Wednesday, July 25, 2012

When you "Don't Have Time"

[Note: Before I forget, my next 4-Week Accelerated Coaching Program starts in a few weeks...are you ready for BIG transformation results in your career? Achieve your dream biz goal in just weeks, space is limited so check it out now! Here's to your success! ~Alex]

Image: AbsentMindedOracle - http://bit.ly/M5aapx

Quite possibly the greatest statement I hear from my clients and other professionals I meet is "I don't have time." Oftentimes it's preceded by "I can't, because..." 

I hear some form of this statement on a daily basis. We're so busy with all our personal and professional duties as it is, and then add in social media and checking email, that what little bit of sanity we had before the internet came along is gone. 

These are just excuses. Of course you have the time. In fact, we all have the same 24 hours of time. It's how you prioritize your time and what you focus on that determines your results. 

I researched and wrote the first draft of my book in less than 4 weeks. I prioritized several hours every day to accomplish this, many time writing in the evenings. Now I can say I’m an Author. That all started with a vision and a goal and the focus to actually act it out. I didn’t want to just be a journalist or blogger and keep writing articles; I firmly decided to write a book! Then I followed up and made it happen.  

The wealthiest people also have the same 24 hours that everyone else has. They know that their time is valuable and they use it to create high value products/services and marketing those products. 

Borrowing a tip from the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss: What would you focus your attention and time on if you could only work 2 hours a day? Write that down and then do it first. Once you've done those, you will have accomplished the most important, high value tasks every day! 

Then you can have all the "time" leftover to do all the other things you can't live without. Like check your Facebook status.

Action Step: Plan your day in advance and ask what is the most important thing you can do that day. Then prioritize those tasks, completing them FIRST.

This article is derived partially from Ch. 3 on Goals from Sculpt Your Life From Sketch to Masterpiece(TM). This e-book success program presents the 12 most powerful strategies for success and is designed to m otivate you to increase your productivity, reach your goals and ultimately fulfill your purpose! 

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Aim BIG to get BIG Results

[Note: Before I forget, my next 4-Week Accelerated Coaching Program starts in a few weeks...are you ready for BIG transformation results in your career? Achieve your dream biz goal in just weeks, space is limited so check it out now! Here's to your success! ~Alex]



Image: MeddingKids.org


Right here and now I’m giving you permission to aim BIG...aim for the stars with your dreams and vision. If that sound a bit cheesy, remember that I am a motivational coach pushing you to reach your greatest individual success!  

Always aim high with your goals, even if some may seem out of reach. The worst that can happen is that you push yourself beyond what you ever imagined possible. And guess what? You may even reach your goals!  

In less than six months, I wrote, edited, designed and launched a book, and can now say I’m an Author. That all started with a vision and a goal. I didn’t want to just be a journalist or blogger and keep writing articles; I firmly decided to write a book! Then I followed up and made it happen.  

There’s also the income goal. Whenever I start talking to my clients about earning hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars, somehow they think this is out of their scope of reality. Is earning this much income really out of your reality? If you’re working in line with your purpose—what I call your Masterpiece Purpose--you deserve to earn all the income to which you aspire. Since you’re getting paid to do what you love anyway, why not earn as much as you want doing it? You must first see yourself worthy of receiving it.  

In fact most very wealthy people started off poor, broke or with all the odds against them, and ALL they had was a dream or vision to hold on to. 

Although it’s not always about money, focus on what you really want and don’t be afraid to think it, want it or say it. 

Essentially, aiming for your real aspirations allows you to truly live a purposeful, passionate life.

Action Step: When you get some down time, meditate and reflect on your goals and what you really want for your life. Remember, to dream BIG....don't just reach for the trees...aim for the stars!

This article is derived from Ch. 3 on Goals from Sculpt Your Life From Sketch to Masterpiece(TM). This e-book program presents the 12 most powerful strategies for success and is designed to m otivate you to increase your productivity, reach your goals and ultimately fulfill your purpose! 

Thursday, July 12, 2012

How to Develop your "Olympic Mindset" to Achieve Big Results




Okay so it's Olympic time, and I'm already getting inspired. Who doesn't feel inspired by this image of Michael Phelps with his gold medals?

In fact, it was 4 years ago that Michael Phelps inspired my weightloss journey, helping me lose 15 pounds in 6 weeks as I trekked up and down the stairs of my building up to 5 times (20 flights of stairs) two times a day, in addition to my regular workouts. Was I insane? Yes! But I wanted it badly enough. Before then, I thought I would never lose weight and was hopeless. I had to master my MIND first, before I could master my body. 

The same goes for any professional endeavor you have. In fact, I realized that I really perform at my peak when I break down my goals in short fragments and then FOCUS on them... for example, these are some of the things I was able to accomplish in just 4 weeks or less: write my book Sculpt Your Life From Sketch to Masterpiece(TM); started a business from scratch; got a professional industry certification; applied for and started my Master's; figured out the "sales game" to double my sales without being "salesy"; just to name a few. 

In my own experience and that of my clients, and taking numerous high-performance courses and training seminars, I've learned and now know what it takes to succeed. That's why I became a Success Coach, so I could help my clients succeed in their endeavors. People used to tell me I should be a professional cheerleader because I'm such a positive motivator...but I'm glad I became a certified Coach instead!

So here are the top 8 Characteristics of Winning Olympians that get them to win the MIND game and achieve their goals...and you can develop them too:

1. Desire: you need to want to achieve your goal badly enough!

2. Focus: be clear about what you want 

3. Handle Pressure (with Grace): have the courage to step up and don't crack under pressure

4. Overcome Mistakes/Hurdles: probably the thing I admire most about athletes is their ability to "forget" the mistakes they made yesterday and focus on today

5. Discipline: yes, you have to actual work! But no Pain, no Gain, as the saying goes

6. Persistence: Keep going, never give up even when you want to quit!

7. Get a Coach/Support: Every great athlete has a great coach. A coach hones your strengths and helps mitigate your weaknesses. Plus of course, you simply cannot perform at your peak if you don't have the support.

8. Commitment: An Olympian commits to a goal, and sees it through to completion. Even if they "fail", they commit to improve themselves and train harder.

Well there you have it. If you're interested in help with your own "Olympic Goal" transformation with rapid results, check out my next 4-Week Accelerated Coaching Program! If you're ready for BIG transformation results in just a few weeks, developing a high performance mindset to achieve your dream biz goal, check it out! Are you ready to develop your "Olympic Mindset"?

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

5 Reasons To Use Pinterest for Business

Here's a great article from my friend and excellent social media strategist Allison Semancik from Idea Sprouts Marketing. Pinterest is the 3rd most used social media platform so it may be a good idea to pay attention and start your own account, if you haven't already. Here's to your success! ~Alex


 

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Pinterest for Business 

If you have been on the fence about using Pinterest for your business, it's understandable. I know what you're thinking, "Oh man! Not another site I have to keep up with!"

But if you were getting results out of using the network, wouldn't you want to give it a try? Here are my reasons why you should be using Pinterest for your business. 

1. More Website Traffic

Websites and blogs are reporting an increase in traffic to their sites once they started using Pinterest. As soon as I began using Pinterest for Idea Sprouts I began to get new traffic AND leads from the site.

Since increased website traffic can also increase leads and sales, Pinterest is worth considering as another social media network for your business.  

2. Links to Your Website  

If you have "pin-worthy" images and videos on your website, people will start pinning them to their Pinterest boards. That means you get a link back to your website with every pin.

If you want to see if you have any pins back to your website, use this website address: http://pinterest.com/source/YOURWEBSITE/

So for my website, I'd use: http://pinterest.com/source/ideasproutsmarketing.com/

You will then see a list of pins that anyone has pinned from your website. Pretty neat! 

3. Get Found by New People  

Every time someone pins or repins one of your images, you have the potential to get found by even more people. That's because your images will show up on their boards and their followers will see it.

In addition, when you pin or repin an image, you have the option to share it on Facebook and/or Twitter, which means even more eyes will see your content.

4. Showcase Products  

While I don't advocate using Pinterest to blast people with images of all of your products or ebooks (in fact, being overly promotional is against Pinterest rules), you can certainly use it to highlight items.

For instance, I have a board with Facebook Marketing Ideas and in it, I include an image and link to my free ebook, 50 Facebook Marketing Ideas. But I also include other videos, articles and tips on Facebook marketing on the board - and it's not all from me or my website.

If you have physical products with gorgeous photos, you have a real opportunity to shine on Pinterest. Especially if your products are popular with women (right now, the majority of Pinterest users). 

5.  Get Personal  

One of the great things about Pinterest is its simplicity. You can share so many different types of photos and images very easily, and get more personal. Add photos of your employees, your events, or testimonials from happy customers. People may begin following you because of one pin they liked, but they will take a few minutes to learn more about you by looking at your boards.

I'm going to be sharing more Pinterest ideas with you in the upcoming weeks, but for now, why not set up an account? Once you do, I'd love to connect with you. You can follow Idea Sprouts and my personal account Allison Semancik.
I'm looking forward to seeing your pins!

If you are using Pinterest for your business, what are your reasons for using it?

Sign up for our newest webinar on Pinterest for Business, on July 19. We'll discuss tips and tricks for boosting traffic, building your list, and other marketing strategies to use for your business. There is limited space so sign up now!

[To view the original article, click here.]

Allison Semancik is the Founder of Idea Sprouts Marketing, a social media & online marketing agency that creates successful marketing plans for small & medium businesses. Idea Sprouts helps clients successfully navigate the social media world to increase sales while making the most effective use of marketing budget.