Blog / success

success

The Science of Goal Setting

Goal setting seems simple on the surface. You define what you’d like to accomplish and take the necessary steps to make those accomplishments a reality.

Setting and achieving a goal is more than simply deciding and wishing. Each year, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions. Few of those people are still on track after just 10 days.

If setting and achieving goals were easy, there would be more happy, successful people running around. How many people do you know who are happy and pleased with their lives? Not very many. If you’re looking to take your life and business to the “next level” you need to master setting and achieving goals.

Set goals and achieve them more reliably:

Set goals that are meaningful. Many people waste time with goals that don’t mean very much to them. Life is short, so create goals that fill you with excitement when you think about achieving them. Reaching any goal requires change, and humans are innately resistant to change. Big changes require a lot of motivation. Set goals that mean a lot to you.
Use small, incremental behavioral changes. Change can be done easily if the changes are small. This requires patience.

Imagine someone attempting to make an overnight change from a diet of fast food, soda, potato chips, and ice cream to one of beans, vegetables, and fruit. His mind and body would revolt. It’s far easier to make small changes each week until the transformation is complete.

Be accountable. Rewards are pleasant and effective if the reward continues. Behavioral changes tend to extinguish when rewards are no longer provided. It can be more effective to make yourself accountable for your poor behavior. For example, each time you skip going to the gym, you give $10 to a charity you don’t like or you wash a friend’s car.

Negative consequences are more motivating for many people. Use this fact to your advantage. How could you punish yourself for non-compliance? Make a list of at least 10 ways.

Keep goals believable. Is it possible to increase your earnings from $50k this year to $1 million? It’s possible, but it’s not likely. And if you believe it’s unlikely, you’re unlikely to even try. The perfect goal is challenging, but not so challenging that you feel overwhelmed.
Track your progress. Measuring your progress is extremely important. It provides information on how well you’re doing. You can’t know if you’re making progress toward your goal if you don’t measure it. You can shift your strategy if you realize that you’re not doing well.

It can also provide a boost of enthusiasm and positivity. When you’re making progress, you feel excited.

Be prepared for setbacks. Achieving any goal is rarely a smooth process. There will be bad days with poor results. Rather than reject your goal when the going gets tough, be prepared for failures.

Have a plan in place to deal with failure and frustration. You might call a friend or remind yourself of the purpose of achieving the goal. Reviewing your success so far can also help.
It also pays to take preventative action. For example, if you know you’re likely to cheat on your diet later in the evening, have some healthy snacks available that you enjoy. Or head to bed earlier and enjoy some extra free time in the morning.

Goals are necessary if you want to consciously change your life. Everything else is a matter of luck and circumstance. Most people struggle to set and achieve goals. I frequently help business owners set and take action on goals so they can move forward, faster!

If you’re struggling to set goals or to follow through with them, download our FREE Goal Achieving Workbook.

If you’re serious about taking life and business to the ‘next level’, book your Breakthrough-Now! session.

In this powerful session, you will leave with:

* new awareness of a blindspot that’s holding you back
* a renewed sense of energy for your business and leadership
* a key “next step” for moving forward

Click this link to my Calendly to book your session now

Laura Watson, ACC, MSW is the founder and lead business coach at Venture Coaching International in Calgary, AB. With over 25 years of counselling and business coaching experience, she helps owners and executives across N. America to improve their personal, communication and leadership effectiveness. Laura helps you:

> Uncover blind spots
> Regain focus and traction in your business
> Accelerate your results

If you’re interested in taking your business to the “next level”, call Laura at: 403 669 8684 or book a meeting directly on Calendly.

Conceive And Acheive

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, often spoke about how to achieve success. His books are a must read for any business owner or corporate leader! Don’t let the date of the material turn you off (it was originally written in 1937). The book was revised and updated many times because the message is still relevant.

The main message: “What we can conceive, we can achieve!”

This is a great video of Napoleon Hill talking about the success secrets he learned from Dale Carnegie.

Success is all based on what you think. Enjoy!

To learn more, call Laura Watson toll free at: 877-669-8684 or email her at: Laura@VentureCoaching.ca

Laura Watson, ACC, MSW is President of Venture Coaching Inc., and was a finalist for the 2010 Canadian Coach of the Year Award. Venture Coaching provides leadership and business coaching programs to entrepreneurs. Venture Coaching provides the tools, process and support for new awareness, new choices and new results.

Emotional Mastery For Leaders: learn to ‘flip your switch’

Will you control your thoughts or will your thoughts control you?

Today we’re here to develop emotional mastery for business owners. In 13 yrs of running my own businesses and coaching other business leaders, I find that emotional mastery is one of the key elements defining success. Leaders who develop mastery over their thoughts and emotions grow and thrive. Those who don’t keep themselves stuck in a constant state of survival-mode; they are stressed, they experience conflict in their relationships and they often get sick.

We need to develop emotional mastery because life is miserable without it! Without personal mastery, we react impulsively to situations and people, we procrastinate and get distracted. I’ve seen business owners derail their projects, lose staff and customers and even lose their entire business because they could not manage their emotions and reactive behavior.

When we learn to master ourselves, we have focus and our performance improves. We respond thoughtfully to situations, customers and business partners. Our effectiveness improves and we become more efficient allowing us to get more done in less time. And when we practice mental and emotional mastery consistently, all areas of our life improve, we feel happier and optimistic.

Many of my coaching sessions focus on helping my clients develop emotional mastery. Today I’m sharing the tool that has made the biggest difference in my life and my client’s businesses. I hope it makes a difference for you. Enjoy!

Lead To Succeed: Developing Emotional Mastery from Venture Coaching on Vimeo.

Now it’s time to practice “flipping your switch”! I would love to hear about your discoveries, so please comment on this post to share your experience.

If you enjoyed this post, you can sign up for my FREE Lead to Succeed Email Course (click here) and these posts will come straight to your inbox. Just click on the banner to the left, sign up and stay connected!

Time Management: learn to block your rocks!

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important”, Steven Covey

Today’s leadership lesson is not your typical “time management” conversation.

When I first start working with my clients they are often feeling overwhelmed with their schedule. They feel like a million small urgencies are flying at them all at once and they often complain that they never have time to address important, non-urgent matters in their life and business (ie. planning, exercise, family, even sleep).

If you’re feeling similar to my clients, today I want to help you change that. I’m going to give you an easy and very useful tool for helping you think about and schedule yourself based on your priorities. This tool has a made a world of difference for me and my clients so I’m confident it will make a difference for you too, if you apply it. I call the idea, “blocking your rocks”

Lead To Succeed: Block Your Rocks from Venture Coaching on Vimeo.

Check out Steven’s video here:

Now it’s time to “block your rocks”! I would love to hear about your discoveries, so please comment on this post to share your experience.

The 5 Leadership Essentials

“Leading your business effectively happens when you lead yourself effectively”, Laura Watson

Success in life and business is highly dependent on your mindset. Your mindset will affect all areas of your life; business, health, relationships, finances, fun, you name it!

I am here to help you be more effective in life and business because I’m passionate about you being the best you can be.

You’re here because you want something different for your life and business. I see us playing this success game together, as partners.

Over 13 years of coaching I have discovered 5 Leadership Mindset Essentials that I share with my clients at the beginning of our coaching engagements. We end up revisiting these mindsets often to make sure they are doing their best to apply them.

Clients who take on and really embrace these mindsets see significant improvements in their lives and businesses. So check out this video and see how you can take your leadership abilities to the “next level”.

Lead to Succeed: The 5 Leadership Essentials from Venture Coaching on Vimeo.

Have fun working on your 5 Leadership Essentials. Take on 1 per day, make it a game, play with it and see what you notice.

I would love to hear about your discoveries, so please comment on this post to share your experience.

If you enjoyed this post, you can get more! Sign up for my FREE Lead to Succeed Email Course and these posts will come straight to your inbox. Just click on the banner to the left of this post, sign up and stay connected!

7 Easy Success Habits You Can Start Today!

Robin Sharma is one thought leader who helps me and my clients be more successful. Today I received the following success rituals he recommends. I consistently work at following these habits and I coach my clients to do the same. When we practice these habits we find that success and productivity follow suit. I share these rituals with you today so you can integrate these habits into your life and business and achieve the success you’re seeking. Enjoy!

Robin writes:

Achieving massive productivity, serious success and spectacular impact really isn’t that hard…

…it’s all a pretty simple process.

…actually it’s a very simple process.

I’ve been blessed to be the private advisor to many of the world’s celebrity billionaires and grateful that my success tools have been used by top performers ranging from Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi to NBA and NHL superstars.

Please just remember that success is really all about a masterful consistency around the basic fundamentals.

Watch Kobe or Eminem, Michelangelo or Mozart, Philippe Starck or Jony Ive…they are all about stripping away complexity and hammering away at simplicity…knowing that’s the essence of outright genius.

The thing is that the vast majority of well-intentioned, decent and good people just don’t know what the epic performers know.

Schools teach math and geography. Televisions teach news and distraction. Society teaches materialism and hedonism.

But what about what to do to become great?

How about the daily habits of the performance masters?

And the key moves to make to get the big results you want?

Part of my passionately-held and emotionally-charged personal mission is to share the mindsets, practices and behaviors that those playing at BIW (Best in World) run so you can do your finest work…

…and carve out a life that truly matters.

Fair notice: these habits are a little strange…but they’ve helped hundreds realize elite personal performance, grow personal fortunes, positively influence communities and make the world a far better place…

…so please just stay open to trying them…and applying them for the next 66 days until they wire in as your new normal…

Habit #1: Use a Timer to Do World-Class Work

On the two days a week I schedule as “Creative Days”, I set blocks of time to achieve specific outcomes and results–generally working in the 90 minute bursts of intensity that have been scientifically proven to yield best performance (insight: each of your days only has 16 of these 90 minute segments so use them well).

I then use the countdown timer on my smartphone to heighten my awareness about the passage of each chunk of time. Not really sure why this ritual works so well (I’m deep into brain science these days so once I know, I’ll share of course). But it just does. So do it. Please.

Habit #2: One Hour Walks

Steve Jobs loved doing walking meetings. Thoreau loved walking in the woods. Mandela would walk for entire days. There’s just something beautifully special about installing the daily habit of walking…

…it’ll give you time to think and ideate. You’ll kickstart your creativity and multiply your innovation (bring paper or your phone with you to download the ideas that will pour into your imagination)…

…productivity will soar and your moods will elevate as your endorphins get released. And you’ll boost your fitness to your next level of wow.

After studying many of the creative masters, I’ve been doing a daily walk for years. It’s definitely been a game-changer for me, especially at the end of a productive day.

Habit #3: The Second Wind Workout

The daily walk ritual leads nicely into the “2WW” Ritual that has also served me so well: The Second Wind Workout.

Here’s the basic idea: given that exercise is one of the finest productivity tools ever created, why not use it more often within a day to get more valuable things done?

Yes–definitely do your morning workout to get you mentally and physically amped for a brilliant day. But then, at the end of your work day, go for that walk or take the swim or nail a run.

Creating a second workout habit later in your day will give you so much more energy each evening, relax you with your loved ones, minimize the dangerous effects of stress, deliver a deeper sleep and even reduce your cravings later in the night.

Habit #4: Talk to Yourself

The reality is that most of our daily choices and behaviors are not conscious. We think we know why we do what we do but the truth is 90% of our moves are driven by our subconscious programming (all the beliefs and rules that our parents/teachers/media/peers have taught us).

This is why we’ll read a book or go to a conference and say we’ll make fantastic changes–but rarely do.

For a new idea to create true breakthrough, you need to go to the source. And use autosuggestion to install a new story about your place in the world.

Our conscious mind really does want to make the improvement within our business and personal life. But all the negative patterns within our subconscious hold us back. And sabotage our progress.

Autosuggestion is simply using words and verbal commands to rewire and rescript the unconscious realm of our brain. The subconscious is dramatically influenced by words.

The average person uses words that create limitation, scarcity, drama and failure in their lives–without even knowing it.

Best performers know that words drive performance. And so they use them brilliantly.

To be specific, I suggest that you clean out the victim-speak from your vocabulary. Speaking “I hate this” or “this will never work” or “I’m not good at this” or “I can’t achieve that” or “I’m in trouble” forge subconscious beliefs that make your words self-fulfilling realities.

Instead, use the language of world-class. Talk words with power, grace and positivity. Speak like the person you’ve always wished you could become. With time and consistent practice, you’ll step into that person’s shoes.

Habit #5: The WTOH Question

Please remember that a problem is only a problem when viewed as a problem.

Many of the great business innovations came from a so-called “failure”.

Many of the greatest growth periods of our lives were derived from a period of pain.

Within every setback lies the gift of progress, advancement and outright mastery.

Too many of us encounter an obstacle and drop into victim-mode, giving away our power to it and throwing in the towel.

Instead, use “The WTOH Question” and ask what’s the opportunity here?

This ritual has saved my life. It has allowed me to leverage the unexpected into pure possibility. And turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

It’s helped my team produce epic results in the face of Plan A not going to plan.

And it’s moved my clients to achieve legendary businesses as well as lives they adore.

Habit #6: Thank the Value Chain

Key principle: Gratitude is the antidote to Apathy.

To get giant things done, you need to feel inspired and alive and highly confident and unbeatable…

…positive psychologists are teaching us that “deliberate gratitude” (the actual habit of practicing gratitude versus leaving it to chance) is one of the smartest ways to build that state.

Another one of the rituals that has served me so very well is what I call “thanking the value chain”.

When I eat an excellent meal in a restaurant, I silently thank the chef, the servers, the delivery people, the owners, the farmers and every other human being along the value chain whose hard work has allowed me to savor the meal.

On an airplane, I silently thank the attendants, the pilots, the ground crew, the aircraft makers and even the back office workers for the gift of the flight. And the opportunity for me to attend another event to inspire and share with people who want to win.

I do my best to run this habit as much as possible as I live out each day.

It completely changes the way I view each experience, encounter and person. And it fills me with energy, passion and hope.

I sincerely wish the same for you.

Habit #7: The Sunday Morning Planning Process

Every Sunday morning, I set aside an hour to review the past 7 days. I then write my “Weekly Story”, a fast review of how I performed and behaved over the past week (based on the notes on my written daily schedule). This alone breeds huge amounts of awareness of what’s working and what needs to be improved.

Next, I review my annual one-page plan, reconnect with my Top 5 Values and consider my commitments for the next 7 days.

All this moves me to then write out my “Blueprint for a Beautiful Week” on a written 7 day template that has time blocks from 5 am to 11 pm.

Everything goes in here from my early morning workouts and journaling sessions to my family meals with those I love.

This ritual is one of the best habits I’ve developed. And has helped so many of our clients achieve more in a few weeks than most people get done in a year.

The world needs you to be at your best. My promise to do all I can to help you get there.

If you found the insights and tools in this blog valuable and are ready to discover what you can do to get better results, I’d love to help you love your life and business.

Sincerely,

Laura

Productivity Tips From 30 Entrepreneurs

Business and executive leadership is stressful! And when we’re stressed, our ability to perform declines rapidly. During our day-after-day barrage of deadlines, emails and phone calls it’s easy to forget that stress is self-imposed.

My clients are often asking for “productivity tips”. The best “tips” out there are not rocket science! Basically, the busier you are, the more self care you need (I realize that might seem counter-intuitive and impossible….but it’s true).

If you want to be more productive, read this article and PUT THE IDEAS INTO PRACTICE!

Get your productivity tips here…..

What happens when real leadership shows up?

Are you complaining about your team not performing?

“There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.”―Jocko Willink

What does the environment around you look like? Is your benchmark for success clear and understood by all?

Do you, as the leader, clearly reflect your vision and standards to such a degree that reading them is unnecessary? What you THINK is clear may not be….that’s why you’re getting the results you’re getting.

Discover the 10 things that abruptly happen when real leadership shows up:

Practice Being Your Future Self

If we only focus on the issues of the day, how do we expect to move forward?

Most of us want to move forward. But, by definition, paying attention to the present keeps us where we are.

Rather then focus on your “present” self all the time, you can actually transform yourself by focusing on your “future” self!

Are You Sabotaging Your Staff?

Louise is the owner of a retail clothing store. She has 1 store manager and several girls working in the store. Today’s leadership coaching session started off with Louise complaining about her manager’s poor performance. Louise was thinking she needed to “fix” her manager or let her go due to poor performance.

Louise’s goal is to have her manager, Sue, be independently operating the retail store. Louise thought Sue would take the reins as long as she felt supported and reassured by Louise. Louise’s frustration was that no matter how much reassurance she gave Sue, Sue kept asking questions and needing help, despite being on the job several months. The ongoing help Sue requested was not getting Louise the time freedom she was looking for and Louise was extremely frustrated.

Once I probed into the details, Louise and I discovered that Louise was actually sabotaging Sue’s success.

We discovered that when Sue comes to Louise with questions, Louise tells Sue what to do because Louise is not fully confident in Sue. We realized that Louise’s practice of giving Sue the answers was keeping Sue dependent on Louise and was undermining Louise’s goal of having Sue be confident and independent.

We framed the situation as follows:

Telling someone we believe in them puts a small deposit into the confidence “bank account”. But when we turn around and give that same person the answers to their questions, or tell them “just do it this way” (because it seems faster and easier to do so) we send a message to that person that we don’t really believe they are capable. This message withdraws “confidence capital” from the account for both parties. Over time, this behaviour of giving people answers actually sabotages their personal growth and success and keeps them dependent for the answers.

Asking questions that help the other person find their own answers, then letting that person put her solution in place to test the result, puts a much larger deposit into the confidence bank account for both parties and is an investment that pays higher returns over time.

Are you sabotaging or supporting your staff?

NOW Is The Time To Do

Richard Branson was posting recently about the importance of making lists and resolutions and there was an overwhelming response from people keen to reach their goals in 2016. It’s great to see such enthusiasm – and practical planning – for making positive changes from people all over the world.

Planning is extremely important, for any adventure in or out of business. But even more crucial is the will to simply get out there and do something new.

Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, said: “All human beings are born as entrepreneurs. But unfortunately, many of us never had the opportunity to unwrap that part of our life, so it remains hidden.”

He touches upon the potential within us all to bring new ideas to life. For those of us fortunate enough to have the chance to see their dreams come to life, it is foolish to waste our opportunities.

Another perceptive point comes from Seth Godin. On his blog, he wrote about the challenges of initiating any project. “Not enough people believe they are capable of productive initiative. I don’t think the shortage of artists has much to do with the innate ability to create or initiate. I think it has to do with believing that it’s possible and acceptable for you to do it.”

As Mr Godin suggests, it is absolutely possible for you to create, to take chances and to allow your ideas to flourish. While he is referring to artists, the same applies for the art of business.

“Now is the time to do” doesn’t just apply to starting businesses. It applies to relationships, to fitness and all aspects of your life.

Nobody else is going to start and grow your business for you. 2016 is the time to put your ideas into action. Now is the time to do.

If you’re feeling stuck in your current initiative or if it’s not unfolding the way you want it to, working with a business coach can help! A business coach will bring fresh perspective and enthusiasm to the table, while helping you plan your next steps and holding you accountable for following through. If you’d like to experience, first hand, the benefit of coaching, click on the Contact Us link for a sample, FREE session!

Buyer Beware! How To Choose a Business Coach

“Hiring a business coach is about trust and fit” Laura Watson

15 000 new coaches enter the profession every year. Do you realize that coaching is an unregulated profession and anyone can call themselves a coach, whether or not they have training or adhere to any professional guidelines or ethics?

Investing in your coaching is an important decision. Watch the video to learn what to expect and for tips on finding the right coach for you.

If you’re considering hiring a coach, I’d be happy to speak with you. I’d like to understand a bit about your situation and goals so we can discover whether or not there’s a fit.

The call is FREE, so there’s no risk for reaching out. Just click on the banner to the right, fill in the contact form and let’s have a conversation!

Winning Gold In Business: plan performance like an Olympian!

Carla Macleod is a defense woman for the Canadian women’s gold-medal winning hockey team. I met her at a luncheon where she was speaking about what it takes to be successful. Here are the strategies she shared for winning gold in business.

#1: Hope is not a strategy

Carla first fell in love with hockey as a teenager. She played hockey endlessly, hoping of one day getting onto the World Cup team. Carla had passion for her sport, drive, determination and a willingness to play hard. She thought she had all the necessary ingredients for one day making the team. Carla caught the attention of the World Cup coaches and was considered for the team twice. And twice she was passed over. Carla learned that hard work and hope is not enough to achieve success. She realized she needed to set an intention and support it with a plan.

Many business owners start their business because they are passionate about something. They work hard and they hope for success. Unfortunately, this strategy often leads to exhaustion, burnout, estranged relationships, financial ruin and shattered dreams.

#2: Set an intention, within your control, and set a measure of success

A few years later Carla was chosen for the World Cup Hockey Team, and then she was training for the Canadian Women’s Olympic Team. When Carla shared her story about preparing for the Olympics, she said the team set an intention not to win gold, but to be the best prepared team amongst their competition. They set this intention because they knew they could control the outcome of preparedness. Carla reminded us that in the end, hockey is a game and that winning can go either way based on the referees, the skill of the other players, and feeling “on” or “off” any particular day. Many of those factors were beyond their control. What they could control was their training and how well prepared they were, physically, mentally and emotionally for the game.

Setting an intention means setting a goal, with a plan for execution. What’s your intention for your business in the next 3 months? 6 months? 12 months? What’s the most important business project you need to focus on? How will you measure success of this intention? What action steps will you take to achieve the goal?

#3: Develop new habits

To prepare for the Olympics, Carla and her teammates adhered to a grueling training schedule. The team members were brought together in an isolated location for their coaches’ version of “Olympic Boot-camp”. The training program was designed to help every member of the team develop and strengthen excellent habits.

Many entrepreneurs exhibit destructive habits (often stress-coping mechanisms) that sabotage success. In regards to the intention you have set for yourself, what new habit do you need to develop in order to achieve your intention?

#4: Get support

A fundamental element of Carla’s success and the success of the entire Olympic team, was that the girls had support. I’ve talked with many Olympians and every one I’ve met has been extremely grateful for the support they received from family, friends and especially their many coaches.

Why do so many entrepreneurs think they have to go it alone? Elite athletes tell us time and again that success does not happen in isolation. It happens from enrolling others in supporting us, and our vision.

Who will you ask to support you in achieving your stated intention? Do you need a mentor? A consultant? A coach? What kind of support do you need? Do you need fresh perspective? Or accountability?

#5: Manage yourself effectively

Carla, high performance athletes and successful entrepreneurs know that the most challenging and powerful key element to success is learning to master your self. Learning to master our internal mental and emotional game makes all the difference in achieving success! Roadblocks are going to show up as we pursue our intentions. When we hit these walls, it’s easy to step down, play small and sabotage our best-laid intentions. Mastering how to lead our selves separates the elite performers from the wanna-be’s.

#6: Stay committed to your intention

Carla had a one-time goal of playing in the Olympics. She committed to working hard and getting support for a set period of time, and she won gold. Entrepreneurs; your Olympics is your business, and you live it every day for years and decades! Your success will be determined by your commitment to the intentions you set, the habits you develop, the support you seek and the coaching you invest in to master your internal game and keep you stretching to new heights.

Plan your performance like an Olympian and may you win gold in business and life!