Success Strategy: A New Perspective

In my last blog, “Turn It Over with Gusto”, I talked about how to turn over your limiting beliefs into more positive, affirming statements.  When you intentionally focus on positive empowering thoughts, they crowd out limiting beliefs and help you move forward and accelerate your goals.

Remember it takes times to create a new habit or way of thinking so keep repeating your positive affirmations daily.  If you’re feeling resistance, it could be that your mind is having trouble “believing” your positive affirmation – consciously or subconsciously.  This requires further work to change your perspective!

Here are 3 things that will help with a new perspective:

1.     Let go of the past & create a new statement for NOW:

Release or let go of the limiting beliefs you have from the past.  This can also work for limiting behaviors that result from a belief.  Create a new statement that will make it easier for your mind to let go of the limiting belief or behavior and create a new perspective on it in the present, NOW. 

To release the past, use the words, “In the past…” or “Until now….”  

For the present statement, use the words, “Now I…..” “From now on….”

“In the past, I was not very good at managing money.”

“Now, I am more aware of my spending habits and keep good records that help me manage it.”

“Until now, I was not comfortable making decisions about money.”

“From now on, I educate myself about my options and feel confident when making decisions about money.”

2.     Ask yourself empowering questions instead of disempowering questions.

Disempowering:  “Why don’t I ever have enough money?”

Empowering:  “How can I be even better at managing my money?” or

“What can I do right now to be even better at managing my money?”

3.     Choose YES or NO

You can also choose to have a new perspective on how you are with money by choosing to say “yes” or “no” to your beliefs or behaviors.

Example:

“I’m saying ‘NO’ to stress and worry over my finances.”

“I’m saying ‘YES’ to being peaceful and happy about money.”

Pick one thing you want to work on and try these tools.  Be persistent and consistent.  Repetition is important.  If you need help identifying a limiting belief and your new perspective, contact me for a free coaching session:  Lois@UnshackledLeadership.com.

Success Strategy: Turn It Around With Gusto!

Can you believe it’s November and the end of the year is fast approaching?!!!

It’s a good time to look at your goals and see where you are and what you want to do between now and the end of the year. 

If you’re not where you want to be, limiting beliefs could be holding you back.  Let’s look at your finances as an example.  Are you not making the money you want in your job, your investments or other sources of income?  If not, ask yourself what are my limiting beliefs about money?  Here are some examples:

·         Money is the root of all evil.

·         You have to work hard to make money.

·         I’m not good enough, smart enough, or experienced enough to earn the money I want.

Follow these steps to get rid of the limiting belief:

1.    Write down your limiting belief.

2.    Challenge the limiting belief. 

3.    Turn It Around – Create a turnaround statement. This is a new statement the opposite of the limiting belief.  Repeat it several times a day for a month.

Write down the limiting belief

            Money is the root of all evil.

Challenge it

            Money is the root to helping others in need.

            Money is the root of having great vacations.

Turn It Around

            I have more money than I need to do everything I want to do.

            Money comes to me in unforeseen ways.

            People love to pay me money for what I most enjoy doing!

Turn It Around with Gusto! 

Ideas about financial success don’t just form by themselves.  You need to be intentional about it.  Take time each day to focus on thoughts of prosperity and financial success.  When you intentionally focus on these empowering thoughts, you crowd out the limiting beliefs.  Repetition of your positive money affirmations will accelerate reaching your goals.  Adding your other senses will supercharge your intention.  Write your turnaround statement on a card, say it with gusto!  Add pictures or spend time visualizing what you want as if you already have it.  Your subconscious will go to work on your behalf!  Plant the seed, set the goal and allow the universe to take over!  Use this process on any limiting belief you have!

Success Strategy – Change Your Conversation

Is your life the way you want it to be?  If you’re a leader of an organization, is the organization the way you want it to be?  The answer to this question for many is “No” or “Not exactly, it could be improved.” 

At Unshackled Leadership coaching, we work with many businesses and organizations  who are doing pretty well, yet they have a desire to do even better. They want to improve their business, maybe it’s to increase their number of clients, sales, revenue, or profits.  Sometimes it’s about improving the culture, making it a better place to work, having people get along.  Often, they’re not sure what’s missing or what they really want to do or be.  They don’t have a clear vision. They need some help.

This is top of mind because today I conducted a retreat for one of my clients.  The goal was to create and align on a vision for the future of their organization.  This is so important because it helps you focus and prioritize, rather than jumping from one thing to another.  It helps you be the successful organization you want to be.

Prior to the actual creation of the vision, we talked about what it takes to be a successful organization.  In Scott Hunter’s book, Unshackled Leadership, this is defined as “enthusiastic, confident, optimistic, appreciative and happy people who work together on behalf of a future they have all committed themselves to.” We work with companies to help them develop this mindset and create a vision.  As we went through our process today, it became clear much of this could be accomplished by changing ones conversation. 

People in most organizations need to change their conversations about themselves, others and the organization itself.  Do you ever stop and really listen to yourself and others?  Is there complaining, blaming, judging, or criticizing?  Do they dwell on past mistakes or history? Is there doubt, worry and uncertainty?  Do people second guess themselves or others?  Usually, when one criticizes another it’s because they also criticize themselves.  They think they’re not good enough, not smart enough, not talented enough or not worthy and this spills out and spreads.  The result is that people and organizations stop growing and moving forward.

If this is happening for you or your organization, you need to change your conversation.  Start with yourself.  Take a stand for your value and greatness.  As you change your conversation and your mindset, you’ll begin to see the magnificence of others as well.  You begin to create a space in your organization for everyone else to experience his or her own greatness.  You will see a shift.  Reframe any negative or limiting beliefs you have about yourself, others or your organization.  Keep the conversations focused on what you want as an organization and all the great knowledge and talents you have to deliver on that.  It’s a win/win for all!

If you need some help changing those conversations and creating a vision for your organization, contact me Lois@UnshackledLeadership.com or visit our website www.UnshackledLeadership.com.

Leaders - What's Your Story?

One of the most popular children’s books is The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.   If you’re a parent or grandparent, you’re probably saying, “Oh, yes, my kids/grandkids love that!”  I love it to.  For those not familiar with the story, when the red train full of toys breaks down, the Little Blue Engine is asked to take over and pull the train up the mountain to the boys and girls.  The Little Blue Engine is skeptical and says,   “I’m not very big.  And I’ve never been over the mountain.  But I’ll try.”

This story has some great insights.  The Little Blue Engine had some beliefs – You have to be big enough and have experience to get over the mountain.  How many of us have those beliefs or stories that hold us back?  These are often called Limiting Beliefs.  Sometimes they are a fallacy or an excuse, sometimes a way to avoid doing something, usually an uncomfortable something.  There are things that we believe are true, we accept them as facts and live our life accordingly, sometimes, even unconsciously. 

Let’s see what this might look like for you as a leader in business or, even, in your family. 

Here are some beliefs people might have:

No pain, no gain.

Money doesn’t grow on trees.

You have to work hard to succeed.

It takes money to make money.

The pie is only so big.

There is too much competition.

I was raised that way.

Only certain people are born to be successful.

That’s how we’ve always done it so it must be right.

More excuses:

I’m too busy to … (ie. make sales calls)

I’m too old, young to….

I’m not experienced enough to do ….

I’m not good at ….

Do any of these beliefs sound familiar to you?  Are they holding you or someone you know back from accomplishing what you want? 

Now that you have some awareness of Limiting Beliefs or “Stories”, let’s learn a lesson from the Little Engine That Could.  While he had a belief that he may not be big enough or experienced enough to make it over the mountain with the train full of toys, he decided to “try”.  He didn’t let his limiting beliefs hold him back!  He said, “I think I can.  I think I can!”  And when he made it to the top of the mountain and all the boys and girls were cheering, he smiled and seemed to say, “I thought I could.  I thought I could!”

What’s your story?  What’s holding you back?  Are you ready to “try” anyway?  If you need some coaching to get you over the mountain, contact me at Lois@UnshackledLeadership.com  or visit our website www.UnshackledLeadrship.com for some great resources. 

Forgive everyone for everything, including yourself!

One of the distinctions I created when I developed my new Roadmap to Success program that was a real eye opener for many was the importance of forgiveness. By the way, if you haven’t yet seen the preview of the new video program, please click on this link: http://www.unshackledleadership.com/free-success-video. Why is forgiveness so important if you want to be successful? Because it’s simply not possible to be truly successful if you’re carrying around any amount of anger or disappointment directed to another. Because this is so critical and important, I am here posting an article I wrote earlier in the year. The advice is as good today as it was when I first gave it to you.

Forgive everyone for everything, including yourself!

This is a tough one for most people, hopefully not you. But if this is an area you struggle with, consider the following: There is a forgiveness project at Stanford University. The results are disturbing but not surprising. People don’t want to forgive. They actually cherish their negativity. Kindness and being a nice human being doesn’t sell very well. People feel entitled to create enemies and somehow justify their right to do that. And people use their wounding to justify wounding others.

In my own life, my grandfather was a pretty tough guy. What motivated him I do not know. But what I do know is that when his son, my dad, turned 15, he told him that from that day on he was on his own and couldn’t expect anything further from him. So my dad quit school and went to work in the family plumbing business where he worked for the next 50 years. I’m clear he resented his father for that and never forgave him. So you would think he would never do that to his son. Right?

Guess again. When I turned 15 he tried to do the same with me. But I was a bit smarter because I saw it coming and was determined not to let him get away with it. Fortunately, my mother came to the rescue and that was the end of that. But I remember that like it was yesterday because it so demonstrates my point.

People just don’t look at life carefully enough and see the consequences of who they’re being. Here’s the reality: your grievances mean nothing. Do you think anyone cares about them except you? And how do you think the ugliness that might come out of your mouth reflects on you to others? Whenever I hear anyone I know bad mouthing someone else, I always ask myself what they might be saying about me behind my back!

Bottom line: do you want to be right or happy? People all too often think they get to be happy by being right. It doesn’t work that way. Those two choices are mutually exclusive. So forgiveness means you give up your need to be right in favor of happiness.

And consider that resentment and anger has a huge impact on your nervous system. Chronic unforgiveness causes stress. Every time people think of their transgressor, their body responds. Blood pressure and heart rate go up. Facial muscles tense and stress hormones kick in. Chronic stress affects the immune and cardiovascular systems. Forgiveness reduces stress by replacing negative emotions with positive ones.

Finally, when we get angry, the blood is drained from the frontal cortex of the brain and we can’t even think straight. Just think about the last time you got angry. Don’t you remember how confused you were and couldn’t even think about what to say or do?

Not forgiving is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. So give yourself a gift: forgive everyone for everything, including yourself! Doing so will surely put you ahead on the road to success.