Now ... and now .... and now

"In this moment, right here, you can choose once again, no matter how many times you’ve chosen and defaulted, no matter how many times you said you’d do something and you slacked off. All of those are off on the wayside now, because right now you get to choose again. 

In thirty seconds, it’ll be another “right now,” and you get to choose again. And when you’ve messed up all your integrity tonight, you get to choose again tomorrow."    -- John Roger

  

Life is a series of choices … moment by moment … and that’s where you have your power. You cannot change what is past and the only influence you have on the future is what you choose right now. It is a monumental waste of time to ruminate over the past. 

Take the lessons learned from what happened then and use those lessons in the now to do better. One moment at a time, one day at at time, one action step/project at a time, one call at a time.


What are you choosing right now?


Take Charge – Get Moving!

Love and light,

Diane

 

 

“Don’t compromise yourself.  You’re all you’ve got.” ― Janis Joplin

For many years I've used assessments/tools to help my coaching clients "know themselves" behaviorally. The DiSC profile, the Meyers-Briggs, or StrengthsFinder 2.0 provide excellent reports that identify style, communication preference, and personal characteristics and offer action plans for applying the information. Most of these tools share two basic truths -
1. You have to apply the information to benefit from the tool, and

2. A Strength when overused becomes a weakness.

Unfortunately, a time of transition or change is stressful - and in a stressed state we tend to be and become more of what we already are and overuse our strengths. For example: the analytical person tends to over-analyze and avoid action; the expressive and outgoing individual may rely too much on optimism and not enough on strategy and discipline; the stable amiable worker avoids effective reaching-out actions that might "interrupt" or "disturb" someone they might be networking with; and the directive style, focusing on bottom line results (or lack of results), becomes his/her own worst enemy.

Knowing who you are is a first step. The next step is owning the pitfalls of your personal style or perspective on the world and doing actions that don't necessarily feel good or natural.This is the time to grow, to develop new muscles, to use your strengths and natural gifts to their fullest. Are you an introvert? Read "The Introvert Advantage" by Lancy and begin to recognize new ways to be your truest self and still attain your goals.

Are you a "type A" dominant style? Learn to notice the effect your stressed out style has on people around you - that will give you reason to relax with a deep breath and let go of the need to "get it all done right this instant, regardless of consequences."

Don't compromise who you are. DO use all the best of who you are to achieve your goals in the shortest time and with the best results.

Take Charge -- Get Moving!
Love and light,
Diane

Life on Purpose

"Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose."

— Lance Armstrong

Time - Purpose - Action

That says it all, doesn't it? Most people start with the element of Time to make significant changes in their business, career, or life. Plan your time, save time, do more with time, never enough time, make time, spend time ... tick, tick, tick.

The key to Lance Armstrong's success is more than getting a quick start in the morning. Purpose is the driving force that has taken him to the heights of his sport and his life. 

Purpose: to intend, design, resolve to reach a goal/aim.

What is my purpose today? Am I behaving "on Purpose", or just going through the motions? 

Out of these questions, we can get the clarity of Purpose and turbo-charged intention that drives actions to get results. Start today - then do it again tomorrow, and the next day ....

Love and light,

Diane

Wider Nets for Networking

 

Searching for positions that are already listed on the internet or company website is the accepted and recommended method – there’s a job, I apply and send my resume, then wait for the call to interview. If I’m lucky I can find someone who knows someone in the company to leverage my efforts or sell me to the hiring manager. This is the way most people manage their job search and it works for a lot of us.

Unfortunately in the current market there are far more seekers than openings, so you are competing with tens or hundreds of other candidates for the same few jobs. If you are willing to Ask Bigger* of yourself and your efforts, there is another approach that will widen your network substantially. * What I mean is that you will have to dig deep into your skill and willingness and ask yourself to go much farther than you imagined you could.

One of my business friends sells a product/system that used to be called “Contacts Influential” and now has another name for the web-based version. It is a research tool that gives you everything you would want to know about a business in order to sell a service or product. It gives names and titles for key decision makers. Sales professionals use this information to make an unsolicited approach via letter, email, or phone call and thus widen their business network and make the sale.

Job seekers who are not in the sales/marketing game are often reluctant to make a “cold call” based on this kind of research.  It’s too scary to write or call someone out of the blue and introduce yourself – even if that’s the opportunity that can make all the difference in finding that next career step.

So how do you do it? You request what has been called an “information interview”.  There is a lot of info on the web that will give you the how-tos and the don’ts, or you may want some coaching in one of my groups to get you going.

Bottom line is that if you have been in transition for more than 8 months, you need to widen the net. Challenge yourself to get out of that comfort zone of job boards and asking friends who they know. Ask more of yourself – in fact I would say Demand more of yourself.

Take Charge – Get Moving

And remember, I’m here to offer support and coaching.  livingstonsiegel dot com

Love and light,

Diane

Clear - Concise - Compelling

What do you really want?

What is your unique value?

Tell me about yourself ...

In the last entry I asserted that everyone is OurSelf-Employed. Success depends on our being able and willing to sell "Product Me" in ways that set us apart from the competition.

In networking situations, business owners and career transitioners usually offer routine descriptions of who they are and  what they are selling or looking for. Here's an example: "I am an insurance adjuster and I sell a-b-c-... and today I am looking for people who are interested in a quote." Or "I am an IT professional with expertise in SQL, Java, etc. looking for a company in this geographical area." Ho Hum ... nothing special, not unique, uninteresting, non-compelling, unexciting ... get my drift?


The human brain looks for patterns that are quickly identifiable so it can put your information into a mental manila file folder, file it under "insurance guy" or "IT gal" and close the drawer. It isn't that the information doesn't register, it just doesn't cause the brain to think about it very much. The effect is that you are just another "x" in the file drawer.


What if you could influence the brain of your target audience to process "Product You" a little longer before filing you as data? What if curiosity were stimulated by the way you describe yourself or your service? The person might be sparked to ask you some questions, learn more, even to have a positive emotional response to you!


The photo here could be described as a glass ball resting on a laser pattern - true. That description is clear and concise, but not very compelling! Take a few minutes and think about how you might stimulate more interest in the photo. Then review your "elevator introduction" and make it more compelling. Make sure that your uniqueness and value show up as beautifully as the photo on this post.

Love and light,
Diane

OurSelf .. Employed

"The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are
working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving
force of a career must come from the individual. Remember:
Jobs are owned by the company; you own your career!"
— Earl Nightingale

Who do you work for? Paycheck or not, the truth is that we are all self-employed.

1. EMPLOYED: Working for a company gives a structure, goals, systems, teammates, and rewards defined by the organization.

2. SELF-EMPLOYED: Working in our own business requires self-management to create and invest our time and energy in structure, goals, systems, a team, and rewards defined by us.

3. TRANSITIONING: Working to find or create that next career step requires all of the same things and much more. You are working for yourself without knowing when the payday will arrive.

What I continue to see as I coach 'transitioning people' and employed people unhappy with their work is the battle between knowing and doing. We know that success depends on working as hard as we would in the EMPLOYED state or even the SELF-EMPLOYED state. But the requirement to stay on track day after day, often with very little support is a tall order. 

So let me offer a "reframe" for work in general. Our success ALWAYS depends on DOING what we know needs to be done. Whether we are working toward the next career step, working in a job defined by the company, or working in our self-defined business, the challenge is the same.

Own it! It is your work, your skill and talent put into action.
Focus it! There will always be something to distract or distress you in your work - focus on the task at hand.
DO IT! One step at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time.
CHOOSE IT! Wherever you are, choose to be there rather than fighting it. Do your best right where you are and you will find the path to success.
                                    Take Charge - Get Moving
Love and light,
Diane

Relationship and Rapport

How do you connect with people you meet on the business or career transition path? People often lose valuable opportunities to create new and lasting relationships because they are so busy focusing on what they want that they don't notice what the other person wants. The emphasis is on what they want to say before the other person really wants to listen!

Here are some examples: Do you prefer to start with the big picture or all the details? Do you tend to speak in a fast, energetic style, or are you laid back and studied? The fact is that we each have preferences and a style for communicating ... and we like people who we perceive are mostly like us.

So here's a simple technique to help you be a master at establishing rapport. Pay attention to how the other person tends to behave and speak. Enter into their world and preferences for communicating by matching their patterns. You will find that when you start by establishing rapport, there will be two parties wanting to relate.