Masterful Mindsets

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Question: We are a week into the new year, have you set your New Year’s resolutions yet? What are you waiting for? How do you intend to create a life you’ll love this year?

Action Challenge: It seems that setting new year’s resolutions have become a thing of the past for many. Most likely it’s because too many times people set them and they don’t work (more in another blog post about why that is). But what if you had a plan to insure they’d work? 

If the nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach - you know, the one that keeps reminding you of your past resolution failures - has been keeping you from setting your intentions for creating a life you’ll love, then get ready… because I’m here to tell you that this is the year for real change. And I’m not talking about just saying you are going to make some changes; I’m talking about taking action and really changing.   

Follow the steps below to draft...

"When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future."   ~Queen Elizabeth II 

A lot can be learned about a person's character if you observe them during difficult times. They will show you their victim side or their victor side. They will show you their pessimism or their optimism. Their kindness or their bitterness... And as the quote says, those who are courageous will show that they are strong and courageous, in their actions and determination. While all too often, those who are afraid of difficulty or failure will never take the risk to move forward. 

Now that doesn't mean that those who are strong and courageous never fail. Quite the contrary - what it means is that they aren't afraid of failure because they don't see it as defeat. They see it as an opportunity to learn and try again. And most importantly, they know that their failures do not define them but rather, it's how they sh...

“To do two things at once, is to do neither.” Publilius Syrus

To continue responding to the messages from my recent blog about how to organize your day for maximum efficiency, this week I’ll be talking about a statement I made that caused a bit of a stir with some people. I said that, multi-tasking does not work. (“Multitasking is a Lie.")

Of course, I had a couple of people tell me that they are great at multitasking. Which, I’m sure they are. But being good at something that isn’t a good thing… still doesn’t make for an effective practice. (It’s kind of like saying you’re good at drinking. Doesn’t mean getting drunk is good for you.) 😉

There is a common misconception that multitasking is a great way to get more done in a shorter period of time. Quite the contrary actually. Multitasking is really not as time efficient as you’d think. As a matter of fact, studies show that the time it takes you to complete tasks can increase up to 25% for even the littlest, simplest tasks. And ...

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”  ~Steven Covey

Prioritizing clarity is a crucial first step if you want to increase your productivity and reach your goals! When you have clarity about what your goals are, you have a detailed plan for what needs to be done to complete them and in what timeframe, plus you know why these goals or dreams are truly important to you; you will have a laser focused vision for your journey to success.  

Ask Yourself:

• Do you have a clear vision of your goals and dreams?
• Do you have a plan and know what you need to do daily, weekly, monthly to keep yourself on track?
• Do you stay focused and in action on the priority tasks necessary to achieve success in your personal and professional life?
• Do you know exactly why reaching these goals are important to you?

Having clarity and focus helps you eliminate distractions. Think “bright shiny object syndrome” here. You no longer get distracted by every ...

“Each minute is a little thing, and yet, with respect to our personal productivity, to manage the minute is the secret of success.” ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

How successful you are, can often be equated to how productive you are. It certainly isn’t the only factor to success. But let’s be real here… if you aren’t productive, you probably aren’t going to get far in your quest for success and you’re definitely not going to get there very fast. Of course, it’s important to remember that just being busy, marking things off a to-do list, it isn’t enough.

The tasks and actions you choose to focus on need to be in alignment with your ultimate goals in order for that productivity to really be of value. Anything otherwise, is just a distraction or detour from your true path to your desired life.

Sadly though, most people struggle with consistent, high levels of productivity. (And remember if we are making the parallel here that means they are likely struggling to have consistent, high levels ...

“Through discipline comes freedom.”  ~ Aristotle

Summertime is the perfect time for taking vacations. And having free time is important to your overall well-being and happiness. I take a lot of time off in the summer with my family. (As a matter of fact, as I type this, I’ve just returned from being away and am getting ready to leave again.) But the one thing I know is that if I’m not disciplined enough to get my work done, it’s not only hard to get away but also hard to enjoy my time off, knowing that I have pressing projects or to-do’s hanging over my head. Not to mention the fact that if I don’t have discipline in getting things done, I will never achieve or be successful with anything. As Jim Rohn says, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

That’s why this week’s quote, although so simple, is so very profound. It has been a complete game changer for me. Although, I will admit that when I first heard the concept that discipline equals freedom, I had a tw...