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EPISODE 15: Imagine the Possibilities

August 4, 2016 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

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DKI Episode 15 – Imagine the Possibilities

Logic will get you from A to B; imagination will take you everywhere.” Albert Einstein

41442682 - homemade kettle corn popcorn in a bag What I want to focus on today is helping you stretch out of your comfort zone and thinking about shifting from any impossible thinking that you might have to into the world of possibility. You want to be in that dream state to be able to explore what is possible. This is when your mind is like a popcorn machine – all those kernels popping around like all the ideas coming out of your head. I love to brainstorm. It is one of my most favorite things to do next to mind mapping. Your dreams are only limited by your mind. I am not talking about fluff dreams. I am talking about concrete dreams that you turn into goals and take steps to actually get to where you want to go. You tap into your full potential.

There is a quote that says you would completely astound yourself if you truly knew what you are capable of. We don’t use everything that we’re capable of doing because there’s so many things that we can do and tap into we have so many hidden talents and so little time. I don’t have the time or when even find the time. If not now, when? If not you, who else is going to be doing it? Sometimes people say, “I’ve made mistakes or failed. It would be impossible for me to resurrect myself to be seen in the same light or achieve the same things that I have. You heard stories of people who have become millionaires, maybe have gone bankrupt, and they were able to build an empire. You know not everyone is in that the state of being the millionaire. Often people say things about The Millionaire Woman Show, it isn’t about one million bucks; it’s about living rich from the inside out – feeling like a million bucks and growing into the person you are meant to be through leadership, business, and developing human potential. You must put out the intention to grow into it.

“Your mistake does not define who you are, you are your possibilities.”

Oprah Winfrey

I want you to give yourself permission to dream. Who would’ve thought about websites like Pinterest, Etsy, and all these different websites of people getting creative and innovative all these possibilities around us? Think about what is possible. This is where all these great inventions have come from. This is how entrepreneurs are born because they are always looking for a better way of how to improve something or create a solution to something. Think of the creator of Spanx, Sara Blakely, she was trying to create a solution by the cutting off the legs of nylons so she could wear nylons under her pants. This creativity led to a whole new line of body shapewear. Many women are grateful for this! It was innovative and creative. It turned into a business solution for women around the world. What could be possible if you allow yourself to dream?

“Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?” George Bernard Shaw

Consider the things that you want to do in your life” What are the possibilities? Ask yourself: If not you, who? If not now, when? Why not? Think about those things. Stretch out of your comfort zone. Start dreaming! You are only limited by your mind. Imagine the possibilities. I want you to take the time to really dream about what is possible for you. If you could be, do, or have anything that would that look like?

58742224 - create design strategy vision concept Create a vision board. A vision board is just not a collage pretty pictures; it is something that allows your mind to expand. It is a collage and not a piece of art. I do not want you to frame it and thinking this is beautiful. I want you to use it as a tool and then set goals based on what is on your board. Break your goals down into smaller pieces. Check out of goalsetting and make plans to start taking action toward what it is you truly want to happen to those possibilities actually making them become reality.

We would love to hear from you and let us know how this podcast is serving you. Give us ideas of some of the topics you’d like to hear and even people you want us to interview because our phase 2 of the show is that we will start interviewing people later on in a couple weeks here. We would love to hear from you. Together we can help serve the world on the global stage of this podcast The Millionaire Woman Show helping you live rich from the inside out so give a five-star rating on iTunes or Google Play. Subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play. You can e-mail us at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. I was so glad to spend this time with you. Go out and be the change in the world and just as Gandhi said. You can make the difference. Don’t forget those possibilities are standing right in front of you!

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 7:37 min

Keywords: possibilities, imagine the possibilities, creative, innovative, stretch out of your comfort zone, risk taking, podcast, iTunes

EPISODE 14: Appreciative Living

August 2, 2016 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

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DKI EPISODE 14: APPRECIATIVE LIVING

Appreciative living …I like to refer to is appreciative living as living the sweet life. No matter where you are whether you’re driving right now or just kicking back at the end of your day or you’re kicking off your morning, I am so glad that you’re here to join us today. I want to share appreciative living with you. I am certified as the appreciative inquiry facilitator. I want to tell you a little bit more about the process and what it means to me and how it can apply to your life, in your business, and to your organization.

Appreciate is a verb; it means “to recognize the quality significance or magnitude of – appreciating their freedom. The second definition I found on dictionary.com is “to be fully aware of or sensitive to; realize –I appreciate your problems.” The third definition is to be thankful or show gratitude for – I appreciate your help.”
According to David Cooperrider (the Father of Appreciative Inquiry) and Diane Whitney, and The Change Handbook, “Appreciative Inquiry is the cooperative search for the best in people and their organizations, and the world around them. It involves systematic discovery of what gives the system “life” and when it’s most effective and capable of economic, ecological, and human terms. Appreciative Inquiry (also known as AI) involves the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen the system’s capacity to heightened positive potential. It mobilizes inquiry through crafting “unconditional positive questions” often involving hundreds and sometimes thousands of people.” It is a very powerful approach to shifting the way people think about things the questions they ask.

During my practicum, one of my greatest learnings was that when people complain about a situation. This is an opportunity to take a step back. What I learned – you know these people are still complaining about this process and you try to explain it to them. It was not the process that was the issue it was how they felt about their environment and how the organization was approaching things. I went back to my trainers, I learned that when people are complaining about something we take a step back and re-frame the question so that they understand it’s a positive question. Allow them to vent for the moment and then say, “I can see that you have a vision of what the ideal would look like; I would love for you to tell me more.” You can you lose their complaint and re-frame it into an unconditional positive question so they can share with you what they see what is the vision that they see as possible. You might have some extra fruit some labor.

Appreciative Inquiry is not a traditional approach.

“The traditional approach to change is to look for a problem, do a diagnosis, and find a solution. The primary focus is not on what is wrong or broken; since we look for problems; we find them. By paying attention to problems, we emphasize and amplify them.”– Sue Hammond, The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry

Whatever you focus on expands; your primary focus should be what is working. What I love about Appreciating Inquiry, it allows you to really think about the possibilities. Our next podcast is actually talking about imagining the possibilities. What you focus on you get more of, so it really important to think about what it is that you want.

What are the best experiences you have had in your life so far? With Appreciative Living, the belief is that we do not just experience reality that we create that reality through our conversations with people, the way we think, and how we interact with others. Think about your interactions, you helped create those experiences. If you’re experiencing tension, you can also create a way to have greater peace in your life by approaching it and finding out some of those assumptions that you’re making. It easier to ask someone if your perception is correct than letting something gnaw at you for a couple days. Your thoughts influence how you act around those people.

APPRECIATING THE BEST IN THE PRESENT

Appreciative Living is appreciating your life. It is about appreciating the BEST in the present moment. What are 2 to 3 of your best experiences that you’ve experienced recently? Think about who was involved. What made it so great? Today’s podcast is more about asking questions. It is about getting you to reflect so grab a journal or piece of paper. I want you to take some time to think about this. Of course, I don’t want to do this while you’re driving but I would like you to re-listen to this podcast will make sure that we will not make it go too long today. I want you to take another listen to some of the questions, I will repeat a few things here as I really want you to pay attention.

What are 2 to 3 of your best experiences that you had recently?

Who was involved?

What made it great?

What are three things you are grateful for today? (even if something has tragically happened) What can you appreciate about the people or the situation? With all situations, there is a good and there is a bad. Without being humble, I want to share with us or just in your own notes:

What are your strengths?

What are your three core values?

What do you stand by?

The next question is:

How do you add value to those around you?

I also want you to think about – What is one of your greatest accomplishments?

I would love to hear what your best experience is and what is your greatest accomplishment so please e-mail me at Debra@debrakasowski.com and I would love for you to share them with us.

What is the value that you bring – your core values, and your strengths?

What are the 2 to 3 of your best experiences?

We can all learn from this.

What do you value in your life the most right now?

Thinking about – What are you bringing to the world?

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

When you think of appreciating your life and think about an image or symbol that comes to your mind.

What image or symbol comes to mind for you?

What affirmative or powerful statement reflects that image or symbol for you?

One of the most powerful words for me in my life is the word, “BELIEVE” and I’m not exactly sure what it is but when I see that word anywhere I gravitate to it. I’ve had people send me Christmas cards with BELIEVE on it (and I frame it). One of my favorite movies is The Polar Express where only those who hear the sound of the bell, the Christmas Bell, believe in Santa and that he was real. When you have no belief, this demonstrates that something can be possible when people think things are impossible.

Think of your theme. What is your word? For some people, it’s resilient. For other people, it’s courage. For me, the word is “believe”.

If you could have three wishes right now, let’s say you have Aladdin with the genie lamp, you can give it a rub, and you can have three wishes what would those be?

Take a moment to close your eyes. Make sure you are NOT driving a car, of course, do this when you have an opportunity to actually do this.

Visualize your future.

What do you want to create?

What would your perfect day be like?

Would you want to be: more resilient? More open-minded? More creative and innovative? Delve into personal growth? Be willing to take a risk? Have more resources available to you? Give your life a whole new energy?

What I want to encourage you to do is to take the time to dream. This is why is very important to have some downtime to connect with family, go for a walk in nature, get out of the busyness of the world. You need to reconnect with who you are.

ACT IN ALIGNMENT

How do you need to show up to make what you want happen?

What conditions need to exist?

What three things must you start doing today to get to that perfect day?

What must you stop doing?

Take out a piece of paper (or the download) and it is usually just use one page but if you need to you can do it longer. I want you to sit down and write out everything from the moment you wake up to the end of the day. What would be your ultimate perfect day? Who would be there? What would you be doing? What are the things that need to be in place for these things to happen? I often hear people say many different comments about this exercise, but most of all, the biggest ah-ha that has is that they have never given themselves permission to dream. Some people do not realize that they’ve already been living some of those things already and doing some of the things that they truly love. If you’re not in that space, this exercise is even more important for you for you to really dig down.

Think about what it is it you truly want and if you can have a perfect day what would that look like? Who would you be with? What would you be doing? Where would you be going? How would you do some of those things?

By engaging in Appreciative Living and creating the Perfect Day, you will be living as the Italians say, “Dolce Vita”. Dolce Vita means living the sweet life. Why not – live it here and now. It’s a matter of making a choice and thinking about making a change with one action in your thinking or behavior that you are you willing to take so you can create that upward spiral to your best future.

“Appreciation can make a day even change a life; your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousin [Quote Block]

There are just a few things that you could think of doing to make your life richer from the inside out: trying new things, learn a new language, play an instrument, join a team, check out of meetup group in your area, create a portfolio or a WINS file where you keep track of your successes, and gather collection of things that make you feel good whether their pictures symbols – whatever we might be.

Share your powerful story with others. As you create the story (that you share with others), you want to create that most positive future that you appreciate and live in every moment. It begins with how you share your story with other people. Are you speaking about possibilities and Do you want to live the story you are living right now? If you’re questioning it or you wanted to be richer, you can do that, it all begins with a choice.

First, you must be really clear on what that looks like and what is it that you truly want. Are you willing to put in the effort that it takes to get there? There may be sacrifices. Are you okay with them? There can be consequences with every choice. Something that we get and sometimes something that we have to give – in the end, it was all worth it! Dolce Vita!

I hope that this pumps you up and gets you really thinking about how you can appreciate the present, imagine all the possibilities, and act in alignment with your truth, your values and live that perfect day.

I would love to hear about your perfect day so e-mail us at Debra@DebraKasowski.com Give us a five-star rating. Listen and subscribe to us out here on iTunes. Remember to be the change you wish to the world!

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 17.08 min

EPISODE 13: The Power of Positive Thinking

July 28, 2016 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

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DKI Episode 13 – The Power of Positive Thinking

A book written by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale called The Power of Positive Thinking was written years ago. Its message is still true today. I love to listen to it to help me stretch out of the space sometimes I can get into this talk that we have in our heads. What I learned is that we have 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts in a day. It is surprising that 80% of those thoughts are actually truly negative. It is only when we consciously think about the thought that we were able to really shift and reframe the thought into something positive. What is very interesting to me is that 98% of the thoughts that you think today were actually the same thoughts that you had yesterday. It blew me away and it really made me think about things a lot differently.

Positive thinking is not about putting on rose-colored glasses and ignoring the negative events. We hear about bombings and the terrible terrorist attacks going on in the world. Many of the things going on we do not have control over. You and I can think about our own thoughts and what can we can control.

“We are what we think” – Buddha Proverb

Norman Vincent Peale also talks about:

“Change your thoughts and you can change your world.”

“Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes his mind to do. We are all capable of greater things than we realize.”

“Believe it is possible to solve your problem. Tremendous things happen to the believer. So believe the answer will come and it will come.”

What one should really think about is… where ever you are right now, I want you to think about the negative thoughts that you have been having. The self-talk that you’ve been talking yourself out of doing a thing and you truly want to do.

I am going to tell you why it’s important. What happens when you are positively thinking – impacts your leadership, impacts how you run your business, how you run your organization, and how you chase after that creative idea that you have. Whether you’re inventing something and bringing something to the marketplace, people need your ideas. People need you to step into the leader that you are truly meant to be. What happens when you are positive thinker, not only is this contagious, you can teach people how to choose their words and how they speak because whatever you think is what you are. Right? Refer back to the Buddha Proverb.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

The benefits of positive thinking include:

decrease stress if you are thinking positively, you are not putting that energy into your fears, your worries, or your concerns about something,
you’re able to handle difficult situations with ease because you are looking for a positive outcome,
Decreases conflict because there’s intention to be more forgiving to really understand where a person is coming from. Are they truly trying to be malicious or are they know not self-aware of a situation?
better first impressions- When you are speaking positive and you are excited about your day versus someone who’s got slouched posture saying “Hi, how are you?” (say it in the Eeyore voice from Winnie the Pooh). Do not put that energy out there. You don’t want to be around them. You start to repel is like a magnet. You just want to walk away from that negative energy.
Improved health and vitality – Your thoughts influence your feelings and how you think about things and how you’re going to behave. The actions that you take. You are going to make healthier choices and it alludes to your longevity.
You start seeing problems as true opportunities to be solved. You never know where it going to take you. It is like an open door that you just walk through and it’s going to be, “What can we do this now? What can we do better?
It is always continuing so seeing that momentum and it is also motivating when you are thinking positively. It motivates you as well as the team that works for you.

How to Be a Positive Thinker

Positive thinking can be challenging at first if you have been negative long time but it starts with:

Taking 100% Responsibility One of the most important key factors in determining people’s successes is being able to really take responsibility for your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions that you take and the impact that it has.

Evaluate Your Thoughts I want you really think about your thoughts. Are these thoughts true? Is this something that I totally believe in? Do I know this for sure? Is the intention behind this is real?

Listen to Your Internal Monologue Is this a cycle that you are listening to, is there truth to it? Are you coming from a reactive place? Are you being jealous or envious of another person? That’s when you start discounting your own worth and what you bring to the world. I want you to really catch and take a listen to what you’re saying. Are these thoughts true and are they negative? If they are, reframe them and change them into a positive thought. What you want to be? There is that saying, “act as if” ; you need to show up as who you want to be before you even become it so really thinking about what you saying to yourself.

Get Rid of or Cut the Drama I don’t like drama. One of the things that I’m telling about the drama part is, if something is not broken – with a relationship or you have some negative thoughts about something. Don’t jump in and start accusing somebody of something and getting into petty fights. A lot of the disagreements the people get into are over the little things that really don’t have a lot of significant. If you just open up the conversation, you find out that it’s not as difficult or a conflict as you what you thought it was.

Turn Negative Talk into a Positive Talk what you want to be going on in your life. If you want to generate great stuff, you want to generate more positivity. You need to start yourself by being more positive.

Feed the Positivity Hang out with people who are positive, who generate ideas and brainstorm with you, and give you excitement.

Find the Humor. You can always discover the humor in a situation; although it might not be funny at the time. I’ve been in situations that I sit back and think “This is not funny”. I know I can be steamed and then realized a while back when somebody points out something that you just start laughing because it just seems so surreal that that even happened. It takes you to where you need to be but sometimes we just need to laugh situation and think you know what, one of those small things that it’s not a big deal.

Continually Cultivate Your Positive Outlook Realize that as with anything that we want to be sustainable- it takes time to develop.

Brian Tracy said, “One of the most important leadership qualities is the accepted of personal responsibility. Leaders never complain, never explain, instead of making excuses, they make progress. Whenever they have a setback or difficulty they repeat to themselves:” I am responsible! I am responsible! I am responsible!”

What are you going to take responsibility for when it comes to you and your thinking?

No one can influence the thinking that you have. You choose how you think. We have a 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts coming through our mind at any point in time. You choose what you want to focus on. What you bring to consciousness, whether it be positive or negative, you get to choose.

Take responsibility, really challenge your assumptions, and challenge your thoughts to see if there’s truth in them. Cut out the drama, it is draining. It takes away a lot of your energy. Any thought that’s negative- start shifting into a positive talk. If you start doing this regularly, sometimes what you need to do is write it down. What is that talk and what how do I really want to be? When you start catching these things, you will start shifting how you are behaving, how you are thinking about things, and shifting to more positive thinking. Remember to surround yourself with quotes and sayings, listen to positive relaxing music, and the people you surround yourself with. Make sure that you are surrounding yourself with positive people who are providing a great influence for you. Read great books that add to your positivity. You do not want to be watching the news first thing in the morning or at night to set the tone for your day. Often what you see is negative. Start your day with positive thinking that and influence it either reading the quote or writing in a journal. Writing down what you are grateful for – really starting and ending your day with something positive. Remember to look for the humoring the situations and not to take yourself too seriously.

The power of positive thinking can really shift your life. It changes the way you lead. It changes the way that you develop yourself. What I know for sure is when you are positive thinking, you are in a find solutions and creativity in you everything that you do. You will be able to be more productive and increase your performance not just for yourself but for the people that you work with too.

What are you going to start doing to BE more positive today?

Email me at Debra@debrakasowski.com and let us know what you would like to be featured on the show. 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 13:51 min

How to Shift Out of Negative Thinking to Positive Thinking

February 20, 2016 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Everyone has their own story of how their day went. What you see and how you think all depends on what you focus on. A positive thinker, the optimist, will share their story with excitement ensuring they don’t miss out on the details. They are hopeful and anticipate that good things will happen in the future. Whereas the negative thinker, the pessimist has a tendency to see the worst aspects of things and believe that the worst will happen. They lack hope and confidence in the future. They see positive results a just flukes. Do you know anyone with these qualities? Which one are you?

Knowing the Difference

The negative thinker is often exhausted, depressed, moody, irritable, and easily frustrated. Little things increase their stress level. Some negative thinkers are prone to overeating as they use food to comfort them. Positive thinkers tend to be healthier, more successful, and happy and fulfilled.

What is your reaction when an unexpected event occurs? Do you focus on the negative ignoring the positive? Do you look for the imperfections? Are you jumping to conclusions or trying to read someone’s mind? Do you take things personally regardless if it’s one person’s opinion? Chances are you are a pessimist or negative thinker if you have said yes to these questions.

Your self-talk is that internal dialogue that runs through your head that continuously interprets, judging, analyzes, and explains situations. This self-talk has a tendency to make negative statements, judgments, and assumptions. Often what is believed can be completely off track and easily blown out of proportion. When you are stressed out, you cannot think rationally and make good decisions. Your thoughts and feelings impact your behaviors and actions. Negative thoughts lead to negative outcomes. Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.

In order to start getting the outcomes that you want, you need to shift your thinking to a more positive outlook. By doing so, you will decrease your stress level and you will be able to handle such a situation objectively and with ease. You can feel energized and hopeful for your future. Remember your thoughts are just thoughts they are not facts.

Let’s say you made a mistake. A pessimist is quick to look for fault or blame themselves for any shortcomings. They see situations as permanent and almost impossible to get out of. The optimist believes that they are responsible for their results and view as a mistake as a learning opportunity to move forward. They see setbacks as temporary and with this new knowledge they will advance further. Optimists are better at finding solutions to problems that arise.

A Choice

At one time or another, you may have caught yourself thinking negatively. Most people are able to shift their thinking to a more positive outlook without blanketing one situation as impacting the rest of their lives. Some people feel that their childhood upbringing is responsible for their outcomes of their adulthood. However, if you truly think about it, your youth could be considered as the age of less than 21 years. I’m not discounting that some people have led challenging lives with neglect, abandonment, anxiety, abuse, or depression. What I am saying is that: Each person has a choice each day to choose their thoughts and how they feel to direct their actions and behavior. This choice is power – the power to live a life that you choose to live.

What will you choose?

“Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.” – Dallin H. Oaks

Shift Your Thinking

What dialogue will are having right now about a situation or event? What emotions are coming up for you?

Ask yourself questions to challenge your thoughts because you could be wrong:

Is the thought that you’re having helpful or unhelpful?

What do you believe to be true?

Is there any evidence to disprove your thought?

What would you say to a friend or colleague in a similar situation?

What are the costs and benefits of you thinking in this way?

What other ways to look at this situation?

What thoughts do you wish to have instead?

What action(s)will you take to support your positive outlook?

Your thoughts are like magnets. If you are thinking positively, you will look for evidence that positively supports your belief. If you are thinking negatively, you will look for the negative that supports that belief. Start looking for the good – build on the small success. Every situation can be seen from a positive or negative perspective. You have the opportunity to make a choice that could change her life. How will you describe your story or your day?

You get what you focus on. – Anthony Robbins

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has the heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. She is a contributing writer for 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