A client recently adopted an attitude of “It’s going to be great!”.  And what a difference it has made in his outlook regarding his business, approach to challenges, and overall attitude and energy level.  But let’s back up to look at what life was like before this change.

Faced daily with the challenges of leading a team, dealing with the unexpected, and making critical decisions on the fly, this client found himself bogged down with the negatives.  It seemed that each new day brought with it a new level of stress leading to his doubting the future of the business. No hope led to self-doubt, doubting others, and no clear vision for the future.  Then he adopted the phrase, “It’s going to be great!”.

What a difference!  He is now approaching each day with a clear vision of where the business is and where he wants it to go.  He faces daily challenges and issues with a renewed confidence. His leadership inspires the team by instilling a renewed confidence in them as well.

Suggestion: for better results, adopt an attitude of, “It’s going to be great!”.  And it will be!!

This past week or so, networking has been the particular point of conversation for me.  Most of you understand the importance of networking but are not quite as sure about how many events or groups you should participate in on a regular basis, how to budget both time and finances accordingly in order to participate, or to how to select which ones to participate in or not.  The answers are individual, based on what works best for you and your business.

Networking events or groups offer the opportunity to be in contact with more people in a one- or two-hour time frame than you could by personal visits.  How long it takes to build a relationship of knowing, liking, and trusting depends on what happens after the first introduction or meeting. Follow-ups and attendance at subsequent events or meetings are even more important and vital to the value of the networking opportunity for your business.

Suggestion: 

1. Decide which events or groups have the potential of providing leads or contacts for your business.
2. Attend them as a guest at first to get a better idea of how they function as a group and the results that they as individuals have enjoyed from participation.
3. Find out what type of programs they have on a regular basis along with feedback from attendees.
4. Ask yourself if this group as a whole represents the type of customers or clients you are looking for.

As you know, you only get out of something what you put into it.  Networking is a tool to help you get the end result of more business.  As any tool, it is only as effective as the person behind it! .     

Most of us try hard to not blame others when life does not go according to plan.  In fact, we are more forgiving of others than we are of ourselves. Why? Are you not just as important, just as busy, and just as worthy of forgiveness as others?  Of course you are! We simply expect more out of ourselves than we do out of others. That is certainly good to a point; however, it can also hold us back from being and doing more.

When you find you are beating yourself up over work not done, unfinished, or even forgotten, take time to ask yourself what you would say to someone else in that position.  Forgive yourself as you would forgive them!