Not Enough Time? Change Your Focus

Productivity needs to be defined as accomplishing goals and dreams, not simply being 'so busy'. In fact, if you keep talking about how busy and time-poor you are, you will likely waste time and energy. Why? Because talking about it is revealing that you are focused on lack of time instead of focusing on where you want to go.

Be mindful of your words, as you words reveal your thoughts. Your words speak to the quality of energy of your being. If you talk about lack of something repetitively, you are likely to manifest it into your life. This is how the brain and mind work. The primary mechanism of the creative process that ends up being your life's experience is focus of intention and attention.

These two things are slightly different. Intention is a feeling and creates the mental image, and attention is about keeping your physical eyes and your mind's eye on the target. Here's the catch, though: if you have wired a belief into the subconscious part of your mind that you don't have enough time, this powerful intention will be the dominant experience.

Most people don't even bother to set a conscious intention daily anyway. If you did, you may have a chance, but if not, you can pretty much count on 'not enough time' being your experience. You see, it's not that you are a victim. It's not that you have fewer hours in a day than other people, who seem to accomplish major life-changing goals in their lives. What it really is, is that you do not understand how weak your power of focus has become because of some of the following beliefs that you have formed over time.

Here are three simple examples:

Multi-tasking saves time and is effective (weakens attention - wastes energy, also)

Life is hard and success takes hard work (creates struggle)

Reflection and quiet time is a waste of time (actually, it revitalizes and restores the mind)

Here are some solutions to the above:

Multi-tasking takes your focus from being like a laser to being a 40 watt-bulb. It's literally not good for your brain. Take five-minute breaks each hour to breathe deeply and stretch. Check your email only at designated times, like 10 minutes before the hour and for ONLY 10 minutes. Set your intention before each task, and don't do another until finished.

Recognize that the brain is an organ that produces self-fulfilling prophecy. So if you keep thinking and speaking that life and success are hard, your brain will cause you to take actions to make this your experience - it's as simple as that. You will focus on things that are ineffective. You will miss opportunities that are right in your face. You will take three times longer to get your tasks done. You will not attract the best support systems and people into your life. In fact, you are likely to create chaos and frequent challenges. Stop this, and learn how to change your thinking and feeling patterns. Life will become magically easier. Don't underestimate the power of your feelings, mind, and brain to create your reality.

Reflection time is vital to slow down your busy brain. If you don't stop, re-fuel, and literally slow down your brain waves, you will likely damage some brain cells (this is literal). Chronic stress and overwhelm have even been associated with memory loss and Alzheimer's. It can cause everything from headaches to cancer. Time poverty is perceptual in nature. Also, if you keep talking about 'not enough time', you are likely to take on situations that are not even aligned with your values. Speaking of values, when you become a 'doing machine', typically you don't slow down enough to even realize what your true personal values really are. Why? You are too busy! Too busy staying on the hamster wheel of other people's agendas. Too busy worrying about the fear-based negative news that you have no control over.

If you change your focus, turn off the negative media, and get clear about where you really want to go in your life, you will have the insights of just the right inspired actions to take to stop doing things that are meaningless. I could go on here, but I hope you get the point. Reflection is critical and powerful to regaining control of your time, energy, and getting clear on what you should be doing to accomplish and truly be productive.

Learn how to retrain your brain! It may take some courage to stop the runaway "time train." Start by focusing on one step at a time. Start by setting an intention to finish one task at a time. Begin to talk about being in the process of creating more time. Want to be bold? Affirm that "my mind is finding more time now" throughout your day. Start feeling that you have enough time. Start by focusing on gratitude for what you have instead of what you don't have. Change your focus, and you will change your mind.

Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle - with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.

For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.valenciaray.com/

Original article

Essential Leadership Quality: Integrity

Whether someone you look up to simply did their job, fulfilled their promises day-in and day-out to their employer and family, or they were a civic leader who made a promise to the masses and actually did what they said they were going to do, you have no-doubt been witness to what it means to have integrity.

The straight-talk definition of Integrity is:

"Doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it."

In other words, keeping your promises, and as a leader, being in integrity with your word is absolutely crucial to your ability to successfully lead and mentor your team.

No matter who you are or where you are from: world leader, boss, employee, child, Mom, or Dad, integrity matters; what you say matters, and who you are being when you are doing what you are doing matters!

After all, given the fact that we lead and teach those around us by example, what are we teaching when we aren't our word? What are we teaching if we occur as if integrity doesn't matter?

What We See in the Mirror

Quite frequently, the person we are out of integrity with most is ourselves, and when we are out of integrity - even in a way that others can't see - we know it; we beat ourselves up, it grinds us down, we get to a place where we are afraid of being found out, and we play smaller!

Integrity really gets to the heart of the very personal unspoken stuff that we think about when we look at ourselves in the mirror. So, what would it be like to be in integrity everywhere? To actually do what you say you are going to do every single time?

The truth is that as humans, some days we are going to be in integrity with our agreements and some days we're not. When your integrity is out-of-place, you will beat yourself up longer, harder, and meaner than anyone else possibly could, but don't waste time making yourself wrong. The world will do that for you for free! Instead, when you find that you are out of integrity in a part of your life, put it back. Say you are sorry! Forgive yourself! Clean it up! Get back into integrity!

No matter how great you are, there is going to come a time when you have to clean up your integrity. Part of living a life of integrity is developing the ability to be humble and take responsibility for your mistakes. We all make them. And know this: Being out of integrity doesn't mean you are a bad person. If you are out in the world shaking things up, you are going to be out of integrity at some point. Everyone makes mistakes, and if you are out in the world, being visible enough for people to notice, you are a leader and your integrity matters!

A well-known executive business coach, Clay Nelson is no ordinary, fly-by night, new-to-the-game coach! Clay Nelson has been coaching executives for over 30 years. Coaching from the core fact that growing people is the key to growing any business, Clay has helped countless business executives and their teams come together to not just improve their businesses, but to improve their lives. Clay's personal life experience, years of coaching, and his natural abilities to motivate, teach, and develop leaders is what makes him stand apart as a leader in the field... committed to making a difference wherever a difference needs to be made.

Clay Nelson is also a well-regarded motivational and educational speaker, providing outstanding programs customized to the audiences he is speaking with. Able to speak on any number of topics within his noted specialties, Clay Nelson is known for moving audiences from the status quo to action as they create the businesses and lives they say they want to have.

For more information go to: http://www.claynelsonlifebalance.com/

Original article

True Leaders Make Others Feel Important

Great leadership is never about satisfying the ego or personal agenda of a leader, or a small group of members. It is certainly never about being aloof, or setting ones self on some sort of pedestal, expecting others to treat you regally. In my over three decades of working closely with well over a thousand leaders, I have observed that every potential leader I have ever observed only achieves greatness when he adopts an attitude of service to others, where he endeavors to consistently make others feel both important and relevant. Great leader realize that they can never be completely effective unless they are able to effectively communicate, and that effective communication requires truly caring for others, and taking their feelings into consideration. John Dewey wrote, "The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to feel important."

1. How can leaders make others feel important? One of the easiest ways to express gratitude verbally, by going out of one's way to thank someone for even minor assistance. Leaders must thank members for their support, while maintaining their integrity so that others realize that the thanks are indeed genuine, rather than simply some empty words and platitudes.

2. Great leaders never blame others for anything. Firstly, they realize it is not only unproductive, but often counter- productive. Has the leader properly trained someone before delegating duties and responsibilities? Has the leader properly and effectively communicating what he wants achieved so that the individual understands what's necessary, the time and effort commitment required? Does the leader monitor the situation on an ongoing basis? Instead of blaming or negative criticism, does the leader give constructive critiques that both help the progress and quality of the performance, but also makes the individual feel good about himself?

Many in leadership fail to recognize that one "atta-boy" and a pat on the back often accomplishes far more in a positive manner than blame, harsh criticism, etc. One moment of ungratefulness by a leader often demotivates volunteers, and creates a situation where becomes difficult to enlist volunteers. Every human being wants to feel wanted and appreciated! People want to feel important, and thus when a leader publicly thanks someone, it feeds that impulse and need. Effective leaders, by definition, are excellent and proficient motivators, and understand that praise and thanks create positive reactions and motivates others to follow the leader's vision and adopt it as their own. Unless someone is able to get constituents to become believers and followers, who is he leading? One cannot be a leader if no one wants to follow him. Leaders must accept and understand this truism, so that they can put themselves in the proper mindset to be willing to realize that the leader is not the important one, but the organization and its members are!

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Richard's owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. His company Website is http://www.plan2lead.net/, and he can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody. For great information on many topics, visit PLAN2LEAD's Facebook page and LIKE ( http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead )

Original article