One More Move: Give something away
Use the power of giving to propel your success forward.
leadership
One More Move: Visualize Your Vision
Note: Hello Readers, I am switching the title of One Move Monday to One More Move. This way I can post when inspired as opposed to just on Mondays, but I will still regularly post once a week on Monday.
Now One More Move!
In honor of the workshop I am hosting in Kent, Ohio I am sharing one technique to help build your future of abundant success: visualization. One of humanity’s greatest gifts is the power to imagine a future reality prior to the moment arising. We can foresee what we want our outcome to be and then have a blueprint to flexibly follow. Look to your future and see your greatness when you practice this visualization technique. One practice would be to record it in your own voice and then playing it during a 15 minute break.
Here’s the script from Infinite Futures.
Simple Tips For You To Impress at a Dinner Interview
This is it. You’ve arrived. They only roll out the silverware and napkins for the most promising interviews. The dinner interview is your advancement into mid- or executive-level career positions. So, how do you masterfully wield your fork and career pitch to propel you forward into landing the job you most desire? Similar to the regular interview you must do your research, prepare your presentation, and show gratitude in order to bring awareness of the values you can bring to an organization. Here are 3 ways to sharpen your dinner interviewing skills.
Research the organization
Showing up to a job interview, not knowing about the organization, the person you are meeting, or even the industry you are entering is a quick way to crumble your opportunity away. Take it a step further by considering the bigger picture and vision that the company will be considering. Weave the organization into the network of all organizations and show that you can see with the lens needed to be successful within your future position.
Pitch Pleasantly
One thing you have for you at a dinner interview is it is so easy to display your character and ability to interact with others. How so you ask? The servers! A restaurant is full of people working in unison to help produce an enjoyable experience for their customers. All good businesses do this. Join in with the restaurant team and to show how well you interact with the world around you. Say please, thank you, and keep your table area clean. Work with them and display respect as if you had to work with these people every day. There is no easier way to display your grace than to do this. Treat your server poorly and you may do well to leave an unpleasant taste on your potential employer’s tongue.
Chew Well
This advice goes both literally and figurately. It can be easy to over talk during any interview, they added a casual atmosphere of a restaurant can allow your words to flow easy like a steady stream. To impress, ask important questions and weigh in on the answer while you chew your food thoroughly, then swallow and then speak or ask a more clarifying question. The dinner interview is a time to languish in the organization and treat it as if it is a potential partner you are taking on a date. Enjoy their company and don’t rush through your resume of skills and accomplishments. This interview is about them and the things you will do for them. Here are more tips on questions to ask to show an organization you care.
The dinner interview is a great way to get your seat at the table. Use your knowledge, words, and body language wisely and you will be sure to leave an impression.
photo credit: rack of lamb presentation II (license)
Leadership for Difficult Times
Lead Your Teams With Your Head Grounded
Dealing with difficult times is a part of doing business. From running out of paper on copy machines to not having enough quality time with the people you care about can cause a low-level amount of stress that can be overcome with smart healing moves. What happens when the amount of unrest in external influences starts to seep into the productivity of your team. Caring about external aggravations, stressors, and threats can keep your team feeling secure enough to focus applying their full potential. How can leaders better lead their teams when times are stressful? Here are 5 bits of wisdom to consider
Build awareness
Knowing what is causing stress within your team. Ask questions and listen to the different insights and concerns your team is building around the point of concern. Build awareness within yourself as well. Find when your fears or temper is getting the best of you and spot stress-management techniques to improve your state of being.
Encourage communication
While some of your team may be very vocal about the shaky times your are in or that are beginning, some others may not be so engaged. Getting every team member on board in your organization will require reminding everyone that communication isn’t only encouraged, but a priority. Schedule productive meetings, have an anonymous comment and suggestion box, and remind every one of the confidentiality and protection policies you have in place.
Remember your mission
It is easy to get blindsided in a disaster. What keeps you in place is your purpose and end goals. While steering your organization forward may require flexibility it is important to always keep in mind what you are steering toward.
Provide avenues for stress relief
Tumultuous times often cause undue stress on leadership and team members. Relaxing the body and mind will keep your company’s spirits lifted. Host retreats, bring in healthy fruits, have a company potluck and remind your everyone to take care of themselves.
Acknowledging challenges is a positive sign of good leadership within your company and a step in your journey of small business success. When the tough times arise, it is time for even more assessment, experience, and communication to ensure that you continue to fulfill your mission and vision.
photo credit: 13a.LedelleMoe.Collapse.Lofts14Two.WDC.29jul06 via photopin (license)
Tech Tool Review
Canva is a tool to buy to make your marketing life easier. Simple design, lots of options, and a simple pricing model make it a web app worth investing in. I run leadership events in Northeast Ohio and creating flyers for the event I almost immediately turn to Canva. It works so great, you won’t regret investing in it as a simple tool for your business.
Easy to use
Canva is a simple web app and you can access it anywhere and anytime. It’s easy to share using links and there is no download needed to share designs. It uses a two-panel design where you drag-and-drop images, designs, and clip art to your visual marketing content. There is also an option to automatically optimize design sizes using an array of pre-cut formats in the size of Facebook picture posts, twitter posts, web page banners, infographics, etc. Canva keeps it easy to use and there are a ton of ways to incorporate it in your marketing strategy.
Tons of free options
Free web apps are a dream for anyone charged with marketing for their start up. Canva offers tons of high-quality graphics and beautiful designs to use in your marketing material. I have used Canva to create many formats enhanced for web use. Colors are easy to change to add your can upload and use your own graphics for free adding even more to your design options.
Simple pricing model
Canva’s free options make web marketing easy and even fun. Canva monetizes its model by charging a dollar for premium flyer elements, clipart, backgrounds, and designs. It’s straight-forward and there is no need to sign up for a monthly subscription. While, I use the free options often, I buy the stock art they offer because it is good quality. It also makes it easy to market quickly and consistently.
5 SEO Concepts You Need To KNow
Search Engine Optimization is necessary to help your audience find your quality content and for building your brand. Here’s an infographic to understand some basic terms you need to know.
One Move Monday: Morning Pages
Free thinking is a powerful form of organizing our thoughts and relieving stress when it comes to managing our businesses. Writing, drawing, and mind mapping all take part in helping us go from the “think” stage to the growth stage. For your One Move this week, take 3 minutes or 3 pages to write as much as possible. The 3-page move actually refers to the idea of keeping morning pages.
No need to review what you right, that’s a move for another week. For now humble in the fact that your mind can churn out as much as you allow it too.
photo credit: welcome to your day via photopin (license)
5 Top Apps Worth Using Daily
In the entrepreneurial world, time is still money, and a major detractor of progress can be poorly built tools that have the guise of serving a purpose. Introducing, applications. While some mobile and web applications serve a great purpose, many can often suck away our time and leave us with very little results in the way of moving towards venture success. So what is worth it? I consider it only apps I have paid money for or am willing to pay money for in the future. Here are the top five I use towards strategic planning and executive leadership.
1. WeekPlan for daily planning. WeekPlan was the first app that was ever graced with my Paypal balance. With its sleek and simple design, the app incorporates Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s great features include planning your week according to quadrants, having a long-term option for listing goals/tasks and color coordinating tasks according to roles you designate. In addition, the customer service with the app goes above and beyond in authentically reaching out to clients.
2. Trello – If WeekPlan is in the trenches, Trello is in the war room. Great for long term strategic planning, Trello has the ability to break up and track long or short term projects.
3. Stitcher – Entertainment is great. Knowledge is power. Learning while commuting is one of the safer driving distractions and you feel the benefits of acquiring more knowledge. Stitcher allows you to access newly posted podcasts. Choose podcasts in business, leadership or success to help keep you moving towards your goal.
4. Pinterest – Visit your vision often to make sure you are on the right track. Pinterest is a great tool for visioning [article coming this week] and it is worth visiting often, especially if you are a visual learner.
5. Twitter – Connecting with the social world requires daily maintenance. The key is in planning well enough and simply enough so there is room for organic spontaneity. Twitter allows for a lot of simplicity and a way to connect with the worlds that intersect with your world.
Be wary of the apps you spend time on since they can make or break your progress. Find ones that leverage your see-saw of success and you will feel an authentic progress towards your desired purpose.
Progress is One Move Before Another
Getting through the week positively can use external motivation sometimes. Remembering progress over perfection is a running motto that can keep any entrepreneur moving forward. One series to incorporate is taking time for singular moments of doing one thing for a length of time. The length of time should be no longer than five focused minutes, and then walk away. There are many moves we can take towards success, and some get you to the end goal quicker than others. For readers of this blog, look up for the upcoming series to help your business progress: One Move Before Another.
A first move to make is always centering yourself.
For today’s move: A yoga mediation made perfect for self-centering.
Centering ourselves comes in many forms. What are some ways you find quick balance?
5 Ways To Read 5 Books A Week
I prefer non-fiction myself.
Great leaders take in a lot of information, and when you are just starting out with your passion you may find there is hardly any time to sit down and take in everything you need to know in order to launch your successful venture. Having no time is a limiting mindset that will hold you back. Fortunately reading books has gotten a lot simpler these days. Here are the 5 ways to read at least 5 books per week in order to maintain my edge and personal development.
Change Your Attitude About Reading
First, you do not have to read every word of a book to have successfully read it. While yes there are some books worthy of being fully read, a lot of books will be perfectly useful if you use speed reading practices. Skim, scan, and trust your ability to understand concepts without reading every word.
Read on Your Way To Work
One of my favorite websites on the entire internet is my library’s e-book collection. Filled with a host of free e-books and audio books waiting to be taken in by any library card. Check out your library and see if they offer audio book options, which now can often be played through your smartphone. If not YouTube has an extensive collection of audiobooks as well.
Read before you clock in
Always get to work half an hour early. In that half hour, you can change your world. Or if that’s not possible then the time before you clock in for lunch is another space of time to spend reading. Typically I set a ten-minute clock and go as far as I can. Progress will always be made with consistency.
Read during your downtime
If you are at work, there will be downtime. While I advocate using that downtime to be a better work, that could also include being a better leader, which is applicable in any industry or company. Once again go to your library’s website to see if they have electronic books. Another possibility is letting an audiobook play in the background in lieu of your awesome work playlist.
Read during chore time
Unless you have a maid, you will have to do a chore or two. The point here is there are some weekly activities you naturally do, like the laundry, dishes, or whatever is going on in the fridge. Use the time to put an audiobook on in the background.
Always find ways to acquire more knowledge for that is the substance of creative thinking, which is the habit of success.
photo credit: Recent, present and future reading material via photopin (license)
Zinga Hart 
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