Archive for August, 2009

Visions Boards Lead to Success

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Visualize what you want and you’ll get it. That’s the “Secret” after all. Did you know you can use a vision board to help with this?

What exactly is a vision board? How is it related to the law of attraction? Basically, it is a visual representation, a collage, of the things that you want to have, be, or do in your life. You have to create a poster with cut-out pictures, drawings, and words that are related to your dream. When put together, these things will inspire you to steer your life towards achieving your dream.  Its purpose is to activate the law of attraction. And we all know that knowing the law gets us to attain all our hopes.

How do you make a vision board? To start with, you need to gather things from your environment that will enable you to realize your wishes. You need to select pictures and words that charge your emotions with only positive feelings. As soon as you feel the positivity set in, you will begin to manifest those things into your life. The design of the board is patterned according to how you creative you can get. Having artistic ability may be a plus, but is definitely not a prerequisite for creating a functional vision board.

First and foremost, your vision board has to be very visual. Your subconscious mind actually works in pictures and images. The pictures should be supplemented with words and phrases so that you are able to increase the emotional response you get from it. Of course, it also has to be emotional. Everything you put on your vision board should evoke a positive emotional response. The mere sight of it should make you ecstatic. You need to fuel your passion to achieve it every time you glance at it.

Once you’re done with the set up, you need to strategically put it in area where you are able to see it every day. It needs to give you maximum exposure to it. You need to constantly remind your subconscious mind of your hopes and wishes. If you bathe in its energy, you are able to manifest your desires quicker.

Make your vision board as personal as possible. Negative feelings can damage the delicate energy that your vision board emits. If you are afraid that others may ridicule you about it, you have every right to make it as confidential as possible. You are not forced to share this experience with everyone and you have the prerogative to tell only those who can understand you.

So get your supplies now. Feel free to incorporate anything and everything. Then start compiling pictures from newspapers and magazines. Don’t evaluate the pictures. Just put them neatly in a pile before you design the lay-out. You have to make sure that every detail pops out, so this must be done with care. Sort everything out and paste them. Make sure that you choose only those that create an impact on you the most.

Your vision board has to inspire and charge you with renewed passion every time you look at it. As your needs change, make the necessary adjustments on your board as well.  You’re vision board shouldn’t be a finished piece of art after its initial creation. It’s a dynamic thing that changes and improves over time.

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Manage Your Workload

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Many of us just simply take on too much in terms of our workload. Our intentions are good, but our businesses actually suffer when we can’t say “NO!”.

It’s time to stop the insanity and put a halt to our growing to-do list.
You need to understand the importance of time. After all, this is critical to your success. You have to be able to maximize every second of your day and complete all tasks in a timely fashion. If you just have too many things to do, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Hire an extra set of hands if you must so you can free up your time and concentrate on the other aspects.

Especially in business, you have to turn your focus on tasks that create revenue. These are things that go with the core of the business, the foundation from which the company stands on. If it doesn’t make money, delegate it. If you are a business owner, try not to get yourself into non-revenue generating activities. Your focus should be on marketing the business so you will have one to speak of.

Business owners, in particular, are mostly very busy. The size and nature of their company is irrelevant because when you are really starting something from scratch, you need to invest a lot of your time and money. As soon as you’ve set up the roles of the people involved and have purchased the materials, you now need to turn your attention to getting your business out there. So yes, you really will have to complete what would feel like a million tasks before you can finally see where everything should be. On the bright side, you are your own boss. So, if you need to stop and rest, you can do so without anyone questioning your actions.

If you are continually on the move, stress will definitely catch up with you. You will eventually feel harassed and annoyed. It might even get to the point where something has to give way. See the entire scenario as a balloon. If you keep filling it up with air, it will eventually burst. Going through busy periods is okay. However, you also need time to relax and recharge. Otherwise, you will be like a machine running low on batteries: completing a task just takes longer.

You need to know when to say stop, when to turn down a responsibility. The fate of the world does not rest on your shoulders, so when you have to step back, do so and do it without feeling guilty. No matter how noble your intentions are, you cannot be everything all at one time. I someone asks you to do something, weigh things first.

If it’s just not possible, learn to say no in a nice way. The most tactful method would be to tell them that you’ll consider their request once your work is complete. This tells the other person that your work is important and help would be nice.

Saying no actually helps other people to grow. You are also teaching them to fend for themselves. Now, if you still have too much on your plate, learn to delegate. Delegation is the art of a true leader. The secret to successful delegation is to build the task’s importance to the person you are passing the work to. Thank them graciously and tick one off from your list of responsibilities. At the end of the day, review your list to see how much you have achieved. This will help drive you forward. The point is, you don’t have to be ridiculously busy to get things done. Change your perspective and look at it as being busy achieving what you want.

You’ll get more done, by doing less. Your workload management skills are the key to productivity.

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The Cure for Procrastination

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today.

Yeah, right!

Let’s talk about why procrastination is such a hindrance and what we can do about it:

The reason we don’t always get what we want is that we sometimes put off work to the next day. Admittedly, the most difficult part of the project is starting it. We just have to get into the momentum, but once we do, we can be quite unstoppable.

We all have goals, something we want to do, to bring into our life, but we must take the first step towards that journey that leads to our success. We give so many excuses, and in the end, we never really get to do anything. Why do we always delay? What makes us think that there is always tomorrow?

We put off starting or doing something for several reasons. Sometimes we think that perhaps it may not be the right time, while other times, we are just not that motivated. Achieving our dreams requires hard work…a lot of it. We need to muster up enough energy to do it. We just can’t sit back and wait for things to come to us. If we let life happen and not open the doors to opportunities, then we might as well stop holding our breath. Nothing will ever become of us if we don’t move. The thing is, putting things off results in nothing. Things stay as they are because there was no force applied to start the ball rolling.

If you want your life to become better, you need to think of things you’ve always wanted to do. If you want a different career path, start looking for a job right now. If you want financial stability, start a business or start saving up. Whatever it is that you want, you have to get started right now. Create a sense of urgency in yourself to begin it!

If you are not in a position to start right now, arrange your schedule so that you can fit even a portion of the work into your day. A couple of minutes is all you need to make a really good start on something. While you gradually build your dreams, you’ll soon see yourself getting closer to your desired end. The more you get done, the more results you generate.

When it comes to business, you need to be stricter with yourself. After all, how will you ever earn if you don’t put much effort to your job? You have to be more productive at work. Create your time limit and make sure that you spread your work out evenly. Make sure that the most urgent tasks are placed on top of the list. That way, you’re working on the task that contributes the most value. Lastly, avoid interruptions. These only slow you down because every time you’re interrupted, it takes time to get back into the task you were working on. You’ll once more have to figure out where you left off.

Of course, never leave yourself out of the equation. Exercise, eat, and sleep right. When your body isn’t functioning properly, it’s hard to be productive. Relaxation is just as important. It’s easier to get more done when you have enough energy. Otherwise, you’ll just end up constantly committing mistakes.

The point is, stick to your plans and make sure that you target your every need. It’s amazing how much more accomplished you will feel when you start a proper schedule.

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Basics of NLP

Monday, August 17th, 2009

NLP is often spoken about but hardly ever explained. Neuro Linguistic Programming has certain basic principles that should be understood.

So here are,

The Basics of Neuro-Linguistic Programming

What is NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and what are the things involved in its execution?

Basically, NLP is a set of techniques used to effectively change a person’s behavior and in the way he communicates his beliefs. NLP is a method of self-improvement. It can be used as a mode of therapy for working with a variety of problems. People use this to overcome learning disorders, specific phobias, and destructive emotions. The techniques originated from the idea of hypnosis. It includes the application of every technique available for your body, spirit, and mind in totality.

To survive in today’s society, you need to have a healthy attitude towards life. You simply cannot survive if you fear everything and think that things work to your disadvantage. NLP also ensures that you develop a positive attitude towards life. Learning NLP entirely depends on your personal perspective. People view the world differently, depending on what their experiences are. When someone has been handed the lucky hand in life, they will naturally feel more optimistic. On the other hand, if the person has seen nothing but heartache, you cannot exactly fault them for being melancholy, or sometimes, just downright rude.

The main purpose of NLP is to let people go beyond what they’ve experienced. After all, there is more to this world than meets the eye. The practice consists of 4 operational principles:

  1. The first principle is achievement planning. You first have to know more about your goals and what you want to achieve in a certain time period. It is only when you know what you want can you begin to reprogram your mind. The point is, you need to make a specific plan. You have to follow this list so that you don’t end up doing things that are not significant to your goal. The last thing you would want to happen is wandering aimlessly, doing so many things at one time but achieving nothing in the end.
  2. You need to be aware of what your target is. You have to work towards getting to that end. Think of your life as a race. Head towards the finish line and know where it is. Steer clear of the other paths and stick to the road that’s been destined for you alone. You need to be aware of exactly where you are. You may be going through something, and you cannot work towards healing if you don’t know what needs to be healed in the first place. Address your shortcomings and make sure that you are consistently working on becoming better. You also need to make yourself more aware of your environment. Read body language and facial expressions so that you’ll know which personality traits you need to tweak or change.
  3. You need to become more flexible. Welcome changes and adjust to the situation. You must realize that the world, after all, does not revolve around you.
  4. Seize opportunities when they come. NLP is all about immediate reaction so that you can enjoy and reap the benefits at the soonest possible time.

By thinking positively and deciding what you really want out of life, you can easily become the person you’ve always wanted to be.

More on NLP basics and principles in upcoming posts on http://selfimprovement.fm

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Communication Demands Active Listening

Monday, August 17th, 2009

What makes all the difference when it comes to being perceived as a person truly skilled in communication?

The art of active listening.

When you listen to public speakers talk about a certain subject matter, all you basically need to do is open your ears. However, speaking to someone face to face is another dynamic altogether. You communicate with people to get your point across to let them know about how you think and feel. It’s different when you are addressing the audience. Oftentimes, you are too far for them to see your nervous habits, facial expressions, and personal quirks.

But when you have to speak to converse with someone on a more personal level, you have to really become aware of the person. This is when active listening comes into play. Situations like these require a higher level of listening skills. You are required to maintain eye contact, read body language, take note of the silences between sentences, and try not to make too many assumptions.

Why are all these important? First of all, maintaining eye contact lets the other person know that you are interested in what they have to say. They are likely to open up more when the other person shows concern. When it comes to body language, this actually reveals a lot about you are about the person you’re talking to. Don’t slump or fidget, instead, lean slightly forward without invading too much of their personal space. You must be engaging without necessarily scaring the other person off.

Maybe the hardest thing about communicating is keeping quiet. You should leave some room for silence, and mind you, they don’t have to be uncomfortable at all. These may be moments when both parties have to contemplate on what has just been shared. By allowing these moments of silence, you also give the other person a chance to continue without offending them with any form of rebuttal. You are basically required to fully take in everything said, digest it, and then respond to it. Of course, this also means that you already know what they are about to say next. Ideal communication happens when both doors are opened.

Because words are not always perfect mediums to convey meaning, you have to know that people sometimes say less than intended or more than needed. You really need to take into consideration everything about the other party. Your communication will be more effective if you watch for cues. When it is your turn to convey something very important, expect the same kind of respect you’ve given them and make sure that your listener is engaged.

Paying attention to each other’s listening style, you get to build solid relationships and healthy friendships. Because you make yourself aware of the other signs, you may find that you also pick up on their unspoken words. Show interest so that you prompt others to communicate more with you more effectively.

Active listening could therefore be the basis for every friendship. You allow others to open up to you because they know that they will not immediately be judged. Although you cannot always accurately tell what lies behind their words, you will sense that there is something more. All you need to do then to assist them and show that you are sincere with your interest.

Believe me, active listening make ALL the difference.

Are you listening? Really listening?

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