Winning Strategies

You want it but you can't always have it

You had a goal in mind.  You had your sights on the goal.  You were anticipating success, but somehow, it didn't turn out the way you had planned.  If I had a dollar for everytime that happened, I wouldn't have to work, I'd be a millionaire.  Your successful path will include MANY setbacks.  You will take two steps forward, and sometimes three steps back.  Your ability to cotinue on with persistence and strength will help you achieve more of your goals and ensure that you continue on a path to your desired destination.  It isn't easy.  The setbacks will hit you hard.  You will want to throw in the towel.  You will want to give up.  Your mind will tell you that your efforts are un-noticed and unrewarded.  They are not.

You have a job, and your efforts are being noticed and rewarded.  You have to stick to it.  You have to forge ahead.  You want that promotion, then keep trying.  You want a different job, then don't give up.

Success comes after a long trail of failures.  You will fail many times before you achieve your end goal.  Never give up, never quit trying, never settle for less what  you've been gifted to do.  Stay on course.  Continue your mission.

A breath of fresh air

Ever walk past an air vent where cool air is blowing out and you stop to enjoy the breeze? Or have you ever stood on the edge of the ocean and felt the cool ocean breeze toss your hair and blow across your face?

Sometimes a moment in life can feel like that wisp of fresh air. I'm wishing for you that you have one of those moments today.

Happiness is a state of mind

Today I introduce something that you probably don't think about often. How do you create your own happiness?

I speak to many that believe that happiness entails loads of 'things'. We have set our expectations so high- a great relationship, a nice house, kids that love and adore us, fame and fortune, etc etc. Happiness is a state of mind. You can 'choose' to be happy in any situation. This is hard to grasp the first time you think it through. If you can't accept and grasp it, I suggest you spend some time volunteering with a group less fortunate than yourself. It often helps us to adjust our 'Reality dial'.

In order to be happy 'as we are', we have to accept some things in our life 'as they are'. This doesn't prevent you from working towards living your best life, it only asks that you be content and happy BEFORE you get to your 'desired destination'.

As a child, I memorized a poem by Helen Steiner Rice called Happiness.  I often say it to myself to remind myself what happiness REALLY is:

Everybody everywhere seeks happines tis true
But finding it and keeping it is difficult to do
Difficult because we think that happiness is found
Only in the places where wealth and fame abound

And so we go on searching in the 'palaces of pleasure'
Looking for wealth and monetary treasure
Unaware that happiness is just a state of mind
Within the reach of everyone that takes time to be kind

Think on it. I welcome your comments.

Overwhelmed

I watched a show about so many people that are overwhelmed with life. They are distracted and live in a continuous state of dissatisfaction. Why would you want to live in dissatisfaction when you can choose to live a different way. Life is about choices. Each moment of your life- YOU CHOOSE how to spend it.

You are not 'trapped' but instead YOU are Free! Free to choose your destination, free to decide what to do with your life, free to take the next 30 minutes to do absolutely nothing (everything will wait for you- don't worry about that).

It is like we are going through life starving and there is a loaf of bread within arms reach. Reach out and grab the life that you are destined to live. Claim if for yourself. It is your victory. It is your life. Make every day fabulous.

Women Will Rule Business

You will love this piece from Time Magaine:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898078,00.html

Wow- someone FINALLY gets it!

We survived pimples, surely we can survive this

I hated being a teenager. Remember those years?  It seemed that we'd wake up and have a new pimple on our faces everyday.  It was ugly.  I hated dealing with the changing of my skin and the affected self esteem. Yuk.

I am hearing from many of you that you are dealing with work issues that you don't think you can survive, I'm hearing comments like, "I can't take this anymore, this time it's too much, I can work with him/her, I can't find work, ect".

The truth in the matter is :  Yes, you can take this, No, its not too much, Yes you can work with him/her and Yes you can find work.  It is all a matter of perspective.

Try to concentrate your attention and thoughts on WHAT YOU CAN DO.  What is going well in your life?  Don't concentrate on the pimples, concentrate on the skin around 'em. Laugh.  Are you ill?  If not, celebrate that you are not.  Celebrate the positives- look for them, you will find some.

There will always be  'bumps' in your life that you will have to overcome.  Take it with a grain of salt.  Hit it directly head on with a boost of positivity.  Our attitude will determine how we manage in this crisis.  It is MUCH HARDER to find a job when you are feeling sorry for yourself and feeling like all is doomed.  Take a walk.  Go try a free 7 day trial at 24 Hour Fitness.  Go shop for a Lamborguini- whatever it takes- CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE- and change the direction of your thoughts.  Work on something that you have TOTAL CONTROL over.  Volunteer for a cause.  You CAN TAKE IT.  IT isn't TOO MUCH.  YOU CAN work with HIM/HER and for all of you that have said the opposite-  YOU CAN FIND A JOB!

Frustrated with Work? Maybe you already know the answers...

So you find yourself frustrated with work.  It just isn't going the way you'd like it to.  Things are not moving fast enough, people are not responding the way you'd like , and you are overall simply dissatisfied.

Well, hold on to your shorts- you probably already know the answers.  What I see consistently, is that we forget the basics:

Back to the Basics

• Are there things that you 'always use to do' that you aren't doing now?
• Have you documented the processes both 'AS IS' and 'How you'd like them to look'?
• Have you accurately and in writing set your expectations of others?

Attention to Detail

• Are you missing small things that you use to notice?

• Are things slipping by your attention

Consider taking a period of time to pay special attention to the attitudes, comments, actions, and roles that those around you are playing.  Sit back and watch for a bit.  You may learn that there is something right in front of you that you haven't noticed.  It may help you with a project or help save your butt on a deal.

Art in the Final Product

We get tired and we forget, it ISN'T JUST ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT.  EACH thing we produce should be TOP NOTCH.  We should take pride in each 'product' or service that our company delivers.  It can't become the status quo.  We can't let it be JUST ANOTHER assignment.  We have to look at it with new eyes.  If it takes a vacation day off to be able to do this- then certainly take the vacation day .  Smile.

Snap to it- TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

The market is tough.  There is so much to do and less staff with which to do it.  You are hurrying through assignments and creating quantity not quality.  Time is of the essence.  You must move quickly, but you must create a methodology that gets each ball moving swiftly without sacrificing quality.  This is not the market to DROP any balls.  You must keep the balls rolling.  You must become an amazing time manager.  You cannot afford to LOSE ANY deals, MISS ANY assignments, or FORGET to call anyone back.

Make it your goal to drive (QUICKLY) to the finish line on assignments and projects. 

Consider going BACK TO THE BASICS!  I'd love to hear how it goes for you.

Reflections

I am up, still working, and reflecting on life, work, kids, and all the things that crowd your mind at night.  I begin to ponder whether I'm living my life to its fullest.  I think quietly about life's lessons and loved ones of the past.  I reflect on Heather's dad, Jeffrey Carter, and a warm feeling envelopes me as I think on him for a moment and let myself miss him. 1995, wow, has it really been 14 years since he died? Has it really been 20 years since he left me?  Life just seems to keep rolling along, even when we try to stop it for a moment to think.

The moments rush forward and -good ones and bad ones- slip past and new ones arise.  Feelings flood over us and we breathe them in, then exhale them as fast as they came upon us.  Our life whispers and we watch people come into and out of our lives like the ebb and flow of the waves on a sandy beach.

This moment is just one of the many we experience in life.  We work long hours and barely catch a breath.  We RUSH through life missing what is around us and staying SO BUSY that we lose track of our purpose and our destiny.

Are you on track?  Is your life shaping up to be what you wanted it to be?  Do you realize that your life is clay in your hands?  YOU are shaping it...you can mold a different life.  You can change your destiny, the decisions you make and the paths you choose.  You are the driver.  Even I forget that sometimes.  That's right- I'm driving.  I almost forgot.

Happy Father's Day to the Dads

It is Father's Day.  Today we celebrate our father's sacrifice and love.  It is also a day when many mourn the loss of a father.  Wherever this day finds you- - - may you find hope for the future, compassion and love for today, and appreciation for the past.

Have the happiest of Father's Days!

It is not "what you've got"- it's What You Do With It

You've been given a certain set of skills and talents. They are specific to you. Per Gallup's research, there are only 5 others in the universe with similar strengths as yours.

Are you capitalizing on your strengths? Are you putting your strengths to work? If you USE your God given strengths, you will increase the satisfaction that you have with BOTH your job and your life.

Go to www.strengthsfinder.com to discover your strengths.