Have you ever been to a football game or another sporting activity where the fans toss a beach ball around to see how far it can make it around the stadium? Did you ever wonder what would happen if no one participated? No – maybe ’cause with all the excitement, people cannot help but be a part of it; perhaps you were one of them. They feel the energy and want to feel the excitement of being part of something bigger than themselves.

Each time you take a step toward or a hit at your beach ball or goal. You are creating motion and with motion comes momentum. Share your goals with others so they can be a part of creating and moving your goal from motion to achievement. Take daily actions to keep the ball in motion. What happens when you stop moving the beach ball around? You need to start all over again and need to regain the momentum every time you stop and start. Your daily actions have greater impact than just doing something once in a while. Maybe you need to hug your kids one more time each day or pay attention to your finances and spending patterns each day so you can create an awareness and an intention to keep your goal or beach ball in motion.

When you focus on your goals every day, before you know it, you will have achieved them due to the daily actions and choices. Where your energy goes, momentum will follow. It takes time to get the beach ball around the stadium but with consistent effort it makes its way around. Hear the crowd roar – you did it! You reached your goal! You will have a reason to celebrate because it is going to be a GOOD NIGHT!

Every year I nurture a rose garden near my deck. I laugh because I use to think roses smelled like the air fresheners that you put in the bathroom near your toilet bowl, so your bathroom smelled like a porcelain bowl of roses. Now times have changed….I do not buy rose air fresheners. Instead, I have the real thing..aahhh much better. White roses are my favorite!

My parents’ song as a couple has always been I Beg Your Pardon I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson. My father plants and nurtures a rose garden for my mother as a reminder of this song so I guess that’s why I now do the same. What’s so special about a rose? Not only is it a symbol of love (good times) but if you note there are also thorns (bad times or failures) on roses. No matter what thorns (mistakes/failures) you encounter along the way, you are sure to receive abundance and beauty as you nurture the rose garden of your life with consistency and care. Rose love moisture and sunlight. The energy brings forth beautiful blooms of flowering results. It is how you get through those times, that makes your stronger, more resilient, and more courageous than you have ever thought.

If you are feeling like something in your life is not going as it should for you right now, nurture it with love and energy. You have the resources available to you to move through it and you do not need to do it alone. Ask for the help you need to get a project done. Soon enough you will be smelling real roses from the garden in which you sow. Stop and smell your roses of success!

Every day I learn new things that can also make another person’s life better. I know for some people social media can be a bit awkward and maybe even downright confusing. Hence, books like “Twitter for Dummies” and “Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day” were born. Where there is a need or “pain”, there is invention and innovation. I have been playing around a bit with Twitter the past couple weeks and experimenting with some things that I have learned about – maybe you would like to increase your Twitter following. Here’s some tips on how:

1. Profile Photo – Ensure you post a clear photo of yourself, preferably a close up. People tend to follow faces more than they do logos. Faces are more personable unless you are media or big brand names like Pepsi or Coca-Cola.
2. Biography – Provide a short description of yourself, what are your unique qualities? Why would people want to follow you? What can they relate to? Read some profile bios for ideas.
3. Follow People with Similar Interests – You can connect with people who are like-minded and also see who is following them. You may also want to connect with some of their followers too.
4. Retweet – When watching the tweets on different pages you may notice RT, RT means that someone has retweeted someone else’s message.
5. Keep It Short & Sweet – Tweets have a content maximum of 140 characters. Leave at least 20-30 characters free so that people can reply or retweet your message.
6. Be a Value Tweeter – Tweet about topics relevant to your subject area or expertise. Provide shortened links (bit.ly or tiny.url) to valuable information such as articles, tips, tools, or techniques.
7. Use # hashtags – Hashtags are like a filing system or a categorization of topics. For example, #quote can be used at the end of a quote. After you post the quote, you can go to your tweet and click on #quote to see who else is posting quotes. You may want to retweet or follow tweeters  that resonate with you.
8. #FollowFriday or #FF – On Fridays, fellow tweeters suggest people that others should follow. Great content – great followers.
9. Unfollow Inactive Users – Tweeter Karma is a tool in which you can unfollow inactive users so you can follow people who are active on Twitter. There is an acceptable ratio of followers and following so you are better to have active users on your list.
10. Track Your Progress – Twitter Counter is another useful tools for predicting your Twitter growth but it also allows you to discover what tweeters value from you and others. What are the hot topics of conversation?

1. Remember once it is out there, it is out there! ONLY tweet what you would say face to face.
2. Learn the rules.

Have you ever noticed that when you need a reminder or a kick in the pants, it shows up? Literally, I was reminded to keep focussed on my goal and to not be distracted by shiny objects or distractors. What I mean by distractors is unsolicited advice. Colleen Francis, President and Founder of Engage Selling Solutions spoke at our Canadian Association of Professional Speakers – Edmonton Chapter meeting recently and shared excellent advice for all. I couldn’t wait to write about what I learned.

Colleen Francis & Debra Kasowski

No matter what your goal or dream is, you need to continue to take steps toward it; even when you are unsure if everything will work out. How will you ever know if you never try? People will always have their own take on whatever it is your dream or goal may be. Remember it is their interpretation from their own experiences and not yours. Colleen stressed that advice should only be considered from “people you respect and who have been there.” People who have been there can share their successes, mistakes, and their take aways with you so you can learn from them.  As for the others she said, “Don’t listen, if you want to do it, DO IT!”

So you have a great idea…how many people do you have to check in with before you take steps toward it. Several people check in with family and friends only to be dismayed with their lack of understanding, support, or enthusiasm. Who it really should matter to, is you. Here are some of the steps that Colleen suggested when trying out new ideas:

1. IMPLEMENTATION Create your plan of action and implement it to the best of your ability. 
2. TEST Test your ideas and make adjustments where necessary.
3. EVALUATE RESULTS Did your ideas work? Maybe you need to make more adjustments by adding something or taking something away or perhaps you have to try something completely different.