Debra Kasowski, Author at Debra Kasowski

EPISODE 121 – Embrace Your Challenges as Gifts

August 10, 2017 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrwguPLMFXw[/embedyt]

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” – Paulo Coelho

Have you ever thought how easy life would be if only we did not have challenges? According to the Cambridge Dictionary Online, a challenge is: (the situation of being faced with) something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability. There is probably a challenge you are even facing today. There may be a strong possibility that you are trying to dodge or avoid the challenge. You may see the challenge as a pain so dodging it prevents suffering. Not all challenges result in pain but they often teach us lessons and expand the way you and I do things. There is no point in resisting it for whatever you resist tends to persist. Accept it and rise to the challenge.

Challenges stretch us and often make us uncomfortable because you need to change the way you show up. When you are first faced with a challenge, you may hesitate to evaluate the risks and rewards. You may be wondering, “What will I have to give up or stop doing to make this work?” You may hesitate because of your fears. The fear of failure, making a mistake, rejection, and even success. The fear of what others will say about you for making a choice, dressing a certain way, having opinions, or the way you speak. Don’t worry – everyone has an opinion so don’t take things personally. Their viewpoint is just that – the view of the world from their previous encounters and experiences. You do not have to do things that they do or they have done. Do you! Decide what you must do to face the challenge.

Sometimes a challenge is just what you needed to save you from getting stagnant or complacent. When life or your role gets too routine your brain does not get the stimulation it needs. Life becomes boring. You lose those creative juices that help you set yourself apart. Worry is not a useful emotion. Self-doubt robs the world of what you have to offer. Instead of being focused on self-doubt and worry which is a default to do and nothing but a waste of your energy. Channel your energy to believe in yourself and know you have what it takes to figure out the solution. Take stock of your knowledge, skills, and abilities. If you do not know something, you can always find a way. You must develop the “never give up” attitude to move through challenge.

Remember to embrace challenges as gifts. Challenges keep you relevant and relatable to others. Re-frame your challenge – what is the lesson you are meant to learn? How will this strengthen you? How can you take advantage of the challenge as an opportunity? Some people find comfort in sharing their challenges on and offline. Whereas, others tend to keep challenges private. What you need to know is that everyone faces challenges at one time or another. You do not hear about them. These challenges shape our character and often make us help us step into our potential to become a better version of ourselves. You may discover a new and improved way of doing things. Use your challenges to be of assistance to others in some way.

I remember one performance appraisal I had when I was a new manager years ago. My boss had suggested that I develop my “people management skills” which meant I needed to start having some difficult conversations. I was to avoid them. At the same time, I also knew that if I avoided dealing with a problem it may only get bigger. At first, I scripted out what I wanted to say even though the conversations did not always go as planned. I reminded myself – it was only a conversation. If I stick to the facts, emotions can settle. One conversation at a time, I got better. I am not nearly as nervous as I once was.

Tackle the Challenge as Early as You Can. No one wants to experience a challenge longer than necessary so brainstorm or make a list of the actions that need to be taken to push through to the other side. Remember you do not have to face a challenge alone. Talk to someone you trust or someone who has been through what you are going through to hear their experience. Sitting around and doing nothing does not get you ahead.

Discover and embrace your challenges as gifts or blessings. When you start to do this, your world with change. Push through your challenges – who you become in the process will inspire you.

We would love to have you subscribe to the Success Secrets newsletter on my website at www.debrakasowski.com where you’re going to get us free MP3 download 10 Surefire Strategies to Power Up Your Productivity and Performance. Book your complimentary Discovery Session by going to the Coach with Debra page on my website and send me your interest and we will set up a time and date to learn about how coaching can benefit you. Thank you for listening to The Millionaire Woman Show where we talk about leadership, business, and human potential to help you live rich from the inside out. Subscribe to The Millionaire Woman Show. Share it with Your Friends. Give us a 5-star rating!

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

EPISODE 120 – Creative Ways to Attract the Right Customers

August 8, 2017 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqQcWnFSq5s[/embedyt]

“I attract a crowd, not because I’m an extrovert or I’m over the top or I’m oozing with charisma. It’s because I care.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

An entrepreneur does not make money without attracting the right customers to pay for it. There is more to attracting the right customer than focusing on your profit. Profit is a measure of the value you provide for others. When you are first starting out you may think you need to work with anyone who is willing to pay you. Wrong! This decision can cost you time and energy – the money will not be worth it. You may even be chasing them to pay you. Do you want that hassle? Why not attract the right customers for your business?

Know WHO your customer is. One of the most important position tools in business is to know WHO you customer or avatar is. Do you work with men or women or both? Do you have a specific age range of your ideal customer is? Are they married or single? With Children? Pets? What job, career, or business do they have? What are their needs? The more you know about your customer (avatar) the more you will know about providing the best solution. Learn where they shop, dine, or network. What are their likes or dislikes? What charities or causes are they passion about? Find out what their needs are right now. Listen carefully to what drives them and even annoys them. Discover a way to help! You can have more than one customer type or avatar.

Position Yourself as the Answer – Showcase your expertise by writing articles, commenting on blogs, becoming a guest blogger, and speaking at local events or conferences. Let people experience you through video, written word, or podcasting to get to know, like, and trust you. Most people do not buy the first time they meet you.

Get Out There – Back Away from the Computer! You have heard the saying, “Like attracts like.” Be the example! Go and live life! Go to the gym, get on the golf course, or volunteer and the road race or art gallery event. Do you! Do the things you are passionate about. Be curious about people, ask questions, and learn about them. People will be attracted to the energy, enthusiasm, and the passion you have in life. They will say to themselves, “I would like some of that.” No different than magazine ads or TV commercial. They sell the feeling – “What will you feel like if your have this product or service?”

Open the Conversation. Follow up with the people you meet to continue the conversation to build rapport and trust. They are not the only ones determining whether they like, know, and trust you but you should be doing this as well. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. What is frustrating or irritating them right now? What are their needs or pain points? What can you offer as a solution? What ways do you let prospects know what you offer? As you start learning more and deepening the conversations, you can do many unique things to attract the right customers who will resonate what you are offering.

Depending on the type of industry you are in, consider the following creative ways to attract the right customers:

Support a local artist or someone on Etsy to design a special thank you or follow up card for your business.

Do a Facebook Live Video and draw for a free book for all those who, like, comment, or share your video.

Sponsor a sports team or an award.

Offer a scholarship.

Put your customers in your marketing with testimonials, videos, or pictures of them with or using the product.

Give away your BEST stuff! Share your articles, interviews, or videos.

Send articles that are relevant to a conversation you had with someone you met.

Offer to demo your product or service.

Collaborate with complementary services. You are partnering up or cross promoting with individuals who are not your competition but complement the work that you do. For example, a blind installation company may consider connecting with a window installation company or a window cleaning company or someone in interior design.

Use creative software applications to create stunning attention grabbing social media posts like Canva or PicMonkey.

Send out a Warm Letter letting people know what you are up to.

Ask for referrals or offer a free gift or bonus for every qualified lead that does business with you.

Offer a free e-book or write a blog post specific to common themes your avatar faces.

Get creative and create curiosity about around your offer. Pique their interest. People will want to learn and do business with you.

What ways do attract the right customers for your business?

EPISODE 119 – Celebrate Your Mistakes

August 3, 2017 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqdoHVYT074[/embedyt]

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash

Many people avoid putting effort into projects and tasks because they are afraid to make a mistake. Chances are they associate making mistakes with some sort of punishment. To truly grow as a person, we need to make some allowances for risk and making mistakes. Every successful entrepreneur or leader has made many mistakes and has learned from them. You have heard the saying, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” If something is easy, chances are you already knew how to do it!

You do not learn and grow as a person if you are always doing the EASY stuff!

It may be time to challenge yourself! When you do things that require effort, you are learning and growing and once you complete it you will feel accomplished.

When you make mistakes and take time to self-reflect and learn from those mistakes, your brain grows. When you make the allowance for your mistakes, others will feel they have the permission to do the same. They will start acting, making mistakes, and taking new actions until they accomplish what they set out to do. You may have opened the door to conversation and got them engaged in making improvements or sharing their experiences.

Why celebrate mistakes?

Everyone has a time when they feel challenged or “stuck”. When you able to explain your thinking to another person or even out loud to yourself, you can gain a better understanding of the situation and the actions you need to take. By sharing your mistakes or understanding with others, they may see the gaps that you cannot see as they are not directly involved. They can offer objective feedback and suggest some strategies.

Here’s the thing – you can use the same strategies as someone else and still get different outcomes. It is important to ask yourself: “Am I using the right tools or strategies or could something else work better?” Entrepreneurs are constantly re-evaluating the profits and losses and looking for a better way to accomplish their goals.

Working through your mistakes to learn what you can do differently the next time feels good. Even though, you might not discover the complete answer, it feels good just to know you were working on it and therefore working your brain. Embrace the challenges and build new neuropathways in the brain. Develop a growth mindset and expand your critical thinking skills. You can apply the same process and adjust to new situations.

When you make a mistake, you could be opening the door to opportunity that would not have occurred had you not made the mistake. There are many mistakes that life-changing inventions. Spencer Silver, a researcher in the 3M laboratories was trying to make a strong adhesive but it was weaker that what currently existed. He spread the new adhesive on a piece of paper and realized he could remove it without leaving a mark. He was attempting to find a marker for his choir hymn book when the idea of Post-It Notes were born. Richard Jones, a naval engineer, was working on a meter to monitor power on naval battleships when one of the tension springs fell to the ground and the “Slinky” was born. There many more examples for you to be inspired by.

Mistakes are how creativity and innovation are born. We discover new ways to do things. Peter Drucker has suggested that if your people do not make mistakes that you should fire them as they are not doing anything interesting. Ultimately, mistakes lead to progress.

Ask yourself…

What is RIGHT about the mistake?

Are you on route to achieving your goal or finding the answer?

Are you able to identify your mistakes?

Are you able to remove the emotion and focus on the facts?

Are you being solution focused?

Remind yourself – it is okay to make mistakes! When you are making mistakes, you are growing and learning so make many and learn quickly.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”

Neil Gaima

EPISODE 118 – Condition Your Mind Every Day

August 1, 2017 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eMPFbY8Q3c[/embedyt]

“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.” Jack Canfield

Every day we are give a choice whether to allow the negativity in the world to influence our own world’s. You have a choice in what you want to allow in your mind. As a child growing up, we were not allowed to have any type of weapon toys or watch any violent shows. I did not understand why as much then as I do now. What we are exposed to influences they way we think and interact with the world.

The reason why some influences are more memorable than others are because of the emotions we attach to an event. Many people remember exactly what they were doing and where they were when 9/11 happened, JFK was shot, and when Princess Dianna was killed. Why? They emotionally connected what they were feeling. We do not remember all the information and facts that we encounter as they are not as significant to us. If you want to make things positive and memorable, you need to assign those feeling to the event. But, how do you filter out all the negativity?

You need to condition your mind every day:

Pay Attention to the Words You Use and Reframe if Necessary. You may have to drop some words from your vocabulary like “can’t” or “try”. When it comes to the word “can’t”, it means you won’t or you choose not to. As in the wise words of Yoda from Star Wars, “Do or Do not! There is no try.” When you try something, you are making an attempt without full effort. Start saying, “I am in progress of…” By simply shifting the words you use, you create possibilities! You are capable of much more than you give yourself credit for.

Empower Yourself with Uplifting Stories. Feed your mind with positivity. When you hear of stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, you are granted permission to dream bigger than ever before. If someone has done something that you want to do, it means you can do because it has been done! Read books and watch movies or television shows that inspire you.

Surround Yourself with People Who Make You Feel Better. These people are the ones who encourage you and support those crazy dreams. They often challenge you to become a better version of yourself and to stretch out of your comfort zone. You want to be around people who are not judging you for going after your dreams. You want them to be inspired by you and you by them to push a little bit harder!

Choose to Focus on Service. Whenever you catch yourself feeling sorry for yourself, start focusing on the needs of others. When you support others in reaching their goals, you feel good because you are not focused on lack or scarcity. Remember that your thoughts and feelings influence the actions you take and ultimately the results you are getting.

Let Go of the Past to Enjoy the Present and Step into the Future. When you are hung up on negative events from the past, you can be sabotaging the present moment and how your future unfolds. We often hang onto those stories because of how we felt in the moment even if it no longer serves us. I am not saying you must forget what happened. You can forgive or choose to no longer let it influence your life. Rewrite your story. How do you wish it occurred? Can you share your story from a positive perspective? What lessons did you learn? What went right? What did not go so well that you would rather forget?

Keep track of your WINS and SUCCESSES. No matter how big or small, it is important to keep track of our accomplishments to see if we are meeting our goals or o the right track to meeting our goals. Seeing these milestones builds momentum and motivates us to keep going and taking note of how far we have come!

Take Note of All You Have to Be Grateful For. The more grateful you are for what you have, the more you will have to be grateful for. Not sure of what to be grateful for, start with your beating heart, your lungs that enable you to breathe, or the blood that flows and provides oxygen to your body. There is much to be grateful for and many things that get taken for granted.

Make each of these conditioning exercises a part of your daily discipline and watch what happens. I would not be surprised if you take bolder actions, start speaking to your success, learn and grow, develop new ideas, and celebrate your wins. Chances are you will lead a happier and more fulfilling life. Who doesn’t what that?

“I truly believe in positive synergy, that your positive mindset gives you a more hopeful outlook, and belief that you can do something great means you will do something great.”

Russell Wilson

EPISODE 117 – Don’t Be an Ass! Ask for Help

July 27, 2017 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2U_8hTrTPY[/embedyt]

“Leadership begins by asking how you can make things better?”
― Jeffrey Fry

One of the greatest challenges new leaders face is asking for help. You can probably relate to being in a new role wanting to prove your capability to those around you. You do not want to show your weakness for fear that someone will think they made a mistake for hiring you. You want everyone to believe that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work they have been hired you to do. If you are a new leader or even a seasoned leader in a new role, you may find it awkward or difficult to ask your peers or co-workers for help because you should know how to do what you need to do. You may be stubborn and avoid asking for help to appear competent.

Don’t Be an Ass! Ask for help!

There is nothing worse than cleaning up a mess that could have been prevented if someone only took the time to ask. However, at the same time, people know and should expect new leaders to ask questions. I would be more worried if they did not! The “act as if” philosophy is about showing up and doing the things the person you aspire to be would show up as. What information or education do you need to make your decision or provide advice? What questions do you need to ask of your peers or colleagues to learn about the history or culture of the organization? What opportunity is there to shadow others in different departments who work with you so you can gain an understanding and appreciate what others do and how it may relate to the work you do?

Some people feel asking for help is a weakness. No…it is not. It is a strength. A person who asks questions, takes time to learn from others, and follows someone who shares the keys to success is more successful than someone before them with folded arms being too stubborn to ask!

I remember when I first became a new manager. Other managers congratulated me and shared with me some of the things they thought I would benefit from in knowing and then there was another colleague who came up and said, “You know you will have to prove yourself.” Wow! I was taken back. Yes, I had skipped a level or two but I knew I was a quick learner. I did not assume I knew everything, in fact, I learned very quickly that each level of growth has new challenges. You practically feel like you are starting from the beginning all over again! I was not sure if I was trying to prove to my team I could lead them, the colleague that I could do the work, or prove to myself that I had what it took. Maybe, all three. I was confident enough in myself to get to where I was. Why would I not be confident in my ability to seek the knowledge and skills I needed to be a good leader?

I was not an ass! I asked!

I asked many questions. I did research. I wrote notes in a journal. I was determined to become the leader and manager I wanted to be. I even asked the colleague for a meeting and explained that her comment bothered me. I explained that I felt I had many skills and strengths to offer and I was eager and willing to learn from her and the other managers. What was it that she felt I needed to prove? She explained from her perspective that because I had skipped a few levels within the department some people might not see me as competent to answer questions or lead them. Without being given a chance to prove, I was already judged!

I gathered my courage and I asked more questions!

Everything she had shared was from her experience and situations where she had to prove herself. It was her perspective of how things needed to be done – not mine! I asked for her support and asked if she was comfortable with me asking her questions. I asked for her to give me the grace to be the leader I needed to be without the pressure of her judgment for I was who I was and I needed to learn to be the leader I envisioned myself to be. My greatest lesson – too never take anything personally – it is another person’s viewpoint based on their experiences. We continued to develop our relationship until she had moved into a different role.

My greatest lesson – don’t be an ass! Ask for help when you need it. It like having all the resources you need to succeed around and never using them. What a waste! Don’t let your stubbornness hold you back from being the leader you know you are meant to be.

“The way is yours for the asking – the way is yours for the taking. The way is as it should be.”
― Karen Hackel, The Whisper of Your Soul