June 30th, 2011 // Motivational Thoughts // 1 Comment
* This post originally appeared on The Change Blog
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas A Edison
The question we need to explore is not what we know but what we embrace and practice in our life on a daily basis. Most of my clients and people I talk with know what they are supposed to do but doing it is always the issue. Given that we are mid-way through the year, it’s the perfect reflection point to take note of what’s working in your life and what small changes you can implement that will make a positive impact. The consistent small actions add up and often lead to amazing results by year-end.
Here are five powerful yet simple ways to make a meaningful difference in your life on a daily basis:
1. Be The CEO of You Inc.
You Inc. represents all the different areas of your life including Career, Relationships, Finances, Healthy Living, Fun & Creativity, and Personal Growth. You need to invest in and be mindful of each of the areas to present your best self on a daily basis. The key theme to realize is that life is a series of choices and you are in the drivers seat (not someone else). You Inc. is the most important business you will run because it’s your life and you need to take an active role in all the decisions. It’s time for you to decide what commitments get added to your plate and when to say “NO” vs “YES.”
2. Assess Your Words
Yes, we’ve all heard that being “positive” is important and makes a difference — so why aren’t we doing it all the time? I continue to see people limiting their potential because they embrace negative words and beliefs. Our mindset defines what we believe is possible and impossible. So if we continue to reinforce that starting a new business, running a 10k race, or finding a job is impossible then that’s the song that runs through our mind. I encourage all of my clients to delete the words, “can’t” and “impossible” from their vocabulary and use words that inspire, empower, and motivate you such as I can, I will, and I believe in myself.
3. Remove The Should Factor
I should spend more time with my family, I should volunteer at my children’s school, I should attend that social event….the “shoulds” go on and on. But what we really need to focus on is what we want to do and be rather than what we think we should be doing? The most precious resources we have are time and energy so if you are consumed with thinking and doing all the “shoulds” in your life, there’s little time to focus on the parts of your life that are most fulfilling. You can implement this small shift by starting to notice when and if you use the word “should” and if it positively or negatively impacts your life.
4. Redefine Success
Often our definition of success changes over the years but often we do not adjust our mindset, goals, and actions for the life we want to live today. After business school, I defined success in terms of title and money but soon realized that success for me was about being fulfilled, making a difference, and loving what I do. How do you define success in your life and are you taking steps to create the life you want?
5. Set a Goal That Matters
This seems like an obvious one but so many people either do not set goals, set vague goals, do not take action on their goals, or set goals that are important but not a priority. The amazing part about goals is when you set a goal that genuinely excites you and is a top priority in your life, you are focused and motivated on a daily basis. It adds that spark to your life and gives you a purpose when you start your day.
The process of setting goals is about feeling a sense of mastery and building confidence each step of the way. To start, focus on goals that are meaningful, genuinely exciting, and ones that you are willing to make a priority today. Goals are personal so choose one that speaks to you and then write it down. Remember it’s a process so be patient and ready for some bumps on the road!
Top 1% Bottom Line: Living your best life is a mindset, choice, and way of life. Once we decide that being our best is not optional but rather how we live, a world of opportunities open up and challenges are re-framed. We see the world through the lens of what if and why not and train our mind to focus on solutions rather than problems. The choice is yours!
Author Bio:
Alissa is a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals” available on Amazon.com. She works with individuals and organizations to help them think bigger, redefine what’s possible, and get results. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more and to take the Living in Your Top 1% quiz, please visit www.AlissaFinerman.com or www.facebook.com/alissafinermantop1.
June 18th, 2011 // Motivational Thoughts // No Comments
Please note: This article originally appeared on Virgin.com.
“A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.” – Albert Einstein
Ten years ago I thought I should put my MBA to good use and work on Wall Street. I thought a corporate job in finance where I got into work by 7am and was at my desk until 6pm was what I should do. I wrongly believed that all of these shoulds would make me happy and bring success.
The problem was that my life was filled with so many shoulds that there was little time in the day to do the things that were fulfilling and made a difference in the world. I eventually changed my life and left my finance and corporate job and decided to leave the shoulds behind.
As a coach, I now work with many clients who often feel overwhelmed by all the shoulds that fill their day – volunteering at their kids’ school, being part of a book club, getting involved in the recruiting process at work, attending unwanted social events, working in a corporate job when they would love to have their own business, and giving up valuable personal time for others.
The should factor takes many people off course. If you find yourself living with shoulds there is still plenty of time to change paths.
One day someone will write a book about the should factor. It’s about someone who is full of potential but never has time to focus on his top priorities because he is too busy expending time and energy on all the things he should do. For most of us, a life filled with shoulds will not excite you or leave you feeling fulfilled.
Take the should quiz to find out if you need an intervention. Do these phrases sound familiar?
I should…
1. Workout more often
2. Have a corporate job
3. Spend more quality time with my kids and spouse
4. Be more involved in the community
5. Eat out less
6. Attend a social event when I really need to sleep
WHAT IT ALL MEANS: If you answered yes to two or more of these questions you may want to examine how you invest your time and energy in people, ideas, and projects. Are these things you want to do or should do?
Don’t confuse responsibilities with things you should do. Responsibilities stem from choices you have made that require certain actions to sustain.
Here are four ways to minimize the should factor in your life and step into a world of possibilities and potential:
1. ASSESS YOUR WORDS: listen to the words you use and be mindful when you say you should do something. Is it something you want to do or what someone else wants you to do?
2. SET A GOAL THAT MATTERS: When you are honestly pursuing a goal that excites you and adds meaning to your life, you have less time to spend on shoulds. Ask yourself how important your goal is to achieve? If it’s really important and a top priority, it will take priority over any shoulds.
3. SCHEDULE YOUR PRIORITIES INTO EACH DAY: Double check what’s on your schedule each day to confirm that you are focusing on YOUR top priorities. I encourage my clients to do at least one positive thing a day for themselves.
4. BE THE CEO OF YOU INC: You are responsible for running one very important business and that’s you. To do and deliver your best self into the world you need to make sure you are meeting your needs and making yourself a priority. There is not a lot of time to focus on shoulds if you want to deliver your ‘A game’.
TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: Living in a world of ‘shoulds’ will take you nowhere quickly. The should factor is one of the most widespread terms that prevents us from reaching our greatest potential. Don’t be afraid to take ownership of your actions to determine how they help you share your talents with the world. And most importantly, say goodbye to shoulds.
Alissa is a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals” available on Amazon.com. She has an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more please visit, www.AlissaFinerman.com or Alissa’s Facebook page.
June 14th, 2011 // Interview Series: Living in Your Top 1% // No Comments
TOP 1%er INTERVIEW SERIES
The goal of the “Top 1%er” interview series is to break down the qualities of people who excel and to show that you can be successful and achieve personal greatness from any starting point in your life. The interview series looks at people from all different careers and industries. Some names will be familiar and others may not. The purpose is to understand and borrow from the “best practices” of winners to develop a roadmap to your TOP 1%. We will share a new story every two weeks.
This week’s guest is Stacey Gualandi. She is currently the host of The Women’s Eye Radio Show on 1480KPHX, and contributor to the website www.thewomenseye.com. Both provide an avenue for today’s newsmakers, authors, journalists, and entrepreneurs to discuss how they are making a difference in “the world as we see it”!
She developed her gutsy style of reporting at AMERICAN JOURNAL and for eight years at INSIDE EDITION. Stacey covered the world of entertainment, particularly celebrities at work, at play and in trouble. From the Super Bowl, junkets, movie sets, premieres and court cases (including Blake, Jackson and Simpson), to award shows like the Oscars, Grammys, SAG’s, Golden Globes and the Emmy’s, Stacey has rarely faced a celebrity story she couldn’t cover effectively. She decided to move to Hollywood to be an entertainment reporter
after she was Molly Ringwald’s stand-in on the film Fresh Horses.
Alissa Finerman: 1. What’s the most important strength you possess that allows you to be successful in your role?
Stacey Gualandi: My biggest strength that has allowed me to be successful in my role as a reporter is not being afraid to adapt. While I found
some success in an unconventional way, I never gave up, or listened to people who said I couldn’t do it that way. And even though there have been many times where I have failed, or when it has taken longer than I hoped to reach my goal, I remained in hot pursuit.
2. What motivates you on a daily basis to keep going?
SG: Receiving some sort of recognition or positive feedback is what drives me on a daily basis to keep going. When I see a story that I’ve reported on, or a show that I’ve hosted, or a print piece that I’ve written, it motivates me to do it again. And if I’m personally happy with the results, its a wonderful feeling! To feel that sense of accomplishment makes me want to keep going. And when the reaction is positive from others, there’s no stopping me!! ha. I get the most satisfaction and do my best work when I know I’m helping someone, and that person is pleased with the finished product.
3. What role do goals play in your life? Tell us a few words about your goal setting process.
SG: As I look at my past, I have been most productive and successful when I’ve set goals for myself. My process is to write my goal(s) down on paper. It seems to make me commit if it’s in writing. After graduating from college, I picked up and went to Hollywood without a job. My goal was to become an entertainment reporter by age 30. Normally one would start in a small market, but instead, I set out to become an effective writer/producer… networking, patience, working hard. It was a slower, yet step-by-step
process – paying my dues as they say! I made it with 4 months to spare!
4. What separates a good vs a great reporter?
SG: I think the difference between a good reporter and a great reporter is the ability to listen, be compassionate and be versatile. I think you have to be dedicated to preparation, research, and writing skills. I genuinely care about people. It’s also essential to put people at ease and to make them feel that they are in safe, trusting hands. That is always my intent. And to trust your gut.
5. What’s the toughest challenge(s) you successfully overcame?
SG: I think the biggest challenge that I am still trying to overcome is the passing of my Dad to cancer right before Christmas in 2009. For seven years, cancer was always on our minds, and I tried and succeeded at times to find
him the best care. But the last year of his life, I could no longer help my Dad. The cancer had taken over and I was devastated at not being able to control what was happening. It has been 18 months, and what is helping me
to move forward is not giving up, do what I can to keep busy and productive, and to participate in causes in honor of my dad. I still want to make him proud. (Stacey just participated in a cycling fundraiser that raised over $167,000 for Thinkcure.org.)
6. What are some of your most meaningful accomplishments?
SG: I have a few meaningful accomplishments that keep me inspired!
* Completing my first marathon. For my 40th bithday, my goal (and present to myself) was to complete my first marathon. I did it in 4.5 hours!!!
* Becoming an on-air reporter by 30.
* Becoming a certified yoga/spin instructor for YAS Fitness Centers after I was laid off from my last full-time job, and needing perhaps a reinvention while I figured out my next goals. I barely knew how to do yoga!! It was really really really challenging, and it seemed to open some emotional floodgates, but I came out the other end fit, calmer, and proud of myself.
* Starting the Hollywood Chapter of Dining for Women. I had participated in some charity work, but this spoke to me and has helped me give back.
7. What do the top performers do differently to excel?
SG: The top performers do not give up. They look at failure as an inspiration to try again, and plain and simple, believe in themself.
To learn more about Stacey, please visit The Women’s Eye. I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Stacey and she is extremely gracious, energetic, engaging, and prepared (listen to our interview) .
The “Top 1%er” interview series is presented by Alissa Finerman, a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of the book, “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals” which is available on Amazon.com. She has an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more please visit, www.AlissaFinerman.com or Facebook.
June 1st, 2011 // Interview Series: Living in Your Top 1% // No Comments
TOP 1%er INTERVIEW SERIES
The goal of the “Top 1%er” interview series is to break down the qualities of people who excel and to show that you can be successful and achieve personal greatness from any starting point in your life. The interview series looks at people from all different careers and industries. Some names will be familiar and others may not. The purpose is to understand and borrow from the “best practices” of winners to develop a roadmap to your TOP 1%. We will share a new story every two weeks.
This week’s guest is Allan Sahagun. I spent time with Allan at the Milken Institute Global Conference in LA in May. He is a determined, smart, and incredibly nice person who is already making a difference in this world and he’s just getting started. He is an amazing example of redefining what’s possible from any starting point (both of his parents are immigrants). Allan founded Alumwire (he recently successfully exited the company) from his Harvard Universtity dorm room alongside his brother Aaron Sahagun and Geoffrey Lee while they were on the other side of the country attending UC Berkeley. Allan was named by Businessweek as one of “The Top 25 Young Entrepreneurs” and was featured in The Boston Globe as one of the “Best of the New People and Ideas.”
Enjoying the Milken Conference with Allan
Alissa Finerman: 1. What’s the most important strength you possess that allows you to be successful in your role?
Allan Sahagun: As an entrepreneur, the core strengths that have allowed me to be successful are self-belief with professional humility. You have to really believe in yourself – entrepreneurship requires a tremendous amount of confidence in your ability in order to bring something to life. Not everyone is crazy enough to believe that they can build castles out of air, but an entrepreneur has to be. At the same time, you also have to possess the humility to say, I do not currently know the answer to something, or I do not have the skill to accomplish this, but I can learn and I need to find someone to help me. That’s an extremely challenging thing to do, because most of us want to believe we can do everything, we want to believe that we are an island. But no man is an island. The sooner I realized that, the faster I headed towards achieving my goal as an entrepreneur.
2. What motivates and inspires you on a daily basis to keep going?
AS: Ross Perot has a quote that I really like: “Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment.” It’s really easy to rest on your laurels and believe that just because you did something right once, that you can begin to cruise and not have to work as hard, since you’ve already accomplished something. There couldn’t be anything further than the truth. While it’s important to recognize that you have talent – it’s that talent that got you started in the first place – talent alone is not enough. The harsh truth of life is everyone is talented. At the end of the day the person who works harder than you will accomplish more. I have a hand-made sign in my room that says “Talent is not enough. Work harder.” That motivates me.
3. What role has mindset played in paving the way for what you have accomplished?
AS: Mindset is everything. You win or lose in your mind before you even start playing. There’s a quote that I really like “Losers quit when they’re tired. Winners quit when they’ve won.” You have to believe the impossible is possible, and the minute you do that you are one step closer to accomplishing that goal. You just have to keep pushing until you get there. One day, you will get there. Often times, the only reason people don’t accomplish what they perceive as impossible is because they stopped too soon. If you can muster the drive to continue pushing, reaching, and working towards that goal, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes a reality.
4. What role do goals play in your life? Tell us a few words about your goal setting process.
AS: Goals are important because you need to continue moving in life. I live life as if I am crossing a desert. There’s a powerful image from The Alchemist that comes to mind: “Once you get into the desert there’s no going back. And when you can’t go back you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.” Retreating is just as hard as – if not harder than – moving forward. You must be decisive and figure out the best way to move forward.
When I set goals, I first think about what I want from life. I contemplate whether or not it’s something I want to do. I need to buy into the idea before I seek it out. Then I write the goal down. I need to see what the goal looks like, outside of my head. It needs to manifest itself in some form. Then I tell someone. At this point I am now accountable to myself and to someone else to accomplish the goal. It often helps to have the person I share my goal with also share one of their goals with me. This way we create a support system for each other and achieving the goal becomes that much more possible.
5. What’s the toughest challenge(s) you successfully overcame?
AS: Taking the unconventional route of pursuing an entrepreneurial path as a teenager was one of the toughest challenges I have successfully overcome. Bringing a business to life is a difficult task, but doing it at such a young age when the odds are really stacked against you can feel insurmountable at times. As a young business owner you always have to be focused, ready and prepared for whatever may come your way. The best way for me to move forward is to acknowledge that while I may not know everything, the answers are out there – I just have to be humble enough to seek them out. Having mentors in my life has been instrumental in me growing and acquiring the necessary skills to start and run businesses at such a young age.
6. What’s the best way you have found to motivate employees?
AS: At the end of the day, my employees are my teammates. We have to work together in order to win. Winning is a team effort, no single person can drive a company to the top. One person can pose great influence, but at the end of the day it is the team that drives success and each member of the team should feel that sense of accountability and reward.
7. What are some of your most meaningful accomplishments?
AS: The most meaningful part of being an entrepreneur is seeing something that was just an idea become a reality. Knowing that what I helped conceptualize is now creating jobs and opportunities for people is truly rewarding. At the end of the day, life is about the impact that you make. Knowing that I have been a positive force in people’s lives is beyond rewarding.
8. What are the qualities that help the top performers excel?
AS: (1) Mental discipline: Mental discipline is necessary because it is key to accomplishing any goal – you have to be able to put your stake in the ground and say, “This is what I want. I will achieve this goal by doing x, y, and z and I will not stop until I get there.”
(2) Heart: When your body is too tired to continue, you need heart to keep you going. It inspires your teammates and the people who are instrumental in helping you achieving your goal. Their heart also lifts you up when you need it most.
(3) Curiosity: Curiosity makes life interesting. Asking questions and constantly trying to think of why things are the way they are forces you to generate creative solutions to challenges and think outside of the box.
(4) Courage: The willingness to seek out the answers and not being afraid of what you will find. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”
To learn more about Allan, please visit Sahagun Ventures.
The “Top 1%er” interview series is presented by Alissa Finerman, a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of the book, “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals” which is available on Amazon.com. She has an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more please visit, www.AlissaFinerman.com or Facebook.
