Motivation - A Hot Topic

The word motivation is not only a hot topic, buzz word or twitter trend, it is a word that when broken down can truly give us a guide to finding our inner fuel to achieving our goals. The simple definition can be found in any dictionary; Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines motivation as “the act or process of motivating.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motivation) This definition really only opens up more questions, so let’s move to the root word of motivation - motive. Motive is defined as “something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motive) Ah – ha! Now we are getting somewhere.

When it comes to finding motivation to achieve our goals there are some of us who just naturally have it and then there are others who struggle to locate and embrace it. As a person who is always highly motivated, I do find there are certain days where I wonder where my motivation has disappeared to. It is on these days I question if there is a way to actually measure my motivation levels in comparison to others days; outside of a knowing I feel more or less motivated. We know that motivation is the fuel that supports people to take actions necessary for them to achieve their goals.

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Life Coach and Business Coach Karen Kleinwort is the founder Therapy in Transition and is a Certified Professional Coach specializing in the integration of her clients' mind, body and spirit into her Personal Empowerment Coaching practice. For more information, visit www.coachkarenk.com. www.therapyintransition.org, www.empowermentforme.com or contact her at success@coachkarenk.com.

Steering Yourself to Victory

The end of another year is just about to arrive, and you are most likely caught up with the excitement of the holidays, shopping and spending time with those you love. It's around now that you begin to set intentions and goals for the upcoming year.

In business you are establishing budgets, identifying sales goals, and trying to locate potential expenditures on which to cut back. In your personal life you're looking at your level of happiness with your work, where you are in life, what you might like to change about where you live, or (if you're like the majority of us) identifying personal health goals.

When we establish goals for ourselves personally or professionally, it can be overwhelming at times since we think we know ourselves and like to believe we can do more than what's realistic. This results in your being overconfident or unrealistically confident. When you become overconfident, as bold and brazen as it sounds, you're actually lacking a certain amount of confidence of a particular kind. I'm sure you're wondering what I mean when I refer to "kind of confidence."

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Mentoring: Encouraging Success

Once you establish your own company, we have a tendency to look at our previous experience and how it has encouraged your employee's success – to notice what worked and what didn't. One of the essentials of a flourishing business is the openness to share your wisdom and enthusiasm of doing what you love with others. One of the easiest ways is to create a mentoring program. Mentoring doesn't always mean you are "grooming' new employees for their rise in the corporation; it also means mentoring students toward gaining much-desired skills in the work place.

I would like to share with you a few of the advantages of how establishing a mentoring program can encourage your small business to be even more successful while also touching on how setting up a mentoring program in a small- to medium-sized organization can help you develop your human resources and use these resources in the most efficient manner possible.

To begin, let's identify the key advantages of mentoring programs.

Reduced Learning Curve

When an organization establishes a mentoring program, it can prove to be individually one of the most important resources for employees in their initial learning phase or the new hire period. When a member of staff is transferred or promoted to a new department, having an adviser supports a less-demanding or stressful work environment.

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What Is Your Crown Jewel for Success?

In the world of business there are limitations or restrictions of which you need to be aware when you want to achieve goals and ultimately succeed. There are some things that just, well, fall into place without compromise. Curious what restrictions need to be in place for you to succeed? Great! What about not compromising? Wondering what's not up for compromise?

For one, your attitude! Your attitude needs to be in what your crown jewels are encased, much like Queen Elizabeth’s crown is made of gold; your success crown is made of attitude, allowing you to show off the jewels within you. With a positive attitude, a little self-discipline and a certain level of knowledge, you're empowered to make sound decisions along your journey to success even when a challenge might raise its pretty little head. Your attitude can not be compromised by anyone but you. You are in complete control of your attitude, and being in control of your attitude means your limitations are set by you and only you.

In a previous article I talked about why your foundation for success needs to be built not just on stone but must also include sand to allow for flexibility and growth. Knowing where your foundation is enables you to then focus on identifying your crown jewel and gaining clarity on the steps it takes to achieve your goals. Your crown will, of course, have more than one jewel held within it but jewels (or, here, skills) that need to be on display for others to notice.

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Achieving Goals: 5 Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Odds of Success

A goal is a target on which you aim your focus and put your time and effort into the process of achieving. There are five steps essential in guiding you toward achieving and realizing your goals. Achieving a goal can take longer and require more commitment than you realize or might imagine. Self-empowerment and motivation are great tools for you to use, and they are two tools you can use as ingredients to steer yourself toward creating your vision, which will lead you to your target.

Some people believe that when they fail in achieving a goal, it ends the existence of their goal. But this is not true at all. Failing to achieve a goal provides you the opportunity to go back to the drawing board to redefine it and refuel the spirit of your motivation.

The first step you can take to improve your odds of succeeding and achieving your goal is not to allow failure to enter into your description or definition of success. Instead, replace the term "failure" with the idea and feelings associated with the term "reset": meaning, you did not fail at achieving your goal, but instead you need to simply reset the goal you had. Where you are today is not where you were when you initially established the goal. The growth you've achieved means that resetting your goal today makes it that much more achievable.

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Choice Is Motivation

We hear the term "empowerment" a lot these days. For those who need a reminder, empowerment refers to liberty and our ability to achieve what we desire. Motivation, on the other hand, is that what keeps your spirit and enthusiasm high. Your need for self-empowerment or self-motivation in life comes from within. Motivation gives you something to which to look forward, and it makes everything seem attainable – even those goals that may seem impossible.

Mainly what motivates you is the dream of having a better life, career, family or love. Acquiring self-motivation can be a difficult process to start, but it ultimately all comes down to making a choice. Your decision to choose an appropriate motivational tool can be more difficult than you might think.

Personal motivation is a very important skill in this day and age, especially when we have so many distractions to pull us away from tasks at hand. When you can maintain your focus on the tasks at hand, you will begin to see you journey take great, positive strides toward the success you seek. I've talked about and given ideas in previous blog posts regarding your focus, but how do you stay motivated when some days are filled with challenges? Feeling empowered is important, but being a self-starter – a person who can pick herself up and jump right back in – is the foundation of staying motivated.

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Hocus Pocus, Let There Be Focus

Life is full of roles, responsibilities and consequences; therefore, being able to stay focused is important when seeking balance in any overwhelming experiences life decides to throw at you. Success in life is nothing without being able to share it with others, and having the ability to focus will allow you to stay present when working and playing with others. In life there are believed to be three states of focus in which you can be engaged: 1) being in focus; 2) lacking focus; and 3) being focus obsessed.

The benefits of being focused in life could almost be considered unlimited. One benefit is the confidence you feel, and with increased confidence you're given the ability to step out of your comfort zone and make improved decisions. With improved decision-making capacity, you are able to find purpose in your life, have the passion to take on life’s stresses as they come your way, and ultimately improve your overall well-being. So simply putting focus first helps you live life to the fullest and allows you to experience the best in everything you do.

Life is short, as they say, and there's no time to be wasted being unfocused. But how do you stay focused or engaged? For some staying focused on tasks and current situations can prove difficult, and doing so thus takes practice to improve. A great tip for learning to increase your ability to stay focused involves giving yourself a reward for meeting "being present" goals. For one week keep track of how well you stay focused on tasks. For example, say you need to write a blog that is 500 words in length. Look at the clock when you sit down to begin writing. Note the moment your focus wavers from this task, and look at the clock to note the time. When you're able to refocus on the task at hand, note the time again.

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Surviving Reality: Compassionate Competition

To a lot of people, the word competition is ugly and holds a negative connotation. When we think of the word competition, we often think of professional sports, athletes, Survivor the reality show, "others" on the dating scene, or the younger generation entering the workforce who may just beat us out for the next big promotion. But in reality competition can be what empowers us to be more than just a survivor and the reason we flourish and succeed. We can amp up the level we achieve by embracing compassion within our actions during times of competition.

Compassion isn't just for the strong, educated or well read; it's for everyone, and our success can be easier when it's not built on the shoulders of those we pass over but rather on our supportive interactions with our competitors. By encouraging them to do more, be better and go for the gold, we in turn become stronger. When you look toward wanting a more successful professional life, you normally envision yourself climbing the Corporate Ladder—which means you need to put up with certain elements in the work environment to get to the next rung. And as I've mentioned in past articles such as "What's Your Edge?" that there are many things you can do to ensure you have an edge. But we encounter competition in many different areas of our lives, and it's important to understand that how you embrace your competitor in one sector will reinforce how you interact in another.

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A Stone Foundation Supports Your Success

As we look around at others in our lives, we often wonder what it took for certain individuals to succeed: how they made it so far, so quickly or what motivated them to keep going even when times were difficult. There are many qualities that make a great leader or support you in becoming one; there are unlimited opportunities for you to experience and gain the skills you need to become successful in life, but one of the elements people often overlook is their foundation. Examining the foundation on which your life is built is not about going back and pointing the finger at our childhood. It's about looking forward to your ultimate goal and asking yourself what it takes to get there to achieve and manifest your goal.

We all know the building parable "Is your house built on sand or stone?" When it comes to achieving success, understanding that your experience and academic portfolios are the building materials you use to build your life house means it's important to ask which pieces of your experience are stone and which pieces are sand. While moving through life, our foundation needs to actually be comprised of both elements, for science reminds us that sand is actually very small stones.

In life flexibility is critical to our learning and adopting new information, allowing us to mold and bend when necessary and stand firm in our beliefs and values. Using me as an example, people often wonder why I would choose to make certain decision in life; and for the most part, my decisions were based on following my heart and my desire while staying true to my dreams and values. When first embarking on the new role of coach, I did the exercise most of us have done when deciding to take a turn in our careers and wrote down how my life experiences (both professional and academic) supported this turn. When looking back to even my teenage years working at a boat marina, my work experience has always ultimately supported either directly or indirectly my recent life decisions.

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What’s Your Edge?

For all those who strive to be successful in their professional lives, whether they work for a corporation or they are an entrepreneur, there are a few things they (or should I say you) definitely need to have in order to achieve and keep their edge.

Having a vision is critical to being able to climb the corporate ladder. Your vision is what will allow you to stay motivated while working toward achieving the goals you've set for yourself. Goal-setting isn't always easy, as there is an art behind it that involves knowing how to set realistic and achievable goals while also managing your time and energy as you spend time completing the necessary actions to meet your milestones along the way that ultimately lead you right into the hands of success.

Knowing your vision and taking action to make it a reality takes more than just yourself. You need a support network that will act not just as cheerleaders to help keep you motivated but also to be the "naysayers" and play devil’s advocate. These elements, when combined, create a recipe for success. In order for you to earn the promotion to the next rung, you need something we call respect. Respect is a two-way street. Not only do you need to hold respect for those to whom you report, but those who report to you and those on the same level must do the same.

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Employee Motivation: A Secret Society?

Motivation is a key ingredient to success. This is not a news flash by any means, and all managers and good leaders embrace some degree of motivational program for their employees; whether they do this consciously or subconsciously, they all do it. Motivation is not some secret society either, but the secret to motivation is the "what" behind it. So what is the "what" anyway?

It's a great question and one that every great leader seeks to answer—although the answer is never the same twice! So that is what makes motivation part of a secret society, remembering and understanding the same employee will have different motivators at different times of her life? And yes, different times can be as often as yearly, monthly or even daily. This is the "what" behind keeping your employees motivated and feeling empowered.

Now that you're a part of this secret motivational society and you’ve been let into the inner sanctum, you're reading this and still thinking, "What? That isn't a news flash, either!" And yes, you would be right—but the news flash is the remembering that translates into engaging in some form of communication with your employees regularly to ensure you're in the know of what their current motivator is or might be. Regular communication is the real secret ingredient to realizing your success as a great motivational leader.

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Business Leadership: Leading with Social Responsibility

Over the last several years that I've been working with business owners, entrepreneurs and those seeking to begin their own businesses, there seems to have been an underlying theme revolving around leadership. I recently wrote an article ("The Meaning and Essence of Business Leadership") and thought it would be beneficial to continue this topic with the focus on Social Responsibility. We know leaders are not made; nor are they "born," even though there are individuals who seem to exude all the necessary qualities that make a great leader and are therefore are referred to "born leaders." But what is this sought-after set of skills and abilities that makes you a great leader, and do you possess the desire to become a great leader? If you are asking yourself these questions (as well as can you do if you want to acquire these leadership skills not just from a business perspective but possibly from a personal one), read on.

The first quality is respect; individuals can easily look up to and respect you as a leader if you respect them. Their respect will be based on your ability to communicate easily and compassionately your expectations of them. This is the second quality of a great leader: being a compassionate communicator. Within your mutual respect, your communication style will be inspiring. Those whom you lead will feel empowered by you to step out and up into their reaching for their goals—one of which will be to "please" you and to live up to your expectations. So the third quality is being able to inspire those who follow you. Now that we’ve covered three qualities that support being a great leader, let’s look at what might be another quality on which we often focus and talk about less but is nevertheless equally (if not more) important; that is, business leadership is based on social responsiveness.

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Plan, Action and Achieve

When the objectives we set are large or complex, we often need a plan of some sort to ensure we reach them. However, planning is just half of the story: you also need to take action. Before implementation of any plan, it's useful to check where you are both physically and mentally. Achieving our success is based on our "whole" being fully present and accountable, and that means making sure both bodies are not only on board but have the capability to do the work necessary.

Take a few moments to take another look at your plan. Look at the activities that make up the plan, the feasibility of them, and the overall timeline. Then ask yourself the question: "Am I ready for this challenge mentally? Physically?"

If the answers are yes to both, then try asking yourself these questions:

• "Am I ready to let go of or put on hold certain areas of my life so I can continue this challenge?"
• "If I am not ready now, when will be I ready?"
• "What do I need to in order to have the right mental perspective and physical support?"
• "Do I need outside help?"

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Measuring Motivation

When it comes to finding motivation to achieve our goals, there are some of us who just naturally have it—and then there are others who struggle to locate and embrace it. As a person who is always highly motivated, I do find there are certain days when I wonder to where my motivation has disappeared. It's on these days I question if there is a way to actually measure my motivation levels in comparison to others days, outside of knowing I feel more or less motivated.

We know that motivation is the fuel that supports people to take actions necessary for them to achieve their goals. When people have a strong desire to take action or are willing to take chances, think outside the box or blaze their own path, we recognize they have a strong sense of being motivated. Yet when an individual has a less-than-strong inner desire to take action and makes little or no progress in his life, we know these people as slackers or lacking motivation.

Outside of these two perspectives, is there another way to learn how to measure motivation? Simply put: yes. This is done by actually looking at and recognizing the type or quality of action steps highly motivated individuals take versus those who lack motivation to reach their goals.

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Business and Your Education

There isn’t a child in the world who hasn’t been asked the question, “So what do you want to be when you grow up?” And depending on their personal situation, external influences and experiences, their answer will change by the day. As we enter high school we become clearer about what drives us, fuels our spirit and motivates us to do better. The clock is ticking to choose a path for our lives, our careers and our futures. Entering college and choosing to complete your academic journey with a business degree always seems most desirable when we are looking to go into business for ourselves, climb the corporate ladder or just not sure about where we might be headed in life but still want to keep the most options open to ourselves. But as a small business owner, how does the integration of an individual’s educational focus and training impact her success—or does it?

There are those who believe if a student wants to succeed in the business world, then receiving an education in business is where she needs to begin her career. Her education in any subject matter will ultimately support her…

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Protecting a Business Idea

You’ve got the next big business solution – congratulations! How do you know someone, even with the best of intention, doesn’t share it with another who decides to take it and run with it? Or you want to share the idea with a few friends to get their feedback on its value, potential or viability but still want to protect what you’ve created. These are a few questions we are often asked by clients because they want to know how to protect their ideas.

The best way and most secure way, of course, is to keep the idea to yourself. But seriously, it is a sincere recommendation since most often people talk about their ideas to brag, brainstorm, and make themselves feel as if they are adding to discussions—which in the end can hurt you and your potential business idea. And to be honest, these are not good or even great reasons to disclose information you want kept confidential. However, barring total secrecy, having a Confidentiality Agreement can help protect your ideas. But what if you don’t have a Confidentiality Agreement in place or want to put one into place? The following will be helpful as a guide to making your way through the sea of opportunity.

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Understanding Intrapreneurship

Not everyone is fortunate enough to give wings to her entrepreneurial pursuits due to lack of capital and other resources. The concept of “intrapreneurship” comes to the rescue of such individuals. Intrapreneurship is basically practicing entrepreneurship within the confines of an organization. Intrapreneurship works well for various reasons—the foremost being that unlike entrepreneurial ventures, there is no substantial risk involved. Intrapreneurs are employed by an organization for a fixed remuneration and are involved with generating new ideas and converting them into profitable ventures with financial support and other help from the organization.

Difference between Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship
There are certain similarities and differences between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Like an entrepreneur, even an intrapreneur exhibits characteristics such as independence, conviction, vision, passion to fulfil his dreams, etc. Entrepreneurs make their own decisions, whereas…

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Vince Lombardi

I enjoy quite a few activities and was active as a child and teenage with sports such as baseball, track, figure skating and volleyball, to name a few. I was definitely a tom boy, as they say. In college when completing my degree in Health and Fitness, it was part of our academic requirement to learn the rules and social impact of all the major sports in both Canada and the United States. In one of my anatomy classes, I choose to write a paper on the instances of neck injuries leading to paralysis or partial paralysis in the game of football. It was in my research for this paper I was introduced to a very inspirational man I and most sports enthusiast know: Vince Lombardi.

Lombardi’s quotes and inspirations are profound in more than just a sporting application; most of the following quotes can be embraced by business professionals and students alike. Here are a few of my favorites.

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Wayne Dyer: LOA Godfather?

There are a lot of talk shows, books, videos and “gurus” focusing on the Law of Attraction, but there is one man who just might be considered or referred to as the “Godfather of LOA.” Wayne Dyer gave the world undying and unparalleled hope when he put forth the Law of Attraction, which argues that "if you really want something and truly believe it's possible, you'll get it."

Dyer has touched many lives, as he is so much more than just a good author. He has built his own life on the theories in which he believes. Dyer served in the United States Navy from 1958-1962 and pursued an academic career thereafter. He published several journals, ran a successful private therapy practice and took lecture at St. John’s on positive thinking and motivational speaking techniques. These lectures brought him a lot of popularity. The turning point in his career, however, came when he published his first book, Erroneous Zones.

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Importance of HR Accounting

There is no undermining the value of Human Resource in any organisation. To quote Narayan Murthy founder of the IT giant Infosys, “My assets are not the buildings, the business or foreign contact. My assets walk out of the gate every evening and I wait for them to come back to me the next morning.”

Human Resource is the greatest asset of any organization, and like any other asset you need to account for it. This is particularly true in service-based organizations where instead of a tangible product there’s an intangible product (i.e., service to offer), and hence the conduct and approach of the employees assumes greater importance. Human Resource Accounting (HR Accounting) may be a new term for a lot of small businesses since most view their employees as assets but forget that there is a real tangible cost associated with obtaining these assets and well as maintaining the assets to ensure a long and loyal life.

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