Blog - Resources

Significant success is achieved through teams. You are already on multiple teams. You operate on a team with your spouse or partner, your family and friends. You are on a team with vendors, clients and customers. You are on a team when you engage in sports and when you go to work everyday. Your success level is determined by how well you work within your teams. Here are a few ways to build and strengthen your teams:

1. Define the goal of the team. A team is gathered together because a larger goal is set that one individual cannot achieve by them self. What is the goal of the team? Why has the team come together—to achieve what goal or objective? Make it clear. Make it known. If you are part of a team and you do not understand the goal, it is your responsibility to clarify it. It is essential that the team be reminded of the goal and the purpose or direction. As legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz explained, “All winning teams are goal oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives.”

Fear is the killer. It’s the destroyer of dreams. It can crush your business and bust your sales. It can strangle your talents, skills and ambitions.

Our ability to achieve personal and business success is directly related to how well we can break through fear. What fears are holding you back from achieving the things you want to do?

Some common fears are: the fear of poverty, the fear of criticism, the fear of ill heath, the fear of rejection, the fear of success, the fear of failure, the fear of old age, the fear of death, and the fear of the unknown.

From CEOs to celebrities to salespeople, and everyone in between, we all suffer from fears that hold us back from getting what we want. If you’re ready to break through your fear, then consider practicing some of these proven and practical habits to live the life you are capable of.

1. Discover what fears are holding you back. Research shows that we are born with only two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. What that means is every other fear we have is learned. Unfortunately, we seem to acquire too many unhealthy fears that end up holding us back from living the life we deserve. It is essential to become more aware and to identify when we are fearful, how we respond to that fear, and how to break through it. Write a list of things you fear and then list ways you can overcome the fears that are holding you back.

It’s everywhere!

Great amounts of precious time is spent on wading through clutter. It can be frustrating. If you want to be more effective, you need to remove the clutter.

How can we clear clutter from our life? In the era of abundance in which we live it is easy to create clutter. It almost happens on it own, like weeds growing in your garden. Clutter can cost us money but it can also cost us our sanity.

Here are 3 tools to help clear clutter from your life:

1. Think small to get you moving. Organizing even small projects or areas can save a tremendous amount of time. Don’t wait to do it all at once. Waiting around for a nice five-hour block of uninterrupted time to drop in your lap is like waiting around for the perfect stress-free time to quit smoking. It ain’t gonna happen. So start small. At home, pick one corner of the house to start in and tackle a small project per week, working clockwise, until every cabinet, drawer, and closet is organized. Use the same strategy in your office using one hour per week for clean up.

We need stress management for life. Stress in today’s tough economic environment is at an all-time high. Study after study has shown life events of all types (buying or selling a house, losing a job, being promoted, moving to a new location, surgery, etc.) are significant stressors that can lead to physical and psychological problems. Two-thirds of the visits to family physicians are for stress-related symptoms, and three-fourths of modern disease is related to stress.

Avoid being a victim of the debilitating affects of stress. Here are a few stress-busting strategies you can use.

1. Use auto-suggestion. An easy and effective technique for body relaxation involves auto-suggestion. Doctors and psychologists have been using this internal verbal instruction technique for centuries. You simply give yourself a command such as: “I am relaxed and at ease,” or “I am calm and relaxed.” Repeat the command until your body accepts it.

Being a leader is a choice. You can be an out-in-front leader or a behind-the-scene leader.

Leadership is more about getting yourself to take action. If you think leadership is about controlling or dominating others, you’re wrong. Here is a small list of habits leaders share in common:

1. Have a vision for the future. Leaders have a vision, a purpose, and goals to achieve. They are not wondering which direction to head because they have established a direction in which to go. Leaders have a written blueprint to follow, too. Great leaders also know how to articulate their vision to those that choose to be on their team. Helen Keller nailed it by sharing, “The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.”