All of us encounter a critical bus stop sometime in our lives.

B- Building

U- Unbelievable

S- Skills

through 

S- Surviving

T- Testing

O- Outlasting

P- Performing

In THE OTHER AMERICA, the defining year remains 1931--a year when more than one fourth of all American were ill clad, ill fed and ill housed. That's surviviving.

In THE OTHER AMERICA, there are continual layoffs, no affirmative action or equal opportunity, no health insurance and no unemployment insurance. That's testing.

In THE OTHER AMERICA. there are endless challenges to be overcome-- aptitude testing to exclude, overpriced courses and training and rigid and frequent certification requirements. That is outlasting.

In THE OTHER AMERICA, one's best is never good enough. New data skills, new regulations and rules and new circles of friends must be endlessly mastered. Now that's performing.

But the proud, the fe

[Read More]

We have two cats that provide endless hours of entertainment.  The oldest, Sundae, is a female calico who is definitely the Alpha over her partner, Max, a male tabby.  Sundae's entire mission in life is to be loved, and while she is not the sharpest tool in the shed, she usually reaches her goal.

Recently my husband Larry had rotator cuff surgery and was confined to the couch for a few days - this definitely stirred interest as something "amiss" for the cats.  They are not accustomed to see him still for so long.  Sundae, in her mission for affection, called dibbs on Larry's lap, and proceeded to make herself comfortable.  When Larry did not respond to her royal presence by petting her, Sundae nudged or licked his hand, causing Larry to move it.  Undeterred, Sundae repositioned herself and nudged again.

This went on for several minutes until, exasperated, Larry finally bestowed the affection Sundae sought.  As I witnessed th

[Read More]

Just imagine working for the imaginary Cooper Sterling Advertising Agency? A Creative Director is hiding a past life that started when he assumed the identity of a commanding officer who was killed next to him in a Korean War battlefield incident. A sex obsessed senior partner has suffered a heart attack while indulging in a tryst on company premises. Publication of an article/book by one of the copywriters is greeted by ridicule and personal put downs by fellow employees.  An arrogant junior employee who undermines his boss is retained on staff because of the importance of his family's connections.

Gossip and scandal seem to run the Cooper Sterling Company. The quality of product and financial health of this company seem to be of secondary importance. Is it any wonder that an employee who feels passed over has started to search for ways to bring down his boss (and perhaps the company?)

During the Vietnam war 120 officers were

[Read More]

I am the victim of a hovering parent. At times, it seems that almost nothing I do is right according to my mother. My decision-making is questioned in regards to my parenting skills, my relationships and even how I keep my home. She means well but she can be a bit overbearing at times. I used to get rather frustrated and resentful of her constant nitpicking but through continual personal development, I have learned how to deal with her. Our relationship has drastically improved since I have changed the way I respond to her. Since I know I am not alone, I thought I would share how I manage her helicopter parenting.

The first thing I did was to realize that she has good intentions. From the time we are conceived our parents begin to map out our lives. They dream about what we will look like, how we will act, what we will be when we grow up, who we will marry, where we will live and how many children we will have. Everything they do from that point out is geared toward molding us

[Read More]

One of the primary complaints I hear from my coaching clients is that they are unhappy in their professions.  Too often, after further exploration of the source of this unhappiness, it is revealed that these individuals did not pursue their current career paths by their own conscious choice but rather to appease their parents.  It seems that parental influence plays a major role in whether or not one is capable of pursuing their dreams.

This is not a phenomenon unique to life coaching clients.  My mother, an esthetics and cosmetology instructor, is often surprised by the varying backgrounds that make up her class compositions.  She ponders why at least half of her students possess experience and post-doctoral degrees in the fields of Computer Science, Healthcare or Law and yet are so eager to start up vocational training in the beauty field.  The answer is almost always the same; the parents are to blame.

Socioeconomic concerns make it easy for parents

[Read More]

Is time running out for you?  Inbox full?  Flagged messages exceeding the limit?  Let's talk time, and how to manage yours efficiently - leaving adequate time for balance in our life.  I recently spoke to a group of entrepreneurial multi-tasking women business leaders, and the common theme was time and how to increase the number of hours in the day to make things work.  It is a challenge that we all face - and when confronted, can change our lives.

 

In her groundbreaking book, Never Check Email First in the Morning, time management diva Julie Morgenstern states that email is "nothing but interruptions and uninvited distractions" and the "biggest time-suck of the modern work day."  We all probably agree with that assessment at some point during our day...and yet, email is definitely a mode of communication that is here to stay.

Many clients complain that email creates a false sense of urgency by the sender.  We assume that because our message can be sent instantaneously, it is received with the same response - surely people are awaiting our every message and request!  In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey urges us to distinguish between important and urgent; he claims that a truly important task should never traded with an urgent one.  By responding only to urgent requests, (think emails) we

[Read More]

Have you ever stared at your email, inbox or desk in despair?  The reality of our work day is that we all have more work than is physically, humanly possible.  What about those wonderful electronics that are supposed to create a paperless, streamlined environment?  Instead, they create a mountain of work, follow-up and anxiety attacks.  NY Times best-selling author and organizational expert Julie Morgenstern declares, "No matter what strategies we use, we will never - any of us - get to the bottom of our to-do lists in our lifetime."  That's certainly not what your organization wants to hear.  What's an employee or manager to do?

Simple - take back your life with intuitive and innovative productivity tools.  It may mean trying techniques that at first feel awkward but reward you with strong results...For example, most people tend to be reactive vs. proactive: we allow our tasks to shape our agenda instead of evaluating the importa

[Read More]

Yes, that's right, you read that correctly. I am wishing you a happy tax season! If you can't fathom why, here is a little bit of prosperity wisdom to take the stress and worry out of this annual occasion!

In this season of giving ... to our government, I like to say that your bank account - whether it be personal or business - is like a living, breathing organism - what goes in must come back out. This keeps it healthy, cycling naturally and functioning properly.

However, instead of seeing it as a natural flow, most of us, after paying our taxes, have a tendency to contract and withhold - financially as well as physically. In other words, we see the big tax bill, feel the fear, anxiety or concern and then decide to pull back, watch our spending or limit ourselves and others over the next few months to make up for it. We lose all sense of trust or connection to the knowing that there will be more where that came from - more money, I mean!

All of this comes from a scarcity mentality driven by fear. You may perceive it as something else - "reality," responsibility, circumstances. It isn't. It is simply fear. And let's really get down to it. Your reality is what you make it. So, do you want your reality to be a relationship with money driven by fear? If your reality is what you make it, what might you make it instead?

Remember, your bank account is like a living organism - what you take in must also cycle back out, just like breathing. So, you can shift your current money reality right now by looking at it this way - the more you cycled out - exhaled, the more room you are making to take in a bigger breath the next time.

So this tax season ... if you owed, you earned. If you owed big, you earned bigger!

Just take a moment to let that idea really sink in.

Now, regardless of your opinion about taxes, having to pay them and how our government chooses to spend these funds, money is simply an energy, an energy that responds to how we feel about it.

If you grumble or feel fear or experience lack or scarcity, that is the vibration you are creating around money and that is what you will attract. What would you prefer to attract? I know what I prefer and, in that spirit, I always write "Thank You!" on every check I write to the state and the federal government each year. (I will always wonder what the reaction is to this little expression of appreciation on the other end!)

You see, I choose to relate to my taxes as a privilege for receiving so much prosperity rather than a necessary evil or consequence for having earned money. I choose to come from and focus on gratitude. Your reality is what you make it and what you put your focus
on E - X - P - A - N - D - S!

So don't fret the taxes. They are a part of life, a part of the bigger picture and natural cycle of things. See this time of year as a celebration of what you've accomplished, a financial Spring cleaning of sorts and a preparation - a making room for - the arrival of the ever-increasing prosperity and abundance that is now coming your way!

So, Happy Tax Season!

____________________________

Hillary Harris is a Prosperity Coach, Intuitive Strategist and Transformational Speaker with over 10 years as a catalyst for inspiring people toward their dreams, illuminating their passions and purpose, and a model for attracting and achieving abundance and success ... effortlessly! 

For more information about how you can hire Hillary to speak for your organization or event, facilitate your training or coach you to deeper awareness and greater heights, contact MVP Seminars.

Networking is a method that is used to build relationships.  These relationships could be with classmates, co-workers, business partners, vendors, service providers and even family.  We often attend family reunions where we meet new and distant relations.  This is an excellent vehicle for networking.  Networking is the process of discovering and using connections between people.  Many of these connections actually stem from already established friendships and business relations.  Networking is the ability to explore all of your relationships and utilize them to help you to move closer to your long-term goals.

Think of a computer network.  You are the central server.  Whenever you come across another server with information you wish to access, you need to build a connection with routers and cabling to reach the information contained on that server's hard drive.  The router is the method or the person who referred you to the new server and the cables are the relationship that was built between you and the new server in order to easily access that information.

Why is networking so important?  Have you ever heard the phrase, "it's not what you know, it's who you know".  Truer words were never spoken.  By building positive relationships with a variety of people both in and out of your chosen career field, you may find a whole world of new opportunities that you can begin to explore.  Networking is probably the most important skillset you can possess in your career, business and life in general.  Networking allows you access to people and resources that you may not otherwise have had prior contact with.  Through the proper use of networking skills, you will be in a position to weave your way through the intricate infrastructure of corporate America.  For professional women, this could mean that the infamous "glass ceiling" could literally disappear.  Your career options become limitless and getting your foot in the door becomes effortless.

Networking makes you visible to potential employers, your current management and other business connections.  If you have a job where you're stuck in a closed-in cubicle all day with little interaction with your co-workers, what is it that sets you apart from any other caged employee come time for annual review?  Believe it or not, your performance is secondary to the attitude and personality that you display during those rare occasions that you do have the opportunity for some sort of social interaction.  Almost every company participates in a form of employee appreciation to help promote corporate culture.  These are usually company-sponsored events like department parties, holiday celebrations or summer picnics.  Employees who actively participate in these types of events are much more likely to climb the corporate ladder and receive higher incremental raises than employees who never attend.  This is because the actively participating employee shows his/her management that they are a team player, fully engaged in their commitment to their position which results in the building of a clearly visible and viable relationship. 

Some other reasons learning to network is important are that you are can explore your chosen career and examine its outlook, connect with and learn from others in the industry, learn and start using industry-specific jargon and get support and additional leads and referrals to aid you in your job search.  Networking can vastly narrow your target list of potential employers and help you to maintain employability in an uncertain job market.

So we know what networking is; now how do you do it?  Networking is actually a lot easier than it seems.  We do it every single day.  When you nod your head to a stranger whom you have happened to have made eye contact with, or saying a casual hello to your neighbor or even smiling at the driver in the next car who is bopping his head to some beat; these are all examples of the very first stage of networking - greeting and acknowledgement.  So in the first stage, you are simply establishing contact.  Greet and acknowledge the person you are attempting to network with.  "Hello", "Good morning", "Happy Friday!", "Hey!", "What's up?"  In whatever manner is the most appropriate given the situation and the person you are addressing, you must first establish that contact by acknowledging them with a greeting.

The second stage is the introduction.  In this stage, you are exchanging information about one another in order to begin building a relationship.  The introduction is the most crucial and the most difficult stage in the networking process.  It is composed of several elements: the name exchange, the elevator speech and business card exchange. The name exchange sounds simple enough but you would be surprised by how many people actually forget to give the other person their name.  So get into the habit of stating your name and position first whenever you meet someone new. "Hello, my name is Niquenya D. Fulbright and I'm an executive life coach and professional speaker."  Or "hello, my name is George and I work in real estate" or "Good morning, I'm Pat O'Hara. I'm an investment banker." You should say this as clear and concise as possible.  Be prepared to repeat or even spell difficult or uncommon names, especially in loud, crowded places.  Also, if the other person doesn't immediately offer their own name and title, make sure that you ask them "what is your name?"

Once you have exchanged names, you must then further build on the new relationship by telling the person why they should care to remember you.  What do you do?  Usually your job title isn't clear enough to give people a good idea of what you really do.  This is where an elevator speech becomes important. Your elevator speech is a minute or less introduction of you and your business or career.  It should be interesting enough to capture their attention but not so detailed that there isn't further room left for conversation.  Also, you don't want to go much longer than a minute as then it can become boring.  Once you have delivered your elevator speech, you should then ask the other person, using their name, what it is they do?  For instance, "okay, Claudia, so what do you do?"  An example of a full introduction sounds like this, "hello, my name is Niquenya D. Fulbright and I'm an executive life coach and professional speaker.  I specialize in motivating small business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals in a career or life transition to use their innate abilities to master their goals and achieve successes beyond their wildest dreams.  I have a special passion for single working mothers because I am a member of that group.  So, what is your name and what do you do?"  You should write out a good elevator speech and practice it several times until it is committed to memory.

The final element of the introduction is the business card exchange.  Before you break away from a successful contact, make sure that you request the other person's business card and give them yours too.  You should also write down a few key points from your conversation on the other person's card.  Some things that will be important are where you were when you met them and any personal information that could help you to identify who they are.  If they mentioned they are married or have a few kids, this would be important to jot down for use in follow-up conversations.

The final stage of networking is follow-up.  This is where you take all of the business cards that you have collected and send a quick email or snail mail letter to the individual.  It should read something like "Hello Claudia, I really enjoyed meeting you at the annual Church Bizarre.  It is so nice to meet someone else who is also interested in playing paintball.  Maybe one day we can get together to build a team.  We can even bring our kids.  I know you said your daughter would definitely be interested.  I actually know of an event coming up in April.  I can forward you that information if you like.  Please let me know if there is ever anything that I can do for you.  I look forward to connecting with you again in the future, Sincerely Niquenya D. Fulbright."  At the end of your email or letter, make sure to include your signature with title, company and contact information.  This is really important to maintain visibility in this new relationship.  You should continue to send periodic quick notes to the other person over time.  It is a good idea to notify them of special events and important updates about your own business too.  Be careful not to spam your new contact by gaining their permission prior to sending out any frequently distributed newsletters or adding them to any mailing lists.   You can even invite them out to a coffee or tea date to discuss mutually beneficial projects as well.

So you know what networking is and why it is important and I've even given you some ideas on how to do it.  Now where do you start?  First, join as many networking groups as possible.  Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, your local church or neighborhood community councils, political fundraisers and others are excellent forums for establishing new relationships and often host events specifically geared to this purpose.  When choosing a networking group, rather online or offline, there are several factors you must consider.  These include whether membership is free or by fee, the size of the group, its growth potential and the quality of contacts within the current member base.  Pick and choose your groups based upon your intended purpose and whether it is a cost-effective solution based upon your budget.

Get into the habit of going through the networking stages everywhere you go, even at the bus stop. Participate in all company functions, be they holidays, birthdays, bowling, picnics or whatever.  Volunteering is also a great way to build relationships through networking. Relationships are essential to life.  No man is an island, therefore, without relationships, we can not breathe.  Never discount a connection even if you can not see an immediate use for the new contact.  The situation may change for either or both of you.  It is not unlikely that this person could offer you a referral 5-10 years down the line.  By maintaining follow-up contact, you are essentially doubling your own network by gaining access to theirs.

Make sure you reach out and touch someone today. Make a commitment to establishing 10 new contacts, 10 new connections, 10 new relationships each day.  And follow-up!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2007 by Niquenya D. Fulbright-All Rights Reserved.

About the Author:

Niquenya D. Fulbright is a Chicago area executive life coach, professional speaker and corporate trainer with over 10 years experience specializing in motivating small business owners, entrepreneurs, executives and individuals in a career or life transition to use their innate abilities to master their goals and achieve successes beyond their wildest dreams.  Contact MVP Seminars to secure Niquenya for your next big event or training session.