Debra Kasowski

Episode 53: Seeing the Opportunity in the Struggle

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When you decided to become an entrepreneur, chances are you became one for one of the following reasons. You may have been climbing the corporate ladder and decided that it wasn’t taking you to where you wanted to go. You became bored or your work lacked meaning. You decided that you could make a bigger difference by doing something on your own or with the team that you helped put together. You may have decided to become an entrepreneur because you needed an outlet where you could be innovative and use those creative juices. Another reason for choosing this lifestyle may have been because you wanted to have control over your own actions or maybe even for work life balance. You chose this route for flexibility and to develop a deeper connection with people. You may have even chosen to be an entrepreneur because you just didn’t feel like you fit into the mold of the business or organization you are working for. You may have seen the pain point in the industry and you decided that you are going to provide a solution. All of these were game changing decisions to live life differently.

Do You Really Work?

To the outside world, being an entrepreneur might look like you have no rules or boundaries. You may be attending charity events and socials more than they see you work. What the outside world doesn’t know, is that you put in a lot of hard work and many long hours that are on not on display for them to see.

Are You Struggling in Silence?

There may be even times where you’ve been struggling in silence not wanting anyone to know about some of the lack of results for the lack of money coming in. This can be devastating as you may have family or yourself counting on you and you feel like you’re failing. The fear of failure may consume you to the point that you may become depressed. Where there is action, failure is seen as optional. Where true failure occurs, there is no action and hence no results. You may have a fear of uncertainty not knowing what the future will hold. I fear is more common than you think whether you are an entrepreneur are not everyone faces an uncertainty the moment they awaken.

What ACTION can you take? Know your numbers so you can make better decisions. Pay attention to what money is coming in and what money is going out. Look at your sales process, do you need to change up your approach?

“Just because you are struggling does not mean you are failing.” Neil Patel

You may be overwhelmed by the increasing competition. One of Neil Patel’s business philosophies is to not talk about your successes as you may be bringing on more competition. It is more powerful for others to share your successes. Be careful not to get caught up in the comparison trap. Wlonerangerhen you start comparing other people successes to your own you diminish your own worth. You need to be aware of the strength that you bring to the marketplace and how you and what you deliver is different and can stand above the crowd. Ensure that competition and comparisons don’t lead you into a Lone Ranger mentality. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely. Sometimes when were lonely we latch on to anyone -even if they’re not the ideal client. But when you are alone, you can be true to yourself and get really clear about your compelling vision. Your job is to delegate or outsource to others so that they can help you achieve that compelling vision. Build your team gradually. They don’t need to be full-time team members; you can hire people on a part-time basis or by contract. If you tried to do everything by yourself for a long period of time, your business will not be sustainable. You may even burn out.

As an entrepreneur, know that you are not alone. Know that the struggles you face others are also facing, they are just not talking about it. Join groups and associations were you can surround yourself with like-minded people who can help push you to the next level and who can see the potential of your greatness. Talk with others who been where you want to go or find a mentor to share their experiences. Use competition to your advantage by paying attention to the finer details of what you deliver and truly listen to your customers’ needs and wants and deliver value.

52337615 - people meeting friendship togetherness coffee shop conceptGo to networking events and build relationships beyond the hello. Connect with associations in your industry. Discover what their goals are and how you can help. As you help others achieve their goals, they in turn will want to help you. This is called the law of reciprocity. You will build a loyalty and trust like no other. Learn to be happy for those who are succeeding around you instead of being caught in the comparison trap. Believe in yourself and believe that your success is on its way as well. What you are admiring is one moment or period of time. Their dream is their dream. Your dream is yours. You need to stay focused on why you are doing what you’re doing and what you want to accomplish. The outcomes may not be the same. Don’t lose sight of yourself by wishing that you are living someone else’s life, you have so much to offer and we need it done your way.

Turn inwardly and look for the opportunity that exists in your struggle. What are you struggling with? What is the lesson that you are learning from the situation? What can you do differently? Whose knowledge skills and abilities can you tap into to share their experiences? Ask for recommendations or resources. In what ways, can you view this situation differently? Is it time to let go of one idea to really focus and develop another?

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwHow are you getting in your own way? You may be preventing yourself from achieving success with your own mindset. Are you willing to take a risk, at least a calculated one? Are you willing to go out and meet people and move beyond the hello? Are you willing to follow-up and ask for the sale?  Listen to what you are telling yourself. Are you being supportive and encouraging to yourself? Challenge your assumptions. Push yourself farther than the day before. You do not have to feel alone. You may want talk to a trusted friend or a mental health professional. Sometimes when you are too close to your problem you cannot see the solution. Asking for help is a strength. What would you tell someone in the same situation? Follow your own advice!

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

Time: 12:22 min

Keywords: entrepreneur, struggle in silence, struggle, see the opportunity, solution focused, entrepreneur lifestyle, lone ranger mentality, failure, success, reasons why you became an entrepreneur, entrepreneur struggles, entrepreneur strategies, entrepreneur strengths and weaknesses

Episode 46 – Stay on Track by Being Consistent

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“It’s not what we do once that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.” Anthony Robbins

If you look at your pattern of success, you will notice that success leaves clues. Chances are the success you experienced was due to consistency. It may be due to a consistent habit, routine, or ritual you perform. Some people see consistency as being too structured. Consistency is a form of discipline – steps done to get to where you want to go.

What is Consistency and Why is it Important?

According to the Oxford Dictionary Online, consistency is “consistent behaviour or treatment”. I know you may be saying to yourself, good to know but why is it important? When you are consistent with your words and actions people know what to expect from you. You develop trust as they feel that they know your character and can predict what you may behave like in certain situations. When you are not consistent with your words and actions, people do not know whether or not they can trust you. In business and in organizations, consistency means that you are going to deliver on your promises. Consistency is important in solidifying your brand and message. Otherwise, you are confusing your audience.

If you are confused, so are they!

Take a step back. Whenever you are confused or feel like you are off track in getting to your goals, connect to your “why”. What are you trying to accomplish? Why? This is your personal vision. You need to have an emotional connection to what you want to achieve otherwise you will not be driven towards it. Without the emotional connection of your “why”, your actions are meaningless.

Being consistent will help you create accountability to follow through and do what you say you are going to do. Whether it is going to the gym, reading, prayer/meditation, put it on your calendar. Out of sight, out of mind.  It is about building habits that will serve you so you can best serve others. You may even choose to create a checklist for yourself.

What habits do you want to consistently put in place?

Here are some examples:

  • Send out 10 marketing letters per week.
  • Read 20 minutes per day a book in my industry.
  • Review my finances every Friday for 15 minutes.
  • Go to the gym 3 days a week for 60 minutes.
  • Follow up with 3 new prospects within 24 hours of meeting them.
  • Send out my newsletter every 2 weeks.

What do you notice about these new habits or tasks? The examples are measurable. You can check in to see where you are at and where you may need to improve. Without consistency, everything falls out of balance. What happens if you go to the gym 2 times one week and again 3 weeks later versus being consistent for 3 weeks? Will you see the same results? Probably not. What if you send out your newsletter one month and then 3 months down the road and then again every 2 weeks? You create confusion – people do not know when they may hear from you.

TMW_PDFStay on track. Make it your mission to be consistent. It won’t be easy! Anytime we choose to change things up it takes hard work and some discipline. Make a plan and be persistent. If you slip up, don’t be discouraged. Get right back up and do the work you know you need to do. What do you need to put in place to prevent the slip-up? In order to see what is working in a certain area you have to give it at least 30 days of consistent effort. The results might not appear right away. Don’t stop! Challenge yourself to be even more consistent and stretch it to 90 days. Resist temptations and distractions getting in the way of achieving your goal. Silence the inner critic – the negative thinking talking you out of what you know you need to do.

40106944_sAt first, it will seem awkward because you need to think about doing something. Over time it will become automatic. Remember when you first learned to drive or ride a bicycle. You had to think about every action and over time you did not need to think about every step. You may have fallen off your bicycle a couple times until you found your balance. Once you found your balance, you just hopped on your bike and rode. You may have been nervous driving a car, there was so much to remember. Someone may even have honked the horn because you hesitated before you took the turn. The nervousness is now gone and you can get into the car and drive to your destination.

It is often the actions we know we need to be doing to achieve goals that we do not write down or put in front of us. Those promptings remind us to take action! Celebrate your new habits and milestones. Consistency was the key to your current and future success.

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
― Jim Rohn

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

Time:     08:47 min

 

Keywords:  consistency, the importance of consistency, quote about consistency, discipline, consistency meaning, consistency is key, stay on track, success

EPISODE 27: Going the Extra Mile

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Episode 27 – Going the Extra Mile

“You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.”

– Napoleon Hill

Going the extra mile – what does it mean to you? Whether you are looking to climb the corporate ladder or create a pipeline of customers, you may want to consider going the extra mile. When people are thinking of others who go the extra mile, the qualities of consistency and commitment to what matters often is what makes them stand out. People who go the extra mile are often doing ordinary things but what they do is do a little bit extra and that truly separates them and makes everything extraordinary.

Have you ever experienced someone going the extra mile? This is often an interview question that is used when people are hiring to determine how willing someone is to put in the effort required to make it impact on someone. Years ago in my nursing career, I remember looking after a lady who had been in the hospital for two weeks and she was anxious to be going home. That morning when I came to her room she was quite upset. The doctors had told her she needed to stay at least another 2 to 3 days because she wasn’t ready to go home yet. Tearfully, she said to me,” I just want to see the sunshine.” I knew that we could not take her off the unit to go outside because she had been on a heart monitor. During my break, I was walking through the gift shop, and I noticed a beautiful yellow carnation so I purchased it for her. I took it to her room and said I know I can’t take you to the sunshine that I can take the sunshine to you and this is your SUN. She was overjoyed. It was something so simple and I didn’t really think it was very much but to her, it meant the world. It made me feel good because I was able to turn someone’s bad day into something more positive.

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwGoing the extra mile doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Sometimes all it is a listening ear or spending time with someone. The extra mile that I have experienced often came from someone putting in a lot more effort than what others were willing to do. They were always looking for a solution and finding a way to make something work. They do this with a positive attitude and without complaining.

Have you noticed what happens when you go the extra mile? People start to notice you and the take notice of what you’re doing. When people start seeing you going above and beyond, whether it is assisting others are gaining new knowledge, and apply in your area – they notice. You become indispensable. If layoffs were to arise, you be the one they will want to hang onto. You can be the first person they look to for promotion or new opportunity. Going the extra mile is doing so without an expectation. Even though you’re doing this without expectation there may come a time where you feel like you would like to ask for or negotiate a raise. This will be the time when you can demonstrate the efforts that you have put in and the results you helped achieve. Many people choose to do what they’re required to do the bare minimum but few choose to go above and beyond.

There are several ways in which you can go above and beyond. The marketplace is crowded you start thinking outside the box and putting in the effort getting the greatest return on your investment of your time, money, resources, and sharing your unique gifts.

One of the easiest ways to go the extra mile is to ask if you can help others. Learn to be of service. Discover ways that you can help. Jump in and help out. Take initiative.

Don’t overwhelm yourself. Delegate where you can for efficiency sake. Some people believe that if they work longer hours this means they’re going the extra mile if this is done consistently you can lead to burnout and dissatisfaction.

Find ways to work smarter by beginning with the end in mind. Listen to Episode 26: Start With Your End Game. Plan out what you need to do and be consistent with your approach.

Pay attention to the details, not just the big picture. Discover ways to create that wow factor.

Create an element of surprise! Do the unexpected.

What’s stopping you from doing the unexpected and surprising others?

Call 3 to 5 of your current clients today and asked them how they are and if they have anything that the need of service from you.

Take time to write handwritten thank you notes or send small gifts of appreciation.

Years ago one of my realtors used to give out pumpkin pies to all of her clients at Thanksgiving. It was a lot more memorable than a calendar. Find ways to be memorable and your customers will be your champions and spread the word.

Send an article or magazine of interest related to a previous conversation or something that you like about them. Let them think, “Wow, they remembered – I can’t believe it.”

Take extra care in wrapping a gift and making it extra special instead of tossing it into a gift bag.

When reading a book or listening to a podcast, e-mail the host or author to let them know how you enjoyed it.

Share a shout out on social media and be specific about why someone stood out for you.

I would love to hear about how you go above and beyond or ways in which you felt you were provided with service above and beyond.  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. Give us a 5-star rating! Sign up for our Newsletter www.debrakasowski.com

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: 9:08 min

Keywords:  Going the extra mile, success, go above and beyond, customer service, extra effort, workplace, paying attention to details, ordinary to extraordinary, go the extra mile, going the extra mile in customer service, going the extra mile in the workplace

EPISODE 22: Focus on What You Want

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Episode 22: Focus on What You Want

“If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.”
― Roy Bennett

There are so many things going on in our daily lives that we’re distracted from being focused and being in the present moment. Look around you there are some people who are super focused; they know exactly what they want and are driven to succeed. Then there are others who don’t know what they want to appear to be stumbling through life. Which person are you?

Do not be dismayed if you find yourself being the person with lack of focus. By listening to this podcast you’ll find ways to zoom in on your focus.

Knowing what you want gives you clarity. Everything around you becomes clearer. You know what goals you want and decision-making becomes easy. When you’re unclear, it kind of feels like walking around in the dark where you don’t know exactly where you’re going and can stub your toe. You can get clear by just sitting down and writing out what it is you want. Don’t judge or critique your and writing. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. Keep writing!

Catch your thoughts and shift. In Episode 13 The Power Of Positive Thinking we talked about how we have 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts in a day and that 80% of those thoughts were negative. When you realize you are having negative thoughts and you are self-aware of them, you have the ability to change thought. You can shift gears or flip the light switch in your thought process. As you notice the negative thoughts, you can either accept it or you can reject it. Reframe the thoughts into something more positive. It really comes down to focusing on what you want and not what you don’t want

What do you think happens when you focus on what you don’t want? Worries, fears, anxiety, self-doubt, and your internal critic pops its head and that’s all we see. As you focus on what you don’t want, your action star reflecting your thoughts and you self-sabotage yourself from getting what you really want. There is so much power in the way you think. I cannot stress enough how much you need to be paying attention to how your thinking. It impacts everything you do. You end up joining the ancient awful club and feel awful. Your mind thinks that’s what you want. Worrying just attracts problems and notice you don’t worry about what outcomes you want. You only end up worrying about what you lack which ends up bringing you more lack.

When you experience resistance, there is often a misalignment with your values and who you want to be. This internal conflict is alerting you to the fact that you’re focusing on the wrong things. You need to start focusing on what you can control versus what you cannot.

Energy flows where your attention goes. What are you paying attention to? The reticular activating system (RAS) is our brain’s attention center. It is the place where our thoughts and feelings interact with their outside world and how we interpret it. If you focus on your past and see your past with regret, your actions will not move you forward toward renewed future.

Esther Hicks said, “A belief is a thought you keep thinking and things actualize around it to confirm that thought.” When you put a spotlight on something, you will find evidence and rationale to make that thought your truth. It becomes your reality. focus perspectiveHowever, if you change your focus by looking at other perspectives and choose a reality that you truly want, you will find evidence and rationale that supports that truth. Whatever you believe becomes your reality. You need to lock into the thoughts that you want and get really focused on where you want to go with your thoughts and the actions you will be taking.

You may be telling yourself right now that I don’t like my reality. Your reality may be your present or remember no moment is permanent. You can either accept your reality as it is or choose different thoughts to feel differently and you will start taking actions to match your new belief. You need to believe in your reality and that you can always improve. No matter if it is a positive or negative moment is temporary. Whatever you believe your reality to be will be the story that you share and tell yourself.

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwThe trouble is and that people get caught up in comparing themselves to others through social media and real life. For professionals, many individuals saw social media as a form of showcasing their skills, talents, and abilities and making them stand out from the crowd. Some individuals have used social media to compare their lives to the lives of others. Have you noticed that people post all the great things about what’s going on in their lives? You are comparing yourself to a moment in time and not their whole life timeline. You may see exotic travels, celebrations with friends, and other things that you may long for. This comparison can make people feel depressed if they choose to and they will not take actions that support what they want. When you compare yourself to others you are focusing on another person’s reality and what they believe to be true.

I want to ask you some questions to help you get clear and focus on what you want.

What action will give you your greatest return on investment of your time money and other resources? These are the needle-movers or the game-changers. Are you taking the right actions?

What are the things that are distracting you?

What thoughts are you having? Are you experiencing worry fear and self-doubt? It just means that you’re focusing on what you don’t want. Shift the thought and change your actions.

Here are some things to help you get laser focused and get what you want:

Get super clear on what it is that you want. Write it down.

Accept what is and create the reality that you wish to see. Don’t worry about what everyone else’s thinking or doing. Their opinion applies to them and not to you. People’s advice comes from their own experiences and fears. Choose what you want to accept and what you choose to reject as truth.

Visualize the results that you want.

Prioritize tasks and things you need to get done.

Prepare for what you want and need by gathering resources, accumulating knowledge, and developing your skills and abilities.

Eliminate your distractions and interruptions. Don’t check your e-mail in the morning until you have done some focused work. No e-mail or texting and tell the task is done.

Remove any clutter on your desk or in your space. You may develop the urge to start cleaning it or start working on another project.

Learn to say “no”. You cannot be all things to all people and accomplish what you want to get done for yourself. By focusing on pleasing others, you may lose focus on who you are and what you wanted to accomplish. I’m not saying you shouldn’t help people. There is a difference between helping others and living a life doing what others want for you. By living a life of pleasing others you please no one because other people have different expectations than what you do.

“Focusing is about saying No.”
― Steve Jobs

Take a break every hour for about 5 to 10 min. In order for your focus to be sustainable, you must take a break to recharge and rejuvenate. Your mind does need some time to wander and generate new ideas. You often get a fresh perspective when you come back and look at what you’re focused on.

Take actions that support what you are working toward achieving. You will notice that you will be more productive and efficient with your time, talent and efforts.

Change your focus to what you want and not on what you don’t want – for it will become your reality.

Don’t forget to grab your free DOWNLOAD to help you

get focused on what you want.

I would love to hear about how focusing on what you want 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. Give us a 5-star rating! Sign up for our Newsletter www.debrakasowski.com

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 12:15 mins

EPISODE 20: Being Committed to the Plan

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EPISODE 20 – Being Committed to the Plan

“There’s a difference between interest
and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it
only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you
accept no excuses – only results.”
―Kenneth H. Blanchard

It amazes me how many people don’t get past the decision that they know that they need to make a change. Some people are only interested in making a change but do not want to put together a plan of action to really make that change become reality. Commitment is the feeling of dedication and loyalty to a cause, activity, or job; to be wholeheartedly dedicated. Commitment is important in any form of success. You will want to ensure that you have listened to Episode 19-Be Willing to Sacrifice for Success.

How bad do you want what you say you want? Have you been talking about doing something or are you ready and committed to making a plan of action and to follow through?

Get Your Mind Right. First of all, you need to believe you can do it when you believe that you can accomplish something you will persevere when tough times come upon you.

Interest is talking about getting into shape; commitment is getting up and going to the gym regularly.

Interest is surfing the Internet or researching information about a topic; commitment is about creating content and publishing it.

Interest is buying a book on financial management; commitment is reviewing your numbers, tracking your spending, and implementing what you have read.

Have you noticed the difference between interest and commitment?

Interest is a passive activity; whereas, commitment is active.

47421557_sCommitment is about taking action and getting results.

We can slip into the habit of interest very easily. If we look at the different areas of our lives, we might notice that some areas were more committed at certain times than we are at others.

I was taken back recently as I was sharing many of the accomplishments and the growth of the podcast with a friend. She knows that I’m a big dreamer and I would like to accomplish so many more things.

And then she posed the question, “Why are you stalling?” “Why are you holding yourself back?”

She caught me off guard but at the same time, I had a moment of clarity.

“Why wasn’t I taking the actions steps I knew I needed to do?”

I told myself that I have competing priorities. I had to remind myself where my greatest return on investment would be. If there is one thing I could be doing right now that would make the biggest difference, why wasn’t I doing it?

I had no excuse. I knew what I needed to do.

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwI came home that evening and completed the paperwork that I needed to do to put the closure of something I had been delaying and to move forward direction. I contracted a freelancer to do some graphic design work for my speaker one sheet that I kept telling myself I had to edit. I stayed up till 3 AM because when you that I needed to get this done once and for all.

No excuses! I made it a priority. I texted my friend and her with a response was awesome! It is interesting to me how others can see which you need to do but sometimes when you’re so close to what your goal is for whatever reason you fail to see it. That is why it is important to surround yourself with people who support you and want to help you achieve your goals. When I was sharing this story with a mutual friend, she stated the same thing which reinforced to me that these new actions needed to be taken.

My next question was: Do I truly believe the thoughts I have been having?

No…so why should I hang on to the belief? Do what you need to do and see what happens? The “yes” you have been waiting for could be closer than you think.

Sometimes we think that we need to be at a certain level of knowledge, fitness, or finances to be credible or believe that others will value what we have to say. You already know enough, you are perfect the way you are, and rich or poor no one can define your worth but you. Let others hear your voice and step up to the table. Share your ideas and go after your dreams, you never know whose life will change when you follow through on doing what you need to do.

Rise Up. People who rise up are the most committed. You will need to be dedicated to doing the work even when you don’t feel like it. A friend of mine recently returned from some naval training, he posted a picture of his troop doing push-ups in the rain and mud.

Permission Granted from Steve Welton Facebook
Permission Granted from Steve Welton Facebook

The picture was worth 1000 words when it comes to commitment. I’m sure many of us might say, “You know what? We can do those inside.” These individuals defined commitment- rain or shine they got it done. This is what we need to do -it is to know that each day we need to do what we say we need to do in order to get closer to our goals. Sometimes what happens is when you skip one day it is too easy to skip the next day? You need to build habits that when you don’t feel like it, you take some sort of action to keep the momentum going. When you face uncertainty, you need to continue taking action. Your action may be gaining knowledge by doing research or asking a mentor. No matter what that is you are still taking action – step into it!

Make a Plan. Don’t hold anything back. Make a plan and be very clear as to what that will look like. Set goals and break down those goals into smaller manageable pieces. These are the actions steps that you need to take to help get you closer to where you want to be. Plans can change as you go. It is about progress, not perfection.

Maintain Your Focus. Focus on what’s most important to you. Learn what your values are. Set your priorities. When you align your decisions with your values setting priorities becomes easy. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Remember they are on their own path reaching their own goals. Your goal may not be the same as the goal that they set for themselves so focus on what you need to do. People who are able to define what’s important to them can be intrinsically motivated to go after their goals. Others do not mean to nag or prod them to go after what they say is important to them they do it because they want to get the results.

Set Up Accountability. Track goals, put a stake in the ground and tell people what you’re and planning to do, or hire a coach or invest in an accountability partner. Setting up accountability will keep you on track and committed because you have to answer to yourself or someone else.

Create a No Excuse Zone. A person who is committed to their plan doesn’t make excuses they go and make things right. This is when you see ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It is all because of their level of commitment.

Make Quitting Not an Option. A person can only quit when they decide that the goal is no longer important to them and that they are no longer intrinsically motivated to obtain that goal. There will be times when you will feel like you’re tested and you come so close to achieving your goal and you may have a setback. This setback is not the time to quit it is a test to challenge you and help you push further out of your comfort zone. You will figure it out allow yourself time to be in the space of growth.

I watched a Big Think Video narrated by Jesse Itzler. He mentioned that he met a Navy Seal at a race and decided to cold call him to see if he would come and live with his family for a month. He figured he could learn a thing or two from him. The video is about the Navy Seal 40% Rule.  When we feel that we are done, we have only utilized 40% of what we have in our tanks. We do not utilize our full capacity – there is so much more in us to give.

An article in Inc magazine stated, “For the SEAL, though, it’s about realizing where your comfort level is and completely ignoring it. Sometimes it truly is hard to know whether something is worth doing.” Are you going to do what is easy or are you going to do what you need to do because it will be worth it?”

I want to leave you with a quote:

“If you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it.” ― John Mayer

You are enough! Be committed to the plan and make what you want to happen! No stalling! No holding yourself back – go get it!

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: 16.22 min