Archive for the ‘Personal Development’ Category

For 20 years I was a psychotherapist in Chicago and had a successful practice fueled by 3 books on personal growth. In those years I literally worked with thousands of clients who had goals and dreams that were not realized.

In my book Six Keys To Creating The Life You Desire I analyzed 6 underlying issues that were there root cause of their stuckness. In future posts I will examine these six keys but in this post I want to discuss a very common block for many entrepreneurs — conflicting intentions. The following excerpt comes from Chapter One of my book Mastering Online Marketing. Perhaps you will see yourself or someone you know…

Have you ever heard someone referred to as “their own worst enemy”? Do you wonder why many of us often seem to interfere with our own success? If so, you probably recognize that in spite of our constructive intentions to “do” something – become a successful online marketer, lose weight, call a relative, get that promotion, etc. – we don’t always follow through.

And in many instances it is not a simple case of procrastination. Rather it is more insidious… an often unconscious choice to achieve two opposing goals – ones that essentially make it impossible to accomplish either, because they cancel each other out. Read the rest of this entry »

We know clients with very small or inconsistent incomes who feel financially secure. As one of them put it, “I know, no matter what, I’ll land on my feet.” They aren’t careless or impractical, either. These people have a natural sense of abundance, a deep belief that there is enough to go around.

We also know clients who have a great deal of income and investments and who are fearful every moment of losing them. To the person who lives with a sense of scarcity, there truly is never enough. He or she therefore is much more apt to go for the sure thing, the instant payoff, the action that will pay the bills today, than take the type of risks involved in seeking a higher purpose or meaning in life. Read the rest of this entry »

Thousands of pundits, experts, philosophers and scientists have conducted research in an attempt to discover the common characteristics that successful people possess. And while opinions vary, most agree that those belonging to this elite group share the following 10 personality traits.

Look them over and see how you fare. Check your strengths and note areas where you may be weak. Not sure how you rate? Ask colleagues, family and friends to help you out.

1. Conscientious and Reliable… they deliver on their promises in a timely manner.

2. Altruistic and Considerate… they truly care about the welfare of others and demonstrate this concern often

3. Flexible… they understand that they must follow a plan but understand, expect and even welcome change

4. Able to give and receive constructive feedback… They have the courage to accept and provide specific feedback and constructive coaching without getting defensive. Read the rest of this entry »

by Bea Fields, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach
and President of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training

“When is John going to get me that report?”
“What is going on with the marketing report? When are they going to finish that thing?”
“I can’t believe Mary is so late in making those phone calls.”
“Okay…who dropped the ball this time?”
“Hey…that’s not MY job.”

Does this sound familiar? If so, your small business team may be faced with a big challenge with accountability, which results in finger pointing, frustration and broken trust…both with your employees and your customers. Personal responsibility and accountability can put an end to the blame game, saving your business thousands if not millions of dollars by increasing productivity and overall job satisfaction, which results in very satisfied customers. These five basic approaches can support you in increasing accountability, which are simple, yet they require actually building a culture of accountability for your business.

Communicate the big picture- Accountability stands a better chance of succeeding if everyone in your business embraces a larger responsibility for the success of the entire company. Spend time talking individually with team members about how his or her project affects the vision and mission of the business. With this communication, people can make wiser decisions from the context of the “big picture” rather than from the perspective of what may seem to be a detailed and boring task.

State clear expectations- If one person on your team does not meet your expectations, the entire team can fail. It is important from the very beginning of any new project to state the expectations clearly and repeat them over and over again until your team really “gets it.” These expectations need to be crystal clear, including dates, who is responsible for what, the details of the task and how you want the finished product delivered. If your expectations are fuzzy or confusing in any way, your team can break down, and the fine and very important details can fall through the cracks.

Accountability work groups- One of the best ways to achieve accountability is to develop shared accountability among team members. Accountability within the team can be accomplished by what Morris R. Shechtman calls “accountability groups,” groups which give team members the permission to speak and listen in a way which is frank and open. This accountability group can include 2-5 people and can then serve as a small unit of people working together to confide in with struggles, weaknesses and insecurities. They can then find creative strategies to work together in the direction of the growth the team intends to achieve. Read the rest of this entry »

by Mitch Meyerson

“Every year I make a list of New Year’s resolutions, and by the end of January I can’t even remember what was on my list.”
“I have this great idea for a book, but I never get around to putting it down on paper.”
“Just when I start moving towards my goals I seem to hit this wall.”

Sound familiar? If you could “just do it” you probably would have done it. If you’re strong on ideas, but perpetually stuck at the starting line, the following tips will help.

• Be specific about what you want

Change “I want more money,” to “I want to earn $60,000 by December 31, 2004.” Revamp “I want to write someday,” to “I want to write forty pages by August.”

Keep your goals simple. Too many goals are overwhelming, a good excuse for doing nothing at all.

• Be suspicious of your failures

There’s an old saying that people vote with their feet. It means we are exactly where we want to be no matter how much we complain.

Be suspect of any goal you’ve had for more than five years and haven’t achieved. One man spent more than seven years trying to finish his MBA, dropping classes, taking extensions on papers, only to discover that he really didn’t want the degree at all.

When you’re doing what’s close to your heart, it’s easy. Work with your nature. Be suspect of anything that seems too difficult. People find it easier to blame themselves for laziness than to admit that it’s a difficult process to face up to who we really are and what we really want. It feels lonely to admit that we might be different from others, that your goals aren’t the same as theirs. Your failures might be your way of protecting yourself from becoming what you never really wanted to be.

What’s your current goal? Why do you want it so badly? Write two paragraphs answering these questions. Then convince a friend. Notice any possible resistance coming up. Ask yourself again “Is this what I really want?”

Read the rest of this entry »