Thursday, February 27, 2014

Burn the bridges behind you...

Dear...

In my role as coach I often say: if you really want to be focussed and move towards your goal, do two things, create a sense of urgency and cut off your way back.
If it's urgent you will be focussed and you will quit to procrastinate and waste time. If you want to save someone from drowning  you jump in the water as soon as you can, you don't go home first to change and put a swim suit on.
If there is no way back you can only move forward. Have you ever crossed a river or a pond on thin ice? If you did you know that you have to move fast, decide fast and above all you can't stop and for sure you can't go back.

Hernán Cortés the 16th century conquistador new that on his quest to conquer an empire so extensive in its territories, known now as Mexico, with only 600 poorly armed men, could only be undertaken by a man with a death wish. But, with only 3 words Cortés changed the history of the New World: “Burn the boats.”
It was a decision that easily could have backfired. Because if Cortés and his men were on the brink of defeat, there wasn’t an exit strategy in place to save their lives.  Remarkably though, the com­mand to burn the boats had an opposite effect on his men because now, they were left with only 2 choices: die, or ensure victory.  And fight they did.

Cortés made sure that there was no way back and the only option left was to achieve his goal or die trying.

Now Cortés' way sounds pretty drastic, but I would like you to focus on the mental picture of it. We often say you shouldn't burn the bridges behind you. Well, I believe in some cases you should. I understand that it's a hard decision to know which bridge to burn and which one not; but thinking in this way will make you move forward and not go back, because there is no back.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Saturday, February 22, 2014

9 tips to be(come) successful in life

Dear...

There isn’t any secret to be successful in life, but rather just common sense, positive thinking and attitude and initiative.  I would like to offer some tips to guide you down the path of success.
• Change, if you are not happy with what you have now, or who you are in life then the only one that can make a difference to your situation or life is you.
• Perseverance and determination, if you don’t give up at something you attempt then you can’t fail. If things don’t work out as planned then try again using different ways to achieve the results you are aiming for.
• What goes around comes around, you only get back in life what you are willing to put into it, if you are helpful, honest, truthful and positive then you will get the same back in return.
• Center yourself, we all need to take time out during the day to center ourselves, by re-focusing ourselves and what we wish to achieve we are able to accomplish more and be more effective in our tasks.
• Set yourself targets or goals, setting out targets or goals for yourself can help you to succeed in anything you choose, these can be daily, short term or long term targets.
• Don’t strive for perfection, never try to be perfect, no one is perfect, set a standard and goal and do the task or job to the very best of your ability and be happy with that.
• Believe in yourself, develop strategies which make you more aware of yourself and what you are capable of achieving, if you believe in yourself and what you are capable of achieving then it is likely you will be successful in everything you do.
• Focus on what you want, focus on the positive and what it is you want to achieve instead of the negative or what it is that you don’t want to achieve, always look ahead instead of back and focus only on the desired end result.
• You cannot succeed alone, all successful people rely in part on others for their success, every person has different skills, talents and abilities which when combined leads to an individual’s success.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Plan for success...

Dear...

Thinking and acting in a positive manner is part of training yourself to feel and believe you are positive in your approach to things, and that you are going to be successful.  It is self fulfilling prophecy!  However it only works if you make it work!

First of all, you do need to plan things.  First, you need to plan out your long term goals. Decide where you want to be, and then you need to decide on your strategy and have an action plan with target achievements and target dates.

This plan needs to be a visible part of your life every day.  Every morning you need to review your goals, and review how you are going to achieve them.  Everyday you need to have at least one thing to achieve, that takes you nearer your long term goal.  If you fail to keep sight of your goals, you won’t get to achieve them.

Make the absolute most of your time.  If you let your emotional fear hold you up, you will put off starting the things you need to do. And if you start, you will procrastinate and find distractions,
anything to avoid actually doing what you need to do.  This is something you have to overcome to be successful.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Sunday, February 16, 2014

10 tips to manage your time better

Dear...

The secret to managing time successfully is being able to manage yourself, although we often think we don’t waste a minute of our time in reality this is far from true and there are many ways which we can manage ourselves more efficiently which ultimately leads to more successful time management. In order to successfully manage time there are strategies which you can use to stay more in control and relieve stress which plays a big factor in successful time management.


1. A lack of priorities. This is the single biggest cause of time wasting, in order to successfully manage time we have to know exactly what our priorities are for the day, by not prioritizing we spend too much time on the minor things and not enough time on the important ones.
2. Attempting to do too much. In today’s busy world, many people want things done yesterday and this only leads to rushing around and not doing a task properly, it also leads to mistakes and half-finished work with no real feeling of having accomplished anything with your time.
3. Interruptions: We all get interruptions in our day, this could be someone dropping in and asking if you have a minute to spare, which usually turn into a half hour or more. Knowing how to successfully deal with interruptions in your daily life is essential to time management.
4. Procrastination: thinking about what you have to do instead of actually getting on and doing it is one of the biggest time wasters in your day, reduce the amount of time that you spend thinking and this leaves you more time for doing.
5. Learn to say: “no”. Many of us just cannot say the word “no” when asked if we mind doing something, this is usually out of fear of upsetting the other person, but if you are taking on the responsibilities of others then you are taking time away from your own workload or tasks and essentially robbing yourself of that precious time which leads to stressing you out.
6. Clutter: Look around your desk or workspace, do you know where everything is? If you are asked for a file can you lay your hands on it or do you have to go rummaging to find it?  A cluttered desk or workspace is a time waster.
7. Set deadlines for yourself. Work out a reasonable deadline for a particular project and make sure that you stick with the deadline.
8. Manage your e-mails and phone calls. Where possible manage when you read your e-mails and take phone calls better, this was you are not continually breaking off to answer a call or reply to an e-mail. Set aside certain times when you check your e-mail and reply to them, the same applies to phone calls, it is surprising how much time can be wasted throughout a day by stopping and starting a project or task.
9. Use an activity planner. Setting your day into a planner can help you save time, a planner will allow you to allocate tasks to time slots and this way you can plan your day out and maximize your time more efficiently.
10. Avoid multi-tasking. Starting many different projects at the same time is not a very efficient way of managing time, try to complete one project before starting out on another, this gives you the satisfaction of seeing the project complete and knowing you have accomplished something with your time.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Progress yourself into mastery...

Dear...

Confident is when you fully believe in your own capabilities, when you trust that you can overcome any obstacle and that you can fight any fear.  Having confidence means that you are well set to achieve your goals, but it doesn’t stop there. You still have to do it and come into massive action. But now with confidence, with willpower you will follow through and achieve your goals, you will reach mastery and even then you don't stop.

Let's say you are learning new dance steps. You have full belief that one day you will be able to dance them. With confidence you practice and learn... And then the day comes that you are able to dance the steps that at first looked almost too complicated to perform. Your confidence is growing so you try new, even complexer steps and routines. You practice them with the same believe and confidence that one day you can dance these step as well. With each new step that you are able to dance, your belief in yourself will be reinforced and you won't stop their either. Your confidence and belief in yourself is growing and you are no longer afraid to push your boundaries further.

In this example, you have literally progressed yourself step by step into mastery, all because your confidence was high and you had full belief in yourself. Successful people will tell you that once they gained confidence they started to achieve goal after goal. It is like pushing through a wall, once the firs brick starts to fall, the rest will almost fall by itself. So if you go after your goals with high confidence and an unshakable belief in yourself you will achieve your goals and get what you want.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Give it a try whispered the heart...

Dear...

If you don't try to do the things you really want from life you might lose out on life all together. The fear of trying something comes often from the view we have about our own abilities. This view is often fed by what others told us, what they think we can and can't do. Having the right belief in yourself will give you a better view of what you are capable of and you will not hesitate from trying things.

The important thing to learn is to not take other people’s criticisms blindly. Most people don’t know you well enough and they often don't understand your motivation.  Only you can make your decisions and when you do take them without fear or apprehension.

Apprehensions can take a severe toll on our life. Especially when we want to try something new, we become apprehensive. Don't let our apprehensions rule us and stop us from trying new things or hold us from the things we want from life.

Remember: it is always better to have tried and fail than to not try at all...

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Monday, February 3, 2014

Celebrate your successes

Dear...

When you are working to reach your goals, you will have success and failures. Things will go better than you expected and there will be things that didn't go so well. It is as important to understand your flounders as it is to understand your successes. It is also important that you not only realize where you have succeeded but that you appreciate your success as well. Appreciating your success will push you forward in achieving what you are after.

When you have success, no matter how small it might be, make sure to spend time and celebrate it. Do something to underline the fact that you achieved something, this doesn't have to be something big, but do celebrate your achievement.

When you are celebrating your achievements, you will remember the successes better because you took time to appreciate them. You will engrave them in your subconscious and conscious mind. Remembering your success will add to your self-belief and it creates a motivation to replicate your good
achievements. In other words you have created your own positive reenforcement, which I like to call positive self-reenforcement.

Make other people happy with your achievements by involving them in your celebrations. Involving others in will anchor memories of achievement even further.

As you should not exaggerate your failures you should also not down play your achievements or succeses. Be proud of them, share them and celebrate them with others especially the ones that supported you, but than raise the bar so your achievements will be greater with every success you have.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Saturday, February 1, 2014

Is there meaning if we don't contribute?

Dear...

In life, we shouldn't only think of our own needs but also of the need of others. What we do, does affect other people, just as what other people do affect us.

It's a great thing that we are encouraged to strive for self improvement, not just financially, but also intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. It's a duty to ourselves to make the most out of the opportunities and situations presented to us. Besides striving to be successful and happy we also need to makes sure that we can give back and contribute to the people close to us.

We have to understand that nothing will ever stand on itself. Our development will have an impact on our environment, our culture and therefore the future of others.

So when we define our vision and visualize our future, we also need to look at the value of our goals and the effect they can have on others. As we plan our achievements we have to consider what we can add to other people's development, success, well being and happiness as well.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD