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I don’t know if you are like me always walking around with a million things going through my head at the same time? by the time I sit down at my desk I try to do a To Do List for the day but because there is so much going on in my head I don’t know where to start.

Well, here’s a brilliant idea that works so well for me. It’s called a Brain Dump Planner. This is not your To Do List. This is the place where you write down (dump) every single idea as they pop into your head. You need one of these on your desk whole day every day while you’re working and as an idea or thought pops into your head, you immediately write it down on your Brain Dump Planner. Don’t worry too much about what you need to do with the thought or idea immediately. Leave that for the end of the day.

At the end of the day, have a look at everything you have written down on your Brain Dump Planner and decide what needs to be done about the task. Use the triple “D” system. Decide whether you need to Delegate the task, Dump the task or Do the task. As simple as that.

Delegate that which you need to delegate (via e-mail or whichever way you choose), Dump the ideas that can and need to be dumped (by drawing a line through them on the page) and what’s left to do now gets written on your To Do List for the next day.

Simple, isn’t it?

 

BRAIN DUMP PLANNER

 

Today’s date: ___________

Write down anything that distracts you – Google searches to be done, random thoughts, new ideas, whatever. The point is . . .  if you write them down, they’ll stop popping up when you’re “in the zone” doing what needs to be done now.

 Use the triple “D” system (Delegate, Dump, Do)

 

Task

Delegate Dump

Do

       
     

Has this post helped you?

Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.

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Having 24 hours in a day is something we all have in common. This means that we all have the same amount of time each day whether we are a homeless person on the street or Raymond Ackerman or Donald Trump.

 

A scary thought for me is that where I am in my life today, is a direct result of how I have been spending my 24 hours each and every single day, up to this point. Doesn’t that scare you?

 

Is your business thriving the way it should? If not, maybe you’ve not been putting enough hours into the correct activities. Please note: I did not say that you’re not putting in enough hours, I said not enough hours of the CORRECT ACTIVITIES. How can successful people like you get more hours in a day?

 

You need to become very good at saying NO! (and mean it every time you say it).

 

I’m going to give you three reasons why saying NO can make you more successful:

 

 

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  1. Feed your own family first

If you’re anything like me, my family is the most important part of my life and spending time with them is not negotiable. My priorities in life are in the following order:

  • My family
  • Myself
  • Business
  • Friends

My family always comes first. There is nothing in the world I would not do for my family.

Next on the list is myself – I need to care enough about myself to ensure that I’m healthy, happy and living a good life.

Next, is my business. Why is this more important than my friends? Well, because of my family and myself. The success of my business depends entirely on me and the amount of time and effort I put into it – partying and having a good time with friends is not going to keep a roof over my head.

 

  1. By saying yes, you are saying NO to something else

Are you always agreeing to do things just because you’re too scared to hurt someone else’s feelings? Are you a people pleaser? Are you scared of what others might think of you if you just said NO?

 

STOP IT! STOP RIGHT NOW!

 

Today is the day when you will take a bold step, make the change and JUST SAY NO! Why? Because you have probably been putting other people before yourself most of your life (like me). You deserve better. When you say yes to something, you are actually saying NO to something else.

 

How many times have you said yes to something (helping a friend during business hours, chatting on the phone about a rugby match, or, if you’re a female, talking about girly or mommy stuff) when you should be working on your business?

 

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  1. If you give them a finger, they will take the whole hand – have you ever heard this expression?

I don’t know about you but I’ve often experienced how selfish many people are and how often they take advantage of good-hearted people like you and I. Being the “go to girl/guy” is great, but does it bring in the money you need to keep a roof over your head?

 

I’ve loved being the “go to girl” all my life but the minute I hint that I’m going to start charging for my services, everyone runs a mile – just goes to show. I’ve built up a reputation of being the “go to girl” who almost always says yes to weird and awkward requests that no one else will help out with (not even their own family).  I’ve said yes too many times because I did not want to be the bad girl to say NO.

 

I’ve made a decision to push myself out of my comfort zone and started saying NO. How about you?

 

Now is the time to finally take your life back and stop living for other people.

 

Disclaimer: I just need to say that I don’t mean you should say NO to everything that comes your way. I just mean that you should become a lot more conscious of what you are actually saying YES to. You should be saying YES to requests as long as they don’t interfere with your list of priorities.

 

For example: a friend phones during business hours to chat about last night’s rugby game – do you chat or say “sorry, I’m just in the middle of something, can I call you back tonight?” and continue working on your business or do you spend an hour or more talking about THE GAME when you could have been earning money?

 

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Always think about your priorities –

A before B, before C, before D, before E.

 

Get the point?

 

Successful people share and are generous, but seldom with their time. Why? Because they also only have 24 hours. They are more likely to donate to charity than give a random person a free one-on-one meeting. Why? Because although they have lots of money, they still only have 24 hours in a day.

 

Where do you find it difficult to say NO?

 

Drop me a note and let me know.

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What mid-year targets have you set for your business and do you have someone who is holding you accountable to the targets you have set? Maybe a peer? Your business partner (s) or your life partner/spouse?

  • What have you accomplished for the past 6 months?
  • Did you meet or exceed your 6 month goals you set for yourself?

 

What about the next 6 months leading up to the end of the year?

 

  1. What sales targets have you set for the next 6 months? (The total amount you would like to bring in through sales over this period)

 

  1. How much do you need to sell each month between now and December to hit this target? (divide this by 6)

 

  1. How many products or services do you need to sell each month to achieve this? For example: X products/services per month equals Y per week. If you sell your time by providing a service, this would translate to X hours @ R____ per hour

 

  1. Where might these sales come from?
    • Existing Customers?
    • Do a promotion to attract new business?
    • Run a special offer for your newsletter subscribers?

 

  1. What monthly salary are you aiming for and by when?

 

Marketing Ideas:

  • Social Media: What can you do on social media to create a buzz and generate sales?

 

  • Seasonal Events: Which seasonal events can you tap into? i.e. National Women’s Day, Heritage Day, 16 Days of Activism of no violence against women and children, Christmas or New Year?

 

  • Collaboration: Who could you team up with to do a joint promotion where you share the work and share the reward?

 

  • Speaking Engagements: Could you do talks or speaking engagements at local groups or business clubs where your ideal clients/customers would be, to raise awareness of your business/services you offer? If so, which meetings would you attend and where?

 

  • Existing client base: What could you offer your existing customers/clients that they would find irresistible?

Butterflies orange  in a row

 

 

 

 

Setting goals is usually reserved for the beginning of a new year (New Year’s resolutions), but do you review and check on these goals during the year or do you just push on to the end of the year and just make new ones for the new year like you do every year?

 

What about a mid-year review (in June, for example) and then again just before you shut down your business for the Christmas/New Year holidays?

 

Don’t you think it will help you work smarter and give you more focus? Won’t it help set better, more attainable goals for the next year?

 

Let me ask you this:

  • What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
  • Which goals have you failed to achieve?
  • Did you really give it you all this year?

 

If you have achieved your goals already or are heading towards achieving them by the end of the year, GREAT! Well done!

If you’ve fallen off the wagon a little and need a little inspiration, here are six steps you could take to get back in line.

 

  1. Review the goals you reached and missed this year

Physically write down a list of the goals you reached in the last six months or the last year (depending on whether this is a mid-year or end of year review).

Pat yourself on the back. Well done!

Ask yourself the question of how important those goals were for your own success on a scale of 1 – 10. For example: having the most expensive golf clubs in the neighbourhood may be a 1, while spending quality time with your family may be a 10.

 

Now, list and rank the goals you did not reach this year.

 

This will give you a good indication of how well you prioritized the most important goals for your success. If you did a good job, the highest ranking goals should be on the completed list. If not, you have some work to do.

 

  1. Ask yourself why you reached or missed those goals:

Look at the goals you have accomplished and write down the reason why you accomplished it. Possible reasons could be because your boss told you to do it, it was an important income generating task, your wife or children wanted you to do it, etc. Then do the same with what you have not accomplished. The reasons could be you didn’t have time, you didn’t feel like it, it was too challenging, procrastination, etc.

 

  1. Create your goals for this year

If this is a mid-year review, look at what you still need to accomplish for this year, write it down and rank it on a scale of 1 – 10. If this is an end of year review, write down the most important goals you want to accomplish in the new year and rank it on a scale of 1 – 10.

  1. Find your “why”

The main reason we don’t reach our goals is because we don’t really have a strong why. The stronger our desire to do something, the higher the chance of reaching the goal. Your “why” is your inner power that keeps you going.

Write down a strong “why” behind every single goal you want to reach this year. If you can’t find a strong why for your goal, then the goal is probably not that important to you, and you should consider finding another goal. Be realistic. If you’ve only reached 5 out of 20 of your important goals this year, you probably won’t reach 15 out of 20 next year, unless you suddenly have more time, or you start delegating or outsourcing some of your work.

  1. Create your plan

Create a plan for the goals you have set or still need to achieve with a specific deadline. What steps will you take to meet each goal? Having the goal is not enough. You must create actionable steps with specific deadlines to meet the goal.

 Stay focused

Once you have a strong “why” and a realistic plan on how to reach the goals, you will have set your mind to completing the tasks in order to reach your goal, no matter what, whether you feel like it or not.

Accountability partner – find a like-minded person who will hold you accountable and increase your chance of succeeding. With a plan and a partner, this year might just be the year that you will accomplish your goals.

 

How did you do with your goals last year?

 

What will you do differently this year?

 

 

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To serve your rise to your best, I humbly offer you these 50 New Rules of Work with the hope that you quietly consider implementing them as well as discussing them at your next team meeting:

 

  1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.
  2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
  3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.
  4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
  5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
  6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
  7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organisation and the customers you serve.
  8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.
  9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).
  10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
  11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.
  12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.
  13. Be a Master of Your Craft, and practice + practice + practice.
  14. Get fit like Madonna.
  15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh and hungry and brilliant.
  16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.
  17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.
  18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.
  19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.
  20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.
  21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.
  22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.
  23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion, and having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.
  24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
  25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.

 

Bird Robin Colourful

 

 

 

  1. Work hard, but build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone?
  2. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.
  3. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period!
  4. It makes a difference.
  5. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.
  6. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.
  7. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.
  8. Don’t to your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.
  9. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).
  10. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.
  11. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the Leadership Team.
  12. Words can inspire and words can destroy. Choose yours well.
  13. You become your excuses.
  14. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.
  15. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.
  16. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.
  17. The client is always watching.
  18. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.
  19. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.
  20. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.
  21. Every visionary was initially called crazy.
  22. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.
  23. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.
  24. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.
  25. Lead without a title.

 

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Four secrets anyone must have to have massive impact in the first 5 minutes

  • Be a master of the conversational Sleight-of-Hand –

    Communication: Be a master of the conversational Sleight-of-Hand

  • Learn how to be an “Emotional Conductor” (and become resistant/unreceptive to insults, criticism and mockery)
  • Adopt a Value-Delivering Mind-set (and let others praise you for it)
  • Become a Master Story Teller

 

Today is the second of four posts in which I will share tips on how to have massive impact in the first five minutes of walking into a room.

 

How do you deal with insults, criticism and mockery?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have maybe delivered a speech or a talk and had insults or criticism thrown at you? Maybe after the talk or speech while networking with the group you heard some negative comments/criticism about you or your talk or speech on the other side of the room?

 

How do you deal with insults, criticism and mockery? Do you act or react?

 

Learn how to be an “Emotional Conductor” (and become resistant/unreceptive to insults, criticism and mockery):

We all have to learn how to be strong in the face of criticism. Criticism gives you a chance to show what you are made of in the way you respond. This is possible when you have mastered the art of being an Emotional Conductor. It is especially great when facing intimidating and urgent scenarios in which you have to respond on your feet.

 

Being an Emotional Conductor means being able to be the emotional centre of any situation. It’s being the person who controls the mood, instead of simply reacting to it. It’s the ability to turn a negative into a positive, instead of meeting a negative with another negative and end up embarrassing yourself and losing control of the conversation.

 

People who don’t have impact are easily flustered and become emotional when they are attacked or when things go slightly wrong. They fall to pieces. They complain. They get upset, or worse, they respond in anger and end up looking like the nasty one themselves.

 

Being in control isn’t about avoiding these difficult or dangerous conflict situations, it’s about being calm and knowing how to deal with conflict, difficulties and criticism. One way to do this is by leading the energy in the room where you want it to go.

 

There is a Japanese martial art called Aikido which embodies this idea beautifully. Aikido is translated as “The Way of the Harmonious Spirit”, and its main philosophy is based on the idea that we must never meet force head-on, but instead re-direct the force of the attacker to where we want it to go. This means that Aikido requires very little strength. Instead it requires us to be more sophisticated and “lead” our opponents momentum and either turn it in another direction, turn it into something else, or dissolve it completely.

 

There are three ways to master this technique whenever you face criticism:

  1. Remain calm: If you panic, you lose impact. Whatever is thrown at you, remain calm and assured that you are able to deal with it in a reasonable way. This already makes you more powerful than anyone in the room.
  2. Decide your own mood: Choose your response and set the tone yourself. Never let other people’s moods influence your own energy. The more in control you are of your mood, the more others will be led by you.
  3. Re-direct criticism to something positive: Very few things in life warrant an angry or emotional response. Some better responses are to either (a) calmly explain why a criticism is incorrect, (b) laugh it off and take it in your stride, or (c) ignore it completely (because sometimes the strongest response is no response at all).

 

Now, when you are faced with tough questions you will look forward to them and enjoy those moments of tension. It becomes like taking a remote control into your hands and deciding how to play the situation any way you choose.

 

Was this post helpful?

 

Let me know what you think in the comments box below.

 

 

 

Do you sometimes feel that a particular client or few clients are leaving you feeling drained at the end of the conversation or at the end of the day?

 

Have you thought about the reasons why you might be feeling this way? There are three possible reasons for this.

 

  • Over giving: Charging too little or giving too much of your time, almost always leads to feelings of being drained. It takes courage to charge what you want to charge and end the session when you say you’re going to end. Do it anyway. It will leave you with more energy to continue your day.
  • Not speaking your truth: What about those things you wish you could say to your client (but it might be rude or disrespectful, and after all, they’re paying you lots of money . . .). Those are the things you need to say!! Just begin your bold statement with a large dose of acknowledgment, compassion and gentleness. It’s nearly impossible to boldly speak your truth and get drained at the same time.
  • Getting attached to your clients getting results: Generally speaking this is a good thing . . . don’t we all want this for our clients? The problem is that when you get attached to your client getting great results, you tighten up and when you tighten up, you lose connection with your client and you lose connection with your intuition. From this place, you probably push your client too hard, or you protect your client from your inner pusher and you become quiet and withholding. Neither works.

 

Instead, trust that there is a much bigger picture working here. Sometimes people are ripe for results, and other times, it takes time.

 

Your clients’ results do NOT determine your goodness or worthiness. You can be amazing, even if your client didn’t get results and you can be terrible and still have clients get results but its helpful to use their lack of results as inspiration to step up your game so that you are holding the most optimal space for your clients to get results.

 

It’s helpful to trust that there is a bigger picture happening that we are not always privy to that goes way beyond how much money they made, weight they lost, or soul mate they have found. It’s helpful to celebrate the results they are getting, no matter how big or small.

 

It’s helpful to address your clients’ feelings about the results they’re getting. It’s helpful to love them completely as they are, even if they don’t change a bit, and, at the same time, it’s helpful to hold vibrant space for them to become who they are becoming.

 

But, it’s NOT helpful to take responsibility for your clients’ results. You can’t get results for your client, even if you try your hardest, because they are the ones doing the work . . . it’s their results. Your job is to hold impeccable space, like a cocoon for a butterfly. The space you hold includes your love, wisdom, energy and compassion and it’s their choice to become the butterfly.

 

When you’re doing your best to help your client win, it’s best to simply hand the rest over to them and to God and trust that everything that is happening is exactly what needs to happen, but, what if you’ve been charging an amount that feels good, sticking to your time agreements, speaking your truth, and giving the results over to God but, you’re still getting drained? Well . . .

 

Sometimes the arc is simply over and it’s time to complete. After all, even the best things in life have a beginning, middle and end. Your work together might feel like a stick of bubble gum that you’ve been chewing for 30 minutes and it simply no longer has much flavour.

 

If this is the case, its time to set this client free and refer them to another resource that can help them grow.

 

This will make space for new clients to emerge.

 

Sometimes, the problem is having draining clients . . .  but other times, the BIGGER problem is simply getting enough high-paying clients to pay the bills.

 

If this is the case, I’d love to help.

Every single organization on the planet, even our own careers, always function on three levels. What we do, How we do it and Why we do it ”  – Simon Sinek 

 

Having a business vision gives you focus and clarity, it helps with decision making and it stops you getting side-tracked and distracted when life takes over.

 

Asking yourself these five questions will guide you through creating your business vision and prevent the “mind blank”, writer’s block and overwhelm that hits us when we’re faced with a question like “what is your business vision?”

 

1.What does success look like to you? How will you know when you’ve “made it”? Describe your idea of success: use your imagination, instincts, and/or intuition to express your “big picture”. In other words, describe what it will be like when you have reached your ultimate business goal.

 

Write down what you want your business to become but make sure you include some big numbers that you can measure – turnover, income, profit, number of customers etc.

 

This is not your business plan – but your vision can help you populate your business plan and marketing plan because your vision is your destination. Don’t let doubts cloud your vision.

 

2. Why is success important to you? Why do you do what you do?

  • Why is it so important to you?
  • Are you trying to make your life and that of your family better?
  • Are you trying to get out of a job and go self-employed full time?
  • Are you trying to help your community?
  • Is it make or break otherwise you have to get a job again?

 

What’s the driver behind you having your own business?

 

3. What difference does your business make?

What difference do you want to make for your customers?

 

  • What do you want to bring into the world?
  • Do you want to make life easier for mothers, small business owners, etc?
  • Do you want to help children have more fun learning?
  • Do you want to help businesses fulfil their potential?
  • Do you want to make women feel gorgeous and get their self confidence back?
  • Do you want to help women create a beautiful home?

 

It doesn’t have to be big and life changing but there will be a reason (or several) why your business will make a difference to the world.

 

4. Who is your “ideal customer”?

  • Who is most likely to buy from you? Who “gets” you?
  • Who would you love to work with? Who’s a really good fit?

 

Think about what sort of individual or business they are, where you might find them, what problems you could solve for them. These questions should all be easy to answer and you will DEFINITELY have one even if you haven’t sold to them yet.

 

5. What are your milestones?

  • What are the achievements you want to reach along the way that will show you you’re moving forward?

 

Milestones could be:

  • Leaving your job to working full time on your business
  • Having an annual holiday
  • Increased levels of income or more free time
  • Covering school fees or buying a new car

 

There may be smaller milestones like:

  • Setting up a website
  • Working with a particular customer or client

 

These milestones are personal to you and your business and they will keep you on track when you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed – write them down and tick them off as you achieve them WHICH YOU WILL!

South Africa commemorates Women’s Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of pass laws to women.

The Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as National Women’s Day.

Women’s Month 2015 will celebrate women achievers and their participation in the economy.

The theme for Women’s Month 2015 is: Women United in Moving South Africa Forward.

Question:

Womens Month 2015 Question

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