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Posts Tagged ‘Business Coach’

Confessions of a Coach! - 5 Tips for Focus and Consistent Blogging!

Friday, May 14th, 2010

brainmemoryI have to confess:

I love to blog because I love to write. I have been journaling life since I was about ten - simply telling the stories of my days, experiences and overall life. The writing is for me and only me as I have found it to be a very inexpensive therapist over the years - as well it doesn’t argue with me or tell me I am wrong or right.

I have on average 60 journals filled with my life and another 50 that just sit on shelves waiting for me to use them or for me to find someone else that could benefit from journaling their life.

But I will admit that the need to consistently type and blog on business subjects as well as personal topics that would be valuable to my readers, I have found it to be difficult over the last several months as other activities and work have taken priority…. so I am ashamed to admit that a couple of weeks have gone by without me sharing and educating my blog readers.

Have you run into that same challenge - finding the focus and consistency in your blogging?

We all know how valuable it can be for both the readers and for the blogger - so why don’t we do it?

I can only tell you why i do not - and yet I do not want to make excuses so I will not focus on that. What I will share with you are tips that have helped me stay focused and consistent with my knowledge sharing and educating:

  1. Block time out on your schedule daily or 3 times a week for writing your blog
  2. Block out a larger time block and focus on creating content for multiple blog entries that you can have done and ready to go for the week
  3. Create a monthly theme or topic that all of your blog postings would involve - that will help you to focus on a specific topic
    1. Examples of topics I wrote on - 30 Days of my own quotes, 30 Time Management Tips, 20 Traits of an Entrepreneur, etc….
  4. Read other blogs, include comments to theirs or use theirs to stimulate ideas of your own that you can use
  5. Sit down, give yourself 10 minutes with a timer, and write out any and all topics, subjects, hobbies, business ideas, etc.. that come to your mind - without giving it much thought. Just write…..scribble out one or two words to describe it - and try to create as many one liners as you can come up with. That can serve as your list of blogging ideas.

I promise to you and myself to practice what I preach and re-energize myself to focus on the above as I am always interested in educating and training you and others on various topics of business and life.

People want to hear from you as well! So if you are ever challenged with consistently writing your blog - consider the above.

Good luck

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Need Tips for Overcoming Writers Block

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

boas-portrait2 Good Wednesday everyone….

I am here seeking your help and input…. I am having writers block not only for my blog but more importantly with the very first book I am writing. My time is so limited and my goals and aspirations so high…. focusing and energizing myself to write has been a struggle the past week or so.

I always respected and admired writers and the talent they have to create stories and fantasies with words. I myself have been journaling since I was ten or eleven and have almost one hundred full journals from it, however taking those journals and turning them into a book is much harder than I ever thought it was going to be. BTW - the book is my memoir of a self proclaimed bitch (in the past, not now:))…..”Shedding the Corporate Bitch”

I am not complaining as I love the project, believe in the story, and am excited about creating something others will enjoy and learn from… I just needed to reach out, confront my barriers, and seek out any motivation, advice or creative ideas for getting beyond writers block.

This blog posting is the first attempt, as it was a suggestion I already have received: focus on writing something else other than your book; a business article, a letter to a friend, a blog posting, a customer case study or story, etc….

I loved that idea and therefore here I am…writing for all of you and open to any coaching and input you have ……..

Thanks for your ear and eyes……….

Bernadette

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3 Steps to Sanity in your Business!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

breathing Do you want to know what would bring real sanity and calm to you and your business, as well as generate energy, focus and confidence?

Follow these 3 steps:

  1. Commit to your success - you deserve it
  2. Verbalize and write out your goals
  3. No matter how small or large the task– define, document and execute the task in the same manner each time

A great percentage of people do not truly believe deep down in side they deserve success therefore they do not commit themselves to achieving the goals and dreams they have. And those dreams and goals are your SUCCESS measures,  no one else’s…so it may not be tons of money, a big house with a boat. It simply could be a happy family, a nice comfortable lifestyle and a good education for the kids.

  • Whatever it is you deserve to have it! But you will never get it if you do not BELIEVE in it! If you do NOT believe in you!
    • Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is given the right to succeed. BELIEVE that you deserve it and you will obtain it, no matter what it is.
  • Setting goals is a key element to overcoming the above….
    • A factor for people in not believing they deserve it is that they do not realize the capacity they have to achieve their goals.
    • Set your goals, focus single mindedly on each of the major ones until they are 100% accomplished
    • And plan to fail at it once in a while, or even a lot…. you cannot get to success without first going through failure… no matter what anyone says.
    • Then BELIEVE that the achievements you make, whether big or small, will begin to confirm your DESERVING of success!
  • Define, document and execute tasks and activities
    • Too many people especially business owners start from scratch the same activity or function they need to perform in their business, each and every time they need to do it. Or they simply go at it by the seat of their pants, creating duplicate effort and cost, as well as headaches. i.e. paying bills, processing invoices, ordering supplies, writing proposals, taking orders, updating customer or lead information, writing and publishing newsletters or marketing materials, etc…
    • No matter how small the task, if you do it more than ONCE, slow down and take the time out to write out the steps and process you go through to complete that task. And reuse that process or steps the next time and every time you perform that task.
    • Work hard to never start from scratch those things in your business that you have to do regularly (any more than once)…automate or process it out and REUSE

Challenge yourself and pick 1 of the above 3 steps and single mindedly focus on executing and practicing that step over the next 21 days!!! I guarantee you that if you do, you will find sanity and calm in yourself, your business, your team, and in your life!!!

Have fun!

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3 Steps to Achieving your 2010 Goals and Dreams!

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

stepsWe all know that life goes so fast and at a blink of an eye another year will be over. We are already a full week into the new year (unless you are like me and consider new plans, goals or resolutions on Mondays)…and realistically before we know it January will be over and it will be spring soon.

I don’t say this to sound negative or with the glass half empty, but to be sure we are all being realistically of how important it is to have a plan for life, business, our relationships, our passions.

Its the core reason that I spend a great deal of time of talking to you, my clients, prospects, family and friends about establishing a list of their dreams and to turn them into actionable plans that they can be focused on executing; before time just slipppppssssss away.

In Monday’s post I outlined 3 easy steps, as repeated in the following excerpt from Monday’s posting:

  1. Write out all of the goals you have for each of the following (remember to be detailed):
    • Business or Career
    • Finances and Income
    • Health and Fitness
    • Family and Relationships
    • Spirituality and Religion

2. Pick the Top 1-2 from each category

3. Assign a Date you want each of the goals accomplished this year

There is your Yearly 2010 Goal Plan……………….

Now we need to address that most people give up or fail at accomplishing their goals because they focus on the ‘year end’, 12 month objective, which is so far off. So they do not put the energy and motivation behind it. They race out of the gate with great intention, then allow that 12 month goal to slow their momentum, afterall “I have 10 more months to achieve it”…..unfortunately, they never regain the energy and focus, and never reach their goal.

So lets focus on taking that year long goal down to a more focused, near term,  ‘do it now’ Monthly Goal, that will allow you to focus on smaller steps to achieving the overall Yearly Goal. We will focus on taking your Yearly Goals to a monthly January Goal, so you can get moving NOW to your year end success.

Step 1: Take your above prioritized Yearly Goals, one at a time, and determine what do you need to accomplish in January to get you closer to that Yearly Goal.

  • For example, if you want your business to earn $100,000 in Revenue, what do you want and are set up to achieve in January. If you want to attain 20 new clients all year, what does that mean for January. If you want to lose 10 lbs, what do you need to lose in January.

Step 2: Now that you have a January Goal and Projection to focus on, list out ALL of the tasks and activities you need to get done this month in order to reach that first Monthly Goal.

  • This list could include marketing strategies, selling strategies, administrative activities, obtaining resources, buying applications/tools or technologies. Include all of the things needed to be done in order to get to that January objective.
  • This list could get long….. do NOT get overwhelmed. We will work on culling that down to a doable list

Step 3: IMPORTANT… since your above list could be long..EACH DAY, pick the Top 3 things from your list that are the most important and critical and will contribute the most to your January Goal.

Step 4: ONLY focus and execute on those Top 3 items completely until they are completed.

  • REMOVE all distractions, constraints and barriers to getting those 3 things completed.
  • If you get stuck, frustrated, unsure of how to get it done, reach out for support: a mentor, business friend or partner, or a business coach. Do NOT allow yourself to continue falling short of your goals…you will just fall short of reaching your dreams….. ASK for help

You now have a great plan for focusing on your Yearly Dreams and Goals in a more near term realistic achievable Monthly Plan. Repeat the above Steps each month. And you can lay out your Monthly Goals now from your Yearly Goals…. but specific tactical actions will change as the weeks go by, so you do not need to spend a lot of time on the specific action plans for future months……. just stay aware of how what you DO or NOT DO each day of the current monthly plan will impact the next month. So, if you want to stay ahead of your plan, focus single mindedly on your daily plans……and feel energy, motivation and confidence soar!!!

Good luck and have fun!

Bernadette

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