Debra Kasowski

EPISODE 2: Taking Inspired Action and Celebrate Success

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“I have found that there is a difference in the type of action you take and the results that you receive. My definition of action that gets the results you desire – is relaxed inspired action- not desperate action or desperate reaction.”
― Sheri Kaye Hoff, Relax Into Inspired Action: Connect the Pieces and Live Fulfilled

Desperate action versus desperate reaction. How profound…

Some people talk about action being different than inspired action. We can do a lot of little task and little actions but are we doing them intentionally. Think about the actions you have been taking, are you doing them with intention?

Focus your intention and attention on what you want. If you are distracted or just doing things without thinking about the results that you want, you are going to miss out on a lot of different things.

Visualize achieving your end goal. Imagine how it will feel and what rewards you will reap from taking actions that you have.

Set goals and break them down into smaller manageable pieces. Set goals that help you stretch – in our next podcast.

Spend 20 minutes a day researching, reading, listening to a podcast, and increasing your knowledge about your “want”. People make lists of their dreams and when they are thinking about all the things that they want to do – maybe it is their bucket list. They think it is so far-fetched. It’s so far away from what is possible for me. What I want to do is to help you to shift your thinking from thinking of “impossible” to “I am possible”. I can make anything happen. Do a little bit of research and increase your knowledge. It might break down the some of the barriers of your thinking about why something might not be achievable for you. A lot of people do not investigate the things they truly want. They automatically think things are too expensive or they think something is not achievable.

Several years ago I was doing a vision board workshop and I was talking with different people about their vision boards. There was one lady who had cut out a picture of a bride and she said, ‘I do not know why I am even bothering putting this there.” I told her she did not believe she deserved it. She looked at me and said, “Yes you are right!” After a bit of laser coaching, she ended up putting it on her visions board and to have that on there and start believing in something for her was HUGE! You need to start believing in yourself for these things to happen.

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwWhen you take the time to investigate what the cost might be or the things you want, like the promotion or you want more clients, there are phenomenal books and podcasts that you can have these strategies on your fingertips.

We have the internet. People do not have excuses about how to improve their business, how to get more clients – that pipeline and how to improve our lives with living more healthy.  There are books, articles, and podcasts. There is so much information. There are seminars and conferences you name it – things are available to you. You just need to start asking the right questions and spending the time doing it. The world is not going to just hand it to you and say, “Oh, here it is!” It is the positive thinking that a lot of people that people were talking about from “The Secret”; The Secret does have a lot of truth to it. What you need to do is, to take the action and the positive thinking together to take inspired action. The inspired action is the gentle nudge or voice that is telling you what your true calling is that purpose that you need to do something.

The same goes for growing in your industry – do some research and learn more about it so you can ask more thoughtful questions and help where you are to get better results. Success leaves clues. Leave your track record, create those footprints and take the time to mentor others. It is all the little things that are going to help you excel.

ASK questions and learn as much as you can about what you want. Once you find some information as more questions. Find ways to achieve what you want to. There is always more than one way to get what you want.

Find a mentor who is willing to share their knowledge with you and who has done what you want to achieve. They have great wisdom and are not asked for their expertise a lot of the time. They will find it flattering but don’t just go up to them and ask if you can pick their brain. Find a way to create a win-win situation; it might be you who shares what the latest and greatest is in the industry.

Make a list of pros and cons. Simply, put a piece of paper in front you with a line down the middle with pros on one side and cons on the other. Take a look at the list and eliminate any risks so your actions can be deliberate. What can you do so the consequence does not outweigh the positive result? If there is a risk, how can you mitigate the risk so that you can ensure some smooth sailing? This way you are being proactive versus reactive in getting what you want.

Trust yourself to make the best decisions with the information you have. No one is stopping you from asking additional questions. You can adjust your course as you go. If you are going to wait for the perfect moment, you will either procrastinate or it is never going to be good enough to move forward. Take a chance and adjust as you go and you will be better every single time.

Celebrate your small wins and successes along the way. I often encourage the individuals I work with to keep track of the small wins and successes. Show gratitude. When you have a bad day, go back to those small wins and successes and read them over to shift your mindset but also to help you realize you have been through barriers and obstacles before and you have been able to hit a breakthrough to get you to where you are now. Don’t let it stop you from achieving success. Celebrating your small wins and successes will help increase your motivation and momentum to keep going toward your end goal.

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Time 10:37 min

EPISODE 1: Take 100% Responsibility 

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Stop Complaining, Making Excuses, and Blaming Others – It is Time to OWN it!!

We will be looking at the situations in life where you want to point fingers at people or you want to say it was not my fault. If you look around you at the choices you have made or some of the outcomes you have had, you need to look around and ask yourself, “What part did I have in this”

I had no control; it happened to me. Take a different approach by asking, “How did it happen FOR you?” What can you learn from this situation so the same situation does not happen again? People do not take enough time to investigate their outcomes.

Begin by asking yourself questions about a situation: What part did I play in this? What could I have done to change the outcome? What could I do differently in the future?

Imagine someone is coming to pick you up for an appointment or you are going somewhere for a specific time. You are watching the clock tick because you know if you do not leave by a certain time you will not make it on time. The person may show up 10 minutes late and you get to the location late. You get frustrated at the person driving you.

Take a step back.

Ask yourself…

What could I have done to achieve a different outcome?

Was I prepared to be out on time?

Could I have called in advance to ensure the person left on time?

Could I check to see if there was any road construction or accidents on their route to be aware of?

Come to the situation as a learner. What parts do I have control of or influence?

Avoid comparing yourself to others. Focus on improving yourself and showing up as your “BEST” self every day.

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwOften when people compare themselves, they are looking at one moment in time. As an example, someone has a victory – they seem to have all the luck. They have all the money and everything in place to succeed and it does not work out like that for you.

If you rolled out that person’s life and your life, would you be willing to erase all of the memories that you and trade for the other person’s life? If you at it from that perspective, I am sure chances are that you would not want to erase those precious memories.

It is not about competition as it is about playing your own game and showing up as your BEST self every day.

Focus on discovering solutions and look for the opportunities. What can you do about it? How can I make a different? It is not about sitting in the wings and being a wallflower. If you see something that needs to be changed, it’s about letting your voice be known.

Choose to be responsive versus reactive. You will make better decisions when you think before acting. Do you attack like a jaguar or a leopard ready to attack or do you take a step back and collect your thoughts? It is about choosing to be responsive versus being reactive. It takes a lot of emotional intelligence. Otherwise, you are like a bull in a china shop barging in and break everything around you and then you wonder why no one wants to follow you.

When you chose to be responsive your brain is a lot calmer. Your amygdala goes into an irrational mode – fight or flight response. When you are highly emotive and reactive, you are not thinking rationally and you will not make decisions as well. What you want to do is, is to come to a place where you are calm enough to respond, that you thought through what you want to say so you can make better decisions before you act. Not everyone likes to be held accountable but they like to know they are reaching outcomes.

Surround yourself with people who are accountable to for their actions. You become like the people who you surround yourself with. Take a look around you, “Are the people you are hanging out with accountable for their actions?”

You cannot hold others accountable for you cannot hold yourself accountable first.

Be willing to take action on what you want to achieve. Speak up if you need to, make a request, or try something new. Remember if you do what you have always done – you’ll get the same results.

Remember to SIGN UP for our Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 “Surefire Strategies” download.

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

 

Time 9.46 min.

3 Ways High Performers Get into the Zone

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Have you ever wondered how they do it? You know how the high performers get so laser focused on achieving their goals.

Some people call it “getting into the zone” or “into the flow”; this is where you are super focused and your concentration is full on. You become an unstoppable force in pursuit – in pursuit of a grand vision.

You may think that getting into the zone was only reserved for athletes; however, it applies to anyone who wants to be a high performer. You could be preparing for the big board meeting or pitching a business idea. You could be an artist painting a picture, a musician preparing for a big gig, or a student studying for an exam. What areas of your life do you what to be known as a high performer?

High performers all have three things in common: motive, mindset, and mastery.

Motive

High performers have a clear understanding of what motivates them. High performers are motivated from within and do not necessarily need someone outside in themselves to push them toward their goals. Recognition and rewards can be motivating but are not often the sole motivators. They know their “why” for doing what they want to do and they make specific plans to get there. They take time to learn how to do what they want to do and break it down into smaller manageable pieces. These performers have a clear picture of how everything may unfold; and they learn to let go and trust in their abilities.

Mindset

High performers prepare their mindset by eliminating as many distractions as possible. Have you ever seen the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” with Will Smith and Matt Damon? Matt Damon’s character was a golfer who needed to have the ability to zone the crowd out and focus on his next shot. When high performers get in the zone they are able to move be laser focused on what they are working on without distraction.

They may eliminate clutter or create a space or environment where they feel at their best. Clutter can be external like messy desk or piles clothing waiting to be folded. Internal clutter such as negative self-talk can create self-doubt and sabotage your actions. Listening to music or podcasts can put you in a good mood and leave you in a positive state.

Exercise is an excellent way to set your mindset. It increases blood flow to the brain making you more alert and awake during exercise but more focused after exercise. Yoga, meditation, and prayer also focus the mind. For some high performers timing can be everything, they work when their energy is the highest to achieve the greatest results. An example of this is the person who gets up early or the person who stays up late to do what they need to do.

Mastery

High performers imagine their success and m person mastery. They do this through the power of visualization and acting as if they have already achieved what they already want. Start each day or end every evening visualizing achieving success in details as if it was reality. Actor Jim Carrey credited his success to the power of visualization. He wrote himself a check for $10 million dollars for acting services rendered. Vision boards are a very powerful tool to keep what you want top of mind.

“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” – Oprah Winfrey

Journaling your success is another way to focus on what you wish to achieve. Write out the events as if everything was unfolding the way you want it to be. Your perception is your reality.

Remember the brain cannot distinguish between what is real and imagined so putting yourself in the state and imagining yourself as of achieving it makes it real. Your positive thoughts influence your feelings and the actions you will take to achieve your goals. High performers often attribute practice and more practice as the key to their success. They aim to give their very best to succeed.

To be a high performer, you must be persistent and stay committed to your course of action. You must know what you want and why you want what you want. You must enjoy what you do in order to do it well.

What actions will you take to get into the zone and become a high performer?

 

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

15 Time Saving Tips to Avoid Morning Madness

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Getting out the door in the morning can be a challenge. It seems like there is never enough time to get things done. Why do some people seem to have a handle on this while others struggle?

Many of the time saving tips seem so common. If they were so common, why isn’t everyone doing it? You could be setting yourself up for a focused work day. Time is a commodity; use it wisely.

“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult.” – E.B. White

The night before…

  1. Ensure you have gas in your vehicle the night before. Having the yellow light indicator alerting you to an empty tank will detour your efforts to getting to where you need to on time because now you need to plan to stop and fill up.
  2. Put a clock in your bathroom. By keeping an eye on the time, you will have a better idea how much time getting ready is taking you and how soon you need to get out the door.
  3. Set a timer or create a playlist of upbeat songs and set a firm timeline that you need to leave the house by. You should have an idea about how long it will take you to get ready and get out the door to your destination. You may choose to set it 15 minutes in advance so you can leave the house earlier prepared for the unexpected.
  4. Write out your to-do list. Organize your drive time and errands so you make the most effective use of your time for the next day.
  5. Pack your lunch. You are more likely to take a lunch if you are already prepared. If you are running late, you will skip making a lunch and end up having to buy one. It may not seem like much one time but if you did this regularly it could become quite costly. Fill up your water bottle and put together snack size vegetable packs to keep with you in a small cooler or grab an apple or orange to have on standby when needed.
  6. Check the weather for the next day. You can plan your travels and what you are going to wear. You may need to pack an umbrella or a jacket.
  7. Lay out your clothes that you are going to wear. You avoid wasting time making a decision. Some people have a standard uniform they wear to avoid having too many choices in the morning.
  8. Sleep in your workout clothes. You are already dressed to work out and are less likely to bow out of your workout because you are dressed.
  9. Set your essentials such as car keys, your gym bag, shoes, wallet or purse, and your to-do list at the front door. You will spend less time looking for keys to your vehicle and be prepared for your day.
  10. Buy a coffee maker with a timer. If you need your morning cup of java, put the water and the grind in the coffee maker so that it is brewing as you are getting ready.
  11. Put together an easy “on the go” breakfast. Skipping breakfast is not healthy. Your body needs to break the fast and the metabolism working in the morning. Prepare breakfast burritos in advance so that you can heat and go on the run. You may prepare snack size bags of cereal, some berries, and yogurt for a quick breakfast. Smoothies are great for a healthy breakfast for those who are rush. You can place your fruit and yogurt in the blender and keep it in the fridge so it is ready to go.
  12. Go to bed at the same time every night or earlier. Open your curtains to the sun’s natural light can wake you. Your body needs a certain amount of sleep tp feel rested and you will be less likely to hit the snooze button and fall back into a sleep cycle.

“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” – Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book

The morning of…

  1. Wake up early and do the 20/20/20. Spend 20 minutes in meditation, prayer, or journaling to clear your mind and set the tone for the day. Spend another 20 minutes reading a book or article in your industry to improve your skills, knowledge, and abilities. Exercise for 20 minutes to keep your body strong and prepare yourself mentally for the day.
  2. Don’t start responding to emails. Let the morning be your time to set the stage for the day. Keep your devices off. Focus on your needs first. Most emails require a response from you.
  3. Stay off social media and turn off the news. You can get distracted by posts and feel the need to respond. Before you know it, you may be drawn into a video or be compelled to watch the TV just a little longer.

Feeling rushed or being late can set a tone for the day. It impacts customers/clients, co-workers, businesses, and organizations- and YOU! Set yourself up for success!

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her work has been published in Diversity Magazine and Fabulous at 50 magazine. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. www.debrakasowski.com