Change Your Mind and Change Your Life
Change Your Mind and Change Your Life
- Albert Einstein
This quote presents the truism that we must change our perspective, our way of thinking, our approach to a problem before we can possibly solve the problem. In other words, If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
What does the mean in the context of your career? Plenty. If you've been taking the approach of being a reliable, industrious, somewhat reserved worker bee and you notice that you keep getting passed over for the big projects you'd like to work on, the answer probably isn't to do more of the same and hope for a different result. If you're constantly running ragged, wondering how you can connect with your spouse and/or children in an hour or so at the beginning or end of each day, it's a safe bet that you won't shift your actions until and unless you shift your perspective. Want a new job? You'll have to pull some time and attention away from what you're doing now to make the time to launch a job search. And if you believe that business development is something that you'll begin "later," you likely won't recognize client development opportunities that may come your way -- because chance favors the prepared mind.
Making a change requires stepping outside of a situation long enough to identify the problem and then making a mental shift that will help in solving that problem. How the shift happens is individual to each person, but creating and then using a shift relies on several basic principles.
1. The shift must be authentic. If your spouse, your supervisor, your doctor, or anybody else tells you to make a change and you don't buy into it, there will be no shift. Remember the punchline to the joke asking how many psychiatrists are needed to change a lightbulb? One, but the lightbulb has to really, really want to change. No psychiatry here, but if you don't really, really want to change (or at least really, really believe you need to change), chances are good that you'll keep on doing the same old, same old.
2. Maintaining the shift means keeping it in the forefront of your mind. If you're trying to make a habit of arranging lunch with one potential client a week, put that on your calendar where you see it daily. If you're trying to incorporate some stretching into your day so you don't feel like you're 90 years old when you hobble away from your desk at the end of the day, set an alarm that go off periodically. If you want to improve your efficiency in the office, use time management tools that keep your eye on efficiency. Holding onto a shift in perspective means keeping it in front of you visually and/or aurally, because it's often all too easy to slide back to the old, familiar approach.
3. Reaping the benefit of the shift requires action. While it's important to recognize a problem or a situation that can be improved, that's empty if it's a recognition without follow-through. If you want more balance in your life, take some action, even if it's small. Claiming a 15-minute walk for yourself in the afternoon will not only provide some balance but also will remind you that you're seeking balance. (Put it in your calendar and keep that commitment, too!)
4. It's easier to maintain a shift, and to design and implement the actions that the shift calls for, with support. Tell your spouse that you need to set aside 3 hours on Saturday morning to catch up on work. Tell your secretary that you plan to eat lunch away from your desk one day this week. Work with a coach to provide accountability as you set out on your career advancement plans. If you decide you're going to make a change, you probably have about a 40% chance of succeeding. If you decide to make a change, tell someone what you're going to do, and commit to doing it by a certain deadline, you have about a 95% chance of succeeding.
What shift do you need to make to improve your career and your life?
Change Your Mind and Change Your Life - To learn more about this author, visit Julie Fleming-Brown's Website.
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We cannot solve problems with the same level of consciousness that created them.
- Albert Einstein
This quote presents the truism that we must change our perspective, our way of thinking, our approach to a problem before we can possibly solve the problem. In other words, If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
What does the mean in the context of your career? Plenty. If you've been taking the approach of being a reliable, industrious, somewhat reserved worker bee and you notice that you keep getting passed over for the big projects you'd like to work on, the answer probably isn't to do more of the same and hope for a different result. If you're constantly running ragged, wondering how you can connect with your spouse and/or children in an hour or so at the beginning or end of each day, it's a safe bet that you won't shift your actions until and unless you shift your perspective. Want a new job? You'll have to pull some time and attention away from what you're doing now to make the time to launch a job search. And if you believe that business development is something that you'll begin "later," you likely won't recognize client development opportunities that may come your way -- because chance favors the prepared mind.
Making a change requires stepping outside of a situation long enough to identify the problem and then making a mental shift that will help in solving that problem. How the shift happens is individual to each person, but creating and then using a shift relies on several basic principles.
1. The shift must be authentic. If your spouse, your supervisor, your doctor, or anybody else tells you to make a change and you don't buy into it, there will be no shift. Remember the punchline to the joke asking how many psychiatrists are needed to change a lightbulb? One, but the lightbulb has to really, really want to change. No psychiatry here, but if you don't really, really want to change (or at least really, really believe you need to change), chances are good that you'll keep on doing the same old, same old.
2. Maintaining the shift means keeping it in the forefront of your mind. If you're trying to make a habit of arranging lunch with one potential client a week, put that on your calendar where you see it daily. If you're trying to incorporate some stretching into your day so you don't feel like you're 90 years old when you hobble away from your desk at the end of the day, set an alarm that go off periodically. If you want to improve your efficiency in the office, use time management tools that keep your eye on efficiency. Holding onto a shift in perspective means keeping it in front of you visually and/or aurally, because it's often all too easy to slide back to the old, familiar approach.
3. Reaping the benefit of the shift requires action. While it's important to recognize a problem or a situation that can be improved, that's empty if it's a recognition without follow-through. If you want more balance in your life, take some action, even if it's small. Claiming a 15-minute walk for yourself in the afternoon will not only provide some balance but also will remind you that you're seeking balance. (Put it in your calendar and keep that commitment, too!)
4. It's easier to maintain a shift, and to design and implement the actions that the shift calls for, with support. Tell your spouse that you need to set aside 3 hours on Saturday morning to catch up on work. Tell your secretary that you plan to eat lunch away from your desk one day this week. Work with a coach to provide accountability as you set out on your career advancement plans. If you decide you're going to make a change, you probably have about a 40% chance of succeeding. If you decide to make a change, tell someone what you're going to do, and commit to doing it by a certain deadline, you have about a 95% chance of succeeding.
What shift do you need to make to improve your career and your life?
Change Your Mind and Change Your Life - To learn more about this author, visit Julie Fleming-Brown'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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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr'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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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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