How What You Eat Controls Your Daily Productivity

How What You Eat Controls Your Daily Productivity

At a business meeting with a potential client a question was asked which caught me off guard…Overall what was your most productive day this week? Thinking about that I answered Tuesday, everything seemed to work effortlessly that day, clients were notified, meetings were confirmed and all employees had what they needed to complete their tasks. Next question: What did you eat for lunch that day? In fact what did you eat for lunch everyday this week?Now I’m puzzled as to why this was relative to the business we were discussing. I sat there for quite a while and did not answer, a bit confused, was I being set up to be sold a product or service? Or was he genuinely concerned about my well being. I’d like to believe the latter. After a few more minutes it dawned on me, we sometimes get so busy with emails, meetings, calls, and at times unreasonable deadlines which contributes to an unbalanced diet. We are all guilty of not stopping for lunch or taking a break to unwind and focus. Food is one of the furthest things on our minds. Work sometimes takes the place of our health. That’s not how we should manage ourselves but at times we are all a bit guilty of not taking a break even when we don’t feel like it. If your needed gas and you decided to save a few dollars and bought gas at a station that was known for watering down the mixture, only to break down on your way home that night! Now imaging if you went to a gas station known...
Dress For Success

Dress For Success

In any business first impressions are essential in developing a good working relationship. From the first step you take entering a room people are forming an opinion of you, they look at you’re overall appearance, they also look to see what type of person you might be, honest, trustworthy, competent, sincere, all can be established within the first few minutes of your presence. Body language is noticed during this time, if you are confident in your approach your more likely to gain their attention. If your body language is not steady, you appear nervous and unsettled people are less likely to give you the time you need. Actions speak louder than words, even the slightest amount of change in body language is going to have some sort of impact in your first impression. Words do have meaning however body language has a bigger impact in your presence. This applies to business as well as first impressions during a job interview. We’ve all heard that old saying “dress for success” seems like one of the most overused phrases out there, yet one which often times gets over looked. Along with first impressions in body language how you dress is essential in the development of your status as a professional in your field to your potential employer. When preparing for an interview select proper attire as it pertains to the position you seek. Proper dress man not get you the job but will give you the edge you need. If your not sure how to dress on resource can be to simply call human resources and ask. I am of the...
Understand Your Team

Understand Your Team

Over the years I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing people, some were the best in their field others were the future generation of that trade. All had the same mission, improve on the craft. As demanding and at times difficult as it was the time was not wasted or taken for granted. I knew the place I was in was where I’d learn and grow. Along the was there were many coworkers who didn’t see it the same, most wanted to “just put in their time” however my goal was to be my best. You meet many different personalities, some kind, some not so kind, and others were just hard to get along with they were never happy. At the time it didn’t occur to me I was learning how to cope with diversity which I would use later in my career. Most days I’d come home from work tired and drained, down deep I knew it was for my own benefit. As time goes on people come in and out of your life. You develop friendship and work side by side completing each project to the best of your ability. As an apprentice you imagine what it would be like to become a journeyman and be the one in charge. Make all the major decisions while assigning work to your apprentice. However one guy whom I became good friends with had no such desire, he was very good at his work but seemed to lack confidence in himself. We’d discuss this opportunity at lunch, but never seemed to want to make the jump. Then one day...
What Creates Fear?

What Creates Fear?

What creates fear? Is it public speaking, flying in a plane, the future, spiders, animals, the dark? there are many things which can have an impact in our ability to feel fear. For most people fear of the unknown is what holds them back from going forward and embracing a better life. However for some people fear is not an issue. When we were kids we seemed to have little fear. Truth is fear is there to protect us from harm, the challenge is when fear hold us back from becoming our best. Fear can be enhanced when we don’t understand something, yet fear is not completely knowledge based. Our past shapes how we view fear today. If your parents were overprotective your more likely to become a bit more conservative than someone who’s parents let them have little boundaries. Same is true today, if you and I are spending time with people who are fearful, then you are at a greater risk of being fearful also. We become like those we spend the most time with. When we were kids we’d come home from school change our clothes and go out and play for hours, only to come home when the street lights came on, that was a signal it’s time for supper. Thinking about where we went and how far we would travel seems like a dream, Our parents were strict yet allowed us to roam around as we wanted. Back in those day’s there were no cell phones, pagers or computers to communicate with our family, they simply didn’t exist. Playing deep in the woods, assembling...
Why We Need To Say “No”

Why We Need To Say “No”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were asked to do something you didn’t want to do? Yet you did it anyway? Told yourself you’d never do that again, only to find yourself spending more time satisfying the needs of others before your needs are met? Seems easier to just get it done and avoid a conflict or hurt someones feelings! Challenge is you’ve become a people pleaser, the needs or others is a priority, yours are often not addressed. Not suggesting you should be selfish and not help someone out, however there’s a fine line which must be in accordance with your own needs. We are all gifted with our own personalities, yet some lean toward an agreeable type which focuses on always being available to help and serve needs of others even before ours are a thought. An issue with this type of personality is when people know it and take advantage of you. At heart we all want to be there to lend a hand and make a difference in someones life, it’s human nature! We’re programmed that way. A felling of satisfaction when your recognized and praised by another person for helping out. We should consider a few things so we are not taken advantage of: Being to agreeable and never saying no to things you don’t have time for. One of my colleagues was asked to take on more work and more responsibility, at first there was no issue, but after a few weeks, he was overwhelmed, the company was testing him to see how he’d react when the pressure was on....