fire back what we receive. A yawn prompts a yawn…

…and a smile elicits a smile.

A smile at the door of your business begins the creation of a positive experience for your guests. That smile means they will likely smile back and so starts a delightful conversation that climaxes in a purchase today that leads to a relationship tomorrow that increases her lifetime value to your business in real dollars.

What that customer really wants is someone who opens the door to helping her find what she wants for her family, her friend’s child about to graduate, her car’s need of an oil change, etc.

Your greeting smile is invariably returned and invites, “Come in and let’s find what you want.”

Give a Listening Ear

Jeb Blount in his marvelous book, People Buy You, asks, “Do you take a genuine interest in others?”

In his outstanding book, Lead from the Heart, Mark C. Crowley states, “We must be willing to look at and really see the humanity in every person who works for us.”

Connecting with others as human beings is transformational, creating employees, customers, and vendors for life rather than merely “one and done.”

The surest, best way to connect is to give a listening ear. Ask a question and listen with interest. Feedback what you hear. Listen some more. Then ask another question. Keep listening.

Yes, it costs time, energy, and attention. See beyond the immediate investment and gaze long-term into the relationship that will pay dividends for years.

Grow Politely Considerate

Numerous surveys reveal social civility is at an all-time low. Road rage incidents are rising. It’s an election year and negative advertising increases our collective economic uncertainty.

Yes, we have an oversupply of jerks.

Avoid being one more.

Thank that customer for being your guest today regardless of whether she buys or not.

Give her a coupon of appreciation to use on her next visit just for stopping by.

Ask for her contact information so you can let her know when the next sale starts.

Get her birth date and send her a “Happy Birthday” email.

Give her your Facebook fan page address and encourage her to download the unadvertised specials and share with her friends.

Be on her side. She’s struggling to make ends meet, too.

The Golden Rule works. Work the Golden Rule.

Then with a welcoming smile, a listening ear, and polite consideration, watch as your business positively grows as you implement these 3 no-cost ways.

About the Author: 

Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), coach, and speaker who helps professionals discover success in the silver lining of their business and achieve their dreams. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org/speaking.