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Alissa Finerman

Los Angeles Executive Coach, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, Facilitator and Author

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5 Steps to Live In YOUR Top 1%

January 1, 2017 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

* This post also appeared on Positively Positive

I recently was on the East Coast presenting to over 400 people at three companies in industries ranging from real estate to a Fortune 500 healthcare company to an investment management firm about the idea of “Living in YOUR Top 1%.” I am continually reminded that regardless of someone’s title, salary, industry, or size of the company, we all face similar issues to living our best life. We just handle them differently.

The Top Five Takeaways to Live in YOUR Top 1%:
1. Speed Bumps Are Part of Life

We all hit speed bumps. Yes, all of us. Whether you are an experienced CEO, new mom, or first-time business owner, there are speed bumps or challenges. They just look differently to each of us. And, what may be a speed bump today may become routine tomorrow. Hitting a speed bump is really not a noteworthy event. The interesting part is how we maneuver around it. What I’ve seen as an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach is that the people who achieve and move forward understand that speed bumps are part of the process of going after what you want. One person had to be determined for four years to get a job at the company of his choice (and, yes, he had speed bumps such as a hiring freeze).

Often, the difference is a simple shift in your perspective to reclassify challenges and keep going.

2. Mindset Wins Every Time

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” Thank you Henry Ford.

Winners have a different mindset that says, “I can” or “I will figure it out and make it happen.” For example, I was incredibly inspired by one story of a property manager who oversaw a building that everyone labeled a disaster. The property manager refused to accept this story of mediocrity and hopelessness. He believed he could turn the building around and built a team to do just that. Before the end of the year, his building was one hundred percent occupied, and he was recognized for outstanding performance at the company’s annual conference. It’s a process, not magic.

Your mindset makes a big difference and directly impacts what opportunities you pursue.

3. Lean Away From Vague Goals

Here’s the bottom line: if you’re setting vague goals, you might as well not even set a goal. I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Vague goals lead to vague or no results because it’s unclear what you are doing. For example, we need to start a training program, I will write a book, or I want to be a better leader are common examples of vague goals. When you are ready to be accountable and clear on what you want, you are ready to set a goal. Go ahead and declare to the world what you are going to do. And, by the way, major companies and senior team leaders set vague goals all the time so you are not alone. It’s much easier to leave things vague because it’s harder to evaluate the results.

One note, there is nothing vague about living your best life. Clarify what you want and go after it (and, yes, this takes time and asking good questions).

4. Focus On The Why

People who achieve their goal are really clear on the “WHY.” There’s a difference between setting a specific goal and setting a goal that is both meaningful and exciting to you.

When you have a strong why, it gives you a renewed sense of purpose and the motivation to continue moving forward.

Why do you want to be in shape, start a business, become an author, or start a blog? Is it something you should do or something that is important to you? Ask yourself why two or three times to truly understand why a specific goal matters to you. If a goal does not resonate and connect with your values, it will be difficult to move beyond speed bumps. When you are clear on your why, you will wake up with a renewed sense of purpose and vigor.

5. It’s a Privilege to Live Outside Your Comfort Zone

100% of the people I’ve talked to who have achieved special moments (a.k.a. Top 1% Moments) experienced uncertainty and were outside their comfort zone—from the single dad bringing up his daughters to the first-time manager to the woman in her thirties buying real estate properties to generate passive income.

Yes, it’s scary when things are uncertain. It’s uncomfortable for all of us. But it’s part of the process for personal development.

It’s a privilege because it means that growth and opportunity are right around the corner. What if you were 100% certain that moving outside your comfort zone and experiencing uncertainty led to personal growth? I’ve got a secret for you: it does, and it’s a privilege.

Top 1% Bottom Line: Living your best life is a process. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself on a bumpy road. That simply tells you it’s the right path and keep going. A resilient mindset will help you move through difficult days, as will clear-cut goals. Opportunity awaits all of us.

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1%, Success Tagged With: comfort zone, goals, living in your top 1%, mindset, success

Living in YOUR Top 1% – It’s Possible

January 1, 2017 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

Living in Your Top 1% is about potential and possibility. It’s about taking the words can’t, should and impossible out of your vocabulary and shifting your mindset to say “I can.” Yes, sounds easy enough.

I live in Santa Monica, CA and was in NYC giving a seminar to an investment management company on Living in Your Top 1%. After the program, I spent a few days in NYC with my family and friends. One night after dinner I met some friends and the conversation steered toward our goals, dreams, and challenges in the new year. A fascinating discussion emerged. There were five of us sitting at the table, four women and one man all in our 40′s. One of the women was a talented artist who described herself as self-taught. I share this because she was allowing the seemingly innocuous term “self-taught” to define her story and limit her ability as an artist to create and do what she loves. I asked what if Madonna bought a piece of her work? Would she still be insecure that she was self-taught? Would that validate her work? She smiled and understood the wake-up call.
Words are powerful. A client of mine likes to use the word disaster when describing parts of her life. Well, a disaster is some event that causes great damage – not something that any of us truly want to experience. The word disaster does not shine positive energy (do you agree?). The question we need to ask is how does the word disaster, or any other word that drains our energy, move you forward on your path?

Bottom Line: Use words that empower you.

When you go on a road trip, you either use your GPS or look up directions on Google or Yahoo. Typically, you search for the most direct route with the least amount of traffic. Well, shouldn’t you use the same approach with your own life? When you use words like disaster and self-taught you are simply adding in traffic and detours to your path. It’s a common pitfall so don’t feel bad. The good news is you can alter how you connect the dots with three easy steps:

1. Bring greater awareness to the words you use on a daily basis.

2. Keep a two-day journal and write down a few key phrases that you use frequently. Do they help you move forward?

3. Make a conscious decision and write down the words you like and want to use such as inspiration, motivation, gratitude, kindness, laughter etc.

Listen to the words you use to see if they propel you forward or hold you back. Often we are not even aware of our core word choices. We are all closer than we think to achieving top 1% moments but we need a little help up the hill. Use words and surround yourself with supportive people who help you be a shining star.

What dreams and goals would you love to achieve this year? Would you love to start your own profitable business, run your first 5k, or actually have time to focus on yourself? This is the time to take a step forward.

As you move forward this month, consider three questions:

1. What do you love to do?
2. What would you love to do more of?
3. What would you love to stop doing?

Please share your thoughts and dreams and empower people to take a small step forward and live in their top 1%.

Believe in yourself,
Alissa

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1% Tagged With: living in your top 1%, mindset, success

Alissa Finerman’s Living in YOUR Top 1% Action Plan Podcast

December 29, 2016 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

I created this special Living in YOUR Top 1% action plan podcast because I know how difficult it can be to get started. I  have also learned that we all need some support regardless of our previous achievements. The perfect place to start is right where you are regardless of how imperfect it may seem at the time. Please give yourself 25 minutes of uninterrupted time to focus on yourself and listen to the podcast. Feel free to write down some ideas in your journal or computer to start the process. The ideas in this podcast are from my book Living in YOUR Top 1% which provides a more detailed roadmap to help people live their best life.

Listen to Alissa’s Living in YOUR Top 1% Action Plan

https://alissafinerman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/01-Alissa-Pod-Cast-1-Seven-Step-Action-Plan.mp3

Living in YOUR Top 1% is about expanding your mindset and broadening your idea of what’s possible to live YOUR best life. It’s about taking the words can’t, should and impossible out of your vocabulary and focusing on what you CAN do today — however big or small the step may be. It’s often only a small mindset shift between good and great. Think about what goals you would be excited to achieve this year and then let’s make it happen.

Wishing you all the best for a top 1% year!

“If everything seems under control, you are not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Milken Institute, LA Business Journal, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and NBC Universal. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1%, Podcast Tagged With: action plan, leadership, living in your top 1%, Setting Goals, strengths

Success Magazine Interview with Alissa Finerman

December 19, 2016 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

Success Magazine interviews Alissa Finerman about her book, Living in YOUR Top 1%, and aligning goals with your values for greater success. Enjoy and feel free to share!

Success Magazine interview

http://www.success.com/podcast/alissa-finerman-on-how-to-align-your-choices-with-your-goals

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Milken Institute, LA Business Journal, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and NBC Universal. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1%, Mindset, Podcast, Success Tagged With: living in your top 1%, mindset, stretch goals, success

Building a Strengths Based Leadership Brand

August 22, 2016 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

What Does Your Brand of Leadership?

  • this article was featured on the Virgin entrepreneur blog

Leaders can be effective with a variety of styles. There is no one size fits all model for success. While some study the styles of others, it’s even more important to develop your natural style that plays to your strengths. Effective leaders figure out the best way to build trust, instill hope, show compassion and provide a stable and solid environment where people can thrive and achieve team goals. The question is how do you develop your leadership style and authentic voice?

I recently worked with a client who was referred to a “quiet” leader (he managed a sales team) and his manager wanted him to share his voice more so people could appreciate his insights. Whereas some leaders are the first in a meeting to offer their point of view or decide what the team is going to do, some leaders like to listen first rather than hear themselves talk all the time. Both approaches can make an impact – the work is in gaining clarity on what you do well (your strengths) and how you can apply your strengths to gain credibility and results as a leader.

When I work with leaders who manage a team, we focus on developing their personal style of leadership. Each person needs to be able to answer this clearly and confidently. Leaders also need to be aware of how their leadership style is working and what your team needs more or less of. You may be a hands on leader who likes to get into the details with your team or more of a hands off leader who shares the goal and then checks in every once in a while to see how the project is progressing. Although there is no perfect path for leadership, you can create your personal and authentic brand to drive performance and engagement.

A few key areas that I discuss with my coaching clients include:

  1. How do you build trust as a leader?
  2. What strengths help you excel as a leader?
  3. What steps can you take to best partner with the people on your team?
  4. What’s the process for developing each person and connecting one to one?
  5. What do you do to motivate your team and recognize them for their contributions?
  6. What actions do you take to help your team identify and use their strengths daily?
  7. What do you do to build a stable yet inspiring environment where people have the confidence to do what they are best at?

Leaders need to deliver consistent outcomes and motivate their team by leveraging strengths and aligning them with meaningful goals. There are no simple formulas to be an effective leader but there are specific questions each leader can address to make the biggest impact and develop their team. One of the best steps you can take as you develop as a leader is to define your personal leadership brand to enjoy greater success.

We’d like to hear from you…how do you define your personal brand of leadership and what helps you be successful?

Filed Under: Strengths Tagged With: brand, leadership, living in your top 1%, performance, strengths, success

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To contact Alissa about executive coaching, presenting a seminar for your team, leadership consulting or inviting her to speak at an upcoming event/conference, please email: Alissa@FinermanLiving.com

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