motivation | Zinga Hart

One More Move: Sustain Your Momentum

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Zinga H

Agendas, fundraisers, programs, networking and this is just the volunteer work?!?! As a passionate creator that presides over a startup non-profit, #LimitlessAmbition, 2 businesses, a higher ed profession, and a beautiful growing-so-fast family surfing the wave that is seeking success could easily crash, but when we do what we love…love finds a way. As entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves swimming deep in a variety of projects, responsibilities, deadlines, and commitments that could easily have us feeling burned out, overwhelmed or just swamped. Our ambition won’t let us give up and the people we serve rely on us to be leaders, mentors, and overall figures of what our purpose stands for. So how can we ensure we sustain ourselves while completing complex projects and timelines?

Here a three key factors to take into account:

Honesty is a winning policy: Before you embark on any ambitious journey, you need to honestly assess the progress you and your team can capably commit to weekly. If you are already in your journey and are starting to feel buried, share that with your team as well. Voicing frustrations, delays, and setbacks with everyone allows for many minds (including your own) to create a solution. Journal, set up a meeting or group chat to discuss a strategy for success that works for everyone!
Create and celebrate easy wins in your project, early and often: *Secret Alert* I have a little happy dance EVERY TIME I release a post by the end of Monday. I started it in an effort to share what I learned helps individuals craft their own success, so they can contribute to and grow a thriving community! Although it takes some time to complete, it is still a small step towards ensuring that someone will be inspired to boldly take any small step towards building their own success journey.

Harness the power of your tribe! Being held accountable to our goals boosts our sense of commitment. There is something special about someone else knowing about what you want to do and then checking in on you to make sure you completed it! Schedule lunch dates, send a FB msg or text, connect in a Group chat, etc. etc. Find an accountability partner/group and share your goals and progress with them. Need someone to hold you accountable?

What goals are you sustaining in March? Share them in the comments below.

Finding Your Brand Style, Networking, and More with BOStyle.me

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Zinga H

I’m starting, Career Champs, a new Youtube segment. Once a month (for now), where we meet with people who are forging their own career paths by owning their own brand, business, product or service. One of the aspects attached to Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill is that he surveyed 100 men to help formulate his insights. While his advice has been a useful starting point for discussing the nature of success, continuing the process of surveying a diverse pool will help everyone refine the own success.

In this episode, we meet with Braisha Owens, personal stylist and owner of BOStyle.me, she works as a stylist for individuals, professional shoots, and retail. Her recent risk in going out own her own and building her name in a new city, reaches all of us who yearn, to build outside of their hometown.

Find Braisha’s portfolio of work on bostyle.me

What risks have you taken in your career for a better future?

I had a blast interviewing Braisha! Her motivating energy will leave you uplifted. Career Champs premiers the last Friday of every month. Stay tuned to meet co-owners of Micha Specialty Foods!

Share feedback on the new segment!

7 Quotes to Inspire Your Career Action Plan

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Zinga H

Building an authentic career path takes effort. Maintaining your job, keeping yourself open to new opportunities, while improving your skills to keep up with the pace of change in the working world is just a few additional domains to juggle in the scope of your life. Endless online applications and a degree of uncertainty during interviews, can make the experience daunting for even the most seasoned of career champs. Now, the path of talent connection is moving to the social world, which is an additional activity to include on your list of many.

On your career journey it is important to stay motivated.

Here are some 7 motivational quotes to keep your career aspirations in perspective as you continue to build the dream.

There are positive and negative thoughts and, hey, it doesn’t cost you a cent more to think positively

– Angelo Dundee, boxing trainer

Even the best career candidates will not be chosen for every position. The factors that go into choosing you are plenty: the needs, culture, and desires of the company, hiring manager, and team will all play a role into the final decision. So while you may find positions slipping out of reach, there is no need to be negative because that will only slow down your search. Stay positive because it keeps you active.

You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.

— Confucius

If you want to be X (a marketer, account manager, etc.) you are not going to get there by talking about what you will be doing, you need to find ways to do it! Learn the tech associated with the position, volunteer where you can, write about it! Find ways to do what you want to do, whether it is a part of your position or not.

No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.

-Napoleon Hill

Recognize what you don’t like to do early. This will help cut out positions you don’t really want so you can spend time on what you do want.

The worst days of those who enjoy what they do, are better than the best days of those who don’t.

—E. James Rohn

When you find something you love, you will know because even the pain points will be worth it.

There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than you are capable of living.

–Nelson Mandela

I run into people who shy away from speaking outlandish visions of what they want from their future. They fear the disappointment that comes from not attaining it. Yet, the disappointment truly lies in the moment resigned from choosing a life they want. Imagine the best future you can then work towards it today, it is much more fulfilling than giving up all hope before trying.

Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

-Gloria Steinem

Another reason people shy away from imaginations of the future is because they think imagining and daydreaming are a waste of time. This is a dangerous rumor. Dreaming, imagining, and thinking are exercises that ensure our career dreams grow into a career process with an outcome we desire. Make it the first step and give yourself permission to dream your best life.

No one rises suddenly in the world, not even the sun.

Know that your career progress will unfold with time. Just continue to cultivate the process, plan for greatness, and hold patient as your destiny blooms before you.

What’s your favorite career quote?

Relish Every Achievement. Celebrate Your Success As an Entrepreneur or In Your Career Path To Victory. Be authentic by remembering the small parts.

Relish Every Achievement in 5 Easy Moves

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Zinga H

One of my clients is a visionary. Her passion for setting bold goals and creating constant possibilities to current situations is thrilling.When we meet, I find sometimes she feels discouraged by all her organization has not achieved, and quickly overlooking all the small victories she did accomplish. She isn’t the first person I’ve known to do this, and at times, I’ve been guilty of getting discouraged about where I am not instead of remembering and celebrating how far I’ve made it.

So for our next move forward, we’re going to take a look back on how far we’ve made it.

Here are five ways you can relish your achievements today.

Think of 3 ways you have grown in the past five years. Remember yourself from five years ago. You probably made mistakes, struggled to achieve something, or achieved something that made you proud. Consider this growth. If five years is not enough then think over the ten past ten years. You graduated, got that job, started a blog or business. Take a historical scan of your past and thank yourself for taking those successful steps.
Check off parts of your vision board that you have lived. I had on my vision board to be bold and hang with the best. This year I’ve met more CEOs, executive directors, and other business leaders than ever. What is on your vision board that you find is a quality you are currently exhibiting? The point of a vision board is to help us define our desired reality. When you begin to live those desires you have acted in successful alignment with your vision, so take the time to celebrate. Don’t have a vision board? Make one.
Go through your social media and celebrate your successes. Visit your Facebook page, LinkedIn account, or other social media channel and look for a time where you posted something you were happy about or found to be a particular achievement. Tell yourself good job again and remember that you have been successful in the past and are on the right track. Can’t find anything? Then think of a moment where you shared good advice that someone liked. There, you made an impact, which is a successful action.
Remember something small you did successfully and do it again. If you are having a hard time remembering an significant successes then think every smaller and consider the daily achievements we make. Did you remember to take the garbage out on time? Or call your mother after you set the goal 3-weeks ago? These little acts are acts of success and worthy content to from when your memory banks feel fuzzy.
Share your goal/purpose/mission. Celebrate. Taking ownership of our success means being able to be held accountable. When you share what you want to do with another you have taken a victorious step towards being more accountable, while improving your path to your long-term achievement. It’s a win-win move that you can use anytime.

Celebrating our successes over time is just as important as learning and growing from our failures. Both success and failure keep us humble and motivated on our personal or entrepreneurial success path.

How do you find time to celebrate your success? Comment below or Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn

One More Move - Sounds out the word omm which is a common chant in yoga

5 Free Videos to Ease into Post-Pregnancy Workouts

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Zinga H

Being a mom while being a leader is a precious balancing act between energy, sanity, and life in-between. One thing that really helped me manage my multiple roles, after having an emergency c-section and being at the front lines of bringing life into this mortal realm, was exercise. In fact, exercise, and body wellness, is core to success. It contributes to some great aspects of what keeps us motivated, focused, and persistent.

So when I was recovering, I turned to these 5 easy videos to keep me moving slowly. If you’re thinking about starting your routines, talk to your doctor and always read the disclaimers, but otherwise keep moving 🙂

CoreMama Postnatal Exercises For Diastasis Recti All Levels (Full Video)

I don’t think I actually had the ab condition, but these workout exercises are gentle enough to keep you moving without exhausting you. Their entire series is actually quite beneficial.
This one is definitely more of a workout than a movement exercise. Yet, still fairly gentle for those easing into workouts.

Postnatal Workout or Post Abdominal Surgery Workout

20 Minute Post Natal Yoga Class

Sweet yoga. Pop this on if you need to unwind.

Post-Pregnancy Pelvic-Floor Workout
Short but worth it. Your pelvic floor needs a lot of care and attention during this transition phase.

Kundalini Yoga : Kundalini Yoga Breathing Exercises
Momhood means taking a lot of deep breaths. No workout needed to build focus and energy with this video.

What workouts do you use to build and maintain energy?

unplug in order to increase productivity and live an authentic life

One More Move: Unplug

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Zinga H

Happy Monday! On our journey towards authentic success, leadership, and overall self-improvement, it is important to note progress is a process. In order to make progress you must be aware of where you currently are, then you must plan and move to where you want to be, and along the way measure you growth. Our process may be creative and no two journeys will ever be exact copies, but there are some steps we must take before being able to take another. A part of my process for self-improvement is finding time to unplug.

Naturally, I am an INTP/J, which is a personality type that loves to analyze and absorb an abundance of information to soothe an insatiable hunger for new ideas. This personality means the internet is bottomless source of pleasure to feed my need. I read e-books to improve myself as an employee, board leader, entrepreneur, landlord, writer, mother, friend, etc. I follow news websites and my Feedly covers a gamut of topics. Sometimes, I’ll have a news article in one hand, an audio book in the background, and a Youtube video going on branding. It then when I realize the information overload has to stop. Talk about overload! This easy access can cause some serious hurdles on the journey for authentic self-development, but there are easy ways to overcome and the main one is unplugging.

Before the internet grew to be my cheap buffet of information, I lived a relatively simple life. It was not until high school that I got my first internet-ready computer and at that time I was still a Hebrew Israelite. A sect under Judaism, which means every Friday night to Saturday night we unplugged as a family. We started this routine when I was five years old, so I easily spent over a decade, living one full day out of the week disconnected from television. Several religions later, an enrollment in an out-of-state college, and I soon lost interest in keeping a Sabbath. Now 7 years later, I set aside time to unplug as a crucial part of my week.

What are the benefits on unplugging?

You make decisions using your own faculties. Have you ever been in this situation? You are wondering what you should have for dinner so you google it and then 1 hour later you are knee deep Pinterest recipes and running to the store to buy ingredients you didn’t have or need before? When you are disconnected from the internet, you are forced to rely on your environment and mental faculties to aid in your decision making. Search around your cabinets, make up a recipe! Not having the answer readily available helps us exercise our imagination.

You can practice your patience. Sometimes we have to wait in life. Prior to having the internet in our pockets, waiting including creating a conversation with a neighbor or watching the comings and goings around us. Now in a rush to constantly be doing something we cultivate this idea that we need to always be doing something. Disconnecting reminds us that at its best the world is at peace and when we are patients we can be at peace with the world.
You can feel more rested. Constantly engaging with information is tiring. As it constantly churns to connect, store, and retrieve information it takes away from our energy of just being. Walking away from this engagement gives our brain time to rest so it can grow in the long term. Just like the refreshing feel we get after a good nap, walking away from our screens for a while replenishes our capacity to continue discovering more.

While complete unplugging might not be possible (how would you read this blog?) it is something we can set aside time to do. Here are ten things to do instead of powering up electronics, phones, or any other device.

Birdwatch
Dance
Go for a walk
Meet a neighbor for a talk
Paint
Sew
Volunteer
Read a physical book
Write
Build something

Simple, yet effective. Making times to get away from all the information is essential to staying motivated, productive, and calm. If you still need ideas here are more things to do sans the internet from Gala Darling. Do you unplug? How do you rest from being connected all the time?

photo credit: AC power plug/socket via photopin (license)

automate your lunches - could include healthy yogurt and granola recipe

One More Move: Automate Your Meals

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Zinga H

Happy Monday Readers!

Last week, I posted an article about automating emails as a great way to cut down on email time while providing thorough service for any of your clients, customers, or contacts. Today to continue the trend of automation comes perhaps one of my most important processes: Automating my lunches (and dinners) for the week. I started doing this when I became a senior in college. I was living on my own with no dining hall plan and quickly finding my diet of ramen noodles, pizza, and Chipotle was not fulfilling my energy needs. One day I stumbled, on an article about Squirreling. Weird right, what do squirrels have to do with eating? We essentially squirreling is a technique where you cook food in large batches and freeze some for later. Hooked I was! What is this batch cooking and what tested recipes will hold up in my freezer?

After I graduated and became a full-time worker, the need for food available always became even more important. My office building had a wonderful café that sold peanut and banana smoothies for 4 dollars. Delicious, yes, but quickly my need for a quick delicious snack was racking up major fees. In a typical month 4 dollars every work day becomes $100 a month, which is easily a car payment or a wise investment. So, I stopped that and stocked up my office drawer with snacks, then focused on creating lunches so filling and so healthy that snack cravings we reduced greatly.

So for this week, consider how you can include some healthy meal automation in your life. Cooking your meals in batches, creating freezer meals, or even hiring a service for meal creation will help soothe you because it takes care of one of your basic needs, leaving time for you care for your higher-order needs like fulfilling your greatest purpose!

Here are some easy ways to automate your lunches.

Meal Delivery Service

I have yet to try this since my investment decisions are more for long-term needs over short-term convenience, but if I had the room I would consider doing this – even for just 1 week per month. Has anyone actually tried meal delivery and they enjoy the service? Let’s chat in the comments below.

Here are some options:

Cook Once a Month

This I have done! Unfortunately, my newest freezer can not handle such a bulk of food, so I dropped down to once every other week. Yet, when I did do the once a month meals there was one site I used and paid and happily paid for:

Once a Month Meals (Formerly Once a Month Moms) – They do everything! Meals, menus, grocery lists, and instructions to get your meals done for the month! They use a blend of foods for crock pots, baked goods, and menus for every meal.

I would recommend more, but I’ve only used them.

My hybrid – 2 week option

Every friday, I create an easy two-week menu by coming up with 4 dinners and 2 lunches. At the beginning of the week I will cook anywhere from 3-6 meals and then divvy them up into containers and toss them in the freezer. Dinners become lunches, lunches become dinner and we never completely eat all the food by the end of the week. I only have to worry about grabbing a container and going about my business.

Then there is always squirreling or cook every day, but get your groceries delivered. Getting your basic needs covered delivers peace of mind so you can focus on the long-term vision. How do you fuel?

—

Follow me on Twitter @ZingaHart

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Dealing with negativity using wellness techniques either personal wellness or wellness in the workplace including mental, physical, and spiritual wellness

Use Wellness to Overcome Negative Ruts

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Zinga H

Facebook is introducing a dislike button. Although they are not quite ready to roll it out, yet it is imperative that you and your team are able to face negativity in a way that yields positive outcomes. You are going to have to face negative situations, behaviors, and emotions in your life and your business. When you practice ways to embrace negativity you will strengthen your ability to innovate and improve over time. Managing negativity means making proactive prevention a priority under your leadership. Mental, physical, and spiritual wellness are components necessary for maintaining positivity within your enterprise’s well-being. Here are some ways to consider how you can strengthen your systems and embrace negativity for good.

Mental Wellness

Our thoughts craft our reality and consistent negative thoughts can generate a reality that saps away our motivation, inspiration, and overall energy. Beyond our own input, the brain has a bias towards negative stimuli. We notice when something is wrong more strongly and more often than we notice positive attributes. Think of a silky smooth face, save for a small pimple on the right chin line.Our pimple gets more attention because it deviates from our preferred norm. Since our mind can easily dwell in negativity it is important to strengthen our mental toughness. Having a strong mindset and a belief in your ability to create positive outcomes will form a habit that will propel you beyond negativity and towards success.

Here’s a great YouTube clip where you can feel the integrity of positive thinking:

Physical Wellness

Of course. your mind can only take flight with your body. Physical wellness plays an important role in our ability to function at our prime capacity. It is your source of energy, which is the fuel you use to maintain a positive attitude all day. Consider this, when you are tired, loaded on junk food, and at an inert state due to bare minimum movement, your are bound to be cranky, groggy, and unfocused. Diet, exercise, and rest are key players in your physical wellness, but the main leader is your relationship with your body. Find ways to celebrate and respect your body for all it has produced in your life. A great way to tap into that relationship is through Tai Chi, which forces us to slow down and feel how we move.Then make sure to regularly fit in those superfoods in and to move a bit.

Spiritual Wellness

Spiritual wellness is a tricky category, but one may call this emotional wellness or even wellness for the soul. Whatever it is; it is the positive emotions we elicit from certain actions we take. From putting on a favorite dance playlist or volunteering for your good cause to even taking some time to garden in the year. We as humans need to fulfill our desires and ignoring or downplaying them will build a subtle, yet powerful force of negative living. For yourself, take some time to ask and question if you are doing the activities that align with your values and vision. For your team, allow for people to spend time talking about their hobbies or create social activities around activities directly tied to the bottom line. This will boost morale and perhaps ignite creativity within your organization.

Here’s a quick exercise to boost wellness at work:

Hold a walking meeting on ways to improve wellness around the office
Create a “Free Fruit Friday” and bring in healthy fruits for people
Place an anonymous suggestion box for employees to freely share their thoughts and opinions
Craft out time for office groups to meet on a subject tied to their interests

There is a ton of ways to improve wellness in your life and ventures. Wellness prevents negativity from paralyzing your flow. Take time today to boost the positives around you, and when Facebook rolls out its dislike button, you will be fully prepared.

Free Your Team

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Zinga H

Authentic talent acquisition is a key trend in corporate recruiting. It keeps companies working with the millennial workforce and helps them stay competitive in our flat economy.HR professionals, CEOs, and leaders overall need to pay attention to ensure all members of the company family are thriving throughout their career. Capturing talent is an important best practice, ensuring your company’s people bring value on their journey.

What happens after is a road you must manage while your company and team evolve. An employee’s new career path will take them through many positions, those can either be with your company or with another. This is why it is important to develop a relationship with your employees where they feel free to grow within your company’s headquarters and global operation. Paying attention to placement, communication, and awareness of your team members will ensure you yield the most out of everyone’s purpose, passions, and contributions to the vision.

Placement

“Everybody’s a genius…”

How do you measure your organization’s genius? Every person is comprised of work preferences that ensure they will naturally thrive. Somewhat like a work destiny, work preferences could be boiled down to a six letter code, created by, academic psychologist, John Holland. He created the Holland code or RIASEC, which covered what a person would be enjoy doing as a part of their vocation.

Learn more about the code

Of course human measurements can only test so far, and at base our guesses our 50/50. Real placement comes from experience. Set up times and opportunities for your employees to actively experiment. Encourage committees and allow employees to shadow in departments; speak with your employees about their codes and get their feedback. Over time, you and your employee will find a place within your enterprise that allows them to apply themselves in a way that is motivated by their preferences.

Communications

We are now a part of the trust economy. Building trust with your company’s leaders and team requires communication, transparency, and integrity. Corporations must brand from within in order to project their integrity to larger community. Yet, how do you communicate with your entire organization? If you are constantly pointing towards how great your company is without ensuring everyone is on board you will eventually move away from the trajectory that your employees are following. Elicit feedback relentlessly and accept all feedback equally to keep the lines of communication flowing. The best organizations do not run on emotions, yet they allow emotions to be freely expressed. Have strong systems in place to ensure everyone feels safe to share the voice and take a seat at the table.

Awareness

When you company’s tribe is just right you will feel the buzz of flow. Everyone will have a strong attention and care to what they are doing. While this is excellent and you have built a strong rapport, the final step to the employee’s buyer’s journey is leaving them feeling delighted. Take small steps to show you are aware of their lives as humans. Celebrate birthdays, appreciate their impact, highlight their hobbies. Find the time to engage and go the extra step with your employees and they will become your best brand ambassadors.

Paying attention to your employees as listening to your overall market. A free team will be driven, motivated, and empowered to build the prosperity of your company’s mission and vision. With workforce potential declining, it is important to capture and keep talent on your side.

What is the cost of losing an employee?

For entry-level employees, it costs between 30% and 50% of their annual salary to replace them.
For mid-level employees, it costs upwards of 150% of their annual salary to replace them.
For high-level or highly specialized employees, you’re looking at 400% of their annual salary.

[Cited from Karlyn Borysenko]

The return on investment comes in the form of savings and revenue building from having a free and happy team.

How does your company ensure its employees are thriving?

One More Move: Give Gratitude

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Zinga H

Back to our regularly scheduled One More Move article! This series gives you singular moves to keep you motivated, authentic, and connected as your grow you personal and career path. This week, I challenge you to express gratitude. Why? Because it is through this expression of gratitude that we heighten our life’s quality, elevate our mood, and build our interpersonal relationships with others.

The benefits of gratitude are immense. It affects our mind, body, and soul. Below is an excellently designed infographic on The Power of Gratitude. You can see how the power of gratitude can help you can gain more energy, get better sleep, be less anxious, and have fewer headaches. All these benefits are necessary to regulate in order to stay motivated on the long-haul to your legacy. In a sense gratitude is the attitude of leadership that keeps us going and connected to ourselves and others around us. How do you find gratitude through out your day?

Credit Thanksgiving Infographic from Mind Valley Academy.

Here 5 easy ways to express gratitude today!

Write a recommendation on LinkedIn
Send a thank you card to a colleague
Give a generous tip to your server
Publicly thank someone on Facebook
Handwrite a letter of appreciation to a mentor your admire

Tiny Buddha offers 50 unique ways to express gratitude, which focuses a lot of being fully present with others and considering ways to truly touch another person as a leader. There are many places where we can express gratitude. When we take time to make this one move we ripple forward positivity and good vibrations.

To cap off, here is a TED Talk on the Transformative Power of Gratitude. Give gratitude fair value as your return on investment is worth the deposit.

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On your career journey it is important to stay motivated.

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