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Posts from the ‘Leadership Skills’ Category

Confidence for Women: An HDT Offering

 

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I believe this – whole heartedly.  If you advance confidently towards your dreams… they will happen.  Period.  You may be a rabbit, you may be a turtle, but it will happen.

Have a great weekend!

Confidence for Women: Hope

confidence for women  hope

 

*image from pinterest

Apple’s Words Worth Reading…

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“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Apple Inc.

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Confidence for Women: International Women’s Day!

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My mother used to say everyday was kid’s day and that is why you need a Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day in June.  Now that I have children I kind of agree.

I also think of each day as Women’s Day!

Who else could be a woman, wife, girlfriend, mom, girl friend, boss, co-worker, teammate, officemate, home-maker, housekeeper, chef, stylist, advisor, caregiver and sometimes Barer of Bad News??

Surely, not my dad, either of my brothers, my guy friends, FIL or the HB – respectfully.

Continue on Ladies!

 

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Confidence for Women: 3 Cs That Could Change Everything.

confidence for women thinking

I've been thinking about change...

I have been thinking about what is required to create change.  In my experience, change is easy because I know it as a process.  Yes, it takes hard work but there are necessary elements required to create change.  I have several opinions around this but simply put there are 3 Cs that could change everything!

“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” ― Leo Tolstoy

Change.  You have to believe in it before it can happen.  AND really believe.  At my lowest of low, I knew I still had to do something, anything, to get out of the funk I was in.  It didn’t matter what I did, I knew that doing enough somethings would help me find the change.  Change.  In order to have it, you must believe it is possible.

“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.” – Anthony Robbins

Commitment.  So many of us try and think – well “I tried” once they fail or fall.  When I look at my toddler, this little one that has eaten “it” so many times.  Some falls are harder than others but she is committed.  Committed to getting up and trying again. New Year’s Resolutions often fail because we never really think it will take a year to lose those extra pounds or make that change we “so” desire.  After a month, maximum!, we recognize that hard work is required and we stop and go back to our typical routine.  Being committed to the change is also half the battle.

“Invisible threads are the strongest ties” ―Friedrich Nietzsche

Connection.  As women, we are driven to connection.  The baker loves that others enjoy the cookies of her happy childhood.  The chef loves the feeling of bringing good food to a family.  The decorator loves the joy of bringing beauty into that couple’s home for them.  I love being able to give people peace and time as if it were tangible.  It’s the connection that we love however we find it.  

 

I invite you to think of these three Cs as you go on your day.  What connections are you making?  What is nagging at you to change?  And what will you commit to?  Adding any one of these things into your daily life will have a great impact.  Imagine if you added all three??

 

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Confidence for Women: BREAK THAT ROUTINE!

break your routine

Break your routine.  I PROMISE you will feel good afterwards.

        • If you let the alarm go off for ages, try waking up before you have heard it the umpteenth time.
        • Get OJ instead of coffee or coffee instead of OJ.
        • Walk it instead of ride it.
        • Use that pen instead of the pencil or computer.
        • Call instead of text.
        • Write instead of email.
        • Smile instead of frown.
        • Laugh instead of listen.
        • Listen instead of pretending to.
        • Stop and take that 2 minute break.
        • Walk instead of run.
        • Run instead of walk.

 

Your break in routine will remind you that you are alive.  It will show you that the world is not as serious as you hold it to be and for good reason!  It will remind you that the world won’t fall apart if you do something different but that in fact this new thing will indeed create a better world for you!

Good luck!  Have fun!  And share if you like!

 

*image from pinterest

Confidence for Women: Decisions Make A Difference

time management decisions

I am a huge fan of Seth Godin and love his recent post about decisions.

He says:

A decision without tradeoffs isn’t a decision.

The art of good decision making is looking forward to and celebrating the tradeoffs, not pretending they don’t exist.

Yes, I get up with intention.  Yes, I work to make the right decisions for me and my family.  Yes, I have priorities and goals.  Yes, I have to sacrifice. And yes, I work.

Does this mean that I am rigid, strict and am unhappy?  That I am not doing things I want to?  Anyone really who knows me knows how flexible I am, how much I love life, and how much I can struggle in it too.

But I mostly believe in decisions and choices.  I believe I decisions can be temporary or long-term.  I believe in change. I believe I am 100% Responsible for my life; the good, the bad and the ugly.  Or as they say – “that’s the good news and that’s the bad news.”

You have a choice and you are making a decision with everything you do.  So what about that decision?  What are your options?  What is missing?? What is really important to you?  Work to learn that and understand that – and your future decisions will change everything.

 

*image from pinterest

 

Time Management: 3 Ways That Fire Won’t Ruin Your Productive Day

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We have all been there.  The day blows up before it begins!  Something happens at home or in the office and we are off scrambling.   The day’s plan is forgotten because this customer is in crisis or needs your services as of yesterday. Heck the Internet could have gone out! (Remember when that happened to my home office and how painful the experience was getting it back up and running??)

Putting out fires is not only time consuming but energy consuming too.   So before your day is completely lost to someone else’s priorities, try these few things to keep calm and in control of what will make your productive day.

  1. Breathe.  Bring intention into your breath.  What is they say, “slow down so you can speed up”?  Take a moment to realize you can handle whatever is in front of you, that there will be enough time and of it all, the most important things will get done.
  2. It’s easy to get caught up in the drama of the activity including scrambling around fears of what could happen if X doesn’t get accomplished.  Stay focused on the big picture.  Why is this fire important?  What is the number one thing that needs to occur in order to control the fire and release the pressure?  Once this number activity is completed, do you feel a release from the pressure?  Can you return to your other, already determined priorities?
  3. Make room for adjustments to your schedule.  I come from the work ethic that I will “move mountains to fulfill a commitment I have made to you.”  That said, I am also very conscientious of the strong commitments I make.  This means, when planning an activity – leave wiggle room for delays.   There are always delays.  Always.  If you have a hard deadline, add room for potential delays before setting the hard deadline.

I hope these activities will get you started in keeping a fire at bay in your home or work life.  Keeping calm and focused will help your day stay productive.  Leaving room for potential delays in your schedule will also help when they do arise!

 

*image from pinterest

ABCs of Getting Stuff Done!

abc confidence for women

 

A is for Accommodation.  Stop accommodating everyone else now!

B is for Begin.  Begin now.  Whatever it is, you must start!

C is for Charge.  Take charge of the situation.  So many of us live passive lives – those who don’t get what they want.

D is for Do It Now.  What are you waiting for?  If you continue to wait, someone else will get it.

E is for Excuses.  There will always be excuses and

F is for “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.”

G is for Good for you.  Celebrate the good, move on from the rest.

H is “Heck I don’t know – but it’s still not going to stop me!”

I is Imagine the finish line.  You need it to get there.

J is for “Just.”  It can never “just” happen.  Hard work is involved!

K is for Killer.  That killer instinct that you have – is in there.  Listen to it!

L is for Labor.  You will have to labor to get it done.  Work is required, yes.

M is for Manage. Manage your activities against your priorities.

N is for “No.”  You are going to hear it.  Get used to it and get over it!

O is for Opportunity.  There is an opportunity in everything.  Everything.

P is for Priority.  Set them.  Without it you will get lost.

Q is for quick.  Nothing is quick.  Get over it.

R is for Resources.  Maximize your resources.  You have the help! Use it!

S is Strategize.  Strategize how you will get it done and work that strategy!

T is Trust.  Trust in yourself.  You are good enough and you can do it. Period.

U is for Ugly.  Determination and competition can get ugly but you don’t have to.

V is for Victory.  Celebrate them all!  Small victories win wars.  Celebrate each!

W is for Win.  You’re going to win, persevere and you will win!

X is for X-Ray.  (Not that creative, I know.)  BUT you can take an x-ray to your activities and look at the internal workings.  What do you see?

Y is for WHY.  Why are you doing this?

Z is for Zillion.  There are a zillion different ways you can go. Start with one.

*image from pinterest

 

Confidence for Women: Nothing Comes Easy (I Just Learned!)

confidence for women easy

There.  I said it.  Nothing comes easy.  I know.  It’s tiring.  You wear so many hats, have so many different responsibilities.  And no one can really quite understand.

Today, I feel foolish and proud.  I almost (and I mean inches away) from investing money in a ever-promising marketing plan, an area I feel is a weak spot for me.

I have read, taken classes, talked with people and then more people about marketing and sales.  I am comfortable with this because I believe in learning and growth.  And today, I feel foolish because I almost invested my hard earned money into a scam.  A real-life scam that you see on crazy CNBC shows.  But I also feel proud because I did my due diligence, did more research, and concluded, obviously, this was not where we should spend our hard earned money.

Two things come to mind in my reddened face.

  1. We make mistakes.  All the time, we make mistakes.  As foolish as I feel, it’s okay to make the mistake.  It’s good to feel humbled. I know I can do better.
  2. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”  ~Thomas Jefferson.  By now you probably know I love this quote and believe in it dearly.  I know if I do the work, good things will come.  I know and believe my hard work, with mistakes and all, will pay off.
Point is – Nothing worth while comes easy.  In those moments where you want a break, take it but then get back on the horse and continue to work.
I know I will!
**image from pinterest

Why Apologize??

Yes, you apologize for when you have done something wrong. You apologize when you hurt another and know it. Saying “I’m sorry” is wonderful to hear not because one likes to see the apologizer suck down their ego but because hearing it is a validation that your feelings and needs matter. as “I love you.”

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