2016 is just around the corner…. Yet, if you’re like me, there’s still loads you want to get done, to get achieved before the end of 2015.

At this time of year, it’s really easy to get distracted and to drop the ball and say, ‘Oh, there’s only two weeks to go. I’ve missed achieving my goal – better luck next year’. I know as I’ve done that in the past, and then regretted that decision and lack of action.

This year I’m remaining totally focused on getting over the line with some goals I set that I’m yet to achieve. After all, there’s still two weeks to go until Christmas. Plenty of time to nail my goals!

It’s all about perspective. 🙂 Only two weeks to go or still two weeks to go?

I study the world’s big achievers, people who do the most amazing things with their lives, people who live at full throttle. Many are names we all know, yet there are others who live under the radar and just get on with their lives, achieving greatly and living their dream.

Do they give up before the finish line? Heck, no! They’re blasting it right up to the end.

Here are the five keys to what they do. I’m taking a leaf from their books and living in full throttle until 23 December, and then it’s family and holiday time. Oh, and don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be ‘all work and no play’ either. I’m going to loads of Christmas celebrations along the way too. Balance is key to our vitality in life.

Key 1: 100 percent accountability
Life is full of tough bits, but big achievers find ways to get around them or over them. They’re 100 percent accountable and responsible for everything in their lives. So even when the going gets tough and they are up against it, they remain accountable for their actions and for the achievement of their goals!

Key 2: Steadfast focus
As Shakespeare said: “Nothing comes from doing nothing”. One of the fundamental traits of big achievers is their ability to deploy laser like focus on achieving their goals, no matter the distractions or challenges. For as long as the goals remain relevant to them, successful people remain focused.

Key 3: Planning and prioritisation
The key is prioritising, planning, scheduling and persistent action. In order to achieve a goal, it needs to be prioritised as important. Other things that are not so important can be put to one side for a bit – until next year, perhaps. Act on the ‘must do’ activities now. The rest can wait.

Key 4: Focus on your strengths
We shouldn’t try and do everything. We must play to our strengths and let others play to theirs. Big achievers know and do that. What are your strengths? If you focus on the work that uses those strengths, delegating all else, you’ll be a lot more energised in the work you do.

Key 5: People are paramount
Big achievers are inclusive of others. They draw people to them and involve them. They also empower others to work with them, to help out in getting the job done. They delegate work to others – particularly the parts that don’t play to the strengths of the big achiever.

So that’s it. The 5 keys to getting ‘stuff’ done and achieved before year end. I hope you’ll take up the challenge to nail those final goals this side of Christmas. Your personal satisfaction will be immense and you’ll be cracking the champagne (or beer, or in my case, sparkling water) in celebration.

But if things don’t quite go to plan and those goals are missed, here are two other keys that big achievers live by.

Key 6: No such thing as failure
In all that we do, we risk failure, which is very often painful. But failure is a fact of life for anyone who is dynamic, and failures are fast tracks to growth. Big achievers don’t view them as failures. They see them as opportunities for learning. How about ‘failing forward’ as I call it?

Key 7: Everything happens for a reason
As much as this is hard to take, we are where we are in life right now, for a reason. There are lessons and learnings to take from our current experience and situation. When we learn the lessons we move forward, often in new and unexpected ways. Big achievers understand that, and look for the lessons in all dimensions, so they can move forward, fast.

ACTION: I’d love to know what you’re doing to hit those outstanding goals by the end of the year. How about sharing them and inspiring others in the comments below?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Perhaps I was tired. Or busy. Maybe it was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. I really don’t know. I just remember the volcano of anger (and a string of ‘naughty’ words that I don’t often say – eekkk) erupting from me!

Those around me were probably as astounded as I was by my outburst… my fury knew no boundaries. And for a while, I couldn’t stop it.

What happened to cause that massive and unexpected outburst? It takes a lot to tip me over the edge, to knock me off balance. Yet, in that moment, I was off the chart with rage!

After removing myself from the situation, I’ve taken some time to reflect.

Have we lost the art of the small things in life? Small but important things like courtesy, respect and generosity?

That’s a question I found myself asking. Deep down (and after cooling off), I suspect that was the root of my outburst.

We’re all busy in life. Many of us are on the hamster wheel too, building our careers, our businesses, focusing on our social lives, our relationships, our kids… and much more. The balancing act we live with each day can be a challenge.

Sadly though, we can get so focused on the importance of ‘us’ and our lives – our ‘stuff’ – that we forget what’s happening around us.

We forget to notice and acknowledge the things that happen around us, and at times, for us.

We forget to give of ourselves – just a little bit. Perhaps a little more often we could say ‘thank you’ or ‘I appreciate you’ or ‘can I help you?’ or ‘I’m sorry’, or simply, ‘I love you’.

And it might not be ‘said’ in words… actions speak louder than words. Always!

It’s in those little moments when we acknowledge others around us with words or actions, they feel appreciated. Special, even! And as the giver of that small gesture, we feel good too – perhaps even better than they do. Who knows? It’s a win-win for all.

Determined against the odds…

Last week as I was leaving the supermarket, a very elderly woman was struggling with her trolley which she was using for balance (her two walking sticks were hanging off the trolley so she could push it). She was very bent over with age and probably illness. Her support person (who turned out to be her husband) equally elderly and bent over, was behind her trundling their basket of supermarket goodies.

As she inched out of the supermarket hall, everyone else rushed in and out around her…. they were in a hurry, and this woman was in the way.

Even though I had my own hands full with shopping, I asked the woman if I could help her.
To my surprise, she stopped, turned her head to look at me while remaining bent over, gave me a big smile, and said ‘No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine, and my lovely husband is here to support me’. The joy on her face that I’d stopped to ask her was heart warming, as was the determination I felt in her spirit.

I walked slowly alongside her – her personal traffic warden – if you like, causing all other human traffic to slow down. In doing that, people observed this determined woman. For that fleeting moment, they were taken out of their own lives into the life of this elderly, frail woman. They acknowledged the situation and smiled too. Very briefly, we all connected with that bent over woman. It was really beautiful.

Leading from the front

As we enter the festive season, I’m going to lead by example and re-double my awareness of being present in the moment. I’ll acknowledge those around me more. Be more courteous. More respectful. More giving of myself.

In doing that, perhaps I’ll make a little difference in the life of someone around me. Maybe they’ll simply smile.

But you know what? I can’t predict or control what they will feel or how they will react. I just know I’ll feel great and it’ll augment my happiness in life even more. That’s my Christmas present to me. 🙂

ACTIONS: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the importance of the ‘small things’ in life. What’s important for you?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Many of us know what branding means when it comes to company or business branding.

But what about personal branding?

“What’s that?” you might ask. You might also say, “personal branding is for the ‘big wigs’ of business – people like Bill Gates, Oprah, Jamie Oliver”. Or you might think that personal branding is for celebrities and sports stars.

You’d be right in thinking all that, but in business and entrepreneurship, as scary or as challenging as it might seem, we must embrace the idea of being a personal brand ourselves.

That doesn’t mean we need to aim for global domination or celebrity status. To the contrary! Personal branding is about YOU – and connecting you to the niche market you want to attract.

People buy from people, so personal branding is about you being you – your style, your signature image or look, your unique voice, your story, your experience and knowledge….packaged together in a consistent and recognisable way on a range of marketing platforms so that you get noticed.

Over time some people will come to know, like and trust you. Eventually they may buy from you too, and/or refer you to others. Remember, you and your personal brand won’t be liked by everyone. Be yourself and there will be loads of others who do like and want to follow you.

So, whether you’re a consultant, freelancer, entrepreneur, business owner, company executive, get focused on your personal brand. Here are 3 tips on how to get your personal brand underway.

Tip 1: Be clear of and passionate about your business expertise
What do you want to be known for? And why? Niche yourself. Make sure you’re really passionate too, otherwise no-one will want to work with you as they’ll feel your lack of authenticity and enthusiasm. The narrower your niche, the more easily you’ll be found.

Tip 2: Get your marketing platforms nailed
There are so many ways to be ‘seen’ – both online and offline. Very importantly, you need to do both. Decide on where you’ll spend your efforts. Here are some of the many options:

• LinkedIn – a fully optimised profile is NOT NEGOTIABLE if you want to be ‘seen’ within the world’s largest business social marketing and sales platform
• SEO/Keywords – a must for Google searches
• Networking – always a must so long as you ‘do’ networking properly
• Blogging – great for many business people
• Webinars, podcasts etc – they’re all the rage at present
• You Tube – videoing is the way of the future and a great way to ‘teach’ your content
• Social media – in all its varieties – pick the platforms you like the most (Twitter? Business Facebook? Instagram? Pinterest, Periscope? etc etc)
• Public speaking – get on the stage if it suits you and your expertise
• Write books, e-books, white papers

… and so it goes on.

A word of warning… don’t try and appear on all platforms, otherwise you’ll never get any work done. Select those most appropriate to your industry or niche and those which you feel most comfortable with.

Tip 3: Know why you want to be ‘seen’
Fame for fame’s sake is a waste of time and money. Why do you want to get ‘seen’? Is it to draw customers to your business – to your sales funnel? Is it to get opportunities to be a keynote speaker?

Is it to get a book ‘deal’ with a major publishing house? Is it to get a promotion or a new job if you are in employment?

Your decision as to why you want to be found will help you decide how you take your audience – your niche market – on a journey with you, so that can demonstrate your expertise and authority in your subject area time and time again.

What happens when you’ve been found by someone in your target audience? How do you nurture and build a relationship with them? What is your communications strategy and products and services journey with them? These questions determine your business model for your personal brand. Creating a systemised and automated (at least in part) business model will support you to achieve your key goal in why you want to be seen.

Well that’s it for now. Personal branding is one of my favourite topics in business for entrepreneurs, business owners, company executives… watch out for more blogs on this fantastic and very important 21st century business topic.

In the meantime, get your personal brand underway….overtime, you’ll reap the rewards of doing so.

ACTION: What are your thoughts on personal branding in business? I’d love to know more about your own personal branding story or journey. How about sharing in the comments what you’re doing to grow and develop your personal brand?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

November 26 is Thanksgiving Day in America – that long celebrated annual holiday weekend filled with the quintessential American delights of stuffed turkey, pumpkin pie and enormous parades.

But what’s Thanksgiving Day all about?

As a Kiwi living in London with a fair number of American friends scattered across the globe, I’ve often wondered about the history of Thanksgiving Day.

It turns out that Thanksgiving has a very long history (thanks Wikipedia 🙂 ), but the original essence of the celebration (dating back to the 17/18th centuries) was to give thanks for a good harvest.

It’s a moment in time when people come together in celebration; in acknowledgement of each other and the beauty of the circle of life. And it feels good. It’s a revered holiday in American culture. People travel far and wide to go ‘home’. Schools and colleges close. Families get together in celebration. The poor get looked after with food baskets, and much more.

Thanksgiving is about gratitude

And in my opinion, gratitude is one of the most important and loving values we can hold.

So what’s gratitude? It’s “the feeling of being thankful and appreciative”. It’s about reflecting on all that’s good; all that’s beautiful; all that’s abundant in our world and lives.

Reliable research demonstrates that in experiencing gratitude there’s a positive impact on one’s mental and emotional state. Quite simply, we become happier….

Practising gratitude is something we can do each day of our lives. And in doing so, I promise, you will feel different. More alive. More passionate. More extraordinary.

Practise Glorious Gratitude

So how about it? How about setting aside five minutes (or more) per day in the quiet of your mind’s eye, and practising glorious gratitude?

What does that mean?

Well, it’s that moment when you acknowledge all that you’re grateful for – the big and the small, the important and the trivial.

Here are a few of the parts of my life that I’m ABSO-Bloomin’-LUTELY grateful for today:

• My excellent health and increasing fitness.
• My glorious family (husband, daughter, stepson) with all their idiosyncrasities. 🙂
• The people who are supporting me to achieve the vision I have for myself and my businesses.
• My love of learning and having the time each week to read stacks of books.
• The beauty (and chill) of late Autumn in London.
• Being able to work from a home office and listen to classical music all day while I work.
• Living in the best city in the world – London.
• My New Zealand family who ensured my husband and son had a fabulous time there last week.
• My coaching clients who trust me to support and guide them to achieve their personal and professional goals.
• My will power in not eating sugar for the past week – yippee!!

My gratitude list is never-ending….

Go on, try it. How about taking a short walk, or sitting quietly and closing your eyes for a few minutes and reflecting on what you are grateful for. I’m certain you’ll feel good for the experience. And it gets even better. When we make a habit of expressing daily gratitude, it becomes addictive… simply because it makes us feel good. And I like that. 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving, America (and Canada). Have a fabulous day of celebration and gratitude.

ACTION: What are you most grateful for today? I’d love to know. How about sharing in the comments below?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

2016. It’s not that far away – excited? I certainly am although I’m going to finish 2015 strongly first.

While we close off 2015 and prepare to round the corner to 2016, what are the business questions we should be asking ourselves in readiness for the New Year?

What would make the difference between a good and a great 2016 for you?

It takes a bit more work to go from good to great… and the work should be fun… and worth the effort with the results.

Here’s my take on the ‘Why – What – Who – How – When’ questions we should be asking of ourselves as we begin planning our businesses for 2016 to ensure we go from good to great.

While the questions may seem simple on the face of it, like anything, the more deeply we think, the more honestly we answer them, the stronger the answers we receive and the more alive and empowered we feel.

WHY – in 1 question

WHY do you do what you do?
This is ‘THE’ passion for your business. This is about being in love with your business and the difference your products and services make in the lives of your customers. If we aren’t passionate about our businesses, it’s unlikely we’ll be excited about the upcoming year.

WHAT – in 2 questions

WHAT is your vision for your business?
While you may be clear about your vision, it’s really good at the start of new beginnings to recheck it as things change; we change. In the lead up to 2016 check in with yourself about what you want to achieve in your business and your life.

WHAT are the key products and services you are going to focus on in 2016?
There are so many products and services that we can offer the market. What are the few key ones that are going to make the difference to your business? The ones that will make the biggest impact for your customers and, in being successful in selling those products and services, will make the biggest difference to the success of your business.

WHO – in 4 questions

Who is your team?
Regardless of the size of your business, we don’t do business alone. Think about your team and love and nurture them. In return they’ll love you (hopefully) and your customers. Recruit your team for your values too; make sure they’re aligned to where you want your business to head and how you’re going to get there.

Who are your customers – current and new?
Think about what the perfect customer looks like for your business and map a plan to seek them out. We can’t be everything to everybody – so there’s no point in trying to be. Target your market. Niche! And then go after it with love and passion. Make a difference in the lives of your customers.

Who are your key suppliers?
Your suppliers are critical to your success in business so they must be nurtured too. Think of ways that are mutually beneficial to deepen the relationship with your suppliers.

Who are your business partners?
Partnerships and joint ventures are the key to success in business. Think of ways you can deepen the relationship with existing partners, supporting them to be more successful. Find new partners and support them to achieve success too. In return, they’ll be there for you.

HOW – in 1 question

HOW are you doing to deliver on your WHAT?
The HOW comes down to six areas of business that need to be thought about and planned for: Branding, Marketing, Sales, Finances, Operations/Systems, Team. What are you doing in each of those areas of business to achieve your vision?

WHEN – in 1 question

WHEN are you going to do everything in your year?
The WHEN is planning your long-term and medium term strategies and the key actions that must be undertaken to achieve your WHAT.

The WHEN is the one area that many entrepreneurs and business owners don’t like too much because it takes time to plan out the year. Unless the year is planned and written down, I can almost guarantee your business will control you, rather than you controlling it.

Ohh… there’s one more WHO…

I almost forgot. 🙂  The final question you must ask yourself is this. WHO is going to hold YOU accountable for achieving your WHY – WHAT – WHO – HOW – WHEN?

You? Possibly. How about finding yourself a mentor, business coach, guide, mastermind group, and ask those people to hold you accountable for delivering your 2016 business goals? I promise you in making that investment in yourself you’ll have a much stronger, more successful business by December 2016! Now that sounds exciting to me.

ACTION: I’d love to know if you’re already planning for 2016 and if so, which area of your business are you most excited about in 2016? How about leaving a comment below?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.