Goal Setting & Achievement Podcast: Business|Productivity

Big Sale: Get 80% Off on Proven Business Success Resources Wouldn't it be Great to Get 80% Off on Proven Business Success Resources? Now, you can!! First and foremost, I hope you and your family are safe and healthy. It's been a crazy month.... to say the least. With the pandemic & social distancing going on, no one knows where the world is headed. Whether you have a job or business, it doesn't matter. Everyone is in the dark. We are all in the same place. Airplane companies are close to shutting down. Restaurants are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Any non-essential business is in a world of hurt. Fear is everywhere. And if you're feeling anxious, you'll see your productivity suffer. At first, you might not even notice. But you'll soon catch yourself glancing at the news. Decisions that were clear cut before will be muddied by panic. You'll be tempted to 'escape it all' for a bit & binge on some Netflix movies. Please don't fall into that trap. Most people see this as a disaster, but it's a golden opportunity in disguise for many of us. The fact is, everyone around you is feeling this level of uncertainty. Right now, your competition is buckling under the pressure. While others are frozen, you can hone your professional development and rise above the rest. Don't limit yourself to surviving, create momentum to thrive. And to help you do that, I was thinking here's one great solution for you to consider. For the first time in history, I'm rolling out the red carpet for you because I want to help - my biggest discount yet, to help you turn these challenging events into an opportunity to elevate your client value, grow your business. You can now get an 80% discount, yes I said 80%, on everything in the accountability.com store, including my 1:1 coaching. All you have to do is enter the Coupon Code

Confidence is absolutely essential if you want to make friends, influence people, and wake up energized day after day. A lack of confidence can be a pretty serious problem in a lot of different ways. It can affect your goals, your daily work, how you interact with people, and how you perceive yourself. If you don’t have enough confidence to believe in yourself, then you are going to have trouble ever achieving your goals. In fact, a complete lack of confidence will likely keep you from even setting goals! As a successful businessperson, you no doubt realize that confidence is important… and you would probably not have gotten as far as you have without having at least a good measure of it. If, however, you ever find yourself doubting whether you are ‘good enough’ or ‘capable’, then this article is for you! Let’s now explore 5 tips for becoming even more confident than you are now. Finding more confidence will help you as you venture on towards the next level of success, and can help to guard you against a recurrence in self-doubt or demotivation. Tip #1… Walk Faster Do you ever notice how confident people seem to walk faster than people who are not as sure of themselves? This is because confident people are usually busy, full of purpose, and have a ‘method’ to their madness! Next time you go out, try to think about all of the important things that you will be needed for. Think about how important your time is, and think about how much more you could accomplish if you got to where you were going in less time. Believe it or not, brisk walking can actually fill you with a sense of purpose and security about yourself. You will actually feel more confident if you lengthen your strides and walk like you have a reason to get somewhere (which you do! You are, after all, a successful businessperson… and you DESERVE to feel like one!). Tip #2… Create and Periodically Review Your “Me” File Keeping a ‘me’ file on hand filled with emails, letters, cards, and other positive communications or comments from clients and friends is one of the best ways to help give your confidence level a boost on those days when you don’t feel as good about yourself. Keep this file close at hand, and pull out a few letters to read when you start to feel down. If you ever feel like you are not good enough, looking back on good things that were said to you can REALLY have a positive impact. The whole point of this tip is to remind yourself that you ARE successful, and that you have a reason to be confident! Tip #3… Compliment Others Positivity is positivity… no matter what form it comes in. Believe it or not, complimenting others and making them feel better about themselves will actually HELP you to be more confident! When you focus on the negative aspects of life, you will often focus on the negatives within YOU as well. But, if you can learn to focus on the good in people around you, you will also be more prone to focusing on the good points within yourself. This will make a huge difference in your level of confidence, and will help you to improve your overall view of who you are as a person. Tip #4… Work Out – Get Some Exercise While this might seem like a very ‘healthy’ or ‘physical’ tip, it can be a very helpful one! Getting a healthy dose of exercise during the day is sometimes all that we need to push us over the positive edge. Taking up a sport, running around the block, doing a 10-minute exercise routine in your office, or even going a mile on the treadmill are all great ways to up your self-confidence level. By getting some exercise, you will be living a healthier lifestyle… but you will also be improving your own physical self-image within your mind. With confidence, it is all about how you perceive yourself, and you will be MUCH more likely to perceive yourself with confidence if you get in at least 20 minutes of exercise 4-5 times per week. Tip #5… Visualize the End Result In everything you invest your valuable time you want to visualize

Confidence is absolutely essential if you want to make friends, influence people, and wake up energized day after day. A lack of confidence can be a pretty serious problem in a lot of different ways. It can affect your goals, your daily work, how you interact with people, and how you perceive yourself. If you don’t have enough confidence to believe in yourself, then you are going to have trouble ever achieving your goals. In fact, a complete lack of confidence will likely keep you from even setting goals! As a successful businessperson, you no doubt realize that confidence is important… and you would probably not have gotten as far as you have without having at least a good measure of it. If, however, you ever find yourself doubting whether you are ‘good enough’ or ‘capable’, then this article is for you! Let’s now explore 5 tips for becoming even more confident than you are now. Finding more confidence will help you as you venture on towards the next level of success, and can help to guard you against a recurrence in self-doubt or demotivation. Tip #1… Walk Faster Do you ever notice how confident people seem to walk faster than people who are not as sure of themselves? This is because confident people are usually busy, full of purpose, and have a ‘method’ to their madness! Next time you go out, try to think about all of the important things that you will be needed for. Think about how important your time is, and think about how much more you could accomplish if you got to where you were going in less time. Believe it or not, brisk walking can actually fill you with a sense of purpose and security about yourself. You will actually feel more confident if you lengthen your strides and walk like you have a reason to get somewhere (which you do! You are, after all, a successful businessperson… and you DESERVE to feel like one!). Tip #2… Create and Periodically Review Your “Me” File Keeping a ‘me’ file on hand filled with emails, letters, cards, and other positive communications or comments from clients and friends is one of the best ways to help give your confidence level a boost on those days when you don’t feel as good about yourself. Keep this file close at hand, and pull out a few letters to read when you start to feel down. If you ever feel like you are not good enough, looking back on good things that were said to you can REALLY have a positive impact. The whole point of this tip is to remind yourself that you ARE successful, and that you have a reason to be confident! Tip #3… Compliment Others Positivity is positivity… no matter what form it comes in. Believe it or not, complimenting others and making them feel better about themselves will actually HELP you to be more confident! When you focus on the negative aspects of life, you will often focus on the negatives within YOU as well. But, if you can learn to focus on the good in people around you, you will also be more prone to focusing on the good points within yourself. This will make a huge difference in your level of confidence, and will help you to improve your overall view of who you are as a person. Tip #4… Work Out – Get Some Exercise While this might seem like a very ‘healthy’ or ‘physical’ tip, it can be a very helpful one! Getting a healthy dose of exercise during the day is sometimes all that we need to push us over the positive edge. Taking up a sport, running around the block, doing a 10-minute exercise routine in your office, or even going a mile on the treadmill are all great ways to up your self-confidence level. By getting some exercise, you will be living a healthier lifestyle… but you will also be improving your own physical self-image within your mind. With confidence, it is all about how you perceive yourself, and you will be MUCH more likely to perceive yourself with confidence if you get in at least 20 minutes of exercise 4-5 times per week. Tip #5… Visualize the End Result In everything you invest your valuable time you want to visualize

Just in case you haven't seen or shared with your clients and prospects something that can hopefully, favorably influence their fears and concerns about the impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), the one I've seen that does the good job of explaining this new virus, it's effects, and best prevention tips (without any of the media hype either way), is from the Mayo Clinic. You can view their special report link in the show notes (http://bit.ly/2IDU3Wq). Of course, there are many great, short reports out there for you to use from very reputable organizations. After you’ve sent an email to your clients and prospects, implementing 2 ideas I’m going to share can turn these challenging events into an opportunity to elevate your client value and grow your business. 1. CALL every client. Glean your talking points for that conversation from the text in the email you previously sent them. Sample Script for a Financial Advisor - “You may have seen the email l sent with my thoughts about how the Coronavirus events could impact your money. The purpose of my call is to see how you’re feeling and answer any questions you may have.” Listen with empathy. Be prepared to respond to market, economy, and Coronavirus questions. Ask follow-up questions and listen with empathy. If the 'door opens' to have another phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting that may lead to being of service and doing more business, step through it. If not, feel good about being of service to your clients. Well done. 2. CALL every prospect, friend, and family member in your database to have the same conversation. This means that you sent the same message your clients received to your prospects, friends, and family members. The same script works (for a Financial Advisor). “You may have seen the email l sent with my thoughts about how the Coronavirus events could impact your money. The purpose of my call is to see how you’re feeling and answer any questions you may have.” Listen with empathy. Be prepared to respond to market, economy, and Coronavirus questions. Ask follow-up questions and listen with empathy. If the 'door opens' to have another phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting that could lead to being of further service and doing business, step through it. If not, feel good about the value you’re putting into the world. What goes around comes around, right? We live in an ever-changing, complex world, but one thing that has been true for those of us in business, we all must continue to do revenue generation and client acquisition to grow our business. Let me know how I can help you make more money and work less, so you can enjoy even better work life balance. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ Get your daily Accountability Minute shot of a single, simple, doable idea, so you can start your day off on the "right foot", subscribe to it based on your country. The Accountability Minute on Amazon's Alexa in the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Accountability-Minute-Anne-Bachrach/dp/B07F5H2KGB The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Canada: https://amzn.to/2MpvUmx The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Australia: https://amzn.to/2vQqI4i The Accountability Minute on Alexa in UK: https://amzn.to/2MayU9v To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.co

Just in case you haven't seen or shared with your clients and prospects something that can hopefully, favorably influence their fears and concerns about the impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), the one I've seen that does the good job of explaining this new virus, it's effects, and best prevention tips (without any of the media hype either way), is from the Mayo Clinic. You can view their special report link in the show notes (http://bit.ly/2IDU3Wq). Of course, there are many great, short reports out there for you to use from very reputable organizations. After you’ve sent an email to your clients and prospects, implementing 2 ideas I’m going to share can turn these challenging events into an opportunity to elevate your client value and grow your business. 1. CALL every client. Glean your talking points for that conversation from the text in the email you previously sent them. Sample Script for a Financial Advisor - “You may have seen the email l sent with my thoughts about how the Coronavirus events could impact your money. The purpose of my call is to see how you’re feeling and answer any questions you may have.” Listen with empathy. Be prepared to respond to market, economy, and Coronavirus questions. Ask follow-up questions and listen with empathy. If the 'door opens' to have another phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting that may lead to being of service and doing more business, step through it. If not, feel good about being of service to your clients. Well done. 2. CALL every prospect, friend, and family member in your database to have the same conversation. This means that you sent the same message your clients received to your prospects, friends, and family members. The same script works (for a Financial Advisor). “You may have seen the email l sent with my thoughts about how the Coronavirus events could impact your money. The purpose of my call is to see how you’re feeling and answer any questions you may have.” Listen with empathy. Be prepared to respond to market, economy, and Coronavirus questions. Ask follow-up questions and listen with empathy. If the 'door opens' to have another phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting that could lead to being of further service and doing business, step through it. If not, feel good about the value you’re putting into the world. What goes around comes around, right? We live in an ever-changing, complex world, but one thing that has been true for those of us in business, we all must continue to do revenue generation and client acquisition to grow our business. Let me know how I can help you make more money and work less, so you can enjoy even better work life balance. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ Get your daily Accountability Minute shot of a single, simple, doable idea, so you can start your day off on the "right foot", subscribe to it based on your country. The Accountability Minute on Amazon's Alexa in the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Accountability-Minute-Anne-Bachrach/dp/B07F5H2KGB The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Canada: https://amzn.to/2MpvUmx The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Australia: https://amzn.to/2vQqI4i The Accountability Minute on Alexa in UK: https://amzn.to/2MayU9v To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.co

Today you have the opportunity to download a complimentary special guidebook called, Are Limiting Beliefs Stopping You from Achieving Your Goals? To give you some insight about what this special guidebook is about and why you want to read it.…I believe that, inherently speaking, there is nothing that you are not capable of accomplishing. The truth is there is no such thing as can't - you only think you can't. Success is not a special privilege handed out to a selected few; success comes to applying success-oriented beliefs. Transform limiting beliefs into success beliefs and you can achieve anything. Sometimes people don't realize their limiting beliefs have created an obstacle that is stopping them from achieving their goals. For example, let me tell you a quick story. During one of my coaching sessions with a client, I asked him about his success with obtaining referrals (which is a key to any business). He told me that he typically will receive two referrals per client. When I asked him why he thought he didn't receive more, he replied, I just can’t imagine obtaining more than two referrals per client because that is what I typically receive. Then I asked him if he expected and believed he would receive more than two referrals (something like 5, 8, 12 or 25), did he think he might actually receive more referrals? He hesitated for a minute and in an "a-ha" moment, said yes. He realized at that moment his limiting belief was holding him back from something more. As soon as he changed his limiting belief, he began experiencing a higher number of referrals from his clients. How are limiting beliefs affecting your success? When you let go of limiting beliefs, you gain the power to not only get around obstacles, but prevent your mind from creating them in the future. In this complimentary Special Guidebook, we explore 7 Success-Oriented Beliefs that will help you realize that you can do anything and any obstacles you face are only imaginary blocks created by your limiting beliefs. Apply these 7 success-oriented beliefs to create a success driven business and life. Download this complimentary guidebook, Are Limiting Beliefs Stopping You from Achieving Your Goals today and crush any limiting beliefs you have or don’t know you have. Get your copy of this Guidebook by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/request-guidebook-limiting-beliefs/ or http://bit.ly/2ItXDSJ. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ Get your daily Accountability Minute shot of a single, simple, doable idea, so you can start your day off on the "right foot", subscribe to it based on your country. The Accountability Minute on Amazon's Alexa in the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Accountability-Minute-Anne-Bachrach/dp/B07F5H2KGB The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Canada: https://amzn.to/2MpvUmx The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Australia: https://amzn.to/2vQqI4i The Accountability Minute on Alexa in UK: https://amzn.to/2MayU9v To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.com/resultsrule/) - Connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/annebachrach/) Take advantage of all the complimentary business tips and tools by joining the Free Silver Membership on https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/inner-circ

Today you have the opportunity to download a complimentary special guidebook called, Are Limiting Beliefs Stopping You from Achieving Your Goals? To give you some insight about what this special guidebook is about and why you want to read it.…I believe that, inherently speaking, there is nothing that you are not capable of accomplishing. The truth is there is no such thing as can't - you only think you can't. Success is not a special privilege handed out to a selected few; success comes to applying success-oriented beliefs. Transform limiting beliefs into success beliefs and you can achieve anything. Sometimes people don't realize their limiting beliefs have created an obstacle that is stopping them from achieving their goals. For example, let me tell you a quick story. During one of my coaching sessions with a client, I asked him about his success with obtaining referrals (which is a key to any business). He told me that he typically will receive two referrals per client. When I asked him why he thought he didn't receive more, he replied, I just can’t imagine obtaining more than two referrals per client because that is what I typically receive. Then I asked him if he expected and believed he would receive more than two referrals (something like 5, 8, 12 or 25), did he think he might actually receive more referrals? He hesitated for a minute and in an "a-ha" moment, said yes. He realized at that moment his limiting belief was holding him back from something more. As soon as he changed his limiting belief, he began experiencing a higher number of referrals from his clients. How are limiting beliefs affecting your success? When you let go of limiting beliefs, you gain the power to not only get around obstacles, but prevent your mind from creating them in the future. In this complimentary Special Guidebook, we explore 7 Success-Oriented Beliefs that will help you realize that you can do anything and any obstacles you face are only imaginary blocks created by your limiting beliefs. Apply these 7 success-oriented beliefs to create a success driven business and life. Download this complimentary guidebook, Are Limiting Beliefs Stopping You from Achieving Your Goals today and crush any limiting beliefs you have or don’t know you have. Get your copy of this Guidebook by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/request-guidebook-limiting-beliefs/ or http://bit.ly/2ItXDSJ. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ Get your daily Accountability Minute shot of a single, simple, doable idea, so you can start your day off on the "right foot", subscribe to it based on your country. The Accountability Minute on Amazon's Alexa in the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Accountability-Minute-Anne-Bachrach/dp/B07F5H2KGB The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Canada: https://amzn.to/2MpvUmx The Accountability Minute on Alexa in Australia: https://amzn.to/2vQqI4i The Accountability Minute on Alexa in UK: https://amzn.to/2MayU9v To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.com/resultsrule/) - Connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/annebachrach/) Take advantage of all the complimentary business tips and tools by joining the Free Silver Membership on https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/inner-circ

When it comes to your business, consistency is absolutely essential to increasing success. Becoming and staying consistent is not always easy, but it will always produce better results. What exactly does it mean to be consistent? I would say that Merriam-Websters dictionary probably says it best… “Consistent - Marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.” Staying consistent will mean a number of things to you as you grow your business. To clients, you will appear reliable, dependable, capable, and steady. To your employees, you will appear congruous and constant. Consistency makes up a huge part of what causes a business to be successful, and achieving consistency will bring you a step closer to realizing this success on your own terms. We are going to explore 4 tips that can help you to become even more consistent each and every day. Some of these tips might seem like no-brainers; however, following them faithfully can have a dramatic impact on the outcome of any project that you might be working on, be it large or small. 1… Create and Execute a Game Plan Having a set plan is absolutely essential to staying consistent. Without a firmly established success road map, you could very easily veer off course. This could cause variation in any part of your business, even if you are trying as hard as you can to avoid it. In truth, it is really hard to stay focused and regular when you do not have a plan to work from that can help you realize how to get to where you ultimately want to be. To help you consistently execute your plan, you need to make sure you utilize your calendar, so you can stay focused on exactly what needs to be done every day. Does your business have policies and procedures for all of its work-related tasks? Do your employees have access to these procedures? How do you know that your employees have this information, and it is accurate? The failure to have a plan in place is a common-enough occurrence among businesses, but you would be amazed at how many businesses forget about putting together a plan for informing everyone involved, as keeping such information current is important! 2… Encourage Open Communication Have you ever had a team member who asked you a lot of questions or the same questions over and over? Believe it or not, some people naturally get aggravated when they are asked questions, even if they pertain to the important aspects of running the business. But unless this habit is broken and overcome, this kind of communications breakdown could result in setbacks that will hurt you and your company’s success. If you often find yourself annoyed when asked for answers that you feel should be common knowledge, then you really need to take a second look at the situation. Try to be open to any questions that make their way to your ears, and make sure that everyone else, whether they are directly involved or not, knows the answer as well. This is a great time to ensure that the answer to questions is being recorded in a procedures manual that everyone has access to so you don’t need to repeat it in the future. Successful businesses have procedure manuals for every position in the firm. Having a good, positive line of communication is essential to keeping things consistent and reliable. 3… Be Committed One way to achieve consistency is to commit to it. This could mean committing to work until a certain time each day, working by appointment as much as possible (minimize phone tag), completing a specific amount of revenue generation hours each week, or meeting with your employees on a regular basis to reduce distractions and interruptions (be more time efficient). Regardless of what you intend to accomplish or pledge to do, making one or more commitments is likely to affect your business in a positive way. One of the easiest ways to commit to your business is to be as passionate about it as when you first started. If you are having trouble finding

When it comes to your business, consistency is absolutely essential to increasing success. Becoming and staying consistent is not always easy, but it will always produce better results. What exactly does it mean to be consistent? I would say that Merriam-Websters dictionary probably says it best… “Consistent - Marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.” Staying consistent will mean a number of things to you as you grow your business. To clients, you will appear reliable, dependable, capable, and steady. To your employees, you will appear congruous and constant. Consistency makes up a huge part of what causes a business to be successful, and achieving consistency will bring you a step closer to realizing this success on your own terms. We are going to explore 4 tips that can help you to become even more consistent each and every day. Some of these tips might seem like no-brainers; however, following them faithfully can have a dramatic impact on the outcome of any project that you might be working on, be it large or small. 1… Create and Execute a Game Plan Having a set plan is absolutely essential to staying consistent. Without a firmly established success road map, you could very easily veer off course. This could cause variation in any part of your business, even if you are trying as hard as you can to avoid it. In truth, it is really hard to stay focused and regular when you do not have a plan to work from that can help you realize how to get to where you ultimately want to be. To help you consistently execute your plan, you need to make sure you utilize your calendar, so you can stay focused on exactly what needs to be done every day. Does your business have policies and procedures for all of its work-related tasks? Do your employees have access to these procedures? How do you know that your employees have this information, and it is accurate? The failure to have a plan in place is a common-enough occurrence among businesses, but you would be amazed at how many businesses forget about putting together a plan for informing everyone involved, as keeping such information current is important! 2… Encourage Open Communication Have you ever had a team member who asked you a lot of questions or the same questions over and over? Believe it or not, some people naturally get aggravated when they are asked questions, even if they pertain to the important aspects of running the business. But unless this habit is broken and overcome, this kind of communications breakdown could result in setbacks that will hurt you and your company’s success. If you often find yourself annoyed when asked for answers that you feel should be common knowledge, then you really need to take a second look at the situation. Try to be open to any questions that make their way to your ears, and make sure that everyone else, whether they are directly involved or not, knows the answer as well. This is a great time to ensure that the answer to questions is being recorded in a procedures manual that everyone has access to so you don’t need to repeat it in the future. Successful businesses have procedure manuals for every position in the firm. Having a good, positive line of communication is essential to keeping things consistent and reliable. 3… Be Committed One way to achieve consistency is to commit to it. This could mean committing to work until a certain time each day, working by appointment as much as possible (minimize phone tag), completing a specific amount of revenue generation hours each week, or meeting with your employees on a regular basis to reduce distractions and interruptions (be more time efficient). Regardless of what you intend to accomplish or pledge to do, making one or more commitments is likely to affect your business in a positive way. One of the easiest ways to commit to your business is to be as passionate about it as when you first started. If you are having trouble finding

We have all heard that old adage that tells us to ‘work smarter, not harder’. While you probably remember someone telling you this while you helped with chores on the farm, it can sometimes be difficult to employ such wisdom to a modern business. How do you do it? What does that even mean in today’s world? When it comes to modern business, this mentality could not be more useful… but truth be told, it can definitely be hard to fit it in if you are not used to it. So, here are three tips that will show you how to work smarter instead of harder in today’s world, so you too can enjoy an even better quality of life. These tips will not only inspire you to attack your duties from a new perspective, but will also encourage you to use your intellect as opposed to your raw, exhaustible physical effort. Tip #1… Streamline the Process Do you find yourself putting vast amounts of time or effort into activities that are performed on a regular, consistent basis? If so, then streamlining these processes could save you a lot of time and effort. Finding the most time-effective and energy efficient way to get daily tasks accomplished is not only a way to ‘work smarter’, but is also a way to save your business valuable time and money… and if you are the boss, then it is up to you to come up with such methods for the areas you are responsible for! Every team member should have systems and processes for ALL of their respective areas. This can help to reduce training time and the time it takes to replace employees, either on a permanent or a temporary basis. Start by looking at everything that needs to be done and by identifying the areas of the greatest wasted effort or resources. How can you arrange or delegate activities so that they can be completed as efficiently as possible by the best person for each task? One example might be moving boxes from one end of the warehouse to the other. Instead of picking each one up and moving it individually, is it possible to pick up the entire pallet and just move them with a wheeled goose in one trip? Some situations might require some brainstorming, but keep in mind that there are always easier ways to do things… all you have to do to both save your company money and make your life just a little bit easier, is to discover a way to streamline the process, so that you eliminate excess effort. With current technology and continual advancements, you should always be open to new ideas. Tip #2... Use Your ‘Brain’, Not Your Back Try to find smarter ways of doing things, as opposed to methods that are going to cause you literal physical exhaustion. This can mean a number of things, and can be applied to a lot of areas of business. One example might be paperwork. While paperwork might not physically wear down your muscles, it CAN wear you down in general if you get buried beneath an entire pile of it! If at all possible, try to find a smarter way to get it all done so that you are not stuck in the office. One way might be to train someone else to help you with it. Or, you could try to take it with you and do it during odd ‘down times’ during the day. Consider implementing resources like Paper Tiger (http://www.thepapertiger.com/) or tools such as this to help you. Scanning papers into your system so that all of your files are electronically stored is also an option that many have been using for years. Your average day is probably filled with opportunities to use your brain instead of your brawn, so make the most of these opportunities by taking advantage of your intellect and the intellect of those around you… and don’t be afraid to ask for ideas and help from peers and mentors in the process. Tip #3… Set and Accomplish Daily Goals Setting daily goals for yourself can eliminate the temptation to do ‘everything’ at once or in a single day. By focusing your efforts on only the things that matter TODAY, you can save your energy for tasks that truly require your attention and that only you can do (those t

We have all heard that old adage that tells us to ‘work smarter, not harder’. While you probably remember someone telling you this while you helped with chores on the farm, it can sometimes be difficult to employ such wisdom to a modern business. How do you do it? What does that even mean in today’s world? When it comes to modern business, this mentality could not be more useful… but truth be told, it can definitely be hard to fit it in if you are not used to it. So, here are three tips that will show you how to work smarter instead of harder in today’s world, so you too can enjoy an even better quality of life. These tips will not only inspire you to attack your duties from a new perspective, but will also encourage you to use your intellect as opposed to your raw, exhaustible physical effort. Tip #1… Streamline the Process Do you find yourself putting vast amounts of time or effort into activities that are performed on a regular, consistent basis? If so, then streamlining these processes could save you a lot of time and effort. Finding the most time-effective and energy efficient way to get daily tasks accomplished is not only a way to ‘work smarter’, but is also a way to save your business valuable time and money… and if you are the boss, then it is up to you to come up with such methods for the areas you are responsible for! Every team member should have systems and processes for ALL of their respective areas. This can help to reduce training time and the time it takes to replace employees, either on a permanent or a temporary basis. Start by looking at everything that needs to be done and by identifying the areas of the greatest wasted effort or resources. How can you arrange or delegate activities so that they can be completed as efficiently as possible by the best person for each task? One example might be moving boxes from one end of the warehouse to the other. Instead of picking each one up and moving it individually, is it possible to pick up the entire pallet and just move them with a wheeled goose in one trip? Some situations might require some brainstorming, but keep in mind that there are always easier ways to do things… all you have to do to both save your company money and make your life just a little bit easier, is to discover a way to streamline the process, so that you eliminate excess effort. With current technology and continual advancements, you should always be open to new ideas. Tip #2... Use Your ‘Brain’, Not Your Back Try to find smarter ways of doing things, as opposed to methods that are going to cause you literal physical exhaustion. This can mean a number of things, and can be applied to a lot of areas of business. One example might be paperwork. While paperwork might not physically wear down your muscles, it CAN wear you down in general if you get buried beneath an entire pile of it! If at all possible, try to find a smarter way to get it all done so that you are not stuck in the office. One way might be to train someone else to help you with it. Or, you could try to take it with you and do it during odd ‘down times’ during the day. Consider implementing resources like Paper Tiger (http://www.thepapertiger.com/) or tools such as this to help you. Scanning papers into your system so that all of your files are electronically stored is also an option that many have been using for years. Your average day is probably filled with opportunities to use your brain instead of your brawn, so make the most of these opportunities by taking advantage of your intellect and the intellect of those around you… and don’t be afraid to ask for ideas and help from peers and mentors in the process. Tip #3… Set and Accomplish Daily Goals Setting daily goals for yourself can eliminate the temptation to do ‘everything’ at once or in a single day. By focusing your efforts on only the things that matter TODAY, you can save your energy for tasks that truly require your attention and that only you can do (those t

10 Quick and Easy Tips for Beating Procrastination Procrastination is no joke. Putting things off until later can spell ruin for even the most successful businessperson… which is EXACTLY why it is a problem that you should make an effort to continually deal with when you notice it negatively affecting your results. If you suffer from procrastination, then you undoubtedly know that it can be extremely troublesome. You no doubt want to work hard and get things done, but some people find this more difficult to do than others. If you are one of those people, then this podcast is for you! Here are 10 quick and easy tips for beating procrastination. Winning this battle doesn’t have to be rocket science or making it harder than it needs to be. Sometimes, finding a little bit of help (like these tips) is all that you need to tip the scales back to your favor! Tip #1… Get Up and Get Going If you feel the urge to procrastinate coming upon you, then sometimes the best thing to do is to get up and get moving – don’t let yourself put off what you need to do. The minute you start to deviate from what you know you need to be doing is exactly when you need to take a deep breath, and just do it. Stop letting those typical excuses to stop you from getting going! Changing scenery can often change your frame of mind, and you might find that going for a walk, taking a jog, or even grabbing a cup of coffee can help you to clear your mind and get you back on track to getting things done. (Just don’t do it too often, as doing this EVERY TIME you get the urge to procrastinate can actually become procrastination itself.) Tip #2… Wake Up Earlier Waking up earlier in the day can often improve your odds of getting things accomplished. More productive people are generally out and about during the early morning hours, and you will likely find the atmosphere a lot more conducive to productivity than the atmosphere of the early afternoon or evening hours. Get up earlier to exercise, stretch, meditate, and get those juices flowing to immediately tackle your highest payoff activities the moment you arrive at work. Tip #3… Clean and Organize as You Go Sometimes we get so surrounded by clutter and chaos that we end up getting defeated before we begin. Looking around you and seeing a mess is usually never conducive to productivity, which is why it can really pay to keep things clean and tidy as your day progresses. Five or ten minutes spent prioritizing your activities can pay big dividends as the day goes on. Tip #4… Get Away from the TV Did you know that TV is one of the biggest causes for procrastination among entrepreneurs who often work from home? Having a lot of channels and a list of favorite shows is nice, but not if it distracts you from getting everything done that you need to do! Record your favorite shows and only allow yourself to watch them AFTER you have your most critical activities done for the day. I strongly recommend you stop watching the news. There are so many more negative stories than positive ones that it can negatively affect your mood, and who wants to be in a “bad” mood? Tip #5… Schedule Specific Blocks of Time in Which to Get Things Done Setting up a daily schedule can be a great way to stop procrastination before it starts. Having a plan in place will not only give you a sense of direction, but will make your day seem more achievable as well. Do the activities that bring you the best results first is usually a great way to start the day. In fact, Brian Tracy has a GREAT analogy on this subject. “Eat That Frog!” Think about this… what if the first thing that you did everyday was to eat a live frog? It sounds gross. In fact, it would probably be the worst thing that you have to do all day. But, if you ate the frog first thing in the morning, you could effectively say that the worst part of your day was behind you! The point of this analogy is that if you do the worst things first, you will find

10 Quick and Easy Tips for Beating Procrastination Procrastination is no joke. Putting things off until later can spell ruin for even the most successful businessperson… which is EXACTLY why it is a problem that you should make an effort to continually deal with when you notice it negatively affecting your results. If you suffer from procrastination, then you undoubtedly know that it can be extremely troublesome. You no doubt want to work hard and get things done, but some people find this more difficult to do than others. If you are one of those people, then this podcast is for you! Here are 10 quick and easy tips for beating procrastination. Winning this battle doesn’t have to be rocket science or making it harder than it needs to be. Sometimes, finding a little bit of help (like these tips) is all that you need to tip the scales back to your favor! Tip #1… Get Up and Get Going If you feel the urge to procrastinate coming upon you, then sometimes the best thing to do is to get up and get moving – don’t let yourself put off what you need to do. The minute you start to deviate from what you know you need to be doing is exactly when you need to take a deep breath, and just do it. Stop letting those typical excuses to stop you from getting going! Changing scenery can often change your frame of mind, and you might find that going for a walk, taking a jog, or even grabbing a cup of coffee can help you to clear your mind and get you back on track to getting things done. (Just don’t do it too often, as doing this EVERY TIME you get the urge to procrastinate can actually become procrastination itself.) Tip #2… Wake Up Earlier Waking up earlier in the day can often improve your odds of getting things accomplished. More productive people are generally out and about during the early morning hours, and you will likely find the atmosphere a lot more conducive to productivity than the atmosphere of the early afternoon or evening hours. Get up earlier to exercise, stretch, meditate, and get those juices flowing to immediately tackle your highest payoff activities the moment you arrive at work. Tip #3… Clean and Organize as You Go Sometimes we get so surrounded by clutter and chaos that we end up getting defeated before we begin. Looking around you and seeing a mess is usually never conducive to productivity, which is why it can really pay to keep things clean and tidy as your day progresses. Five or ten minutes spent prioritizing your activities can pay big dividends as the day goes on. Tip #4… Get Away from the TV Did you know that TV is one of the biggest causes for procrastination among entrepreneurs who often work from home? Having a lot of channels and a list of favorite shows is nice, but not if it distracts you from getting everything done that you need to do! Record your favorite shows and only allow yourself to watch them AFTER you have your most critical activities done for the day. I strongly recommend you stop watching the news. There are so many more negative stories than positive ones that it can negatively affect your mood, and who wants to be in a “bad” mood? Tip #5… Schedule Specific Blocks of Time in Which to Get Things Done Setting up a daily schedule can be a great way to stop procrastination before it starts. Having a plan in place will not only give you a sense of direction, but will make your day seem more achievable as well. Do the activities that bring you the best results first is usually a great way to start the day. In fact, Brian Tracy has a GREAT analogy on this subject. “Eat That Frog!” Think about this… what if the first thing that you did everyday was to eat a live frog? It sounds gross. In fact, it would probably be the worst thing that you have to do all day. But, if you ate the frog first thing in the morning, you could effectively say that the worst part of your day was behind you! The point of this analogy is that if you do the worst things first, you will find

Staying in shape while trying to run a business can definitely be a challenge. When you are so busy getting everything done, what time do you have left to exercise or go to the gym? If you are struggling with getting enough exercise to stay in shape or get in shape, then here are some tips that might definitely help you! These tips are easy to implement, take very little time, and will definitely help you to stay in shape as you invest your energy into getting your business to the next level. “Discipline is doing what you know you should do at the time you should do it, even if you don’t feel like it.” – Rowena Szeszeran-McEvoy, Fitness Educator Ride a Bike Some people live fairly close to their place of business so that they can be there without spending too much time commuting. If this is true for you, then you could definitely make use of this tip! Start riding a bike to work instead of taking the bus or driving your vehicle. This can give you a regular amount of exercise each day, and may not take you that much longer than your normal commute. You would be surprised at how quickly you can get to work on a bike! Plus, it can save you money on gas, and is also a habit that will keep the planet cleaner by limiting your carbon footprint. It is really a win-win on all fronts! Join a biking group to add a little accountability. Doing exercise with others sometimes helps to motivate you to get out there and get moving. Stand Up A lot of business owners find themselves sitting for prolonged periods of time during the day, which is definitely part of the problem when you start to talk about fitness. Since you, as an entrepreneur, are so vital to the success of your own business, and because your presence might be needed at a desk for most of the day, it can be difficult to find time away from it all to get some exercise. However, even though it is difficult to find the time necessary, you can still ‘tweak’ the rules in your favor with this incredibly easy tip that will save you a LOT of time and that can really help to contribute to your overall fitness… just stand up! When you talk on the phone, go to meetings, or read documents, practice standing up and pacing in your office instead of sitting at the desk. This behavior might seem foreign to you at first, but it is actually a great way to get the blood flowing in during the day. When it comes to exercise, every little bit helps… and this is a simple step that anyone can utilize to get better results out of your time spent at work. You can also quickly and easily do 100 sit-ups and 50 pushups once a day to get your heart pumping. Get Up 30 minutes or an Hour Earlier One great idea for getting in an extra workout is to get up 30 minutes to an hour earlier and use that time specifically for fitness purposes. This can be done once a week, twice a week, or even every day… depending upon how often you want to work out each week to get started. You could use this time to hit the local gym, to take a morning run, to lift weights, or you could rotate your options to mix it up on different days. Getting up earlier is a great option because you will probably find that fewer people will try to bother you or pull you away than would if you tried to work out at a different part of the day. Getting your heart pumping a little harder first thing in the morning can help you start the day in an even better mood. Work Out on Your Lunch Break If your schedule allows, you could take an extended lunch and hit the gym for a half an hour before returning to work. Getting some exercise in and taking a quick shower before hitting the grind for the second half of the day can not only lead to better fitness, but can also lead to you feeling more energized during the part of the day when a lot of people are tired and dragging. Take Up a Sport If you have trouble sticking to a typical workout routine, then you might want to take up a sport. Tennis, basketball, boxing, and soccer are all very ex

Staying in shape while trying to run a business can definitely be a challenge. When you are so busy getting everything done, what time do you have left to exercise or go to the gym? If you are struggling with getting enough exercise to stay in shape or get in shape, then here are some tips that might definitely help you! These tips are easy to implement, take very little time, and will definitely help you to stay in shape as you invest your energy into getting your business to the next level. “Discipline is doing what you know you should do at the time you should do it, even if you don’t feel like it.” – Rowena Szeszeran-McEvoy, Fitness Educator Ride a Bike Some people live fairly close to their place of business so that they can be there without spending too much time commuting. If this is true for you, then you could definitely make use of this tip! Start riding a bike to work instead of taking the bus or driving your vehicle. This can give you a regular amount of exercise each day, and may not take you that much longer than your normal commute. You would be surprised at how quickly you can get to work on a bike! Plus, it can save you money on gas, and is also a habit that will keep the planet cleaner by limiting your carbon footprint. It is really a win-win on all fronts! Join a biking group to add a little accountability. Doing exercise with others sometimes helps to motivate you to get out there and get moving. Stand Up A lot of business owners find themselves sitting for prolonged periods of time during the day, which is definitely part of the problem when you start to talk about fitness. Since you, as an entrepreneur, are so vital to the success of your own business, and because your presence might be needed at a desk for most of the day, it can be difficult to find time away from it all to get some exercise. However, even though it is difficult to find the time necessary, you can still ‘tweak’ the rules in your favor with this incredibly easy tip that will save you a LOT of time and that can really help to contribute to your overall fitness… just stand up! When you talk on the phone, go to meetings, or read documents, practice standing up and pacing in your office instead of sitting at the desk. This behavior might seem foreign to you at first, but it is actually a great way to get the blood flowing in during the day. When it comes to exercise, every little bit helps… and this is a simple step that anyone can utilize to get better results out of your time spent at work. You can also quickly and easily do 100 sit-ups and 50 pushups once a day to get your heart pumping. Get Up 30 minutes or an Hour Earlier One great idea for getting in an extra workout is to get up 30 minutes to an hour earlier and use that time specifically for fitness purposes. This can be done once a week, twice a week, or even every day… depending upon how often you want to work out each week to get started. You could use this time to hit the local gym, to take a morning run, to lift weights, or you could rotate your options to mix it up on different days. Getting up earlier is a great option because you will probably find that fewer people will try to bother you or pull you away than would if you tried to work out at a different part of the day. Getting your heart pumping a little harder first thing in the morning can help you start the day in an even better mood. Work Out on Your Lunch Break If your schedule allows, you could take an extended lunch and hit the gym for a half an hour before returning to work. Getting some exercise in and taking a quick shower before hitting the grind for the second half of the day can not only lead to better fitness, but can also lead to you feeling more energized during the part of the day when a lot of people are tired and dragging. Take Up a Sport If you have trouble sticking to a typical workout routine, then you might want to take up a sport. Tennis, basketball, boxing, and soccer are all very ex