I remember Coaching with a client who was always busy, busy, busy. When I asked her about what she wanted and invited her to make a vision board, she had no idea what she wanted. It was almost frightening for her to consider it. She was such a workaholic, that she was out of touch with her own being. Her identity was only a work identity. She had lost her self. She was on the treadmill of life without any idea where she was really going, and was leaving her life up to chance. Eventually, she put four things on her board and put it up on her wall in her home office. As we coached and she spend more time slowed down and thinking about what was important to her personally, she started adding to her board. Her husband loved her board and was able to give her presents he knew she wanted because they lived on her board first. They had many important conversations about what was important to both of them. She started to explore and she found where she wanted to go, who she wanted to be and what her authentic success and happiness would feel and look like for her. She developed new interests and her life expanded and grew into one with an abundance of fulfillment and satisfaction. She took up art and became involved in dog rescue. Her work continued to thrive and she became a major player in her field, but it all became easier and she had more time for what she loved both within her work and in her life. She loved more. Her friendships grew. Success looks different for all of us.

It is a grand discovery to find out what it is uniquely for you.

Kathy Nelson Provides Business and Success Coaching in San Diego, California

#5. Learn New Things that can help your business and career grow. While working in corporate American in 1995, I started thinking about having my own business. I wanted to take a leap of faith but I knew little about being an entrepreneur. I hired a business coach. Best investment I made as I invented my coaching business. The compute was just becoming HOT. I knew I had to learn how to use it well. There were many free classes and I was in many of them. I became a fixture at the junior college near by. I got new skills for the next big leap. Before I knew it, I had three other coaches on my team and we were doing well. Know what will help your business be successful and hire an assistant as soon as you can to do all the things that someone else can do for you. It will keep you from getting bogged down and allow your business to expand and explode into profits! Don’t try to do everything all at once. Pick one or two things and just learn how to do them really well. Become an expert on Linked In or Goggle Plus. Or hire one. Learn how to do Video like a pro or write an amazing blog. Do what will grow your business and learn to do it well. I know other people who have made a great business from copywriting, blogging or Facebook skills. Practice makes perfect! Be open to the new trends, new ideas. Do not get stale or stuck. Keep your edge sharp and keep the mind of a learner. It will take you far!

Tip #1: Know Thyself

Tip #2: Find Great Teachers

Tip #3: Life is a Joint Venture

Tip #4: Dream HUGE

>> Tip #5: Learn New Things

#4: Dream HUGE! Enlarge your dreams at least ten fold. You deserve the best! You were born a winner. There is no one else in the whole world like you. You are unique and specially equipped for your life assignment. What if you enlarged your BIG dream 100 times? You can love more, do more, have more, and change the world in a profound and wonderful way. As Walt Disney said, “the only limit in your life is your imagination”. You were born with DNA… Divine Natural Ability. You have talent and wisdom within you. It will support your dreams. As I look back on my long life, I can see how every thing fits. Life truly is like a tapestry that fits together and you can see how one thing you did prepared you for something huge and wonderful that came along later. You learn something from every job you do, from every success and from every failure. You learn from life itself. Play the game of life full out and play it with self-honesty. You will be rewarded. You cannot dream too big, but you can easily dream too small. Imagine that dream like you are standing in the middle of it. Feel it. Smell it. Bring it from your head into your heart. How does it feel? I invite you for fun to write down 1000 things you would like to do in your lifetime. That will get you going….

Tip #1: Know Thyself

Tip #2: Find Great Teachers

Tip #3: Life is a Joint Venture

>> Tip #4: Dream HUGE

Tip #5: Learn New Things

#3: Life is a Joint Venture! You don’t do it alone. Years ago I was a guest on the Leeza Gibbons TV show in LA. This particular segment was based on the topic, “Do women support each other or sabotage each other’s success”. I represented women who support each other, which is a core belief of mine. The two other women representing the opposite view came in dressed in battle fatigues. Needless to say, they were ready for battle.
However, my life story was one of helping hands, one sister helping another. I had friends who had loved me through the pain of loss of a baby, friends who helped my career advance by constructive criticisms as well as encouragement, bosses who pointed me in the right direction, showed me some habits I could improve and change for the better while rewarding me for things well done, and others who just believed in me until I could believe in myself sometimes. I believe in Barbara Streisand’s song, “People Who Need People are the Luckiest People in the World”. Respect the people you work with. Practice the Golden Rule and treat others how you would like to be treated. It will go a long way in supporting your success.

Tip #1: Know Thyself

Tip #2: Find Great Teachers

>> Tip #3: Life is a Joint Venture

Tip #4: Dream HUGE

Tip #5: Learn New Things

#2. Find Great Teachers. I have been fortunate to have studied and learned from the best minds and hearts in business, motivation, and inspiration. I believe it will make a huge difference in YOUR personal development and the “WHO” you will become. Choose mentors whom you admire because of the people they are as well as their accomplishments. Invest in yourself. Read great business, biographies and instruction on how to soar in your field of interest. Listening or reading a book in your field each month, or taking a class will better serve you. Engage. Hang out with others who are making a difference in your communities and contributing to the betterment of others. It will rub off on you. Embrace your change. Like a diamond you will become polished by life into your brilliant “SELF”. Limit your T V watching. Frankly, most if it wastes your time. Be very selective with your time. Spend it wisely.

Tip #1: Know Thyself

>> Tip #2: Find Great Teachers

Tip #3: Life is a Joint Venture

Tip #4: Dream HUGE

Tip #5: Learn New Things

1. Know thyself. Do the inner work so you know your true self; investigate your values, your needs, and your wants. Have the courage to get to really know your strengths and your limits. Try Byron Katie’s The Work or a Dale Carnegie program. The Coaches Training Institute has a wonderful Leadership program. Get to know YOU. It is a worthwhile search and will be key to your success. The more you do your inner work, the more you will attract wonderful evolved people and great situations into your life. Success will have ease and grace to it.

>> Tip #1: Know Thyself

Tip #2: Find Great Teachers

Tip #3: Life is a Joint Venture

Tip #4: Dream HUGE

Tip #5: Learn New Things

Are you always in a state of remodeling your business? Things do change from season to season and year to year. There are changes in all aspects of your business and constant improvements are necessary. It is important to do your best to read the business climate and see coming trends. Know your target and what changes they are facing. Stay on top of new ways of delivering your message, products and services.

When I started my business 16 years ago, I had to get up to speed with a PC. Later came the cell and then the smart phone. Now Blogging, Mobile and Video are reaching the communities I serve most. We can now even getting paid instantly on our Ipads. The mother-of-invention seems to never sleep.

You want to stay fresh and current in your marketplace and keep your sense of curiosity fired up. Learning is fun and will profit you on your road to success!

Kathy Nelson Delivers Business Coaching in San Diego, California. Learn More About Business Coaching.

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. Thomas Paine

In the last sixteen years of business coaching, I have become aware that there are common denominators in behaviors that create success and advancement in a career. Building a long term career takes conscious caring for your reputation. First, let’s define what a reputation is.

Wikipedia tells us: Reputation of a social entity (a person, a group of people, an organization) is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria. It is important in education, business, and online communities.

Reputation may be considered as a component of identity as defined by others.

Reputation is known to be an ubiquitous, spontaneous and highly efficient mechanism of social control in natural societies. It is a subject of study in social, management and technological sciences. Its influence ranges from competitive settings, like markets, to cooperative ones, like firms, organizations, institutions and communities. Furthermore, reputation acts on different levels of agency, individual and supra-individual. At the supra-individual level, it concerns groups, communities, collectives and abstract social entities (such as firms, corporations, organizations, countries, cultures and even civilizations). It affects phenomena of different scales, from everyday life to relationships between nations. Reputation is a fundamental instrument of social order, based upon distributed, spontaneous social control.

I am writing specifically about a person vs. an office culture today. When we start our career we are limited in experience, have a few skills, lots of aptitude and are hungry to prove our self and impress our management or boss. It is very natural to want to be well regarded and part of the team. In later stages of our career we can become overly comfortable. We can even become a bit of prima donna or get a bit egotistical. I urge you to always foster a mindset of a learner and do not get too full of yourself. In the work environment no one is indispensable and few graduate today with a gold watch as they did in our grandparents day.

The definition of character is doing the right thing no matter if anyone is looking or not. Do you have integrity? Honesty? Does your behavior and attitude support the way you want to be seen and known by others in your work environment or the communities you play and move in? Your character builds as you are tested by truth and risk. Do the right thing and you will always come out ahead.

Is there something that you can do or change to improve how you are perceived? Have you even stopped to think about how you would like to be perceived and what type of behavior might personify that? For example, are you always on time or a bit early? It is important to always be on time. It allows people to trust you and let’s them know you can manage yourself.

Don’t gossip. If you are hanging around the break room or water cooler and people are talking about other employees, walk away. Do not judge or criticize your coworkers or management. It is much better to say nothing than to join in. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything. In the work environment it is better to not talk about politics, sex, religion or other people and you will be well regarded. And always be respectful. Give what you want to receive.

You will want to build a reputation as a plus on the team and help move things forward vs. just doing what you are hired to do. Kick in to help wherever you can.

You are being paid to help improve the bottom line and help the company to make profits. You will advance by getting along with others and being a good addition. You will advance by being a solutions oriented employee who gets along well with the team. Leadership is supporting and forwarding others in a generous way.

Do you follow up and follow through on things? This is an area that can take you from mediocre to outstanding. So many people drop the ball on this area. Develop a habit and a system to follow up and follow through. Following up means getting back to people in a timely manner. Do not make promises you don’t or can’t keep.

It is better to not make a promise than to make and break one. There are a lot of good systems and apps you could use to capture and remind you what you need to do. Find one that is a good note taking and one with a reminder so you can give the best customer service in the world. Word will travel and you will be seen favorably.

Do you have a great attitude or could it use an adjustment? Your attitude makes you a pleasure to be around or a downer. It is called emotional intelligence today. It is a soft skill that will really help you advance in your career or networking communities. When you wake up in the morning, say a great big Hello to your day.

It was said, most people are about a happy as they make up their minds to be. Decide you are going to have a good day. This is a friendly Universe. Decide that you are going to enjoy your work environment and be a positive addition to it.

Do not be a complainer or a whiner. Remember your work environment is full of potential for relationships. Some of these relationships might turn into really good long term friendships. Others will just be work buddies. Either way, pleasant relationships feel a lot better than adversial or bitter ones.

And lastly, take classes – stay ahead in your field and don’t get rusty. Many of my clients have gone back to school for advanced degrees or certifications. It has helped them be hired for new jobs and make higher wages. Fields change and you need to keep up with the changes and technology. Taking a night class or weekend class can help you do that.

Remember that you build your reputation. You are responsible for learning how to work a room, carry on a conversation, contribute to your job place, become a leader, learn how to do a presentation, and ask for business. It is a long road and a very satisfying one. Your reputation is your capital and if you take good care of it, it will take good care of you. You can bank on that!

See This Article as a Word Cloud!

I remember studying questions that would help me feel at ease in social situations where I walked into a room and I knew no one. I learned how to repeat the name of a person I met and conversed with three times upon introduction.

I used to feel shy and uncomfortable as a twenty year old and over the years grew my ease as I thought of how many others were equally uncomfortable.  I also prepared myself to be a better conversationalist by repeated listening to tapes on How to Work the Room, The Art of Mingling, and Susan RoAne’s, The Secrets of Savvy Networking.  I imagine today there are even more good tips and sources to enable one to become really proficient at networking and conversational skills.  Becoming a good conversationalist is a learned skill. It requires a mix of focused listening and asking great questions because you are interested. People can feel it when you are sincere and they can also feel it when you have an agenda.  So make your agenda about them, not about your sales.  Enjoy the people and your conversations and you most likely will leave with many new acquaintances, contacts and opportunities.

I remember attending a trade show and being struck by how some of the people at the booths acted uninterested if you looked at their materials and were carrying on conversations among themselves. They were not there to introduce their service or products and acted like they wished they were elsewhere. In other booths they were eager to engage with me and helpful and informative.  Guess which booths I enjoyed the most and who I might have bought from, referred, or reached out to later as my needs developed?  

So let’s assume you are going to sponsor or buy a booth or table for an event.

I believe anyone can become successful with ROI from a conference they choose to participate in, IF they prepare for a great outcome and create a basic strategy.  

First… set your intention. Think about what you are doing and what outcome you want to have. Be clear in your own mind. Imagine the best outcome. Just hold that picture in your mind.

Seven points to help you. 

1. Design your lay-put of the booth, if that is what you are using. Put your table at one side or at the back so the space is open and inviting for people to walk in. Set it up attractively.  Put beautiful plants around the corners and flowers or a plant on the table if possible. Prepare your Information and have it attractively displayed. Know what technology or electricity you might need and have it with you if the space does not provide it for you. Set up early and be fully prepared when the show opens. If you are using a table only, have a nice cover and design your layout. Take an attractive chair so you can rest your feet when you have an opportunity. That said, do not spend the day sitting. You will be standing and talking for most of the time you are there. It would help you to wear support hose for your legs and comfortable shoes.

2.  Have a reason for visitors to leave a card for you by offering a drawing for a give-a-way. Use a beautiful bowl or a fish bowl to collect the cards.  I have seen people attach little candy bars, like a PayDay or Gold Coins if they were offering something that would improve the wealth or financial status of the attendees.  Use your imagination or brainstorm for ideas to draw people towards your table or booth.

3.  Make it easy to read what you are about.  Have material that people can carry away with them and make sure you have plenty of cards with you. You never want to run out.

4. You can offer a special price for attendees to the conference within a time frame, like 30 days or 10 days.

5. Have your conference conversation put together wisely.  What do you offer?  Can you explain it in a tantalizing or engaging way?  Is there a statement at the end that causes the person to gasp and say, “Wow, I need that” or “That would surely help me”!  Have some good conversation starters prepared and talk to people as they walk by with saying a warm “Hello, how are you today”, and when they say, “Fine”, you might ask them, “What makes today fine?”.  If you are at a Coaching or Awareness event, here are more conversation starters: “What brings you here today?”  Then, “What do you hope to gain from this event?”"Did you enjoy the talk today?” How will it make a difference in your tomorrow?”"What’s best or fun about you? Then, What are your favorite interests or hobbies?”"What do you do for a living?”  Followed by, “What do you like about your job?”"What’s the best thing about your life right now?” Then, “And what is there one thing you would like to change?”"Name one of two of your best strengths, what are you really good t?”  Then, “How are your strengths helping you right now?”"If you could wave a magic wand and change ay one thing, what would that be?”"Are  you feeling stuck in any one area of your life right now?”  Then, “If I could help you to change that in the next 30 days would that be valuable to you?”"What is the biggest change you’d like to make in your life right now?  What would it be worth to you to make that change?”"What are you passionate about pursing? And what are you eager to leave behind?”Use “What”  questions that open up conversations and stay away from “Why”.

6. Decision time:”What outcome would make a coaching relationship a great success in your eyes?”"Here is an example of how I helped someone like you…”"Here is how I worked with that kind of goal…”"Here’s what I do best as a coach…”"Here’s what you can expect if you work with me…”"How do you want to proceed?”"What step would you like to take out of this conversation to keep moving forward?”"After uncovering your BIG GOAL, do you feel that coaching could meet your needs to move forward?”"What’s your hesitation about exploring starting a coaching relationship?”Give the person you are talking with your full attention in the moment.  You could offer a complimentary follow-up appointment to any serious person you sense is interested in exploring your service or products further.  It could be a 30 minute phone session. It is like dating, and each appointment you get to know each other a little better and a relationship begins. Remember they choose you, but you also choose to work with them.

7. Always thank people for stopping by. Ask if they have your card in hand.  Be friendly,warm, and give out smiles,  A smile makes you approachable.  It is one gift you give them for free.  Hopefully, you have been able to introduce them to your product and services and piqued their interest.

Remember have fun!  Trade shows and conferences are usually high energy events and you will meet lots of cool people who are interested in your field and industry. It is also fun to see what other vendors have done and gather ideas for your next event.

Kathy Nelson provides Business Success Coaching is San Diego, California.

And what a life he had. George started out as a farm boy on the east coast, then into the Army Air Corp as a pilot during the Second World War.  He came out with character, courage and a lifelong love of planes and adventures. He worked in sales at two major companies and rose to the top. He returned to school and received his MBA in Finance and switched careers, eventually starting his own Financial Management company and having his Funds listed and traded on the NY Stock exchange. He went from rags to riches.

What I saw that day was the love and respect that all of his large family and his many friends have for him. His business partner told the history of how they started their business based on one of George’s financial ideas and one of his employees talked about how wonderful he was to work for. He was smart, supportive, encouraging and a wonderful leader. He wanted the best for each employee. His friends told funny stories of his humor, how down to earth he was, and how he was always there with both a twinkle in his eye and time for you. He was a golfer and a card player and many of the guys had stories to tell about his wit and antics. His many grandchildren had written of their special moments with him, some funny and some poignant. George had a great sense of humor and a little bit of the devil in him. He could be like a kid at heart himself which made for great family excursions around the world.

My dear friend had a special fly-by of two of the vintage planes that were George’s favorites, a P-51 and a P-38, both planes he had flown. There were many wet eyes in the large group of friends and family as all we said, “Good bye.” I know he would have been very pleased by all the love, respect and memories that banded us together in his honor. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather,employer and judging from the large group of friends, especially in the role of friend.

I was struck at his legacy… not the material wealth, but the people wealth. The wealth of the memories within each person there. His wife, his daughters, the grand children and the seventeen great-grandchildren and his friends. I was struck by the love that was present. At the end… what is left? It is the memories and the love you carry in your heart. I was glad for the times we had been together, over the card table, dinners and parties. And I wished there had been more. Life goes too fast and sometimes we just don’t spend enough time with those we love and deeply value. I would have liked more memories. More time. More laughter. Friends are a key ingredient to a satisfying and happy life. Now, I will reach out to my friend… and we will laugh together as we remember George and the immense joy he brought to her and her life. He was really a special man. I feel lucky to have known him.

Kathy Nelson is a Life and Business Coach in San Diego, California