Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Personal Growth on Purpose

When you think in terms of your personal growth are you intentionally seeking opportunities or are you waiting for life to just unfold and somewhere in the process you expect to grow?  Are you creating a life for yourself by design or default?

Monday, August 15, 2011

Stop Surviving and Start Thriving


Are you just surviving right now?  Or are you focused on thriving?  Thrivers are constantly focused on ways to reinvent themselves and be successful regardless of adversity or negativity that might be around them.
Yes times are tough.  For some of you it has never been so tough.  There are a lot of things that are out of your control.  The market, the economy, the national debt and even the weather.  But what IS in your control is how you choose to think and act and respond to these outside elements every day.
Here is what I know ... I live to thrive, not just survive.  I believe in the power of positive thinking and that does not mean that I am not realistic or just sitting on the side lines thinking my way to prosperity.  Thinking is only the first step.  Then comes action.  I work to understand the world I live in with all of its challenges and then I take what I learn and form my strategy to live and work at my best so that I can thrive. 
Thrivers are extraordinary people with great expectations for themselves and they believe in positive outcomes.  Thrivers do not make excuses, they make waves.  They don't hide out, they stand out!  Thrivers love life and welcome change, because they know change is the only way to grow.
Here are some of my tips to help you stop surviving and start thriving:
1.  Refuse to participate in the negativity.  Regardless of what it is.  The recession, the gossip, the nay saying.  Remain clear of your own personal goals and vision for yourself and your business.  Stop watching the news.  Believe that you can be successful right now despite the state of the economy.  Stay positive, work hard and focus on taking actions to grow your business.  Focus on business as usual and while others allow fear to paralyze them you will charge forward and move ahead of your competition.
2. Stop letting someone else judge the possibilities of your own life.  One of the biggest Why's I have for being a Coach is the desire to help as many people as I possibly can embrace and believe in their own potential.  We are capable of doing great things if we just give ourselves the chance and stop making excuses for why we can't.
3.  Come from a place of contribution.   Your success in life depends on it.  Look to make a positive impact on someone else's life every day.  Take yourself out of the equation more often and focus on what you can do for someone else.  Raise people up and help them get where they want, you will move forward automatically.
4.  Be accountable.  I will say it again, stop making excuses and you will start living.   Be accountable to who you are and what you want to be.  Take 100% responsibility for your thoughts and your actions.  Rather than pointing the finger else where when something goes wrong, take an introspective look at how you might have been able to change the outcome if you had changed the way you handled it.  Now of course we can be accountable to the things that we have within our power to change. 
5.  Become a magnet  Specifically become a magnet for the things you want more of in your life.  Such as opportunity, clients, business, money, positivity, peace, love, etc.  Focus on what you want.  Do not spend time thinking about the things you don't want.  Your thoughts give power to those circumstances so thinking about your debt or lack of business right now only gives that situation more power because you are focused on it.  Instead focus your thoughts on ways to have or gain more business or income.  That will start a positive flow of creative ideas to help you have what you want and that energy is what will attract those opportunities to you.
6.  Know and understand your BIG why.  Why do you get up everyday and do what you do?  Thrivers know why and that knowing is their fuel.  I encourage you to take at least 30 minutes today and get in a quiet place with a pen and some paper and really think about your Why.  Why do you do what you do?  Why is it important to you?  Why do you want it and more of it?  Discovering your Why is how you stay on track towards your goals.  Every goal has a deep why behind it.  Taking the time to understand it and write it down will give new meaning and purpose to what you want to accomplish.
I hope this short article has started a thought process for you.  Ask yourself at least one question:  Who have I been lately?  A survivor or a thriver?  
Survivors are cautios, and tend to think in a narrow way.  Survivors think the world is an unfavorable place and their future is very uncertain. 
A thriver, however  is someone who thinks in big and positive ways, striving to solve problems and be courageous.  Thrivers think out of the box and believe that any goal worth having has to start with a dream.  Thrivers take action and work at it every day.  Thrivers look to support and empower the people around them.  Thrivers are blazing trails and only looking forward with a sense of anticipation and excitement for what the future holds.
And thrivers never give up.