Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Waiting for the World to Change?

Posted by Linda Lycett On 6:43 PM

Taken from our Brandlady.com website, Cookie inspires you to stand up and be counted!

You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.” - Les Brown

I was listening to a song on the radio the other day by John Mayer called, ‘Waiting on the World to Change.’ Well, good luck with that. Sitting back and waiting in resignation for The Good Change Fairy to come and sprinkle pixie dust on your business and life to make it all better ain’t happening. Here’s the deal: The world doesn’t just change by itself. It takes people to make the changes happen in the world.

The only way to change your present circumstances is to take action to bring about the changes you want. As I’m fond of saying, “You don’t get to whine if you don’t do the time.”

If you are going to go about making changes in your business or your life, you’ll need to incorporate the following 3 components:

1. ACCOUNTABILITY – Look around you. Have you ever noticed that every time something happened in your life you were there? You can’t play the blame game if something is not working in your business or life. YOU are accountable for your actions or inactions. It’s no one else’s fault if something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. YOU are accountable for everything you do: your words, your thoughts, your interactions with people, your own feelings, and the results you produce. If things aren’t working out the way you want, then YOU take a look at what YOU could do differently to make things better.

2. RESPONSIBILITY – You have a responsibility to conduct your business (and your life), from a place of honesty, integrity, and reality. If you create problems then it is your responsibility to rectify and resolve them… period. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “People are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Notice he didn’t say that “People are as happy as OTHERS make them feel.” So, if you or any of your clients has expressed their displeasure with your products or services, then it’s up to YOU to clean it up. Same principle applies to the people you interact with in your personal life. If you’re not happy with the way a relationship is going in your life, then is up to you to register a complaint and make a request to change it.

3. CORE VALUES – If you are making bad decisions or second guessing yourself a lot, then in all probability you are making ones that are not in keeping with your core values. If you are making decisions based on what you or others think you SHOULD do instead of what you WANT to do, in all probability you’re being inconsistent with your core values. Once you realign your actions to be consistent with your core values, then you will achieve the level of productivity, effectiveness, confidence, and success you want in your life.

The bottom line is this: If you don’t like your present circumstances, change them. You can’t sit around waiting for someone else to do it for you, like the aforementioned Good Change Fairy. YOU are the catalyst and change agent extraordinaire for your life. Go ahead, make a difference in YOUR world today. And don’t be surprised if the world starts bringing you more of what you want out of life as a result of your actions.

And if you’re having trouble figuring out what your core values are and how to use them to make the right decisions every time, give me a call or email me to schedule a time to chat at Cookie@CookieTuminello.com.


Cookie Tuminello


Cookie Tuminello is the unconventional, sassy, savvy and successful founder of Success Source and the ‘go to’ Personal Power Mentor and Business Strategy Coach for Women who want to create more productivity, profit and
power in their business and life. She’s a published author, creator of the powerful People Pleaser No More System, and the wisdom-filled weekly ezine called Coffee With Cookie



Read more inspiring articles on our website Brandlady.com

Sunday, February 5, 2012

New Blog Under Construction

Posted by Linda Lycett On 5:05 PM

Brandlady has decided to add a Blog - that way we can keep in touch with everyone a little easier.

We are currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION so please bear with us.

See you all soon


Linda

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Blasts from the Past

Posted by Linda Lycett On 10:20 PM

Many of my clients express confusion and concern about the new complexities of human relationships that have resulted from the advent of Facebook and other websites that make you easily accessible to the world, including people from your past. I, personally, took myself off of Facebook after about two weeks precisely for this reason.

Clients often ask what my take is on posting yourself on Facebook and similar sites and what to do when people contact you from the past that you're not sure you want to reconnect with.  So in this short article, I'm going to share my thoughts on this topic in the hopes that it may help you navigate the often rocky river of the ever-expanding "here I am all the time for all to see" technology that we are now "blessed" with.

I am someone who likes to keep things simple wherever possible so what immediately comes to mind for me is how things were in days gone by.  Back then, people knew a small circle of people within their own communities and tended to not move far away.  In fact, it was common for multiple generations of one family to all live under the same roof!  As bizarre as that may seem to us now, that was the norm for much of recorded history and the way we live now would probably seem bizarre to people from back then.

Also, there were more limited ways for people to communicate- it was either in person, or by letter. Later on, telegrams and telephones came into being so communication options expanded, but never before throughout human history have we had so many ways to get in touch with each other- it's boggling to the mind if you think about it!  Everywhere you go, people are texting each other or calling each other on cellphones, e-mailing, or sending messages on one of many communication websites like Facebook.

There are definitely advantages to this: worried parents can keep tabs on their teens,
people can get help when their cars break down in the middle of nowhere, and we can find people we have lost contact with and find out how they're doing and what they are up to.  I think things get a bit more confusing when we have people from our pasts contacting us who we don't really want to reconnect with.  It seems to me that a lot of people assume that just because we are easier to find, that we welcome everybody who contacts us.  I know from personal and professional experience, that this is not often the case.

While there is no right answer on how to deal with these situations, I have come up with some suggestions, which I hope you find helpful:

ESTHER'S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR MANAGING 'BLASTS FROM THE PAST'

  1.. When you receive an invitation from someone you used to know to reconnect, remember that you have the right to choose to accept or decline the invitation.  Just because they want to reconnect doesn't mean you want to or have to.
  2.. Take at least 24 hours to mull it over before responding so you don't end up doing something you will regret later.  Sometimes it's difficult to rid yourself of someone you mistakenly opened the communication door to if you later change your mind.
  3.. When considering reconnecting, reflect on what would be gained by doing so.  For example, if that person treated you badly in the past, they would probably do it again in future.  If, however, you really enjoyed that person's company and they were very good to you, you might gain a whole new friendship that would serve you well at this time in your life.
  4.. Consider the reasons for why this person is no longer in your life- often, it's for a good reason.  For example, if it's an ex-lover whom you were totally addicted to who made you feel unhinged, it's probably not wise to invite that person back to mess with your peace of mind now.
  5.. If at all possible, try to find out as much as you can about who this person is now by reading their 'profile' on a site- you can usually get a good idea whether you'd be suited to be friends in the present by getting some background information.




Esther Kane, MSW, Registered Clinical Counsellor, is the author of the
soon-to-be-released book and audio program, "It's Not About the Food: A  Woman's Guide To
Making Peace with Food and Our Bodies" (www.endyoureatingdisorder.com) and "Dump That
Chump"(www.dumpthatchump.com), and "What Your Mama Can't or Won't Teach
You"(www.guidebooktowomanhood.com).  Sign up for her free monthly e-zine, Women's
Community Counsellor, to uplift and inspire women at: http://www.estherkane.com.