August 2016 - Take the Lead and Get A Life Elements

GET A LIFE

The BRAIN Element

TAKE THE LEAD

The 7 Elements of Leadership

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July 2016 - Take the Lead and Get A Life Elements

TAKE THE LEAD

The 4 Fundamentals

GET A LIFE

The BODY Element

Remember we have a workshop that is a day to design a life you love...check out our Ultimate Life Planning Workshop by clicking here.

Becoming A Creative Problem Solver

by Amy Slattery

We have our annual breakfast coming up in Adelaide on the 2^nd of June so I was very excited to interview 2 of our guest speakers who will be joining us – Naomi Nwayco and Mike Simon.

As with a lot of things, there is so much gold in the conversations you have with people who are where you want to be (and in this case working towards a life of financial freedom), so the time I spent chatting to each of them before we started rolling was invaluable (I’ve recently bought a new house and now have a couple of ideas from Naomi on how I can make money from my new home)!

Both had some amazing qualities in common, what resonated with me were two things – an overwhelming sense of BELIEF that they really could ‘do it’ and that essentially they were problem solvers (a creative problem solver as Naomi would describe).

So from my moments of gold with Naomi and Mike I wanted to share with you my 7 Keys To Problem Solving.

1. Get Curious!

This is a new thing for me…I’ll be honest I’m conditioned as a ‘teller’ rather than a questioner, however in developing my coaching skills I have now become an annoying 5 year old child…”why is that”…”why do you think that”…”why”…”why”…”why”.  I am amazed at how asking ‘WHY’ questions can get you right to the root cause!  Be critical, avoid bias and ask open ended questions.

2. Look at the problem as a possible opportunity (the opportunity to help)

Problems can be a pain in the butt…if you think of them that way, but what if you just changed the way you think of a problem?  What if you saw them as an opportunity?  In business solving a client or customers problem/s is the reason we are in business!

3. Don’t get stuck in your own head

Past experiences, conditioning and our mindset can lead us down a certain solution path.  Having awareness and questioning yourself “am I being unbiased” or “am I using emotion rather than logic” or “are there other factors leading me towards that idea”.   Question yourself along the way!

4. Be an information gatherer

Look at all angles and pay attention to solutions that aren’t currently in use.  Now don’t fall prey to analysis paralysis!  Also get information from the right sources (I’m not going to get advice on a share portfolio from someone that doesn’t have their own…but not only that they need to be making money from it).

5. Sleep On It

Sometimes time is key!  For big decisions or big problems to be solved, sometimes you need some time.  Don’t be afraid to defer your judgment (unless of course it is life threatening!).  Letting the process simmer in your unconscious over a good nights sleep can lead to revelation in the morning (or commonly in that morning shower).

6. Worst Case Scenario

At the moment I am listening to 4 hour Work Week by Tim Ferris (highly recommend it).  I love that he talks about understanding the true worst case scenario – this is something I have been good at!  For example in launching The 7 Effect with Jodie, the worst case scenario was that if it didn’t work out I would find another job, if that took too long I could move in with mum and mooch off her for a bit until I got myself back on my feet – basically in the extreme case no one would DIE!

Consider what the worst case scenario could be, be mindful of what your own comfort zone could be stopping you from moving forward with - if your worst case scenario really isn’t that bad…a bruised ego…a red face…having to possibly ask for forgiveness later, then really that isn’t that bad.

*disclaimer of course in this process you don’t want to cause harm or bring hardship on to others.

7. Go with your gut!

Sometimes things are ‘go with your gut’ moments, you’ve asked the right questions, you’ve come up with some solutions…you’ve ticked all the boxes and now its time to go with your solution!  If your values are clear, a gut decision can sometimes be the best way to move forward.  Go with conviction and belief  in yourself!

Problems are a way of life, they are what make us grow, they test our strengths and our resilience.  Like a muscle the more you work on these skills the better you will become at solving them!

Remember a problem is only a problem if you think of it that way.

I want what she's having...

 

by Amy Slattery

Sound familiar?  Of course the line “I'll have what she’s having” was made famous by the movie When Harry Met Sally, however I found it became a regular comment I used to joke about wanting what someone else had ‘because that would make me just like them’ so there was the familiar "I want what she's having".

Its taken me awhile to move past the need to have the right ‘things’ to create change in my life (you know the voices in your head that convince us…when I have the right workout gear, car, house, partner etc. I will be fitter, healthier, smarter, more people will like me…essentially I will be happier).

Of course in reality we know having the right gear alone wont make us happier (deep down), but it's even easier to then rationalise in our minds with excuses or blame as to why that new car you bought had to started to loose its shine after a the initial thrill wore off.

It really is interesting to me that over the past 18 months of working with clients at The 7 Effect I am hearing a similar phrase “oh but that’s you…I couldn’t do that”, “I’d love to do what your doing...but (insert excuses)”.  So I’ve recently found myself thinking wow some people out there want what I’m having??

I am very excited to say that I am having the best time of my life right now, and its not the money or things that are doing it.  It is that I am truly HAPPY (and its not the "oh no, now that i've reached this place what bad things will follow") and I feel that it's resonating with people I come into contact with each and every day.

But the thing is...there wasn’t a magical pill (dammit), its taken work, sometimes confronting and hard work, but it truly is worth it.

The majority of my working life had been in hospitality with the adage “if you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean”, in that the harder you worked the more successful you would be which is how a lot of us are brought up – the more successful you are in life the happier you will be.  If I can just get that qualification, that new job, move into that house/suburb, loose 5kg then I will have reached success and I will definitely be happy.

Unfortunately or fortunately (however you choose to look at it) findings are that happiness actually drives success.  When we are happy we have more energy, we are more motivated, engaged and productive.

Have you ever noticed when challenges come your way it can sometimes lead to a vicious cycle of depression, anxiety, stress or sadness?

I've had those times in my life…I had a period over 2008/2009 where my 7 year relationship ended and my father was diagnosed with myeloma only to pass away 2 months after the diagnosis, it was a horrible time and I completely fell into a dark hole of depression…I wasn’t eating or sleeping and an overwhelming sadness took hold of me.  It didn’t take me long to realise this would not be a sustainable place to stay!  So I set some goals to get myself outta there!

Knowing what I want and the ability to set goals and work towards them is one of the main tools that has lead me on my path to happiness!

I have mostly been a positive person through out my life…but there was always that ‘worrier’ side to me that I've worked on and has now also changed, as it really was the white noise in my head about things I really had no control over that I was worrying about in the first place!

I believe that a true sense of happiness makes us more resilient and stronger to the everyday challenges life brings us, so why not set yourself a goal to work on those aspects of your life when and where you are happiest?

When I get the comments “oh but that’s you” or “I couldn’t do that”, I can confidently reply with yes you can…but you are going to need to get real with yourself and make it a focus.

At the moment I am listening to The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor which I am loving and would highly recommend!  The best part?  He has 7 Actionable Principles he shares to help capitalise on this advantage of happiness (how about that…would you believe there are 7).

What I was really excited about most is that I am already utilising some of the principles naturally – you might be too!

The ones that resonate with me are:

• Falling Up – when those negative moments in life happen I am well aware of finding a path out and up and how that event can make me stronger.  This completely rang true for me last month when I had a miscarriage.  The extreme happiness high to a heartbreaking low was devastating, however it wasn’t the end of the world and I found myself comforted in taking the positives out of the situation (knowing that I can fall pregnant and it was a trial run!)
• The Zorro Circle – this is a no brainer for me over the number of years of setting goals and working towards them.  At times of chaos I can reign things in by focusing on small, manageable goals getting stronger and stronger.
• Social Investments – this is where I excel ha-ha, I really do invest a lot of time and energy in my friends, peers and family.  Not only for times of need, but when those times do come up, I have one of the most amazing support networks anyone could wish for.

Shawn mentions that all 7 principles are important, however “research has shown that the 7^th one, Social Investment is perhaps the most crucial to long term happiness, health and success”, GoodThinkInc.

So what are you doing in your life to increase happiness?

1.    Start to look at the signs, thoughts and feelings that come up when a negative event happens in your life.

2.    Set some goals around your social networks, spending quality time with family and friends (really connecting, not just looking at a screen of some sort while your all in the same room).

3.    Set yourself a 30 day challenge of a positive activity (exercise, meditation, journaling etc.

4.    Look at the balance of positive to negative influences in your life…you might need to have some tough conversations with people or reduce the time spent with them?

The world can be a tough or wonderful place depending how you choose to look at it, the benefits of being happier and having a positive mindset really can lead to success.  We always have a choice so choose to be happy!

Live life by design…not but default!