Debra Kasowski

Episode 98 -The Power of Positivity with Jon Gordon

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91WkLhDFROg[/embedyt]

Meet Our Guest:

Jon Gordon’s best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA, MLB coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and non-profits. He is the author of numerous best-selling books including The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, The Seed, You Win in the Locker Room First and The Power of Positive Leadership. Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Los Angeles Dodgers, The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Dell, Publix, Southwest Airlines, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Pirates, BB&T Bank, Clemson Football, Northwestern Mutual, Bayer, West Point Academy and more.

Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.

Episode 97 – Developing a Winning Attitude

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou

It is so easy to blame outside circumstances and events for our results. We can look externally to our environment and other people, however, many of our results are dependent on our internal thoughts and mindset. If you have lost hope in your team or your ability to succeed at a goal, you are probably down in the dumps. If you are down in the dumps, chances are you are not taking the actions necessary to get the results you want – it doesn’t matter anymore.

You are not going to get results thinking like that! Shake things up – renew your faith in yourself and take the actions required to get the results you want by changing your attitude about the way things are. You are where you are because of the choices you have made so make different choices and take different actions. It sounds simple and it is!

You can develop a winning unstoppable attitude by:

Create A Compelling Vision. What is your “why”? What are you passionate about? What would make you jump out of bed every day because you are excited to do it? You need to have an emotional connect to your goals.

Reframe Negative Situations. Everything does not go as planned. Setbacks do occur. Do not let a problem let you lose sight of a lesson or opportunity to see the solutions. When we get stuck on the “how”, your brain shuts down. When you brain senses danger, it goes into a flight or fight response and amygdala hijack occurs. However, when you start focusing on possibilities and brainstorming ideas. Another part of your brain called the prefrontal cortex gets stimulated. Ideas start to come more readily. Look for the lessons and possibilities – you may discover that the results you start to get are better than you imagined.

Keep Your Emotions in Check. When life events happen, you can let your imagination run wild with ideas and wonder what others are saying or thinking about you. Your beliefs and assumptions can build up and if you do not recognize that you are emotionally triggered you may release your pent-up emotions in a destructive way – with anger and frustration. You may say things you later regret. Challenge your assumptions, verify and clarify whether what you believe is true. Sometimes it is and sometimes it is not. Save yourself a great deal of embarrassment by asking if your thoughts and beliefs are true before you let your actions lead you astray.

Maintain a Positive Outlook. Do you look at situations as a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty”? My theory is to continue to fill the cup to the brim or even let it overflow. You are in charge. Keep you focus on being grateful and look for the positive in every situation even though at the time the situation is occurring you may be faced with uncertainty or struggle. It is about how you choose to react or respond to a situation.

Focus on Your Strengths. Many people spend way too much time focused on what they are not good at and improving those qualities versus strengthening their strengths. If you refine your skills, you can only get better. If you focus on developing your weaknesses, you may get a little bit better but it will not be as noticeable as when you hone your strengths. What do you believe your top 5 strengths are? What skills and abilities do people compliment you on?

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others. Have you ever been caught up in the successes of others? Instead of being happy for them, have you caught yourself feeling jealous or envious and wondering why you are now getting the same success? It took me a few years to realize how unhealthy this behaviour is. By comparing yourself to others, you diminish your own self worth.

Once when I was in conversation with someone I had been doing some work with, she talked about how the person we were working with loved her and could not get enough of her ideas and knowledge. I caught myself comparing and feeling like that person’s shadow thinking no one will see my value they will only see hers. I stopped taking action steps and I hit a slump. Any results I had been getting stopped because I stopped. I am not proud of it as I knew better and I am sure you do too.

When you compare yourself to others, you lose sight of what you bring to the table. You are looking at only one moment in time and chances are you would not trade their whole lives with yours based on a moment in time. Start seeing the value you bring and share your ideas. You bring a different element to the conversation. Everyone does not think and act the same. Realize you are the star of your stage. Be a peak performer by taking the actions you need to be memorable.

Don’t Let Others Fears for You Change Your Destiny. You can sabotage our own success by listening to the fears that others have for you when they say things like, “Do not do that, you will fail.”, “You are better suited for this ________.”, or “You are making a big mistake.” Question those comments and assumptions. Do your own homework. Has the person who is making these comments gone after their goals? If they have not, ask what they are afraid of. It may be the fear that you will succeed beyond measure and they will get left behind. Surround yourself with people who support, encourage, and challenge you to become a better version of yourself each day.

Know that setbacks are temporary. Setbacks are tough. They can knock the wind out of our sails. However, they never last. You always have a choice to change your mind about a situation, you can take different actions, or can choose to do nothing which is also a choice. No matter what, change happens and life moves forward whether you want it to or not. Set yourself up for success by looking for the learning opportunity in the setbacks. You may need to make one simple change to get the results you are looking for. Sometimes it takes slowing the process down to get ahead.

Believe what you do matters. One of the biggest barriers to a person’s success is their beliefs. If you believe you do not have what it takes to succeed, guess what? You probably will not succeed. If you believe your efforts do not make a difference, guess what? They will not. You need to believe what you do makes a difference to stay motivated during tough times. By having the emotional connection and knowing what you do makes a difference, you will develop an unstoppable winning attitude.

How do you develop a winning attitude?

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” Wade Boggs

We would love to have you subscribed 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. 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 mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Episode 95 – Expect Success

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b54IF3cURyI[/embedyt]

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” – Zig Ziglar

Do you fret and worry about the possibility of failing? Do you know you increase the odds of failure based on what you focus on? Your mindset is the game changer of your success. If you are focused on failing, you may see procrastination, apathy, and indecisiveness. With a lack of effort or no effort, you will meet expectations of failing. Now, if you believe in yourself and that you will succeed, you will plan, prepare, and put the effort required to achieve success. Chances are you will meet or exceed your expectations. To succeed, you need to anticipate success!

Set Clear Expectations. Setting yourself up for success involves being clear about your expectations and sharing them with others if you are working with a team or other individuals. When people see that you are anticipating success, they will share in the energy, enthusiasm, and vision. What do you think people thought when JFK made his speech to Congress May 25, 1961, and said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning safely to Earth?” Some people may have reacted stating that’s impossible. Others were already thinking, “That’s exciting, they started asking questions and gathering information. What knowledge, skills, and abilities do we need? I want you to pay attention to JFK’s statement. It was specific – what did he want to see happen – land a man on the moon. What did he expect? They would be able to land a man on the moon AND return him home safely. He did not stop at getting to the moon but returning them back and 1969 his vision became a reality. Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon. It is unfortunate JFK was not able to see it come to pass.

You can set yourself up to expect success too. It all starts with your belief in yourself, your ability, and the people around you. What you believe must align with what you expect. What do you expect to achieve?

Ensure your goals are SMART. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Timely. You may want to shortcut or keep it extra brief. You cannot do that. You need to ensure you are very clear on each of the 5 parts of the SMART goal. You need to write your goals down. If you are keeping them in your head, you will learn very quickly, out of sight, out of mind. Keep your goals front and center. Often where people fall short is in that they have no way to measure what they are attempting to achieve so they do not know when they have achieved it or not. Sometimes people set goals that are not achievable or realistic. It may be because they did not set aside an appropriate amount to time or resources to achieve the goal for the timeframe they were aiming for.

Do you anticipate success for the following statement?

I will lose 20 lbs in 3 days.

Let’s breakdown the goal – specific yes, measurable – yes, achievable – no, realistic – no, timely – yes. Something drastic would need to occur for that to happen.

Now let’s fix it up!

I will lose 20 lbs in the next 125 days.

Specific – Yes, Measurable – Yes, Achievable – Yes, Realistic – Yes, Timely – Yes!

Here are a few more achievable and realistic actionable goals:

I will send out 35 marketing letters every week for the next 3 months.

I will create 1-2 Facebook Live Videos every week.

I will call 1-3 of my clients per day every week.

I will set a date night with each member of my family once a month.

I will measure my social media stats for Facebook and Instagram every Friday.

I will intend to meet 1-3 new contacts at each networking event I go to this week.

Hold Yourself Accountable. Not only are you setting clear expectations and SMART goals, you need to be checking in with yourself to ensure you are on track. Did you mail out the 35 marketing letters this week? Did you create 1-2 Facebook Live Videos? Did you call 1-3 of your clients each day? You have the picture! Are you doing what you know needs to be done or are you falling into old patterns of behaviour? Did you skip a couple weeks and then blast out 70 marketing letters? Did you create one Facebook Video one week and then another 6 weeks later? What traction are you getting? Consistent actions will get you further ahead than random ones! OWN it! Make things happen.

Shine the Spotlight on What is Working. Know what is working well, what is not working well, and what you need to ask for help with or delegate. Your mindset needs to focus on what is going right and ask the questions around why some actions may not be right.

Anticipate Roadblock and Obstacles. Just because someone if optimistic about an outcome does not me hey are oblivious to roadblocks or obstacles. As a matter of fact, we anticipate them. Once you identify and acknowledge what potential roadblocks and obstacles are, you can learn about how to face them, navigate around the, or avoid them altogether if possible.

“Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.” – Ralph Marston

You may be saying to yourself, “These expectations seem high. I do not know if I can achieve them.” Studies have shown that people who set high expectations for themselves and others have obtained higher achievements. There is always an increase in motivation to rise to the challenge. Whereas, other said it increased their stress and led to disappointment. Here is my challenge for you. All effort moves the needle. No effort means no action and no traction. Raise your expectations and efforts by at least 1% and expect to achieve higher results. Anticipate success!! Get clear, decide, plan, and execute!

We would love to have you subscribed 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. 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 mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Episode 93 – Silence Your Inner Critic

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Each of us has an inner voice. Some people refer to it as the inner voice of knowing- but does it really know, especially when the negative thoughts rear their ugly heads. Isn’t bad enough you wonder what other people are saying about you or the efforts you put out? You don’t need any extra judgment as you already are your own worst critic. There are times you say things to yourself that you would not voice out loud and direct at anyone else. Why? The inner critic is not compassionate, kind, or respectful. If you wouldn’t say it to anyone else, why say such mean things to yourself. It’s not that you are wanting to get rid of the inner voice, you are managing the negative thoughts.

When you are in a negative state of mind, you will take actions to support your thoughts and feelings, ultimately, impacting the results you are getting. You need to stop the critic because it crushes your self-confidence to take essential actions required to achieve results. Think of your radio dial; you can tune into music and messaging that you choose to listen to. Many of the messages in your mind have been forged from the past and no longer serve the current situation. It may have come from criticism or advice. You may hear the voice of your mother or father commenting on something and you have hung onto to it. Now in the present something comes up and you think it must be true because someone else has said it even it does not even fit the current situation.

You want to be able to silence the inner critic, the chatter, you hear in your head. Managing the thoughts, you are having is not as difficult as you think. Your mind is flooded with over 50,000-70,000 thoughts in a day with many of them being negativity. Most of these thoughts are unconscious until you bring them into your awareness. As soon as you bring a thought into your awareness, you can make a conscious choice whether you want to keep the thought or reject it. Unfortunately, you may grab a single negative thought and play it in your head like a broken record. It does not serve you – it is time to manage your thoughts and toss those negative ones away altogether.

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

It all begins with…self-awareness.

What thoughts are you thinking? Once you can notice your thoughts in the moment, now you can change them but before you do, why are you having them, to begin with? Is your self-confidence low? Is fear coming up? Even though negative thoughts come up and their many have been moments that you tell yourself, “I am stupid.”, you need to stop and remember there also have been a time you have shined and felt on top of the world. You are not stupid – your behavior or action you took was not the right one now.

When you catch yourself saying a negative thought, STOP and take notice of it. You can say, “Cancel, cancel, cancel”. Your thoughts are powerful. Your thoughts influence the actions you are going to take. If you are in a bad mood, you may react to a situation or say things you would later regret.

REFRAME the thought into a positive thought. Positive thoughts lead to positive actions. Positive actions will get you closer to the success you are looking for. The reason people do not achieve the success they are looking for is often because the get caught up in the stories they tell themselves.

Get into a positive state of mind. When I studied the morning routines of successful people, I learned that they put themselves into a positive state. To get yourself into a positive state, you can pray or meditate, exercise, write in a gratitude journal, or read a book that gets your mind primed for the day. The morning is not the only time you can do this. You can change your state by simply thinking of a time where you felt unstoppable and you felt at the peak of success.

Your inner voice is not a bad thing…it can warn you or alert you to doing your due diligence. It is a bad thing when you allow thoughts to take root and sabotage your efforts. You need to remind yourself that you have greatness within you – everyone does. Holding back on your greatness serves no one – if you hold back – it is a tragedy. Everything in life is interconnected. If you do not fulfill your purpose, others are impeded from fulfilling theirs.

Make a choice. Your imagination can run wild if you let it. Telling you stories of disempowerment. You need to harness your thoughts and empower yourself. You can break down your stories and examine the words that you use. The word “Can’t” places limits on what you believe is possible and what you think you are capable of doing. Yes, there are somethings that you can’t do such as swim without oxygen in the depth of the sea or fly above the mountains like an eagle. There are things you can do and you are stopping yourself from doing them.

Can’t is a choice. You are choosing not to. Do you notice when you have a choice you suddenly have empowered yourself and taken control of the actions you are taking? What CAN you do? Stephen King said, “you can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” Focus on what you can do versus what you cannot.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”
― Henry Ford

You have more power than you give yourself credit for. When you pay attention to what you are saying and how those words make you feel and the thoughts you are having, you can start taking actions that support your success rather than sabotage it.

Be Aware -Notice and Understand It.

Stop – Cancel the thought.

Reframe It.

Get into a positive state.

CHOOSE – what you are going to say and do that will empower you!

We would love to have you subscribed 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. 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 mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

 

 

 

 

Episode 90 – Turn Someday into Today with Lisa Larter

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

 

Meet Our Guest:

Lisa Larter, founder of lisalarter.com, is a Business Consultant, Social Media Strategist, and Speaker.  She works with businesses to maximize their profits and scale beyond their dreams, using social media, relationship marketing, and dead-simple, eye-opening systems.  She’s helped increase the visibility and profits of a wide range of clients — including retail groups, authors, realtors, brick-and-mortar businesses, shopping centers, online entrepreneurs, and, her favorite big-name advisee, Deepak Chopra. His feedback? “Lisa, you’re the best.”