Success Strategies
Motivate. Inspire Your Personal Growth
What You Need To Do To Achieve Success…
Set your Goals High and Don’t Stop until you Get There
Richard Byerley was ‘officially’ the oldest person to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. Byerley reached the summit in October 2010 at the ripe old age of 84 years and 71 days. However, his record was surpassed by Martin Kafer (85) and his wife Esther (84) in October 2012 (Kilimanjaro Guide).
Not to be outdone, the oldest woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m; 19,340 ft) Angela Vorobeva, reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, at age 86 years 267 days, on 29 October 2015 (Guinness book of records).
Naturally, these examples of goal achievement is no small feat. What of athletes, professionals, politicians, and more? We all have goals. But what really are they? Are goals just a wish or a figment of our imagination of some ideal place that we want to be in the future? Think carefully…
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Love. The Ties That Binds Our Hearts…
Two peas in a pod…literally. The Mr. and The Mrs. They were always together seated either in the front, second or third rows during mid-week meetings. Never-apart. They were the esteemed example couple to anyone of 60-years of true love.
At age 70 she fell ill. To date we are not sure of what ailed her but she passed away during a life changing year. How could he live without her? Lady B as she was affectionately called. The truth is, he couldn’t. He lost his thoughts to the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease a year after she passed. He began to make errors. Things got mixed up. Soon he could no longer adequately take care of himself. Death took him away quietly one night after several bouts of strokes, hospitalization and rehab stays.
Like that couple, life is bitter-sweet. The memories live on through offsprings. Today, be encouraged to live your life. Be kind. Enjoy each day like it is your last. Love binds no matter the kind. The love of a couple, friends, family and more.
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Sell More Books This Holiday. Here’s How…
Writers write. Readers read. Together they are one.
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The holiday season brings many opportunities for authors. Families, co-workers, friends, networkers and even the Grinch shop for the perfect Gifts for book-lovers. From fiction, non fiction, Poetry, Sci-fi and sweet holiday romance for those hallmark enthusiasts who dream not only of movies but to curl up in the warmth of Christmas bliss. Their goal? To get lost in the world of the ideal relationship.
Marketers go crazy to capture the holiday magic for those on the naughty or nice list. So why shouldn’t authors…well author-preneurs participate? It’s become a common trend for non-traditional publishers to want to optimize the sweet fruits of their labor. They want to see their hard work nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree or at minimum, stuffed into Christmas stockings.
So how can authors prepare? I was chatting with a group of self published and traditionally published authors who long to boost their holiday sales. Why have the books gathering dust on Amazon’s platform or even yours? It seems the practice is to write it, publish it, and forget it, with the hopes that writing and publishing the book will attract sales. Not so. It does not work that way. Not for any type of author. The point is, after your book is published… unfortunately that’s when the hard work begins. You have to make the world know that it exists. So here are a few simple tips to help get you started. Don’t be overwhelmed. Choose one, two or a few and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year.
Create That Holiday Plan
- Create a plan for the holidays. I am a firm believer in the saying if you are not planning you’re just practicing.
- Evaluate where you are now and where you would like to be at the end of the holiday period. For example, you could include factors like doubling or tripling your year-to-date sales. If you are an experienced author with several books, take a loo at your past holiday sales. Project an increase in sales over past years.
- Plan to up your Marketing and Promotional strategy. Sometimes just a little effort goes a long way from doing nothing at all.
- Update your book covers. Make it festive (easier if you’re self-published) but whatever you do, make sure your cover looks professional.
Your Holiday Author Platform
- Become more visible
- Get your website holiday ready
- Update your Amazon Author Central profile
- Get more amazon reviews
- Make your book covers more festive
- Update your book description
- Update your author bio. It’s a good idea to edit and review often on your amazon page. You would be surprised when you look back you seem to be looking at a stranger who essentially is a person you hardly recognize. Think of this like a resume. Update frequently.
- Get a professional photo done and spread it across the different media networks
Build That Strategic Audience
- Set up or expand your mailing list
- Write blog posts
- Create a newsletter… if that’s on your agenda
- Find and connect with your audience. Engage, engage, engage them
- Offer free holiday shipping
You may also like From Books To Bucks
Get Social
- Update your Social Media Profile
- Do a holiday-themed hash tag search
- Dig a little deep and find out who your followers are
- Create images of your books in holiday settings on instagram
- Create your own 12-Days of Christmas
Show. Don’t Tell
- Increase your book reviews. Aim for 25 which means you have to go after many in order to get this done. You will receive promises but usually only lower percentage will come through
- Create gift bags and other swags for giveaways
- Create holiday videos. Already doing that? Do some more
- Have a series? Make the first book FREE
- Prep your own 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways
Holiday Party Connect. Collaborate.
- Collaborate with other authors in Holiday Book Events
- Participate in Holiday Book Guide
- Gifts for the Poetry Lover
- Gifts for the Sci-fi lover
- Gifts for the child reader enthusiasts
- Invite your fans to an “ask the author” virtual Holiday party on social media
- Get involved in local festivities (holiday markets, local fairs etc.)
- Contact local independent bookstores
Hope these few tips will help get you underway. There are tons more but these few will get you started. Don’t get overwhelmed. Choose one, two or a few and Sell More Books this Holiday!
Cheers!
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What’s Life All About?
Life is what you make it
What’s your life all about? That’s the question i asked 10 year old Xavier. Seriously and Without hesitation he replied Video games, basketball, God, watching TV. Gotta give him credit, he knew exactly what he was about.
At that young age, life can be easy but what a you and me? As we grow older it’s important for us to ‘get a life’ as the common saying goes. Mine is about and encouraging personal growth of anyone in my sphere of influence.
Today I encourage you to Reflect, start planning abs action.
What’s your life all about? Do share. We would love to hear.
Cheers!
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Traveling? Top 11 Things To Do Before You Board That Flight…
We love to travel! The warmth of new places brings smiles and memories that last. But getting to the pleasures of our vacation destination often comes with a nightmare. Travel and Leisure shared their top 25 Things to do before getting on a plane. Here are my top 11 Favs, which by the way makes business travel a breeze.
Pre-Travel Stress Reducers
- Get the airlines credit card which offers perks like priority access and other rewards
- Download your airlines app. No check-in and free onboard entertainment
- Signup for TSA Pre-Check. Forego It’s a smart strategy for a smoother walk through and some airlines refund you the application fee
- Check your bags size and dimensions. Airlines are reducing the space. Rid yourself of the headache and follow the rules before you leave home
- Compile your gadgets. Being organized makes your life easier
- Lounge around the departure lounges instead of sitting at the gate. Life’s simple
- Wear comfortable clothing. But I dare say remember airline rules. For example Sometimes short shorts makes the morning news when tempers flare
- Disinfect. Need I say more?
- Reserve airport parking before you leave. Works like magic and you will walk away looking at cars circling the garage or squeals at missed flights
- Grab and Go is a great idea for starving passengers. Get the app and order ahead
- That wretched life-saving Mask. Don’t forget it.
BONUS
Read. Bring a book
So these are my top favs. What’s yours? Do share. We would love to hear!
Cheers!
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Binge-Watching For Personal Growth. 9 Must-See…
People are hungry for something Different
Miles Millar
Binge Watching is the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.
Dictionary.com
Patty’s text excitedly read “hey, I’m here binge watching your YouTube videos”. Hmmm an untapped medium, I thought about it and decided to share a few of the top videos. Below are 9 listed and shown below for your convenience. Go grab a snack and tune in. Build your personal growth as a writer, leader, new entrepreneur and more.
Happy watching!
- A Conversation With Reggae Music Matriarch Pat Chin On Overcoming Barriers As A Woman In Business
- 15 Leadership Traits
- Get Unstuck. A Literary Conversation with Lawyer Turned Author Meg Nocero
- Authors Of Color Books, Literary Hooks And Nooks
- LIVE Interview with Journalist Grace. How She took The Step From Career To Entrepreneur
- Simply The Best Or…
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What Are The Requirements To Be A Writer? 25 Authors Share…
What does it take to be a writer? That was the question asked in a writers’ forum. Some think it’s rather scary to become a writer. They believe they can’t do it. But isn’t that the case with many new feats that we decide to embark on? The unknown is scary. But I always encourage you to step out afraid, scared, trembling… but do it anyway. Here I share basically verbatim responses as Professional Writers dived in assiduously with their opinions.
Characteristics Of Good Writers
- Patience and determination
- Perseverance, self-awareness, optimism, logic, self analysis, the ability to listen to expert input, communication skills, your own writing voice, attention to detail
- A willingness to learn the skills you don’t have and 50 percent sanity and 50 percent raging eccentricity
- “What kind of writer? What do you write? But let’s say FICTION. First of all endurance. You’ll write a lot of ‘crap’. I am not sorry to say. It’s just that the first few years of your writing will. General advice aside, you’ll have to work hard by writing, reading, getting the “feel” for a storyline and characters. And get a touch of the flow. You’ll begin to understand what makes a character, drives a character, what characters fear and desire. And most important what they need. You begin to feel the pulse of the story and where it goes on too thin/long and where things could be expanded on. You begin to understand archetypes too. It is a long path. But at some point you “feel” the story is right. My suggestion is to read a lot and watch good movies. Movies with well done stories and characters. Classic movies. I watched Lord of the Rings many times, it heavily uses archetypes and characters with strengths, desires, and flaws. And yes I read the book many times too! You could read Dracula, watch The Godfather and so on. The classics is where many of the deep archetypes lay”.
- Imagination
- Words. Words written down. Words woven into a great story.
- Write. Simply write
- First, ‘butt’ in the chair, pen in hand
- Desire, persistence, and the willingness to learn the craft – that’s all.
- Passion for writing
- Read, read and read. Then you write
- Commitment, imagination, and a touch of insanity
- Tell a complete story. Beginning, middle and end. It’s shocking how many people can’t do this.
- A touch of talent and a ton of hard work.
- Keep on learning each day and move forward and up.
- Thick skin
- Lots of practice.
- A good writer just needs something important to say
- Faith
- Learn to Finishing things.
- Keep a journal
- Time
- Just be yourself. Lots of people grow up feeling like the main character of a crazy adventure novel. At least that’s how writing came easy to me. Know that revision and editing is essential. Don’t see it as too daunting and make sure you save your work. Develop that habit.
- Mindset and practicing are the most important basic requirements to become a writer. The other crucial steps are the ability to experiment and research. You need to have the ability to think from different POVs and develop a strong ability of imagination by reading a lot. Building up a proper balance between your fingers and mind is important and that may only be achieved by writing on a regular basis.
- To be a good writer, you have to have something to say. Writer’s block is a sign you don’t have a message. I keep a diary of daily observations and what they mean to me. Good writers have an uncanny sense of the motivation of others, and they can capture the human condition in words that repeat their/our thoughts. My diary is often the storeroom for those words. I learned long ago that eloquent words come from eloquent thoughts. You have to write them down in the moment or lose them forever. The rest is ‘craft’ (the tools of the trade, so to speak). There are so many writers, so caught up in craft, they struggle with content continually.
So there you have it, authors giving their feedback to newbies and/or those who aspire to start something new. Just do it!
Cheers!
You may also like Write. Just Write
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What Happens When Your Goal And Dream Become Theirs?
In your own quiet corner you lay at night. You dream about being in the nationals. You work your butt off and that dream finally becomes real. Then you start thinking is the Olympics possible? 4 Years of hard work and sacrifice and it comes through! Millions grin with joy and you cannot help but beam. Then another 4 years to go higher. Is it possible? Can you do it again? You get to work again but pretty soon you realize the dream is no longer yours. You want to back off but start thinking … what will they say? How will they react? But really you no longer want that dream (for you).
Is it worth it to deny yourself and go after their goal? One can only think of the Olympics and the predicament of the athletes who compete. Usain bolt was one. Armed with the birth name bolt, he struck lightening as a little country boy. His natural gift blessed the world for several Olympic seasons then he decided to walk away, to change careers. Many understood but were disappointed. They had saved for several years to getaway on those blissful destination vacay under the premise of supporting their country, while being entertained.
Your Career. Your Choice.
Let’s emphasize. Whatever career you choose, it-is-your-choice. No one else’s. You have to work hard for it. Make sacrifices but in the end if you are successful, it’s yours. Naturally the salary, and the benefits of all expense paid trips are appetizing but pretty soon you get tired and may not want ‘it’ any more. That’s when you need to stand strong. To get the negatives out of your head. To ditch the career when it no longer motivates you. When it seems like a chore to get out of bed. When you feel nauseated just thinking about it. Know that is when it’s time to move on.
But First Prepare
But before you do, make that plan. Prepare yourself adequately. Making a major decision to throw in the towel doesn’t come lightly and leads to consequences. So move stealthily. Think before you leap.
The book Your Career: Ditch It Switch It prepares you and is a valuable resource before you jump ship. Want to learn more? Get it here
What about you? Have you ever had to walk away from a promising career? When you look back, did you do the right thing? Any regrets? Do share. We would love to hear.
Cheers!
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It’s August Goal-Seekers. Anything’s Possible With These Quick Tips…
It’s August. Anything’s Possible
Dr. Shelly c
It’s August. Way past mid-year. How are your Goals progressing? Go check the list and the strategies you wrote. Didn’t record them? Sad… because that’s the first step in your goals being manifested. But no fear, it’s never too late. Write them down now. Add strategies…you know… those ways to achieve them. Don’t forget to include deadlines to hold yourself accountable.
Connect With Your Network
Progress slowed? Pandemic in the way? Frustration aside, if you’re a writer, keep writing. Don’t stop. New entrepreneur? Keep plugging. Keep pushing. Build in that daily motivation and that resolve to never give up. You will get there.
Need to change that frustrating job? Don’t quit. Plan. Revisit and update your public profile (Resume, LinkedIn). Connect with your network. Get those leads. Don’t forget the traditional job search methods and applications but do combine it with networking. It’s one of the primary ways to get a job and other leads.
Dive into the book Ditch It Switch for help. Valuable tips included.
Need help? Let’s connect.
Cheers!
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13 Ways To Get Out Of Your Head…
13 Ways To Get Out Of Your Head
You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. ~Wayne Gretzky
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I heard a TV host who was showing a young lady how to use a piece of equipment which she was actively trying to learn. She went into a what if scenario to which he retorted with the question… “are you pre-planning your mistakes?” She laughed.
It reminded me of how we often act. We think of everything that could go wrong instead of thinking of the things that could go right. What if I go after the entrepreneurship venture and fail? What if I apply to the job and they turn me down? What if I invest in the relationship and it doesn’t work out? What if scenarios play over and over in our head. It gets us nowhere. Get out of your head and take the bull by the horn (so to speak). Here’s a brief list of things you can do to get out of your head.
13 Things To Do To Get Out Of Your Head
- Breathe
- Pray. Meditate
- Exercise. Go for a walk/run
- Recite a Mantra. Motivational Quotes and Positive Affirmations work
- Recognize the signs of the negative and create an action plan to beat it
- Write it down. Get the negative thoughts out of of your head
- Focus on your end-goal
- Watch an inspiring movie. Laugh. Comedy puts you on your lighter side.
- Make a list of inspiring movies, songs, or anything that will help you beat the downward mood trend
- Talk it out. Have a trusted friend that you can share your thoughts and insecurities with.
- Have an accountability partner who will check in with you continuously about your goal
- Let go of negative people, environment or things. Anything that holds you back.
- Keep learning. Learn something new. It builds your confidence.
These are just a few of the things you can do when you start to question yourself. Remember life comes with its ups and downs. So it is important to take the time to grow in spite of the things that may try to pull you down. Keep yourself motivated to achieve.
How about you? What do you do to keep yourself motivated when the negative thoughts threaten? Do share. We would love to hear.
Cheers!
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Is There A Place For Victory When Mental Issues Rears Its Ugly Head?
When is it okay to throw in the towel? To give up? Olympians have started doing it. Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka withdrew citing mental issues. For decades Olympians withdrew without choice due to physical injuries as was the recent case of Serena Williams. But what of psychological? Is there a place for commitment, dedication? Determination? Better yet, if you withdraw, does it mean that you’re not?
Olympic Woes Amidst Success
Let no one define what Success Means to you. Define it for yourself.
Dr. Shelly C
The Olympics has always been a love of mine. Personally, I did track most of my school years and was naturally good at it. Sadly, no one told me that my natural talents and discipline was worthy of pushing forward to compete at a higher level. So once I got to the nationals, that’s where it stayed. I didn’t rise to higher heights.
Questions arose in my mind as I thought of my early life’s athletic prowess amidst the current Olympics situation. Furthermore, my study and research of success made me even more curious. Leadership traits such as determination, discipline, resilience were all attributable to success… be it in sports, business or life in general. When there is a goal that drives, we do whatever it takes to achieve. But when the going gets tough and society takes over (your goal), as is the case when athletes compete on behalf of educational institutions, organizations, or globally as in the Olympics, we ponder where does it stop? Where do you draw the line? When the goal becomes not only that of the athlete’s personally but that of his/her team, state, country (not the world yet though space tourism has become an appetizing delectable), whose decision is it?
Oh What Peace We Often Forfeit
Indeed as a colleague shared, it has become a complex situation especially when the values and socialization of societies differ. One competitor may never give up. Another may say ” hey it’s okay”. Millennials and Generation Z (iGeneration) think survival. They’ll retort, “I don’t want this anymore no matter the consequences. I will do me. You do you. Keep your award, your attributes, your contracts, your medals and forgive me but I will keep my sanity. That means more to me.”
Mental Issues Are Real
I dare say, mental issues are real. It was previously thought of as taboo to share inner turmoil for fear of being seen as weak, but these days when the British Royalties have brought mental issues to light, it is now more recognized and many in fact do understand.
As society and individual goals evolves, where do we go next? Let’s be prepared to not only wait and see but to also get ready to do something about it. Check-in with a neighbor or friend going through stuff. Be mindful of the silent ones. Offer support. Refer them to get help. Let’s do what we can in our small corner.
Cheers!
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Don’t Self-Reject…
Don’t do it. Don’t self-reject. Just don’t do it.
Think about the last time an opportunity showed up. It may have been a job, a relationship, a personal move. It was too good to be true. So you hesitated. Did your hesitation alter the end result? Did you go after it eventually or did you make your fear cause you to freeze?
It’s sad but so often we self-reject. Often we talk ourselves out of doing something we are well qualified for. Most common on the job-front. We move to a new area. Start the job hunt then when something big comes up. We feel less than qualified. We look at the requirements then decide that we won’t apply because we don’t fit one or more of the requirements. Or that company is too big, they would never hire me. We do the usual self talk. Focus on the negative and talk ourselves out of it. Ditch the negatives.
Going after something or someone we deem important. But what if they see me in a different light? What if they think that I’m not good enough? What if they say no? Ditch the negative self-talk. What if they say yes? Send the email.
Ditch The Negative Self-Talk
Life would be much easier if we focus on the positive. Ditch the self-pity. Ditch those negative self-talk. Go after your dream job, relationship, house, car, vacation. Plan it. Ink it. Do it.
Don’t know where to start, let’s connect.
Cheers!
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