SELF IMPROVEMENT AND MOTIVATION

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I work almost exclusively with adults, but it wasn’t always that way. A challenge that often shows up in my work with adults is a species of self-criticism that I don’t see as much in children. There’s a weird expectation that somehow we adults are supposed to  just know  how to communicate effectively, navigate conflict, manage our emotions or demonstrate leadership. And when we fall down in any of these areas, we beat up on ourselves for not knowing or doing better. But how are we supposed to know how to do effective behaviors, especially in a diverse environment,  when we were never taught how to do them ? When we were never effectively role modeled — not by parents, bosses, peers or the media? Except for the very bright, children don’t typically beat up on themselves for not knowing how to do stuff — they understand they’re here to learn. So are adults! It’s a travesty that we aren’t taught, in any consistent, systemic way how to do the things most necessary to o...

This column’s theme is “Selling up, Selling Down,” and I’ve tried to do my best over the past 10 years to balance that view. Recently, I went back and did a straw poll on how I’ve done, and I’m embarrassed to share I’ve been a bit skewed to the “selling up” side. Because I try to be first and foremost a learner advocate, I’m going to do my best to even the score. I want to start with one of my fundamental pet peeves with how we design and sell training to advanced learners. I often refer to the 5 Moments of Need design framework by Conrad Gottfredson in my columns. Like other frameworks — such as Kirkpatrick’s Levels and McCall and his colleagues’ 70-20-10, both of which attempt to bring simplicity and context to things we’ve over-complicated or struggled to articulate — the five moments have been foundational in helping me offer a more balanced and robust learning solution to the stakeholders I’ve served. These frameworks offer our industry and the consumer a shared, non-le...

Did you know startups fail about four times as often as they succeed? Do you know why it’s so hard to get a successful business off the ground? It’s attributable to a number of factors, one of which could be the way the founders are spending their spare time. The productivity you can generate in your free time often carries over into the success of your professional endeavors, and you can bet that successful people use their free time for much more than relaxing on the couch or singing on Netflix. If you’re struggling to find success as an entrepreneur, you might want to take a closer look at how you spend your time away from the office. Consider replacing some of your less productive habits with ones with better benefits: 1. Exercise Working out is good for both the body and the mind. According to various studies, people who exercise 30 minutes a day, five times a week, enjoy better overall brain health, including uplift in mood, reduced stress, increased creativity an...

How do you stay motivated and inspired? How can you keep your passion, your excitement, fired up? By reviewing these self-motivators on a regular basis: 1. Get serious. Make a decision to go all the way to the top. Up to now, you've thought about it. Up to now, it's passed your mind. But now make up your mind to go all the way to the top, and your life will take off. It's the most extraordinary thing. Your life is like a shadow going up the dark side of a hill—until the moment you decide that "I'm going to be the best at what I do.” And suddenly you rise into the sunshine, and your life is forever after different—wonderful. Get serious. Don't fool around anymore. 2. Know your limiting step. What's your limiting step? What's the one skill area that's holding you back? What's the quality? What's the action? Ask other people. Find out what you need to become good at. Find out what's keeping you stuck . What is the critical limitin...

JOURNEY - Called Life!! 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 Life is like a journey on a train... with its stations... with changes of routes... and with accidents ! 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 We board this train when we are born and our parents are the ones who get our ticket. 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 We believe they will always travel on this train with us. 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 However, at some station our parents will get off the train, leaving us alone on this journey. 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 As time goes by, other passengers will board the train, many of whom will be significant - our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of our life. 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 Many will get off during the journey and leave a permanent vacuum in our lives. 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 Many will go so unnoticed that we won't even know when they vacated their seats and got off the train ! 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋 This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, good-byes, and farewells. 🚂🚋🚋🚋 A good journey is helping, loving, having a good relationship with all co passenge...

How do you keep going when things get rough? The same way you keep going when things are good, by simply choosing to do it. The particular conditions of the moment are not that much of a factor. What really matters is the story you are telling yourself. When you decide to keep going, you will. When you tell yourself that you can, you can. Life can sometimes be discouraging, with each effort painful and each moment full of difficulty. Yet you can choose to see that difficulty as a stronger reason than ever before to keep going. If for no other reason, you can keep going just to get some distance beyond where you are now. You can keep going because it’s what you’ve done for a long time, and you’re actually very good at it. The way to keep going is to keep reminding yourself that you’re independent of any conditions you may face. You can keep going, because that is what you have chosen to do.

Imagination and motivation are powerful things, and with them on your side, you have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Need proof? Take the story of how the first bridge over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls was built in 1847…. You see, to build a bridge over the giant gorge, the builders first had to get a line over the canyon, from one side to the other—from the United States to Canada with roaring rapids underneath. Except the engineers couldn’t cross the river in a boat because it would go over the falls, the airplane hadn’t been invented yet, and the distance was way beyond bow-and-arrow range. The designing engineer, Charles Ellet, pondered the dilemma until he came up with a revolutionary idea: to sponsor a kite flying contest. A $5 prize (a small lottery back then!) would go to the person who could fly a kite across the gorge and let it go low enough to the ground for someone on the other side to grab the string. It was successful—a young American...

When you're feeling anxious or stressed, these strategies will help you cope: Take a time-out.  Practice yoga, listen to music, meditate, get a massage, or learn relaxation techniques. Stepping back from the problem helps clear your head. Eat well-balanced meals.  Do not skip any meals. Do keep healthful, energy-boosting snacks on hand. Limit alcohol and caffeine , which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks. Get enough sleep.  When stressed, your body needs additional sleep and rest. Exercise daily  to help you feel good and maintain your health. Check out the fitness tips below. Take deep breaths . Inhale and exhale slowly. Count to 10 slowly . Repeat, and count to 20 if necessary. Do your best . Instead of aiming for perfection, which isn't possible, be proud of however close you get. Accept that you cannot control everything . Put your stress in perspective: Is it really as bad as you think? Welcome humor . A good laugh goes a long way. Mai...

Everyone has stress, because life isn't something we totally control. The question is: Are you managing your stress, or has it mastered you? The answer matters a lot for your health. If you're stressed often over time, it puts you at  risk for heart disease ,  depression , and other problems. The key is to stop stress before it stops you. It's simpler than you might think: Solve stressful problems when you can. And when you can't, connect with other people, and get active. 13 Tips to Ease Stress Use these tips to help keep stress at bay. Ask yourself what you can do about the sources of your stress. Think through the pros and cons. Take action where you can. Keep a positive, realistic attitude. Accept that although you can't control certain things, you're in charge of how you respond. Stand up for yourself in a polite way. Share your feelings, opinions, or beliefs, instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive. Learn and practice relaxation te...

Sales rep turnover can be very costly for organizations, both in terms of hard costs (actual outlay of training and other dollars) and opportunity costs (lost future business). According to Gallup research conducted in 2006 1 , five of the top predictors of turnover are: 1. The immediate manager 2. Poor fit for the job 3. Lack of commitment to quality 4. Pay and benefits 5. Connection to the organization, or to senior management In addition to those mentioned by Gallup, there are two other causes of significance: 6. Poor hiring 7. Insufficient onboarding Let’s look at each of these individually. 1. The Immediate Manager The most common cause of sales rep turnover is a sour relationship with the direct manager. This relationship is critical, and if it doesn’t work well it will lead to a termination or resignation. One CFO commented, “People need to be appreciated for their hard work, and if the employee doesn’t feel this respect ...

Change is inevitable, but it can be costly for your business. Employee turnover is one such element of change that directly affects your bottom line. As such, it is important to identify the motives of departing workers and devise an effective retention strategy. Here are four of the top reasons good employees may resign: 1.  They’re motivated by higher pay . No matter how much someone loves working for you and believes in your business, if they are presented with a better offer they will likely consider leaving. Keep tabs on what compensation is being offered by your competition and be sure you are offering comparable benefit packages. In addition to traditional “pay and benefit” compensation, some companies also opt to offer additional perks such as on-site fitness rooms or day care, discounts on services or travel, and employee assistance programs. 2.  They’re not engaged .   “Employee engagement”   may sound like another corporate buzzword, but th...