by stevengconnelly@aol.com | Dec 23, 2016 | Productivity
Do you find yourself stressed or overwhelmed by all those unread emails? Your inbox seems to never be completely empty? Phone calls, text messages, constant social media posts, So much to do every day, the cost of not accomplishing tasks grows with each passing hour…It’s five o’clock…Only a few more things to complete and it’s quitting time? Right ? Next time you look at the clock it’s now six thirty, almost done…one more email, phone call, next thing you know it’s eight o’clock, where did the time go? Sound Familiar ? This is the new normal today, people working longer hours often times into the night with just under half of those people working one weekend a month. Most don’t take a break at lunchtime, they eat their lunch in front of the computer to “get more done” which is less productive in the long run..However technology is amazing, I am so lucky to have grown up with unlimited resources at my disposal. In one way we are blessed in another we are cursed! Seriously, no matter where we are or where we go we are always “plugged in to the system.” With all this technology like should be simpler more efficient and require less hours…right? One of the challenges with all of these new developments is there are many more distractions which most people don’t know how to handle or how to manage. The new era where we now live in is uncharted waters, and has lead to some companies working toward policies to limit how much time employees spend on social media and personal business. But what...
by stevengconnelly@aol.com | Dec 17, 2016 | Performance
As an entrepreneur you have some sort of a business, no boss to tell you what to do or how to do it every day, how awesome is that! Those days of corporate meetings , constant “Number Crunching,” and conference calls are a thing of the past. Congratulations you are one of the few who had the guts to fire their boss! You now can do what ever you want. Right? As rewarding it can be to live the life of an entrepreneur it is equally rewarding to receive encouragement from a person for a product or service which you have created. However what happens when your customer is unhappy? How do you handle it? Do you get frustrated? Stressed? Angry? or do you go right to the issue and work to resolve the problem? When starting out in business the first year can be full of challenges, some good, some bad, it can be an emotional roller coaster which if not controlled can have a devastating effect on long term success of the business. If you and I are going to be successful entrepreneur’s we must first have the ability to control our emotions when things don’t work out as expected. When we receive positive feedback from a successful webinar, meeting, training, blog, or social media post our emotional state keeps us on task and focused. However when there are negative comments, or unexpected issues arise it becomes much harder to stay focused on the goal ahead. This can be a destructive force when first starting out in business. Both good and bad comments are an important element...
by stevengconnelly@aol.com | Dec 9, 2016 | Success
Today we are all faced with more and more challenges, which in some ways is good, it is a way for us to expand and grow right?? If your like most people life at times seems as unpredictable as the weather. Just when things are going along smoothly…A major road block appears! When “life happens” do you feel like you can “rise up” to the challenge? Or do you give up ?Is your motto the glass is always half-full? or half-empty?? What you believe about your own abilities can play a major role in how you feel about a situation as well as the success you will have to achieve your goals in life. Self Efficacy beliefs should never be compared with outcome expectations, which is when a person begins to judge the consequences of a particular behavior will produce. A confident person doesn’t just “hope for a successful outcome, they anticipate one! Albert Bandura defines Self Efficacy: Which refers to one’s belief that he or she is capable of successfully performing a certain task to meet a goal. If you are of the belief that accomplishing a task which you never accomplished before is not likely or you doubt your ability, your Self-Efficacy is low you will never challenge yourself to improve. Each obstacle becomes a problem or issue which fuels excuses and validation of why is is better to give up and quit! The past becomes future reality. Yet if you set your beliefs much higher than your ability it is possible you will set your goals too high and fail to achieve your goal, become...
by stevengconnelly@aol.com | Dec 2, 2016 | Life
Today we live in a society of instant gratification, if there is a way to feel better have less stress without doing something which consumes time, doesn’t that sound good!! Truth is a majority of the population these days would agree with that statement. It is the “New-Norm” whereas no matter what happens in your life there is a quick solution, a “Magic Pill” which can “Fix-It-All.” Remember when you were a child and your parents told you to eat your vegetables? They always reminded you how important that was for your health. Not to mention the importance of a well balanced diet. For me, somehow I always wanted to have a nice desert more than my vegetables, sound familiar? As we became older we learned just how important it is to have a proper balanced diet, along with exercise to keep our heart healthy. I have to confess though a nice bowl of ice cream is still not totally out of my diet. Like with anything in life as long as it is not in excess it is OK, at least that’s what my doctor says! Did you ever consider what type of information you feed your mind with can have an impact in your current health? Ever watch a movie and cry at the end? Eat too much food and feel tired? Listen to a song and remember how it made you feel? Smell smoke from a camp fire? Go to the beach and feel the sand between your toes? Do you remember when you were happy or sad? Our minds are like a computer, information is...
by stevengconnelly@aol.com | Nov 26, 2016 | Leadership
To be a great leader you first must lead yourself. It’s not that difficult to take on a leadership roll in the work place today, companies are looking for motivated people who ready to step up and take on more and more responsibility, a self starter, a person that is not afraid of a little hard work. Truth is just because a company promoted a person to a leadership roll does not make them a leader people will want to follow! In order to be a great leader you must gain peoples trust and respect. One of the best ways to do that is to lead by example. Never tell someone to do something you would not do. When I was in construction I learned this from an “old timer.” I was working as an apprentice and just passed my test to become a journeyman in the building trades. The next step for me was to run my own jobs, I’ll never forget the advice of that old timer, he sat me down one day looked me in the eye and stated: Never tell someone to do something you would not do yourself. Steve if you want to earn the respect and trust of people you must first respect and trust yourself. I never forgot his words, they served me well over the years. I was blessed in the trades, I raised a family and lived a good life. Over the years there were 3 key elements which helped me to be very successful: Respect When your in a leadership roll it is easy to demand what you...
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