Relax and Enjoy It

Posted on November 25, 2014 by MarleneMB

Learning to drive at an early age in New York City was a challenge. Unfortunately, I picked up the bad habit of being an aggressive driver. I can be one of the calmest folks you meet until I get behind a steering wheel! It took me a while to learn to relax and enjoy the ride instead.

Many of us are hitting the road to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving Holiday in the USA. If you driving to your destination, I encourage you to relax and enjoy the ride.

Here are a few tricks I’ve learned:

Audiobooks: It is amazing how time flies by when I listen to audiobooks. I love mystery stories, especially ones that keep me at the edge of my seat. Sometimes I get to where I’m going and I sit in the car just to hear the ending!

Educational CDs or Podcasts: Driving gives you a great opportunity to improve your knowledge by listening to CDs share valuable information with you. Listening the experts in my field teaches me ways to make improvements in my business. They also generate new ideas that I may implement in my workshops.

Music:
There is no way that I feel aggressive when I’m listening to Neil Diamond, Luther Vandross or my faith based songs. But if I hear certain Rock, Reggae or Rap music…Uh oh! I leave these type of music for when I’m out of the car!

Silence: There are times when I roll up the windows and simply enjoy the silence. I use this time to meditate and reflect on something that I want to better understand or master.

Leave Early: Heading out on the road with more than enough time to get to my destination, makes it less stressful for me. I don’t like being late; therefore, it makes sense for me to get a good head start to avoid being late.

Let the other guy or gal go by: If someone is riding my bumper, I no longer feel the need to let the New Yorker Marlene out! I just move over to the other lane and give them room…I also say a silent prayer for them and the rest of us on the road.

Now, I’m not saying that I have mastered being a great driver, but the more I practice these methods, the more I’m enjoying the drive. I hope these tips help you on your next drive. Drive safely!

If you don’t have a mentor or coach, learn about finding great ones. Pick up a copy of my book Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters.

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Until next time, keep Living a Diamond Life with much gratitude on Timeless Tuesday!

Wisdom Wednesday – Leadership by Fear

Posted on November 12, 2014 by MarleneMB

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” ~ Kenneth Blanchard

Have you ever had a leader that led by fear? Throughout my career, I encountered a few managers/leaders that led their teams by bullying, screaming and intimidation. What I observed is that the results were not positive ones.

Some of the team members would lie to them. They would say what the leader wanted to hear. Instead of telling the truth, they fabricated stories in order to avoid the backlash from this person. Or the team member would not go above and beyond what was required of him or her. He would simple do just enough to keep his job. This often resulted in poor performance of the team, marginal productivity and sometimes low sales results.

Fortunately for me, these types of supposed leaders were few and far between. A majority of the leaders I had the pleasure of working with allowed their employees/followers to grow. These leaders:

1) Shared the visions and goals of the teams

2) Outlined roles and responsibilities of each team member

3) Encouraged them to think outside the box

4) Showed them respect

5) Empowered them to get the job done

One of my managers/mentors led us in this fashion. The results he got were: team members were willing to work longer if necessary; helped other team members to get the tasks done; were more loyal to the manager and the company.

The managers/leaders that by fear often fell from grace. They were either fired or demoted, because of the bad results they attained from using intimidation instead of positive influence.

Many of us are called to lead. Practice using your power of persuasion, sharing your vision and empowering your followers to reach new heights. This is part of Living a Diamond Life, a Life of Purpose on Wisdom Wednesday.

Get your copy of Live a Diamond Life, Live a Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters, today. Find out how my mentors and coaches helped me to be a better person, and how to apply these principles to your life.

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Invincible Monday – Check Yourself

Posted on October 20, 2014 by MarleneMB

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” ~ Jesse Owens

Self-discipline can be one of the hardest habits to form. Yet it is one of the keys to successful achieving one’s dreams. The word “discipline” derives from the Latin word “disciplina” meaning to teaching, learning. But “discipline” is more closely associated with punishment. Perhaps this association has made it hard for us to implement self-discipline in our lives. For to do so, may be viewed as punishing ourselves in our minds.

I’m working on changing my view of self-discipline from one of self-punishment to one of self-reward. In order to achieve my goals, as Jesse Owens’ quote points out, I need to practice self-discipline. It is far easier for me to put off writing an article, or to not make a phone call that opens doors to another speaking opportunity. But taking those easy route will get me no closer to achieving my dream of sharing my message with others.

Each time I am tempted to go the easy route by avoiding applying self-discipline in my life, I have to check myself. Why am I avoiding taking action that would help lead to my success? What pain am I avoiding? Is it real? What is the worse that could happen if I take action? What is the worse that would happen; if I don’t? A majority of the time, the answer is self-disciplining myself brings about positive outcomes.

My friends and associates, Check Yourself to ensure that you maintain your journey to success and being a great leader by applying self-discipline. It is a major key to Living Your Diamond Life, Your Life of Purpose!

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Invincible Monday – Forget the Clouds

Posted on October 13, 2014 by MarleneMB

Looking out the window this morning, I saw large black clouds hovering over the landscape. They seemed pregnant with water waiting to burst raindrops upon us. At first, I was discouraged because I had my heart set on an early morning bike ride. This is part of my exercise regime to get my Diamond week off to a great start on Invincible Monday.

Then, I thought: “I’m not going to let some clouds ruin the pleasure of riding my bike and keeping healthy!” I grabbed my helmet and wheeled the bike outside. As I peddled the miles away, I felt the breeze mixed in with a few sprinkles. It was exhilarating. After a forty-minute ride, I headed home with a sense of accomplishment. The clouds didn’t pour out their content on me during the ride.

If I had allowed the first sight of the clouds to deter me from achieving one of my goals this morning, I wouldn’t experience that winning feeling I had from my ride. The lesson for today is to not let perceived obstacles keep you from reaching your goals. Forget the Clouds. Ride through, around or over them! Be determine to come out on the winning side!

Start your week off with an Inspirational Invincible Monday!

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Invincible Monday – Overwhelmed? Delegate.

Posted on September 22, 2014 by MarleneMB

Are you feeling overwhelmed as though there is not enough time to get it all done? Stop to see what you may be doing or not doing to leave you feeling this way. The times that I have felt overwhelmed were ones when I may be trying to do everything myself.

The “If you want it done right, do it yourself” mantra may leave you trying to do too many things at once. Or it may put you in an area that you are not your strongest . Throughout my years as a manger or project leader, I learned that one must learn to delegate some of the workload to others, especially in the areas where you are the weakest. You cannot be the expert in everything.

Find someone who is strong in that field that you have little knowledge or passion for it. Share detailed information of what is required to accomplish the task with him or her. Give timelines of when you need it. Agree upon when you will share key milestones until the project is completed. This will free you up to do what you do best. John Maxwell, the international author and speaker, often states that we do our best when we stay in the area where we are the strongest.

Let go of feeling overwhelmed. Release some of the control to others. The team approach can relieve some of the burden you carry. This is a great way to become more invincible. Learn to delegate.

Now go out an have an Invincible Monday! Live a Diamond Life. Live a Life of Purpose!

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