SuccessAtWork

Welcome!

Looking for "top tips" to help you enjoy more success at work - and in your life as a whole?  Want an extraordinary career without paying the price in your health and home life?  Curious about the difference that makes the difference between people who achieve outstanding results and incredible levels of job satisfaction and the rest of the folks on the planet?  Well you've come to the right place!

For as long as I can remember I've been searching for answers to questions like these and applying what I learned to my roles in business.  Since 1999 I've been actively teaching what I've learned to others through my work as a personal development trainer and success coach.  And now I've found a new way to share...

I'll be dividing this blog into 6 main sections:

1. Talents - How to identify your natural strengths and develop them to the full.
2. Talk - All things communication-related, from pitching and presenting to coaching and mentoring.
3. Targets - Goals, aims and objectives; why they often don't work and what does.
4. Team - Relationship-building and how groups really work.
5. Time - Making the most of it.
6. Trance-formation - Change from the inside out...

Scroll down the sidebar to the left and you'll find links to every post I've written under a particular section heading.  Also on the sidebar you can subscribe to this blog and receive each new post within minutes!  Use the "enter your e-mail" option to have new posts arrive in your In Box, or use the orange icon to have them appear in the "Feeds" section of your web browser (alongside your "Favourites").  You can unsubscribe quickly and easily and at any time.  And don't forget to share this blog with your friends and colleagues - after all, it's completely free!  Simply click onto any post you think they'll enjoy and click the "e-mail this" icon.

Interested?  Read on...

The secret to getting along...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could get along with just about anyone?  What difference would it make to you if you could "click" in an instant and enjoy the company of the widest range of people, regardless of their personality, background or point of view?  Just consider the impact of such a magical ability on your relationships with your colleagues, your boss (or clients), your team members, and other stakeholders - not to mention your loved ones back home!  Well the reality is that such a "magical ability" is within reach of us all... with just a little practice.

Rapport - that feeling of connection, ease and trust - is based on one simple principle:

Forget "hours and minutes". Think "segments"!

The fresh focus that the start of a New Year brings often triggers many of us to look forward and consider more fully what we'd like to be, do and have by the end of the year.  This is true of individuals like you and me setting our New Year's Resolutions, goals and new activities.  It's also true of businesses revisiting their vision and business planning with a view to creating maximum success.

As my work revolves around creating and facilitating change for individuals and businesses, this time of year is filled with opportunity - and can also be pretty intense!  In the past there have been times when I've spent the whole of January in complete overwhelm, hanging on by my fingernails and looking forward to February when things would calm down again!  This year has been busier than ever, but exhilirating rather than overwhelming.  Want to know the secret?  Read on...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

If you have set any New Year's Resolutions, or are thinking of doing so, then you might just want to check out the series of posts I wrote this time last year on how to make changes and, more importantly, how to make them stick!  The principles outlined in these six short posts (in the Targets section of this blog, and commencing with the 21 January post) could make all the difference, and set you on the road to effortless success!  And remember you can share these posts quickly and easily with anyone you think might benefit by clicking "email this" under the relevant post.

Tif and I are running a whole series of exciting sessions this month to help get the New Year off to a flying start.  If your goals are health related (weight loss, improving fitness, energy-boosting, etc) those of you local to our base in Warrington, Cheshire, may be interested in our "Fit for Life!"  day this Saturday 3rd January.  We also have our regular monthly personal development group evening session on the 13th which this month is all about "Habit Busting!" and we have another evening session planned for the 20th called "New Year, New You!" which we ran last year to rave reviews!  And that's just to mention three - see the Go Beyond NLP website for full details.  So why not join a bunch of positive, like-minded folks and discover the easy and fun way to reaching your goals?!

If there's anything in particular you'd like to see me cover on this blog in 2009, why not drop me a line at kate@go-beyond.co.uk?  I would love to hear your topics of interest, and the questions / challenges you are addressing right now, and it would be a pleasure and a privilege to help you get the fresh perspective you need.  I look forward to hearing from you ;-)

"Sow an act and you reap a habit.
Sow a habit and you reap a character.
Sow a character and you reap a destiny"
Charles Reade

Christmas Gifts - Part 14 - It's childs play!

Merry Christmas to you!  And as the final installment of your promised "Christmas Gifts", here's a prompt which celebrates the little people who help to make this such a special time...

Consider something you used to love to do as a child, something in which you became completely absorbed and which felt wonderful to you.  Write about this in your journal and why it felt so good.  Consider how you could reintroduce this activity (or its adult / contemporary equivalent) to your life today.

Recall in as much detail as possible all that you enjoyed about that carefree, fun-filled aspect of your childhood.  Not only will you feel great as you do so, but you may also identify a way of feeling very good on a regular basis from now on.  If you loved to paint, perhaps you could take up a water colour class?  If you loved 'gluing and sticking', perhaps you could take up some kind of craft?  If you loved to dance, perhaps you could take a salsa class or visit a club or dinner-dance?  If you loved a good argument, perhaps you could take up debating?  If you loved roaming around the lanes picking blackberries, perhaps you could squeeze in a few country walks?  If you loved to role-play, perhaps you could join an amateur dramatics club (or find some other way to dress up and have fun...!)? 

And if you can find ways of weaving these past pleasures into your working day, even better!  After all, life's far too important to be taken seriously!

"The gift of happiness belongs to those who unwrap it."  Andrew Dunbar

Christmas Gifts - Part 13 - A down payment on joy!

The children in the Trafford Household are filling with excitement fit to burst!  We're off to the local Panto, followed by dinner in town, and a ride on Manchester's smaller-but-still-great-fun equivalent of the London Eye.  Then it's time for all of the last minute preparations for the guy in the red suit; the hanging of the stockings, the sprinkling of the lawn with "reindeer bait" (porridge oats mixed with glitter, to you and me!), and then of course the traditional tray of goodies to be left beneath the tree.  All a marvelous build up to something they've been awaiting for a very long time!

Do you remember what that was like, to just KNOW that something wonderful was about to happen?  Well, that's the feeling you need to tap into if you're to pull even more fabulous experiences into your own life!  So here's my invitation to you on this wonderful Christmas Eve:

Identify something that hasn't happened yet but which you are hoping for in the future.  Imagine the perfect outcome, just as you would wish it to be.  Now, begin to write in the present tense as if you are already living your heart's desire. 

One of the fastest ways to manifest what you want is to rehearse it in your mind and find the feeling-place of having it now.  Whether it's something big (e.g. financial independence) or something small but significant to you (e.g. a successful presentation in a couple of weeks' time), if you can visualise your success in delicious detail you are 99% of the way there!  The profound sense of Deja Vu which follows when your dreams become your reality is all part of the fun! 

So grab your pen and focus on something you want as if it were already yours.  The time you spend is a "down payment" on your future joy!

"Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein

Christmas Gifts - Part 12 - Things I adore about ME too!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's prompt.  And I am even more hopeful that you are beginning to notice your own reflection in the wonderful people around you.  If so, you are all "warmed up" for today!

Identify (at least) 5 things you adore about yourself, and write a few words about each quality.

You can choose physical features, extend your list of skills, identify your highest values and the way you live up to them - anything goes!  And if you get stuck, no problem:  Just review yesterday's entry and look in the mirror offered by those you most admire...

"To love one's self is the beginning of a lifelong romance." Oscar Wilde

Christmas Gifts - Part 11 - Things I love about you!

It's the season of "goodwill to all men", but with out a doubt there will be a small selection of people closest to you who make it particularly easy to flow the "goodwill"!  So, as today's prompt, I invite you to...

Bring to mind just one of your favourite people and identify (at least) 5 things you adore about this person!  Write a few words about each of these qualities and why you appreciate them so much.

If you are in a relationship, you may wish to start with your partner.  And then in future you can revisit this prompt and move on to your children if you have any, your boss or favourite client, your coach / mentor, etc.  In fact, anyone you value can be a great focal point for flowing the feel-good.

And have you considered why it is that certain positive qualities in others resonate with you so powerfully?  Perhaps it because they are true of you also, whether or not you have yet developed them fully into strengths?  Certainly the Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle seemed to think so...

"Show me the man you honour, and I will show you the man you are." Thomas Carlyle

Christmas Gifts - Part 10 - Today...

I'm sure that, by now, you are beginning to notice a growing and more persistent sense of wellbeing.  As this continues, I can promise you that you will notice even more readily the many opportunities you have to be grateful each day - if only you choose to make that your focus.  To further encourage you in this, today's prompt is simply to;

Think of just one thing which happened today (or yesterday if you are journalling first thing in the morning) for which you feel genuine appreciation.

Was it an offer of help?  An unexpected gift?  A clear road when you expected traffic? A delicious meal?  A piece of good news?  A bargain purchase?  Consider just one thing for which you can flow appreciation and write a few words about the circumstances, the other(s) involved, and the way the event unfolded. 

As a variation on this theme, you can also journal at the end of the day by producing a list of all the things you feel grateful for during that one day.  With just a few moments reflection, the list can become pretty long pretty fast!  How good it feels to know that the Universe is conspiring with you to create the life of your dreams... one moment at a time!

"The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more you will have to express gratitude for." Zig Ziglar

Christmas Gifts - Part 9 - Totally Supported

As the saying goes, "every cloud has a silver lining".  But sometimes, we only see that silver lining long after the fact.  It can be very healing to re-visit some of our more challenging experiences and deliberately consider the benefits which have flowed to us as a result.  To take just one angle on this, today I invite you to;

Consider a time in the past when you experienced a real challenge - either a major life challenge or simply a short-lived but very intense experience - but felt fully supported.  Now consider who helped you through that experience, and write in detail about how wonderful it felt to have someone in your corner.

Over time, as you reflect on a range of experiences like this one, you can begin to recognise the value of these (brace yourself for a cliche!) "character-building" times.  And eventually it becomes possible to experience this not only afterwards but even during the event itself.  And that is truly something to be grateful for...

"Love is the Master Key that opens the gates of happiness."  Oliver Wendell Holmes

Christmas Gifts - Part 8 - Invisible Helpers

One of the wonderful things about keeping a Joy Journal is the way in which, over time, the "attitude of gratitude" begins to permeate your day-to-day thoughts.  As it does, you may begin to notice that many things you take for granted suddenly become simply awe-inspiring!  So to help you explore this interesting phenomenon right now, here's your prompt for today:

Choose a simple aspect of your daily routine, and begin to consider the many people who are involved in creating that single experience for you.  Write as extensive a list as you can, and notice just how many "invisible helpers" support this one small experience...!

The first time I was prompted to make a journal entry of this kind, I was eating my breakfast - a bowl of muesli with chopped banana and soy milk, and a cup of fruity tea - when I suddenly began to consider all of the people who had contributed to this simple meal.  I thought of the farmers who grew and harvested the grains, nuts, bananas, grapes, soy beans.  I thought of the factory workers who turned the wheat kernels into wheat flakes and the grapes into raisins, created the packaging, and made milk from beans! I thought of the ship's crew who brought me my banana and the lorry drivers who fetched everything to the supermarket on my doorstep.  I thought of the supermarket staff who stacked the shelves, and the bank staff who processed my card payment.  On and on and on... you get the idea! 

So I invite you to take a few minutes now to consider the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of anonymous people who contribute to just one experience of your life each day.  I challenge you to not be astounded!  And how could we possibly feel "unsupported" ever again...?

"There are only two ways to live your life:  One is as though there are no miracles, the other is as though everything is a miracle."  Albert Einstein