Another Year – It’s a Wrap (WT705)

Another Year – It’s a Wrap (WT705)

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by Shirley Dalton | 29 Dec, 2023 | Blog, Leadership, Mindset

WT 705 Another Year - It's a Wrap

Well, here we are again at the end of another year.

As we look back over the year, I encourage you to focus on the good and positive and be grateful for all that 2023 brought you.

Even the things that were not to your preference.

As David Bayer says, “Life is always working for us, even if at times, it is not to our preference”.

When I think about this mantra, I’m reminded that the Universe or God or Infinite Intelligence (whatever name you prefer) is working tirelessly to bring us what we want. 

From our perspective here on earth, we can’t see all the moving parts that have to be organised in order for us to get what we want.

In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, I sternly reminded Mary (not her real name) to “shut up and let the universe do its job”.

Mary is a great student who actions the feedback. She’s not one to blame or argue, rather she acknowledges her role in co-creating what happens in her life and within a few weeks she rang me to tell me all her good news and how the Universe had delivered.

Remember, our job is to know the what and the why and take inspired action. Our job is not to know the how.

We simply can’t know all the moving parts, let alone control them, so as Esther Hicks says, “Hand it over to the General Manager”.

If you’re up for another great read along these lines and looking to increase your prosperity in 2024, then I highly recommend “The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity” by Edwene Gaines or even better, it’s a great listen on Audible or other similar program.

As you close 2023 and look to 2024, invest some time to write down what you want for 2024 and then close your eyes and imagine receiving what you want. As you close your eyes, feel what you’ll feel when you have it. Hear what you’ll hear when you have it as well as see it.

The quickest way to bring what you want is to feel as if you already have it (because you do) and be grateful for the gift that’s on its way.

Let me know what’s on your bucket list and let’s cross them off at the end of 2024.

As an example, Ross and I have booked a trip to South Africa in April 2024. So far I’ve registered for a 4 day course and booked the airfare.  I can’t wait to see how the Universe delivers an amazing trip for us as we cross off our bucket list item to visit a game park and see the animals up close.

Thanks so much for being part of my community this year. I look forward to continuing the journey with you in 2024.

Happy new year!

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

P.P.S.  START 2024 BY DEVELOPING YOURSELF AND GROWING

BRAND NEW 10 Week online Leadership Fundamentals experience starts Tuesday 16th January 2024. Sessions are LIVE and led by myself. There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t find 90 minutes a week to improve yourself and your leadership skills.  You don’t have to be in a formal leadership position at work. These skills are life skills.  If you’re interested, contact me and let me know and we’ll organise a time to chat. Be part of another great team and get the results you want.

Stop Watching Sucky Movies (WT704)

Stop Watching Sucky Movies (WT704)

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by Shirley Dalton | 22 Dec, 2023 | Blog, Mindset

WT 704 WT 704 Stop watching sucky movies

Today I want to share a story with you that my voice coach, Roger Love shared on our group call, in answer to a question by one of the other “Speakers Guild Members” about being nervous before giving a speech.

Here’s how it goes:

Two workers are standing at the water cooler on a Friday afternoon.

Paul says to Ed, “What’s on for the weekend?”

Ed replies, “I’m going to watch a movie.”

“Great”, says Paul. “Let me know how it goes.”

On Monday, they meet again at the water cooler.

“How was the movie?” asks Paul.

“Not that great”, replies Ed and proceeds to tell him all the reasons why it wasn’t worth watching.

Friday afternoon, they meet again at the water cooler.

Paul asks, “What’s on for the weekend?”

Ed says, “I’m going to watch a movie”.

“Which one?”, asks Paul.

“The same one”, says Ed.

Paul is confused. “You said it was a lousy movie, how come you’re going to watch it again?”

“Oh, I might find something in it”, replied Ed.

“Stop watching sucky movies”, Paul encourages.

And Roger then went on to describe how this is what we do to ourselves when we continue to play our own “sucky movies” of past or future experiences.

Stop watching sucky movies.

Play only the movies from your past or future where you are the hero.

Play only movies that you enjoy and that feel good and that uplift you.

This is especially relevant for us as speakers and trainers, however it applies to everyone.

Prime yourself by watching the movies of your success. Remember the times when you were loved, appreciated or complimented.

Stop watching sucky movies.

And as we fast approach Christmas and the holiday season, remember to make magical memories of all the wonderful things you do and are.

All the best for Christmas 2023. May 2024 be everything you want and more.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

P.P.S. EARLY BIRD PROMOTION ENDS TODAY!

Get the Gold package for the price of the Silver package if paid in full by 22nd December, 2023. Save yourself $953.

BRAND NEW 10 Week online Leadership Fundamentals experience starts Tuesday 16th January 2024. Sessions are LIVE and led by myself. There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t find 90 minutes a week to improve yourself and your leadership skills. You don’t have to be in a formal leadership position at work. These skills are life skills. If you’re interested, reply and let me know and we’ll organise a time to chat. Be part of another great team and get the results you want.

Answer The Criteria (WT703) 

Answer The Criteria (WT703) 

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by Shirley Dalton | 15 Dec, 2023 | Blog, Business, Mindset

WT 703 Address the criterior

A while ago I was talking with a client about recruitment. We’ll call him Dave. 

Dave had a need to fill a customer service/administration role in his business. 

I suggested looking for a mum. 

In the past, I’d had great success employing mums who dropped the kids at school, came to work, did an amazing job and then finished in time to pick up the kids. 

The mums benefitted by being able look after their kids and still have some social interaction with adults, make a difference and get paid. 

They were honest, reliable, had a great work ethic and were skilled and experienced. 

As I shared my experience, Dave asked if I would help him recruit for the position. 

Initially, I was a little shocked at his request, however I agreed. 

We advertised. 

The selection criteria included a typing speed of 40 words per minute, 95% accuracy. 

Only one of the applicants addressed the criteria in their application.  

We know that interview is the least reliable form of recruitment so we included a few activities to test typing speed and accuracy, spelling, grammar and mathematical skills. 

We held off some of the interviews because one lady was away at the time we planned to conduct the interviews and her resume indicated that she was a good match for the role so we waited a few weeks. 

I confirmed the night before the interview. 

The next morning, (the day of the interview) she sent an SMS saying that she was no longer available for the position. 

I have to say, this has been an interesting journey. 

The world has changed. 

Forty odd years ago when I applied for my first full-time job, I would have done anything the potential employer asked me.  

I would have made sure that I addressed all the selection criteria. 

I would have made myself available to attend the interview at their convenience, and would have considered myself very lucky, if I made it to an interview. 

For me, not addressing the selection criteria tells me you can’t follow instructions. I might be wrong but remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. 

Answer the criteria. 

So what’s this got to do with you? 

If you’ve got good staff, hang on to them. 

If you’re applying for a position, if you answer the criteria, you’ll go to the top of the list.  

Recruitment and staff management have changed over the last few years, especially since Covid. More and more people are assessing what they want to do for work and how they want to live their lives. 

As employers, we need to accept the changes and adapt so that our businesses can thrive with less people and better systems, including much more automation. 

I’m curious to hear your experience? What’s happening in your industry? 

Have you got certain criteria that you need applicants to meet or can you adjust to accommodate the changes? 

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts. 

P.P.S.  BRAND NEW 10 Week online Leadership Fundamentals experience starts Tuesday 15th January 2024. Sessions are LIVE and led by myself. There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t find 90 minutes a week to improve yourself and your leadership skills.  You don’t have to be in a formal leadership position at work. These skills are life skills.  If you’re interested, reply and let me know and we’ll organise a time to chat. Be part of another great team and get the results you want. 

The Magic (WT702)

The Magic (WT702)

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by Shirley Dalton | 8 Dec, 2023 | Blog, Leadership, Mindset

WT 702 The Magic

Right now, I wish I had an affiliate link to Amazon or Audible.

I’m recommending you get “The Magic” by Rhonda Byrne.

The book had been sitting in my library for quite some time and I hadn’t gotten around to reading it, until it was recommended by one of my mentors in an online group.

Magically, the group turned into a team, aptly named “Team Magic” and we agreed to work through the book together.

It truly was a magical experience.

Having an online group provided support, encouragement, motivation and accountability.

Each day we would post an image or message showing the task completed for that day.

Yesterday I completed the book and the tasks and I have to say, my mindset and results did magically change.

So, apart from the book recommendation, today’s thought is also about the power of teamwork.

Our virtual team included people in all different states in Australia and also overseas. Being online meant that we could post at any time that was convenient and team members could respond whenever it suited them.

Without the team, I may not have been totally committed.  In fact, I insisted Ross do the activities as well so whilst he wasn’t posting in the What’s App group, he too completed the book.

Magical outcomes occurred. Ross had advertised a motorbike for sale and whilst there had been some initial interest, as soon as the magic kicked in he sold the bike – easily and effortlessly.

There’s a saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Working with a team takes you farther. For many of us, we will do the things we might not feel like doing because we don’t want to let the team down. Of course, this benefits us because we get the thing done.

Working with a team also enables you to learn different things because we all have different perceptions and different values. What you miss, someone else might pick up and share, so you now have double the knowledge.

When you’re learning something new, being part of a team also enables you to practise in a safe environment.

I’ve been so impressed with the experience, I even encouraged one of my clients to start and offered to be her accountability partner.

Why? Because I know, if you do the work, you’ll get the results. If you have an accountability partner, you’ll do the work when you don’t feel like it. If you have an accountability partner you can support each other when needed.

My wish for you is that you find a team to help you achieve what you want to achieve.  It can be for a specific timeframe such as days, weeks or months.  I’ve also been a member of teams that have been meeting for over 10 years.

What is it that you want to achieve? What results do you want?

Are you getting them by yourself and if not, how about inviting others to be part of your team.

Now’s the time to step up and become the leader. Remember, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

The Awe of Expertise (WT701)

The Awe of Expertise (WT701)

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by Shirley Dalton | 1 Dec, 2023 | Blog, Business

WT 701 In awe of expertise

When I first started my business, I was blown away by the knowledge and expertise that people have in their respective industries.

Seventeen years later, I’m still in awe of your expertise.

I was coaching with a client and he was sharing the challenges he was experiencing with designing and fitting out a new retail shop.

He had engaged a builder and an engineer and was thankful for their expertise and advice.

The builder advised that new supports were required to hold up the roof. He encouraged the retailer, by explaining that it was “now or never” because he thought the retailer would be very unlikely to add the supports once the shop had been fitted out.

Of course this added additional time and expense to the project, however it could have been a lot worse had the builder not shared his expertise.

Another example comes from a landscape gardener. The home owner wanted to bring the garden back to life. The gardener surveyed the surrounds and asked whether the home had been painted a particular colour in years gone by.

“Yes, it was. How do you know that?” asked the home owner.

“See this part of the garden, where the soil has been compacted down, we can see the old paint, which would have been covered by the soil”, answered the gardener.

Fascinating! Simply fascinating.

And here’s a curly example. Talking to an employee in the marine industry, she shared that when scheduling boats to be serviced, they had to be aware of the relationships between the boat owners and not schedule services for boats where the owners did not like each other. Yes, that’s a thing.

This week, I want you to think about all the intellectual property you have. Become aware of how much you know and how your expertise is so helpful to those of us who don’t have it.

This is the reason for business. Businesses provide the solutions for things we know nothing or very little about.

According to Benjamin J. Harvey of Authentic Education, businesses exist to eliminate thoughts and feelings for their customers. For example, “The garden is overgrown. It’s full of weeds. It will take me months to get it back in order. I don’t have the time. I don’t know what to plant. I’m embarrassed that it looks like this.” 

You get the idea.  By providing the solution to fix the garden, the gardener eliminated all the negative thoughts and feelings for the home owner.

How about you?  What thoughts and feelings are you eliminating?

For me, as a leadership coach, my interest, passion and expertise is in helping leaders and managers to eliminate feelings of stress and overwhelm and lack of confidence when it comes to leading and managing their teams.

I am constantly amazed at what people know. How about you?

Think of any service you need and think about the level of expertise the supplier has, from your accountant to your cleaner to your grocery shop or pharmacist.

This is one of the things I love about working with such diverse businesses and people. I get to learn a little about what they know and do and I’m so impressed with the level of expertise people have in their chosen field or industry.

What do you know that people outside your industry don’t know?

Be proud of that.

Be grateful for what you know.

The world needs you.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

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