The Ripple Effect: Small Steps Lead to Big Results
The Ripple Effect: Small Steps Lead to Big Results
If procrastination is so harmful, why do we do it? We tend to put off doing things for the following reasons:
**They are unpleasant to do.
**They are difficult or complex to do.
**They involve making tough decisions that can be overwhelming.
When we don't want to do something that is unpleasant or difficult, we find less important things to do that will keep us "busy" so we have an excuse for why we didn't get around to it. But putting something off does not make it go away, and postponing it often just makes it worse. As someone once said, "Killing time murders opportunities."
I'll share a key to success that I've learned from my own life experiences...
If you want to make big changes in your life, start by making small ones.
What small change have you made recently that yielded positive results for you? By thinking about what is working, you are focusing on the positive. Remember that we attract whatever we choose to give our attention to -- whether wanted or unwanted. When we focus on what we want, we are more likely to attract it into our lives.
Unlike a long list of unrealistic New Year's resolutions that usually get broken before the end of January, small changes can create a ripple effect of another small change, followed by another. In other words, small changes can lead to other related changes. Next thing you know, you've generated an unstoppable tidal wave!
Ask yourself this question: What's one thing that, if you did consistently, would make the greatest positive difference in your life?
I asked a client (I'll call her Kate) this question a couple of years ago during a coaching call. Her initial response was that she wanted to start taking the train to work instead of driving her car in horrible rush-hour traffic. But Kate said she could not do that because she often needed the car to get to meetings during her workday. I asked her if there were other means of transportation available to her (subway, taxi, etc.) on days she had appointments that were not walking distance from her office.
Kate was not sure how it would work, but she was willing to commit to a one-month trial period. I spoke with her at the end of her first week. She recognized how this one change was already having a tremendous positive impact on her life. Over time, the impact grew larger. The ripple effect was doing its thing!
Here are some of the benefits Kate has experienced:
* Kate is able to sleep 30 minutes later each workday, since she actually gets to work quicker by taking the train.
* Kate has saved enough money in gas and parking fees to pay for her coaching sessions with me.
* Kate has time for her professional reading, which she does in the mornings on her way to work.
* Kate has time for pleasure reading on the way home. (She had not read a novel in years!)
* Because she has to catch the train home at a specific time, Kate leaves the office at a set time instead of staying for "just a few more minutes" (which was never just a few minutes!) to get caught up.
* Kate is conducting more business using technology (teleconference calls and webinars), which saves her a lot of time that she used to spend getting to and from meetings. Others appreciate this time savings, too!
* By leaving the driving to someone else, Kate's stress level is much lower when she gets home.
* Kate's reduced stress levels gives her added energy, and she now works out at a nearby health club a few times a week. (Before, she barely had the energy to crawl in the door of her home. Once she got there, she rarely ventured out at night.)
* Kate met a wonderful man at her train stop near her home, and they started dating last year. (They're still dating, and the future looks promising!)
I could keep listing the effects this one change has had on Kate's life. It's a perfect example of the ripple effect in action -- all of this by making one change, which led to another, and another.
The Ripple Effect Small Steps Lead to Big Results - To learn more about this author, visit Kathy Paauw's Website.
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Procrastination is doing low-priority tasks and activities instead of the high-priority ones which so often contribute the most to our success. For some, procrastination becomes a harmful habit which impedes personal and professional development.
If procrastination is so harmful, why do we do it? We tend to put off doing things for the following reasons:
**They are unpleasant to do.
**They are difficult or complex to do.
**They involve making tough decisions that can be overwhelming.
When we don't want to do something that is unpleasant or difficult, we find less important things to do that will keep us "busy" so we have an excuse for why we didn't get around to it. But putting something off does not make it go away, and postponing it often just makes it worse. As someone once said, "Killing time murders opportunities."
I'll share a key to success that I've learned from my own life experiences...
If you want to make big changes in your life, start by making small ones.
What small change have you made recently that yielded positive results for you? By thinking about what is working, you are focusing on the positive. Remember that we attract whatever we choose to give our attention to -- whether wanted or unwanted. When we focus on what we want, we are more likely to attract it into our lives.
Unlike a long list of unrealistic New Year's resolutions that usually get broken before the end of January, small changes can create a ripple effect of another small change, followed by another. In other words, small changes can lead to other related changes. Next thing you know, you've generated an unstoppable tidal wave!
Ask yourself this question: What's one thing that, if you did consistently, would make the greatest positive difference in your life?
I asked a client (I'll call her Kate) this question a couple of years ago during a coaching call. Her initial response was that she wanted to start taking the train to work instead of driving her car in horrible rush-hour traffic. But Kate said she could not do that because she often needed the car to get to meetings during her workday. I asked her if there were other means of transportation available to her (subway, taxi, etc.) on days she had appointments that were not walking distance from her office.
Kate was not sure how it would work, but she was willing to commit to a one-month trial period. I spoke with her at the end of her first week. She recognized how this one change was already having a tremendous positive impact on her life. Over time, the impact grew larger. The ripple effect was doing its thing!
Here are some of the benefits Kate has experienced:
* Kate is able to sleep 30 minutes later each workday, since she actually gets to work quicker by taking the train.
* Kate has saved enough money in gas and parking fees to pay for her coaching sessions with me.
* Kate has time for her professional reading, which she does in the mornings on her way to work.
* Kate has time for pleasure reading on the way home. (She had not read a novel in years!)
* Because she has to catch the train home at a specific time, Kate leaves the office at a set time instead of staying for "just a few more minutes" (which was never just a few minutes!) to get caught up.
* Kate is conducting more business using technology (teleconference calls and webinars), which saves her a lot of time that she used to spend getting to and from meetings. Others appreciate this time savings, too!
* By leaving the driving to someone else, Kate's stress level is much lower when she gets home.
* Kate's reduced stress levels gives her added energy, and she now works out at a nearby health club a few times a week. (Before, she barely had the energy to crawl in the door of her home. Once she got there, she rarely ventured out at night.)
* Kate met a wonderful man at her train stop near her home, and they started dating last year. (They're still dating, and the future looks promising!)
I could keep listing the effects this one change has had on Kate's life. It's a perfect example of the ripple effect in action -- all of this by making one change, which led to another, and another.
The Ripple Effect Small Steps Lead to Big Results - To learn more about this author, visit Kathy Paauw's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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