High-Achieving Women's Blogazine

In order to tell you what habits help me to be successful, I’ll have to share with you my idea of success. Success means living a purposeful life, where I experience radiant health, abundant prosperity and meaningful relationships.  Here are a few habits that I’m cultivating as I move from success to significance.

 

1. Meditation
2. Exercise
3. Journaling
4. Waking up between 5 am and 6 am
5. Keeping the important list to 3 items
6. Having a “fantastic” day
7. Reading daily
8. Less television time

8.5        Personal development at all times

It’s this simple – when your energy is high you can bring your best to every task you take on. When your energy is low, you can’t.  You must focus on raising and maintaining your own energy, keeping yourself strong and well, so that you can be focused and effective and brilliant while taking on the next steps for success.

What daily habits do you have that help you to be successful? Why not share them in the comment section of this Blog.

You can take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. ™ http://highachievingwomen.biz/?page_id=185

A vision without a plan is just a dream.
A plan without a vision is just drudgery.
But a vision with a plan can change the world. 

 

Greatness is about one’s day-in and day-out habits, character and core values. In other words, no matter what your past was like, you have the ability to achieve greatness—starting now. You just need to hone in on the small things you do every day—those tasks and chores that may seem trivial and unimportant—and start doing them based on your best, all the time. Here are some guidelines for greatness to help get you started:

1. Walk your talk.
2. If you make a promise, keep it.
3. Do sweat the small stuff. (Or at least pay attention to it.)
4. Align yourself with the other “greats” in your life.
5.  Always act as if someone is watching you.
6. Surround yourself with people who don’t think like you.
7. Be known for your integrity.
8. Know when to ask for help.
9. Read at least ten books a year.
10. Shape your life around your passions.
11. Talk to strangers. 

11.5    Expect Greatness to come.

Success doesn’t just happen by accident.  It also doesn’t happen just from working really, really hard.  It takes a great plan, a great strategy that you can work from.  And that takes the discipline to step back from the daily grind, to talk with other trusted and committed people and to create a plan and strategy that will take you where you want to go.

I would love to help you develop and expand your portfolio of success through discovering your purpose, unleashing your passion, helping you achieve next-level results and enjoying the realization of your result-oriented dreams.  You can take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. ™ http://bit.ly/9AA92z

The only way to fail is to quit” – Chris Widener.  Why not take this partial list of habits that drive business success and start to put each one into practice. By learning and instilling new habits in your daily business life, it will have a dramatic effect on your level of success.

 

1. Cultivate Inner Networks: Take the time to identify and build relationships with key peers, mentors, and advisors.
2. Practice Centerness: Focus away from business and profits toward what you can do to improve the life of your customers.
3. Be Humble and Honesty: Be open and honest about yourself and your business creates growth as an individual and as a company.
4. Embrace Adaptability: Be flexible allows us to respond to changes without being paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.
5. Be Opportunity Focused: Look at both sides of the coin. Every problem has an opportunity.
6. Find A Better Way: Productivity is the cornerstone of business success. Start by embracing technology, automation, outsourcing, and improving business systems and processes.
7. Maintained a Balanced Lifestyle: Business success requires the habit of balancing all aspects of your life; free time is a habit that will make your business and life more enjoyable.

     7.5. Love What You Do and Who You Are: Everything else follows.

Here my suggestion, review each of the 7 habits and choose one habit to focus on for a month or until you achieve mastery; then gradually incorporate each of the 7 habits of business success into your life and watch yourself attain your business dreams. Adopting these 7 habits will help you create a business or career that will give you not only success but also joy and fulfillment in your life. 

I would love to help you develop and expand your portfolio of success through discovering your purpose, unleashing your passion, helping you achieve next-level results and enjoying the realization of your result-oriented dreams.  You can take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. ™ http://bit.ly/9AA92z

One of my favorite books is Good to Great by Jim Collins. This book along with my 12 years entrepreneur experience got me to thinking a lot about greatness and what that really means. I have identified what I call the essential elements that must exist within a company to achieving lasting greatness.  They are Quality, Service, Leadership and Accountability.

Below is a list of business success rules from my Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat. 

1. Be On Target: Decide on your niche–narrow your focus and broaden your appeal.
2. Be Different: If your competitors are doing it, then you don’t.
3. Be Diligent About Building a Team: Employ a person to be part of a team to build your business; you are not hiring an employee to fill a position.
4. Be Fast: Time is the most precious commodity.
5. Be Thankful: Tell your customers and employees how much you appreciate them; the old fashioned way work great… pen to paper and write them a note.
6. Be Consistent: Make sure your business has a consistent look and feel and the same flavor from everyone within your organization.
7. Be Smiles: Get rid of the notion that people buy from you because of price, product quality or your warranty. They buy because they like you and your product.
8. Be Optimism: Attitude will always win out in the end and infect all of those around you.
9. Be Soft: Don’t ever hard sell. Solve problems. Satisfy wants. Always do what is best for the customer.
10. Be Comfort Zone: Never accept the idea that this is the way you’ve always done it. Never accept that a new idea or technology could never work for you.

10.5.   Be the Best and Beyond™

Let’s face it, if you already had all the tools and information necessary to create all the success you want; you would already have created it, right?  The keys to lasting greatness are the missing link to help you get out of your own way and connect to that power and passion and consistent action that create success.

“Greatness is as greatness does” I would love to help you develop and expand your portfolio of success through discovering your purpose, unleashing your passion, helping you achieve next-level results and enjoying the realization of your result-oriented dreams.  You can take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. http://bit.ly/9AA92z

“If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived?  Find your passion, whatever it may be.  Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you and because of you”. – T. Alan Armstrong

Here are my 5.5 tips for greatness:

1. Develop a Vision Plan for Greatness: Once you decide to commit, then create an action plan and take action.
2. Think Less, Do More:  Day dreaming has it place, but it is not the goal.  You must take proactive, powerful action to achieve your goals.
3. Small Steps: Plan tasks out in small manageable steps.
4. Surround Yourself with Mentors:  When you have someone you can look up to and model, you’re bringing yourself one step closer to greatness.
5. Survive Setbacks: When you hit a snag in the road, you need to pick yourself up, change course and forge on.

5.5.   3E Success Circle™:  This is part of my full-circle success wheel designed for greatness.  The E’s are: Engagement, Empowerment, and Expectation.

• Engagement: consistently seeking the right career relationships and business opportunities.
• Empowerment: constantly acquiring and applying knowledge and maintaining an impeccable presence and brand.   
• Expectation: confidently setting career plans and business goals to manifest even when the manifestation cannot be seen.

Consider this point:  Your life right now is perfectly structured to create what you already have, and is not structured to create that amazing vision of yours.  If it were, you would already have it!  After all, it doesn’t matter how hard you are working and how fast you are going if you are headed in the wrong direction with no vision!

You can take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. ™ For more, visit: http://bit.ly/9AA92z.

When you envision what you want to achieve, it will help you clear away clutter, negativity and the people and time-wasters so that your natural brilliance can emerge.  Here are 10.5 mindsets for success through visioning:

 

1. Be Passionate
2. Be a Risk Taker
3. Be Creative
4. Be a Learner
5. Be Focused
6. Be Proactive
7. Be a Server to Others
8. Be a Value of Freedom
9. Be a Builder of a Team
10. Be Evolving

10.5.   Be a Person Who Will: ‘Thinks Big, Act Big to Win Big – It’s Your Time to Sparkle™” 

Once you learn my visioning technique, it will be a tool you’ll use for the rest of your life, in your own business and with your clients. It is an invaluable tool that every business owner and career professional must know.  Remember, visioning your future brings clarity, which causes a shift toward greater, faster growth—it’s like a magnet that pulls you toward success.

I would love to help you develop and expand your portfolio of success through discovering your purpose, unleashing your passion, helping you achieve next-level results, and enjoying the realization of your result-oriented dreams. Don’t sabotage your chances for success.   This virtual retreat is an affordable investment that no savvy business owner can afford to miss!

Take action now and attend the upcoming Visioning Great to Successing Great™ Virtual Retreat of March 20, 2010. It’s your time to sparkle. ™ http://tiny.cc/ndBZT

 

  

Business cards are not just about phone numbers.  They are a powerful and effective means of communication about who you are.  Do not cut corners here.  Your design matters, as does the quality of paper, the color you use, and even extra touches like embossing.  Never print yours off the computer.  NEVER.

1. Wait until you are asked for your business card.  Don’t give out or pass out your card to everyone.
2. Spend the money to print new cards as soon as you know your information is changing.  Don’t write your new phone number or address on an out-of-date card. 
3. Always have your cards with you.  If you would not leave home without your American Express, then never leave your office without your business cards.
4. When you receive a card, show respect to the other person and always take a moment to look at it and make a positive comment. 
5. When networking, ask if you may contact them to talk more.  Remember:  passing out my card to 20 people does not mean that I will get 20 calls. But acquiring contact information of 20 people guarantees that I will have 20 people to add to my follow-up list.
6. Never refuse a business card – you do not want to create any ill feelings.
7. When traveling, have your business card translated into the appropriate language, using one side for English and another for the language needed.
8. Don’t waste contact information.  How many business cards have you thrown in the bottom of your bag, never to look at them again?  Follow up, even with a quick email to capitalize on your meeting.
9. Make sure you have a high quality well designed business card; it is your brand introduction.

Anne McKevitt, a multi-millionaire branding and marketing expert and one of the most powerful women in Britain had this to say about my business card:  “It has the mark of millions, its colors are exact, the logo hits the mark, the tag line defines the business very concisely, the quality and weight of card stock is superb and most importantly there is no picture on the card.  The information of the services offered are on point, contact information is appropriate (does not contain numerous social media links).  This card will bring in the millions based on it shape alone”. What kind of impact does your card have?  If you are not sure of the impact, give me a call. I help women brand or re-brand by providing them with the right information for their business card and then I evaluate their website for consistency in branding.  If you are ready to expand your business or up level your career, visit my website: http://tiny.cc/oSjwU

Proper telephone etiquette is more important than ever in today’s business environment. Proper phone techniques can make or break business deals or  personal relationships.  When talking with people face to face, there are natural and logical times to end a conversation.  On the telephone, however, we don’t have the visual cues that play a major role in how to end a conversation which is why we struggle for a smooth exit over the phone.

So here is what you can do to have a smooth transition.  You want the other party to feel that the conversation has come to a natural conclusion.  Plan ahead and make time for this transition.  It’s important to never hesitate.  Hesitation creates awkwardness and discomfort for both parties. Don’t forget to be professional, pleasant and friendly as you conclude a conversation. 

A great way to end the conversation is to summarize the call and focus on the conclusion by going over key points or steps that must be taken.  Reiterate each person’s responsibilities and always let the other person hang up first.

Also don’t forget to end the call on a positive note by thanking the other person for their time and express an interest in speaking with them again (if appropriate). If not, just let them know you appreciated speaking them and then end the call. A gracious good bye leaves the door open for further communication and in this day of mergers, acquisitions, partnership and joint ventures you never know with who you will be doing business with in the future, so burning any bridges (or telephone lines) would be unwise. Remember, in this global marketplace, some of the most powerful business relationships have been between people who have never seen each other, but because of a positive phone conversation, they have built a lasting professional or business relationship.

Did you know that most Americans speak at a rate of 180 words per minute and listen at a rate of 600 words per minute?  It’s easy to understand why our minds get bored waiting for someone to make a point. You can keep your mind focused on what someone says by doing the following:

• Take notes – this necessitates a slower listening speed and allow you to concentrate on what the person is saying.
• Ask questions – this is an effective technique for slowing the listening speed.  When combined with taking notes, it allows you to ask relevant questions which greatly enhance your ability to communicate effectively.
• Provide continual feedback – it means summarizing or paraphrasing key points the person made and it will trigger you to reference your notes.

Good listening skills involve not only hearing, but understanding, assimilating and giving feedback.  The common pitfalls of poor listeners are:

• Impatience
• Mental distractions
• Trying to do two things at once
• Making assumptions

In the Corporate world, good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will allow you to better understand assignments and what is expected of you while building rapport with co-workers, your boss and clients. Here are 3 tips to be a better listener:

1. Exercise your listening muscles. Challenge yourself by listening to difficult material and by learning the meaning to new words. A steady diet of easy listening will not prepare you for difficult listening situations.
2. Focus on main points and key ideas. The best listeners focus on ideas rather than just the facts and details.
3. Follow the “Golden Rule.” Treat others the way you want to be treated. Ask, “How would I want others to listen to me?” That’s the way to be a good listener.

I hope that these points will help you become a better listener.  Good listening skills lead to better communication skills which are the stepping stone to effective leadership skills.

Hello Fellow Entrepreneurs:

I was recently asked “what’s the secret to effective business networking.”  My answer was very simple… “Just ask who they are, what they do, and what they like?”  Building relationships with others is usually centered around a 3-step process:  They need to know:

1.How to get to know you

2.How to get to like you

3.How to get to trust you The best way to start this process when you are networking with a group of strangers is to get the person to talk about his/herself. Most people enjoy talking about themselves.  By asking questions, you give them permission to “brag” about themselves and it invites them to engage with you and hopefully let their guard down just a little. The best questions to ask are those questions that are open-ended. If you ask only closed-ended questions, you are cornering the person to say only “yes” or “no.”  And we all know that “yes” or “no” does not spark much conversation. 

Here are my recommended questions:

1.What do you like most about your work?

2.How would you describe your ideal customer or client?

3.What changes, new trends, development, do you see coming down the road in your market/industry?

4.How did you get started in your line of work?

5.What is the most interesting or exciting project you are working on (or have worked on)?

6.What differentiates your company, product/service from others who do similar kinds of work? Remember, you probably don’t want to ask one person all these questions in one 15-minute exchange; however, having a list of questions like this in your mind before you show up to a function will help you prepare — and give you confidence about business networking. You’ll also be able to get to know some folks, engage in some memorable conversations, and perhaps exchange a business card to possibly continue contact later.

Today’s Listening/Communication Tip: Let others tell their own stories first. — When others explain their situations, they may reveal interesting facts and valuable clues that will aid you in helping them solve their problems or satisfy their needs. By letting them speak first, you also save time. When their interests are revealed you can tailor your discussion to their particular needs, goals, and objectives and can dispense with inappropriate conversation.  — Dr. Tony Alessandra

************************* What you achieve while moving through all of your next levels, is as important as what you become when you are at your pinnacle level” by Dr. Laureen