Posted in Blog, Personal Inspiration

Day 1 – Get Inspired!

Day 1 – Get Inspired! 

What makes me feel inspired?  A beautiful sunset. ~ Patti

What made you feel inspired today?

Reminiscence on what made you smile, laugh or just plain happy and share it on my Facebook page.   Like the page.   Leave your inspiration in the comments for all 7 days and you could be a winner of  Live Your Best Life! 21 Days to Optimal Work/Life Balance workshop.

Spread the joy and share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks for others to get inspired!

Posted in Blog, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

Lucky Penny Day

Today is National Lucky Penny Day it is observed each year on May 23rd.  The Lucky Penny tradition is when you are out and about, look on the ground for pennies.  When you see a penny, pick it up and all day long it will bring you good luck.

How does your luck stand up? 

Do you consider yourself lucky in your life and your career?

Questions to Ask Yourself  to Measure Your Success:

Your Career Goals:
What are your career interests and aspirations?
What are you still working towards?
What have you accomplish?

Your Relationship Goals:
What do you want in your relationships?
Describe your ideal relationship?
What is true friendship to you?
What kind of people do you want to attract in your life?

Your Health Goals:
What are your lifestyle goals?
What healthy habits do you want to develop?
What habits do you want to eliminate?
What does healthy mean to you?

Your Financial goals:
What are your financial goals?
What are your debts versus your income?
How much do you want saved for retirement?
What adjustments will you make to accomplish your financial goals?

Call to Action:

What are you going to do to reach success?

How to Celebrate Lucky Penny Day:

Go for a walk and search for lucky pennies.

Take the whole family on a walk looking for lucky pennies and see who finds the most pennies.

At work, a team building exercise, have the team go for a walk together and search for lucky pennies, at the end of the walk have everyone share how many pennies they found.

Do you want more in your life than just your career?

If so, click on the link and sign up for the 21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop

Posted in Blog, Inspirational Moments, Personal Inspiration

Turn OFF Your Phone and Get Turned ON [Guest Blogger]

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Where did the love go?   Turn OFF the electronic and turn ON your partner!

Once I had a relationship (in its early stages) and I was convinced I could do whatever I wanted in that relationship – until my partner told me to not bring the laptop to our bed.

I had always pointed the finger at my “exes” for not giving me enough affection, not paying attention to how wonderful I was, it was easy to point the finger at someone else. But with this partner, I got a tough lesson where he felt affronted – and aghast – that I would bring into our bed – the ‘third’ man – the laptop.

That was in the year 2008.

Today, we have so many devices that are smaller than a laptop – that fit into the palm of our hand (and I don’t mean those devices if you know want I mean!) that we bring into the bed – and we don’t think anything of it.

How many times have you found yourself with your partner next to you in bed – or maybe your child – and in your hand – or both hands you are holding an electronic device such as smartphone, iPad, kindle or gaming device?

We think nothing of it – but the world shows us that this is the way of the future.

Electronic devices are here to stay – and they have entered our most intimate spaces – where humans make love, connect, tell stories and just stare into each other’s eyes.

So – if you were wondering how long my relationship from 2008 lasted – it was about 1 year after that first lesson from my partner how he was not impressed. But his lesson stayed with me permanently. How could I ever be with another partner – and treat them the same way – knowing that the very thing my ex wanted – undivided attention – was something I so – unconsciously – was not able to be sentient of?

Sentience is the ability to perceive or feel things.

With touch technology and the immediacy of stimulation from a screen, the physical body’s need for physical feelings is being downgraded as a priority.

But everybody knows – we NEED touch, eye contact, hand-holding, hugs, sweet talk, laughter, sharing stories and exploring the stories inside our loved one’s heart.

So why do we displace those very dear and endearing things….with an electronic device?

I am not going to tell you to turn your phones and electronic devices to get more intimacy – because that is a no-brainer.

If you really wanted to have more connection with your partner or loved ones, wouldn’t you just turn off the phone?

The REAL question is what my ex-partner so kindly demonstrated for me – why would you shut someone out that you loved in the first place. This is not about laziness. This is about a deeper calling for us to switch off from the places where we may even, potentially, experience more vulnerability.

As a love and relationship coach, the things I ask those looking for intimacy with their partner when they feel ‘disconnected’ from their partner are the same questions I had to ask myself when I got chided for bringing the laptop to bed.

  • What are you afraid of facing if you had to be with your partner/loved one right now?
  • What are you to shy of sharing with your partner?
  • What are you avoiding feeling – either with your partner – or because you feel you shouldn’t ask for more, or you shouldn’t bother with – because it’s not that important?
  • What are you ashamed, embarrassed or hesitant to share, because you may think you’re loved one will just not care?

We all need intimacy – and the easiest way to hide from that – is a device.

We already have many devices to avoid the ones we love: “too busy”, work, stress, kids, demands, etc. Electronic devices are another tool to avoid what we deeply want.

So I invite you to ask yourself, if you are touching your devices more than your partner?

If you never had to be worried, ashamed or hesitant of how you would be received, what would you LOVE to share with your partner?
And if that is too hard to answer – google it!  Get creative – find ideas, poems, odd stories, anecdotes, anything that you can add to the mix of new possibilities of what you could share with your partner.

Your phones could also give you some smart “stories” that you can laugh and share with those you love as well. ~ Angela Ambrosia, LoveandRelationshipCoach.com

Angela Ambrosia is a Love and Relationship Coach with a deep affinity for women creating a deeply satisfying love. She is certified as a Life Coach and Relationship Coach by World Coach Institute, and a certified Subconscious Rapid Transformation Practitioner, a technique of subconscious re-patterning that transforms a person’s ability to create the relationship of their dreams. Adding to her gifts of insight and affinity are my certification as a teacher of meditation, and two decades-plus expertise in dance and body movement.

Angela invites you to join her free love and togetherness video series.

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

5 Actionable Tips to Balance Your Life!

I recently watched a video about how people under continual stress for 20 + years have a good chance of getting heart disease, diabetes and/or dementia.  When the body is in constant stress it will eventually show signs of unbalance.

Today, I am going to discuss briefly 5 actionable tips to balance your life!

Tip #1 – Saying NO!  Politely stop saying yes to things you don’t want to do.  Quit over committing yourself.  Saying “no” is good for you especially when it is something you don’t want to do or you are overwhelmed with too many things.  Let other people say yes so they can grow and learn.

Tip # 2 – Setting Healthy Boundaries – Professional and personal boundaries are essential to clearly identify the limits and responsibilities of everyone.  Boundaries reflect what you will put up with in a relationship and what you will not.  Communicating your boundaries makes you a happier person because you will not feel used or mistreated.

Tip # 3 – Stop  Procrastination – Procrastination is a big waste of time.  Stop putting off those difficult or undesirable tasks.  Once the task or project is completed you can move on to more enjoyable tasks and have a great sense of accomplishment.

Tip # 4 – Leave Work at Work – Give your mind rest by stepping away from thinking about work.  This will help get rid of frustration and give you time to come up with solutions when back at work.  Spend time with family and friends and don’t engage in work conversations.  Take a break and enjoy life outside of work.

Tip # 5 – Creating A Habit of Unplugging – Unplugging helps to reconnect with people around you.  Communicate to everyone that you will not be checking your emails, texts and you will be unavailable during these specific times.

Do you want more in your life than just your career?

If so, click the link and sign up for the 21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop.

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks!

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration

My Amazing Experience at the Blended Blogging Conference 2016 Recap

Barn at the Windmill Winery

In September of 2016 I attended the 2 days Blended Conference; an Arizona’s Premier Blogging Conference.  This was my first time ever attending a blogging conference. I didn’t know what to except; but it was an amazing experience. The conference took place at the Windmill Winery in Florence, Arizona.  What a beautiful venue.  The red barn was where most of the conference was held. Inside the barn the table settings had beautiful flowers and the lighting throughout the barn was absolutely breath taking.

 

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Even outside of the barn it was decorated beautifully.

Some of the Food and Drinks at the Conference:

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The food and beverages were delicious at the conference.

What I learned from the Conference Speakers:

The conference speakers shared their expertise and gave us a wealth of information to take back to put into action.  I took loads of hand written notes during the two days.  I learned so much about blogging, pricing, affiliate marketing, printables, and being a upstander.  The definition of upstander at the conference was “be a person you would like to work with”.

During breaks between sessions we had time to walk around the beautiful garden paths taking photos and participating in the scavenger hunt.

Here are some photos of the scavenger hunt items:

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Farm Tractor                                             Stained Glass Window

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Chess Board                                             Fire Pit

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Selfie in the garden                                 Windmill

The scavenger hunt was a blast looking for the different items on the list around the winery.

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Another exciting thing is I won this beautiful bracelet from Origami Owl ~ http://www.origamiowl.com.  This really made the conference even more special.  Inside the bracelet there is a Typewriter, the outline of the State of Arizona and the word Blog.

The Wine Tasting Adventure:

One of the activities I chose to do was the wine tasting.  The wine tasting was a lot of fun.  My favorite wine is called Pomegranate Wine.

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Mac and Harold from the Windmill Winery and me.

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The best part of the conference was making new friends!

Kim Hanna (Left) Ann Odle (middle) me (right)

Kim & Ann’s website blogs

http://www.campingforfoodies.com (Kim) &  www.annodle.com (Ann)

And a special thank you to Wendy O’Neal @ Around My Family Table for putting together the wonderful blogging conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration

Leaders ~ How To Get Your Team Focused and Engaged!

What is the key to getting employees focused and engaged in their work?

This question is what leaders want to know. Is there a magical formula? Not really; however, there are a few actions a leader can do to make a difference. 

Alright, let’s find out what they are:

  • Start with talking to your employees. Getting to know them and show interest in them. Ask them how they are doing. Let them speak and listen to them. Provide some open dialogue throughout the conversation. Look at them while they are talking. Eye contact is good. Don’t be looking at your computer or iPad. Be present instead of thinking about other things.
  • Spend time learning about your employee. What are their backgrounds, interests, and values?
  • Provide on-the-job training to help them to succeed. Find out learning style? Visual, hearing, reading a manual or procedures, hands-on learning, etc.
  • Give employees opportunities to grow in personal development. Employees who can develop their work skills and a creative mindset will more likely stay and promote within the company.
  • Give employees special projects and assignments outside their regular job duties. Employees who are satisfied and learning new things are much more engaged and focused at work.
  • Coach employees with encouragement and act on their suggestions if possible.
  • Encourage employees to network within the company.
  • Have employees participate in the hiring process and have the whole team meet potential candidates. Is this candidate someone who will work well with the team? Get their feedback and perspective. They have to work with this person just as much as you do.
  • Provide some recognition to the hard-working employees and the ones who complete their projects within the target timeframes. Please show your appreciation for their accomplishments. Say “thank you” and give them praise for their excellent work.
  • Encourage employees to take breaks to help them get refocused and inspired. Stepping away for a few minutes rejuvenate people.
  • Set clear expectations and make sure your employees understand what expectations. Be clear and direct about workplace goals and objectives. Put the expectation in writing and follow-up with the employee on their progress. They may be struggling and may need some guidance to find another way to get the task completed. Break down tasks into small achievable steps. This way, they won’t feel overwhelmed and start procrastinating.

Takeaway:

Employees stay with leaders who show interest in them. They are more engaged and focused when they feel appreciated, making a difference and giving credit for their contributions. When a leader reflects gratitude towards their employees, everyone will want to work each day and give their all! ~ Patti

Comments are always welcome, and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family, and social networks!

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration

Micro-Manage or Not to Mirco-Manage

What is the definition of micro-management?

It means a manager’s management style who closely observes or controls subordinates’ work and manages excessive control and attention to detail. The manager lacks trust, is never quite satisfied, enjoys finding errors in others’ work, and wants to control all the decision-making. Micromanagement usually has a negative effect in the workplace.

This topic has a lot of different opinions and viewpoints. Here is my perspective; there may be times as a Leader you will have to utilize micro-managing aspects with a staff member.

Possible reasons of when to use some aspects of micro-management positively: 

You need to review employees’ workflow, time management, work performances, and when an employee is experiencing a lack of motivation and focus with tasks or is just plain struggling with work performance. When this occurs, assist the employee through coaching and give additional training and feedback, including an action plan to help them succeed.

The choice is up to the employee if they want to succeed by accepting the coaching, training, and action plan. The leader can provide the guidance and tools; however, it is truly up to the employee to be open to success through listening, asking additional questions, and being accountable for their career. The employee needs to take responsibility for their mistakes and correct them by learning from those mistakes and doing it right.

Possible situations for constructive feedback, review of performance, coaching tips, and additional training:

  • A new employee
  • A new project or implementation of procedures
  • A high profile case
  • Highly confidential material or circumstance
  • An employee is making continual mistakes
  • An employee not understanding how to accomplish the task

When to prepare a corrective action plan including scheduled dates and times to meet with the employee to review their work performance:

  • An employee is not meeting the minimum standards
  • An employee is not following policies and procedures
  • An employee is not following security and safety guidelines

A good leader knows when to use some elements of micro-managing and when not to micro-manage their employees. Knowledgeable employees, understand the expectation, accomplish their goals, have a good work ethic, and do a good job should not be micro-managed. A good leader is part of the solution through open, honest dialog with good suggestions on improving their work performance and meeting their goals. ~ Patti

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks!

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration, Polls

[Poll] The Value of Sharing “What You Do” with Your Children

Take this quick poll before reading the blog post.  “Do You Share What You Do For A Living With Your Children”?

I am not sure how you answered the poll, however let’s talk about why there is value in sharing what you do with your children.

Developing a career path is a life long process, it usually starts in childhood and continues along with different choices, opportunities, on-going learning and achieving more and more experience.  Most people decided on their careers when they were children.  Parental engagement and involvement were key factors in influencing the child on pursuing their dream career, values and work ethic.  Having positive and encouraging conversations with your children about your own career decisions is very valuable to them.

Talk with your children about your career story: 

Start with your first job.  

How you prepared or not prepared in high school and/or college with your career choices.

Talk about your networking connections, clubs, courses etc. 

Discuss about the people who shaped you during your career; such as bosses, co-workers, mentors, coaches and etc.

Tell about your good choices and bad choices that influenced your career.  

Discuss “What you would do differently”.

The amount of time you spend sharing and encouraging your children will open up their minds to think about what type of career they want and start working towards a plan of action to achieve it.  It is important for children to discover their own strengths and interests. Have them try out as many different kinds of tasks and jobs to see what they like and don’t like.  This will help them make a better decision on what career path to pursue.

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks!

Polls Graphic Image Made in Canva.

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

Keeping your cool in the office! (survival tips on handling difficult situations)

Keeping Your Cool Survival Tips

Keeping your cool in the office! (survival tips on handling difficult situations).

Summer is here and it is extremely hot outside (especially in Arizona)☀️.  Patience is out the door this time of year.  At 6:00 in the morning you are getting into your vehicle to go to work and you burn your hands on the steering wheel because you forgot to put up your sun shade screen on your dash-board.  Ouch! 🔥 Not a good way to start your day.  You are probably thinking 6:00 am in the morning and needing a sun shade?  In Arizona the summer temperatures may hit a high of 117 degrees and morning temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s.

Okay, let’s get back to keeping your cool in the office.

How do you keep your cool in the office when you are feeling stressed and tempers are flaring?

This is one that I definitely struggle with myself as a leader, especially when you are dealing with a variety of personalities, some very bad attitudes and poor work performance behaviors.  To be honest there are times when I have failed miserably at keeping my cool.

Here are some tips and strategies to put into action when those tempers are starting to flare.

  • Take a deep breath and walk away for a few minutes.
  • Take a couple of minutes to pray and/or journal about your frustration.
  • Go get something to drink; like a large glass of cold ice water.  Sip slowly.
  • Practice deep relaxation breathing to clear your mind and to calm those feelings of anger and/or dis-satisfaction about the situation.
  • Think about a person you admire and how they would handle the situation.
  • Remind yourself to focus on solutions.
  • Don’t respond in writing until you have calmed down, edited and revise the email or correspondence to be in a professional non-adversarial tone.  Wait until the next day when you have time to sleep on it and reflect about the incident as well as coming up with some agreeable solutions.

The next time you feel your temperature rising and wanting to react unfavorably put these tips and strategies into action.  Sometimes just walking away can make a tremendous difference to your work environment and relationships.  You know the old saying, “You may not be able to control someone’s negative behavior but you can control how long you participate in it”. ~ Unknown

Become a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks!

Image Licensed Milkovasa/Shutterstock.com

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration

3 things to do to create balance in your life this week!

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3 things to do to create balance in your life this week:

Balance Strategy #1 ~  Spend an hour pampering you! 

  • Get your hair trimmed
  • Get your finger and toe nails painted
  • Get a massage

Reflection Question: Why is it important to take care of you?

Balance Strategy #2 ~ Take an hour to strengthen a relationship or friendship!

  • Call a friend and catch up on life events
  • Meet up with a friend or spouse for coffee or a drink
  • Meet up with a friend or spouse for lunch
  • Send a text to a family member saying “I love you”

Reflection Question: Who is important to you?

Balance Strategy #3 ~ Take time to have some fun!

Schedule at least 30 minutes this week to do something you really enjoy and do it.

  • Arts and Crafts
  • Hobby
  • Watch a movie and funny T.V. show
  • Reading a book or magazine
  • Sports Activity

Reflection Question: What is fun time to you?

By taking a few precious hours within your week and incorporating these strategies it calms your nerves, connects you with the important people in your life and puts some joy and new perceptive in your weekly life.  Let me know what you incorporated in your life this week and how did you feel doing it? ~ Patti

Do you want even more work-life balance strategies? Come and join the Facebook group called Work-Life Balance with Patti

Become a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, family and on your social networks!

To learn more about one to one coaching with Patti – email me at: patti@coachingforinspirationwithpatti.com

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