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Does the thought of slowing down make you feel anxious or break out in hives? What if I told you that slowing down can actually alleviate these feelings? Do you think that slowing down will interrupt your momentum? In fact, it can give you a chance to regroup and refocus. Are you afraid that slowing down will force you to have time with your thoughts? Embracing this time can bring clarity and peace.
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“Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure.”
Paulo Coelho
The achievement of a dream or goal can put a smile on the face of the person who longs for it. The face of satisfaction knowing that you gave your all and you saw the vision even if no one else did. There are people who hold back on taking efforts on their dreams and goals because it seems that achieving it is so far off in the distance. Some might even say they get paralyzed with fear from taking action.
My colleague Audrey and I were working on vision boards and she shared with me that she believes some people do not take action toward their dreams and goals because then the dream is over. They would rather think about than truly live it. To me, these are the “talkers”. They do not take actions; they talk about how when the stars align that they may think about it. Someday…and someday is not actioned on the calendar.
Fear is not uncommon. Many people have fears to different degrees. There are fears of embarrassment, success, failure, rejection, criticism, uncertainty, and death. Most fears evoke worry. Worry is nothing more than wasted energy. It blocks you from being open to ideas and strategies to take action. Emotions run high and imagination runs wild. Rationale thought is not possible. Take a deep breathe. Most of what you allow you imagination to conjure up will not happen. I believe that the reason become fearful is that they feel they have a loss of control.
It is important to ask: “What am I afraid of?
Am I afraid of being rejected? Someone will disapprove of me or my behavior?
Am I afraid to fail? How will I face others?
Am I afraid of being criticized? What will people say about me?
It takes courage to do the uncomfortable. It takes courage to express your feelings. It takes courage to stand tall when people are laughing at you. It takes courage to say, “Who cares! I believe in me!”
You can handle all these things and you are IN control of how you respond or react in any situation.
People will criticize and tell you it can’t be possible. What other people think of you is NONE of your business…so what? Another person’s opinion is dependent on their lens of the world, knowledge, and experience. Most people who criticize have not done what you have done or plan to do. They hide behind their own fears.
A question you can reflect on is: “Why do you need the approval or validation?”
Rejection is one stop on the path to success. You need to keep going until the right timing and the right person align. Until then, practice…you are developing your expertise and letting people know about what you do.
Failure is nothing more than a learning opportunity. If something did not go as well as you hoped, the next question should be, “Now what?”
“What worked?”
“What didn’t work that needs to be stopped?”
“What can I do differently the next time?”
Failure is the best teacher. Leverage it!
You never swam laps the first time you jumped in the water to swim. You may have even swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. You never rode a bike to the playground the first time you got on it. You never rode off into the sunset in your family beater car the first time you pressed the gas.
We all learn…I remember when I first started in business and I was doing an interview with a well-known speaker…I forgot to press play on the recording and had to ask to start the interview again…boy was I embarrassed. She was amazingly gracious.
We get closer to achieving our goals by challenging ourselves and stepping out of our comfort zones. Facing our fears and leaning into our faith in ourselves.
What would it take for you not have the fear?
Do you need to talk to someone who is doing what you want to do? Who do you know who knows someone? Ask who you know.
Do you need to gain more knowledge? The internet is at your finger tips…make sure it is a good source.
Do you need to practice? Put yourself out there. You do not get anywhere hiding at home. Get in front of the mirror, talk to yourself, talk to family and friends – as Nike’s tagline says – “Just Do It!”
Your fears will begin to minimize. The risk of failure will minimize. Keep taking consistent action toward your goals and soon enough your goals will be realized!
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 my just release FREE e-book about the 21 Habits High Achievers Kick to Achieve Success. I would love to hear about this podcast has impacted your life. E-mail me at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. 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 e-book download today! www.debrakasowski.com
Some people search their whole lives in search of their sweet spot. The sweet spot is the intersection between doing what you love and having the ability to make money at it. Many entrepreneurs and artists pursue this quest. Your sweet spot can also be defined as “being in the zone” while you are working on a goal. An example of this is the team that is working synergistically toward a common goal to reach their desired outcome. Everything seems to be falling into place and everyone is getting along.
Success doesn’t happen by accident! You do need to put in the work to make things happen. It doesn’t happen without a vision. There are certain steps that you need to take to hit your sweet spot.
Get Clear on What You Want. What result or outcome do you want to achieve?
Set a Goal. When you set a goal, you are setting a target to aim at. As you set your goals, ensure it stirs up some emotions of excitement and enthusiasm inside of you. Emotional connection is important in goal setting. What will it feel like when you achieve your goal? The emotional connection helps you face challenges and obstacles in pursuit of the goal.
A friend of mine set up a Facebook group and challenged us to set a swim goal. I had set my goal to be 4000 metres in 10 weeks. I would average 400 m per week. I watched others post their weekly accomplishments and asked myself – “Am I holding anything back?” My next swim I swam 1000 metres and the swim after that I did the same. I ended up reaching my goal in 4 weeks. I raised the goal to 10000 in 10 weeks as I had 6 weeks left. I met 10000 metres in 10 weeks. It felt amazing! I amazed myself!
Ink your Goal. Setting a goal requires you to set a SMART goal. When you INK your goals, you THINK about them.
Your goal must have the following criteria:
Your goal needs to be SPECIFIC. What do you want to accomplish?
Your goal needs to be MEASURABLE. How will you measure your goal? (numbers, rating scales, dollars) If you do not have a measure, how will you know you have met your goal?
Your goal needs to be ACHIEVABLE. Can you achieve this goal? What resources are available? What do you need to help you get there? Your goals should stretch you to help you grow. It cannot be too easy that you can achieve without effort. It cannot be too hard that you give up before you even try. What goal can you make that will stretch you and require some effort?
Your goal needs to be REALISTIC. Is this goal something you can achieve with all the resources and know how in the timeframe you set?
Your goal needs to be TIMELY. What timeframe do you want to achieve your goal? Your time frame should not be too early that it is not realistic and not too far into the distant future that you may forget about it or procrastinate on getting started. The best time to begin is – NOW!
Make a Plan. Break down your goal into smaller manageable pieces. What needs to be done to get reach the end goal? Use reverse engineering to plan backwards and create milestones or accomplishment markers of what needs to be done. These markers are there for you to see the progress and help you gain momentum to work toward the next marker.
Keep your Goals in Front of You. Review your goals 3-4 times per day. Keep them where you can see them in your forefront. Post sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, on your steering wheel, or on your computer monitor. Seeing and feeling the goal being achieved helps you feel that it will become a reality – it’s possible.
Possibility pushes self-doubt aside. Focus magnifies and shines a spotlight on the direction you are heading. Intentional actions stake your path to success. When you discover your sweet spot and get into the zone, you will not feel like you are working because you are enjoying what you are doing so much. The focus and drive will lead you to turn your goal into reality. It all starts with ink on your pen. Now make it happen.
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
Setting goals has always been seen as one of the most important pieces attributing to a person’s success. You can’t achieve success if you are not measuring the achievement of your goals. If you want to perform at your top level of potential, you need to start tracking your progress. By tracking your progress, you will accelerate your success faster than if you did not track it.
Write out your goals and track your progress. There are many app based tracking tools for your smartphone like LifeTick, BackPack, 43 Things, Stickk, and Achievr to help you keep on track. You can track the progress of any goal you set has long as it is S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely). You can track the cups of coffee you are drinking, the amount of money you are spending, how many kilometers you are driving, and the number of referrals you have followed up with after a networking event. If you are not tracking you are not making progress. Ink it so you can think it!
“Progress is the activity of today and the assurance of tomorrow” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Once you start tracking, you will start noticing a shift in how you approach your goals:
You will begin to notice how vital it is to track your progress. You will be more committed to your goals than ever before. Each action you take gets you closer to your goals so go and be a goal getter!
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