Success Strategies

3 Ways To Network With A Purpose…

It’s the people we hardly know, and not our closest friends, who will improve our lives most dramactically.
Meg Jay

Stimulating interview with Executive Coach, Founder and CEO of Soft Skills Services, Maxine Barnett. In it she shares successive nuggets on effective networking for new entrepreneurs and professional desiring to build their personal growth.

Strategies For Effective Networking

Here are three strategies:

Be prepared to meet 2-3 persons while attending the event.
Make a connection. Introduce yourself using your elevator speech and be present during your conversation.
Follow-up within 2-3 after the event to remain top of mind with your new strategic connection.

Networking is a soft skill–a people skill needed for business and people purposes. It is useful for purposeful growth. Be intentional about it. View the full conversation here.

What are your thoughts on networking? Do share, we would love to hear.

Cheers!

7 Things To Do When Stuck…

Success Strategies

You know those things you have always wanted to do, you should go do them.

What is it that thing you have always wanted to do? Change job? Start a family? Enroll on that degree? Learn a new skill? Take that vacation?

Life gets hard at times. Chances are with everything happening around us at work, home, school, it can knock us off our feet. The result often is being stuck. Not moving. As in a state of shock, standing still. Below are 7 Things you can do when you are stuck.

Do something! Step out! Complete that application! Try something new!
Plan an escape rather than daydream about different scenarios. Go on a trip to relax and reboot your thoughts.
Switch up your daily activities.
Don’t envy and compare yourself to others.
Do one positive thing for yourself today.
If you want to change your life, Pray. Change your…

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George Washington University Globe Trotting Study Abroad Student Compares Experiences In China & Greece…

Engage in this stimulating conversation with George Washington University Student, Brianna Bougouneau as she shares her cross-cultural study abroad

Blessed are curious for they shall have adventures.
Lovelle Drachman

Engage in this stimulating conversation with George Washington University Student, Brianna Bougouneau as she shares her cross-cultural study abroad experiences in China, Taiwan, Greece and Europe. In her words, sometimes you have to be bold, patient, and manage your expectations in order to be successful.

Listen in as she explores her challenges and resilience. This video is another in the interview series where I explore Success as emerging leaders define it.

Studied abroad? What did you experience? Do share, we would love to hear.

Cheers!

Writers Abandoned Manuscripts: Suzanne Bennett’s 7 Ideas For What To Do With Them…

Writers always produce more than they share with readers. Even bestseller authors have abandoned manuscripts. This article will give you some ideas on what to do with them.
Writers Write

Loved these Writers Write tips for those who write and have manuscripts that just can’t get done. Suzzanne Bennett shares 7 Ideas of what to do with abandoned writings. Here I share my favorite 3.

Create a space. Call it ‘graveyard,’ ‘slush pile,’ or ‘bits n bobs
Salvage the Wreck. The ‘To Salvage’ file contains revamped manuscripts that you still consider terrible, but where you hope to find a few nuggets of gold.
Revisit your Graveyard in times of need. Whenever you need inspiration, go to your pile of manuscripts, and start reading. You might just find a darling that once was ‘killed’

These were my favorites. Do you have abandoned writers? What can you do with them? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Everything Everywhere All At Once?

Reflecting on its application to life, can we do everything and be everywhere all at once?

I was in San Francisco with my girls celebrating my sister’s birthday when the movie everything everywhere all at once came out. We went to see it. The theater was filled mainly with college students and those in their late teens or early twenties. My own young adult college student loved it. The movie had a few walking out early. With it’s multiverse focus, it was long and seemed to end about three times with the theater dwindling as the movie progressed. We stayed to the very end. It’s emotional theme was filled with laughter, some crazies, and a few tears especially at the end. To this day my youngest still adored that movie.

Life’s Application

But as I reflect on its application to life, can we do everything and be everywhere all at once? Really hard, even tiring and strenuous. Sure grounds for emotional imbalance and high stress.

Business coaches will tell you to focus on one thing at a time. Being everywhere all at once depicts lack of focus and going nowhere. Apply this concept to your goals. Sometimes you may have to reflect on all your life experiences to get to where you want to go. If it’s studies, you have to choose a major. If it’s career, you have to choose one or one will choose you (if you’re to survive) and chances are you may end up miserable. Not to mention relationships. You have to choose. You have to decide who your friends will be. Who will you be with long term to start a family and build a life?

Our society today seems all over the place. Values have gone awol. Anything goes. You can do anything provided it makes you happy. But at the end of the day, are you really happy?

Something to think about.

Cheers!

The ‘Very’Alternative For Those Who Write …

Success Strategies

Style means the right word. The rest matters little.”
—Jules Renard

Remarkable resource shared in an Authors’ forum. Great ‘very‘ alternative for those who write.

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My Favorite Getaway Space…

Success Strategies

The sun, sand and sea is my favorite place to be.

I was asked to write about my favorite space to share with a visiting friend. I must confess that my love of nature transcends everything. It provides inspiration and a peace that boosts my writing prowess. That said, as my friend Chrissie comes for a 5-Day-visit, I will steal away to the island that captivates. None other than Captiva Island in Sunny Florida. It is a place I getaway to whenever I need to relax and unwind. When you get to Captiva Island, it feels like you are away from all the worries and cares of the world. Indeed the perfect distraction. The rooms overlook the bay or garden, your choice dependent on your budget.

Once I hosted a group business session at the end of the year to this ideal place. The goal was to reflect about plans…

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I Hope you Dance…

Success Strategies

Beach birds Dance means different things to different people. Enjoy the peace, quiet, and solitude at sunrise with birds dancing in sync. That’s my dance. What’s yours?

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An NYU Student Who Studied Abroad In Florence Hated Every Aspect Of Her Semester Abroad…

three-day weekends are the standard for NYU’s study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism

We have always heard about college study abroad programs. Many have experienced and squealed about their tales of travel, new experiences and memories of lasting thrills. But not so for one college student. As the Insider’s article flashed across the screen, I was compelled to find it and dig deeper. I was curious to know why? Here’s an excerpt.

Since three-day weekends are the standard for NYU’s study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism. I was convinced my peers were doing it only to freshen up their social-media profiles and make their friends back home jealous.

I, on the other hand, wanted to travel to learn more about myself and explore ways to shape my life after graduation. Since most of my classmates were looking to go to sex shows in Amsterdam and getting wasted in Ibiza, I traveled alone. I went to Nice, France; Lugano, Switzerland; London; Malta; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. But most weekends I stayed at home in Florence.
Read more from the Insider here

Tales of her experience included:

Living with 7 people was not easy
The pressure to travel on weekends was not easy.
Italian people were hostile towards her
Her life in New York went on without her

Caused me to think how tales of dreams and travel experiences differ among people. As we experience life, it looks different from person to person. One can only imagine an essay from her roommates and what that would look like. Hmmm…

What are your thoughts? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

13 Verses To Fight Fear…

GREENLiGHT

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind
2 Timothy 1:7

It’s natural during times of change that we feel worried about our future. We feel Concerned when we can’t see our way. Take courage. Know that the lord is our God. He will lead, guide and protect us.

Here are 13 verses to comfort an strengthen you in times of need.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows
You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help…

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What is Your Biggest Fear?

Success Strategies

I love nature and always choose to live near a lake, pond or stream. What comes with that is nature’s creatures like squirrels, ducks, and my worst fear –lizards! My fear of them makes me search to find them before they sneak upon me. My imagination runs wild as I think of their creepy, crawley features that makes me real scared. Mind you, it has not happened but my fear, like Cusps, makes it real to me…yikes!

Aren’t we all afraid of something? We sure are. But what is fear? Why are we afraid?