It was clear from the variety of entries in the What is Success Contest that the word “success” means many things to many people.  After reading the comments, it was clear that everyone that entered put a lot of thought behind what they wrote. To all that entered, I wish YOU success in all that you do.  But I had to pick 3 winners, so here they are……drum roll please!

First Place and winner of an Expect Success Book (filled with positive quotes) is Debbie (#24):

“Success to me is Read More...

If you want to be successful in life or any endeavor, you first have to decide what success looks like in order to know when you have achieved it.

Last month we posted a video on our blog entitled “What is Success”. In the video, everyday people off the street where asked to define the word success. That got me thinking how our clients and readers would answer that question. Which leads me to this month’s contest:

How do you define success?

To enter, type you Read More...

Thank you to all those who contributed to last month’s contest. I really enjoyed reading and learning from the advice given. Time sure allows for great insight and I believe our 18-year-old selves would have been even more amazing to learn from such wisdom.

Here are our winners for the contest:

3rd Place and winner of a Freedom Personal Development Water Bottle is comment #6 from Ginni Hoinacki:

I would tell my 18 your old self to not take yourself so Read More...

Last year I hosted the contest Hindsight is 20/20 and wanted to do similar contest this year, but with a twist.

Imagine you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself at age 18. Turning 18 is an exciting age – you are finally a legally recognized adult, you can vote and the world is full of possibilities. Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self?

Perhaps you would pass along a few words of wisdom. Maybe there was an opportunity you wish would have taken, or a mistake that you wish Read More...

Thanks for all of the great entries!  It was tough to pick a winner this month. There were many good questions and some of them were technical in nature and others were a revelation of the fear that many people possess. Our two winners seemed to really have some serious fear when in front of large groups so I had to award the prizes to them because of their honesty. Perhaps winning a contest will give them a reason to smile the next time they are about to present in front of a group and that will help loosen them up a bit. I think some of the answers that all of those with questions had can be found in the advice Read More...

When it comes to public speaking, there are two extremes of the speaking spectrum – those who are terrified of presenting to a group and those who always jump at the chance to be in front of an audience. Most people fall somewhere between these two points depending on the size and make up of the audience. Where are you on the speaking spectrum?

In the business world, it is often our job to lead meetings, give presentations to clients and talk in front of rooms full of people. Being an effective communicator, both one-on-one and in front of a group, is necessary to inform, educate and persuade. The better you are able to express your ideas, the more success you will experience.

This month’s contest has two Read More...

Wow! Thanks for all the wonderful entries in this month’s contest. I’d like to add a suggestion to the stress management contest–whenever a person is feeling stressed, a great option would be to read all the comments in this post and follow what rings true at that moment. The entries go to show that there isn’t ONE correct answer for everyone, or even one option that works every time for the same person. However, there are LOTS of great ideas.

First place and winner of an Expect Success book is Jeff Johnson Read More...

In our everyday life, we often run into stress events ranging from deadlines at work, traffic jams and dealing with uncooperative people.  Life events such as a new baby, a death of a loved one or moving can add even more pressure.

Unmanaged stress can lead to high blood pressure, ulcers and even heart attacks.  Often times we cannot control the events that lead to stress, but we can control our response to it.

For this month’s contest, we want to know your advice on how to deal with the stressful events – big or small.

To enter, simply type you name, email and your answer Read More...

Man, there were some great entries for this contest - I especially enjoyed the ones where people are quoting me ! This was tough to pick just three out of all the really great ways people start their day, but here goes:

1st Place and winner of an Expect Success Book (filled with positive quotes) is Marty P (#42), for its sheer thoroughness:

First thing I do is my 7 morning questions (got these Read More...

Nido Qubein taught me that there are fundamentally two kinds of people. There are those who wake up and say “Ooooh, good morning God!” Then there are those who say “Oh, good god…morning.” Which are you?

During the day, there are 2 times that your brain is most receptive to “programming”. One of these times is as soon as you wake up (the other is before you go to bed.)

Whether it is conscious or unconscious, the first few thoughts you have when you wake up will set the tone for the rest of your day. Spoken out loud they can be even more powerful.

So, how do you start your day? Do you say something positive (either to yourself or out loud) or are you grumbling about having to get up?

The Read More...