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“Creating Successful Leaders”

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January 21, 2015 What Can YOU Achieve in 90 Days?

Did you make a resolution this past New Year’s Eve? How’s it holding up? And how have you done with past New Year’s resolutions? If you’re having trouble meeting your goals year after year, then maybe it’s time for a new approach. There has to be a better way, right?

There is. It’s called the 90-Day Quick Plan, and it’s something I learned from speaker and author, David Horsager.

The idea behind creating a 90-Day Quick Plan is this: accomplish one concrete goal in 90 days, using a step-by-step strategy. Horsager claims that 90 days is the “sweet spot” for achieving your goals. It’s a meaningful amount of time, yet not so long that the goal will slip away from you. So, how do you go about making significant changes in 90 days?

The first step is to create a tangible goal (or up to three). Horsager advises against focusing on more than three priorities. Otherwise, you’ll be spreading yourself too thin. Ask yourself, “Where am I right now?” and “Where do I want to be in 90 days?”

And then, ask yourself the most important question of all: “Why do I want to make this change or reach this goal?” If you have a clear why, then you’ll have the motivation to accomplish your goal(s) in 90 days. For instance, why do you want to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle? Is it so you can be around for your children or grandchildren in 25 years? Is it so you can feel more confident about yourself?

Another example: Why do you want to learn how to create a website? Is it so your business can grow and blossom? Is it because you want to keep your mind fresh and young?

Whatever reason you choose for your “why” is, of course, a personal one and it should be at the very core of your motivation.

After you’ve figured out your goals and why you’d like to achieve them, ask yourself how you are going to get there. Horsager says to be very specific; make a detailed plan and ask yourself how you’re going to stick to it. He advises people to boil down their plan by continuously asking themselves, “How, how, how?”

For instance, let’s say you would like to write the first 50 pages of your memoir within the next 90 days. How are you going to do that?

Maybe you’ll decide to write every day. (That’s great, but how?)

You’ll wake up at 5 a.m. every day and write for an hour. (Ok, excellent plan, but how are you going to hold yourself accountable?)

You will let your friends and family in on your plan so that you’ll be held accountable. (Great, now we’re getting somewhere!)

See the importance of how?

Once you have your plan in place (and you have a clear understanding of the why and the how), get started! You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 90 days.

Need help formulating your 90 day plan? Contact me for guidance.

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January 14, 2015 Create an Interactive Talk

You’ve all seen it—that mind-numbingly boring presentation that makes your thoughts wander and your eyelids droopy. Or maybe you’ve been the presenter and you noticed your audience’s attention slowly start to drift as they checked their cell phones or doodled in notebooks. But how to engage today’s audience with their short attention spans and long to-do lists? Here are five ideas for jazzing up your presentation and getting people interested:

1. Get people moving

I like to start my presentations by getting my audience up, out of their seats, and moving around. I usually start with some kind of prompt like, “Find the people in the room with the same birth month as you,” or “Find people wearing the same color shirt as you” and gather together. Then, I ask questions relating to my topic and have the group brainstorm answers. This gets people talking to each other and mingling and it energizes the audience for the rest of the presentation.

2. Show YOUR energy

An audience often follows its speaker’s lead. If you don’t seem excited about the topic you’re presenting, why should anyone else? Step away from the podium, use your hands to gesture, show excitement in your tone of voice.  I periodically ask open questions to the audience to keep them engaged. Also, don’t forget to smile! Your positive energy has a direct effect on those watching.

3. It’s all about images

Have you ever seen a PowerPoint presentation that is filled with text? What do you tend to do when the speaker is speaking? That’s right, you read the text! Instead of filling your slides with words, use as many images as possible. Images keep people engaged without distracting them and they act as a prompt to help you remember your place. If you do decide to add some text, keep it to under 20 words per slide. Anything more is overkill and will most likely be too small to read anyway.

4. Use smart handouts

Handouts are nothing new—it’s useful to have a brochure or postcard about your presentation waiting at the seat of each audience member—but some handouts are better than others. The most effective handouts are the ones that keep the audience’s attention throughout your talk. I’ve found that fill-in-the-blank handouts work great if you want people to really engage with what you are saying. They force your audience to pay attention and listen for when you’ll give them the answer to the next blank space. Here’s an example:

3 Ws of Success5. Make it personal

Know your audience. If you’re talking to a group of teachers, make specific references to the educational field; if you’re talking to a group of bankers, reference finance in your talk. You don’t have to be over the top with your references, but you do want to make your audience realize the value of your words and understand how, specifically, your presentation relates to them. That way, they won’t be left wondering how to apply the information you gave them.

Take the boredom and drudgery out of presentations. Apply these five steps and I guarantee you’ll have a room full of alert, interested audience members and chances are you’ll enjoy the presentation as well!

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January 7, 2015 5 Steps to Changing Your Life

This is the time of year many people start thinking about making major changes in their lives. The New Year is symbolic; it’s a marker that traditionally rings out the old and ushers in the new. For many of my clients, it is a time when they come to me for guidance, looking to overhaul their careers or embark on an entirely new journey.

If you find yourself at a similar crossroads, wondering what direction to choose or what action to take, don’t ignore your impulses. It’s good and healthy to reflect on our lives every once in a while and now is as good a time as any. But reflection is typically not enough. Many people need the right tools to help them sort out the kinks in their lives. With this in mind, I’ve created an exercise to help you think about the changes you might need to make and the steps you could take to make your visions a reality.

NOW is the time to move forward and make positive changes in your career and personal life. Not tomorrow.

Find a Quiet Place to Consider the Following:

1. When we feel dissatisfied, it’s natural to jump to the conclusion that everything needs a major overhaul. Instead of rewriting the entire book, begin by considering what is going well, what is working for you, and what don’t you want to change. List four positive aspects of your life (this could be your family, community, relationship, job, etc.) and explain why you feel they are going well.

2. Consider one area you would like to change. What does that changed area look like? What is the first step for creating this change that immediately comes to mind? Imagine your first step has been accomplished. What are the next three things that have to happen? Now you game plan is starting to take shape, bringing your vision closer to reality.

3. Do you worry you don’t have the time? Fill in your typical daily activities on the timeline below. Where could you reclaim an extra 30 minutes? Does that rerun on television or updating your Facebook page three times each day really deserve your attention?

chart

4. Admit to yourself that none of this is easy. In fact, creating change can seem daunting, and we are tempted to abandon our efforts when faced with obstacles. Jot down at least five challenges you anticipate and a list of people you could call to help. Is there a friend who you consider an expert in developing a business plan, giving professional advice, or writing résumés? Perhaps reaching out to these people are important steps in your creation of change.

5. Throughout our day we talk to ourselves, and this voice is not always positive. Realize that negative self-talk can stall your efforts. What do you say to yourself regularly that is especially debilitating? Try to let go of two negative messages you send yourself this week. Identify your personal saboteur, give your negative feelings a name, and banish them from your space. Once you have successfully banished these two, aim to fend off two more negative thoughts next week. If you get in the habit of thinking about yourself and your capabilities in a positive light, I guarantee you’ll feel a weight lift off your shoulders and you’ll be more energized to make constructive changes in your life.

Interested in some guidance as you make your plan for the New Year? Contact UXL Today!

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