blogging – Page 5 – Success Strategies

What’s Your Why? Here’s Mine…

Actions are visible, motives are secret. ~Samuel Johnson

Affluent, distinguished, go-getter one day she suffered a stroke. In an instant Alice’s life changed. Weekly physical therapy became routine to return to normal. Sadly, the job she previously had also left her.

Despondent she wanted to know what to do. She decided to search before the end came. Sad and down she called. We talked and talked for days, weeks and after several rounds of coaching she excitedly announced to her peers that she got another job….one directly related to her dreams. She felt alive again.

Sheryl, a journalist for well more than a decade was tired of her job. But each time we talked about her career change… it seems she got pregnant. Two children later she decided she had enough. It was time to take the leap. She acted. Today she’s excited about her new job and her career change.

Chloe, a bank manager, wanted to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Instead she took the leap to another well paying banking opportunity where she commuted 3 hours to and from work every day. Sadly, her stride to achieve her goal halted. She was devastated. Today she’s still waiting.

Here’s Why I Coach

I do it to help you achieve your goals, your dreams, your aspirations. I do it to bring out what’s inside. To make it real as it did for Alice and Sheryl. However, if you are like Chloe there is still hope for success. But don’t wait too long. Get the book Ditch It. Switch It today. Let’s connect and start your journey now.

Cheers!

Writers Block. Stuck In A Rut. 21 Ways To Overcome…

You can’t think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block. ~John Rogers

Writers block is a common phenomenon among writers. It’s the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing. The question was asked and the list was compiled from advice gleaned from a Book Writers’ forum. The ideas are simple and delightfully thought-provoking. Here I share 21 of the more exhilarating.

Embrace it as gestation
Listen to music
Take a break or work on something else
Go back to what inspired you first
Change your scenery.
Go for a walk
Write something personal
Read. Get motivated. Then go back
Put the pen and paper down.
Leave it alone and the ideas will come home
Ask questions of your stories
Try writing something different
Take a shower. Let the water flow and the ideas will come
Free write. Write about your day. Just write
Ask another writer what they are working on. The change of focus will inspire you
People who succeed as writers write
Take a writing course
Be in a group
Write about writer’s block. Something will inspire
Watch a movie
Get physical. Go to the gym. Break a sweat

Did any of the above resonate? Can you add any? Do share! We would love to hear!

Cheers!

Literary Event…

Always thrilled to participate in South Florida’s Writers Of Color igniting, harnessing, directing literary imagination and creativity. Come see, hear, listen and be inspired March 2-3, in Miami.

The Biggest Challenge Writers Face….

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

― Maya Angelou

A public writers forum asked the question “what is the single biggest challenge you as a writer face?” Here I share responses as writers chimed in:

Writing everyday
Marketing
Not enough erasers
Find an agent
A full-time job that isn’t
Learning all the required skills – writing, editing, cover art, publishing, marketing, salesmanship, accounting …
Identifying my audience
Details
Time
Reviews
Getting books sold
Selling myself
Lethargy
Butt in chair
Discipline
Marketing costs. Dispite what some may say, it is expensive to self-publish. Editor, copy editor, cover design, copyright, ISBN numbers, authors copies, advertising, website, domain name, contests, give-aways, and on and on it goes
Self-Doubt
Stay Motivated
Writers block

The list goes on. Are you a new or published author? Is anything missing? Do share. We would love to hear.

Need help? Let’s connect.

Cheers!

7 Things To Do When Stuck…

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 environment.
Find a mentor or coach. Ask for help.

Today, step forward. Be bold. Go do that thing that you have always wanted to do. Sure you may be scared, afraid, even terrified! But still do it….even when afraid. Don’t leave your future wondering ‘what if’.

Need help? Let’s connect

Cheers!

10 Must-See Author Documentaries …

Very interesting insight into author biographies

Types Of Writers. Which One Are You?

Writer? Author? Writing? Which one are you? Saw this in an online forum from write_or_or_leftand thought I would share.

My Top 5 Business Books For The Brave New Entrepreneur…

A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. ~John A. Shedd

The Quest for Entrepreneurship has risen to new heights. 101+ Quotes For New Entrepreneurs contends that with over 25 Million Americans starting or running new businesses, entrepreneurship has become incredibly attractive, yet extremely difficult to sustain. Adding to the excitement, the Gig Economy’s Freelancers comprise over 35 percent of the U.S. Workforce. Even with the traits of fearlessness, risk-taking, passion, resilience, and creativity, difficulties arise, and Entrepreneurs need to keep going.

Keep The Dream Alive

Here I share my 5 top books that can help New Entrepreneurs keep the dream alive.

Good To Great By Jim Collins shares the result of a study about businesses that were not born with great DNA. Can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? My own research on Success Strategies of Caribbean American Leaders In The United States was influenced by Jim Collins study when I sought to answer Why Some Individuals Succeed While others don’t.

Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson argues that your message has the ability to change someone’s life. The impact that the right message can have on someone at the right time in their life is immeasurable. It could help to save marriages, repair families, change someone’s health, grow a company or more… But only if you know how to get it into the hands of the people whose lives you have been called to change. Expert Secrets will put your message into the hands of people who need it.

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses is a book by Eric Ries describing his proposed lean startup strategy for startup companies.

Think and Grow Rich was written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill, promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. Hill writes that he was inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business is a book by Charles Duhigg, a New York Times reporter, published in February 2012 by Random House. It explores the science behind habit creation and reformation. The book has reached the best seller list for The New York Times,

Amazon.com, and USA Today.

So those are my top 5 Books for those new to entrepreneurship. Did any of these books resonate for you as a new entrepreneur, or if you are a brave soul thinking to take the leap? If you have already taken the leap and have a favorite book, do share! We would love to hear!

Cheers!

Perfection Is The Killer Of Dreams…

Perfection is the killer of dreams

Perfection is the killer of dreams. Curious, one reader questioned it. I replied….

Perfection is a common factor with high performers. We try to make our tasks as ‘perfect’ as possible much to the demise of getting goals done. We do get them done but (like an Allergic reaction), after doing them over, and over, and over again; double checking and triple checking to ensure everything is in place. Our desire is to avoid a Cacophony of our work.

Meanwhile our competitors who do not care as much, often complete their tasks even with errors. The challenge is they sometimes are accepted giving excuses for ‘errors’.
My suggestion to high performers is to double-check and get it done especially when it’s an application or something where there are others vying for the same contract or position.

So stop triple-checking. Make it Viable…just get it done.

Cheers!

Write…

Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain

Keep writing

Who Runs Your World? Goals…

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. ~Lewis Carroll

So you’ve got goals! Yea! That’s just great! Like I have always said, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up some place else. So what runs your world? Goals… of course. But be flexible.

I was reflecting on HGTV’s Joanne Gaines and hubby Chip. Joanne shared in her year in review that they had planned on going in a different direction at the beginning of 2018. Then suddenly they discovered they were pregnant! If you are a parent you know how much pregnancy changes things. You have to think about preparing for the little one coming who (though so tiny), totally changes things! Although you and I may be excellent planners, things happen. Some things throw us off course.

Similarly, my friend’s dad went to the hospital to do surgery on his foot, only to be told that he would be losing his foot! Aging parents need help. So she gave up her job and plans and went home to care for her dad. He had to learn a new way of living.

Life does throw us curved balls. So what do we do when that happens? We must catch it and adapt. That’s the only way to survive, Oh yes… cry if you must but react quickly and move on. That’s the way with our goals. We know where we are going but getting there may be different. Sometimes things go totally awry as it did for HGTV’s Joanna Gaines and my friend. But both survived.

So as you commence working on those delightful goals, I wish you the best. But make certain that you build in flexibility. It’s the only way to react quickly whether good or bad.

Need help? Let’s connect.

Cheers!

And So I Write…

And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while is just bliss. J. K. Rowling

Am I alone? Am I the only one obsessed with writing? I can’t seem to get enough of it. I eat, sleep, dream, and I write.

Can the doctor help? Noooo…don’t need it. I write because I’m compelled to release, to ease, to let loose what’s inside… what drives my heart to peace.

I care about you. I respect you. But please talk to me when I’m done. For me to be more impacting to you, I must write. The thoughts, stories, insights yearn to be set free.

And so I write…..