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March 3rd, 2010
In our society today, “connections” is a huge buzz word. If you are connected, you are someone who has access to and influence with the “right” people. The “right” people will vary depending on certain situations that arise. It is the connections you have and the amount of influence you have with them, along with your belief in yourself that will provide strength, security, and the means for creating abundance in all areas of your life.
Real and meaningful connections are those which you can call on at a moment’s notice. These vital connections provide non-judgmental support, assistance, creativity and knowledge. Being connected whether in business or personally, provides a sense of ease in your life.
It may be said that connections equal power. It may also be said that connections equal life.
As we know from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, one of the six basic needs is the need for socialization – love, friendship and comradeship. This is a need for love and belonging. This is a need for basic human contact. In fact, this is a need for connection.
The real beauty and value of connections is the way they make you feel. Connections provide security, freedom, opportunity, friendship and grace. Real connections make you feel capable, unstoppable and more expansive than you might otherwise feel as an individual.
Here are 7 tips for making and nurturing real connections in life:
1. Be yourself. Be real. Pretense in any situation can be dangerous. When you meet someone, simply be yourself. You may choose to put your best foot forward and be “your best self” and that is perfect. People who resonate with your personality and energy will be drawn to you. You will find that being yourself at all times, makes for a life filled with ease, grace, and less stress.
2. Be likeable. You know there is a part of you that is truly likeable, engaging and attractive. There is a part of you that people are drawn to and want to be around. If you take stock of how you are “being”, you will know whether you are being charming or uninviting. Always “check your attitude” at the door and choose to be the likeable you!
3. Express gratitude freely. It is said that you learn much about an individual’s character by how she speaks of others. Know that words have power. Any thanks or praise, that you can give about another person gives power to everyone in the transaction. Power is heightened for the individual you share it with, the individual you share it about, and also for you. It is always appropriate to express gratitude.
4. Be present. No matter where you are or what you are doing, give yourself freely to the people that surround you, the task at hand, and the individuals who will be affected by your actions, words, and presence. Put aside the chatter of your mind, clear your plate, and simply be present. Being present is a gift for you and everyone else touched in the moment.
5. Make new connections at every opportunity. Even if you think you don’t have time for another person in your life, think again. There is always room for someone with good energy, an open spirit, and the “right” connections. When you choose to expand the circles of your life, you are choosing to expand yourself. Expansion is exciting, empowering, exhilarating, and fun. You never know where a connection will lead, because you never know who or what anyone knows until you open up to them. The next person you meet may be holding the answer to your questions. She may be the perfect connection for you. Get connected.
6. Reach out and touch someone. The human touch contains more energy than any word, thought or material item. Touching someone makes an instant connection. They will pay closer attention to you, they will feel more a part of the conversation, and they will feel that you care about them. A touch can be a small gesture like a handshake or a hand placed on their arm or shoulder. A touch can also be a bigger gesture like a hug, a kiss or holding hands. No matter the length or intensity, a touch commits your energy to the other person and creates an immediate physical bond. This will create, enhance and strengthen your intellectual and emotional bond and supply meaning to the conversation, the topic and your relationship. Perhaps above all, touching feels good.
7. Use wisely your power of choice. We all have the same 86,400 seconds in each day. How do you use yours? Are you honoring yourself and your time? If you do not have a big, huge “why” for how you are spending your time and who you are sharing it with, and if you are not enjoying yourself, do something else. Seriously, find other people to hang around with, do business with and live with. Move if you have to. Physically move from your space, whether this means taking two steps back or moving to another community. The connections of your life matter. Find something and someone you completely love. Find something and someone who makes your heart sing. Find something and someone who inspires you. When you do, you will know the beauty and joy of real connections. Today is not a dress rehearsal. It’s your life.
Remember this: YOU decide who your connections are. YOU get to choose. Choose to create and nurture connections that serve you. Choose connections that make you feel good. And always, always, choose to enjoy the process. Now, that’s Powerful!
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About Sue Urda:
Sue Urda is Co-Founder of Powerful You! Women’s Network, an Award-Winning Author, Speaker and Inspirer. She is a two-time honoree on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies and has learned the secret of living from her heart. Through Powerful You! Inc, Sue designs venues for women to connect with each other and themselves. You are invited to join Sue’s network, regional and national events: Women Living Consciously Conference, Transformation 2010 National Tour and Powerful You! Women’s Network. Visit Sue’s website at: www.powerfulyou.com
Tags: Add new tag, attitude, choice, connections, creativity, encouragement, finding purpose, gratitude, intentions, Networking, Powerful You!, values, workforce engagement
Posted in Networking
17 Comments »
February 19th, 2010
It’s one of the toughest times ever — both for those out of work and perhaps, even more, for those who have held on to their jobs. The plain fact is that employees need to cover more work with less available resources in order for their companies to survive, let alone thrive. Employers, on the other hand, require employees who understand just how much is at stake and who are just as invested as the top executives are in making things work.
Employers have been able to hold onto top talent because of the poor economy, but that may no longer be enough to retain those high performers, especially when the economic climate improves. The number of Americans who reported being happy with their careers dropped to an all-time low — 45 percent — in a new Conference Board survey that found people are more miserable than ever in nearly every aspect of their work lives.
What can you, as an employer, do to increase motivation and engagement and help those employees you value through challenging times? How can you, as a leader, set the tone and motivate and inspire your team, leading to a happier and more productive workplace? (Remember, when things get better, you don’t want to lose your best workers - retraining and rehiring is an expensive proposition!)
Employees are looking for true leaders…who can talk AND walk like true coaches! “Nothing is better than a leader who understands the value of the coaching process, who learns from his or her own coach, and then takes those skills into the workplace to develop and lead a team,” comments Ed Abel, President of Abel Institute, an international leader in business coaching, whose company develops business owners into powerful business leaders.
Here are just a few great skills that all leaders can develop, courtesy of iPEC Coaching:
• Share the vision and empower employees to contribute their ideas and give feedback. Ask more questions than you answer, and seek to get “buy in” to the plan. Ask questions like, “what does the plan need in order to make it work for you?”
• Don’t make promises you can’t keep – employees appreciate honesty! Level with your team and show that you are committed to helping them.
• Listen to your employees’ concerns, and acknowledge and validate their fears. Focus not only on “what” they say, but on the context of the message (where are they truly coming from? why are saying what they are saying? what does their tone tell you? other non-verbal cues?).
• Celebrate successes and give recognition. Adam Gostick and Chester Elton, in “The Carrot Principle: How Great Managers Use Employee Recognition,” write “For organizations that do it right, it’s a bit like discovering gold in your backyard. Employee recognition, long considered a benefit that costs money, can actually be a management tool that makes money.”
• Find out what internal drivers motivate your employees (it’s not a one size fits all approach) — is it more exposure, creative outlets, time off, etc? What else will speak to their individual needs? Then create opportunities that play to these drivers.
• Lead by example, and with integrity: D. Luke Iorio, President of iPEC Coaching comments, “It’s often been said that true leaders emerge when times are tough – it’s what you do in the difficult times that makes you a leader; and this is when your integrity will be tested the most… When your actions match your message and your decisions match your principles, others view you as genuine, authentic and trustworthy. They will follow your lead.”
Tags: achievement, adversity, attitude, business coach, coach training, encouragement, intentions, leadership, mentor coach, opportunity, workforce engagement
Posted in Business Development, Coaching and Coach Training, Current Affairs, Energy Leadership, Life Potentials
26 Comments »
January 1st, 2010
We’re about to see yet another year pass on the calendar, and a new one begin. And my guess is, you’re about to make another resolution you’re not going to keep. Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity! So let’s try something different this year. Let’s get serious.
1. First, let’s make a promise to yourself.
I’m asking you to make a commitment to yourself. A promise to yourself to go after that change that’s been in the back of your mind, perhaps for the past year, but likely for much longer than that. What dreams or goals have been burning beneath the surface that you would love to go after? What promise do you want to make to yourself for the coming year? Make a promise… and make it a big one!
2. Second, let’s apply some peer pressure.
Peer pressure can have a huge advantage; it doesn’t need to be a negative. Tell the promise you have made to yourself to at least 10 people. That’s right, I’m asking you to not keep this promise to yourself. I’m asking you to put it out there for others to see, to hold yourself accountable, and to ask them to help you follow through. When you state your intention to others, it strongly encourages and compels you to follow through. They will inadvertently keep you accountable just because you don’t want to disappoint them. State your intentions, your promise, to a group of likeminded achievers, and you’ll have a fan club in your back pocket who will keep you charged up, who will re-energize you if your momentum wanes, and who will remind you of your promise to yourself. (Need a fan club? Go to Facebook and tell the iPEC fans your promise. Believe me, they’ll be happy to keep you accountable!)
3. And last, but definitely not least, let‘s add some gratitude!
When you show appreciation on a daily basis, it puts a smile on your face. It gives you energy that will motivate you to keep your promise -and that can keep you running for months on end. Gratitude fills you up with powerful, anabolic energy. Energy that builds, that rejuvenates, and that drives purpose.
It’s been iPEC’s purpose - actually it’s been our promise - to help others live empowered lives, recognizing that they always have a choice, and that they always have the ability to create massive, powerful change.
This year, IPEC promises to help tens of thousands of people through coaching- and we want you to make sure that we follow through on our promise! As part of this promise we’ll make sure that our students, and in turn their clients, learn how to make coaching part of their everyday approach to life. We promise to help more and more audiences, individuals, and organizations understand the dramatic impact that coaching can have on their lives and careers. We promise to help those struggling with change understand that coaching is the answer. We’re changing the world, in partnership with our coaches, one person at a time!
Make your promise, and together let’s make change happen.
Luke
P.S. And becoming a coach isn’t a bad idea either!
Tags: achievement, Add new tag, attitude, change, creativity, encouragement, expectations, finding purpose, gratitude, intentions, new perspective, opportunity, values
Posted in Current Affairs, Law of Being, Life Potentials
1 Comment »
December 23rd, 2009
Wow, 2009 has been quite the year, huh? The economy, social, political, and business environments have been challenged in just about every way. And, in seeing all the uncertainty and challenges, I can’t help but think: FANTASTIC!
Is that what you would say? Perhaps I’d better explain. You see, as a certified professional coach, I getting excited because we’re finally asking real questions of ourselves and of our society. We’re looking deeper into who we are, rediscovering and re-aligning our values, and determining once again what we really stand for. And, at the same time, we’re becoming more aware of how closely connected and interdependent we are on each other - as local, national, and global communities. We live in exciting times, and when these types of challenges arise, new ideas are born, outdated habits are dropped, purpose is reignited, and the possibilities of what could be open up even further.
During this holiday season, take time to catch your breath, to see the possibilities that lie around you waiting to be noticed, and most of all to give thanks - for your family, friends, those that support you, and for these exciting times that open all of us up to change… change that will help us grow ever closer to our true potential.
Have a wonderful, safe, heart-warming, gratitude-filled holiday and a prosperous, healthy New Year.
D. Luke Iorio
President
Tags: attitude, change, choice, creativity, encouragement, gratitude, intentions, new perspective, success
Posted in Current Affairs
1 Comment »
January 2nd, 2009
Our guest blogger today is Luke Iorio, President of iPEC Coaching.
An interesting perspective came up on The E-Factor show a few weeks ago, and it stuck with me, so I thought I’d share it here.
In interviewing our guest, Ralph Marston of the Daily Motivator, I asked him what trends he saw in the emails he received from subscribers to his daily emails. He noted that, due to the economy in large part, many readers are coming from a perspective that things are bad these days, and that we’ve lost a lot of things in our lives.
Ralph then pointed out that, if we look around, not much in the world has changed drastically from a year ago. The farms that grow our food still exist, law and order still exists, our families and friends still exist, the country we live in still exists. Not much has materially changed.
Many of us may well have experienced losses – the loss of a job, loss of income/savings, or even loss of a home. It’s important to remember that you are still who you are, with the same strengths that you had last year, and you’re hopefully a year wiser for the living.
When times are lean, there is ample space for self-created opportunity to replace what might have gone away, and we often wind up in a better place for having had the more challenging periods. After the stock market crash of 1929, there was a greater period of growth in industry, innovation, and business than there had been at any time prior to that in this country.
So, there can be greatly encouraging news found in the sparest of times. Look in to yourself with deep and honest affection for your strengths, and you may find new riches in abundance just waiting to be dug up.
Tags: adversity, coach training, coaching, creativity, e-factor, encouragement, finding purpose, life coaching, opportunity
Posted in Business Development, Coaching and Coach Training, Current Affairs, Energy Leadership, Law of Being, Life Potentials, Training Programs
2 Comments »
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