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Are you in control of your story online?

story_google_ed

 

Who are you?

If someone wants to know who you are, they type your name into Google.

Before the meeting,  you have been googled.

Before the interview, you have been googled.

Before the pitch, you have been googled.

What is Google saying about you?

What did you give Google to say about you?

It's an interesting exercise to Google oneself ... interesting and sometimes surprising!!

Right there is a little window into how people might be seeing you.

That is the story people are seeing and reading about you - your personal brand story, your business brand story.

Did Google put it there?  No.  But Google chose which parts of it to put in front of searchers as the first thing they saw.

Did other people put it there?  Yes.  Your clients comment on your business and connect with you.  Your friends comment on you and connect with you.  You listed yourself on other websites, and commented or interacted there.

So to some extent, this is happening without you.

Consider, though ...

You gave your clients something to comment on.  What was that?

You connected with them.  What impression did that give?

You gave your friends something to comment on.  What was that?

You connected with them.  What impression did that give?

You associated yourself with other websites.  What impression does that give?

Everything communicates.

My mother said to me often and often, "Put your words on the palm of your hand before you say them."

She probably said that as I grew into a teenager with attitude, and not much thought for what I said, or what the consequences might be.

Everything communicates, especially words, but actions too.

So everything we do on the internet communicates something and it's not always what we might expect.

Google, and the internet as a whole, gives us an unparalleled opportunity to communicate, to share and to build a brand, and there is nothing so challenging, nor so rewarding as to to watch that brand build and grow.

Enjoy!!

Author:  Bronwyn Ritchie.  

If you would like help telling your story on-line, please contact me.  I have a "Connecting the Dots" programme that helps my clients find the story they need to tell.  

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Eight Examples of Good Self-Discipline

To be self-disciplined, you need to be able to motivate yourself to meet the goals that you set for yourself. You don’t need anyone’s outside help to get done what needs to get done. You do what you said you would - whether that was said to yourself or someone else, and even if you don’t feel like it. To get a bigger understanding of what self-discipline is, let’s look at some examples.

1. Wake Up on Time – The ability to get yourself up before work, get properly dressed, fed, exercised and out the door on time to get to work is a trait of self-discipline. Sure, if you’re late enough, you may get fired, so there is some outside push there. However, for most people, it’s simply self-discipline that gets them going each day.

2. Act Respectfully Toward Others – Everyone has thoughts in their head about people they meet during the day. That person who cut you off? That person who is walking too slowly in the store when you’re in a hurry? With good self-discipline you will still be respectful toward everyone regardless of your feelings, hunger, or mood at the time.

3. Eat Healthily – There are so many things out there to eat that aren’t good. A person who chooses to eat healthily 80 to 90 percent of the time is demonstrating excellent self-discipline by saying no today to short-term pleasure in exchange for being healthier long term.

4. Daily Exercise – Some people really do love exercise and get a true "high" or addiction off it. But most of us don’t. A person who goes ahead and does their exercise anyway each day because they have goals is showing how self-disciplined they are.

5. Meet Deadlines – Sometimes you’ll see the words "self-starter" in a job description, but what they really want is a person who is self-disciplined enough to make and meet deadlines without a lot of outside influence.

6. Avoid Temptation – A truly self-disciplined person doesn’t allow temptation to be a factor in their lives because they work to avoid it. If they're tempted by donuts, they don’t walk into a donut shop. If they want to save money, they get it taken out of their paycheck; they’re never tempted to spend it since they don’t see it.

7. Follow Through – A self-disciplined person tends to do what they say they’ll do. They have follow-through. If they say they’ll get done on Friday, they will do what they can to get done on Friday without anyone reminding them.

8. Create Good Habits – A person with self-discipline knows that the best way to stick to any goal is to create good habits surrounding that goal. For example, a person who has the goal to get up an hour earlier to go to the gym knows that it’s going to be only willpower the first month, then after that, a habit will be created.

Self-discipline doesn’t mean that a person never has fun. The ability to let go of weakness and do what you know is right is the best example of self-discipline. It doesn’t matter if you’re at work or at home; being able to control yourself is essential to your happiness and success.

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Public Speaking Success Tip – fillers

Too many people think "ums" are a sin, and let's include y'know like" as well!

Sure, in an ideal world, we would all speak fluently.

On the other hand, "ums" are part of conversational language, sprinkled liberally, even strategically. Your audience will not notice them, probably, forgive them if they do -

only if you are using WAAAY too many will they notice, and maybe wonder why, and be a little distracted, especially if our speech is not resonating in some way.

I usually advise that It's a risk worth considering in your rehearsal and practice times.

Start by listening to others - sports commentators, interviewees on television, anyone speaking publicly.

Listen for their fillers then you will learn to listen for your own.

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[PP Brand story] Bold provocative

 

The title of this post is PP Brand.

 

PP stands for Personalised Plate.  Here in our part of Australia, and perhaps where you live too, when you register a car, you can have the registration plate combination of numbers and letters allotted to you, or you can pay more for a personalised plate.

 

There must be many reasons for acquiring a personalised plate, but when someone sees your plate, they see your expression of your identity.

 

When I was growing up on a farm, we (my mother and I) recognised the locals' cars by their number plates.  These were not personalised.  I don't know if the concept even existed then.  But for majority of the locals, particularly of my father's generation there were two types of cars - Holdens and Fords and probably they could recognise those.  These were the men who could articulate a wide variety of types of cattle, and a wide variety of the crops you would grow to progress any particular type of animal to its best.

 

My mother, struggling to identify one out of many in either car type, I suspect, identified the cars by their number plates - or maybe it was just a topic of conversation.  The main two in our lives were ours and my aunt's and my mother referred to herself and the aunt as Mrs PIF and Mrs PEL because those were the letters in the number plates.  Ours was PIF 917.

 

Number plate as identity.

 

And now we have personalised number plates, sure signs of identity and therefore, if possible, brand.

 

Some mean nothing unless to those who know the owner, but there are those chosen with a message.

 

The one that made me super aware of this phenomenon was stopped at the lights as I was waiting to cross the street in our CBD.  It was on a low-slung, hugely expensive sports car, the motor purring as it sat there.  The Personalised Plate held one word and that word was

 

HATE.

 

The car and the plate screamed brand identity.

 

What would you associate with that setup?

 

My first reaction was "In yer face" and this is what Google provided

 
Aggressively or blatantly confrontational
Marked by, or displaying, a boldness of character
Offensive, causing or eliciting a strong negative reaction
Forceful, or having an immediate impact

 

I have had fun writing imaginary brand stories that involve that car.

 

The Archetype? --- has to be --- Outlaw!!

 

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What are you really selling?

What exactly are you selling?

What exactly is your client or customer buying?

The obvious answer, of course is, "your product or service".

And that is true,

until you actually have to persuade someone to buy,

until "sell" involves something more than the physical exchange of money or value.

Then it becomes fairly obvious that there is something more involved.

Let me say, right now, that what you are selling is a story.

A story is

the story of a change,

the change that your customer or buyer goes through when they use your product or service.

And that is the story you have to sell.

And while that change will have physical aspects and outcomes that might involve things like health, wealth, relationships; ultimately the result your client or customer wants is the emotion, the feeling.  They want to feel free, valued, better than, at peace; all sorts of things.  And they may not articulate that, but the want will be there.  

There is a saying that people buy based on emotion and justify based on logic.

And that is why stories are so valuable.  They can tap into the subconscious level of emotions.  We are wired for story and stories are inherently built on emotion.  

So your client story is vital in your marketing.  

Where are you telling your client story - that story of change?

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3 aspects of imperfection to embrace

Imagine you’ve just made a mistake. How do you feel? Ready to celebrate?

If a celebration is the furthest thing from your mind, you're not alone. Most people hate when they make mistakes. For one thing, it's embarrassing to get something wrong. For another, it means you haven't reached the goal you'd set for yourself. There isn't much to like here.

Or is there?

Think about it. When we make mistakes, we learn how not to do something. Even more exciting is when these so-called 'mistakes' lead us into something new or interesting which we might never have found otherwise. After all, bubble wrap was completely a mistake, as the inventor was trying to make a new kind of wallpaper. So were things like Post-It Notes, the microwave oven, potato chips, and superglue.

There are several aspects of imperfection you would do well to embrace. Consider these traits:

Imperfection Gives You the Ability to Succeed

When you constantly strive for perfection and miss, you start thinking you're never going to accomplish anything. Eventually, you stop trying at all, guaranteeing the very failure you were trying to avoid. With imperfection, you aren’t so worried about potential failure, meaning you’re more likely to keep trying until you reach your goals.

Imperfection Builds the Best Relationships

Perfectionism at its worst tells you the rest of the world is never going to measure up. After all, these people don't perform as you want them to, so why would you expect anyone who fails to have any value. With this thought in mind, we start seeing others as being worthless. Failures. Now imagine trying to build a relationship with anyone when you expect so little of them. Isn't this a surefire disaster waiting to happen? Imperfection reminds us we're all human and therefore treats others with kindness. Now imagine how relationships flourish in this kind of atmosphere.

Imperfection Gives Us Self-Worth

This flawed view of the world becomes even worse when directed at ourselves. We start seeing all the ways we don't measure up, and as a result, our self-talk takes a turn for the worse. We beat ourselves up endlessly in an ongoing litany of negativity. We remind ourselves we're falling short at every turn until eventually, we feel so bad about ourselves there seems little reason to go on living. With imperfection, though, we can accept our efforts as being good enough. We can celebrate small victories and solid attempts. We start seeing our efforts as worthwhile and ourselves as having value again. Imperfection changes our self-talk toward positivity.

In short, these three aspects of imperfection combine to make us our best selves. No more do we need to hold ourselves to impossible standards. Our imperfect self already has everything needed to make you into the best version of yourself.

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Why should you open your speech with a quotation?

 

1. It will build your credibility.

If you choose a striking quotation, or one from someone the audience knows well.

If you quote someone the audience knows you call up the reputation and memory of that famous person, and that gives an additional power to the words.

2. It will support your persuasion.

Before you choose the quotation, know what you want to say and achieve with the speech.

What is the central message?

What emotions do you want to call up at the beginning of your speech?

You can use the quotation to set the scene for the speech, or even to be a summary of your message, and something you can call back to during your speech for added emphasis.

3. It will allow you to be present with your audience.

While it works best if it relates directly to your content, there may be occasions, though, where it can relate to your audience, or the venue or occasion.

This personalises your speech and allows you to connect with your audience. It should, however, allow for a minimal amount of time to link, then, to your message.

4. It will reinforce that presence, and allow connection with your audience, allowing them to buy in to your speech.

Oftentimes there is huge power in pausing after the quote to let it sink in, to let your audience nod in agreement or wonder just what you are going to achieve with it. It may be something funny, so wait for the amusement to register.

Make sure to emphasise the emotion that you want to project with the quote. Use gesture and facial expression that will heighten the response you want. Smile when the audience has registered amusement for example. Give a heightened shrug if the quotation comes in the form of a question

Obviously there will be other times when you need to go straight to the next sentence. This is especially true if it is a well known quote, or if you are going to disagree with it. … and that

5. Supports the rhythm of your speech.

If you choose quotations that contribute to the message and emotional tone of your speech and if you support that contribution with your delivery, they can be a powerful opening to your speech.

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Would you let your son dive into this pool? Would a story change your mind?

I love visiting waterfalls and creeks and swimming holes in the rainforest.

There is beauty. There is  peace.
But also a  sense of activity as the water moves through its environment, trickling or roaring, making music of its own and changing the landscape as it goes.

This was a river, one of many, that we visited on our holiday, with all of the beauty and peace and movement. It is a popular tourist place, with facilities for visitors including beautifully maintained walks and lookouts. The river runs through huge rocks and the place is actually called “The Boulders”.

At many of the places we had visited before this one, there were swimming “holes” where people were swimming in the rivers, cold though the temperature was at the time, and other places where tour guides showed their clients how to inch across the rocks and slide safely with the water to a pool below.

It’s something that people do.

I have never swum in these water holes,  but I like to see the joy and fun that people have who do.

At a lake we visited there were the usual young men daring each other to feats of daring by diving backwards with a somersault into the lake, off a pontoon.

And in watercourses all around the country on any given day, there are children swinging out over lagoons and waterholes on an old tyre attached to a rope and jumping off into the water.

And all around the country, in any given year there will be accidents – people who want that fun, carefree joy and challenge – but who dive into shallow water or land on something submerged in the water.

There are people absolutely incapacitated because of such accidents or even worse.

In many places there are signs, just like this one …

and on the whole, people abide by them. Not always.

If I were a young man (or woman, though it seems to be young men who are more tempted), would I abide by them?

If I were a young man’s mother, would I want him to abide by them? I know the temptation is strong for the fun, carefree joy and challenge, and I know it is not always resisted.

But at The Boulders, the signs were different. And here’s where the story comes in.

 

I had never ever before seen a sign that said “Many people have died here”, and it was repeated on signs throughout the area.

People have died here.

That is a four word story.

I like to think it would have more impact than the standard sign.

If you were a young man (or woman), would you be more likely to abide by the rule?

If you were a young man’s parent or friend, would you be more likely to persuade him? I would like to think so.

I know as a mother … I would.

I was caught by this thought every time we passed such a sign.

But then when we walked out of the rainforest into the car park, I noticed this plaque on a rock.

Did he dive … and die?

Perhaps not, but if the story is that he did, imagine his mother, his father, his friends, his family, his community and how they felt when he did not return – forever – just because of that daredevil impulse.

That is a heartrending story of a young man who did not live out his life as he could have and whose death must have caused waves and years of anguish.

If you were a young man (or woman), would you be more likely to abide by the rule … knowing that story?

If you were a young man’s parent or friend, would you be more likely to persuade him?

I would like to think so.

I know as a mother … I would.

 

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8 Benefits of Setting Goals

Whether you want to progress in your career or develop healthier habits at home, goal setting can be an essential tool.

Those who set goals are much more likely to achieve success than those who don’t. Not convinced? Check out these 8 benefits of setting goals you can expect to experience.

  1. It keeps you focused

Setting goals helps to keep you focused on the tasks that matter. When you don’t have focus or a direction, it’s difficult to progress. You’ll be much more susceptible to procrastination if you don’t have a clear goal in mind.

Setting goals shows you what you need to do to achieve your dreams. Whatever it is you want to do, goals will help you get there.

  1. Helping to keep you motivated

You’ll also see an increase in your motivation when you work towards goals. However, that’s only if you set the right ones.

The key is to create small, achievable goals. As you tick off each goal, you’ll feel motivated to work towards the next. Contrary to popular belief, motivation doesn’t just present itself. Instead, you need to work on it and build up your motivation over time.

So, if you struggle to stay motivated, setting and completing small goals is going to help.

  1. They make larger goals manageable

Often, the goals we set for ourselves are quite big. For example, you may want to lose weight or gain more financial freedom. These goals may take a while to reach, which can ultimately make it difficult to stick to them.

By setting smaller goals, you’ll be able tor each your large goals much faster. You’ll also find it easier to stay focused as you’ll be seeing some level of progress.

The key to motivation and sticking to larger goals is to see progress. If you don’t, you’re much more likely to give up. Write down your large goals, then break them down into smaller ones to make them more manageable.

  1. You will consistently improve

Life is about learning and developing ourselves into the best person we can be. Goal setting can help you to consistently improve. It can help you to break bad habits, learn something new, and develop key skills to better handle life’s challenges.

If you’re looking to improve your life and become a better person, goal setting is a great tool you can utilize.

  1. Increased satisfaction

Did you know that those who set goals are typically more satisfied in life than those who don’t? This is because, as mentioned earlier, you see a lot of progress being made.

It is also down to how they feel after ticking off their goals. When you reach a goal, you set for yourself, it boosts confidence, and gives you a great feeling of satisfaction.

  1. They put you in control of your future

Goals give you the power to shape and alter your future. You can use them to achieve new things, develop good habits, and change the course of your life.

If you feel like you lack control, it’s going to deter you from changing. However, as you start to achieve the small goals that you set for yourself, you’ll feel motivated to carry on.

  1. Goals boost productivity

Setting goals also helps to boost productivity. If you struggle to get things done, having a goal to work towards can motivate you to work faster and harder.

The focus placed upon achieving the goal helps to push you to get it done.

  1. Freeing up time to spend on other things

As you’ll be more productive and achieve more with goals, it frees up time you can spend on other things. How often do you feel like it’s impossible to get everything done? If there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, start setting goals to boost your productivity.

The free time you end up with can be spent on self-care or taking care of chores that never get done.

These are the main benefits of setting goals. You can set them for every area of your life. However, there are a lot of things that you can get wrong. Goals are only effective if you know how to set them.

The secret to setting effective goals

Want to start setting effective goals? The secret is to make them SMART. This is a common method that stands for:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Timely

Your goals need to be as specific as possible. That means they need to be targeted, rather than general goals. An example would be you want to lose weight. If you simply set your goal to lose weight, this isn’t very specific. However, if you were to set a goal to lose 2 pounds in a week, that is a much more refined goal.

You should also make sure that the goals are measurable. That is, you need to be able to clearly see progress as you work towards them. Taking the weight loss example again, you can measure your progress by how you feel and what the scales say when you step onto them.

The third thing to focus on is that your goals are achievable. After all, there’s no point setting them or working towards them if they aren’t.

The goals you work towards need to be relevant to what you are trying to achieve. What is your overall goal and are your current goals helping you to get there? If not, it’s time to make some changes.

Finally, the goals you set yourself should be timely. That is, you have a deadline to achieve them. If you don’t set a specific date or time to finish a goal, it can lead to procrastination. So, set a deadline and stick to it. Just make sure the deadline is realistic otherwise you’ll miss it and become demotivated to continue.

If you follow the SMART goal setting method, you’ll see much better results.

How to stick to your goals

Following the SMART goal setting method will go a long way to helping you stick to your goals. However, there are a few more tips you can follow to make achieving your goals easier. These include:

  • Choose goals that you are passionate about
  • Stick to working on one goal at a time
  • Give yourself a reward when you achieve a goal
  • Share your goals with others for accountability
  • Write your goals down

It’s important to focus on goals you’re passionate about as this makes it more likely you’ll see them through. If you aren’t interested in the goal, you aren’t going to work hard to achieve it.

Avoid working on more than one goal at a time. It’s hard to multi-task and working on one goal allows you to give it all of your focus. This ensures you complete it faster.

These are some of the best tips you can follow when setting goals for yourself. Don’t be afraid to make your goals smaller if you are struggling. The key is to find a method that works for you.

So, there you have it, the benefits of setting goals and some top tips to get you started. When you start to set goals, you’ll start to see real change in your life.

 

 

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How to make more time for your life

Do you wish you could work less and play more?

Are you so stuck in the rut you can't see a way out? Have you ever said I wish I had more time for me?

Well there is hope. First of all you have to be aware of your situation, have a strong desire to change and then take action.

Jackie's Story
Jackie is 31 yrs of age and the Business Development Manager for an insurance company.

She always arrived at work at 8.00 a.m. and never left the office before 6.30 p.m. most nights. She bemoaned the fact that work took over her life.

Through the process of coaching we discovered that the only reason Jackie didn't have a personal life was because she never planned to have one.

She realised she buried herself in her work needlessly. She avoided going home as she had nothing to look forward to. Jackie lived on her own, she wasn't in a relationship and had no hobbies. So she defined her purpose in life through her work. It made her feel worthwhile and wanted. Although her career was blossoming, Jackie was unhappy. In fact, she was lonely.

We worked on getting Jackie on purpose in her personal life.

Through the coaching process we concentrated on three key goals which would be achievable and realistic over a six month period. Why? Because that timeframe is long enough to achieve measurable results and make long term changes.

Jackie's main goal areas related to her career, health and fitness and relationships. This is what she came up with:

Career
Leave work by 5.00 p.m. each day.

Health and Fitness
To be able to wear my black skirt. (Jackie had put on so much weight that she couldn't do the zip up.)

Relationship
To be in a loving relationship.

There were a number of secondary goals, however these three were the key ones that Jackie was the most passionate about and was prepared to take action on.

Define the Goal

Once the goals were defined we then worked out the strategies to reach them and then the actions to take to achieve them.

Career - Leave work by 5.00 p.m. each day
We looked at Jackie's time management. I had her fill out our Weekly Planner which also can be used as a time sheet. We discovered she wasted at least two hours a day on unwanted interruptions and being unable to say 'no'. We showed her simple ways to plan her day more effectively and get more done.

Health and Fitness - To be able to wear my black skirt.
Jackie had no exercise routine and her diet was inadequate. Together we worked out the best solution for her physical activity which was to join the gym near her work. By attending the gym at 6.00 a.m. each morning she was able to bounce into work instead of dragging herself in.

In fact the gym was a double bonus as there were a few good relationship prospects who attended at that hour.

Jackie never planned what she would eat. In fact she didn't shop regularly and therefore would often grab fast food for lunch and dinner. By showing her healthier alternatives and planning time to shop, it was easy for her to improve her diet and overall well-being.

Relationship - To be in a loving relationship
Through the coaching process Jackie realised she would have to be proactive in this area and needed to meet more people. She had always wanted to do photography and enrolled in a TAFE short course. By doing this not only did she meet a nice unattached guy but fulfilled a deep seated need to do something creative in her life.

Once Jackie realised that she wanted to have a life and was focused on her goals, everything changed. On her own she would most likely not have made any significant changes as it would have been too overwhelming and require her to move out of her comfort zone.

The fact that she was investing her own money in herself and had someone to be accountable to, made a huge impact on the results she achieve.

5 Simple Ways You Can Make More Time For Your Life

#1 Learn how to manage your time so you can be as effective as possible.
You can read books on time management, attend courses or the most effective way is to have a coach to work with you.

#2 Say "no"
You don't always have to say yes to everyone else’s requests. You can say 'no'. Perhaps you need to learn how to be more assertive.

#3 Lighten your load
Wherever possible look at ways of delegating or outsourcing tasks to free up more of your time, i.e. at home have a cleaner or gardener. At work see who else can help to lighten your workload.

#4 Do similar things at the one time
Do all your errands in one trip. Visit clients on the one day. Allocate a block of time to return phone calls or respond to emails each day.

#5 Timetable Your Life
Plan in your diary when you will take time out for you. Maybe every lunchtime you'll go for a 30 minute walk or attend the gym three mornings a week, have a facial or massage fortnightly. If it's not in the diary chances are it won't happen.

The Final Word
Many people often float through life with no particular purpose. They'll make the excuse "I haven't got time". It's easy to say "I haven't got time" or "I'm too busy" to avoid having to change and stretch themselves. However, what is the alternative? Continually do the same thing and getting the same results or making changes and getting different results?

The choice is yours.

Lorraine Pirihi is the founder of Relaunch Your Life  , a consulting and coaching practice where she specialises in helping baby boomer professionals who are tired, worn out and over it to get their mojo back in business and in life.