Disconnect to enjoy Easter…

Happy Easter!!!Easter Greetings

Not sure about you, but I love Easter! We get four days off in a row (for those readers in Australia), we do not even get that amount of time off over Christmas, unless we use some of your annual leave.

Four whole days, to sit around and eat chocolate…how awesome!

Okay, I have missed the religious nature of Easter in my description above, and this is not meant with any disrespect, it is just not really my thing, I will be honest.

Easter is a great time to take some time out, and really focus on being in the now, and being present with those around you. You have four whole days!

So, use the time to disconnect from work, which includes disconnecting from emails, and use the time to personally connect with those who are important to you.

Can you go for a whole day, or two or three or even four, without checking emails – at all?

Which means, no quick glance at the phone ‘just in case you miss something’ or in case ‘the boss needs something’. Remember, everyone is having an Easter break, and if others choose to work and send emails, that is their choice (so, no chocolate for them). Everyday you do not check email and really connect with those around you, give yourself a treat, reward yourself for being truly connected.

By re-connecting, you now have the time to do those ‘things’ you previously had no time to be able to do. Easter is also a great time to connect with your plans you made for 2015, as it is just over three months ago since you set them, use this time to check in with and see how you are going.

So, how are you going to disconnect and then re-connect with those around you?

Cheers, Andrea

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Happy Easter!

What is your WYSIWYG?

On a previous blog I raised the topic of being yourself, and being really comfortable with who you are, and not being your harshest critic.

Being an authentic leader is like the new leadership buzz word at the moment, and striving to be authentic to your team, and also yourself.

Why is this important to us, to you?Mar 25 blog - What you see is what you get

Well, in a world where instant gratification and information is what we seek, and that people can find out about you, simply by googling you.  ‘Connecting’ is seen as a way of knowing people, when actually you would have no idea who they are if you met them in the street. It is all too easy to know someone, but not really know them at all.

By being authentic, it means that we are being who we are, and when people connect, what they see is what they get. It is your version of WYSIWYG.

By being authentic, it makes your life easier, as you can relax and be who you really are, and not an impostor.

By being authentic, it means that you are comfortable with who you are, and you know that you can’t be everything to everyone.

By being authentic, it means that have a level of self-awareness about you, and you know your impact upon others (use this knowledge for good, not evil!).

How would you describe your WYSIWG? Please drop me a line and let me know.

Cheers, Andrea

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Create YOUR success team…

Just a few weeks ago I wrote in my newsletter the importance of having your own personal team. It is always interesting the reaction that I get from people on this topic.

It is a huge myth that your success can only be achieved on your own. TeamThink about the acronym of TEAM.

T – Together
E – Everyone
A – Achieves
M – More

If you look at any successful leader, CEO, politician, or sports person, surrounding them is an amazing TEAM. Some members of their TEAM’s will be very obvious, however, the majority will not be known to the public. As they are like stealth support TEAMs, being called in when needed, or even volunteering when they see the need.

Create your TEAM and engage them regularly.

Then reciprocate the favour, and even volunteer for a TEAM. Not only will you achieve more, you will also create some great connections.

Cheers, Andrea

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Please, just be you!!!

Can you be yourself, or do you feel that you need to be someone else?be yourself

Strange question I know, but it is amazing how many times clients and even friends have mentioned that they feel they can’t be themselves. They feel they have to be someone else. It is the constant second guessing about what others are seeking from them.

It is that feeling that you will never be good enough, never have the right skills and talents, so you have to try and be someone you are not.

But is this truly the case?

Of course it isn’t, otherwise you would not have: your job; your friends; and the family you have.

The one person who does not want you to be yourself, is actually you. As the saying goes “we are our own worst enemy”.

When you find yourself questioning who you are, and what you need to be, step back and ask yourself, in whose eye’s are you seeking the answer to this question? It will be you.

STOP being your toughest critic, and be your greatest supporter. Be yourself, as that is why people want to be with you and connect with you.

Cheers, Andrea

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Scare yourself…today!

Eleanor Roosevelt, who was an inspiring woman, is well known not just for her work, but also for some amazing quotes, that are still relevant today. One of her quotes that has become a mantra for me this year is:

“Do one thing that scares you every day.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

If I can scare myself every day, it means that I am pushing the boundaries of what I had previously thought was impossible. Sometimes, what I have scared myself with have ended up as some good stuff ups. Like, using a new email system, which offered so much, and yet it managed to send out emails at the wrong time…yeah not great…but no one died!

However, I must admit there have not been too many stuff ups. Which makes me realise that by scaring myself, I am achieving success that I would not have experienced, if I did not have my mantra. It has encouraged me to back myself a lot more, and that can be scary! But again, no one has died! I have been really nervous in taking on a few opportunities, and they came off with great successes.

When was the last time you did something to scare yourself?
What was the result?

Please let me know, and also, if you do have a mantra that keeps you focused and motivated…it would be great if you could share, as they could really motivate others.

So, “Do one thing that scares you every day”! Thanks Eleanor 🙂

Cheers, Andrea

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New definition of GOLF…

G RASPGOLF - 2ND BLOG
O NE THING
L EVERAGE IT
F OLLOW IT

If you could GRASP, ONE THING, so one golden idea or goal, just one. Then LEVERAGE IT, really leverage it, and then just FOLLOW IT through to achievement, what would that give you?

It sounds simple doesn’t it? However, how often do we do this?

We get distracted by so many things around us, including other people’s agenda. Let me show you, how you can play GOLF. Tomorrow I am running a free webinar, Golf without Guilt, in the webinar I refer to the sport of golf as an analogy to achieve your passion. In doing so, we use the above definition of GOLF, to achieve the success you deserve, and life balance you are seeking.

Come and join me tomorrow, Thursday 26th February at 4.30pm Qld time (so 5.30pm for NSW & VIC), as I help you GRASP your goal, take your ONE THING, LEVERAGE IT, give you the tools to FOLLOW IT and achieve the success you deserve, in less time that you would expect. Click here to join me in the webinar.

Look forward to connecting tomorrow.

 

Cheers, Andrea

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This is scary…

Can you believe we are already over half way through February, so soon we will be two full months into the year! Sorry to scare you, but WOW, time really does fly.

Scary # 1

Actually, I am not sorry to scare you! As it is important that you realise that every day we are given a precious commodity, that is equally distributed to us all, and that is time. Some of you, have really got this concept, and well done to you. However, the rest of us, we just wonder where the time has gone, and soon February will be finished.

It is so easy for us to get distracted, and not focus on what is important. Which means that we do not even get close to achieving our full potential, and getting out of life what we deserve.

It is important to stay focused on what is important, which is why I called my business, Staying Focused Coaching. We need to focus on our goals, and for many of us it is about doing more, in less time, with greater impact.

To help you get the most out of your time and be more effective, please come and going me at my next free webinar, Golf without Guilt. Which is on Thursday 26th February at 4.30pm Qld time (so 5.30pm for NSW & VIC), just click here to register.

Why Golf without Guilt? You might be asking. Because, it is about how you become more effective, to do more of what you want, and therefore, having no guilt. Even if you do not play golf, if you want to know how to stay focused on your goals, this is still for you. Just click here to register.

Cheers, Andrea

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FOCUS = Follow One Course Until Successful

I can’t remember where I heard this little gem of an acronym, soclaim it as my own, however, I love it!  We live in a world where we can become so easily distracted, that maintaining a FOCUS is a challenge.

Focus

Keeping your FOCUS and getting rid of distractions would easily be in the top 5 of coaching topics for my clients.  The strange thing is, that my clients are very successful professional people in their own right, and they would have applied great FOCUS in the past to get to where they are today.  However, they feel that it is getting harder and harder to maintain FOCUS.

How do you keep your FOCUS?

To enable your FOCUS to be successful, it is important to get rid of your distractions. So, disconnect from email, social media, the phone, side conversations, and FOCU I will not S on the matter that is important to you, and the beauty is that success will come your way.  I work on having one or two FOCUS hours a day, and I find that in those two hours, I am more productive than virtually the whole day. They actually set up the day for success, so try and have your FOCUS hour/s at beginning of the day.

Image what you could achieve, with just one FOCUS hour a day!

 

Cheers, Andrea

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Do you trust your team?

I am currently hearing a lot of discussiteamwork for truston about increasing the level of trust within a team.  Whilst trust has always been important, it appears that as we step into a new year, there has been reflection on what will make a difference in 2015 to the team, the team members and their performance, and it is enhanced trust.

The challenge is, that trust is defined differently by EVERYONE. Not only do we all define trust differently, but we treat it differently, some people give trust easily, where for others it takes awhile. Yet, time does not define when trust is earned but rather actions dictate when someone trusts another person, or organisation. There is also different levels of trust, again this is a very individual matter.

So, how do you define trust, especially trust within a team?

For me, I really like the definition of trust by Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002), where he defines trust within a team, as being: “Trust is the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In essence, teammates must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.”

If you can achieve this level of trust, then you can have courageous conversations, keep each other accountable, and be genuine with each other. This in turn leads to a stronger culture within the team, which will lead to enhanced performance, and further enhanced trust, and we continue on the way up.

How is the level of trust within your team impacting on the team’s performance?

Cheers, Andrea

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Procrastination, no not me!

I was writing the list for this week’s tasks, and I looked back at some of the weekly task lists from previous weeks and months (I store them all in Evernote), and I have realised that there are one or two task that keep appearing.  Why, because I have not done them, yes a massive case of procrastination!

procrastination

Do I want to do the tasks, my immediate response is ‘YES’, but then when I really reflect on my actions, which speak louder than words, there is something that is holding me back.  So, I put on my coaches hat, and have a conversation with myself and here is how it goes:

What is it about these tasks that concern you, bugger I will be tough on myself, what are you scared of?  (One task which keeps re-appearing is scheduling regular daily & weekly tasks.)  I am scared of putting some firm structure into my week, as I have enjoyed having the freedom of not doing this since I started working for myself.

What will the structure give you?  It will give me focus and direction every week.

Have you tried this before?  Yes, I have a regular Friday task list and it works brilliantly!

What is important about focus and direction?  I feel that I am missing it, and as a result not achieving what I could be achieving.

If you were achieving what you believe you could achieve, what will that give you?  It will mean that I do not have to worry about the future, have a holiday booked. It would mean that I could invest more time and energy into my business. It would mean that I am helping more people achieve the goals that they so deserve.

If you able to achieve all of that, what would that mean to you?  It would mean great happiness, and I would be really proud of myself and my clients.

So, what are you going to do now?  Book an appointment with myself, and schedule my success, and I will do this on Thursday at 2pm.  It is in the diary.

So, that was my laser coaching conversation with myself, and I know that 2pm on Thursday I will be doing the task, that I have been committing to for weeks, no actually months!  Have you ever procrastinated about something?  Try this conversation with yourself, say it out aloud so you know whether you are being genuine or not.

If it is easier to have this conversation with me, then please click the link and we will connect and have that conversation.  Stop procrastinating…click the link 🙂

Cheers, Andrea

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