Hello folks:
Today I have a really special treat for you! An exclusive interview with Sheila Tourond, an entrepreneur and publisher of the very successful RVTimes.
It’s an MP3 (and I recommend you right-click and save as, as it might be a bit long in loading if you opt to listen to it online).
Knock yourself out! She’s an amazing woman!
All my best,
Britt
PS the Britt of I’m Allowed.com is me wearing my business name.
You are here for a reason. There is only one of you, and that makes you an incredibly precious commodity, as both an entrepreneur or business person, and as an individual. There is a purpose for your life, whether you believe it or not. You may have to take several paths, but with a little digging, you can find where you’re meant to be.
The first clue to figuring out your purpose in life is to consider what natural talents, gifts and abilities you’re born with.
Once you figure out what talents naturally live within you, you can then understand what you’re supposed to be doing with those gifts and talents. This is your purpose in life.
What Do You Love to Do?
Have you ever sat down and really reflected on what you love to do?
There are literally millions of possibilities, so start with the gifts and talents you were born with. From there figure out what you love to do that requires using those gifts and talents.
Finding your purpose in life simply takes self-reflection as well as some trial and error. Free yourself from wandering through life without purpose. We’re all here for a reason and, once your find your purpose and begin living it, you’ll feel happy and fulfilled!
Have you heard? Of course you have: positive thinking can indeed benefit you in many ways. Not the least of which is that it can help boost your income as well.
These days we all could use some extra income, whether it’s through your business or an additional entrepreneurial venture! This article will give you an understanding of how positive thinking and the Law of Attraction are interrelated, as well as explain how you can use these principals for your financial benefit.
Positive thinking is more than just being upbeat all the time. The term “optimistic” comes to mind; however, positive thinking is much more than just being hopeful, also. Positive thinking is the opposite of negative thinking.
Sounds simple right? Well it’s easier said than done!
I’m sure you know someone who’s a negative thinker. They’re usually down most of the time, get depressed easily, and have negative things happen to them recurrently.
Have you ever wondered why this happens? It’s because the negative thinker surrounds himself with negative energy, which attracts more negative things. His thoughts are in harmony with negativity, so that’s what he gets – more of the same!
Positive thinkers, on the other hand, think about encouraging things and surround themselves with positive energy. Their thoughts are in harmony with good things, so they attract more positive opportunities.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you gravitate toward the outcome of situations because of your thought processes.
Therefore, when you think positively, you’ll make decisions based on that type of outcome, consciously or unconsciously. The same goes if you think negatively.
If you dwell on the negative – such as how bad the economy is or how tragic situations are – your thoughts, and therefore your decisions, take you down a path to negative outcomes.
However, when you think positively, you now have a fresh start to do something you really enjoy and your thoughts and decisions move you toward those goals.
Now is the time to start thinking positively in this financial downfall.
What are some skills you already have that you could use to bring in some extra cash? How can you take advantage of current trends to boost your income?
Here are some suggestions to help get your thoughts moving in the right direction:
1. Are you artistic or do you enjoy making things with your hands? You might enjoy graphic arts. Now is the opportune time to start your own online business selling graphics, covers, designs, and page layouts.
2. Are you social and do you love interacting with people? Social networking is HUGE and growing by leaps and bounds!
3. Do you like to write? Blogs are fast becoming the way to update a website consistently, driving more and more traffic to it. Companies are looking for writers to fill their sites with content.
4. Boost your income at your current job. When you think positive things about your job, you tend to perform better. And when you excel at your work, your boss is more likely to recognize you as a valuable, or even indispensable, team member!
Positive thinking will help lead you in the right direction toward a positive outcome. If you’re naturally a negative thinker, turning those thoughts into positive ones may be a little more difficult, but it can be done.
When you start to have negative thoughts, try to catch them before you’re already on the path to destruction in your head. Then, turn them around and focus on positive outcomes.
Over time and with practice, positive thinking can become natural to you. Even better, you’ll be attracting positive outcomes as well. Through positive thinking, the Law of Attraction can bring you many things to be happy about, including financial freedom!
Today, we’re going to look at the third kind of person, the person who relates Kinesthetically, or with their body.
There are three relating styles: kinesthetic, visual, and auditory. Kinesthetic oriented people respond to touch and act on how they feel. Kinesthetic people like to engage in affectionate rough housing, as well as being held for long periods of time.
Kinesthetic persons often use terms such as these in conversation:
Physical contact and feelings are their primary love language. Kinesthetic people often feel overwhelmed or feel picked on in a verbal conflict.
When communicating with a kinesthetic oriented person, a soft touch on the arm means you care, you’re interested, and you’re listening. Often the kinesthetic person will touch you as they are speaking as well.
In the work field, a handshake is often offered and expected by a kinesthetic person. Not only is a handshake proper and a sign of respect to the kinesthetic person, but it is also a personal connection. In addition, they may put their arm around your shoulders while walking and talking. This is how they communicate and connect.
Kinesthetic people are hard to motivate, however, because they often can’t get past how they’re feeling in the moment. They are very emotionally driven and often let their emotions control their actions. Kinesthetic oriented persons also react to gut instincts and tend not to base decisions on reason or logic.
In a relationship with a kinesthetic oriented person, if you don’t touch them often, they may not feel loved by you. They may feel rejected and not even know why.
If your loved one is saying things like, “You never touch me,” or “You never cuddle with me anymore,” their love tank may be empty. Fill it up with some meaningful and long snuggles on the couch, a big bear hug or a nice back massage. Then keep their hearts filled by giving them the touching, hugging, and snuggling they are thirsting for.
It’s important in all relationships, including your spouse, children, siblings, friends or co-workers, to understand the different relating styles, as well as how to communicate effectively using them.
For the visually oriented person, using picture words is the best way to communicate. The best gifts for the visually oriented person are tangible gifts, or one’s they can actually “see” such as:
When speaking to the visually oriented person, look them directly in the eye and expect to be “examined” by them as well. Be aware of your body language and facial expressions, as they’ll be determining if they trust what you’re saying based on those two elements.
For the auditory oriented person, communicating in soft tones and positive affirmations says you care and are interested in them. The best gifts for the auditory oriented person are:
Verbal communication is very important to the auditory oriented person. They process issues or problems by talking them out. If the auditory oriented person doesn’t hear the words “I love you” frequently enough, they may not feel loved.
Knowing how to determine someone’s relating style is important and can usually be determined in the first few minutes after meeting for the first time. If the person looks you directly in the eye or seems to “look you up and down,” they’re visual. If they do most of the talking right away, they’re most likely an auditory type of person. If they touch you on the arm or reach for a handshake immediately, they’re kinesthetic.
Just knowing these few characteristics will help you strengthen your current relationships and start off on the right foot when getting to know someone new.
Today, we’re looking at how to best communicate with an Auditory type person in both your business practices and otherwise.
Different people have different styles of relating to others. There are three identified styles of relating and auditory relating is one of these. The other two are visual (discussed yesterday) and kinesthetic (wait for it … tomorrow!).
The auditory relating style refers to those people who respond to and are stimulated by what they hear.
Auditory persons learn more effectively by hearing rather than by seeing. Using audio, as well as reading aloud, is a great way to teach the auditory oriented person.
The auditory oriented person best responds to expressions of love in the form of words of affirmation and compliments. The best gifts for an auditory person are:
The auditory person loves the sound of their voice! He can sit and chat for hours and he feels loved when this happens.
Auditory people are sensitive to another’s tone of voice and can be easily offended when given criticism or correction. Therefore, using softer tones and beginning criticism or correction with positive affirmations is the best way to communicate with auditory people.
An auditory person processes issues by talking things through; unless it’s something big, then they usually prefer quiet time. In addition, the auditory person likes to have the last word and usually gets it. Plus, they tend to be good at debating and getting others to talk as well.
Auditory persons are sensitive to the sounds of nature and often find peace when walking through the woods, by a crackling fire or strolling by a running river. Add these types of activities to a great conversation and you’re speaking their love language.
The easiest way to identify an auditory oriented person is by listening to their expressions. They often use phrases like:
If your boss is an auditory oriented person, she’ll expect you to communicate through meetings, instead of email or memos. She may even find email or memos to be offensive or less meaningful than a phone call or meeting.
In addition, if you need to address a problem or issue, you will want to begin the conversation with positive affirmations about what you like about a person or the project before you get into the issue. An auditory person will then be more open to receiving your ideas and won’t be so quick to put up any walls.
Auditory oriented people tend to be more sensitive to breathing sounds, sighs and grunts, and often read into these noises as if something’s wrong. If you’re a heavy sigh-er, for instance, you may often be asked, “What’s wrong?” every time you take a deep breath. Once you communicate to the sensitive person that nothing’s wrong, eventually they’ll get used to your breathing sounds.
Once you learn how to identify an auditory person, relating to them will be easier. Here are the main points to remember once you’ve determined you’re dealing with a person who relates via sound:
In addition, they like to hear compliments and the words “I love you” repeatedly. These are things the auditory person never tires of. In fact, if you don’t compliment them or say “I love you” often enough, the auditory person may begin to feel unloved.
If you’re in a marriage with an auditory type person and they are constantly saying, “You don’t love me” or “You never say you love me,” you’re probably not speaking their love language. To help with communication and make them feel loved, speak adorning words more frequently.
Communication is a lot easier when we know and understand our loved ones relating style, whether it is auditory, visual or kinesthetic. Now that you can identify an auditory oriented person, you will be able to express your love for them easier and relate to them using their love language.
In business, whether your an entrepreneur or not, communicating with others is key to success. And communication is best when you understand HOW the other person processes information.
For the next three day’s we’ll be looking at 3 key NLP ways of understanding people. VAK, or Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic, are the three primary ways in which people perceive their world. The better you understand their way of perceiving the world, the better you can communicate with them.
Today, we’re going to look at understanding people who are visual
The visual style is one of three types of relating styles. Visual relating refers to those persons who are “visual” in their thinking.
Understanding how a visual person thinks and “sees” will help you communicate more effectively when interacting with others in relationships.
Visual oriented people often use expressions such as:
They also tend to be more uptight, high-strung, and very detail oriented. The visual oriented person will often get lost in thoughts and daydreams.
Some examples of gifts and appreciated expressions of love for visually oriented people are:
When talking with a visually oriented person, using vivid words is the best way to communicate with them. If you can draw a picture with your words, using lots of detail, you will be able to more closely identify with those who are more visually oriented.
A visual person will also pay close attention to your body language. They’ll notice your eye movements, hand gestures, posture and facial expressions and will read into those things to determine if they trust what you’re saying or not. Words themselves probably won’t make much difference, but your body language and actions says it all to the visually oriented person.
Since visually oriented persons rely on their visual perception so much, they may tend to judge a book by its cover, so to speak. The way one dresses or the car a person drives will say a lot to the visually oriented person.
Visual people may also be uneasy around people who build up a facade because they can’t see the real person inside or behind the mask.
When speaking to the visually oriented, look directly into their eyes and use positive body language. Don’t cross your arms or appear distracted, as this will communicate to them that you’re focus isn’t on them or that you’re not really paying attention. Another way to communicate positively is to nod your head, as if saying yes while they are speaking. This shows that you’re actively listening and that you’re interested in what they’re saying.
On the other hand, when you’re having a conversation with a visually oriented person, you may feel as if you’re being examined because their eyes will move around, observing all the details of your hair, teeth, clothing and jewelry. They may even stop you in conversation to give you a compliment about what you’re wearing or the way you’re hair is styled.
If your boss is visual-oriented, an organized office or workspace is probably very important to him or her. Therefore, it’s important for you to keep your workspace neat and orderly to avoid conflict. They may also be very picky about dress and expect their employees to dress professionally at all times.
The visual person tends to like video games, computers, and television. Often they’re artistic, crafty, and creative thinkers. They tend to be able to visualize the outcome of a decision and may tend to over analyze situations.
When building relationships, determining a person’s relating style is probably the first thing you should do so you can understand where they’re coming from and how they will respond.
Now that you’re equipped with the knowledge of how a visual person communicates, you will be able to strengthen your relationships both personally and professionally.
There are four primary areas of anxiety and stress when it comes to work-related anxieties:
Don’t despair, there really are things you can do to relieve work stress. Most of them are easy enough you can start today and begin seeing results immediately.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your workload, the first step should be to examine your schedule. Maybe you can change your routine or rearrange your schedule so you have more time in the day to get the job done.
Perhaps there are some tasks you can eliminate or spend less time on. You can also try to delegate the work to others in your office or even outsource some work to freelancers online.
If you’re still feeling swamped, you’ll want to speak to your boss. Communication is the key to working things out and finding a way to lighten your load.
There are always going to be difficult co-workers at every job. It’s something you’ll face no matter where you work. Even if there’s someone who is just a pain to deal with for one reason or another, you don’t have to let it stress you out.
If you have a co-worker that’s continually trying to ruffle your feathers, confront the issue. You may want to do this with your boss present as to avoid any chance the difficult co-worker can turn on you or say things that didn’t really happen. If the problem still continues, however, and you simply can’t ignore it any longer, see if you can get moved to a different department or area. If not, then I suggest killing the difficult co-worker with kindness. When you turn the other cheek, so to speak, the offender will usually back off eventually and leave you alone or better yet, befriend you. Either way you get the desired results.
Okay, what do you do when your boss is demanding? Remember, your boss is your boss and it’s usually not wise to come across in a confrontational manner. However, you can try talking to them in a peaceful, non-confrontational tone.
To do this, schedule a meeting ahead of time and write out your thoughts. This will help you state your case and stay on topic. Stick to the issues and the issues only. Never place blame or come across as if you know better than your boss. This kind of talk could only lead to a worse situation, if not get you fired.
However, if speaking your mind doesn’t seem to make your boss any less demanding, then you’ll have to let it roll off your back. Easier said than done, I know. But, it can be done with determination and effort.
Right now, probably the biggest cause of stress in the workplace is fear of uncertainty in these tough economic times. Even if you’ve done everything to ensure your position at your company, like increasing your value as an employee, there are still no guarantees in this economy.
So, what can you do to help relieve some of the stress and fear?
One thing you can do is start preparing for the future. Perhaps you could start taking classes at your local community college to learn a new skill or trade.
You could also start building an online business. Even though the economy is struggling, online businesses are booming. If you make crafts or jewelry, or you’re artsy, you can start selling items on eBay or open an Etsy shop. There are many ways you can begin securing your future now. All it takes is a little research and planning.
Let it Go! Release Your Frustration
The best way to relieve work related stress is to work out regularly. Getting regular exercise helps relieve stress of any sort, but especially work related stress. If you don’t belong to a gym, begin working out at home. Going for brisk walks regularly also greatly reduces stress.
Stress has become a part of your everyday life, but it doesn’t have to control your life. By incorporating these strategies, you can overcome the major causes of stress in your workplace in no time!
Today’s print media loves to focus on an image of woman that in real live represents about 2% of the REAL population. (I just watched Devil Wears Prada, and in it the size 6 is referred to as the “new 14″! Imagine!)
With this prevalent image of an absolute minuscule population, we often forget to return our gaze to what I call “street-level”, where the average woman in America weighs 164 lbs. and is a size 14. At the peak of her career, and the sexiest, Marilyn Monroe measured in at 140 pounds, and she was NOT a tall lady!
A positive self-image is one of the top things most women struggle with. So, how can you learn to love your body the way it is?
First of all, you need to focus on what you do like about your body. Here are some questions to get you thinking about the things you DO like about yourself:
Instead of being overly critical and negative, be grateful for the body and health you do have. So give yourself permission to see and accept the good!
Learning to love your body is important because having a good self-image empowers you in many ways. When you love the way you look, you feel more confident and confidence gives you the ability to do anything you set your mind to.
Dressing for your body type also plays a big part in how you look and see yourself, so it’s important to know what color, style, shape and material of clothing looks best on you. If your closet is full of worn out t-shirts and old faded blue jeans, it’s time for a wardrobe makeover.
Take a good, honest friend or family member shopping with you to help you choose clothes that fit well and colors that look best on you. Updating your wardrobe doesn’t have to be expensive either. Begin by shopping resale stores. Oftentimes you can find brand name, never worn clothes at prices greatly below retail. However, don’t settle for less than the best for your body type. If you can’t find the perfect items for your body, then don’t buy the clothes just because they’re cheap.
Build your wardrobe from the bottom up, starting with the basic necessities:
When you’ve got the basic necessities, then you can build your wardrobe up from there by adding dressy blouses or tops in different colors and styles, more skirts in various styles and colors and so on.
Once you start loving your body by recognizing what you do like about it and dressing to fit your body type, you’ll gain a whole new confidence like you’ve never felt before and other people will take notice too. You may notice others reacting somewhat differently toward you as they respond to your new confidence. Heck, you might even get a raise!
So start learning to love your body now. You’re beautiful!
Are your emotions and actions heavily taxed during the day? Finding your optimum life’s balance may be difficult to do, especially during stressful days. There’s family and work obligations, plus extra-curricular activities for your kids and unexpected situations. It’s no wonder that you’re feeling out of balance and overwhelmed!
There are things you can do to achieve balance in your life. Below are great starting points to get you on the road to a well-balanced life.
1. Start using a central calendar for every member of your family.
2. Take a look at your daily routine. Are there activities you can cut out to make your life more balanced?
- Is this activity necessary for my well being?
- Can I live without being involved in this activity?
- Is this improving my life or is this overwhelming me?
- Is this helping others or is it purely for self-gratification?
- Is this going to help me achieve my career, family, and personal goals?
3. Establish a daily routine.
4. Set goals for yourself, your family and your career.
- Losing weight
- Starting your own business
- A new house
- A new car
- Establishing a budget and sticking to it
- A pay raise
- A promotion
- Learning a new skill or trade
- Writing a book
Those are just a few ideas to get you started thinking about all the possibilities available to help you achieve more balance in your life.
Balance in life is something that requires constant attention and resilience. Don’t let the busyness of life get in the way of living your life to the fullest. You can accomplish it when you work at it. Keep trying and you’ll be amazed at the stability that comes your way.
Each and every day, we all have a need to suddenly relax, to let go of all the stress and anxiety of the moment before.
Relaxation helps your body re-energize, and sometimes you’re so busy and caught up in the moment that you just don’t have the time to unwind.
Well, fortunately there are simple ways to relax, even during your busiest days, that don’t require a lot of time or equipment.
Here are 5 Simple Relaxation Tips:
1. When you’re in line at the grocery store: Instead of stressing out because there aren’t enough cashiers and every line has 5 people with heaping carts of groceries, use that time to relax your body by taking some deep breaths.
2. When you’re at work: It’s often hard to find time to relax at work. You might even get in trouble if you’re caught “relaxing.” Oh the horror! However, there are some techniques you can do while you’re at work to help create a sense of calm that aren’t so obvious to others.
3. When you’re rushing through a busy day: Take just a few moments to daydream and escape the busyness of reality.
4. Wherever you’re at, smile: Smiling is proven to help relax and rejuvenate your body.
5. When the going gets tough, laugh: Laughter’s proven to be an instant stress reliever. Now I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to be seen as a nut case, so laughing out loud when you’re in line at the store or sitting at your desk may not be the best time. When you can, get someone involved in your laughter with you.
Engaging in these simple, everyday relaxation techniques will help to sustain and strengthen you throughout your day. It’ll also make it easier to unwind when you get home. Your friends, co-workers, and family will all appreciate the new, relaxed you!
