As a coach, I often hear people say things like, “I struggle with will-power and motivation.” They seek help with accountability and a task manager. While I’m happy to help, just focusing on your will-power is not enough!

Motivation is an area I love to focus on with clients because once you learn the power you have inside you, you can change your life’s circumstances pretty quickly. In this article, I’ll share with you 3 things about motivation you might not know in order to help you grow.

3 Truths About Motivation

• It begins in you! Do you wake up every day ready to face your day or do you have to drag yourself out of bed? I used to have to drag myself out of bed every day. Until I found my passion for helping myself and others grow and learn to serve others. Once I found what I was really good at and had a simple plan in place, every day I wake up ready to go- most days before my alarm goes off! If you’re not feeling motivated, chances are you...

Some people seem to have more momentum in life than others, don’t they? Their business is growing, their children are angels, and they seem to have amazing relationships. Especially if you watch social media posts! Do they have some sort of secret that the rest of the world doesn’t know about?

Well, one thing I’ve noticed is that the people who understand certain principles of life tend to be more successful. And, one of those principles is the law of rhythm. The law of rhythm in its simplest form says that there are natural highs and natural lows and you are either going into a high or a low at any one time.

We see this in nature. The 4 seasons. The farming cycle. Day and night.

We can also apply this principle to our thought life. And this is what really successful people do. They know that there will be natural ups and downs and what to do when you experience those. For example, if you are feeling ill or injured- you might be in a low. When in a low, it’s...

A mentor of mine once said, “Your character communicates to people in the room before you ever enter the room.” Who you ARE makes a difference!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to do a training for professional development and been told not to enter into the touchy-feely personal development area. Because personal development isn’t ‘important’ in the workplace. Nay nay!

Who you are determines your success!

Your character communicates three things:

• Consistency- can people count on you to BE the same person day in and day out? Or do you changer your personality and habits like someone who changes their clothes? Do your people wonder which boss will show up to work- the kind and caring boss, or the mean and angry one?
• Potential- who you ARE communicates whether the person and/or the work has potential for growth. For example, many of my coaching clients come to me to make a transition in their life (new job or start a business)...

People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust.

People like to worship with people they know, like, and trust.

People like to grow with people they know, like, and trust.

People like to live life with people they know, like, and trust.

If you’re trying to have any sort of influence on ANYONE in your life, you need to develop the know, like, and trust factor!

KNOW: build relationships. You don’t have to be best friends, but get to know them. What makes them tick? What do they like, dislike? What drives them? What do they hope for the future?

LIKE: do you like people? Do you like THEM? Do you like YOURSELF? The answers to these questions will determine which person shows up to that networking event, meeting, or job; and it will determine your success.

TRUST: are you a trustworthy person? How can you tell? Do your team members trust you? Your boss? Your followers? What’s your evidence for that answer? Do you trust others? Who or why not?

I know...

Thomas Troward, one of the members in my ‘old, dead guys club’, a mentor, writes about the laws of the universe and Nature and how you can apply those to your thinking. One law in particular is the law of growth. He writes about the plants, and trees, specifically the huge sequoias and how they all, including many generations over time, come from a small seed.

He explains that thoughts and ideas are just like seeds in the physical world and when they are planted in great soil, watered, and fertilized, they can grow exponentially.

I’ve found, after coaching hundreds of people, that there are three choices you can do with an idea:

• Force it to happen: usually by hurrying, worrying, overworking yourself, or MAKING it happen
• Give up hope that it will happen- dismissing the idea right away or letting someone influence you NOT to do something with that idea
• Watering that idea with an intentional and persistent thought process.

Guess which client usually sees better...

My good friend, Carl, asked me two questions the other day and it really got me thinking. So, instead of just answering him, I thought I would answer for all of us. Here are the two questions:

• Have you always had an appetite for success?
• What would you tell people with no hunger for success?

Appetite For Success

Have I always had an appetite for success? The short answer: No! I wasn’t raised in an environment that encouraged dreaming or shoed a picture of success. When I was in high school a teacher asked me where I was going to college and I told him, “Nowhere. Why would I go to college?” He was flabbergasted! He couldn’t understand; it just wasn’t in my awareness.

I thought success meant finishing college. Then I thought it was getting married and having children. Then I thought it was getting a good job that paid well. Then I had a stroke and it completely changed my life! I reevaluated everything and started my own business as a speaker and...

I cannot even count how many times a coaching client comes to a call and says this to me! It’s a huge warning sign to me and let me tell you why.

Emerson said, “Do nothing you can do wholeheartedly.”

So, what happens when you get to that place of not being able to do something wholeheartedly?

• “I’ve got to get more motivated!”
• “I just HAVE to do this thing.”
• “I need someone to hold me accountable.”

I think it goes back to what drives you? What do you love to do? What gives you passion and excitement and fills you with energy? Are you doing those things? Do you have a process in place to make sure that you are regularly checking in to increase those things in your life?

I know I do!

I regularly take time to pause and reflect on my business at least every quarter to see what I can get rid of- ditch or delegate- and what I want more of- usually what I’m really good at. This helps me stay in my strength zone. When I hear...

How To Be Like Mother Teresa (8/4)

Mother Teresa had no job title, no money, and was a part of a dying organization. Yet she had a huge influence and helped change the world!

Why? Well, I believe there are several myths about leadership and influence that keep people from having this same impact. Let me share with you four examples of common coaching clients I deal with when working on their leadership. Let’s see what clues we can gather.

Martha The Manager

Martha believes that, because she is a manager, promoted for her skills, she has automatic influence. Martha rests on this fact and takes her authoritative voice a bit too far sometimes and her people are beginning to not like her. She is excellent at getting stuff done, especially when using preset systems and processes. For these reasons, her bosses saw potential in her. However, because of her lack of ability to build relationships and connections, she lacks true, deep, and meaningful influence. Here people will listen...

This is a continuation of our post yesterday on the 6 love supplies. One of my mentors, Paul Martinelli, wrote an addendum to the book Think & Grow Rich. In it he covered three principles that, as he said, were missing from the TAGR text and that you definitely need in your life to be able to have a richer, more meaningful existence.

The three missing chapters are on love, generosity, and forgiveness.

I’ve used this book as the basis for a coaching program with dozens of clients for the past 6 months and I’d like to highlight a few thoughts from one small section in the love chapter. However, at the risk of writing a whole new book, I’ll break it up into two sections, part 1 and part 2.

The 6 love supplies are:

• Being listened to
• Receiving praise and acknowledgment
• Physical touch
• Being support in your goals and dreams
• Keeping agreements

Yesterday we talked about 1-3, today I have a few thoughts about the rest. These final three are often, in my experience, a...

One of my mentors, Paul Martinelli, wrote an addendum to the book Think & Grow Rich. In it, he covered three principles that, as he said, were missing from the TAGR text and that you definitely need in your life to be able to have a richer, more meaningful existence.

The three missing chapters are on love, generosity, and forgiveness.

I’ve used this book as the basis for a coaching program with dozens of clients for the past 6 months and I’d like to highlight a few thoughts from one small section in the love chapter. However, at the risk of writing a whole new book, I’ll break it up into two sections, part 1 and part 2.

The 6 love supplies are:

• Being listened to
• Receiving praise and acknowledgment
• Physical touch
• Being support in your goals and dreams
• Keeping agreements

Do you LISTEN to others? I mean, really listen? Or do you listen to respond? Do you connect with them or just talk to them? People who feel this kind of love know the difference! If this one...