Develop an Excellent State of Mind

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind." Wayne W. Dyer

Maintain a positive attitude at all cost. Having a positive attitude is THE NUMBER 1 PRIORITY - everything else will come about as the result of this! Having a positive attitude is the key to success in managing yourself and your business.

Inspire yourself every day. Read, write or journal, listen to motivational tapes. Make the time EVERY day to fill you mind with inspiring content to lift your attitude.

Manage your expectations. Having unrealistic expectations is dangerous. If we are not clear with our expectations we can set ourselves up for disappointment and negativity.

Take time for learning every week. Take a class. Learn a new language. Do something to keep learning. Studies show that people who live to be over 100 actively continue learning right up to the end.

Read. Read things that will uplift and inspire you. Limit the amount of news and negative information you read. Even when reading fiction - make sure you choose uplifting authors. What we take into our minds does make a difference.

Recognize that you are the ONLY one who can manage your mind. Let go of the 'poor me syndrome'. Your life is not anyone else's fault. You have a choice right now today to manage your mind. What will you choose? Will you choose to have a positive state of mind or will you choose to let the negativity seep in and destroy your dreams? The choice is yours.

Remove mental and physical clutter. When you have a clean house, a clean car or a clean work space your mind also feels clean. Think of your mind like a clean desk. Take time each day to organize and remove any clutter that gets in the way of your usefulness.

Let go, forgive and move on! Resentments, anger, bitterness and negativity clog up our minds. Keeping free of these things will allow space in our minds for creative, innovative endeavors.

Be creative. Using the right side of our brain is important. Creative time opens up our minds to new possibilities. Sing, dance, paint, take photos - whatever moves you creatively.

Use affirmations for EVERYTHING! Many people who haven't used affirmations think they're corny. Yet anyone who has ever used affirmations on an ongoing basis will tell you they really do work.Why not try it for 30 days – you have nothing to lose. Write down four or five affirmations that are useful to your life right now and repeat them twice a day for 30 days. I guarantee it works if you really put your mind into it.

Remove wet blankets. Wet blankets are negative people who continually squash your dreams. Limit the time you spend with wet blankets or remove them all together. We do not usually inspire negative people - they usually bring us down to their level.

Slow down. When we are moving too quickly through life. When our mind races, we become unproductive and we often make mistakes or forget important details. We need to slow our minds down, stop thinking so much and let go.

STOP thinking so much! Our minds really can not focus, really focus, on more than one thought at a time. Obsessive thinking clutters our minds. We become unproductive and unavailable to access the answers we all have within.

Develop Excellent Movement

Strength is built by feeling the fear and moving forward anyways.
Our son recently joined the US Army. He’s currently in boot camp down at Fort Benning, Georgia. Unfortunately I didn’t support his decision at first. I’ve always talked about how I supported the military and our soldiers but when it came to my son – I was not so supportive. I was afraid and had been afraid ever since he first talked about joining. I imagined all the horrible things that could happen and in addition, I knew I would miss him terribly.

Over the years, I’ve always told our kids they can do whatever they set their minds too. I’ve encouraged them to take risks, they’ve watched me take risks and they’ve been forced out of their comfort zone many times. Yet I felt the ARMY was a little much. I was so focused on my own fear that I wasn’t able to immediately support his decision. Yet when he told me this was his dream and that I had encouraged him to follow his dreams – I had no choice but to let go of my fear, or at least set it aside and support him fully.

Over this past month, I’ve realized once again that my dreams are not my kids’ dreams and that EVERY ONE of us needs to do what we were created to do – including my son. I’ve had to let go of the fear. I’ve had to walk through my fears. And I’ve had to look at my own dreams once again. As I’ve read Brandon’s letters and listened to the strength he’s building in the Army – I’m amazed. He sounds stronger mentally, physically and spiritually. He loves what he’s doing. I’m so grateful he’s following his dream and that he didn’t let my fears get in the way.

No matter where we are or where others are – we all have an opportunity to follow our dreams if we don’t let fear get in the way. The only way we’ll achieve our dreams – no matter what they are – is to feel the fear and move forward in spite of it.

Here are some ways I find helpful for overcoming fear and taking risks:

Try new things. Make trying new things a habit. Expand your options, drive a new way home, try a new restaurant, meet a new friend – it doesn’t matter which area of your life you choose – there is always room to try new things.

Practice new behaviors. New behaviors can be scary. If I’m shy it’s hard to even imagine being outgoing. If I’m loud – it’s hard to be quiet. I do not need to change my personality or behavior overnight but I can practice.

Gather as much support as possible. We need others any time we take a risk – especially when we take huge risks. Going it alone is frustrating and not as much fun. Gather as much support as possible prior to taking a big risk.

Learn to set boundaries. Setting boundaries with our time, our relationships and our priorities is a good way to keep ourselves from getting overwhelmed. Take care of yourself and your relationships when you are experiencing fear.

Set aside time to fear. Take ten minutes and let yourself be afraid. Imagine every bad thing that could possibly happen. Feel the fear – think the thoughts. Then after ten minutes – stop and put the fear aside.

Let go of the perfectionism. We’ll never be perfect. Trying to be perfect or do something perfectly gets in the way of taking risks. Let go of perfectionism – taking risks can be messy. You will make mistakes, things will go wrong and through it all you’ll learn.

Make a move each day. Write down one thing every day that you will do to move you through your fears and towards your dreams. Then DO IT! Do not let a day go by without doing something to move you towards your dreams.

Watch strong people. Watch people who take risks. Ask them for help. Surround yourself with people who are moving. Their energy is contagious and will help you to push forward even when you may not feel like it.

Go out this week and push through your fears. Move one step closer to your life goals and dreams.

The Organizational Renovation Website is Down

My website is still down due to the FTC takeover of 3FN. I have no power to get my site back up until a judge makes a ruling. Evolve Systems, the company I use to host my site, was not involved with any criminal activities they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Evolve Systems is doing everything they can to get sites back up and running but their hands are tied until a judge rules.

I am contemplating building a new site with a new domain but this will take some time. Until I can make something happen, I will continue to post on my blogs.

If you are looking for speaking or consulting services, please send me an email michelle@renovateyourorg.com and I will send you my press kit via email. Or feel free to call our office at 207-847-3438. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Hopefully my site will be back up soon.

Develop Excellent People

“You build better companies by building better people.” Zig Ziglar

You don’t build excellent companies by having the right CEO or the best product. You don’t build an excellent company with the right technology or the right location. You build excellent companies with people – the better your people – the better your organization. Our people are and always will be our greatest asset.

Developing better people should be your goal in business. As a motivational speaker, I have devoted my life to helping others develop their lives and their careers. I challenge and motivate others daily to develop excellence. Yet I’m only one person. I don’t work in your office, touch the people you touch or have the skills you have. You are the agent of change – only you have the ability to build better people in your organization. No matter what your role, no matter what your position – you can make an impact in building up the people around you.

Are you willing? Are you ready to begin the process of developing excellence in your own life and in the lives of others? Are you ready to work for it?

Building better people isn’t easy. It takes time and energy. It means sacrifice. It means doing things that are uncomfortable. It means we must give of ourselves.

The bottom line is that it’s easier to sit back and just live in our own little world. It’s safer and requires much less effort. Yet I do not believe it is as rewarding to sit back and just let our life go by. It is much more meaningful to be an active part of building better people.

Some Simple Ways to Build Better People:

Ask yourself, how can I make their day? Before you walk into your office, stop and ask yourself how you can make someone else’s day. Ask yourself this every day. Make it your mission to make at least one persons day every day.

Do not gossip. Gossip is the number one killer of workplace morale. It’s a disease that kills organizations. As a leader you can NEVER be part of gossip. It destroys your reputation and the trust of your people. DO not gossip, do not listen to others gossip and do not ask others for the latest bit.

Be approachable. Keep your door open, share your own life and admit your mistakes. Make every effort to be approachable. The more approachable you are the more you will learn about your people and your organization. If you’re not open – people will withhold important information from you and your company will suffer. Excellent organizations are open and transparent. They are places where people feel comfortable sharing their opinions. If you are approachable, you are on your way to creating an open and honest environment.

Ask for their opinion. The best way to build better people is to let them talk. Ask them for their opinion. Let them talk, share their ideas and give suggestions.

Share good news. Stop sharing everything that goes wrong and start sharing all the little things that go right every day. Make a conscious effort to share good news, celebrate the little things people do and look for what is right every day.

Look for success. People do great things every day – look for the wins. Look for the people who need to be recognized. Focusing on success will attract success because what we look for we will find. Find success in your people and your organization today.

Offer to help. Everyone needs help at some point. As a leader we are constantly helping others. And we must keep helping them. Make it a priority to offer help when you can and then give it with a good attitude.

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Develop Excellent Movement

"Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself." Julia Cameron

My life is a dance. Sometimes the dance is rhythmic - two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes it’s turbulent - one step forward and five steps back. Other times its dynamic– five steps forward and no steps back. No matter how erratic my life is – the key is to keep dancing.

As long as I keep moving my feet I will eventually move forward.

If I want to stay in motion and make forward progress this year, I need to keep moving. I need to dance even when I don't feel like it. The danger in my life lies in stopping. When I stop moving, I get stagnant and my life becomes mediocre. To avoid being mediocre, I have to get out of my own way. I need to stop being so hard on myself. When I beat myself up for not achieving my goals, I stop dancing. I freeze.

I love Julia Cameron’s reminder to us all in the above quote– BE VERY GENTLE WITH YOURSELF. We need to stop beating ourselves up.

Remember to dance today, but be gentle when you don’t do it perfectly!

Develop Excellent Teams

“If you could get all of the people in your organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, any market against any competition." Patrick Lencioni

I recently read and then reread Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. It was a fabulous book – full of things we NEED to know as leaders.

As I read Patrick’s story about the dysfunctional executive team – I couldn’t help comparing the story to many teams I’ve been on. I’m sure most of us don’t need to look too hard to find a dysfunctional team in our own circles. Dysfunctional teams are everywhere. I think finding a functional team is harder than ever. Yet they are out there if we look for them.

We may not find our own teams to be functional but if we’re willing to do the work we can take our dysfunctional team and transform it into a functional one. We don’t need to continue settling for being part of a dysfunctional team. As leaders we have the power to change the direction of our team. We also have the power to let things continue as they are. It’s up to us. We can actively lead or we can just let things go on as they always have. Usually if we do nothing – we get a dysfunctional team whether that’s what we wanted or not.

Ultimately, it’s our job as leaders to lead the team. It’s our job to assess the current state of our teams. It’s our job to turn things around if they’re dysfunctional. And it’s our job to start the work necessary to make a change.

Turning a dysfunctional team into a healthy, functional team is hard work. It takes guts and dedicated follow-through. I think this scares many of us and this is why we continue to lead as we always have.

Yet it’s amazing to watch a team go from being dysfunctional to being functional. There are times I’ve watched companies transform before my eyes in just a few months. When they transform the way they function as a team many things will happen. The bottom line will be impacted, sales will go up and people will get focused. Things happen when teams begin to function in a healthy way. The best part of the transformation is in what happens to morale. When teams begin functioning – they actually begin to have fun together and their positive energy is contagious. As teams come together under leaders committed to change – anything is possible.

Transforming a dysfunctional team into a healthy, functional team won’t be easy, it will take time and it will require all you have as a leader. But when you look at the alternative – a dysfunctional, unengaged team, what are your choices? You can keep getting what you have always gotten or you can take a risk and step into something new. There are hundreds of resources out there for you to grab on to if you are willing to take you team to the higher ground. But first you must decide if you are willing to do what it will take to get there.

Develop Excellent Peserverance

Perseverance is: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

When I read the definition of perseverance I was reminded of why I need it in my life. I need perseverance because I want to live a life of action, of purpose and I want to continue on in spite of difficulties, obstacles and discouragement.

Life’s not perfect – crap happens, change is inevitable and stuff gets messy even if we do all the right things. People get sick, accidents happen, recessions come, people quit, pets die, traffic is delayed and flights are cancelled. Life happens. The good, the bad and the ugly are all part of life. No one can escape tough times. We will all have difficulties, obstacles and discouragement at one time or another.

And when the time comes and life gets difficult, we will need perseverance. During tough times we will need to persist in a course of action in spite of all that is going on around us.

I had to laugh recently when someone told me that I could not possibly have difficulty or discouragement in my life. This person said that my life looked so good that they assumed it has always been good. Life may look good right now – but I am not immune. My kids get sick, my dog throws up on the carpet, I miss flights, I make mistakes, I have accidents, people in my life die and I’ve had my share of heartache. It is called life.

It doesn’t matter what life throws at us – we all have a choice. We can choose to lie down and let life take us out or we can persevere. We can be discouraged, pout, whine or become bitter. Or we can embrace reality, have courage and walk through the tough stuff. Persevering isn’t easy. It won’t be a walk in the park but it’s better that giving up

The reason I became a motivational speaker is because of all the things I had to persevere in life. All the things that I thought would kill me - only made me stronger. Walking through many tough, traumatic events taught me that disappointments, obstacles and discouragement won’t take me out. If I life teach me lessons, difficulties actually make me stronger and develop depth.

There are many ways to persevere. Here is just a few.

Sleep on it. When bad things happen and they throw you for a loop – take a night and sleep on it before taking action or making a decision.
Take care of your physical health. When stress comes it’s all about the little things. Caring for our physical health gives us a cushion – we cannot persevere when we’re burned out, stressed out, sleep deprived or hungry. When you’re going through tough times – make sure to keep your physical health a priority.
Phone a friend. We do not have to persevere alone. We need our friends. They can listen, offer a new perspective and sometimes they just walk through the process with us.
Write down all your thoughts. Just dump all your thoughts on paper. Writing down your thoughts helps to process them.
Be very gentle with yourself. You need to be your own cheerleader during rough times – be nice to yourself, lower your expectations and affirm the positives.
Use daily affirmations. We need to fill our minds with positive thoughts. It really does work.
Practice self awareness when not in a crisis. Being self aware takes time and energy. Practice building and developing self awareness when you are not in a crisis. You must build yourself awareness muscles in slow times.
Do not stop moving. No matter what you must keep moving. Every day you must do something to keep moving forward. Do not give up, do not stop – keep moving through a tough situation.
Hold the vision. Having a strong vision for your life gives you something to hold on to while going through difficult times.
Keep an “I made it through” journal. Start a journal recording all the things you have made it through. As we look back over our life we can find many times that we persevered and made it through tough times. This journal can be an inspiration to keep going when things get difficult.
Eat chocolate. I don’t know what it is about chocolate but it works.
Have faith not fear! No matter what you spiritual beliefs are – faith is important. Faith is simply believing that life will go on – that we will make it through.
Read. Take time to read about others who have persevered. Use their stories to build faith in yourself.
Encourage others. When you are going through a rough time often the best way to make it through is to take time to encourage others. It gets us out of ourselves and we often need just the advice we give to someone else.
Be true to yourself. Do not compromise. Stand firm in your values and your integrity. In order to persevere – you must be true to yourself.
Set realistic expectations. When you have a lot on your plate and you are under stress – be realistic. Do not heap more on your plate. Ease up on yourself.
Find a way to laugh! Laughing is the best way to walk through a tough situation. No matter what we encounter in life – there is always something to laugh about.

I would love to hear how you are have persevered through a difficult situation this week, send me an email at michelle@renovateyourorg.com or visit me at www.renovateyourorg.com.

Developing an Excellent Attitude

“If you look for the positive things in life; you will find them.” Author Unknown

I recently heard that 76% of all we tell ourselves in a day is negative and that 84% of all we hear in a day is negative. That’s a lot of negative going into our minds. I have also heard that for every negative we tell ourselves or others, it takes nine positives to recover the damage.

Wouldn’t we be better off just putting more positive things into our minds? If we do that we can avoid the mind clutter of negative thoughts. And then live in perfect harmony – yeah!

It’s easier said than done. I know how hard it is to change my thoughts and to focus on being positive. My kids often tell me that I can’t be crabby because I am a motivational speaker. Maybe they are right but I'm still a human being and we can all get crabby. Life is tough and it can be full of negatives at times. Kids get sick, people quit, bosses are crabby and finances are tight. It’s easy to get crabby and feel negative. Yet we have a choice – we can choose to be positive.

21 Ways to Be Positive!

Smile. A smile is a simple but powerful tool. It automatically makes us feel better and touches the people around us. Are you smiling now?

Have positive reminders. Fill your mind and home with positive reminders and motivational products. Choose to surround yourself with things that remind you to be positive.

Talk nice. Remove destructive language, negative talk, swearing or complaining. These things rob our joy in life. Speak positively or do not talk at all.

Pay for your bad words. We pay our vacation jar $5 for every swear word someone says. Family members hold one another accountable. Find some way to hold yourself accountable for destructive language.

Give me three now! For every negative thing you say about yourself, you must say three positives out loud.

Stop gossip. Let others be who they are. Concentrate on only speaking positively about other people.

Be honest. When we tell the truth we never have to remember what we said to whom. Honesty may be hard in the moment, but you will definitely sleep better at night.

There is nothing wrong. Stop telling yourself something is wrong. There is nothing wrong with your life. When we live in the moment and accept what is, we stop creating the idea that something is always wrong. Live life accepting what is.

Notice life. By noticing your thoughts without judgments attached, you are free to just experience life. We do not have to fix or change everything – sometimes we just need to notice.

Enjoy the journey. Life is not a race – we don’t have to get there today. In fact, there is no “there.” Our job is to simply enjoy the process.

Don’t engage in negative conversation. It’s okay to just walk away without correcting or explaining. Just simply excuse yourself.

Pay attention to your positive thoughts. What are they saying? What do they tell you about yourself?

Choose positive people. Surround yourself with people who build you up. Get rid of the “wet blankets” in your life.

Put on your attitude. Choose which attitude to wear prior to getting dressed in the morning. Sometimes having a good day starts by telling yourself that you will have a good day.

You have permission. Give yourself permission to be positive and enjoy life. Being positive is much more fun than complaining all the time.

Plan ahead. Practice and plan what you will say ahead of time when others engage in negativity. Knowing what to say before hand will help you say what you need to say and to stay true to being positive.

Leave on a happy note. End phone calls, e-mails and letters with a positive message. Always leave meetings on an upbeat note. This keeps you from dwelling on the negatives.

Choose carefully. Be selective with your words. Once we speak word, we can not take them back. Speak less and listen more.

Practice. Try saying positive things to strangers. Try out being positive with people you’ll never see again. Try new phrases and take the opportunity to speak positively with each new person you meet.

Study positive people. Watch how they interact with the world. Interview them when possible. Look for ways you can incorporate their techniques into your life.

Down days will come. Realize you will have down days. Plan for them and practice good self-care on days that you feel down. Then remind yourself that life will swing back and you’ll be up again.

Develop Excellent Leadership Skills

Here are more ways to be an excellent leader:

• Have passion
• Develop a vision
• Be yourself
• Be flexible
• Be a cheerleader
• Identify strengths and weaknesses
• Don’t react
• Stand behind your staff
• Communicate during stressful times
• Own what you do not know
• Gain more knowledge
• Create opportunities for growth
• Improve motivational skills
• Involve the entire team
• Stay on task
• Be a bridge
• Ask others for their input
• Provide adequate training
• Be patient
• Take time for yourself
• Encourage staff to use other resources
• Accept diversity
• Have difficult conversations
• Trust your staff
• Keep growing your self
• Be respectful
• Take time to be reflective
• Be a team player
• Give grace
• Give recognition
• Have courage
• Do not be wishy-washy
• Be adaptable
• Have integrity
• Go above and beyond
• Know when to stop
• Be charismatic
• Be genuine
• Know when to follow
• Relax