Archive for December, 2015

Dec 31 2015

9-Year-Old’s Words of Wisdom for 2016 Entrepreneurs . . . and everyone else

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Age & Aging,Attitude,Best Practices,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Creative Thinking,Decision Making,Empathy,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Gestalt Therapy,Goals,Good Health,Happiness,Leadership,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Mental Health,Motivation,Objectives,Objectives/Strategies/Tactics,Observations,Overcoming Objections,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Professional Practices,Reality,Relationships,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Special People/Special Occasions,Strategic Planning,Strategies,Tactics

heart-shaped ornament 1

        I just re-discovered a Christmas ornament my 14-year-old grand- daughter Gwyn made . . . five years ago. The brightly painted piece of heart-shaped plywood is the stage for her blobby-marker-printed starstruck words. But where did you get those words? I asked. “I just thought them up in my head,”  she said.

HER WORDS ARE THE BEST WISDOM I CAN SHARE FOR 2016:

Life is a question. No person on earth is your enemy but you. You can’t decide what you’re born with, but you can decide how you end up.

Being happy is beyond a feeling. It’s a way of life.

Questions are endless but the only one answer is YOU.

You can dream without imagination, but you can’t dream without a belief.

You are who you are, and no one can stop you.

— Gwyn, Age 9

 

 

As you head into 2016 building your life and your business, do Gwyn’s words have as much “start the new year” clout for you?

Please let me know YOUR thoughts . . .

# # #

God Bless You One And All . . .

and HAPPY NEW YEAR To You!

 # # #

Hal@Businessworks.US   931-854-0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Dec 26 2015

TIME marches on… do YOU? — Happy 2016!

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Age & Aging,Attitude,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Delegation,Entrepreneurship,Gestalt Therapy,Leadership,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Motivation,Objectives/Strategies/Tactics,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Productivity,Tactics,Writing

What ARE you waiting for?

upsidedown clock_______

I know, I know. You’re waiting for a parade? The doctor? Next Christmas? Someone else to go first? Your parent’s approval? Ah, your boss’s approval? A work order? 5PM? Lunchtime? Oh, right, vacation? Your birthday? A full moon? High tide? Rock bottom? Another way out? The Mets to play the Cubs in The World Series? (HA!) The car in front of you to get out of the passing lane? Your child to become President? Your Father to strike oil? Aaaaaah, of course, a winning lottery ticket.

___________________

If you seriously answered “YES” to any of the above, you may be too filled with excuses to make a success of yourself. I really can’t help you. My, um, best guess is that Psssssst! YOU NEED A SHRINK! Visit here again sometime after therapy! 

                                                                        

Now. Anybody left out there? Good. Well, there’s still hope for those of you who actually read this far. Since time truly does fly, if you’re truly not waiting for some event or person in order to move forward with your life –and especially your business and career pursuits– then odds are you’ve just been procrastinating. Christmas has passed.

Putting stuff off is okay sometimes. It happens to all of us. But you might need to give yourself a smack alongside your head, or if you can work it out, kick yourself in the butt (?). At least get yourself in gear to answer the two following questions:

Question One:

How much more productive can you be with your waiting time? (Like bank lines, traffic lights, bridges, RR crossings, commuter trains, subways, boats and buses, the dentist, Motor Vehicle Bureau?) Rate yourself 1-10 (with 10 being “a whole lot more.”)

Question Two:

What’s normally in your pocket, briefcase or purse while you’re waiting? IF. . . your answer does NOT include items like: a pen and paper, a tablet or laptop, voice recorder, cellphone or digital camera, pocket pad or sticky notes, or a book or e-book to read . . . THEN . . . the answer to Question One above is that you can be a LOT more productive just by carrying these items. 

I know people who’ve put together complete photo essays standing in line at the post office. I met an engineer who says he stimulates his brain by sketching vehicles and machinery while waiting for trains and bridges.

I know highly acclaimed novelists and playwrights who write as many street and business names down as they can see while stopped at red lights (that they can cherry-pick from later when they’re seeking character and location names for their works of fiction).

The point is, like the old Schlitz Beer commercials used to proclaim, “You only go round once in life!” (Well some maybe do a few trips, but most of us, well . . . ) and how convenient that we all only remember how short lifetimes can be when someone close to us passes away. You’re here to make a difference, aren’t you?

SO, stop fooling yourself with delays, excuses, nonproductive and unproductive waits. Stop staring into space wishing you were somewhere else. Stop bemoaning the lousy delay experiences and start DOING the stuff you’ve been saying, “Well, someday, I …”

 T O D A Y is “someday”!

 Some action is always better than no action. And remember that it’s ALL YOUR CHOICE because all of behavior is a choice. So choose to march shoulder-to-shoulder with time, not ahead of it, not behind it, but with it.

Make the most of 2016.  Make your mark.

Make a difference. Make 2016 YOUR year!

Love, health, and happiness to each of you!

# # #

931.854.0474    Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Dec 16 2015

CHRISTMAS is not about giving OR receiving!

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Attitude,Best Practices,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Empathy,Experience,Family,Good Health,Happiness,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Motivation,Observations,Personal Growth,Reality,Relationships,Special People/Special Occasions

Watch where you’re going,

 

Barnegat Girl 10/15/97-9/1/10 R.I.P.

but think about

 

where you are.

                                                                                                                                                                          

I watched a blind man’s golden retriever thread his master through the parking lot and into the giant retail outlet, through electronic doors and deftly around an oblivious woman who appeared cast in stone, at one with her shopping cart … surely not about to move.

The man and his companion worked their way around obstacles, displays, counters, other shoppers. They passed so briskly and so seemingly self-assured that only a few passerby even noticed just one pair of color-blind canine eyes leading three pair of legs.

But I did. And in a mere matter of seconds after the man’s best friend and the man were devoured by store traffic, my mind snapped to attention from its visual tracking trance and realized I had been witness to a man with no eyes. Mine began to fill with tears. Maybe it was being sad for him, or grateful for me, or simply the season, but …

All my weaknesses, complaints and woes went quickly off into space as I closed my eyes and considered for just a moment what my life would be like without ever again seeing a crepe myrtle in full bloom, the ocean, a blue heron following with its body its spindly silent legs as it creeps along the shore, a laughing toddler, deep woods, a frolicking litter of puppies, snow-topped mountains, my family, a book, works of art, lightening, swooping seagulls, my toothbrush, a roaring fireplace, faces, a Christmas tree…

Who could possibly want a Christmas present who has full use of vision after seeing someone who does not?

So, I am left to conclude

that Christmas is truly not

about either giving or receiving.

                                                                              

Christmas is instead about consciousness-raising, celebration, self-renewal, and setting out once again on our annual trek to make the most of what we do already have, to better ourselves and the lives of those around us.

Christmas is a gentle wake-up call to remember we are here to make a difference on this planet, one day at a time, to focus on making what’s possible actually happen. Christmas is a time for melancholy, yes, but also for introspection. We remember that we have within each of us the ability to choose the pathways that make existence on Earth as worthy as what lives in the riches of our souls.

Here’s what I’ve learned (often the hard way, mind you) so here’s what I have to share: In both business and in life, watch where you’re going, but always think about where you are. Be grateful for all that is yours, and continue your work to grow your business so you can help others from a position of strength … because the greatest gift of all is love wrapped up in charity.

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God Bless You One And All

And Merry Christmas To You!

 

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US   931-854-0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

No responses yet

Dec 05 2015

Your Reaction? Your Response?

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Anger/Conflict,Attitude,Best Practices,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Decision Making,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family,Gestalt Therapy,Goals,Good Health,Happiness,Lifestyle,Mental Health,Motivation,Overcoming Objections,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Productivity,Reality,Relationships,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Special People/Special Occasions,Strategies,Stress Management,Tactics

Are You Reacting

 

. . . or Responding?

 

reactions

When you make it a habit to choose to respond to problem people and problem situations instead of choosing to react, guess what happens?

  • You eliminate all possibility of ever over-reacting, and that’s a good thing if you own, operate, or manage a business of any kind.
  • It’s also a good thing if you are working your way up the career ladder or committed to creating an aura of professionalism, of peace and calm around your personal and work relationships, your friendships, your family.
  • It even increases your odds of preventing accidents, in addition to enhancing your personal performance, and overall health.

Unless you’re in an emergency situation, a calm and thoughtful response solves more problems more effectively than a frazzled or angry reaction. And you already know that choosing calm and thoughtful over frazzled and angry also helps ensure better and longer-lasting health.

Stop reading this right now, and close your eyes while you take a deep breath or two, and pay particular attention to the fact that it slows your heartbeat, helps you collect your thoughts, and increase your sense of self-control.

Go ahead. Treat yourself for ten or fifteen or thirty seconds. You might surprise yourself. Go on; I’ll wait.

breath cartoon

So now that you’ve jetted your self down a notch, do you feel or think any differently than you did ten sentences ago? Three or four breaths ago? And what does this post make you think about for yourself that you’ve either not been aware of before, or that you have gotten lazy about?

As today’s world swirls, it’s easy to simply forget how important the distinction is between reacting and responding and how rewarding it can be for you to take more deep breaths more often.

The bottom line? Your behavior –your words and actions– is always your choice. Your choice may not always be a conscious one and it could be one that’s the result of a choice you made long ago that’s come full circle to stir up your anxieties. But recognize it for what it is . . . you can choose to make things easy on yourself, or you can choose to make them hard on yourself. Why would you want to choose unproductive upset over productive calm? And, yes, you can choose courage!

More conscious choices come from more conscious awareness. There are many mental and physical tools available to trigger responsive choices. Deep breathing is one of these. Yoga is another. Regular exercise, visualization (imagining/projecting/”seeing yourself” achieve a task or solve a problem before actually responding), are two others. Having goals that are specific, realistic, flexible, due-dated, and in writing can also help you steer yourself in high productivity directions.

Don’t just think about all this. Try it!

Keep your head cool and your feet warm

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

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