Browse Employee Motivation

Fired up about new ideas, opportunities and contributing but can’t seem to get out from under a not so fired up workplace culture? Before you spend the rest of the year wishing your workplace were different or going online to blast your resume to recruiters, ensure you are equipped with the right tools to launch your success. Review the following toolbox and see if your tools pass as being charged up and ready to go. #1r

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An employee’s face looks up as his iPad slowly slips from his fingers; crashing on the floor below. Scattered, plastic remnants are all that remain. Can it be fixed? A manager and an employee look across the table at each other, stunned into silence by the bitter and harsh words exchanged during a review. Can it be fixed?

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Many workplaces have come to tolerate the lack of respect and recognition given for their efforts to attain collective goals. Either recognition is absent, mismanaged, distributed substandard, or even guarded by those who deeply believe that rewards are only given in the form of paychecks.

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As leaders we often find that being human in today’s dynamic work environment can bring its share of difficulties. In striving to get things done in the short term, we sometimes fail to see opportunities that will actually keep our organizations alive in the long term.

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Ginny, a single mother of four children suddenly found herself taking a good hard look at herself in the mirror one evening. She had worked for many years within the corporate world and was now faced with the possibility of another transition. Yet for the first time since she could remember, there was no smile, no joy radiating from her face in the mirror that night. Her smiles had become more difficult to come by and were far from the genuineness that they once shined. Ginny was afraid.

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Is the first thought of your morning and the last worry of the evening dominating your day? Is it looming over your shoulder and robbing your leadership from experiencing greater depth, meaning and purpose in your work?

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The great recession has officially ended according to experts however; the negative impact on top talent continues to ripple throughout organizations. While unemployment remains high, the U.S. and other countries prior to the recession were challenged in addressing the increasingly complex workforce trends including: demographic shifts, impending retirements, skill shortages, government regulations and sustainability as we transition from a knowledge based economy to the creative.

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Assessing the next career opportunity often brings a range of emotions for job seekers. There’s exhilaration and excitement about exploring new possibilities, learning new skills, solving issues and building new relationships, but there also may be anxiety over the changes that may transpire and fear of the unexpected. For job seekers who lived through a toxic workplace experience where bullying, mobbing and/or dysfunctional behavior was the norm, this fear may be especially heightened.

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One of the largest business developments in 2010 was in social media and it is expected to continue to grow according to most industry experts. There’s a significant amount of energy in this area that focuses on network growth, tools, analytics and marketing.

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CASE HISTORY: For over twelve years, Diana had been employed in the executive recruitment field. She found the work both challenging and rewarding. By a combination of perspiration and perseverance, she'd worked herself from entry-level researcher to become a highly-respected and well-connected recruiter with a specialty in the placement of healthcare executives.

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CASE HISTORY: Martina's skills, education, experience and personality all combined to elevate Martina into an enviable position. A naturally outgoing personality, an MBA in Marketing, and a background in biology together formed a rock solid platform for her role as Chief Innovation Officer at a growing biotechnology firm. For Martina, her job was fun, fulfilling and full of future growth potential.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Thomas, 51, was the Chief Operating Officer of a New England-based manufacturer of electronic switches used primarily in the defense industry. He'd been recruited to the position three years earlier from a large defense contractor that was a large customer of the company. Though the company was publicly owned, with its shares traded on a major exchange, most of the company's stock rested in the hands of the grandchildren of the company's original founder.

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CASE HISTORY: "Objection!" I bellowed, "My client is not an atto ey, and so his understanding of the law is irrelevant to the issues before this arbitration panel." "Objection overruled," the arbitration panel chairman immediately shot back. "What is in writing, and therefore binding on your client is, indeed, relevant. Now, Ms. Downey, proceed with your questioning." I sat down.

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Important Intro Note: On May 27, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued decisions in two related cases that raised this fundamental question: When Congress granted employees rights to fair employment practices, did Congress also mean to grant employees protections from retaliation from employers for exercising those rights? The Supreme Court’s answer, to the surprise of many “Court-watchers,” was a resounding “YES.” It appears that, when it comes to the protection of fundamental, individual rights, “very conservative” and “very liberal” can sometimes mean the same thing.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Maurice, 64, had been the Director of Mergers and Acquisitions for a large pharmaceutical firm for 17 years. During that time he had overseen the purchase of nine smaller drug firms, and their incorporation into his company's operational, financial and management structure. After mergers take place, downsizings are a common occurrence. In this last merger, it was Maurice's "turn" to be downsized, but he really didn't mind one bit.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Stacey was a retired New York City police detective. At 44, she'd given 20 years to "The Force," as she called it, and was now considering attending law school. There were, though, two young mouths to feed, and a monthly mortgage payment to contend with. With her background in the security field, she put out feelers among friends, placement agencies, and security firms, looking for something in the security field that was "9 to 5."

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Dennis was considered a rising star in the field of financial management software. At 39, he'd risen steadily over the years, and now worked for the third largest financial management software distributor in the U.S. As his company's National Sales Manager, he had taken company sales higher and higher for four years straight. He'd also expanded sales into the area of financial management for non-profit organizations, a fast-growing niche. His future seemed very bright.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: In his Welcome Aboard letter at a large securities firm, Lou was promised a base salary of $100,000 and a "minimum guaranteed" bonus of at least $250,000 after his first year on his new job. After his first year ended, he was told he would be receiving a bonus of only $100,000. When he asked his boss about the "obvious mistake," he was referred to Human Resources. When Lou brought the "obvious mistake" to HR's attention, they referred him to his written acknowledgement of having received a copy of the Employee Handbook.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Fourteen years of hard work had paid off for Enrique: he'd risen to Executive Vice President of a privately-held firm that was one of the country's largest providers of continuing medical education for surgeons. He was number two to the firm's founder, and the only non-family member among the senior-most executives. Enrique was considered by all to be a good prospect to run the company one day. The founder, who was 64, had been speaking of retiring for some time.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: In 1995, Petra joined a small St. Louis-based software development company as its 10th employee. She was hired to assist one of the three partners in his dealings with prospective customers. Over the next seven years, Petra worked hard, and grew in responsibility as the company grew in revenues. Seven years later, in 2002, there were 185 employees, with offices in four cities. While rising to the position of Senior Vice President of Business Development, Petra had helped build the customer base from 38 to 174. Unfortunately, her compensation hadn't grown nearly as much.r

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CASE HISTORY: An employee, we will call Brad for the purposes of this article, called us in late December, "fuming," to put it mildly. Two weeks earlier, he had received word that his annual bonus for the recently-completed fiscal year would be 20% lower than his last year's bonus, despite his business group's "numbers" being up 40%. In his six years with his employer, a top-shelf investment banking firm in Chicago, he'd never been treated this way before. To Brad, this was inexplicable, and a serious breach of faith. He could barely contain his anger.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Walter was a 41-year-old ophthalmologist who'd previously worked for a large New Jersey hospital for nine years. He'd recently moved on to open his own private practice. In his hospital job, he'd worked especially hard the last six months, so he'd have a cushion of extra income when he started his own practice. He came to us with a fairly common problem: after leaving his former job, he'd encountered difficulties getting paid the "commissions" the hospital owed him. Though he tried on his own to get the hospital to pay him, he now sought our help.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Like so many others at year's end, an employee we will call "Nichole" for purposes of this article, was hoping for a solid raise in January. She was hopeful, too, that the promotion she'd sought for two years would finally now come through. For six years she'd led the marketing team of the nation's third-largest office furniture manufacturer. The past year had been a good one from the marketing perspective: two new product lines had been successfully launched, and strategic partnerships had been formed with three major architectural-design firms.

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CASE HISTORY: Evan, a biomedical research scientist with a large pharmaceutical company, was recruited by a fellow biomedical scientist to join him in running a start-up biotech firm. The biotech firm, funded by venture capitalists, was engaged in cutting-edge research on two promising drugs. The work was interesting, the pay was good, but something they offered was especially enticing: an ownership interest in the firm. This was the first time Evan had been close to an opportunity to really "make it big" if things went well.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Alex had been employed in the Information Technology ("I.T.") department of a large insurance company for 20 years. At 54 years of age, he was looking forward to retirement in just a few years. His wife, Barbara, had recently retired as a school teacher in a private school, and the two looked forward to traveling and spending more time with their grandchildren.

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ACTUAL "CASE HISTORY": Stephanie was the HR Director of the Reinsurance Division of a large, international insurance firm. Because of the recent downtu in the economy, business throughout the industry was slow. For this reason, the CEO decided to pursue the increasingly commo "consolidation" business strategy. In fact, he decided to attempt to purchase the company's largest competitor, in this way eliminating competition and gaining overall market share.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: I left my last law firm employment about 25 years ago. I left because I just didn't see the law firm having much of a future. The reason was that younger partners were not permitted to bring in their own clients. Instead, they were assured that they would "inherit" the significant clients of the law firm when they became senior partners, just as the then-senior partners had done. It didn't make sense to me, and I didn't trust it. That was one of the major reasons I left to form my own firm.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Robb, 48 and Deputy General Counsel for a world famous media conglomerate, was asked by his boss, the General Counsel, if he might be interested in succeeding him. His boss was 66, and approaching retirement; he could, if he chose, recommend Robb for the slot. And his recommendation would carry a lot of weight. He asked Robb to think about it, and get back to him in the next month or two.

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IT HAPPENS TO US ALL THE TIME: People come to us for consultations about workplace problems and opportunities from every state in the U.S., and from many other countries, as well. Commonly, the counsel sought is related to job stability, either in seeking new employment or in departing from present employment. This is what they so very often tell us: "I've spoken to several atto eys. They've all told me that, since I'm an 'at-will' employee, there's really nothing anybody can do to help me."

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Maureen was thrilled to be hired into the world's third-largest travel-services company as a Senior Vice President of her own division, with profit-and-loss ("P&L") authority. Finally, she would have, in effect, her own distinct business to run, and could show the world her ability to make a mediocre-performing business into a rising-star enterprise. This was surely a solid stepping-stone to her eventual goal: consideration for a CEO position.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: InterActive Corporation is an internet giant, often mentioned in the same breath as Google, Ebay and Amazon.com. It's headquartered in New York City, has over $2 billion in annual revenue, and represents a stock market capitalization in excess of $16 billion (Nasdaq stock symbol IACI).

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Edward, a 59-year-old insurance executive, came to see me with two tremendous problems: of greatest immediacy, he was being pushed out of his job by an acerbic, dishonest boss who wanted to give Edward's job to one of the boss's buddies from a different insurance company. Day in and day out, Edward's boss would set him up to fail, and then publicly humiliate him for it. Edward was becoming a nervous wreck. At home, though, Edward faced a problem of even greater magnitude: his wife was battling both cancer and depression. The weight on Edward's shoulders was crushing.

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"I am not supposed to be an expert in every field. I am supposed to be an expert in picking experts." - Moshe Dayan

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: A few weeks ago, my son, Sam, 13, called me at the office with an urgent tone to his voice. "Dad," he said, "you know that hiking watch we saw at the ski shop... the one that costs only $120? Well, I really want it" "Oh, really," I responded, "I want my own jet airplane, too...I don't have that, do I?" Sam is not someone who's easily deterred, "Well, you can always fly on a regular airplane... I don't even have a watch that's waterproof that I can use for hiking. I need that watch." My next response was automatic: "I need a vacation, too.

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ACTUAL CASE HISTORY: Martin, a senior manager of computer sales, was in a quandry: through a recruiter, he'd been offered a position as a Regional Sales Director by his company's direct competitor. Though the position was clearly a step up, and offered a higher commission structure than he had, he felt a strong loyalty to both his mentor, Harold, and to his company, as he'd always been treated well, and with honesty.

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Have you ever noticed that as soon as you try something out of the ordinary, every body and their Dutch cousin seems to come out of the woodwork trying to discourage you. "Are you crazy, you can't make it on the Internet, that's for those techie people, you're just wasting your time and money." I've yet to hear from one of my friends who says, "oh great, can I help you? What can I do to help you be successful?" Wouldn't that be a switch?

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What You Should Know About GoDaddy

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Twitter is a micro-blog that helps individuals post small pieces of digital content, which could be in form of texts, pictures, links, videos, short essay or other media on the internet. It has become popular among different groups of friends; and professional colleagues who frequently post contend in the name of tweets and follow each other's posts creating a sense of an online community.

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The incentive industry is exciting, representing more than $30 billion worth of brand name merchandise and luxurious travel experiences sold annually to corporations as the awards for many types of incentive programs, including employee recognition, sales performance improvement, channel marketing and customer loyalty.

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Everyone on earth, except perhaps those who have completely taken leave of their senses, have fears of one kind or another. Fear is as much a part of the human emotional system as joy, anger and love. Many times, our fears add value to our lives because they prevent us from doing dangerous things but on other occasions our fears detract from our lives because they prevent us from doing the things we truly want to do. Everyone has different fears.

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The members of the demographic, commonly known as Generation “Y” were born between the years 1981 and 1994, which makes them ages 17 to 30 in year 2011. They are the young up-and-coming leaders of society. There are a lot of them, and since they will soon fill most of the jobs being given up by the aging Boomers, we need to modify our methodology in order to lead them.

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I often hear from managers that employees have more power than their bosses. Studies have shown that the majority of workers in North America do not want to move into a management role. The current trend toward servant leadership and participative management has created a lot of very good results, but in many cases it has also created chaos, poor morale and reduced performance.

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As children, most of us had parents who tried to convince us that cheaters never prosper and liars will not go to heaven. The theory is of course a great one, but almost every day in the news I hear about business leaders being charged and convicted for a variety of commercial crimes.

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With a title like that you might think I bit off a little more than I can chew. You might be right, but because there are literally thousands of articles, blogs and websites dedicated to discussions of leadership, I wanted to offer a logical definition of it in a thousand words or less. Here goes... Despite the multiplicity of interpretations we read every day, leadership can be defined simply as: “Organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal”

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“Do not fear. Only believe. All things are possible to him who believes.” The above noted quote is for every human being on earth. Do you find yourself hesitating while on verge of making a decision or before doing something wonderful? Do you put things off because you are afraid to take a chance? Do you avoid asking for something that you know you should have because you are afraid of rejection. Most importantly, do you simply not do the things you want to do because your mind is filled with fear? Fear is the worst limiter of success known to mankind.

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If you are alive and breathing, you have probably noticed that a lot of folks seem to think it is okay to criticize other people for their actions. They criticize them behind their backs and they criticize them in public. The boldest people criticize other people to their faces in an effort to embarrass and hurt them. They believe that somehow, their criticism will bring about a positive change. They think that their negative opinions of others will make a positive difference in the world. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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GENERATION "WHY" The world is strangely conce ed about generation “Y” these days. I don’t understand it! Generation “Y” is just the current crop of kids that will eventually rule the world. They are the children of Boomers and Generation “X” parents and they were born between 1980 and 1994. Currently they are aged 16 to 30.

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“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

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Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do. - Confucius Confucius was a very wise man indeed. Consider the quote above and then think about your own life. Have you ever failed at anything? I hope you answered YES because surely we have all failed at something from time to time. Now think about something that you failed to succeed at or simply could not excel in ten years ago. Did your life come to an end? Are you still suffering from embarrassment or lost of status because of it? Does it keep you from going to sleep at night?

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“Leadership can be an unpopular business. The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.” Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) The above quote from Tony Blair led me to the theme for this week’s edition. Throughout my career in leadership I have had to accept this one inescapable truth: I will not always make decisions that will make me universally popular. However, make them I must!

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Getting Along With People Is Easy

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“Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” Confucius...551 to 479 BC Famed Chinese philosopher, Confucius wrote those words over 2000 years ago but never have they been more meaningful than they are today. The world has changed dramatically since the days of Confucius, to the point that nobody should accept a job they do not enjoy. If we simply review the events of the twentieth century it is easy to see that mankind has grown and evolved to allow human beings to enjoy the best of everything.

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“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.” Ronald Reagan President, Ronald Reagan might have been stating the obvious with that statement.

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If you put yourself ahead of me, I might not follow; If you ignore me, I will have no one to follow; If you put yourself above me, I will not look up while you are looking down; If you put yourself beside me, we will walk as one with the strength of two. Wayne Kehl This quote is a reminder to everyone on earth that we are all created equal and that we perform better when we go through life on an equal footing with everyone we meet. We are all leaders in our own way and we all follow others from time to time.

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"Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.” Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer was perhaps, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century. He lived from 1875 to 1965. During the course of his long life he was a doctor, an academic, a philosopher, a musician, and a humanitarian. In 1952 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life” which is is a translation of the German phrase: "Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben" (more accurately translated as: "to be in awe of the mystery of life").

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Are you a team player? "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision…the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results" Andrew Carnegie The quote above, applies to every member of every team. Everyone on your team must listen to everyone else with an open mind and a positive attitude if the team is to be successful. There is no room on great teams for people who will not listen to alte ative points of view.

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Does it ever seem like your boss isn’t doing his job? Do you feel that your immediate supervisor is shirking her responsibilities? Do you ever think that without you, nothing would get done at work? If you are a manager or supervisor, do you ever wonder what your employees think of you? Do you care? You should! If you don’t know what your boss does, or you don’t know what your employees think of you, the environment in your workplace lacks leadership and communication. But, you already knew that!

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Did you ever wonder where the expression, “ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END” came from? I did, and I decided to check it out. It turns out that the saying is approximately 635 years old. Here is the original version: “There is an end to everything, to good things as well.” This proverb dates back to about 1374… Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer, the author of the famed ‘Canterbury tales’, drew upon his relationships with real people to create his many literary characters. They say that art imitates life and life imitates art… no one knew that better than Chaucer.

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Here is one of my favourite quotes: “That best portion of a good man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love” ...William Wordsworth This quote was written in 1798 by Wordsworth as part of his work, “Lines composed a few miles above Tinte Abbey.” The significance of it to me is its timing and the sheer simplicity of the message.

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My articles usually focus on how to be a good leader or a better leader. In fact, most leadership articles available on the inte et or elsewhere focus on the positive elements of leading. Many leadership writers prefer to write about completely positive things and focus on what leaders should do to be recognized as the best leaders. In reality, the main reason we need to learn about leadership is so that we can avoid being bad leaders!

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I have called upon the leaders of the world to start a LEADERSHIP REVOLUTION. In order to make my dream become a reality, we need to employ some proactive, aggressive action right away.

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Winners, losers and survivors exist all around us. The world is full of people who become famous through excellent results alongside those who gain notoriety because of poor performance. Interestingly, mediocrity is much more common than success or failure in most areas of human endeavour. Most people get by, but seldom excel despite the fact that almost everyone is good at something. The majority of people on the planet never have the opportunity to soar because they never have the opportunity to utilize the natural talents they are born with.

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How to start a Leadership Revolution In a previous post, I called on the leaders of the world to start a leadership revolution. My goal is to have leadership move en masse into the twenty first century.

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I have dedicated the last decade of my life to the proposition that there are no bad employees...just bad leaders. Because my words have fallen on a number of deaf ears in the world of executive boardrooms, I have decided to start a Leadership Revolution.

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This is my favourite definition of wisdom: “Good sense; the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience." Note that good sense requires personal knowledge and experience in order to be effective. Wisdom cannot grow and flourish in isolation. When one operates with poor or potentially harmful personal knowledge or under the influence of a wealth of negative or destructive prior experience, the concept of good sense generally goes right out the window.

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We all wake up each morning with a personal vision of ourselves. We look in the mirror and see ourselves staring back, with bleary eyes and messy hair. When we see the way we look, we immediately set about improving our appearance. We shower, shave, wash, comb our hair, put on makeup if we are women, and make ourselves smell good. Before we leave the house we put on some appropriate clothing and head out to face the day. Because we have done all the right things for our physical being, we believe all is well with the world... But what about our emotional and psychological beings?

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I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."rn ~ Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English author. From 'A Christmas Carol'. I was quite taken by this quote from Charles Dickens. This line from “A Christmas Carol” reminds us of the fact that for most people, the true spirit of kindness and giving is with us for only one day of each year. As much as we might like to honour the spirit of Christmas throughout the year, it is not long after December 25th that we return to our old habits and vices...we return to being normal, flawed human beings.

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Easter is a holiday celebrated each spring in many countries throughout the world. It is essentially a Christian religious celebration based on the scriptures which indicate that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Each year we celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Interestingly, Easter can be considered a moveable feast since the date of it is not fixed in relation to our calendar. It is in fact, celebrated on the first Sunday after the northern hemisphere’s full moon or vernal equinox. Hence the date can vary between March 22 and April 25.

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This is an excerpt from my book: “Getting Along With People Is Easy!” EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: DO NOT BE SELFISH • If you want to get along with people think about someone other than yourself. If you are not getting along with people it is probably largely to do with your own actions and the fact that you are thinking more about yourself than the person you are not getting along with.

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The world of business and industry has improved dramatically for women over the past two decades but we are still hearing a lot about male chauvinism, glass ceilings and gender discrimination. Despite the positive efforts of business leaders, I personally believe that there is a diminished but definite level of unfair and unfounded gender discrimination still alive and well in North America today. We are evolving to a better world, but evolution is a slow process.

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On April 2, 2011 my daughter gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. I put a photo of the little darling on my Facebook page with the caption, “This is my new granddaughter. Cute Huh?” Within seconds the comments and “likes” started coming in. Within 24 hours I received dozens of complimentary messages from old friends and people I don’t really know all over the world. People who had never corresponded with me in any way, shape or form in the past suddenly found me interesting and felt the need to comment on my granddaughter.

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As I travel through my life, I have often noticed that dogs have some interesting effects on people. In the presence of a dog, even the gruffest, most hardened human beings can become soft and caring. I also notice that in the past few decades, more and more people are adopting dogs than ever before. In fact, I believe it safe to say that human beings harbour much more generalized affection for the entire canine species than they do for the human race. As a lifelong dog lover, my observations caused me to ask myself some very important questions about our puppy friends...

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Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let every New Year find you a better man or woman. Benjamin Franklin Oh, if we could all just follow Benjamin Franklin’s advice, what a wonderful world it would be. Why must we all find fault with each other while carrying anger and hatred into the world? Why do so many of us want to see others fail so that we can succeed and why do we defend our lies as if they are truths? Why are human beings so flawed, and why is each one of us so tragically human?

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Have you ever noticed that some employees will stay in jobs that they do not really enjoy, or are not really suited to for long periods of time? Have you met people who stay in a lower paying job even though they have been offered more money somewhere else? A business needs long-term employees in order to be successful and competitive over the long run. So why aren’t all employees loyal to one employer for their entire careers?

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Have you ever noticed that a lot of people tend to take themselves too seriously? You know who I mean: • Those folks who huff and puff with righteous indignation whenever they are challenged. • Those people who glare and stare whenever someone says something they believe is inappropriate. • Those individuals who seem to believe that it is okay for them to say things to others that should never be directed at them.

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“Genuine leaders never pursue or expect adulation or “star” status. When they receive it, they accept it graciously and move on to the next challenge. Leadership is not about personal victory. It is about winning through teamwork and positive energy by and for every member of the team.”rn~Wayne Kehl

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The Butterfly Effect is a scientific theory that essentially says that a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Originally part of the Chaos Theory, numerous scientists throughout modern history have concluded that this happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved.

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The secret to success that all great employers have discovered is as simple as, “right person-right job.” When people are placed into jobs they can excel in every time, miracles can happen. Think about the following questions: 1.Have you ever noticed how managers, supervisors and leaders of all kinds often expect everyone to perform at the same level? 2. Do you ever wonder why some people become superstars in their jobs, outperforming all others in the same field? 3. Do you wish you could be acknowledged as the very best at what you do?

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This old proverb shines a very bright light on the theory that you never know what you have until it is gone. If everything in your life is going well right now, think about the dynamics around you that help to make it great. If your life is challenging at this moment because you have recently lost someone important from it, ask yourself these questions: Do I take the people around me for granted? Do I ever acknowledge the great things the people in my life do every day? Do I ever thank those around me for helping me get through my days?r

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Something I have been saying most of my adult life is, “Anger is wasted energy.” As much as that is true, it is only part of the story. Anger can actually bring poor health and shortened life spans. We all know that anger can bring on lengthy bouts of distress and strained relationships with those closest to us; and I think we would all agree that the feeling of being out of control that often accompanies anger is almost always regretted after the fact. Yet, despite our universal understanding of the futility of anger, most of us still allow it to consume us from time to time.

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On Remembrance Day and Veteran’s Day it is important for us all to reflect on the sacrifice and devotion to duty shown by so many of our brave men and women all over the world. But, what does the observation of past and present wars mean to you?

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We all need passion in our lives!

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.rn- Helen Keller

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"Wise men talk because they have something to say... fools, because they have to say something."rn- Plato

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“Good Times; Bad Times; You know I had my share...” Led Zeppelin 1968

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Listening is essential to running a successful business and creating a phenomenal team. Employees are inevitably going to have upsets. The real opportunity is to create an environment where they can share their upsets and create new significant breakthroughs and insights. To create a coaching culture in your business, the first step is to coach your employees to listen from the space of being completely present with the listener. In other words, so they are simply listening rather than taking sides (defending against the other person’s story or buying into it).

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Lesson 3: Recognizing That People Want to Avoid Accountability I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #3 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I realize that it’s part of the existing human culture to avoid accountability. People avoid accountability because they are afraid of being punished if things don’t turn out.

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An inspiring leadership story This story was originally written in Home Life Magazine by Elizabeth Silance Ballard in 1976 and became one of the most requested stories in the magazine’s history. Several versions of this story have circulated around the Internet.

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At first glance this story might seem like it has nothing to do with building a thriving business. However, as you read this, I invite you to consider where you haven't been willing to "get off it" with someone or something in your business. Getting off it is a willingness to take responsibility for your part in the drama and the story you've been telling yourself about those situations in your business where you feel stuck.

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I've come to realize that the situations that challenge me the most as a leader and business owner are the ones that bring up a lot of emotions for me. Immediately my internal dialogue kicks in. In the moment it seems like my internal dialogue is simply reporting the truth about my situation or the person I'm upset with. And before I'm aware of it I get caught up in my inner commentary and self-made internal reality and forget that it's simply an internal conversation that I've created about my situation.

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There is a fabulous hot tub retail and service business in southwest Montana, pleasantly named Mountain Hot Tub. It was during one of our monthly team meetings that they officially declared their vision...they would be known as "The Hot Tub Capital of the World". As soon as the vision was proclaimed, the energy in the room sky- rocketed! Employees began talking excitedly about what it would look like to be "The Hot Tub Capital of the World."

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I've realized that regardless of the current circumstances that I'm experiencing in my business, I have an opportunity to create a brand new future. As a leader and business owner, I have two choices: I can choose to create a future based on my past or I can choose to create a future that is inspiring, exciting and based on pure possibility. To distinguish this, I ask myself 3 questions: 1. What is the future that I've been moving in to? In other words what is the current conversation that I've been living in my mind? This is the default future that I've been creating.r

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As a leader, have you ever experienced times in your business where things were unfolding with ease; life seemed to be humming along just great¦when suddenly and without warning, your good fortune came to a screeching halt and you found yourself feeling stuck and stagnant? So what do you do when you realize that you've lost your mojo? How do you get it back? Remember, every situation is an opportunity to hold an internal conversation of possibility REGARDLESS of the current circumstance is that you find yourself in.

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I was facilitating an on-site training for a business recently. Several times during the training the request was made by the employees, “for managers and leaders to acknowledge the positive.” I have found this to be a common theme in most every business. Employees often feel like the only time they get attention is when they are doing something wrong instead of when they are doing things right. This is why I intentionally choose to begin my leadership training's by having the owner acknowledge something that they sincerely appreciate about each of the leaders.

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An extraordinary group achieves outstanding results while members experience a profound shift in how they see their world. These amazing groups show up in all sectors… Our stories of these extraordinary groups came from organization leaders, information technology professionals, soldiers, software developers, trainers, managers, small business owners, community college counselors, doctors, nurses, event organizers, health care administrators, insurance executives… Extraordinary groups exhibit 8 factors…

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Webster's dictionary defines integrity as the state of being complete or undivided. When we act out of integrity we're operating from a deep and secure space within ourselves. This affords us enormous power to achieve our dreams and goals. When our inner selves and outer selves are in concert with each other we are not easily thrown off course with what we say we want.

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Do You Have a Healthy Relationship With Money? I remember many years ago having a pretty amazing insight about a client's relationship with money. I was looking at her financial numbers and she had asked me what steps she could take to improve her situation. I looked at her debts and quickly assessed which ones she should focus on paying down first.

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Let's face it - money is an emotional topic. We like to think that money is a logical, left-brain process. But in truth it isn't. Money issues almost always stem from fear and our desire to be in control. Where do these beliefs come from? In her book, "For Richer, not Poorer," Ruth Hayden discusses how our upbringing affects our money beliefs.

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In my years of being a business coach and supporting women entrepreneurs in creating financial success in their lives I've noticed that women entrepreneurs tend to make the following 3 financial mistakes: 1. Maintaining the Status Quo The first mistake is maintaining the status quo. We tend to do the same thing we've always done and complain when we get the same results. Dan Kennedy, consultant to millionaires says the following about predicting personal income:

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* These stories are real life stories about real life people (all names and identifying characteristics have been changed). Many years ago before I became a business consultant I was a piano player and got a call to play at a venue with a musician friend of mine. Short on cash I eagerly accepted the gig.

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This is an article that appeared earlier this week in a monthly column that I write for "Balance: A Magazine for Montana Wome "… Have you ever experienced times in your life where things were unfolding with ease, and life seemed to be humming along just great when suddenly, without warning, your "good fortune" came to a screeching halt and you found yourself feeling stuck and stagnant?

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Many years ago I listened to the audio book, "Fish Tales." This is an incredible story about John Yokoyama, the owner of the Seattle Pikes Place fish market and how he took it from a struggling work place, where staff fights and employee walk-outs were the norm to the financially successful, world-famous fish market that it is today.

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1. Your bold annual income goal. Decide how much money you'd like to make in the next 12 months and include that number on your vision board. Hint: you don't have to know HOW you're going to create the money - simply choose a number that is a stretch for you but also feels doable

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Does this feel like a familiar experience to you?... As a women entrepreneur in a moment of awareness and panic you realize it's time to take some fast action to bring in some immediate income. So you work extra hours, reach out to prospects, do a little networking and possibly stretch yourself to launch a program or two.

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"I don't know what to do - I've been trying to make $4,000 in my business each month and it just isn't happening. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm very clear about my bold money goal and I even have it written out where I see it everyday. Plus I've designated a clear time frame to achieve it by. But I'm still struggling with making anything beyond a few hundred extra dollars. I'm just not sure what to do!"

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"I never realized I could accumulate wealth over time by putting a small amount of money aside each month. I always thought I had to wait until I had large amounts of money before I could start a retirement or emergency savings account." This comment came from a woman who had been attending one of my Financial Dating classes. This paradigm shift was causing a new world of financial possibilities to open up for her.

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Sometimes conflict and stress in our relationship and/or finances can be the force that wakes us up to the ways we’re not being honest. Your wake up call might be not having enough money coming in each month and watching the credit card bills add up. It might be getting older and knowing you don't have enough money stashed away in retirement savings, or you have an unexpected illness or injury, and no emergency savings to get you through.

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A client was sharing with me how he was afraid to get out and begin doing public presentations to promote his business. While he knew that he needed to make himself more visible he had a long list of concerns about why he wasn’t ready “to go public.” My client was not alone in his conflict - many entrepreneurs struggle with hiding out in their business.

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I frequently set an intention to achieve what I consider to be “an impossible possibility” for myself in my business. When I became a mom I realized that I wanted to be an amazing mother while making an even greater difference in my business. At the time this felt like an “impossibility possibility.” My belief was, “You can be a great mom OR a successful business owner, but you can’t have both - especially not at the same time.”

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There were countless times when I used to rush through my workdays feeling edgy and overwhelmed with everything that I needed to accomplish. I would progress rapidly through my to-do list prioritizing my tasks and then all of a sudden I’d come face to face with an on-going “energy drain” that sabotaged my productivity and derailed my focus.

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I remember struggling years ago with experiencing severe feast and famine cycles in my business and wondering how I could create a consistent stream of income and prospects. I felt challenged because I would focus on serving my current clients to the detriment of marketing my business. And to make matters worse when a client would complete their coaching program I would freak out about how I was going to create additional income.

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The experience that I share in this story occurred eight years ago – I’m excited to share this story with you in the hopes that it will inspire you. “It’s my husband’s responsibility to pay most of the bills,” the voice inside my head stubbornly insisted.r

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I am often amazed at how many financial books neglect to focus on the critical issue of how to get financially organized. So many of us are desperately seeking the one quick-fix step that will turn our financial lives around that we neglect to take care of the seemingly smaller life-changing step of simply getting organized.

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I’ve noticed from my own and my clients experiences that money has a way of showing us where and when we’re on or off track in our lives. To understand where you’re off track ask yourself these questions: “What are my primary operating beliefs about money?” And, “What are my consistent money actions or behaviors?” In other words, are you so frugal that you’re practically starving yourself (of important necessities and healthy pleasures) just to watch your savings account grow as much as possible?

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I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve felt discouraged or fearful as I’ve built my business over the past seven years. When I first became certified as a business coach I remember thinking to myself, “Who am I to be telling self-employed professionals and solo entrepreneurs how to build their businesses and live their lives when I’m brand new and just starting out!”

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When I reflect back at the times in my life when I achieved my goals and dreams with the greatest ease I realize that these were times when I wasn’t attached to or trying to control a particular outcome.

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It seems like most of my life I’ve expended a great deal of energy and attention on trying to control others and everything around me. I kept a diary growing up. One entry read, “My mom got mad at me today. I’m going to promise to be a better person so she won’t get mad at me next time. This is what I’m going to do: I’m going to do my chores around the house without being asked, do my homework and I’m going to be really nice to everyone in my family.”

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I was interviewing John Yokoyama, owner of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market, on my weekly talk radio show. It’s widely known that people come from all over the world to watch the fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle as they toss fish to each other. They are drawn to the Fish Market because of the fun, playful, boisterous and connecting environment that the fishmongers have created. From the moment you first step into the market you are instantly greeted by the Pike Place Fish Market energy.

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Over the last few months I’ve experienced several exciting breakthroughs in my business. Yet some of these breakthroughs were immediately followed by “breakdowns” where I found myself seriously doubting my ability to achieve a particular vision or goal that I had set for myself. Recently I committed to taking a bold stand to be not only “an entrepreneur who lives and loves richly – but to also be someone who is a stand for EVERY entrepreneur living and loving richly.”

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“I feel like we’re playing hooky from work!” I turned and looked at my husband’s wider-than-life grin beaming across his face in the afternoon sun. Drawing a deep breath, I took in the incredible beauty around us: snowcapped mountains, blue skies above and fresh snow under our feet. “You know, I feel the exact same way!” I exclaimed. It was early Friday afternoon and we were doing a five-mile backpack-ski to a forest service cabin for a three-day trip in the Elkhorn Mountains in Montana.

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A common assumption that I had always made in my business in the past was thinking that in order to make more money and achieve my desired income goal I simply needed to focus on taking “the right actions.”

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Sometimes conflict and stress in our relationship and/or finances can be the force that wakes us up to the ways we’re not being honest.

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The email was sitting in my inbox with the subject line, “Who you are makes a difference”. I thought to myself, “Great, another one of those schmaltzy forwards.” However, I felt compelled to click on it and give it a quick read through, since a client had sent it to me. Within the contents of the email, a true story unfolded about a New York City teacher who decided to honor her students by letting each of them know how they had made a difference in her class.

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I’ve noticed that one of the biggest challenges people face is keeping track of where their money goes. They receive their paycheck and deposit it in the bank, and then a few weeks later it’s somehow mysteriously disappeared (again). For all they know it’s being consumed by the black hole in the financial universe. To make matters worse, they still have necessities to pay for: groceries, gas and utility bills, not to mention credit card payments. Somehow they still manage to be surprised when once again there isn’t enough money to cover the necessities.

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Recently, a woman asked me “Should I take your ‘Creating a Blueprint for Financial Success’ workshop?” It was a great question. She had no debt and was curious if the workshop would benefit her. My answer was “yes!” The following story explains the reasons for, “If I have no debt, why should I bother learning about financial success?” The answer lies within three common financial mistakes: 1. Maintaining the Status Quo

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As a young girl growing up I loved throwing parties for my friends and family. These gatherings cost very little – all that was required was a little time and creativity. I remember hosting a tea party with my two best girlfriends when we were 15 in Southwest Missouri. We went to second-hand stores to find dresses and china, and spent weeks discussing and fine-tuning our menu.

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One of the common complaints I hear from women entrepreneurs is that they avoid focusing on the top-income producing tasks in their business. They habitually occupy themselves with busy work that doesn’t result in higher paying clients or more income in the door. Here is a simple tip you can use to move from feeling stuck and frustrated to getting motivated and staying on track with the very tasks that you’ve been putting off or avoiding.

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The image of weaving straw into gold comes to mind when I think of how we can successfully turn dreams into reality. This alchemy is experienced when we take moments of raw inspiration (straw) from the metaphysical ethers and turn them into ideas and action. The result is our own unique creation. However, we are not guaranteed to strike gold every time. Sometimes we tap into a rich vein with ease and synchronicity. And other times we labor endlessly with dogged determination. What creates success for some and not others?

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* I wrote this article several years ago and this approach has made an incredible difference in my business ever since! I was staring into the faces of the two colleagues who had become dear friends after spending the last several days together. I was bemoaning to them (through the tears streaming down my face),

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Listen to the article here Turn up your speakers and click play rn(If you don't see the audio button, click here to download).

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In coaching women entrepreneurs to transform their relationship with money in their business, marriage and life, I’ve noticed that there are three common money beliefs that consistently come up that contribute to stress, struggle and overwhelm and ultimately cause them to stay stuck at their current income level… Belief #1. “I’m not good at making money.” This was a big belief that held me back for years in my business. I didn’t relate to being a powerful money creator. I could only relate to managing money – not creating it.

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“When my husband and I began dating we would often have a ‘veg out’ Saturday. It would involve sleeping in, watching or renting movies, playing games and eating left over's. It was quiet, relaxing and also very fun. Fast-forward 7 years of married life with 3 daughters … it surely has changed that little bit of respite during the weekend. Last month during our Financial Date® I suggested that we look into incorporating the ‘veg out’ Saturdays and try involving the children.

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Most women entrepreneurs don’t make money in a powerful way because they’re unable to distinguish their real-life money reality from their misleading thoughts and beliefs. We are mistaken when we assume that that our thoughts accurately describe our financial reality. Most often our thoughts only describe our INTERPRETATIONS about it. In order to create powerful breakthroughs in our money life we must begin by making a commitment to being “truth-seekers and truth-tellers” and become doggedly determined to sort our money facts from fiction.

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There’s nothing quite like money to prompt our egos to flare up, get our stomach wrenched in knots and cause us to get instantly reactive and defensive. Some of the ways I’ve seen money struggles arise is when I hear my clients say things like: • “I know I need to be more aware of how much money is in my accounts and what my credit card balances are, but I tell myself I’ll just do it later. That time never comes and before I know it several months have passed and I’m still avoiding gaining clarity around what’s going on with my money.”

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1. Set intentions. Identify what you want to achieve on during your retreat. Keep in mind there isn’t any right or wrong way to set intentions. It’s just a matter of what you want to focus on during your time together. Last year, for example, my husband and I wrote our intentions down on paper and then taped them to a wall to serve as a constant reminder of what we intended to accomplish and how we wanted to spend our time.

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Webster’s dictionary defines integrity as the state of being complete or undivided. When we act out of integrity, we’re acting from a deep and integrated place within ourselves, and from this place, we have enormous power to achieve our dreams and goals. We’re not thrown off course by some unacknowledged place within us that is in conflict with what we say we want. Our inner selves and outer selves are in concert with each other. Consider the metaphor of an iceberg. We are able to see about 10 percent of the iceberg above the water.

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In our businesses and work, we have the opportunity every day to take action and move towards our ideal future. The question is, How many of us will move towards our ideal future (or vision) while maintaining a connection to a higher purpose in what we do, versus simply taking action and going through the motions to achieve our desired end result? I recently read a study conducted by psychologist David Yeager. He interviewed high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area about their hopes, dreams and life goals.

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I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #6 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I am willing to support team members when they don’t follow through on their commitments or word.

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I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #5 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I am powerful when holding others accountable. When we think of holding others accountable, we automatically assume it means babysitting them – knowing that they don’t want to do something and that they will resist.

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Lesson 4: Inspire Others With a Future That Creates Their Desired Results getyourfuturestartedI have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so they can lead their team to achieve extraordinary results. This is lesson #4 out of six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable. I inspire and invite others to create and commit to a future that naturally expresses their desired results.

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I have received many questions from business owners and leaders about how to hold others accountable so that you can lead your team to achieve extraordinary results. In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing six lessons I’ve learned about being a leader who powerfully holds others accountable: How to be a Leader who holds others Accountable 1: Clean Up My Own Act For starters, I take the time to reflect and identify those areas in my business and personal life where I have broken agreements or promises.

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In his book, Free Play, Stephen Nachmanovitch writes about the joy of playing. He describes play as a state of mind where we focus on the process – the sheer joy of play, and not the end result. He encourages us to recognize that the act of play in and of itself is the destination. When we play we have nothing to gain and nothing to lose because we have no expectations.

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Victor Frankl’s best-selling book, Man’s Search for Meaning, has been listed as one of the ten most influential books in the United States. Frankl chronicles his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. In the opening of his book he writes: “Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.

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Most of us live our lives identifying ourselves as someone who is completely separate and independent of other people, places, circumstances and situations. We have the experience that other people, places, circumstances and situations just "randomly happen to us" - completely independent of us and we are powerless to do anything about it.

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* This is a true story and names have been changed Jason was the manager of a multi-million dollar hot tub business. In one of our VIP days we talked about him prioritizing his time in the morning so he could focus on the #1 priority for the business, which involved assembling some much needed financial documents.

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I am often amazed at how many financial books neglect to focus on the critical issue of how to get financially organized. So many of us are desperately seeking the one quick-fix step that will turn our financial lives around (like investing in the right stock) that we neglect to take care of the seemingly smaller life-changing step of simply getting organized.

Published · 2,203 views · Rated 3.2/5 from 5 votes

The other day I put my son down for his nap. And then I reluctantly forced myself to muster up the energy to turn my attention towards the endless items on my never-ending to-do list. I was fully prepared to take advantage of my time alone to get a jumpstart on everything that “needed” to be accomplished during the day. But something deep inside me rebelled. I felt a deep soul’s craving to do absolutely nothing. It was as if I couldn’t even make myself glance at my list!

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I was staring into the faces of the two colleagues who had become dear friends of mine, after spending the last several days together. I was bemoaning to them (through the tears streaming down my face), "I'm so frustrated that parts of my work feel like such a chore! I know I'm making a significant difference - but I'm frustrated that I'm working so hard and exerting so much effort. I feel like I've gotten off track with my integrity.

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Like most solo entrepreneurs when I first started my business I was hyper-focused on making money. It made sense - I had to make money to pay my bills and meet my monthly expenses. Then there was always the "in-my-face" annual income goal that I held in the forefront of my mind (which I never seemed to be able to achieve). I was constantly struggling with making money; it occurred as a lot of internal pressure and hard work.

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It was near the end of my radio interview with John Yokoyama, owner of world famous Pike Place Fish Market, when he made what we call in the coaching and consulting world, a 'throw away comment'. It was just an off-handed comment spoken quite casually, but it was rich with insight. John had been sharing about the process he and his staff went through to uncover their vision of being world famous.

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I was 23 years old and living at home with my parents in Missouri when I became inspired to create my first vision board. I was in between seasonal work and had a deep burning desire to move out west to Montana. I didn't have much money and I had no idea how I could afford the move or where I would find work when I got there.

Published · 3,225 views · Rated 3.4/5 from 5 votes

"I want to be able to create money easily and authentically, and to have it flow naturally to me, just like my breath does," my client excitedly shared with me. "And yet when I think about making money and identifying a bold money goal for myself I have a disconnect and I start to shut down." We explored her statements further and she realized that she was shutting down because her beliefs about making money and her money mindset told her that it "had to be hard."

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I once received an invoice from my former bookkeeper. The amount didn't seem accurate so I contacted him to inquire about it and was shocked at his reaction. He became defensive and said, "If you don't trust me then perhaps it's best that we don't work together anymore."

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Do you know that less than three percent of the population has a list of written goals? You can put yourself in the top successful three percent by learning how to write out your goals, either by yourself or with your partner, so that you too can reap the magnificent benefits of living your life on purpose and achieving your dreams. Do You Know Where You're Going With Your Financial Goals?

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Many entrepreneurs wonder how to manifest in their business and life. There is a wonderful story that explains this concept so beautifully... An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.r

Published · 1,784 views · Rated 3.5/5 from 2 votes

When I first started my coaching business I felt inept and powerless when it came to making money. I had a difficult time imagining that I could ever make a decent income. I believed that the only way I could end up with any money at the end of the month was to manage it very frugally.

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Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, authors of “The Millionaire Next Door”, studied extensively how millionaires acquired their wealth. They conducted their study over a 20-year period, during which they interviewed over 500 millionaires. In their survey they discovered that most people with high incomes fail to accumulate any lasting wealth because they spend more than they earn. This is in sharp contrast to the millionaires they interviewed.

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I remember feeling confused, stuck and burdened when it came to handling my money. My husband and I had multiple piles of traveling bills that I could never seem to locate when it was time to pay them. There were even occasions when I avoided opening my bills for fear of how much they were. And to make matters worse I didn’t have a clue as to where my money was disappearing to each month and how much debt we had.

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Every time I teach money classes or coach one-on-one with clients I am always amazed at how much resistance comes up around gaining clarity about spending. It's almost as if our culture as a whole has a love/hate relationship around controlling their spending.

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I recently watched a Ted Talk video by Jane McGonigal who shared the top 5 most common regrets of the dying expressed to hospice workers. Her list was fascinating. As women entrepreneurs our lives are often filled with countless tasks and action steps that we must take to market our business that it can often be even more challenging to live a balanced life that makes us happy. And yet if we focus on creating money at the expense of living a happy life then in the end we’re not fully living up to our potential of living and loving richly in our business AND our lives.

Published · 2,174 views · Rated 3.5/5 from 2 votes