Acting Your Age

Great story today from Sir Richard Branson on how he's celebrating his 60th birthday.

Always a great role model, check out this story here

Setting Your Compass

Getting clear about you and what your goals are right now will set your inner compass.

Having this clarity will help you to navigate the challenges & storms life occasionally presents us with along the way.

That inner compass will help you manoeuvre inexorably onward towards the life you want to achieve.

Click here to read more about this fascinating area of personal development by our new Change Management Coach, Oge Okosieme.

'Make Life Work'

If you've not already subscribed to my mailing list, then now would be a good day to do so, because the latest edition of the 'Make Life Work' e-newsletter is about to go out.

This edition is crammed full of info designed for you to get even better results at work by following some pretty cool communication tips.

I'll be introducing Oge, the newest member of my team and an excellent Change Management Coach. She'll also be offering the first three readers to answer a simple question a FREE telephone coaching session - but you'll have to subscribe to get the question (and remember, this goes out to 3,000 people, so be quick)!

Finally, I'll be telling you about a very special Dragon Boat race I'm taking part in to raise money for one of my favourite charities.

Click here to subscribe now.

New Government: 100 Days of Body Language

So, the new UK government has reached it's first 100 days in office, and from a body language/communication point of view there have already been some highs points, as well as a few low points, along the way.

Whilst we could focus on what hasn't happened or what's gone wrong so far, as a coach I prefer to notice what's going well, how we could improve or learn if something didn't work out, and over all what we could do to make our lives even better. In NLP, this approach is called 'the feedback sandwich'.

For me the strongest message sent out is that today really is business as usual. Prime Minister David Cameron is happily on holiday, leaving his Deputy Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg to field the media with progress reports, interviews and visions for the future.

All this is very positive. It says loud and clear that these two men, trust and work very well together - and at a time when the country still nervously steps out of recession, that's a very important message to send to the country, to industry and the financial markets, and fellow trading partners in the world.

Whilst body language suggests David Cameron is still very much the leader within the coalition, the two together also show a broad consensus; two men very much at ease and working well with each other; equals.

Personally as an optimist, it's pleasing to see this meeting of minds filtering through other areas and departments of government, seeing previous political opponents now working together.

Of course, the moaners and naysayers will complain and point out the odd disagreement or potential future flash point, but for the most part British people seem relaxed, and possibly even relieved, that finally we do have a government that:

1. Is telling us how we all know it is with the economy and what the near future will look like, and
2. Is working together with regards what we must do about it.

Life isn't always easy, but with a 'can do' attitude it's always more possible.

Take a look at the BBC video montage '100 days in 100 seconds' to see what I mean. Click here to view.

Top Tips: Body Language at Work

Thanks to Jilly, Alice, Lorna and Jake who've emailed me over the past couple of days asking if I have any body language 'top tips' that will bring them better results whilst at work.

The answer is, 'yes, of course' - follow the link at the end of this Blog post and start using immediately.

Body Language and Communication Skills are the two main areas I work in professionally and have the most fun using when working with individuals and teams in organisations. So, please follow the link below and begin noticing subtle differences to the results you’re getting in life right away.

Click the link here - it's FREE, and as always let me know how you get on. You can post a reply at the end of this post, or send me an email (which I always respond to).

Climbing A Mountain...In A Wheel Chair (Update)

You'll be pleased to know the inspirational Sean McCallion has now raised £2,465 towards his sponsored wheel chair climb to the top of Ben Nevis, the UK's highest peak. This is great news as it means Sean is now half way towards his target of £5,000!

The climb will happen on September 5th, so you still have time to sponsor him - but please do it NOW whilst you remember. I appreciate life is busy and a great intention can sometimes be lost in the pace of modern life. So, please take action now. The link, for Sean's story and an opportunity to sponsor him is here.

Thank you x

Refuse The Gloom!

Watching the news this morning on the television at the gym, I found myself getting more and more angry with the way the reports just came coming out; bad news/scandal/more bad news/another scandal - we all know 'bad news sells', but this was overkill (no pun intended)!

This morning's 'biggie' covered the slight fall in house prices here in the UK. However, what followed was 10 minutes (repeated every 20 minutes or so) of endless speculation that this could be an indication of a double-dip recession.

Thankfully, Tuesday's are special, as they are the day of my BNI breakfast club meeting. That means a 5am wake-up call in order to get to the 7am meeting. BNI (Business Network International) have had a phrase over the last couple of years, in that members 'refuse to take part in the recession'. That's not to deny a recession took place, but that as business owners the question then became 'so, what are we going to do about it'.

Here's the thing; as a coach and trainer my one central message to more than 15,000 people I've worked with over the past couple of years is that we tend to get in life what we focus most on. So, if we focus on what we don't want, we'll probably get more of it. However, if we focus on what we do want, we can also expect to attract/produce more of what we do want instead. It's always a choice.

As someone who used to work in banking and mortgages before I retrained as a coach, I appreciate what's happening in the markets at the moment. But nowadays as a coach and trainer, I also see how well people are working themselves out of recession, getting those orders in, growing their shops, factories, offices and agencies. Sure, the economy is still wobbly - that's what we've elected the Government to sort out - and what we have to do in the meantime is collectively STAY POSITIVE.

So, let's refuse to take part in the gloom.

If the news is bad, bad, bad or you're not getting the results you want right now, ask yourself 'what do I want instead'? State your aim in the positive, and work towards achieving it.

And the TV news...remember to balance out all the bad news with equal, or even more, amounts of good stuff. Seek it out every day, I promise once you start looking you'll notice it everywhere.

Understanding Body Language At Work

Seems I've hit a vein, in that many people I've met over the past couple of weeks are continuing the conversation begun about the importance of good communication in modern life.

Body language is generally perceived as being 'the biggie', saying more about you than words ever could. It’s estimated body language accounts for 55% of communication. Tone of voice is 38%, and the words you use only 7%.

That’s not to say words are unimportant, however what the 55% does underline is body language can so often be ‘the difference that makes the difference’ in successful communication.

Follow the link here to my website here for to read the full article.

Saying It The Way You Want It

Saying exactly what you mean is so important in all areas of life and business. How many times have you heard yourself or somebody else saying what you/they don't want to happen?

• 'I don't want to be short of money at the end of the month'
• ‘I don’t want to lose that contract’
• ‘I don’t want to leave the company’
• ‘I don’t want my team to fall apart’
• ‘I don’t want to miss my sales target’

As a result of much research into how the human mind works, it’s generally accepted in the world of Personal Development, Business Coaching, and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), one of the characteristics of the unconscious mind (the area of the brain that runs the body; keeping you alive) is that it doesn't process negatives.

Instead, it processes them as a positive, meaning phrases like ‘I don’t want to lose that contract’ would become ‘I do want to lose that contract’, or ‘I don’t want to miss my sales target becomes, ’I do want to miss my sales target’.
(Read more)

Be Inspired

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a truly inspirational person at my BNI breakfast meeting.

Sean McCallion climbed Britain’s highest mountain Ben Nevis, 10 years ago. The next day he had an accident whilst snowboarding and was paralysed.

Since then he’s spent his life in a wheel chair.

However, meeting Sean is not a sad story. As i mentioned at the beginning, he's a true inspiration.

On 5th September he's going to climb Ben Nevis again, this time in a specially adapted wheelchair, and with a group of supporters around him.

He's aiming to raise £5,000 for the two charities that helped save his life and support him in the years since. They are Lochaber Mountain Rescue and the Back-Up Trust.

Please click here to read Sean's story, which I promise will inspire you, and also if you want to donate money towards his £5,000 target I'd be so grateful. Again, follow the link here.

Growing Your Business

Someone asked me the other day for any top tips I might have to grow a business, and whilst these change slightly the larger the business, for the most part I'd suggest the following routes to success.

Meet as many people in your marketplace as possible. Network, join groups and organisations, take part in forums, debates, accept invitations to presentations, and be proactive with any online marketing and social media you’re interested in.

Two great nuggets of advice I was given several years ago and by which I run my business are:

1. ‘People buy people before they buy products and services.’ This means, at some level and to a certain degree, future potential clients or buyers of your products need to ‘get’ who you are and what you/your company does first. You can build your profile face-to-face by meeting and getting to know people, plus use the Internet for regular newsletters, a Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, etc.
2. ‘People buy from people they know, like and trust’ – and it’s the last point, ‘trust’ that can take a while, which is why being a regular networker, attender of events, speaker, or social media writer can make such a difference. Simply, when people get to know you and what you/your company does, when they need your service or product they’ll think of you rather than search out a competitor.