Are You a Motivator?

Dear Friend,   Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great. ~Mark Twain     Last week we discussed the notion of self - motivation. This week we are going to explore how to motivate those around us.   Motivation is extremely personalized. Therefore, what motivates one person is not guaranteed to motivate another. So as we seek to motivate others we need to explore what makes them tick. And perhaps the easiest way to find out is to ask your team directly what motivates them. Under your "Make It Happen" challenge for this week you will find four questions to help you tap into what motivates a particular individual.   While each individual is different there are some common tips that will lead you to strong and powerful leadership! Some strategies that will help you motivate those around you:   10 Tips To Be a Motivator Lead by example -When you talk the talk...make sure you walk the walk. Lead with a positive attitude - Remember Attitude is Everything! Consider the individual - Use the questions below to help you understand each individual on your team. Value your team - Show those around you that you care about and value them. Celebrate individual and team successes - Take time to celebrate together - it builds a sense of community. Be open to suggestions - Create an open environment where feedback is valued. Listen - Embrace open communication - ask questions and shut up! Explain the what and why of change - When change comes - take time to communicate with those on your team. Uncover new talents - Create an environment where people can try new things and showcase existing talents. Be authentic! - Who you are is why you became a manager - don't forget to be human and be yourself always!  Consider how you can use these 10 tips to be a leader for those around you. How can you integrate these tips into your leadership style? Make It Happen   Four questions to ask those you need to motivate: What would you like more of in your job? What would you like less of in your job? What motivates you to succeed? What can I do to help you succeed? Allow these questions to begin an open dialogue between you and your team members.   Over the next week focus on how you impact those around you. Take time to consciously be a motivator. If you are up for an extra challenge, select one of the 10 tips above to focus on over the next week!

Blessings to you!

Are You Motivated?

Dear Friend,

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice!

~Wayne Dyer

This week is the first in a two part series on motivation. This week we will focus on self-motivation - what it takes to get us amped up. Next week we will turn to motivating staff and those around us and we'll explore the question, "How can you be a Motivator!"

To begin we must answer the question, What in the world is motivation? Motivation is the drive - the fire that gets us inspired and pumped up to charge after a specific goal. However, what specifically motivates us is quite personal. Ultimately, motivation means different things to each of us. Motivation plays an important role in our life because it helps us to:

• Achieve Goals
• Gain a Positive Perspective
• Create Power to Change
• Build Self-Esteem
• Manage Our Development

When we are motivated, we work harder are more productive and achieve results more rapidly.

Make It Happen

Do you have a large goal that you want to get excited about pursuing? If yes, then it sounds like you could benefit from some motivation! Because we are each unique individuals there is no single motivating factor for everyone. Therefore a great way to uncover what specifically motivates you is to examine what has worked in the past.

• Think back to a large goal that you accomplished in the past...something that you were extremely proud of.
• What was it, really, that motivated you to achieve this goal?

Now that you've seen what has worked for you in the past, take some time to explore this large goal of yours and what motivating factors you need - internal and external to achieve the goal. Make time this week to uncover the answers to the following questions. These six questions will kick-start YOU into tapping into YOUR unique motivating factors to achieve YOUR goals!

1. Why is this goal really, really important to me - right now?
2. What do I need to do to achieve this goal?
3. What am I willing to do to achieve this goal?
4. What support structure do I have in place to reach this goal?
5. What is my plan? (Take time to build out a detailed plan.)
6. How will I know I've achieved this goal?

Blessings to you as you look inside for motivation and inspiration to achieve your goals!

The Virtuous Life - Order

POWERFUL LIVING, POWERFUL YOU

The Virtuous Life - Order

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Dear Friend,

"Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance"-Epicurus

We meet again this week to understand and apply Benjamin Franklin's virtue of order. Franklin states to us that there should be a place and time for everything. To better understand where we can improve we must examine our lives clearly.

Areas to examine might include:

• Personal (Spiritual life, Significant other, Children, Parents, Siblings, Friends)
• Professional (Boss, Employees, Colleagues, Clients)
• Leisure (Vacation, Volunteer, Exercise, Hobbies)
• Physical Space (Home, Office, Car)

Lack of order leads to a lack of connectedness to who we are, who we want to be, what we are doing, and what we want to be doing. Order increases our effectiveness and our productivity. Order also enhances the meaning of the experiences in our lives. Having boundaries enables us to prioritize, plan, and fulfill our obligations as well as our dreams. Can you imagine what Franklin would do if he saw us (technology constraints aside):

• Eating while driving
• E-mailing from a cocktail party
• Dining with friends while talking on the cell phone
• Having quality family time in front of the TV
• Passing up our vacation time
• Renting a storage unit to store things that don't fit into our home

Might we be able to regain order in our lives by doing any of the following?

• Eating dinner at the table with no TV, and perhaps even some music or candles
• Organizing our "junk" drawer, closet, or room
• Answering the telephone when it is convenient, not simply because it rings - this is why we have answering machines, isn't it?
• Sitting, having meaningful conversation without distractions
• Scheduling quiet time into our day
• Prioritizing our "to-do's" in such a way that we can accomplish them
• Driving with our full attention on the road

How might you translate order into your life? Do any of the suggestions above resonate for you? If so, which ones? How and when might you apply them to your life? Let's challenge ourselves to add boundaries to our lives and to take these modern conveniences and use them - not abuse them.

Take Action Challenge: The challenge this week is to add order to your life. Be creative find some ways to embrace order of both your time and your space. Look at the suggestions above and see which resonate. My request is that you will add some order to one area of your life - this may be a closet, it may be eating meals with attention, or it may even be scheduling an afternoon for yourself having your only goal be relaxation. Think about what order you need in your life right now and take the steps to add it, so that you may enjoy that which you already have more fully. All the best to you,

Margaret.

P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, this fall Margaret's first book on powerful living will be available for pre-order. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved.