Thursday, September 30, 2010

3 techniques for developing your Leadership potential

Very important article....Please go through the following if you want to be a LEADER

 

3 techniques for developing your Leadership potential:


Be Honest With Yourself and Others:

Leadership qualities are naturally linked to the concepts of integrity and courage. These character traits are consciously learned. Opening your mind to the world and how others perceive you, can give you immense knowledge about yourself and how to improve the undeveloped leadership traits in your personality.

Do your colleagues, friends and family members often look up to you and listen to your advice? This means that you have leadership qualities. You are sought for your advice or because you can offer a direction or an answer to their problems.

There are many ways to adopt and learn self-leadership. Here are some of the most common ones:

- Don't let fear stop you or discourage you. 

- Overcome obstacles with effective communication. 

- Build your self esteem and confidence. 

- Solve problems and guide others.  

- Assert yourself and take responsibility.

If you can follow these simple basic tips you can go a long way towards naturally acquiring leadership traits.

Reconnect With Your Values:

We all have our own value systems and whatever we value provides us with the essential desires or motivations to act. 

Your Values give you the inner strength to take up leadership roles in any situation you face. Reconnecting to your value system actually provides you with the power to deal with your problems and ultimately overcoming reluctance and hesitation. Your values make you stand up for your beliefs and ideals. Ultimately a leader is a person with immense values and a clarity of purpose.


Become Your Own Coach:

Define your values clearly. You need to reach a point in your life where you develop the means to conquer your failures effectively. Being self-reflective and having an understanding of why you have failed can sometimes be more important than your successes.

By becoming our own leaders, we impact (and take personal responsibility for) our own choices, health, career and relationships. We become our own guide and navigator.

In other words you become the captain of your own ship as well as the navigator to your ultimate destination.

People like to follow leaders who have navigated or discovered their own path in life. Someone who has lost the map (or the plot!) cannot lead others. We need to know where we are heading. We need a purpose, that purpose can give guidance to others. In fact some would say it's your duty to share this guidance with others.

You  should have answers to two basic questions. What is your destination? and how will you reach that destination?

If you can answer these two basic questions, then you are a leader and have understood that you have the potential to lead.

 

If understood then

Now start leading today!

PUBLIC SPEAKING - How To

Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death." - Jerry Seinfeld

If you have the fear of public speaking, you are not alone. You must first recognize what "fear" is. Fear is the anticipation of pain. Is your fear real or imagined?

Here are some great insights into Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking.

Steps to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking - 

  1. Fears - The fear of being judged, making a mistake, not measuring up, getting hurt either mentally or physically can get in the way of a good performance (speech, seminar, sales presentation, etc). Remember that people in the audience really want you to succeed. Nobody is standing there hoping you'll be boring or bad. If you are coming from an authentic place, and you cover the material with clarity, you've won 3/4 of your inner battle with fear.
  2. Learn how to enroll and engage your audience - If you haven't yet taken a professional development course on public speaking, consider finding a public speaking training course appropriate for your needs. Learning the art of public speaking can enhance your results in a boardroom, in a sales presentation, and even accelerate your climb up the corporate ladder. It is a must-skill for any executive and/or business owner.
  3. Practice - Find business organizations, networks and clubs in your area (such as Toastmasters) that can afford you the opportunity to practice. Remember to choose topics that you are already an expert on. Speaking on a topic that you are not familiar with will increase your stress, and impede on your performance.
  4. Use recording software - Record everything on your PC/laptop. Review it to see where you can improve. Have speaking pros attend your live presentation to give you feedback. Allow yourself the opportunity to learn more every time you go out.
  1. Remember, even the top professionals learn something new every single time they go out!

 

Annoying Public Speaking Habits

"Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Here are some annoying public speaking habits. They can be deal breakers, so avoid these annoying habits at all costs!

·         Voice Trailing Off - Many speakers let their voices trail off at the end of every sentence. The audience can hear the first part of their sentence, but they have no idea what pearls of wisdom might be lost in the whispers at the end.

·         Looking Down - Sometimes this speaker will deliver complete sentences inaudibly while looking down â€" obviously not interested at that moment in engaging the audience.

·         Mumbling - Mumbling is not cool. Inexperienced speakers will often speak at conversation level, not giving any thought or consideration to the people in the back of the room. Recently, I sat in on a panel discussion at a workshop. The panelists chose to sit instead of stand to address the standing-room-only crowd, which I thought was rude. And one man, whenever it was his turn to speak, would rest his elbows on the table and fold his hands in front of his mouth during the entire time that he was speaking.

·         Reading - Some speakers are not good readers. If you are not skilled at reading something out loud, don't do it while speaking. Especially avoid doing this secretly. In other words, if you plan to deliver your speech by reading all or part of it, and you do not have good out loud reading skills, forget it.

·         Not keeping everyone involved - Inexperienced or thoughtless speakers leave members of the audience out. When an audience member asks a question, it is rarely heard in the back of the room. I've seen many expert speakers respond to the question by engaging in a one-on-one conversation with this person while the rest of the audience is left wondering. Speakers, I urge you to repeat the question so everyone is on the same page. And then respond to the question so that everyone in the room can hear it.

·         Sitting Down - Some speakers choose to sit down on the job. In a very small, intimate group or when the audience is sitting in a circle of chairs or on the floor, for example, speaking while seated is generally okay. But if you have a room containing six rows of chairs or more, you really should express respect for those in the back of the room by standing so that you can be seen as well as heard.

·         Filler Words - Even some professional speakers still use too many filler words. It takes practice, but you can rid your vocabulary (especially while speaking in public) of those filler words like, uh, ah, er. Also avoid connecting sentences by overusing "and."

·         Overshooting Time Allotment - Many speakers have trouble staying within the time allotment. Most programs or presentations are carefully organized. Each segment is designed to fit into a specific time slot. I've seen speakers completely disregard their time constraints and foul up the entire evening's program. Not cool.

Benefits of Public Speaking

"As long as there are human rights to be defended; as long as there are great interests to be guarded; as long as the welfare of nations is a matter for discussion, so long will public speaking have its place."- William Jennings Bryan

The Personal and Practical benefits of using a few simple concepts to overcome your public speaking fears to easily deliver effective presentations include -

Personal Benefits -

  • Increased Self Confidence
  • The Ability to communicate and articulate your thoughts and ideas
  • Effectively Persuade Others
  • Words can hurt, heal, create, build, transform
  • New Opportunities
  • Ability to Lead
  • Have a Rare and Valued Skill
  • Have Fun
  • Improve Your Quality of Life

Practical Benefits -

  • Career Advancement
  • Receive Recognition
  • Get the Credit that You Deserve
  • Entertain Your Audience
  • Captivate Your Audience
  • Learn to speak Concisely, Clearly and Confidently
  • Speaking out in important situations, as Parent, Citizen, Customer

Public Speaking Techniques

"There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience" - Alexander Gregg

I have listed the following public speaking techniques, that should help you overcome fear and anxiety. It would help you deliver a speech without feeling nervous. I have found great success in these techniques!

  1. Smile. This will help you ease your mind and make you feel comfortable in your surroundings.
  1. Take deep breaths. This is an oft repeated tip but it always helps you start. Avoid taking deep breaths in between, as it might sound weird.
  2. Tell yourself there is nothing to worry about. The words to live by are, "Don't worry, be happy". What is the worst that is going to happen after all?
  3. Loosen your muscles and relax. Being stiff on stage will make everyone think you are nervous.
  4. Have a good sense of humor. If you mess up, have a good joke to back it up, makes you seem like you are under control.
  5. Keep an OPEN mind. This relaxes you and just makes you feel better.
  6. Practice. This isn't for everyone, but it helps most people. If your speech is well rehearsed it will be fine. Also try to deliver as many public speeches as you can (for eg. at Toastmasters), it will surely help you gain confidence!
  7. Feel free to move around. (this one is more for a classroom, not a business setting for the most part) When you move, it makes you seem like you are happy, but don't be robotic with the movements.
  8. Keep good eye contact, this might not help you, but it will help the audience like you. If you have trouble with this, pretend that someone did something funny.
  9. Try to include the audience. Many times people think you can't include the audience, but you can. This makes you seem like your not the only one talking, because you aren't.

 

Tips on Public Speaking

"If you can't write your message in a sentence, you can't say it in an hour." - Dianna Booher

Here are some important public speaking tips to help you develop your skills and become far more effective as a public speaker.

  • Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention. Videotape your presentation and analyze it. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation.
  • Present the desired image to your audience. Be solemn if your topic is serious. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Remember, you don't look as nervous as you feel.
  • Establish rapport with your audience. If a microphone is available, adjust and adapt your voice accordingly.
  • Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your audience, change your strategy mid-stream if you are well prepared to do so.
  • Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflectand think.
  • Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.
  • Tell audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.
  • Humour : Tell jokes if you're good at telling jokes. If you aren't good, it is best to leave the jokes behind. There's nothing worse than a punch line that has no punch.
  • Tell stories : Stories make you a real person not just a deliverer of information. Use personal experiences to bring your material to life. No matter how dry your material is, you can always find a way to humanise it. Keep audience interested throughout your entire presentation. Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same.
  • Using Public Speaking Environment - Try not to get stuck in one place. Use all the space that's available to you. If your space is confined (say a meeting room or even presenting at a table) use stronger body language to convey your message.
  • Mistakes - Mistakes are all right. Recovering from mistakes makes you appear more human. Good recovery puts your audience at ease - they identify with you more.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Time to Act - Jim Rohn

The Time to Act by Jim Rohn

Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability to take action. You don't need to be hasty if it isn't required, but you don't want to lose much time, either. Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong.

Let's say you would like to build your library. If that is a strong desire for you, what you've got to do is get the first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don't, here's what happens:

YOU FALL PREY TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT.

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don't translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now, the passion is cold. A year from now, it can't be found.

So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong, clear and powerful. If somebody talks about good health and you're motivated by it, you need to get a book on nutrition. Get the book before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold. Begin the process. Fall on the floor and do some push-ups. You've got to take action; otherwise, the wisdom is wasted. The emotion soon passes unless you apply it to a disciplined activity. Discipline enables you to capture the emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action. The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole-new life process.

Here is the greatest value of discipline: self-worth, also known as self-esteem. Many people who are teaching self-esteem these days don't connect it to discipline. But once we sense the least lack of discipline within ourselves, it starts to erode our psyche. One of the greatest temptations is to just ease up a little bit. Instead of doing your best, you allow yourself to do just a little less than your best. Sure enough, you've started in the slightest way to decrease your sense of self-worth.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of it, it becomes a disease. And one neglect leads to another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Once this has happened, how can you regain your self-respect? All you have to do is act now! Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. Make the commitment: "I will discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes."

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Product Sales Tip! How to Find Your "Personal Market Segment"

In this final product sales tip from our series with Kim Klaver, Kim is going to share with you her method for helping you discover WHO your perfect customer is. (If you don't yet have Kim's "Customer Enchilada" CD training, this is your last chance to get it at a greatly reduced price.)

Often, distributors are told to "go out there and find anyone who will fog a mirror". This strategy rarely works. I'll let Kim explain why...

**********

Fill in the blank:

I market a product for someone who...
I market a product for people who...
I market a product for women who...
I market a product for men who...
I market a product for parents who...


Ernie H. is a distributor for a nutritional supplement company. He often had trouble sleeping and got sick often as a consequence. Within a month of taking his product, he could sleep like a normal person again and no longer got sick from lack of rest.

His market segment is: people who have trouble sleeping

Now, this is key - Don't lapse into techno-babble or naming diseases. Ernie H doesn't say "people who have insomnia", he says "people who have trouble sleeping".

To come up with the picture words that describe symptoms, ask yourself: "What did that feel like?" "How did I know I had that condition?" or say to yourself: "What I mean is...", for example "I had insomnia. What I mean is I had trouble sleeping."

The questions above also work to make vague words like "tired" or "no energy", or "depressed" more specific.

When Janice H said she suffered from "depression", I asked her: "What do you mean? How did you know you were depressed?" Among other things, she said: "I lost my motivation..."

Bingo!

She markets a product for people who have lost their motivation and can't seem to get it back. Get it?

Sometimes you'll need to dig deeper to find the key condition, or the trigger that resulted in the problems your product fixed. For example, when a student said she used to fall asleep babysitting her grandchildren, I asked her what caused that to happen.

She said: "All the medication I was taking made me feel really tired and out of it." Bingo!

She says: "I market a product for someone who is tired and out of it because they take lots of medication." And "falling asleep babysitting their grandchildren" became a personal zinger that followed the market segment in her script.

The questions you can ask yourself to dig more deeply include:

"Why did I feel like that?"
"What caused that to happen?" or
"What happened just before I felt like that?"

Here are a few more Personal Market Segments that we'll discuss as we discover YOURS in the Customer Enchilada training. (check out the special offer only good until Sep. 27th at 11:59 EST)

  • People who know they're not eating right and are interested in health.
  • People who were healthy all their lives and suddenly got diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.
  • People who hate to go shopping.
  • People who never thought they could afford to have a lawyer at their beck and call.
  • Parents with kids who have allergies.
  • Parents with kids who don't eat right.
Now, the next step is to determine your personal market segments then, at the end of yours, add a 'like me' phrase or something similar:

like me
like I used to be
like what happened to me
like I did


This tells your prospect that you are a member of that market segment, and most important, it shows the person that you have weaknesses too.

That revelation will hold your prospect's attention and it somehow endears you to them. It's the opposite of sounding like a bossy know-it-all to whom no one wants to listen. - Kim Klaver

**********

You've probably got some ideas now on WHAT market to go after with your products. But this is only one part of a 3-part formula Kim teaches in her course. The next step is to discover HOW to go after those prospects. Learn the entire formula here: http://www.firstclassmlmtools.com

Committed To Your Success,

Tim Sales

P.S. Marceil F. said this about Kim's training, "I made 42 calls, talked to 21 people and made 12 sales, plus one business appointment with a person I had been trying to get to for some time. My new script opened that door. I don't know when I've ever had that success... It's wonderful."

To learn the exact steps Marceil took to get that many new product orders, click here: http://www.firstclassmlmtools.com

P.P.S. This is your last chance to save on Kim Klaver's awesome 100 Customers In 100 Days training program. If you've been following this educational series for the last 2 weeks, but you're still on the fence, now is the time to get off and take advantage of this savings. The price goes back up on Sep. 27th at 11:59pm EST and we won't be offering it at this pricing again in 2010. Click here right now to visit the page and discover more about Kim's program: http://www.firstclassmlmtools.com

Thursday, September 23, 2010

17 Principles of Personal Achievement by Napoleon Hill

The Winner's Edge Coaching Tips

17 Principles of Personal Achievement by Napoleon Hill

Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose
Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. Without a purpose and a plan, people drift aimlessly through life.

Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance
The Mastermind principle consists of an alliance of two or more minds working in perfect harmony for the attainment of a common definite objective. Success does not come without the cooperation of others.

Lesson 3: Applied Faith
Faith is a state of mind through which your aims, desires, plans and purposes may be translated into their physical or financial equivalent.

Lesson 4: Going the Extra Mile
Going the extra mile is the action of rendering more and better service than that for which you are presently paid. When you go the extra mile, the Law of Compensation comes into play.

Lesson 5: Pleasing Personality
Personality is the sum total of one's mental, spiritual and physical traits and habits that distinguish one from all others. It is the factor that determines whether one is liked or disliked by others.

Lesson 6: Personal Initiative
Personal initiative is the power that inspires the completion of that which one begins. It is the power that starts all action. No person is free until he learns to do his own thinking and gains the courage to act on his own.

Lesson 7: Positive Mental Attitude
Positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude in all circumstances. Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.

Lesson 8: Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is faith in action. It is the intense emotion known as burning desire. It comes from within, although it radiates outwardly in the expression of one's voice and countenance.

Lesson 9: Self-Discipline
Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought. If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs. Self-discipline calls for a balancing of the emotions of your heart with the reasoning faculty of your head.

Lesson 10: Accurate Thinking
The power of thought is the most dangerous or the most beneficial power available to man, depending on how it is used.

Lesson 11: Controlled Attention
Controlled attention leads to mastery in any type of human endeavor, because it enables one to focus the powers of his mind upon the attainment of a definite objective and to keep it so directed at will.

Lesson 12: Teamwork
Teamwork is harmonious cooperation that is willing, voluntary and free. Whenever the spirit of teamwork is the dominating influence in business or industry, success is inevitable. Harmonious cooperation is a priceless asset that you can acquire in proportion to your giving.

Lesson 13: Adversity & Defeat
Individual success usually is in exact proportion of the scope of the defeat the individual has experienced and mastered. Many so-called failures represent only a temporary defeat that may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Lesson 14: Creative Vision
Creative vision is developed by the free and fearless use of one's imagination. It is not a miraculous quality with which one is gifted or is not gifted at birth.

Lesson 15: Health
Sound health begins with a sound health consciousness, just as financial success begins with a prosperity consciousness.

Lesson 16: Budgeting Time & Money
Time and money are precious resources, and few people striving for success ever believe they possess either one in excess.

Lesson 17: Habits
Developing and establishing positive habits leads to peace of mind, health and financial security. You are where you are because of your established habits and thoughts and deeds.


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Seeds of Motivation: Winning from Within by Denis Waitley

Seeds of Greatness

Seeds of Motivation: Winning from Within by Denis Waitley

Put up the dream. Put in the knowledge. Put out the effort.

The two greatest fear busters are knowledge and action.

You can't concentrate on the reverse of an idea. A fear is a goal moving in the opposite direction from your desire.

We can change if we want to.

Think of your imagination as a skill rather than a talent and learn to use it.

Motivation is an inner force that compels behavior. Your inner drives will propel you further and faster than external perks.

It's not the experience of today that causes us the most stress; it's the regret for something we didn't do yesterday.

Motivation is motive in action.

The most important opinion you'll ever have is the one you hold of yourself.


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

six_ways_to_supercharge_your_productivity

  1. Make sufficient sleep a top priority. Schedule your bedtime, and start winding down at least 45 minutes earlier. Ninety-eight percent of all human beings need at least 7-8 hours a night to feel fully rested. Only a fraction of us get that much regularly, in part because we buy into the myth that sacrificing an hour or two of sleep a night give us an hour more of productivity. In reality, even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a dramatic toll on our cognitive capacity, our ability to think creatively, our emotional resilience, the quality of our work, and even the speed at which we do it.
  2. Create one to-do list that includes everything you want or need to do, on and off the job — and I mean everything, including any unresolved issues that merit further reflection. That's the essence of David Allen's simple but profound work (see Getting Things Done). Writing everything down helps get it off your mind, leaving you free to fully focus on what's most important at any given moment.
  3. Do the most important thing first when you get to work each morning, when you're likely to be have the highest energy and the fewest distractions. Decide the night before what activity most deserves your attention. Then focus on it single-mindedly for no more than 90 minutes. Productivity isn't about how many tasks you complete or the number of hours you work. It's about the enduring value you create.
  4. Live like a sprinter, not a marathoner. When you work continuously, you're actually progressively depleting your energy reservoir as the day wears on. By making intermittent renewal and refueling important, you're regularly replenishing your reservoir, so you're not only able to fully engage at intervals along the way, but also to maintain high energy much further into the day.
  5. Monitor your mood. When demand begins to exceed your capacity, one of the most common signs is an increase in negative emotions. The more we move into "fight or flight," the more reactive and impulsive we become, and the less reflective and responsive. The first question to ask yourself is "Why am I feeling this way, and what can I do to make myself feel better?" It may be that you're hungry, tired, overwhelmed, or feeling threatened in some way. Awareness is the first step. You can't change what you don't notice.
  6. Schedule specific times for activities in your life that you deem important but not urgent. With so much coming at you all the time, it's easy to focus all day on whatever feels most pressing in the moment. What you sacrifice is the opportunity to take on work such as writing, strategizing, thinking creatively, or cultivating relationships, which may require more time and energy, but often yield greater long-term rewards.

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