Gratitude + Attitude = your Altitude of Success

Carolyn Finch

I saw her drop her pen on the floor and then curse at herself as she picked it up and slammed it on the desk. That created a block in her day, yet she didn’t realize that it was a huge addition to her stress-ratio.

Stress-ratio is something used in manufacturing to determine the minimum amount of stress usually on a piece of metal as it relates to maximum amount of stress and fatigue. I do believe that we as human beings need to look at ourselves from a stress-ratio point of view.  We can become sick, injured and diseased and no longer be capable of several human functions. And if we couple this with the fact that stress is a mild form of fear in humans, you will see why so many people are going from minimum stress to maximum stress and then fatigue.

Sally dropped her pen and was afraid that someone might be noticing her and probably thought they would think of her as being sloppy or disorganized by knocking the pen off her desk and then having to lean down or get off her chair to pick it up. Thus she added stress to her stress-ratio. Therefore she will be fatigued at the end of the day from all the little fears that have been built up.

How can Sally handle the dropping of the pen to reduce her stress-ratio so there is a better outcome? She can make her “pen pickup” into a gratitude movement. As she leans over she can say to herself quietly, I am grateful that I can bend over and get that pen. This will make her feel better about herself, not add to her stress-ratio thus minimizing her fatigue later in the day.

What are you doing to minimize your stress-ratio? Are you remembering to show gratitude and be grateful for what you are capable of doing and the movements you can make? If not here is your opportunity to start your gratitude movements now. Be graceful and grateful. Your gratitude plus your attitude will determine your altitude of success.

 

Speaker - Author

Body Language and Communication LifeStyle Expert™
Did you ever stop to think that your communication reflects your LifeStyle and your
LifeStyle reflects your Communication? Enhance your Communication skills and your LifeStyle will improve.  Call Me Now and Book your date for later! 203 725-3133 or cell: 203 512 4798   carolyn@carolynfinch.com   www.crolynfinch.com
Let me be the SPARK for your next meeting.        Electrific Solutions Inc.

Are You an Enlightened Leader?

Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within rather than external rewards.  Think of the Olympic athlete who knows they will never reach perfection – yet continually strives to do so.  Upon achieving the gold medal – 4 years later the athlete defends their medal and tries to outdo their personal best.  This is the ultimate description of intrinsic motivation – sacrificing to achieve what one sets out to do.

Although we may not reach the level of motivation that an Olympic athlete does – the fact is that we can engage our employees to become intrinsically motivated on the job.

First, your employees have to have a sense of purpose.  How do they identify and find the greater meaning within your organization?  Oftentimes, employees will be more productive when volunteering because they buy into the tenet of what they are doing.  

As human beings – we naturally want to make things better.  If we have autonomy and freedom – we will give in our ideas and implement them freely.  The little things about our job that bother us – we want to do something about them to make our jobs easier for both ourselves and our co-workers.  Although our reasons for doing so may differ, as long as we feel safe and trusted - we all share that inherent human trait. 

However, when employees are in an environment ruled by fear, we feel endangered and we revert to an every man for himself psychology. The following are some of the reasons I have heard employees say they don’t give in ideas:

•  ”Management doesn’t care what I have to say.  They never tell me what they think of my ideas – the last time I gave in an idea, I never heard back.”  “It is just the flavor of the month.  They are just out for number one.”  Make sure you respond to all employee ideas within a given time frame and that all ideas are welcomed and encouraged, no matter how small. 


•  “My idea is too small to make an impact and I don’t want to look foolish by bringing it up.”  It is important to remember that individuals bring up ideas because they are trying to solve something and although the solution they have come up with – may not be able to be implemented, chances are someone on the team has a solution that is able to be implemented.


•  “If I give in my ideas to improve my work, then management is going to lay me off.”  This is a very real fear folks.  The real purpose behind getting employee ideas is that your business will grow through those ideas and that instead of laying off your employees that helped your business to flourish, retrain your employees and put them into positions with more decision making authority so they can continue to use their knowledge to grow your business.


• “If I give in my idea, I will have to do all the work and it is another thing added to my to-do list and I am already swamped.”  Idea implementation should not fall solely on the idea originator but rather should be a team effort.

Creating an environment where ideas flourish is what good and enlightened leadership is all about!  So I ask again – are you an enlightened leader?

Idea Share Tip of the Month!

Employees will give in an average of 3 ideas without feedback and then will not give in another idea.  For example, your employee does something positive and nothing happens.  Your employee then tells anyone who will listen, “Nobody appreciates anything I do around here!”  This is counter intuitive to many leaders – as most leaders feel that doing nothing has no effect on performance.

Sign up for the Idea Share Tip of the Week! at Frame of Mind Consulting

Frame of Mind Consulting understands the unique DNA of your organization, which is necessary to turn any organization into one capable of leveraging the full idea potential of its employees.  Would you like to drive connectivity and ownership throughout your company?  Contact Page at (860) 559-7942 to set up your complimentary consultation during which you will receive some invaluable tips that you can apply to your business right away.

What gets in your way?

The other day on my way to my BNI meeting,  I came across a driver in front of me that was swerving all over the road. At first I was concerned that the driver was in trouble. When I realized he was ok I started thinking how often I swerve when I am going for a new goal. Whether it's a health goal or business goal, there are times when I put obstacles in my way and there are times when I allow other people to put obstacles in my way.

Usually we do this when fear comes up around reaching that goal. Sometimes the fear is obvious, like when you have to do a presentation and you are deathly afraid of speaking in public. In that case you would understand why you procrastinate to working on your presentation.

Other goals like wanting to loose 10 pounds may seem like an easy goal until you realize you get very uncomfortable at the thought of the new attention you will receive from the opposite sex. So you may find your self eating more and having no control over your food.

How many goals have you achieved? What obstacles showed up in the goals you didn't achieve?

The more I clear out my negative programming the more I am able to create and achieve my goals with fun  and enthusiasm.  Call me for a free consultation to see how you can start manifesting your goals.

Jacqueline Kane
860-307-0232
www.bowenhealingcenter.com

Tribute to Wayne Dyer: Timeless...

Physically, we lost Wayne Dyer August 29, however, his inspiration, self-empowerment and teachings are timeless. Wayne Dyer was/is an internationally renowned self-development and spiritual growth author and speaker. He wrote over 40 books (including 20 New York Times bestsellers), created numerous other audio and video programs, and appeared on thousands of television and radio shows.  He also has 10 PBS Specials which have raised over $250 million dollars for public television.

For the past 10 years or so, I have loved reading and also listening (on Audible.com) to hundreds of books and presentations. This month, I offer you a small sampling of the many works of Wayne that I have listened to and/or read, and some inspirational quotes for the ages...

Wayne's first book, "Your Erroneous Zones" (1976), was revolutionary, talking about escaping negative thinking based upon worrying about other peoples' opinions about you (which are totally outside of your control). In 2011, Wayne wrote "Excuses Be Gone: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits", which was actually my first exposure to his material. In it, he explains how excuses are merely misalignments ("memes"): these are thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes in our minds that can be spread (like viruses) to and from other people’s minds. Their presence can influence our behavior and limit us in ways we don’t even notice unless we make a real effort to examine what we think about and why. The book shows how to do so and, most importantly, debunk them...

Other titles of Wayne's include "Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao", "The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way" and "Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting". The titles explain the content and they are all excellent. His last work, "I Can See Clearly Now", is his amazing memoir, sharing multiple events spanning his life as a child in Detroit to now, and the fact that each step of the way has something to teach us - there are no accidents.

Here are some thought provoking quotes of Wayne's - I recommend reading and contemplating on each of them, then share them - let's continue Wayne's life changing work and make this world better...

• "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
• "How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours."
• "When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."
• "Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."
• "Conflict cannot survive without your participation."
• "You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with."
• "The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about." 
• "When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way." 
• "Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life." 
• "Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Work on the person in the mirror for you are AWESOME! To do so, whether you have read or listened to Wayne Dyer or not, do it again and again. I guarantee it will help put things in perspective for you and enlighten you (like the quotes). His Web Site is DrWayneDyer.com and his books and audio presentations are also available on other sites, including HayHouse.com, Amazon.com, and Audible.com.

JOIN ME - Thursday October 22: "APPLYING THE 4 FORCES FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE " - "The POWER NETWORTHING EXPERIENCE TM"
Personal/Professional Development and Relationships Building

Co-Facilitators and Presenters: Rick Forgay and Chip Janiszewski

Thursday, October 22, 2015: 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Copper Beech Institute (Holy Family Retreat Ctr.) - 303 Tunxis Road - West Hartford, CT 06107

Cost: $15 (pre-register), $20 at the door - Refreshments will be served 
Table Top Exhibits Available: $45 (includes admission - supply is limited)

REGISTER & PAY ONLINE: http://NetWorthingExperience.com

ABOUT CHIP:

Chip, the Happiness and Success GPS, is a speaker, trainer, facilitator, consultant and NETWORKING EXPERT. Everything I do is customized for the group or business I that am working with so let's brainstorm  - call me anytime at 860-673-4006 - coffee's on me!

MINDSET Part 4

MINDSET

Part 4

How to Be A Growth-Mindset

            There was a famous saying among the counter-culture during the 1960s that it was better to become than to be. Growth-mindsets are always in the process of becoming, while fixed-mindsets always think that they already have to be. As a society, if we were able to effectively change most of our fixed-mindsets to growth-mindsets we would solve a lot of the world’s problems. As individuals, making that shift from fixed-mindset to growth-mindset wouldn’t make our lives perfect, but it sure would make them richer.

            Andrew Carnegie understood what it meant to be a growth-mindset person. He once said that he wished to have his epitaph read, “Here lies a man who was wise enough to bring into his service men who knew more than he.” Carnegie is a very rich example who we can all learn from. Lesson: Get around people that are smarter than yourself.

            Another way that helps us to become growth-mindset is just knowing that the two mindsets exist. Knowing these mindsets exist will allow us to start thinking about it and consciously choosing to act differently. For example, people are born with the love of learning, at some point, especially during adolescence, that love of learning comes undone for a safer route of not doing anything that will give people a chance to judge them anymore, also known as, a fixed-mindset. We can make the conscious choice to keep making the effort to learn and not worry about being judged. Some of us may even remember that old saying that goes something like this, “When I was 20, I thought everyone was looking at me. When I was 40, I didn’t care anymore who was looking at me. When I was 60, I finally realized that no one had been looking at me.” Let’s not let the fear of what others may be thinking of us keep us from becoming all that we were meant to become.

            Beliefs are powerful. Change your beliefs and you can change your mindset. For example, intelligence is not set in stone. Even Alfred Binet, the inventor of the IQ test admits that this test that has been labeling kids for so long, was really designed just to identify children who were not profiting from the Paris public schools, so that new educational programs could be designed to get them back on track. According to Dr. Dweck, Binet said that “With practice, training, and above all, method, we manage to increase our attention, our memory, our judgement and literally to become more intelligent than we were before.” Believe it or not! You better believe it!

            Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise, “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement.” Stop believing that you’re smart of not smart. Regardless of where you are, you can choose to, and more importantly, make the effort to become smarter than you presently are. But, first, you have to believe that effort is a good thing, and it’s worth it to work harder. Check your beliefs.

            Benjamin Bloom, and eminent educational researcher who after forty years of intensive research on school learning said his major conclusion was, “What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn, if provided with the appropriate prior and current conditions of learning.”

            Binet, Sternberg, and Bloom understand that we can all learn under the right conditions. Those right conditions are growth-mindset fed through effort and proper praise that recognizes effort over innate talent and performance. Talent is over-rated here in the United States, as well as, elsewhere in the world. And talent certainly isn’t heroic, like some try to make us believe. What’s so heroic about a gift anyways? You want to know what’s truly heroic? A heroic effort is heroic and worthy of praise, not natural endowments that one didn’t do anything to deserve.

Finally, if you are an adult working with our youth, don’t praise their performance, that only weakens their resolve and lowers their IQ in the end. Recognize and praise their effort and willingness to take on hard things, and to actually fail at hard things and bounce back from them. Now that’s something that is truly heroic and worthy of praise.

            In the end we become more through a herculean effort and a growth-mindset.

Daniel Blanchard is an award-winning author, speaker, and educator!

www.GranddaddysSecrets.com

If Energy Is Contagious, What Are Your People Catching?

I'm often asked "What is your favorite subject to present/facilitate?"

What I've learned is is have much less to do with the content, and much more to do with the context.  

Who am I working with?  What is their expectation of our time together?

As they sit in their seats, are they:

Prisoners?

Critics?

Tourists?

Engaged?

Ready to learn?

I was leading a group of 370 bank mangers last week.  What tremendously positive attitudes these people had!

This was a group of people who take ownership of their situations, choices and results.

Their energy of positivity, of belief that they can and do make a difference every day, was contagious.

Like all energy, positivity feeds on itself, and grows with increased feeding. 

By the end of the first day, the room was buzzing with power.

By the end of the second day, people were really moved.

This was no accident.

The conference organizers planned every event and activity to build on what came before.

They made sure that there was variety, fun, and multiple sensory modalities  to learn from.  They had videos, music, interactive sessions, short briefings by executives.

They also left plenty of time for networking and socializing and breaks.  They knew that people don't get more by being trapped in a chair for 9 hours a day watching Powepoint presentations.

They knew their audience and they played to their sweet spot.

What can you do to make your next event--be it a meeting, a one on one conversation--more memorable and event-ful for your "audience".

What can you do to design the event so that the energy goes where you want it to go?

More than anything else, that's what people will walk away with and remember.

In what ways have you intentionally focused the energy of a crowd? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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