The Power of Investing In Yourself

Do you have a personal development plan? One where you continuously invest in yourself by up-skilling and cross skilling. There are so many options available these days, Some options will require you to invest your time & some money whilst some other options you can invest in yourself with minimal financial outlay however you will have to put in some time and effort. Depending on what you invest in, will determine the results you get and the return on your investment.

If you currently don't have a significant amount of money available currently, don't worry because there are some options for you.

Below are ways that you can invest in yourself at minimal cost;

1. Purchase & Read books on new topics to expand your knowledge in your current area of specialty or in other areas that could give you a new streams of income.

2. Research on the internet for free courses

3. Visit Youtube. There are many free videos that have some valuable content

4. Watch documentaries

5. Subscribe to forums

The challenge with the above options is that unless you map out your plan, it can get time consuming and can be confusing depending on the quality of the information you find! In addition to that you need manage this within your own schedule and you must keep your self accountable to stay on track.

As an alternative and for a financial investment, If you really want to accelerate your personal development and get access to new streams of income, I would suggest you investigate the following options;

1. Look for income generating businesses that leverage the internet & social media and find an expert who has had success in this area.

2. Attend courses by experts in the specific area you want to enhance your skills and knowledge or learn new skills

3. Get a coach or a mentor!

The advantage of getting a coach or a mentor is that they can not only raise your awareness and give you perspective, they can assist you with strategies and help you reach your goals and keep you on track throughout the process. A good coach or mentor will be able to get the best out of you and guide you through to success! Many people are now engaging the services of life coaches and business coaches as part of their personal development plans and are getting some great results.

No matter how you decide to invest in yourself.. one thing is certain, you must invest in yourself to thrive in today's changing economy!

Simon Boutros is a Life & Business Coach, Strategist & Consultant certified in NLP, Hypnotherapy & Time Line Therapy. For more resources and articles go to http://www.successinc.com.au/

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Procrastination Kills Progress!

I find it quite ironic that as we get older, and our responsibilities and "to-do" list gets longer, our bodies become increasingly more tired and lethargic. Even the most motivated, energetic, fit and nutritionally aware adults that I know, don't have the energy of my nine year old.

Children seem to have a never ending supply of energy. In fact, they CAN'T stand, or sit, still even if they try!

My children will run up and down the stairs in our home, for the tiniest reason, without even giving it a second thought. There is no consideration to the fact they have done so ten times in the past twenty minutes. Yet, for me as an adult, if I've been up and down the stairs more than half a dozen times in the morning I can feel the frustration rising. I get agitated at myself for not being more organised, or I feel angst as I rush up there AGAIN! Do you think that's ironic?

Procrastination for me occurs when there are things that I really don't want to, I don't know how to do with confidence, or there is little or no reward for me, when I actually do get it done.

The unfortunate thing about procrastination is it doesn't help anything, or anyone. In fact, if we be totally honest, procrastination could actually be what is holding you back in your life, your business, your relationships or your career.

Generally procrastination results in us not achieving our goals, it sends mixed messages to the people around us because quite often our procrastination effects others, and it creates distrust. Distrust in ourselves, and with others. No one wins with procrastination. The "thing" that you put off, push to the side, try to forget about, or "will do tomorrow" hangs over you.

For me, when I put something off, just for the sake of not wanting to do it, it changes my mood. It makes me feel less successful and disappointed with myself for not "just do"ing it, and more often than not - it affects my sleep. I always sleep better when I know I am on top of everything I promised myself I would do.

So to avoid bringing myself down with procrastination there are three things I do:

1. I have a "to do" list - this sounds archaic and so simple it couldn't possibly work, but it does. I have it on my wall, on a white board, where I can see it. If I can't see it, it becomes out of sight out of mind - so I have to be able to see it. And I use a whiteboard because sometimes priorities change. So if somethings happens throughout the day, and an item becomes more or less important I can reprioritize the list.

I make sure my list is achievable. I don't overload the list to be unachievable, overwhelming or daunting.

Then I prioritise the list, so that I know the first things I'm doing are the most important (even though they may not be the most fun to do!). So long as I get the most important tasks done I know I will be able to celebrate success at the end of the day.

2. I give myself credit. Another simple sounding technique I know, but let me explain why. The tasks that I tend to procrastinate on are the tasks I don't enjoy, I don't get a sense of satisfaction when I complete them, they frustrate me and/or I'm not confident in doing. So when I do do them, rather than mutter to myself "Thank goodness that's over", I reward myself with a moment of recognition, enjoyment and satisfaction.

Sometimes that involves walking over to my white board and putting a big tick next to it, maybe a tweet or status update to recognise my efforts, or sometimes I even give myself permission to finish early (you can do that when you are your own boss). The important thing is to actually recognise getting the task done. The secondary benefit of doing so is next time you have to do the same thing you won't have such dreadful thoughts and memories of last time. You subconscious will actually connect with the positive feelings you experienced when you finished the activity - so there is twofold benefit.

3. The most powerful strategy I can recommend for overcoming procrastination is to have somebody keep you accountable. I have a business coach and am a member of a mastermind group. When I make a commitment to these people, I know I have to do all of the things necessary to achieve my goals; and I know my coach and my mastermind members will be waiting for my status report. That is my greatest motivator and incentive to just get things done - and get over the procrastination!

My strategies for dealing with procrastination have worked for me and enabled me to achieve things I never thought possible. Being a working parent, as many of you probably are, there really is no time in our days for procrastination.

Of course avoiding procrastination is not the only thing that has helped me achieve, it has to go hand in hand with other strategies to remain motivated and keep moving forward, but overcoming procrastination makes a huge difference to my productivity and my energy levels.

Written by Francine Bishop. Francine is the founder of Social Media Mayvin, providing coaching to small business owners to get past the overwhelm and make more money, do less work and have fun along the way. Visit http://www.socialmediamayvin.com/ for your free audio CD giving you the 7 step system to small business success, including how you can systemise, socialise and monetise more than ever before.

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Life Coaching Vs Counselling

"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." - Ben Sweetland

Counselling

What is counselling?

Counselling is opinions or instructions given in directing the judgment or conduct of the client while at the same time listening to the client. It is a way of relating and responding to the client in order to help them explore, clarify and work towards resolving issues in their life. Counseling tends to look at the past, processing feelings, and attempting to understand why the client is having difficulty with particular issues in their life. It is about helping the client process, understand and resolve these issues in order to live more fully in the present.

Who comes to counselling? Clients come from all walks of life and all occupations; they come both young and old. Clients generally come to counseling when they are having emotional difficulties with a specific issue. Clients coming for counseling see no light at the end of the tunnel. Clients often have bottled up feelings such as anger, grief, anxiety which have become so intense that they need help to process these feelings. Clients come when they suffer from issues like eating disorders or addictions such as alcoholism or smoking. There are others who have experienced abuse; verbal, emotional, physical or sexual in their childhood or as adults Some people may be just unhappy about the way their life is going, some may be experiencing difficulties at work, school or at home. Others may have just learnt about a diagnosis of illness or disability relating to them or those close to them.

Counsellor:

A person who gives counsel, and advice. The counselor is almost always considered the expert. The core competencies of counsellors are a genuine acceptance of people without judgement. Most counsellors will have had a substantial education and have a broad knowledge and experience of the issues they counsel on. They are supportive and strive to understand thoughts and feelings from the client's point of view.

Where does counselling take place? Counselling usually takes place in a safe and confidential setting however these days people are opting for online counseling also.

Coaching

"Everything can be taken from a man but...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." (p.104Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl)

What is coaching?

The name coaching comes from sport, the title going to the person who has the special task and responsibility for training sports people and teams to achieve peak performance and to win. No team or athlete would consider achieving excellence and winning tournaments without a coach. Coaching is a relatively new profession taking off in the eighties, starting out in a business environment coaching is now widespread and used in every area of a client's life. In coaching the client is held accountable, it is all about the client's agenda and the whole process is focused on getting the results the client wants. Coaching begins where the client is now in the present and helps the client setting and achieving their specific goals. Coaching is about improving performance, it is about self awareness and it is about making choices. Coaching is about living more fully in the present with the future in mind.

According to the ICF (international coach Federation), coaching can be defined as "an ongoing partnership that helps clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life".

Another definition from the authors of Co-Active coaching "Coaching is chiefly about discovery, awareness and choice. It is a way of effectively empowering people to find their own answers, encouraging and supporting them on a path as they continue to make important choices"

Who comes to coaching?

Clients come from all walks of life and all occupations; they come both young and old. Large corporations down to small businesses come for group coaching. Basically anyone who is seeking solutions, seeking to improve their performance and sometimes reaching for excellence come for coaching. People come because they want things to be different; they are looking for positive constructive change in their lives. They come because they have important goals to reach, goals: to start a new business, to get a new job, to buy a new house, to loose weight. People come to coaching because they want more order and balance in their lives. People come because they want fulfillment, happiness, joy or fun from life. They also come because they want less stress, less confusion or less financial pressures in life.

"You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within." Bob Nelson

Coach:

The coach is a person with a set of skills they use to support and encourage clients in setting and achieving goals. The coach and client are active collaborators; they form an alliance between two equals. The coach and client design their working relationship. The coach holds the client accountable knowing that the client has the answers or can find the answers. The coach is always responding to the client's answer aware that every answer provides information where to go next. The coach keeps them moving forward towards their dreams and goals.

The core competencies of a coach are a genuine acceptance of people without judgment focused listening with the client's agenda in mind. One of the most important qualities of a coach is truthfulness, if clients are going to risk making change, they must feel confident to talk freely with their coach.

Conclusion

Having assessed the difference between coaching and counselling there can be no confusion between the two roles. Coaching and counseling can't work together effectively. There is an obvious role for counselling and if a client needs counselling a good coach will recommend the client seeks this before proceeding to coaching. The opposite would be great, if at the end of a counselling program a good counselor would then recommend coaching to their client in order that they might have a better quality of life.

Tommy Macken

http://goforlifecoaching.com/

Tommy is the author / designer of the indirect '28 days to success' coaching program. get his Free eBook 28 days to success

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Having a Nice Day?

"The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss." -Thomas Carlyle

When you wake up in the morning, how do you feel? Besides tired! Are you excited about anything? Are you looking forward to your day and what you are going to do? Do you anticipate something good happening? Or, do you have a blasé attitude, like oh boy, another day of living the dream? Do you dread your day and wish you were going to bed instead of getting out of it?

Believe it or not you can begin to have better days when you stop getting up on the wrong side of the bed. There is a side to life that you may not be experiencing because you are so caught up in the past, are so full of worry and fear and you stopped dreaming a long time ago.

You fill your mind with the same old woe-is-me crap that it's no wonder you aren't really enjoying life. The negative rhetoric that goes off in your mind is paving the way for how your day is going to turn out. Half the time you do it on auto-pilot; it's a habit. You know no other way. And, it causes you to miss out on the right side of life.

We all have "stuff" going on in our lives. We all have walked down the road paved with heartache, failure, missed opportunities, fear, disappointments etc. and once you've walked down that path it makes you a stronger, wiser person, if, you let it.

Some people stay on that road for a lifetime, by wallowing in what happened to them and why. They choose to never exit off of the bumpy, potholed, darkened highway and continue living in misery and pain. Or, if they've had enough, at any time that can get off the Highway of the Past and move out onto the road to a better, brighter future.

Which direction do you want to take your life in? What side of the bed do you want to get up on? Here's the good news, it up to you to choose. It's 100% your choice as to what path you take and what attitude you walk through life holding on to.

No one is forcing you to think the kinds of limiting, depressing thoughts that keep you stuck in the past. You are the driver. You choose which path to take, you choose what thoughts you will think and you decide how you are going to handle adversity when it knocks at your door.

Whatever you believe about your life and how it's going to turn out, you're right. Your beliefs about anything and everything are exactly how you are going to experience your life. No matter what is going on in your life right now, you still have the ability to choose how you are going to look at it.

You can let it eat you up and ruin your day or you can spit it out and have a great day! Letting go will set you on a new path. Have faith that you are being guided where you need to be and that everything will work out.

And, each day when you wake up look for the good in your life, be grateful for all that you have and put a smile on your face because you know that you are about to have a really great day!

Do you want to find out more about how to stop wasting your time and begin living your best life now. Visit Susan's site. Susan's work has inspired people from all over the world to take back their power! Learn the secrets in her new book: "The 7 Keys to Unlock the Power Within You." We all make decisions everyday, why not make the decision to live a better life starting now?

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Embrace Your Quirkiness to Uncover Your Passions, Discover and Design the Life You Love

If you are reading this article you are probably what I call an "Unconventional Creative." You may not even know you are one of these creative people if you look traditional on the outside. Oftentimes the Unconventionally Creative have been judged or told their ideas or perspectives are odd, wrong or implausible. You may doubt yourself.

Unconventional Creatives are often late bloomers because they march to a different drummer.

Think Back: When you were younger you may have embraced your unique qualities and simply enjoyed them.

Take my young neighbor friend, Lila. She's 11 years-old and un-self-consciously in touch with her individuality. Her gene pool is a unique combo of three very different cultures-middle eastern and Scandinavian-she's world traveled, very articulate, she knows what she likes, what she's good at and she's in touch with her dreams for the future. Yet she's still a delightful, sometimes observant, very sweet, seemingly shy, pre-adolescent girl.

Think Back: Your younger uniqueness, quirky interests and curiosity probably fed what we call your passions. Passions-when appropriately supported and guided-can flow into and develop into lifelong dreams, activities, relationships and professions.

Right now its obvious Lila loves animals and wants to become an interior designer. Recently she was forthright, confident and spot-on as she gave me feedback about color choice for a counter top I am considering for my new office! She spoke and interacted with my need for feedback much as one of my adult women friends or an interior designer would respond.

Think Back: How were your unique characteristics and interests supported, encouraged and guided when you were younger? Who have been your mentors and guides through the years? Who do you turn to for support now?

Lila's dreams and individuality have been supported and encouraged by the adults in her life. She is provided many resources, a vast array of people and exposure to many unique experiences that have fed her creativity, developed her confidence and curiosity about the world.

All this uniqueness and quirkiness are aspects of her individuality. And at this age she fully embraces it! If her individuality is not hindered, and if her dreams continue to be guided and supported by the adults in her world as they are now, Lila will confidently do well in her adulthood.

Studies have shown that preadolescence is a time when you fully embrace your individuality, if it's not been tampered with, judged, putdown, squelched or squashed.

Think Back:

You may have retained and developed your uniqueness: What has helped you to do so and how does it show in your life today? Are you fully shining your unique gifts into the world? If not, what's in your way?You may have felt the need to hide your uniqueness under a bushel basket and keep it private so no one will judge, squash or squelch it: As an adult are you still hiding it? How do you handle it when people judge your uniqueness today? What support do you need to become as unique as you truly are-to shine your gifts fully into the world?You may not have felt the support and freedom to be your self, even when young: If so you may still struggle with self-doubt or deny you are competent, capable, creative and gifted. If so, it's important not to buy into this falsehood. It's time to reach out and get support to uncover your unique gifts!

It's never too late to embrace your uniqueness, individuality and quirkiness:

In fact I encourage you to do so. It's your job.

Like I told Barb the other day during our coaching session, "It's your job to uncover and discover and develop your unique individuality! It is never too late."

Barb's coming out of a verbally judgmental and unsupportive long term marriage. She was also unsupported in many ways during her growing up years. Yet she has quietly developed as a leader in her profession and is highly valued and supported by her superiors. Her pattern has been to quietly hide her goals and dreams to protect them-which is a good thing in negative circumstances. At least she doesn't give up on them! On the other hand she's at a point in her life where it leaves her feeling isolated, lonely, and fearful of her future. And she's ready to come out of hiding.

Find people who validate your uniqueness and individuality.

As I validated Barb's unique talents, she quickly brightened and sat up more confidently. I simply highlighted her gifts and the dreams for a future she has safely kept close to her heart.

All of her current dreams are very do-able! She just needs to connect with like-minded people, develop a step-by-step plan and create a support system to help her as she steps into the coming 1 -2 years post divorce.

Barb's had very specific dreams and desires to "retire" at 50, go back to school and start a whole new career that builds on the expertise of her current job. In her marriage, Barb's interests were judged as bad or wrong. She learned to not feel okay or proud of herself. Yet she knows what she enjoys doing in her spare time. She simply needs like-minded people to share in a social life doing things she enjoys.

Now she wants to embrace her uniqueness. It fuels her passions and will help her achieve her goals.

Your individuality is at the root of your creativity. It's where you'll find the seeds of your unique passions. These passions, interests, curiosities are clues to the future you long to create.

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Using Humour to Lighten the Load

Now Who's Laughing?

I doubt that Sigmund Freud was ever the funniest guy at the dinner party.

He famously claimed that women don't need a sense of humour because they have fewer strong feelings to repress. Then, a few years ago, British writer and notorious chain yanker, Christopher Hitchens, got a lot of us 'sisters' riled when he wrote in Vanity Fair that 'women just aren't funny'.

Uh, excuse me. Tina Faye is not hilarious funny?

A surprising amount has been researched and written on the subject and I recently went to a presentation on the psychology of humour and the gender.

Apparently, women comedians don't get as many laughs as their male counterparts. Even in comedy, it seems, we do have greater hurdles to success.

I was also surprised to hear that the most laughter comes from male comedians with a female audience. The next highest on the laughter meter is a male comedian with a male audience, and third in line is a female comedian with a female audience. Finally, a woman comedian with male audience gets the fewest laughs. Why is this?

The theory is that men are trained to interrupt and be the center of attention, so they are more comfortable pouring out their stories than passively waiting for others to tell them. In other words, men are socialized to dominate conversation, while women are raised to be good listeners.

Now This is Funny

I just saw the movie, "Bridesmaids," and I did LOL along with the rest of the packed movie theatre. The bridesmaids in this story indulging in antics typically reserved for men. The men in the audience were there laughing (or squirming) right along side the women.

It is a watershed movie and is busting down the barriers between the genders. And, it is proof women are funny...hilarious in fact. Take that Sigmund Freud!

Freud's claim that women aren't funny is consistent with an article in the New Yorker which said, "Studio executives believe that male moviegoers would rather prep for a colonoscopy than experience a woman's point of view, particularly if the woman drinks, or swears or has a great job or an orgasm."

I am happy to say that the laughter, coming from the guys sitting next to me at the "Bridesmaids," proves them wrong. It demonstrates that women do things beyond shopping and even do things that are usually considered men's territory.

Laughs related to bodily functions have historically been considered the domain of men. However, in the "Bridesmaids," these women eliminate from all orifices in a snobby bridal establishment after eating in a questionable restaurant. (I admit that bathroom humour tickles me.)

Our dirty little secrets have been thrust into the light of day and, once again, the guys next to me didn't reject women doing "male things." Instead, they loved it!

These guys weren't an isolated minority - The Globe and Mail reported that 33 percent of the opening weekend box office was men. Since then, word of mouth has kept its showings sold out.

Movies are a social mirror of our times. And, "Bridesmaids" shows us we are evolving. It breaks down stereo-types revealing that men and women have an ability to cross-over into one another's territories and we can laugh together at one another's predicaments when we do so.

Laughter Works

Making a joke has always been the first step for the human race to find acceptance of a situation. Laughter wipes away shame or stigma.

This is good news for all of us, but particularly for women. Humour has always been my secret weapon to relieve stress, to gain acceptance, and to divert attention from a potential argument.

When I was working in the corporate world, I relied on humour as a way to provide perspective to an issue. Every time I was faced with a catastrophe, I would reassure myself by repeating one of my mother's favorite sayings, "It will make for a good story later," she used to say.

Women are funny, they understand humour. It is not an unassailable male asset.

Women in the workplace should not be offended if they are the target of a good humoured joke - it is part of being part of the group.

Once you are part of the group, the easiest target is yourself. Self-deprecating humour works best. As women, we know that, when we fight aggressively, we may win the battle but most often lose the war. Humour can lighten our load and build support even from the toughest crowds.

After a highly successful career in business, including 26 years with PotashCorp where she was Senior Vice-President, Betty-Ann retired in 2007, the same year that she was named to Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame?. She now works as a speaker, author and mentor and is committed to using her personal and professional experiences to inspire and empower other women. A firm believer in the value women bring to organizations, Betty-Ann explores changing perceptions of male and female roles including candid observations about what she calls "Good Gender Physics" on her blog at http://www.stillettochick.com/. She helps both men and women understand the primary energy of their gender but also accept and appreciate the strengths of their opposite.

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Asking Better Questions of Ourselves

Our self-talk has the effect of either liberating or captivating us - that is, if we haven't already learned how to quiet it or harmonise it in favour of the healing whispers of God.

We can just as easily - any time - commence a form of higher enquiry that will lead to the benefit of virtue: patience, peace, joy, acceptance, courage, and the like.

Some points to make:

1. Rather than accepting statements that occur in our minds, carte blanche, that the devil seeks to sow, we question them; indeed, we question - as a method of thought - more and more.

2. The mode of questioning is the refined exemplification of wisdom, which holds judgment at bay, weighing thoughts with fact, so thinking is filtered by the truth, and therefore we can reap unadulterated blessing. Otherwise, we prejudge and act on assumptions and half-truths.

3. Questioning is the mode of discovery - an outward expression of vision - when too often we become introverted, even fixated, by our perceptions. Questioning swims past the salty, dying creeks of envy, sadness, inferiority and resentment to go with the flow of the river, which is life vouchsafed for the truth.

4. Questioning allows us to remain positive when things are still in doubt. Just how often do we need to keep swimming - as an act of faith - through the murky waters of life?

5. But questioning is still faulty if we don't ask better questions. Better questions have a way about them that climbs over and above our egos. The ability to ask better questions is made available when we broaden our perspective; our needs no longer primary and in front of others' needs.

6. Space is retrieved at the time it is required when we question rather than judge; when we prefer an open mind over a closed one. Open-mindedness is a blessing of joy, confidence and freedom - for both ourselves and others. Questioning, without partiality, is clearly better than judging.

7. Let us also not understate this fact: when we answer other people's queries with questions we highlight that we're listening, we're interested in understanding, and that we also want them to think with us on the topics of discussion too. Questioning encourages genuine dialogue. Asking better questions in these situations is affording our relationships better congruence and closer intimacy, with more satisfactory outcomes.

Questioning as the mode of both self-enquiry and relational enquiry is a basic tool of wisdom; not only should we question more, but we should learn to ask better questions.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). His blogs are at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com/ and http://inspiringbetterlife.blogspot.com/

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