Transform your life through self mastery and journey to new heights with your personal and professional development. We are passionate about people and facilitating their transformation to becoming the best version of themselves, living authentic, happy and fulfilled lives. Here we share with you the world leaders in personal development.
Monday, 31 August 2020
Friday, 14 August 2020
Thursday, 6 August 2020
Transform Your Life Through Meditation
Something has brought you here, weather you are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced, this is for you... even if you have never tried it before and you're just curious, stay with me for a bit...
Meditation is an ancient practice and often misunderstood by many around the world. It is one of the most powerful tools to achieve self-mastery and works on body, mind and spirit.
When we are out of balance, we tend to have negative thoughts and experience negative emotions, some of which include fear, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, anger, etc. This is not an ideal state and can have severe negative impacts on health. Through meditation, we can turn this around to reach a state of calmness no matter the circumstances we are in. It can improve confidence, mental clarity and focus, increase energy levels and results in you feeling at peace in a happy emotional state. Other benefits include health and weight loss.
There are many techniques available and with the right practitioner, you can transform your life. With that being said, I would like to introduce you to one of the world leaders in meditation, an international author, speaker, coach and meditation teacher. He has studied and practiced meditation for 20 years and taught thousands of people around the world. He certainly is one of the most qualified in the field being certified with meditation associations along with qualifications in positive psychology and more... His methods are unique in that they are focused on empowerment over and above acceptance and letting go.
If you would like to transform your life into one which is fulfilling, peaceful and stress-free, no matter what life throws at you, follow the link below to begin your wonderful journey to freedom.
Wednesday, 5 August 2020
Tuesday, 4 August 2020
Monday, 3 August 2020
What is self-awareness? And how can you cultivate it?
Let’s time travel for a moment back to say, the year 1100.
We’re sitting at our wooden bench with our goose quill composing a list of traits we deem to be indisputably good in a friend, lover, colleague or family member.
What are some things we might put on this old-timey list? Probably words like “kind,” “loyal,” “generous” and “patient,” to name but a few.
Now let’s return to the present day. We’re sitting (or standing) at our desk typing up that very list. We’d probably jot down the same virtues we’d have scribbled down in 1100, but we might add some relatively new concepts.
On my list, I would certainly add “self-aware” as a quality of a person I’d want in my life — and a person I’d want to be.
But what precisely does it mean to be self-aware? How did self-awareness emerge as a venerable trait and how do you cultivate it?
‘Self-awareness’ centers on recognizing and managing our emotions
“The term self-awareness can likely be traced back to Freud and Jung, but in the modern parlance, I think it arrived back on the radar around the time Daniel Goleman published 'Emotional Intelligence' nearly two decades back,” says John Duffy, a clinical psychologist and author.
“In effect, self-awareness is the recognition of one's own emotional state at any given point in time,” Duffy says. “The argument suggests that we are, far too often, wholly unaware of the emotional state we are currently in, and the degree to which that state influences our behavior and thought process. To the degree that we can manage our emotional states, we are better able to manage these other elements of our lives as well.”
Amy McManus, a marriage and family therapist adds that “self-awareness is [also] the ability to look at your own words and actions from a perspective outside of yourself; to see yourself as others see you.”
In this sense, we can see how self-awareness is a way of introspection that doesn’t shut the world out, but rather brings it in for assessment against one’s own feelings and behaviors. It entails, as Katie Krimer, a licensed clinical social worker describes it, “meta-cognition: the ability to think about thinking [and] implies the ability to recognize ourselves as we see ourselves, but also to understand how others may see us based on what we know about human behavior.”
We tend to think we’re self-aware — when we’re not
I can’t count how many times I’ve dismissed people (namely, ex-boyfriends) by declaring them “not self-aware.” I say this like I’m positively teeming with this meta-cognitive ability.
I might be wrong about just how self-aware I am; many of us are.
“Social scientists have discovered that people often grossly overestimate their level of self-awareness,” says Tara Well, associate professor of psychology at Barnard College.
Krimer adds that many people “feel that they know and understand themselves much better than they actually do. They may even have avoided building self-awareness because it involves looking at oneself as honestly as possible, and this can often invoke feelings of shame that can be difficult to handle.”
Self-awareness is a vital skill in a fulfilling life
In any case, self-awareness is an important practice to develop.
“In the past, [lack of self-awareness] might have been written off as a benign human quirk, but as our world becomes increasingly complex, the need for self-awareness is growing to paramount importance,” says Well. “Self-awareness may be the most vital skill we have to navigate our future challenges.”
Duffy adds that “if you can manage your own emotions, you are more than likely able to exert an impact on the emotional vibe of a family, a work situation, or a social encounter. All of that is to say, self-awareness can be incredibly useful in driving a more aware, fulfilled life.”
Here are some tips to cultivate self-awareness
If you want to cultivate or enhance self-awareness, here’s what mental health experts recommend:
1. Be curious about who you are
“To be self-aware, a person needs to be curious about themselves,” says Ana Jovanovic, psychologist and life coach at Parenting Pod. “Our minds and bodies are territories for which we yet need road maps. Every person has some roads they do not wish to take, and some roads they feel are worth exploring. How far you’ll go in your journey of understanding yourself depends on what you’re ready to explore and experience.”
2. Let your walls down
When we see something we don’t immediately like in ourselves, our first reaction could be to defend ourselves from it, which is partly why self-awareness is so challenging.
Try to let go of judgment and the instinctual urge to protect yourself.
“You become self-aware through a willingness to let go of defensiveness, and an openness to seeing yourself in a way that is different from what you have always assumed,” says McManus. “Often this means you have to be willing to see yourself in a less-than-positive light.”
3. Look in the mirror — literally
“In my own research, I teach people to use mirrors as a meditation tool that increases their self-awareness,” says Well. “When people first look at themselves, they are often very critical. I teach them how to shift their perspective and use their reflection for deeper self-awareness. They learn to track their attention and emotions and gain new insights into how their thoughts are affecting them in real time — this sort of mimics face-to-face conversations that involve deep listening and being fully present with another person.”
4. Keep a journal and note what triggers positive feelings
“Journaling is a great way to start this process of being mindful,” says Celeste Viciere, a licensed mental health clinician. “As you are journaling, pay attention to your day. Ask yourself how you feel. If there are negative feelings associated with the day, think about what triggers may have caused them to bubble up. For any positive feelings, think about what may have triggered you to feel happy.”
5. Substitute some screen time with people time
“The average amount of time we spend alone gazing at our screens now surpasses our time in face-to-face contact,” says Well. “Science tells us that we need reflections to develop our sense of self in relation to others. As we spend more time alone and on our devices, we miss this essential human mirroring. The symptoms of lack of mirroring are becoming more apparent in our society: increases in anxiety, lack of empathy and intense self-objectification (as in the selfie craze). There’s a call — if not an urgent cry — for greater self-awareness and reflection.”
6. Ask others how they see you
Not only should we build out our face-to-face social actions, but also use a portion of this time to learn about how our loved ones perceive us.
“Talk to your closest loved ones and be courageous enough to ask how they perceive you in various situations,” says Krimer. “Getting perspective on how you behave or come off in certain situations can help us bring into our awareness something that was previously invisible to us. Therapy is great for this, too.”
7. Angry at someone? Take the ‘third-person’ perspective
Ultimately the benefits of self-awareness are to serve not only you in emotional management, but also to serve your relationships.
Michal Strahilevitz, a consumer psychologist and marketing professor at St. Mary's College of California, speaks to the importance of catching yourself when a situation or person agitates you.
“If you catch yourself raising your voice, you may feel justified due to being upset,” says Strahilevitz. “However, for the person with you (second person), the experience will be quite different. Trying to imagine yourself in that person's place will improve self awareness, reduce defensiveness, and quite possibly improve your relationship with that person as well. Third person is particularly effective for people who are overly self-critical or who trend to be self-destructive. What would you advise if you were a caring friend watching your behavior? That would be taking a third person perspective.”
8. Keep checking in with yourself (and a list of feelings)
“Clinically, the most effective method for the development of self-awareness is a pause and brief check-in with oneself: ‘How am I feeling right now? What do I think might be driving that feeling?’” says Duffy. “This may seem absurdly simple, but in practice, my clients find it to be quite difficult. Many need to carry a list of possible emotions with them as they begin this exercise, as the pat answers (‘I feel fine.’; ‘I feel bad.’; ‘I feel angry.’) are not particularly rich or productive.”
9. Keep learning — the journey never ends
While this article hopefully helps with pointers, there is a trove of wonderful material out there that can be of guidance in your ever-evolving journey towards self-awareness.
"Read and learn about the psychology and practices of self-awareness," recommends Krimer. "Get excited about gaining the knowledge that will in turn teach you about yourself. There are so many incredible psych books and workbooks that encourage the cultivation of our self-awareness. School of Life is a terrific company that publishes books and other novelty card sets that help explain in a very direct, clear and smart way, the importance of building self knowledge and the impacts this has on everything else in our life."
Source: Nicole Spector https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/what-self-awareness-how-can-you-cultivate-it-ncna1067721
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Managing Your Energy
The practice of restorative self care among leaders is hugely important for sustaining energy and building resilience in the weeks and months ahead. When leaders can make time for self care, they also model it as a legitimate and important priority for others around them.
There is a leadership framework that can be useful here. Put simply it offers a way to think about how you manage your physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual energies. Leaders often assume effective time management is what underpins high performance, leading to a preoccupation with tasks and ‘doing’ that can and often does lead to burnout. But it is the effective management and intentional use of your energy that really matters because – unlike time – energy is renewable if you invest in it (Loehr and Schwartz 2003)1.
This idea seems especially important for leaders organizing the response to Covid-19, which may well feel huge and energy-sapping. Using the simple framework below, try to reflect honestly on what you do, don’t do, and could do to routinely renew and manage your energy.
Good nutrition, exercise, sleep, and rest are the foundation of physical energy, but they are also vital for managing emotions and focusing attention. Is your body getting what it needs to properly restore itself each day?
Intellectual energy
This is about the mental ability for sustained concentration and attention; for data, for memory, and for speed, flexibility and creativity of thought. What do you do to relax that gives your mind the time and opportunity to recover throughout the day?
Emotional energy
Emotional energy is central to how effectively you understand and regulate your emotions, as well as how you connect with others. What coping mechanisms do you use to process your emotions and develop your self-awareness? Who or what in your life helps you experience positive emotions?
Spiritual energy
We all have and feel a connection to something bigger than ourselves. What that is will be deeply personal but could include things like values, connection to culture and community, the natural world, and/or to faith and our beliefs. Spiritual energy is ultimately about motivation; it ensures congruence between who we are and what we do (authenticity). What really matters to you?
Monday, 27 July 2020
6 Crucial Steps For A Powerful Personal Transformation
Is there something in your life that could be better? You have everything you need, right now, to change it.
You can't always control external people and events, but there's a secret: Everything changes when you change yourself.
Smart people know that we achieve our best life when we take time to look honestly at who we are and where we are and then make a change.
In other words, we can transform ourselves into someone completely new.
It's easier said than done, right?
It takes work, without a doubt, but it is possible. Here are six crucial steps you must implement to make sure your personal transformation is a successful one.
To get what you want, you must first know exactly what the final outcome will be. You won't get there if you don't understand exactly what you want.
1:02
Successful people send this message every day
Sit down and define your current problems or flaws, and decide what they will be like once you've transformed them. Don't just think about it, either. Make it concrete. Write it down.
Add a list of reasons why you want to make these changes. Write down all the great things that will happen once your transformation is complete. This will motivate you when you're tempted to fall back into your old habits.
Change is a gradual process, and most big changes are made by taking small steps every day over a long period of time.
Personal transformation takes time, and it's not linear. Sometimes you take three steps forward then two steps back. Other times, you'll make huge leaps in just a day or two.
Prepare yourself for this reality, and don't give up because change doesn't happen quick enough, or it feels like you're not making progress.
Change always involves learning new things, but you can create your own shortcut.
Instead of starting from scratch, learn from the journeys and mistakes of others who have already taken the path you're embarking on. It can cut your learning phase in half!
Do some research and read personal stories, tips, and tricks of people who have created their own personal transformations. Avoid the mistakes they made, and adopt the habits that helped them achieve their goals.
At the very least, these stories will inspire you to keep going, day after day. They will let you know that what you're doing and where you're going is not only possible, but that it's possible for you.
There's a popular cliché that says "Fake it til you make it", and there's validity to that statement.
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How Marcus Lemonis helped this business transform unused hours into $650,000 per year
When you act as if an outcome has already occurred, it is much more likely to happen. Your brain can't distinguish between what you visualize and what's actually out there in the real world.
Studies conducted at Harvard University showed that people who simply imagined practicing the piano every day physically strengthened the muscles in their fingers. Other studies also found that your brain does not distinguish between imagination and reality.
Adopt the identity of yourself as someone who has already made the changes you aspire to, and your actions will be those of someone who already made the successful transformation. This, in turn, leads to results in the real world that simply confirm your new reality.
Change is uncomfortable. Realize that fact, accept it, and embrace it.
People tend to cling to stability and comfort, but your personal transformation requires you to step into new environments, meet new people, and do things that you're not used to. And that is scary.
Physiologically, fear and excitement are nearly identical. Your heart races, you sweat, you shake, you cry. You naturally want to quit or run away.
When you start to feel fear, re-frame it and tell yourself that you're just excited. Embrace the feeling, and work through it. Don't let it stop you.
When you change, the people around you will react. Some will support you, and some will work actively to resist you.
Build up your inner strength and realize that you don't need anyone's approval. If they give it to you, that's a gift. But if they don't, you know what you're doing and why, and you only need yourself as a cheerleader.
Most of the greatest thinkers and doers in history were ridiculed and chastised when they created change. When you better yourself, you should expect the same. That's just proof that you're on the right path.
Friday, 24 July 2020
Thursday, 23 July 2020
Wednesday, 22 July 2020
The 3 Most Valuable Things Entrepreneurs Can Be Doing for Their Team Right Now
You may be worried about your business, but you aren’t the only one stressed out. Right now, your team members are worried about their careers, their families and their futures. No matter how much the current public health- and econimic-crisis has impacted you, your team needs its leader now more than ever.
Even if you've avoided eliminating positions in your business thus far, people are worried. Unemployment numbers have already hit record highs, and Gallup reports that a quarter of American employees fear they'll lose their jobs.
Workers and companies fortunate enough to stay open during quarantine orders still face unique challenges. Employees who have never worked from home now spend every hour indoors. People who loved to flaunt their extroverted selves on weekends now make do with videoconferences and virtual Netflix parties. In uncharted territory with a muddled future, entrepreneurs must not abandon their teams in their moment of greatest need.
Keep your team safe, supported and productive by acting as their most valuable ally. Here's a guide to getting started.
People who worry about their financial situations miss work more frequently than their financially secure peers. Concerns about financial stability also affect productivity on the job. Ironically, the people who need money the most are more likely to call in sick or fail to do their best work.
Give workers the leg up they need by empowering them to create some distance from the threat of financial hardship. Help employees access financial aid resources and save for the future by working with a small business 401(k) provider like Guideline. Look for a low-fee provider that makes it as easy as possible for employees to manage their retirement to show you care about their financial future.
Other perks, such as paid sick leave and competitive salaries, can help alleviate the stress of bills and security. New generations saddled with college debt also appreciate student loan repayment assistance. Take care of your employees, and they'll return the favor by bringing their best selves to work every day.
Open-door policies force employees to instigate. Someone who has a problem doesn’t want to barge in and ruin your day, especially if you’re as busy as most small business owners. You may believe that making yourself available is enough, but that mindset could lead your best employees to leave for greener pastures if they don’t feel heard.
Rather than take a passive role in your team’s well-being, take it upon yourself to bring up potential issues before they drive your best workers away. Schedule regular one-on-one talks to discuss topics not related to current projects. What would your employees like to see changed? Which challenges have stuck with them over the past few weeks? Do they get along with their peers? You don’t have to act on every small complaint, but by offering a sympathetic ear, you can at least keep small issues from growing into big problems.
When you check in with your team, keep it visual. Remote team members appreciate videoconferences when they can’t make it into the office. In permanent work-from-home situations, fly employees in at least twice a year to maintain personal connections.
Cut the bloat from your employee handbook and role descriptions. As businesses grow, isolated incidents lead founders to create companywide rules that may not facilitate productivity as much as they hinder workers's ability to do their jobs. By slashing your guidelines to the bare minimum, you demonstrate to employees that you trust their good judgment.
A display of trust proves to employees that you believe in their honesty and productivity without the need for frivolous guidelines. Your workers have enough to deal with outside of the (home) office; don’t add to their misery by piling on new remote work regulations. If anyone abuses the freedom, have a serious conversation or find someone new who doesn’t. A person who wants to slack will find a way, rules or no rules, but a dedicated worker doesn’t need rules to flourish.
Monitor performance metrics in this new normal, and set expectations based on that reality. You may discover that productivity spikes in certain areas and craters in others. Let employees work how and when they can, then play the evaluator once you have a more defined plan.
Your workers look to you as both a leader and as an example of how to handle tough situations. Give them an example worth following by investing in their happiness and encouraging a sense of community at work. When you show your employees that you care, they'll internalize that lesson and treat their colleagues with the same respect.
Rashan Dixon
ENTREPRENEUR LEADERSHIP NETWORK WRITER
Co-founder of Techincon and Senior Business Consultant for Microsoft
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Monday, 20 July 2020
What every entrepreneur should keep in mind for 2020
Keeping in mind the fundamentals of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur is a good way to get you on track of achieving what you desire in 2020. Here's what to keep in mind.
Friday, 17 July 2020
How to Manifest Authentic Joy in Your Life
Wednesday, 15 July 2020
Tuesday, 14 July 2020
The 4 Actions You Must Take to Find Your Opportunity
Image credit: Hero Images |
Don’t look for an industry, look for the opportunity. Opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. The middle class looks for jobs to solve their problems. You need a job, but you also need opportunity. Senior students at MIT and Harvard right now don’t even know what opportunity means, they will just be looking for a job next summer. The truth is, an opportunity will solve your problems. Here are four tips today to find your opportunity:
1. Look for opportunity.
Before you can see an opportunity, you have to be looking for opportunity. This seems basic but many people have given up on looking for opportunity. This is why there is that saying, “You wouldn’t see an opportunity if it hit you in the face,” comes from. Opportunity can literally be right where you are but you’re blind to it.
2. Be willing to read and research.
They say knowledge is power, and it’s true. You won’t find opportunity without knowledge
Everything you ever want, you are just a piece of knowledge away from obtaining. The only thing between you and massive wealth is the right knowledge. I’ve experienced all the delays and pitfalls that keep people in the middle class, but I was able to push beyond them to become wealthy, and I can teach you to do the same because of the knowledge I've obtained.
3. You have to go for it.
You have to leave where you are comfortable. Staying with mommy and daddy past the age of 25 isn’t going to work, sorry. Opportunity might mean moving out of state or even across the country. Maybe, just maybe, you need a new passport for your opportunity. The point is, the opportunity may not be where you are because you might be a big fish in a small pond.
4. Make contacts.
Everything you want, somebody else has it. Contacts equal contracts. How big is your power base? How big is your pipeline? The more people you know, the more opportunities will come your way. There’s a reason why successful network marketers make a lot of money -- they prospect.
Your next opportunity might just be with someone you don’t even know yet. You need to go out and meet them.
So what is your opportunity that you need?
Each of of these four essentials -- looking for opportunity, reading and researching, going for it, or making contacts -- requires effort on your part. I have a few sayings that relate to this:
Everyone wants to have a six-pack but don’t want to put in the time.
Everyone wants to be the boss but won’t go out on their own.
Everyone wants to be a millionaire but won’t spend $1000.
I will add to this, “Everyone wants an opportunity but won’t ____.”
What’s your excuse?
Find your opportunity.
Grant Cardone
ENTREPRENEUR LEADERSHIP NETWORK VIP
International Sales Expert & $1.78B Real Estate Fund Manager
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/300589