Archive for the Motivation Category
9 Tips to Boost Your Motivation
There are days when you will struggle to do even the easiest task. A short email can feel like an hour long torture session. These days can really test your will.
These rough days also give you a great opportunity to achieve significant personal growth at work. When you are struggling the most, you should rely on every resource you have.
I put together a list of 9 things you can do to shake off your blues and boost your motivation:
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What Do My Arch Nemesis, Listening and Chili have in Common?
So I’ve been putting off these small projects that I know will help my business. I keep finding something better to do. I’ll send off an email or check my Google RSS reader or come up with a plan for some new product or grab myself a snack.
The good news is that I realize it’s not my fault. How could it be? 
It must be my arch nemesis, the evil Dr. Oatzel. I believe he has been putting drugs in my tea, making me groggy and unable to focus.
Okay, I’m giving too much credit to Dr. Oatzel. I can’t let my arch nemesis run rampant all over my life. So yes, I’ve finally accepted the fact that my arch nemesis wants me to fail, but some of my issues are my fault. He is trying to wreck my confidence so I never gain the power to not need him. I’m letting him wreck my confidence.
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How to be Fearless and Fear Less
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Susan Chambers of SAGE Editing and Research Services.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unjustified, unreasoning terror which paralyzes needed effort…” (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1st Inaugural Address, 1933)
Did you know that 12% of Canadians (source: Canadian Mental Health Association) and 18% of American adults ages 18 and older are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in a given year (source: National Institute of Mental Health) When you convert the abstract numbers to real people, these findings translate as a distressingly large number of individuals suffering the often debilitating impacts of fear and anxiety; health concerns, a sense of being overwhelmed and helpless, an inability to take action or make changes, and a reduced quality of life. My guess is that it was in fact the side effects of overpowering fear, the “…nameless, unjustified, unreasoning terror which paralyzes needed effort…” rather than the emotion of fear itself that concerned Roosevelt, back in 1933.
According to an article in Psychology Today by Gordon Livingston (2009), a psychiatrist, the inaction that stems from excessive, irrational fears or fear-based thinking often shows up as a decision to live life from a “safe” position and not take risks, even if that means forsaking opportunities that might provide greater joy and expansiveness to one’s life. But what are these fears—or perhaps more accurately, anxieties—that keep so many of us immobilized to some degree or another? How are they triggered? And how do we overcome our fears or at least control them so they don’t take over and imprison our spirits and minds, leaving us depressed and further discouraged (a loss of heart)? Let’s start with human nature and the nature of fear.
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One Sentence Work Journal
You must find a way to do what excites you. That means understanding what makes you feel engaged, upset and happy.
Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project gave me the idea of keeping a one sentence journal. I think this habit will help you understand more about who you are and what you need to be happy within your business.
I usually write two sentences instead of just one because I like to write about what happened in my day and how I felt about it. I focus on the most emotionally powerful event. This helps me stay focused and not let the journal get too jumbled.
Download the One Sentence Work Journal PDF
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Retrain Your Brain
You may be happy some of the time, but you just can’t stop daydreaming about the good ol’ days. When you first started your business you were excited and happy to wake up each day. Now your business is owning you. You’re afraid to make any changes because of the consequences.
Many of us get stuck in this cycle. We are afraid to create systems that will make us happier.
If so then what is stopping you?
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Internal Demons
I used to be very afraid. I was afraid that people might hate what I created. I was afraid that my family and friends would laugh at me.
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Take Back Control of Your Business – Series
Over the past two and a half years I’ve learned a ton about developing a business.
I’ve learned how to:
> Network the “right way”
> Write in a way that attracts my desired audience
> Create happiness systems that maximize my productivity
Over the next few posts, I want to share a few of these things that I’ve learned.
The most important part of developing my business has been working with my emotional core. Too often we discount the importance of having a foundation built on happiness. A person can do great work if they bully themselves into producing results, but this is impossible to sustain.
Starting tomorrow I’m going to explore how I’ve created a small business that has allowed me to maximize my happiness. It’s a 3 part series, so stay tuned for all three installments.
3. Keep a One Sentence Journal
A small business owner who only worries about money and neglects happiness is missing the point of being an entrepreneur. We need to develop a core that allows us to always come back to our emotional center. It’s important to connect with our work in a balanced way.
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The Law of Attraction and Your Career
The Law of Attraction (LoA) gets a bad rep because of cheesy YouTube Videos and terrible books. They want to make the concept simple and enticing, but in doing so they lose much of the life changing impact that the practice can have. I didn’t believe until I started believing. Imagine that.
We are who we think we are and that’s how we accomplish our goals. If we don’t believe we can write a great book, hike the Appalachian trail, or create a career that will make us so happy that we can’t believe our luck then it won’t happen.
Let’s break the LoA down. First, we have to understand confidence.
What is confidence?
Confidence is our belief in our abilities. When we believe we can accomplish a goal, our minds set to work to make our goals a reality.
I’m working with a client who is afraid to reach out to old customers. He has enough steady work right now, but he knows his slow time is coming soon. He is afraid of the responses that he will receive. There is a reason why they are no longer customers. Right?
My client doesn’t want to face this reality. So he continues to do the same things he always does – wait for business to come to him.
He may have confidence in many areas, but in his business he lacks the confidence to learn from past mistakes.
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How to Discover Your Superpowers
A lot of people have been asking me, “What exactly is a superpower?” It’s time I gave you an answer.
So, over the past couple months I’ve talked a lot about developing your superpowers, but I never explained how to figure out what your superpowers are in the first place. The best way for me to do this is to start by asking you a few questions.
What do people come to you for?
Why do they come to you for this thing?
Do you enjoy helping people solve this problem?
The thing that people approach you about the most is a superpower. People love coming to you for this thing because they know you will do an amazing job. The most important aspect though is that you enjoy helping people with this thing.
Career superpowers are actions that come easily to you, are fun and you can do them for a long period of time. As you build your career, you should become more in tune with what your superpowers are. If you don’t, you will miss out on the opportunity to create leverage.
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Find Happiness At Work With The Help of a Coach
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Michelle Stimpson
“Have you ever seen the movie, ‘Yes Man’ with Jim Carrey? Well, previously that was me,” said Lisa Schmidtke, owner of Able Deluxe and Able Deluxe Technologies. “In my business, I was feeling scattered and jumping on any opportunities that would come my way. I always said ‘yes’ to my customers and colleagues, out of fear—fear of the well running dry, fear of others not liking me, fear of another opportunity not showing up.”
As a Professional Coach, I work with women in business who are eager to invest in themselves and want to live a more balanced, joyful life. Lisa couldn’t have been in a more perfect spot for coaching! Thankfully, Lisa made a courageous move and sought out coaching, in service of being happier at work.
After our initial Discovery Session to get clear on the low-down of her life and her business, I realized that while Lisa enjoyed her role as a business owner and was passionate about the work she was doing, the bottom-line was that she was not happy. Lisa sensed that she needed a change when her self-proclaimed “crazy business practices” began to affect her family life.
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7 Simple Ways to Live Your Passions
Why do you choose to get out of bed in the morning?
You may do it because of:
> Love
> Habit
> Fear
> Excitement
> Obligation
> Dedication
Whatever gets you out of bed, it’s enough to keep you moving forward. At what point do you ask yourself…
Am I happy with my career?
This is the question that we all ask ourselves, but we often don’t take the time to figure out the answer. It’s just easier to keep doing the same boring stuff. Why put pressure on ourselves to change when we aren’t sure what will make us happy?
This is the type of thinking that prevents a person from moving forward.
You have an opportunity to create the career that will make you happy if you start right now.
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