Archives for December 2013

Did I just say that?

December 31, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Jan 2014 blog.Every year during the holidays I do something stupid. It’s not the same thing every year, but it does happen every year. I may say something inane. I might accidentally blow-off an appointment. This year it was getting getting my kids dressed in their holiday outfits, loading up the car and heading to Christmas brunch with the grandparents only to realize after 20 minutes of driving that brunch was the next day.

I hate making these mistakes. It’s embarrassing, disappointing and I’m sick of it happening. So I’ve decided to figure what the heck is going on and come up with a plan to minimize my gaffs.

Five minutes later…

Ok, I’ve got it completely figured out. It didn’t take months of research to identify the problem. It was staring me right in my worn down face. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Overcoming challenges, Projecting your Voice, Success Strategies, Taking care of your instrument, Winning mindsets Tagged With: , , , ,

Do You Want Next Year to be Better?

December 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This is the time of year when we do end-of-year reviews. We look at what went well and what we’d like to do differently moving forward. After all, we want next year to be even better than this one. What often happens, however, is January 1st comes and goes and before we know it, it’s March and things don’t look quite how we’d hoped. Why?

The answer is simple. We tend to follow the same patterns over and over again. We get comfortable with what we know, who we know and how we operate. Although repetition can be wonderful tool in business, it can also become a crutch which stymies our growth. Further, it can make our businesses and brands stale.

So how can you break the repetitive cycle to infuse your business with new life in the new year?

Here are a few tips to help.

1. Decide what you want. Do you want more money? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decision making, Entrepreneurial Success, Risk Taking, Success Strategies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

How To Get A Handle On Your To-Do List

December 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

It seems like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs doing, not to mention things we’d actually like to do.

As entrepreneurs, there are always more tasks and challenges coming our way. This is a good thing! If we finished all our work quickly and easily, we probably wouldn’t be growing.

However, there’s a difference between pushing yourself and pushing yourself over the edge. In order to be successful, and yes sane, we need to find a way to manage our to-do list in an efficient and productive way.

Here is my Top 10 List for checking things off your to-do list: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Success Strategies Tagged With: , ,

Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Brand Leader?

December 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” — Nelson Mandela nelson mandela photo: nelson mandela nelson_mandela_return_to_cell.jpg

This week marks the loss of one of the world’s greatest leaders, Nelson Mandela. Mandela overcame unthinkable obstacles on his journey to ending apartheid and becoming the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Many a man or woman would not have survived, let alone triumphed over the adversity he faced, but triumph he did.

How many of us face struggle and adversity in our lives or businesses today? How many of us rise to the occasion? My guess is the majority of us admit defeat more often then we’d like. What are we missing? What Nelson Mandela had and what all great leaders share is a strong sense of purpose. We cannot deny even evil dictators have conviction to a cause or mission.

We often describe great leaders as passionate, but [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , , , , ,

Can Your Audience See You?

December 4, 2013 By 2 Comments

When I was in 10th grade I tried out for my school musical. It was Fiddler on the Roof. Ah, how many productions of  Fiddler have been performed on high school stages… I was a sophomore and had been told many times by other students that only seniors got lead roles, but I was not deterred. I practiced my little heart out and on the day of the audition I was ready.

We all sat in the dark auditorium waiting for our names to be called. Of course, with each passing second my heart beat faster and faster, but I was also excited. I wanted to be on that stage. I wanted to show what I could do. So I sat in my seat trying to think of how I could make myself stand out from the rest of the auditioners. And then it hit me. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brand Building, Entrepreneurial Success, Taking a stand, Winning Strategies Tagged With: , , ,