Blog
We’re Celebrating 10 Years of Weekly Thoughts (WT520)
Do you ever surprise yourself? Wow! This week I'm celebrating. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could commit to writing a Weekly Thought, EVERY WEEK FOR 10 YEARS. I have to say I've surprised myself. I'm also really happy with myself and I'm proud of my achievement, and more importantly, I am GRATEFUL. I am grateful that you have been on this journey with me, whether we've just met or you've been here since the beginning. THANK YOU for being there. I love receiving your feedback, especially when a thought resonates with you. I love my community and I just love sharing what...
Two Types of Trust (WT519)
This week, I was talking with a colleague and he asked me a rather unusual and interesting question. “Shirley, do your clients have to trust you before they engage you?” I didn’t have an answer for that straight away, so I “percolated” on it for a day or two and then shared the following with my colleague: There are two types of trust that are needed: Clients have to be able to trust that you can help them achieve the outcomes they want. This means they have to trust that you have the experience and training, etc. plus previous examples of how you have helped other clients, and ...
Look at Me Look at Me (WT518)
Most days Ross and I enjoy a walk together, usually in the morning or middle of the day. Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and although the temperature was only 13 degrees Celsius, we felt warm with the heat of the sun. We came upon a bridge over the Lachlan River in New Norfolk, Tasmania. The bridge was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. As we neared the bridge we saw a young man walking towards us. He was a large man. In fact, he took up most of the width of the bridge, leaving no room to pass. We waited politely for him to cross. Both Ross and I...
Keeping Yourself Accountable (WT517)
This week, we started our first virtual LIVE online Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience. I was so thrilled and delighted that the group passed their very first homework assignment. “Big Deal”, you might be thinking. Yes it is a big deal. It’s a very big deal. In over 10 years of facilitating this experience, there have only been about 3 or 4 groups that have actually passed some of the homework and only one group that passed ALL of the homework activities. By doing the homework, participants learn what it means to be both a member of a team and to lead a team. One of the key...
What’s Your Pillow Talk? (WT516)
The past few weeks, I’ve been focussing on my business and digging deeper into who it is I serve and how I can help, and of course, that means digging into the language I use to help my ideal customers identify themselves. I was first introduced to the concept of Pillow Talk by Lisa Sasevich. Pillow talk is different to marketing speak from marketers and copywriters. Pillow Talk is the language your customers speak. It’s what they say to each other when they are laying in bed talking to each other. For example, “Honey, I don’t know how we’re going to pay the mortgage this month. I...
Feedback – Giving and Receiving (WT515)
Firstly, a warm welcome to our new Weekly Thoughts readers. I’m so thrilled to write to you each week. I trust you’ll find the messages helpful, inspiring and educative. We’ve been going almost 10 years and I’m so grateful for all our readers. Thanks for showing up. This week, we’re talking about being open to both giving and receiving feedback. I was coaching with a client this week, and we'd almost finished the call when he mentioned one last topic. I was looking at the time and knew that if mentioned the thoughts I had, we would definitely go over time and I also had a presentation...
When Someone Else Believes in You (WT514)
At times, we don’t always believe in ourselves and this can hold us back from achieving our full potential. I remember years ago, when Ross’ supervisor was promoted, he wanted to nominate Ross to take over his position. At first Ross was hesitant. “No thanks. I just want to do my work. I don’t want to supervise anyone. I’m not management material,” he protested. With a little encouragement from me, he reluctantly took the role. When he began, he had few leadership skills and zero experience. He joined one of my Leading Yourself and Leading Others experiences and immediately started...
If It Doesn’t Feel Good… (WT513)
Firstly, a big shout out to John Lizzio for correcting my reference to Steven Covey’s story about sharpening the saw in last week’s thought. “In Covey’s story of the two lumberjacks, one worked through. The other sharpened his saw for 10 minutes each hour. And cut more.” Thank you, John. This week I’d like to look at your feelings. Your feelings or our emotional guidance system can signal to us that our thinking is off. Here’s an example. I recently provided some online training for clients. At the end of the training, I collapsed back in my seat and started to criticize myself. “Oh, that...
Are You Getting What You Wanted? (WT511)
With all the doom and gloom, and fear and stress around COVID-19 at the moment, I’ve been fascinated to see that many of my clients are actually manifesting what they want. Have a look back over the past year or so and recall the things that you said you wanted to be, do, have or feel and see if some of them haven’t actually manifested through COVID-19. Here are some examples to show you what I mean: 12 months ago, I said I wanted an online business. Boom! Overnight a few weeks ago that’s what I got. All of my face to face consultations and training events were cancelled. Online business...
Be the Client (WT510)
If you’re struggling in business right now, be the client you want to attract. This was something I learned years ago from Lisa Sasevich. What does it mean? It means showing up how you want your clients to show up. For example, paying your bills on time. If you want your clients to pay their bills on time, pay your bills on time. If you want your clients to respect you, respect your suppliers. If you want your clients to show up and invest, show up and invest. Now more than ever, we are being tested to walk our talk. Our integrity is on the line. Here’s what I’d like you to do. Make a list...