by Beth | Sep 1, 2021 | Attitude
Earlier this month, I spent 2 glorious weeks in Florida on the ocean. One day, my daughter Katy decided that she wanted to go paddleboarding. I couldn’t have been more unenthusiastic. “Come on, Mom! It’ll be fun!” she said, while running towards the enormous boards. She hauled one out to the ocean and promptly hopped on.
I hesitantly scooted the board in the water. I cautiously looked in the water underneath the board, convinced that JAWS would leap out and bite me. I awkwardly climbed on the board and immediately fell right off. I SO didn’t want to do this! But by this time, Katy was halfway around the bend, and I didn’t want to be left out.
So, I tried again and again. Finally, I got some traction and paddled out to where Katy was. I still hadn’t stood up on the board but sitting and paddling was pretty okay. Katy yelled at me “See Mom?? It’s FUN!”
Pft. “I mean, it’s alright,” I grumbled.
Then, I got over myself. I stood up. I teeter-tottered trying to find my balance, until a wave from a boat knocked me down. I got back up, planted my feet, found my center, and was able to paddle around. The sun was warm, the wind was light, the ocean was so blue, and I was with one of the best people in my life. Total perspective shift.
Learning something new is hard. You feel awkward and hesitant. You fall down. You look funny. But then, you get back up and you try again. This is how innovation occurs! This is how new ideas are created, and this is how you stay mentally sharp.
So, get on that board. Plant your feet. Find your center and enjoy the world. You won’t regret it.
POWER THOUGHT: Learning something new is no walk in the park. Do it anyway.
by Beth | Feb 3, 2021 | Attitude
I flew to Austin to interview a candidate for a third interview in a blinding snowstorm. While things went very smoothly in Denver, they did NOT go smoothly in Austin. Once we arrived at the airport, we circled for about an hour, until our pilot announced that we were being diverted to San Antonio, as the airport in Austin closed to deal with the snow. To be fair, Austin got a few inches of snow that they hadn’t seen in 25 years.
We arrived in San Antonio to re-fuel, and the pilot said that we were going to get gas, then fly back to Austin. “It will be a quick 15-minute flight” he said. We circled the airport for 45 minutes, when he announced that we would be diverted to Houston. NO ONE wanted to go to Houston! Then, the pilot said this:
“We need 1 ¼ mile of visibility. We have 1 mile. So, we are going to try and land the plane.”
EXCUSE ME?
This college-aged girl named Emily was sitting next to me, and with wide eyes she looked at me and said “TRY? Did he say TRY?”
He did. Emily and I held hands as the pilot TRIED to land the plane.
Obviously, he did. And actually, it was one of the smoother landings I have experienced.
According to this article in Inc magazine, https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/3-words-that-guarantee-failure.html people who use the word “try” have given themselves permission to fail, and this causes the rest of us to find them uncredible. What if I said to you “I will TRY to hire a great employee for you.” Those words don’t inspire confidence, do they?
So, work on eliminating “try” from your vocabulary. And for those smart alecks in my network, don’t respond to me with “I’ll try”. ????
Power thought: Do or do not….There is no try. -Yoda
by Beth | May 20, 2020 | Attitude
When I was a little girl, I attended a summer camp in the backwoods of Texas along the Guadalupe River. I learned how to ride horses at that camp, because that is what good Texas girls do!
During one of my very first times on a horse, I quickly turned around to talk to my friend behind me, and I accidently kicked my horse. (When you gently kick your horse, you are telling the horse to go). He started to move forward, and I fell off the back.
I got up, bruised and dirty, dusted myself off, and started walking toward the gate to leave. My instructor said “Where are you going? You gotta get back in that saddle!”
Oh, no. No way! No how! I had already decided my horseback riding career was over.
It took much convincing and bargaining for my instructor to get me back on that horse. She said “The longer you stay off the horse after a fall, the harder it is to get back up on it. It is scary, you are rattled. Don’t let that prevent you from trying again.”
Lately, we have all been knocked off our horses. The times we live in feel scary, and we are all rattled. So, today, do one thing that gets you closer to getting back on your horse. Call that client. Write that blog. Send a thank you to your favorite vendor. Take that one action that you have been putting off in order to get going again.
I did get back up on that horse, and boy am I glad I did! I won an award in the final summer rodeo, but I also learned a serious life lesson.
Get back in the saddle people! It’s time to ride. YEEHAW!
by Beth | Apr 22, 2020 | Attitude, Leadership
I have had a few conversations over the past weeks from clients who really want to do right by their people. They are justifiably stressed and concerned. As one person asked me “How do I lead people through fear when I am afraid too?”
Here is the plan that we created:
Step 1: Breathe like this: take two minutes. Breathe in for a count of four, hold for four and breathe out for six. Do this for two minutes. What this does is get the oxygen all the way through your lungs and when you flood the body with oxygen, you think more clearly. Out with the old and in with the new.
Step 2: Prioritize exercise: Even if you just walk briskly through your neighborhood for 20 minutes, exercise is key to your mental health. By getting some sunshine, pumping some Vitamin D through your veins along with oxygenated blood, your thoughts become are clearer, and you can communicate better with your team.
Step 3: Focus on gratitude: What are you grateful for? Are you grateful that you found toilet paper at the grocery store? Are you grateful that the Himalayan mountains are being seen for the first time in 30 years? Are you grateful that you get to spend more time with your kids (even when they frustrate you)? Are you grateful that the sun is shining? Whatever it is, focus on that. The body is flooded with feel-good hormones when you focus on gratitude which also helps you think clearly and from a positive place rather than a negative one. Then, lead your team through a gratitude exercise. They need it too.
Step 4: Take one day at a time: For most of my clients who are truly visionary and live in and for the future, this is probably the hardest step. Things are changing so rapidly, and the world feels so uncertain now that making future plans can be very scary. So, focus on today. Do great work today. Take care of your clients today. Then, put it away, and hug your loved ones.
None of us have ever been in this place before. We can and will get through it together. And, if you need more support, please call me. My phone line is open and available to anyone.
You got this.
by Beth | Apr 8, 2020 | Attitude
In 2006, I had just gotten out of the restaurant business, and I took a year off to figure out what I wanted to do next. Katy, my daughter, had just started kindergarten, and I had this “free time”. I was totally stressed out. I needed to make money, I was afraid of the future, I was experiencing a crisis! I watched a lot of Law and Order, I played free cell constantly. And I was so, so bored! Then one day, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I knew that I needed to start A-list.
Last week, I was talking to my speech coach, Margaret Romney, about the COVID-19 crisis, I was discussing with her the fears that my clients have about the future. And then she said to me “Do you know what the criteria are for a crisis?”
My response was “There are criteria for a CRISIS?”
“Yes. There are five criteria for a crisis.”
According to Effective Crisis Communication by Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger, here they are:
- It is unexpected
- It disrupts routine
- It produces uncertainty
- It is a threat
- It creates opportunity
Check out number five. As soon as I heard that, I thought, no wonder we have such mixed feelings about a crisis! There is opportunity in the middle of this mess!
We are in the middle of a crisis, and I find myself once again watching a lot of Law and Order and playing free cell. But I am also working with my clients, writing my second book, working on my speech writing, AND, I am working on a video series. I am confident that I will come out having created my next business opportunity. I have done it before; I am doing it again.
And, so can you. Focus and create!
by Beth | Dec 26, 2019 | Attitude, Employee Hiring, Firing Employees
Right before the holidays, I had a potential client call me frustrated with an employee. “I just gave out bonuses, and she wants more money…I don’t know what to do!”
Having seemingly entitled employees is a hot topic of conversation these days. Here are my thoughts:
An entitled employee is in the wrong job.
Think about it.
When an employee is in a job that they love, they are happy. They think about the work that they “get to do”, not what they “have to do”. They may ask for a raise or for more vacation time, but rarely are these on the forefront of their minds. They are excited to work every day because they are passionate about their objectives. They feel confident and are thriving.
But when they are not happy in their jobs? They will do anything to keep themselves engaged. They think that money will make them happy. They think that more time off will make them happy. Or free movie tickets, a gift certificate for a massage or getting to work from home. But in the end, if they are not enjoying their jobs anymore, have a conversation with these employees about doing
something else or let them go.
Nothing can make up for doing work that they do not enjoy, and I do mean nothing!
So, when you have an entitled employee, don’t talk about more money, benefits, working from home, etc. It won’t help and only increases frustration for both you and your employee. Instead, talk about the job duties, and ask if this is really the work they love. If it’s not? Either move them to a position that is right for them or help them transition out gracefully.
And remember: you as the employer are entitled to an employee who wants to do the job you are offering.
