Inspiration | Words For Hire

Finding the Strength to Lace Em Up Everyday

April 24, 2008 by Karen Swim

by Karen D. Swim

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar

No matter how passionate you are about your goals or how good your intentions are, you must fan the flames of motivation daily. Robyn McMaster offered this insight in response to yesterday’s post: “Goals are extremely important to me because they help me keep my eyes on what I want to accomplish. When I put a picture of that near my computer or I write it out as a one line poem and put it there, it helps me sift past those things that would take me off the tracks.”

Robyn knows a thing or two about goal setting and motivation as she is the Senior VP of MITA Brain Based Center.

Sometimes we fail to accomplish a goal and we blame it on a lack of discipline. In fact, it may have simply been a failure to renew motivation. Have you ever started a fire in a fireplace? The flames burn brightly and the heat engulfs the room but eventually the flames will flicker and die and the room will once again grow cold. To keep the fire going you have to add more wood.

I am highly visual so use visual cues to motivate you everyday. For example, when I embarked on my weight loss journey, I used a big wall calendar to mark my progress. I covered the walls of my work out room with pictures and posters of my favorite athletes. I taped motivational quotes to the dashboard in my car. On my runs, I carried 26 laminated scriptures in a wrist band carrier. I would pull one out every mile to encourage me to keep going.

If you are more of an auditory learner, try listening to motivational tapes or music. Load your IPOD (I really must get one of these!) or burn a CD of things that inspire you.

Read, watch, listen and talk to those that inspire. Head over to Brain Based Biz , Joyful Jubilant Learning or 6 Weeks for a bit of inspiration. The key is to do something everyday that will stoke the flames of motivation.

You may believe you are not disciplined or have an inability to focus. I am here to tell you that is not true. ERASE those negative thoughts from your mind. You simply may have been playing the game with the wrong equipment. You have accomplished things in life. As you think back on your accomplishments, what worked for you? What made that time different? I believe your answer may be that you cared enough about your pursuit and equipped yourself daily to achieve it.

My goal is to meet more people like those who read this blog. I am not pursuing X amount of readers so that I can feed my ego. I like getting to know you, hearing your thoughts, rants, and witticisms. I learn from you and am challenged by you. Why wouldn’t I want to multiply that by reaching out to even more people just like you?

If your goal happens to involve a life changing decision, Robert Hruzek’s two part post on the subject is a must read.

How do you stay motivated? What are your tips and tricks? Please share so that we can learn from one another.

Running Your Own Race

April 23, 2008 by Karen Swim

by Karen D. Swim

Yesterday, many of you shared your own goals and thoughts.

Adrienne Van Houten is headed on a fabulous cruise but upon her return plans on hitting Curves. “My goal is not a set weight amount to lose, but to stick to it and make it work for me.”

Ellen Wilson had a small goal of getting film scanned yesterday but offer remarkable insight about goals. “Sometimes if I look too far into the future it freaks me out and I can’t get anything done. Or I get depressed. Or both!”

Amy Palko is finishing her long-held goal of attaining her PhD and offered these thoughts: “Now that it’s coming close to the time when that goal will be achieved, I’m having to sit and reassess precisely these questions of what it means to me. And it’s a difficult answer to articulate. It’s tightly bound up with pride, ambition, career opportunities, skills acquired. But it’s also taken on something new, as the achievement of this goal will now allow me to move on to set some new goals, and that’s what I’m getting really excited about!”

Andre Blackman has a passion for the health of others as well as his own. “I’ve started back into the gym just so I can feel a little better about myself as well as maintain my health. Had a wake up call not too long ago and it’s time to stop playing around!

I also have goals about transforming the way we all think about our health in this Digital Age – this post is exactly what I needed to read today!”

Goals give our lives structure, a reason to keep moving forward. Like the mile markers in a race, goals tell us where we are and how far we still must run.

In a marathon there are hundreds, or thousands of runners lining up for the same race. All will start in the same place and all will cross the same finish line. However, the journey from start to finish will be as different as the reasons and training plans that got them there.

Runners may finish in 2 hours, 4 hours and some may take 8 but for all that finish the victory is the same. Crossing the finish line is the completion of a goal no matter how long it takes you to get there.

We can draw inspiration from others who have accomplished similar goals, but we all must run our own race, and in our own way. By all means get a training plan, learn from others who have walked the same road, but adjust as necessary to fit your unique needs and style.

On my first trip to a running store I stuck out like a sore thumb. I felt like a Clydesdale among a herd of gazelles. I was not long and lithe, and had not been running for 20 years. I had just started getting in shape and could aptly be described as chunky and spunky. Yet there I was lacing up my sneakers just as they were and training for a distance that many had run. My enthusiasm for my goal was not dampened by others who had done it better and faster. This was my goal and I would finish it.

Whatever your goals are pursue them with enthusiasm. Lace up every day and take a step as you make them happen. Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself at the back of the pack, just keep moving, you’ll get there. And if you’re a front runner, run your race! Don’t be held back by the conventional wisdom of others, it is your race, own it!

Have you ever been discouraged from pursuing a goal? How did you overcome the challenge?

Photo Credit: Brownpau, Flickr.com

Promotion is Essential to Business

April 16, 2008 by Karen Swim

by Karen D. Swim

This week we’ve been stirring up a pot of business success. We’ve added a heaping serving of passion to keep the flames burning and a cup full of purpose to keep things under control. Today we’re working with that tricky ingredient, promotion.

Without customers you’re just twiddling your thumbs or spending all day on Twitter (but that’s a post for another day). To gain customers you have to promote your business. However, we are not talking about marketing brochures, ad words campaigns or direct mailers. All of those things generate leads but at some point you have to sell your business.

According to my friend and Business Coach, Paula Crutchley, most entrepreneurs struggle with the sales process. “I have discovered a common thread throughout my coaching business and that is many entrepreneurs dislike the art of selling – and it is an art.” Paula coaches business owners helping them to develop a natural style of selling so that they can sell their vision and ideas to customers,investors and future employees.

I was in Sales Management for a great part of my career. I loved developing business, making presentations and closing deals. I still love selling. If a customer agrees to meet with me by phone or in person, I’m confident that I can close the deal.

However, I am very uncomfortable when the promotion is a little more personal. I am very shy about asking people to read my blog or promoting myself to speak or host workshops for which I am perfectly qualified to do. Does this sound like you?

So how do you overcome a fear of self promotion? The first step is to realize that promotion is not pushy. We often equate self promotion with aggressive, self centered behavior. We’ve all encountered someone who mistook pushiness for promotion. It is time to change your perception.

Close your eyes and think of something that you want or need? Now, imagine that someone you encounter today (at the dry cleaners, office or even a friend) has what you want or need and they don’t say a word. Would you be upset to learn that they withheld the information? Now imagine your potential customers feeling the same way.

Promotion may feel a little uncomfortable at first but with practice you will become a top notch promoter. Of course if you need help or support, give me a call. I’ve got pom-poms and I’m not afraid to use them!

Did you ever struggle with promotion? How did you overcome it? Are you a master at promotion? If so, what tips and tricks can you pass along?

Photo Credit: © Brunoil | Dreamstime.com

The Sun Will Come

March 18, 2008 by Karen Swim

By Karen D. Swim

Today is a gray and dreary weather day. The kind of day when it is light enough to be daylight but dark enough that the outside lights have not yet turned off. Most of the snow piles have melted and the brown grass is now fully visible. The barren trees stand tall against the dark sky as rain gently falls.

As I sip my morning coffee, I stand in the doorway watching a light mist of rain fall from the sky. I’m tempted to work in my pj’s but I know that will hinder my productivity. I take a deep breath and muster up the memories of warm sunshine, gentle rays falling upon my face. Spring is only days away and I suppose this is winter’s swan song reminding us that soon all will be new again.

It seems like a perfect time to breathe deeply and reflect as I prepare for a new season. The beauty of spring is that dead things are revived after the harshness of the cold winter season. As spring nears, I find myself yearning to stretch myself personally and creatively. As I shake off the winter doldrums, inspiration is everywhere awaiting discovery. This week I have indulged myself with a neglected love of poetry. I have been devouring podcasts of spoken poetry and reading classic and modern poets. Below is one that seems to match my mood today.

Keep Me Fully Glad, by Rabindranath Tagore

Keep me fully glad with nothing. Only take my hand in your hand.
In the gloom of the deepening night take up my heart and play with it as you list.
Bind me close to you with nothing.
I will spread myself out at your feet and lie still. Under this clouded sky I will meet silence with silence. I will become one with the night clasping the earth in my breast.
Make my life glad with nothing.
The rains sweep the sky from end to end. Jasmines in the wet untamable wind revel in their own perfume. The cloud-hidden stars thrill in secret. Let me fill to the full my heart with nothing but my own depth of joy.

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What are you doing to prepare for Spring? Are there new things in store for you? I am sure that I will be inspired by your insights, so please share.

Wishing you all sunshine (inside and out)!

Karen

Photo Credit: The beautiful photo is courtesy of the talented photographer and writer, Amy Palko, courtesy of Flickr. Do stop by Amy’s blog, you will be delighted you did!

My Love Affair

February 26, 2008 by Karen Swim

My lover calls to me in the light of the early morning as the moon drifts higher in the sky and the smoke from nearby chimneys drifts gently into the clouds. I curl my toes in glee as I sink into his familiar warmth knowing he will always be there.

I cannot recall a time when my lover was not present. At the age of two when I picked up a book desperate to untangle the mysteries of the dark and structured letters, he was there. At five when I could not put crayon to page in my coloring book without first telling the story behind the pictures, he was there.

Throughout the angst of my terrible teens, my lover was a gentle presence allowing me to express my anger, frustration and uncertainty as he guided me on a voyage of self-discovery. When the hospital called to say that Daddy was gone, my lover took my hand and helped me to say Good Bye as he gently recalled the man who had so wonderfully sparked the fire that birthed our love.

First love, first dance, and first heartbreak – he was there. Year after year, he listened as I questioned, reasoned, wondered and chronicled love, loss and life. He was sometimes quiet with an air of mystery, and other times bold, aggressive demanding to be heard but always, he was there.

When I lost my mom, my best friend, and had to be reminded to fill my air with lungs, my lover wrapped his arms around me and carried me through the dark days. He was there when I once again felt the sunlight on my face and the joy return to my spirit.

When my husband was dying of cancer, he was there in the middle of the night, attentive to my tear stained prayers and declarations of love. And when my husband died and my pen went silent, my lover waited patiently for my return.

My love affair with writing has been a constant in my life. Writing has allowed me to express my deepest thoughts, sorrows and joys without censure or fear of recrimination. Pen and paper beckon me and as I unite them, I am still awed by the power and passion they produce. I am mesmerized by words that unite and pulsate to a rhythmic beat unaware of their magnetic beauty as they wind across the page challenging me to follow their lead to places unknown.

Karen

This post is a contribution to the Group Writing Project sponsored by Confident Writing. Joanna Young’s theme this month is Leaps and Bounds. The deadline for this project is February 28th so it’s not too late for you to take part!