Today’s success tip comes from Pip McKay.

Pip became a trainer of NLP, running programs through her company Evolve Now! Mind Institute. From her years of experience coaching and training Pip pioneered a new technique called Matrix Therapies that has gained widespread popularity.

What have you found to be the best methods or strategies for keeping motivated and focused?

* I believe that doing what you love is the key to staying motivated. When you love something you don’t have to motivate yourself because you simply want to do it. If you have found your purpose and don’t feel motivated, then there is some kind of block that needs to be cleared. I don’t even like the idea of having to ‘get motivated’, it seems like too much hard work. I’d rather do what I love or clear a block to what I want.

* Having said that, in every business there are certain tasks that although boring, are important. In these situations I always break the task down into smaller sections so I can get a sense of closure for each. This also allows me to complete more interesting tasks in between. Or I will give myself a short timeframe to complete it in so that I am racing the clock and getting it out of the way more quickly. Inertia is always greatest at the beginning of a task, so starting with small, easy steps helps overcome that initial inertia and the rest of the task takes on a momentum of its own.

* Sometimes a lack of motivation is simply exhaustion. To remain motivated I think it is important to balance your lifestyle, take breaks, eat well and have holidays. People often use the term, ‘mind over matter’ to bully themselves into becoming a workaholic. When we work in cooperation with our body and emotions we create balance and wellbeing and in these circumstances motivation is natural.

That’s it for this week. I wish you all the best for this coming week.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Hi friends

I find I struggle with who I am and with the things that I desire to accomplish in my life!

Do you ever find that you put off doing something because you are afraid?
Perhaps you don’t know exactly how to do something or what the outcome may be.

Well I struggle with this problem!

I know that I want to be a different person in 6 months time to who I am today! I desire to be more confident, more focused, making a bigger impact for good in the world, improving and changing not only my life, but also the lives of others.

I hope that we can go on this journey together - growing and changing the world for good!!!

Until next time.

Your Friend in Success and Life

Leanne Annett

Remember: *** True nobility is not about being better than someone else, it’s about being better than you used to be. ***

Today’s success tip comes from Avril Henry.

In 2006, Avril won the prestigious Lifetime Achievement in Human Resources Award at the Australian HR Awards. She has been a finalist in the Best HR Director and Sydney Business Review Businesswoman of the Year awards, and nominated for Telstra Business Woman of the Year on four occasions. She now works in Sydney and owns AH Revelations. Avril continues to help and inspire 100’s of business owners every year.

You are now an expert in understanding and leading people from Generations X and Y. Can you share with us some of their characteristics?

First of all, one of the important differences between the older generations - Veterans and Baby Boomers - and the two younger generations - X and Y - is that X and Y do not define themselves by what they do for a job. They will change their careers and jobs multiple times, be self-employed, work overseas at least once and re-skill themselves on a regular basis.

This is quite different to the older generations who believed in the concept of a ‘job for life’ and long-term loyalty to one profession and one employer. This loyalty does not exist in the minds and hearts of Generations X and Y who saw their parents’ loyalty to the organisation repaid with redundancies and downsizing.

Generation X tends to be the more sceptical generation, whereas Y is highly optimistic - but both generations believe in managing their own careers. They are better educated and more multi-skilled than previous generations. They believe that education and having experience in different disciplines is a greater form of job security as it makes them more employable.

Both these generations believe in the concept of ‘working to live’, rather than ‘living to work’. They have observed the break down of marriages and relationships from their parents and are not willing to sacrifice relationships for work and career progression.

Generation X women are getting married and having children later, believing it is important to establish a career before having a family. They believe this gives them more financial security and greater bargaining power when they want to return to work, because they are in a more senior position when they go on maternity leave.

Unlike previous generations, they are not willing to do jobs they hate or work for bosses who they do not respect. They are risk takers and will leave a job or boss they don’t like without something else to go to, much to the dismay of their more conservative and security-conscious parents.

If you want more great tips like this one, check back again next week.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Today’s success tip comes from Chris Rewell.

Chris Rewell is Australia’s leading image professional with 24 years experience in the business of image. She has over 20,000 corporate, community and individual clients and has featured in the media numerous times.

What are your top eight image tips for women?

1. Wear your ‘best colours’. You’ll look healthier and younger and feel fabulous rather than looking tired and old. The compliments you will receive will pep you up, especially if you are having one of those ‘tired and old’ days.

2. Wear clothing lines congruent with your bodyline. Your clothing will look like a natural extension of you rather than something a friend passed on.

3. Buy the best quality clothing you can afford in neutral tones that suit you. Then acquire appropriate fashion colours to update your wardrobe seasonally.

4. Buy ‘quality’ costume jewellery (if you are not able to purchase the real thing) and quality accessories seasonally to update your outfits.

5. Keep seasonal stories consistent. Cords and tweeds don’t generally mix with dressy fabrics such as satin and silk. However, if you choose to follow mixed stories, think the outfit through, from your hairstyle to your shoes, so that you pull it together to achieve the real thing and not a terrible faux pas.

6. Grooming is essential. Hair, hands, skin and make-up all need to be appropriately considered.

7. Your body is the basis of your physical presence. Take care of it, respect it and dress it as if you love it, especially when you are ‘between weights’ and biding time for your ‘real weight’ to arrive.

8. Get to know your body and love it. You have to live in it for a long time.

What are your top eight image tips for men?

1. Wear your ‘best colours’. You’ll look healthy and strong rather than burnt out and over-worked.

2. Wear clothing lines congruent with your bodyline. Your clothing should look like a natural extension of you. Clothing appropriate to your bodyline will compliment your presence rather than being a distraction or sabotaging your appearance.

3. Buy the best ‘quality’ clothing you can afford in neutral tones that suit you. Seasonally acquire shirts, ties and accessories to update your wardrobe.

4. Know your body. Are you long in the torso and short in the legs, or vice versa, or is your body balanced? Are you high waisted? Are your arms short and your neck long? Are your shoulders tapered or square? In order to buy the right shirts, jackets or suits you need to know your body.

5. Buy ‘quality’ clothing. Quality is an investment in the future and the result of intelligent effort. Find a quality menswear store and create a relationship with the staff. Quality stores generally have experienced and well-trained people to assist you.

6. The objective is to project an image of substance and presence without others realising the impact that your clothes are contributing. The man should be seen, not the clothing.

7. Immaculate grooming is essential and should be complemented with a strong, straight posture.

8. Have a plan - build a wardrobe, not a collection of individual outfits.

For more great tips, check in next week.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Today’s success tip comes from Andrew May.

After he founded Good Health Solutions, which is now Australia’s largest corporate health and wellbeing consultancy, Andrew continued to work with professional athletes and is now considered one of Australia’s leading experts on performance.

What are your seven steps for successful goal-setting?

1. Ask yourself the right questions - what do you want and why do you want to achieve it? How much does it really mean to you? What are the benefits of achieving the goal? Who will be affected? Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal?

2. Involve significant others - don’t keep your goals to yourself. Enlist the support of your partner, family, friends and colleagues. This keeps you accountable, while at the same time forming a support group to keep you on track.

3. Get anchored - write your goals down on a sheet of paper, simplify them into point form and then display them somewhere you can view them regularly - your diary, office, car, even on the back of the toilet door.

4. Small bites - George Miller, a 1950s psychologist, believed that we can only deal with seven bits of information at any one time. Any more than this and we need to group things into more memorable, manageable chunks. So when you create your master plan for the New Year, keep goals to a manageable number and group similar areas.

5. Set a plan - after you have written down your specific goals, the next step is to work out a specific plan. Identify the key steps you need to take toward accomplishing your goals and assign specific dates for their achievement.

6. Project the future - review your goals at least every seven days (every day is ideal) - and don’t leave it for another year. This helps activate the Reticular Activating System (RAS). The RAS is an inbuilt goal-setting device that tracks us toward our target and filters the type of information we let into our internal system. Spend time thinking about what it will be like once you have successfully achieved your goals. How are you going to feel? We really do become what we think!

7. Be realistic and reward yourself along the way - it is important to reward yourself along the way as you tick off your achievements. Give yourself a pat on the back for sticking to the process.

And remember, humans make mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up if you lose focus. If you find yourself breaking resolutions or experiencing distractions, sit down and go through the goal-setting process again, starting from step one.

If you enjoyed this week’s success tip, make sure to check back for next week’s installment.

Until then,

Allan Poole