Defy Your Past and Build A Bright Future

We are frequently taught that we should consider the past when planning the future. Sometimes this can lead us to believe that the past dictates our future. But even though the past can be one indicator of the future, it does not dictate the future.

There are many examples in sports, business and politics where past events were not the slightest indicator of events that followed. For example, Amelie Mauresmo has been dogged by her nerves for much of her tennis career. She did not allow her past to dictate her future though and in 2006 she won her battle with her nerves and claimed her first Wimbledon title.

When we rely on our past history as an indicator of our future we build an invisible barrier to our dreams and creativity. You will find it difficult to imagine or create new ideas or ways to your desired future if you believe in the myth that your past dictates your future. It is important to remind yourself that this is just a myth and only has power as long as you hold it true.

This does not mean that you should ignore your past. The past is a valuable learning ground. However, don’t fall into the trap of confusing your past with your future. Such confusion can lead you to giving great power to your patterns of the past. This power drains you of your creative spark and energy and your goals and dreams are stillborn.

"Live out of your imagination, not your history." Stephen Covey

Refuse to allow your past history to constrain your actions today. Look for examples of people who have achieved what you desire. Find out what they did and learn from them. Ask yourself, ‘If I knew I couldn’t fail, what is the first thing I’d do to get me on track to achieving this goal? And what would be next? And next?’ Then take those actions and celebrate each small success on the way to the bright new future you’re creating.

Three Steps To Controlling Your 'Success Jitters'

Debbie was full of enthusiasm as she built her business plans and was finally ready to launch her catering business. She had been catering ‘informally’ for years, mostly for important events held by friends and colleagues. She had reams of testimonials from very satisfied customers. There was no doubt that she was a talented caterer.

However, as she got closer to the launch date signs of trouble started to appear. She ‘forgot’ to drop off information for her brochure at the printer and delayed returning calls from a prospective client she had been pursuing for months.

I asked Debbie if she was aware of these patterns of behaviour. She thought for a moment and then said, ‘I know I’m a good cook but every time I think about officially launching my business my stomach churns and my palms sweat. ‘ She laughed nervously . ‘I find myself doing crazy things like questioning whether I should spend £50 extra for colour brochures. How crazy is that?

There was no doubt in my mind what was going on – Debbie had the ‘success jitters’. You’ve probably experienced them too – the sudden attack of nerves that wrap your courage in a vice-like grip when you start turning your dreams into reality

Suddenly your perception shifts. What started out as a testimonial from a satisfied client now sounds like you’re being boastful. You think, ‘Perhaps I’m not that good after all. Perhaps that client was just being kind.’ Your self-belief is being eroded by your self-doubt and the success jitters leap into action.

How can you manage your success jitters?

1. Face your fear and do it anyway.

It’s perfectly naturally to feel scared when you take on new challenges. Accept fear as natural, it nearly always goes hand in hand with success.

2. Keep your eyes on the dream.

Get connected to the passion you felt at the start. Look forward to the freedom of being a self-bosser. Taste the joy that helping others will bring. Feel the pleasure of doing something you love and are brilliant at. By reconnecting to the passion your energy remains high and the success jitters under control.

3. Take a success step every single day.

A "success step" is any action that is difficult for you - it could be starting your business plan, writing an article, or calling someone for advice and direction. If you do something scary each day - even just a tiny something - you'll fuel your courage to take on bigger risks. For example, Debbie scheduled her presentation to the prospective client far enough in advance so that she would have plenty of time to practice. Her daily success steps build her confidence and keep the success jitters at bay.

What is your success step for today?

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping-stones out of stumbling blocks. ~ Jack Penn

5 Tips On Boosting Your Career Success

September is the time when many organisations decide to make changes or restructure, and when many people look for new jobs. As a result there can be more opportunities to grow your career at this time than at any other.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for and create opportunities for your ongoing career success.

Tip 1 – Are you in the right place?

Review your current role – what are your responsibilities? What are you doing each day? Consider your career aspirations and the financial rewards you seek. Are you in the right place? Is it likely that you’ll get what you want by staying with this employer? Should you be considering a move? On a scale of 1 to 10, where is your job satisfaction? Do you like what you see? If the answer is ‘no’, then it’s time to start drawing up a plan of action.

Tip 2 – What’s your value?

What are the benefits you offer an employer? Just how good are you at your job? No false modesty please. Be honest about your strengths. You do yourself a great disservice by underestimating the value of your contribution and taking your skills for granted. Get a piece of paper and write down all the things that you do well. Learn to take time to appreciate yourself.

Tip 3 – When did you last take time to build your skills?

Now that you have your list of valuable skills consider what you’d like your next career move to be. What skills and talents will you need to develop to take that step up? Create a plan for growing those skills. Do you need to attend a training course, go back to college part-time or find a mentor? Perhaps you’d like to develop a new skill just for your pleasure, say photography or tai chi? Any new skills you develop will bring a re-energised and more enthusiastic you to work.

Tip 4 – Update Your CV

When last did you update your CV? Don’t wait till you’re seeking a job before reviewing yours. Once a year reflect on where you’ve been and make a list of how your skills and experiences have grown and what you’ve achieved since the last update. Ask others what they think you have accomplished or done particularly well. This too is not the time for false modesty! Once you’ve updated your CV look again at your current role and ask, ‘Is this the right role and the right company? Could I be doing something different?’

Tip 5 – Who do you know?

Who you know is just as important to career success as what you know. How good are your business networks and your networking skills? When did you last actively develop an existing business relationship or establish new ones? It’s time to screw up your courage and accept an invitation that you would normally turn down. Invite someone new for lunch. Make up your mind that by the end of the month you will have established at least one new business relationship.

So get to it! Start creating those opportunities to boost your career success.

Five Magic Questions For Consultants and Coaches
Outstanding consultants and coaches don't sell; they help their clients to make the best decisions for themselves. They gain their trust and add genuine value. Ask your clients the following five questions as soon as possible during the first consultation.
1. How can I help you? (In other words, what shall we talk about?)
Once asked, shut up and listen to your client’s response. Don’t interrupt, pay close attention to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Your first objective is to engage with your clients and build rapport. Let them know you are genuinely interested in fully understanding their needs by giving them your undivided attention before talking about or trying to sell your solutions.
Contrast this approach with self-centred laptop presentations, history of the company, case studies, CVs of all the key consultants, etc. that often characterise first meetings.
2. What works well already? (In other words, what success have you had in dealing with this problem?)
The rush to identify problems and solutions can show little respect for the progress a client has already made. By taking our time with this step, we build real rapport and trust (as opposed to superficial body-language stuff) and therefore we are more like to hear the real problems later. If writing a proposal, I suggest you add a section for this.
3. If there was one thing you could change, what would it be?
Take your time and allow them to think before answering. A minute of silence can feel like a hundred years, but if your client is the type who likes to carefully consider her or his answers before responding then a minute of your time is the least you can give. Our own unease with silence can very often lead us to jump in with another question before the client has had sufficient time to formulate an answer to the previous one. The underlying message they receive is that we are not truly interested in their responses and are racing to get the deal done. It is the end of any rapport and trust you may have built already.
If the client comes up with a list, coach them gently to get to the root problem. Too often we get so excited by the potential scope of the work that we gloss over this. This is where we help them to clarify where the real root of the pain lies. If they do the analysis, there is a much greater probability that they will accept a solution that they have played a part in developing.
4. If we solved this problem, what difference would that make?
This is where they come up with lots of benefits, and you write them all down - in their language. Feel free to repeat the question in several ways. Ask for the benefit of the benefit. Keep going until they cannot think of anything more. These are the reasons they will buy. (You might also choose to ask them what would happen if the problem was not solved. This is useful if you suspect you might have to help them overcome later indecision - the greatest scourge of corporate life today!)
5. If I could help you with that, would you be interested?
Either they are or they aren't. There is little point in spending time on a solution where there is not genuine interest.
These questions are but a starting point. Their value lies in enabling you to quickly establish trust, build rapport, and to identify and agree how you can help your clients to shine!

Improve your life with the 80/20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many(80 percent) are trivial.

Pareto’s Principle tells us that we get a maximum amount of results (about 80%) (both good and bad) from a small percentage (about 20%) of our efforts/relationships/ resources/systems. If we can simply determine what parts of our lives are giving us the greatest results, and seek to enhance that powerful 20%, then we can dramatically improve the quality of our lives and our levels of success.

Identify the activities that take up 80% of your time and effort and give you 20% of your results, What are absolute wastes of your time and energy? What relationships, activities, systems, and pursuits are giving you the least return on your investment of time and energy (these are the items that fall into your personal 80% zone)?

Pareto's Principle, the 80/20 Rule, should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of your activities that are really important. Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things.

Get a piece of paper and identify the activities that take up 20% of your time and effort and give you 80% of your results. What five things can you do for each of the items below to make each one even more powerful? Write your answers down.

• What relationships are the most powerful for you right now?
• What health and fitness activities are or could be bringing you the most dividends?
• What systems, if optimised, could make you most effective (think filing and storage, morning rituals, daily routine, food, household, work habits, organisation)?
• What pursuits recharge your battery the most and bring you the most joy?
• What business activities are generating the most profit? Clients? Results?
• What non-urgent activities are or could be bringing you the most personal/professional growth?

Build your life on the 80/20 principle and be careful about the amount of time and resources you spend on the areas that don’t bring you the results you want.

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"Welcome to Jackie Headland's Blog"