We live in an ever changing & fast paced world don’t we?

 It seems to me that we’re constantly bombarded with marketing messages, thoughts and information. When I ask people how they are doing they will generally tell me “I’m very busy”.  I very rarely have anyone say “I’m cool. I’m very relaxed and there’s plenty of time for everything”
What intrigues me is that I’m constantly meeting people who proudly wear their “busy” badge like it’s some sort of medal of honour. And I’m wondering.... with growing trends in our society such as increasing obesity, mental health issues (For example 1 in 9 males and 1 in 6 females are on antidepressants in 2012) and high suicide rates, how are we doing New Zealand at the moment?

Well, according to the statistics the answer is…. not very good and getting worse…..

In the last several months of my training and business coaching work, it has become far more evident to me that people are not coping very well under the pressure that comes with being in business. In fact, at times they often seem overwhelmed by anxiety, by worry, by fear and it almost paralyses them. I often see folks in a gloomy place where they seem to only focus on the current negatives in their circumstances, and they can hardly focus on their big dreams and plans.
Then it dawned on me…... They aren’t paying attention to how they think.

An analogy came to mind. Stop and picture this:

Scenario One: You’re at home and there’s a knock at the front door. You go and see who it is. You see a lovely old lady standing there and she’s holding some lovely fresh baking and has a beautiful smile on her face. You say hi, as one does.  Now you’re wondering… “Do I invite her in?” Choice point. What do you do?

Scenario Two: You’re at home, and this time there are a few very loud bangs on your back door. You go and see who it is. There’s large man standing there. He has a snarly look on his face and an aggressive stance that indicates he may have large basketballs under his arms.  We’ve all seen that look before. You acknowledge him of course, and now it’s a choice…..are you going to invite him or not.
So what do you do?

Both these scenarios present us with a choice. Invite the nice lady in or invite the snarly dude in.
It’s the same with your thoughts. On a daily basis we have positive and negative thoughts. The positive thoughts represent the sweet old lady with fresh baking and the negative thoughts represent the large unfriendly man. You can choose which one you let in. We can respond to those thoughts and acknowledge them, and then choose whether we let them in or not.

Whatever thoughts we invite in, we entertain. We give them air time. We ponder them, we meditate on them. We give them power. And it then takes lots more effort to remove those thoughts than if you never opened the door to them in the first place.

Most people are unaware they have a choice about what they think, and leave they their doors wide open, inviting both the positive and negative thoughts in, and then spend much unnecessary time and effort entertaining the negative ones and trying to deal with them. They tend to be ruled by their feelings, have lots of drama in their lives, and spend their time reacting to the circumstances life throws at them, not responding with choice.  

So I encourage you to stop and acknowledge the thoughts you have, then choose whether they are positive and worth inviting in, or negative and kept out.

The good news is it’s a choice. Don’t agree with everything you think.

There’s and Old Indian Proverb that goes like this: “There’s a good and bad dog in your head, and they are fighting. Which one is going to win? Answer…. the one you feed the most”  
Which one are you feeding?

This is only one aspect towards “creating a winning mindset” if you would like help to “Live a Life of your dreams” or further help? Simply sign up for our newsletter or contact me by email.

Reference:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/237971/anti-depressant-study-'disturbing

Last year was for most in business, a tough year in the Hawke’s Bay with a slow economy and low business confidence on the back of a long recovery from Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

With the introduction of financial strategies such as New LVR rules around mortgage lending and regular interest rate rises all designed to cool down our booming house sales and our so called rock star economy (Auckland and Christchurch).  The Auckland economy fuelled by immigration and the Christchurch economy fuelled by “the rebuild” don’t represent the rest of NZ or come close to the regions economies so therefore our economic growth and recovery has been stifled somewhat.

However there was still some stand out Hawke’s Bay businesses that have defied all the odds and have grown considerably over the last 12 months and will continue to grow and punch well above their weight into the new financial year. 

So what did they do differently?

They clarified a Business vision and have developed a clear plan to achieve it, and then they aggressively chased that vision, implemented the plan and leading their Business and team to take the necessary actions steps required to achieve the results.  

This year has already started with a marked increase in optimism and business confidence in the marketplace with positive economic signs such as increased commercial construction, increased residential sales, and increased horticultural investment across the region, steadying interest rates with no perceived rises and decreased fuel costs. 

So I believe that 2015 year has the potential to be a great year of increase for you and your business however it is going to take you some courage to achieve those great results. 

So how should we as business leaders or owners approach this year?

Well it’s time again to:

·         Dream again; refresh our passion and excitement about our business.

·         Risk again, plan and invest in ourselves and our business.   

·         Believe in ourselves, get a great team around us and back ourselves.    

So if you know you couldn’t fail what does your business and your life look like in the next 5 or 10 years?  And if that is the case what does your business need to look like in the next 12 months time?  

So a great place to start would be to develop a Dream Board for 5-10 years down the track. If you have some vision or ideas what you want, simply get pictures that best represent that picture and place it on a board or electronic page and build on it. It is a really fun and energising exercise that motivates you. Once you have completed this then move onto the same process for the next 12 months.

If you are not a visual person, simply write your dreams down or a snapshot of an aspect of your dream that indicate your success. This needs to be in your face daily to motivate you to push through any obstacles or perceived limitations required to achieve your dreams. 

With a dream and the courage to pursue it, you can change the world. 

We are now in the final stretch towards the end of 2014 and heading into 2015.  Time for reflection on our achievements and our progress towards meeting our vision need to be reviewed.  Some of us know where we want to be, others can even tell you the options of getting there and a select few can tell you which path they are taking.  However few can tell you the key milestones.

The world we live in is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.  Henry Ford put it like this: “The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.” We just need to discover how to use them to get where we want to be, in the current situation.

To discover where you are heading in 2015 and whether you are on track to get there, we need to review our business progress in 2014 for 2015.  Here are a few questions to reflect upon:

• Why did I set out on this road?  Why will my business make a difference in society?
• What is the next milestone to reach so that I can get to my vision?
• What did I achieve in 2014 that will help me in 2015?
• How can I use what I experienced in 2014 to grow my business in 2015? 
• Who do I need on my journey to achieve my goals in 2015?
  

Tom Landry says: “Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”

Another tool to use in understanding how we can achieve the goals set for our business is Business planning. We describe business planning as a practical approach towards filling a canvass describing your business.  We believe that every business person is developing a master piece, his or her own version of Picasso in business. 

We also know that spending too much time on a plan let the opportunities to grow your business pass you by. So if you want a hand and guidance on business planning, that will ensure you do not miss opportunities, please contact us for a free 30 minute discussion on how we can assist you.

Pablo Picasso said the following - “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”

So we would like to remind you to develop a plan for your business and personal life for next year.  We will be delighted to assist you on defining your goals and setting the key milestones to complete your plan to improve and grow your business master piece in 2015.  

So check out our current promotion or book in for your free initial consultation.  

Courage can be the fundamental difference between someone going on to achieve their goals and aspirations or not. Someone achieving their dreams can dramatically impact our country, world and even our very way of life as we have known it.

Courage makes the world a better place
Take for instance Steve Jobs with the inventing of the 1st Animated Movie, the Iphone, Ipad and Itunes, these have revolutionized how we live and do business forever. I’m so glad he wasn’t lacking courage or fearful and didn’t shelve his dreams by settling for an average life and existence. It would be very hard now to imagine our world without Steve Jobs and those products.

So what amazing ideas and dreams do you have inside of you that will make the world a better place, let’s face it we all want to achieve something significant in our lives we were born to do it, so what’s stopping you? I would encourage you to dust of those ideas and dreams and take courage to pursue them.

There is no middle ground
You may say now is not the right time; well news flash there is never going to be a right time.

Let me be clear here, there is no middle ground, you are either in pursuit of your goals, and aspirations which creates personal growth, increases in your confidence and results, or you are not. If you are not yet in pursuit of your goals and aspirations you will find yourself serving someone else’s that will give you limited income and growth potential.

So what is courage?
Is it the ability to risk and act even though everything in you is screaming and not wanting to do that very thing that scares the heck out of you?

• Is it ignoring the negative voices playing in your head so loud telling you that you can't and shouldn't do it?
• Is it recognizing and ignoring the pain of your past experiences similar to the one you are facing now?
• Is it ignoring your current circumstances surrounding you that indicate that your dreams are simply impossible to achieve?
• Is it ignoring the status quo of what has been achieved to date and the sometimes well meaning mass opinions of others?
• Is it humbling yourself to seek and ask for advice and training because you don’t yet have the knowledge, skill or experience to navigate the road ahead of you?

Yes I would say courage is all of the above taking action in spite of the odds of success and never ever giving up.

Can we increase our courage?
Absolutely, as anything that encourages us will deposit courage within us.

What can encourage you?
Encouragement builds courage
Let me help you out, here are some things I’m sure would encourage you such as: positive acceptance and encouragement from our parents, surrounding yourselves with supportive and positive people, regular achievements, doing what you love and are passionate about, reading positive books, watching feel good movies, listening or watching positive media, hanging out with positive friends and meditating on your positive thoughts and speaking positive words only. Increasing your knowledge and skills base and stepping out of your comfort zone regularly.

Be encouraged today
As you can see all of these things will significantly contribute to building up your self-worth, self-esteem and self-confidence and ultimately your courage.

Anyone who has achieved amazing things in their lives have been courageous and have been intentional about creating a positive environment around them as they have realised how much it affects their thinking, words, self-belief, actions and ultimately their success.

Now is your time
So I would encourage you, if you are not already in pursuit of your goals, aspirations and dreams to be courageous. To follow your heart and start by taking action today, create a positive environment around you and overcome whatever obstacles you may face.

You can do it!