Canadian Small Business Women

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Simple Steps to Help You Achieve Your Goals This Year!

yvonne

 

Foremost on our minds at the start of a new year is making one type of change or other in order to help us achieve our goals; get better at something, be healthier, life or career goals, and more.

I’d like to introduce you the ADKAR by Prosci. ADKAR ​is most commonly used in organisations as a Change Management tool to manage change in business processes, technology etc. However, it can also be a fantastic tool to apply in personal change situations.

Here is one way we can apply ADKAR to Personal Change

Awareness – Start with recognising and being aware that your current situation needs to change i.e. your job or role, need to get healthier or lose weight, or improve your relationships.

Desire – Have a strong desire to want and see your goals become reality. By having a strong ‘why’ on your need to change, this becomes the motivation and driving force to create and maintain the momentum you need i.e. having a strong desire to increase your income so as to care for your family or pay-off your debts, or a need for strong inner or spiritual fulfillment, or job satisfaction

Knowledge – This requires equipping yourself with the knowledge and information needed to help you change and be successful with your desires and goals. i.e. attending career or health seminars, reading books or online blogs, networking event and communities

Ability – Building the skills and behaviours that will help you be successful with the desired change. i.e. attending training, receiving coaching, on-hands learning and practice

Reinforce – Create the right environment and support system to help you make the change stick and sustainable. i.e. join support groups, get an accountability partner, get a mentor, join professional associations

What are your strategies for personal change? Have you used the ADKAR approach or any other formal methodologies to implement personal change? Please share your personal experience and tips.

 

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help them implement the change they want and achieve their goals.

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on how to get the results you want, visit www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset

She can be reached at:  www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc  . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc . www.youtube.com/user/ChangeYouWantTV

Standing Alone

yvonne

I was about to send some information I stumbled across to a friend that I thought would surely help them with a situation they were experiencing and lift their mood, and just before I hit the send button it occurred to me that I had been doing the same thing for the last couple of years… always quick to send unsolicited tidbits and give advice where I had not been asked even though it was with best intentions.

At the point of hesitation, I felt a nudge (what I call the spirit) say to me ‘sometimes you have to let people help themselves’. In that second I was reminded that if we continue to spoon-feed our kids, friends, colleagues and even clients with the answers and not let them find it for themselves, we rob them of the opportunity to build the required muscles that help them to stand strong and successfully move forward in finding lasting success.

When we take the bold step to find the way and answers we need, we empower ourselves to find true and lasting success. We may struggle, stumble and fall at the beginning, but every fall has the ability to make us stronger as we learn from our mistakes and fail forward!

How do you feel when given unsolicited help or advice? Do you help or give advice without being asked? How do you know when to give unsolicited help or advice or not?

Comment below. Would love to hear your thoughts.

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on Changing your Mindset for greater results, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help implement change they want and achieve their goals.   

She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

Your Mindset: Why It Matters

yvonne

Do you want to take your outcomes from Good to Great? Perhaps you are struggling to achieve your goals or execute your plans, and you feel this is because of procrastination, lack of finances or resources, etc. In this very short video, I talk about mindset, why it’s usually the reason we are not able to achieve our goals, and why it matters.

 

 

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to provide the tools and help implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

 

 

When The Going Gets Tough… What Next?

yvonne

 

When the going gets tough as an entrepreneur…

When you’ve done all you know to do. When your inner circle of strong supporters have encouraged you. When you’ve repeated all of your affirmations to stay motivated… what next? Perhaps you need to go back to the very beginning. The beginning being the dream and vision of ‘Why’ you started in the first place.

Many years ago when I decided to get an MBA, I remember attending my first semester and speaking with other students who seemed so far ahead of me on the pre-assignments and required readings, and it made me feel “Wow, can I catch up?”. I actually attended the first semester with the intention of asking to defer, but the administrator suggested I give it some time and see how I feel before making a concrete decision. I did give it some time, and found myself continuing with the programme. I have to admit that my plans to continue and not defer were bolstered by a fellow student who had encouraged me saying we had it in ‘us’ and would succeed one way or the other. So hey, I continued.

However, one thing I learnt and has stuck with me through my MBA (and life now) is that I always need to have a clear picture of my ‘Why’ before me. And for all those tough times I faced or was remotely tempted to throw in the towel during the programme, it was always that picture of my ‘Why’ that kept me going, and of course many strong hazelnut lattes!

Believe me when I say there were a few tough moments juggling the MBA with a full-time job, as well as a very challenging dissertation supervisor (to say the least), who I later found out was dealing with a personal crisis, which was in turn being taken out on me. Upon graduation at the end of the three-year programme, a few of my colleagues whom we started together had dropped out, deferred the program or were struggling to complete it for one reason or the other. All I can say is I was thankful to God, and having the picture of my strong ‘Why’ always before me.

Your strong why is that dream, vision or goal that you have clearly defined and desire to see it come to fruition. In John Maxwell’s ‘Put Your Dream to the Test’, he says that “If you can see your dream clearly – and keep it in front of you continually – it will help you to understand what you must sacrifice and what you must dedicate yourself to in order keep moving forward”.

Some guarantees on our journey to living our dreams and achieving our goals is that we will face challenges and setbacks, and that voice in our minds that keep asking us ‘why bother?’, quietly challenging us to quit and play it safe. It is at those times we will need to remind ourselves of our strong ‘Why’ amongst all the other strategies that keep us on track when the going gets tough. You are not allowed to play it safe “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for” – John A. Shedd. You can’t afford to play it safe!

When the going gets tough, we keep going because our dreams speak louder, clearer and stronger, and remind us of ‘Why’.

Confused about what you need to do to start a business or take it to the next level? Need a to ensure you are on track with building your business? Download my Free “Business Start-up Checklist” to help you get started now and keep on track. http://bit.ly/bzchlist

 

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Speaker & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc . www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV