27/04/2011 by Marketing Team.

How often do we decide that we can’t do something just because we’ve never tried it before? Or worse still, how often do we decide that someone can’t or shouldn’t do something just because we don’t try?

People probably thought that Kelly Gneiting couldn’t run 26 miles, but the 29-stone 40 year old recently became the heaviest man to run a marathon. It took him 10 hours, but after completing the Los Angeles event, he’s now set himself the challenge of swimming the Channel.

So, why can’t we cook? Why can’t we exercise? Why can’t we do all of the things we say we can’t do?

Is it that we really can’t do those things, or is it that we think we can’t do them as well as other people? There’s a big difference between cooking a 5 course gourmet meal and cooking a healthy dinner for your family, and that’s the important thing to remember.

The goals we set ourselves need to be achievable and realistic. Setting out to cook a meal that would rival a Michelin starred chef is probably a step too far if you’ve never boiled an egg before, but deciding to follow a simple recipe to feed four is something that most of us can achieve. And, the more we do it, the better we’ll get.

So what could you do easily today or tomorrow that would challenge this “can’t do” attitude? How much do you think this is going to build your confidence and to open new opportunities?

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24/12/2010 by Marketing Team.

She spent 13 months being held hostage by Somali pirates, but Rachel Chander has said that she used comforting events in her past and thinking about them in minute detail to get her through the 95 days that she was kept apart from her husband.

And no matter where you are, some powerful happy memories can help you change your whole outlook on the situation you find yourself in.A friend mentioned recently that every time she thinks back to her wedding day, and the excitement and happiness she felt, as well as the overwhelming happiness, never fails to put a smile on her face when she’s having a difficult day.
She also said that when she’s stressed out, she takes a couple of deep breaths and think about watching elephants at a watering hole in Kenya. It always makes her feel relaxed and peaceful, despite how hectic things are around her.

So, where’s your happy place? It may be the birth of your child, or your wedding day, or on a sun lounger next to the pool at your favourite holiday destination. Wherever it is, close your eyes and think about it for a minute. Imagine the colours are extra bright, the noises are that bit louder and the smellls so strong they’re almost overwhelming. Remember how you felt at that moment - elated, beautiful or thoroughly relaxed? Enjoy that for a couple of moments, take a deep breath, and then open your eyes.

It all feels a bit better now, doesn’t it?

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14/12/2010 by Marketing Team.

Actress Emma Thompson has recently said in the Radio Times that her bugbear is the overuse of slang words in youngsters.But is it a sign of the times, laziness, or a bit of both?

With social networking sites like Twitter limiting how many words you can use to get your message across, and more and more people using texts as a way to communicate, it’s perhaps inevitable that slang slips into conversation.

But what impact is it having on the use of language and the way we communicate with each other?

I can’t help imagining what business meetings might be like in 10 years time, though

“This is, like, the best idea ever though, innit?”

“OMG! It’s, like, totally wicked!”

“Whatevver.  I’m not really bovvered about the idea. I was just sat thinking about the profit margins…”

But does the message get lost across the generations? Do ‘grown ups’ take younger people less seriously because of the language they use? The way we communicate now is also different to how it was when our parents were our age. When was the last time you put pen to paper and sent a letter, card or note to a friend? Or decided to pick up the phone instead of send that quick text?

So before you hit send on the latest email to your mate, imagine the difference it might make if you popped a note in the post. Ok, with Royal Mail you can’t guarantee it’ll get there, but if it does, you can bet they’ll remember a letter hitting the door mat more than they’ll remember the PING of a new email…

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01/10/2010 by Marketing Team.

‘When the mindset dictates the outcome’

How often do we doubt ourselves?
How much do we limit ourselves?
How much does our internal dialogue affect our everyday challenges?

Let’s imagine for a moment that what we think, can, to a certain degree, affect our confidence, our abilities, the people around us and the outcome of a situation. The more positive our internal conversation (talking to ourselves) the closer we get to the result we want. The more our internal dialogue is negative the further away we get from the results we want.For example, I have experienced many times the ‘plank exercise’ and I am always amazed how simply it demonstrates how the little voice inside us affects our confidence, abilities and behaviours. The plank exercise involves walking across a plank of wood about 20cm wide and 2m long. The first time you walk it, the plank is resting on the floor and the second time, it is at a height of 1m. Mostly everyone can easily walk across the plank on the floor but a large number of people don’t manage to walk the full length of the plank when it stands at 1m high.

The main difference is all to do with what we think just before crossing the plank:

The first time, ‘That’s easy …’
And the second time, ‘Oh, that’s difficult and what happens if I fall…’

It is important to be aware of what we think just before starting what we do. Are we setting ourselves up to fail or to succeed?

So what can we do?

We can simply be more aware of the message of our internal dialogue just before doing something and follow these 2 easy to remember steps:

1-    Be aware of the message just before the event – is it positive or negative? Is this what I want?

2-    Be flexible (if it isn’t what I want) – what is that I do well that could help me? What resources can I pull on (for example, the last time I achieved something challenging or unexpected, how did I do it)?

As you begin to practice being more aware of your internal messages, and being more flexible as well as searching for what you need to change your internal dialogue, you’ll notice over the next weeks and months the difference it makes to your everyday life, to the way you approach a situation and how much more resourceful you are when faced with difficulties.
Enjoy

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10/09/2010 by Marketing Team.

The doors of the Big Brother house in the UK will close for the final time on Friday.

After ten years, eleven series, and numerous housemates, the plug has finally been pulled.

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Big Brother brought something new to the table back in 2000 when it first started. The villain of the first series (Nasty Nick) was even on the nine o clock news because of his “cheating”.

But what is it about programmes like Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity and other reality shows that captivates us?

Every year I promise myself I’m not going to watch, but every year I’m drawn in. The love stories, the tasks, the pyschology of a group of strangers forming relationships with people they would never usually spend time with.

But, as Big Brother signs off for the final time, I can’t say I’ll be sorry – maybe next summer I’ll be able to enjoy my own life, rather than watch other people living theirs.

Real life, I’m coming to get you!

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07/09/2010 by Marketing Team.

‘A life full of stretch is a fulfilling life’

How often do you stretch yourself?
Do you find that you tend to stay in your comfort zone?
Do you remember the last time you felt a great sense of achievement?
Well, now you can, with a simple model that can be used everyday, called ‘The Comfort, Stretch, Panic Model’

Karl Rohnke, an American expert in experiential learning, has developed a simple to use model called ‘The Comfort, Stretch, Panic Model’ for a wide range of applications and this model is especially useful for:

-personal development
-and building your confidence and self-esteem.

The Stretch Model is composed of 3 zones. Each model is unique and can be totally different from one person to the other.

The Comfort zone:
The comfort zone represents all situations where you feel comfortable, at ease, and when you have full (or near enough) control of the situation (at home, in your car, in your local pub, with your close friends…)

The Stretch zone:
The stretch zone involves new and different situations where you feel some pressure to do something you are not used to (starting a new hobby, a new job, meeting new people, driving for the first time on the motorway…)

The Panic zone:
The panic zone is normally when you loose total control and you also loose your ability to communicate and to do (climbing a high ladder when you are afraid of height, public speaking, …)

There are only 3 simple rules to fully enjoy our everyday life and to make your future fulfilling and exciting:

1-Never step into your panic zone (or push someone in their panic zone). This directly affects your self-esteem and self-confidence.

2-Always stretch yourself with suitable and appropriate new challenges. This gives you a sense of achievements and boosts your self-esteem and self-confidence.

3-Always find the right balance between stretching yourself and looking after yourself in your comfort zone.

As soon as you start adopting these 2 ‘always’ and the ‘never’ about these three important rules, you’ll quickly notice how much more you do, how often you get a great sense of achievement and how easy it is now for you to challenge yourself.

In the next weeks and months, you are going to build a greater self confidence and a long lasting self-esteem.

Enjoy!

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27/08/2010 by Marketing Team.

We’re forever hearing the phrase “never judge a book by it’s cover”, but often we do.

First impressions matter – whether it’s a business meeting, a first date or an interview. Those first few seconds when you walk through the door or into the bar can change the outcome of the meeting.

Here are 5 tips on how to make a good first impression

• Think about how you look and what it will say about you. You’ve (hopefully!) got your best bib and tucker on, you’ve made an effort and you feel good about yourself. But what are you carrying? There’s every possibility that you’ve got more with you than you actually need. If you’re going to a meeting, take the bare minimum. Carrying all your wordly possessions with you may make you look disorganised. And it’s never good when you have to juggle everything to shake hands with the person you’re meeting!
• How’re you feeling? Did you have a row with your housemate before you left the house? Get stuck in traffic on your way? Forget it. Don’t let your bad mood affect how you feel going in to your meeting. Take a couple of deep breaths and think about 2 or 3 specific situations where you felt on the top of the world, something that makes you feel good inside. Walk into the meeting holding on to that feeling!
• Listen, listen, listen! We all love to talk about ourselves – experiences, families, pets, children. We’ll talk about anything and everything to anyone who’ll listen. But don’t. Let your client do the talking, be interested and ask relevant questions – how else are you going to find out what they want from you!?
• It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it. Probably one of the best things I’ve learnt is how important pitch and tone is when you’re talking to someone. Telling someone they’ve won the lottery in a low, boring tone isn’t going to excite them! Match your tone to the message you’re delivering.
• Be yourself. Don’t lie and pretend. If you don’t know, say so. If you don’t understand, ask. People buy from people – build a relationship based on who you are, not who you think they want you to be.

You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure it’s a good one.

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27/08/2010 by Marketing Team.

We crave friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, so come and find us and say Hi!!

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01/07/2010 by Marketing Team.

“Think twice before saying it!”

How many times do you regret saying something?
How is it that we sometimes feel personally attacked when someone is telling us something?
Do you think about the words you use before saying them?

You are probably like everyone, you put your two feet in and you find yourself in awkward situations where you get unpredictable and unwanted reactions. Most of the time, this happens for two main reasons:

1 - the person is not in the right state to listen to what you have to say

2 - and more likely, you haven’t chosen the right words to express yourself.

What are the differences between the following sentences involving a child climbing a tree?

It’s too hard, you are too small, you’re going to fall! You won’t make it!

Hold on and be aware of where you are putting your feet.

With the first sentence, the child only hears the words “too hard”, “too small”, “fall” and “won’t make it”, while with the second one, the child is noticing the words “hold on” and “putting your feet”.

From a very you age, children are subject to a wide range of words every day and some words are used many times in the same day. If you repeatedly use negative words when talking to a child, then they will start to believe it’s true and won’t question their validity, their confidence and self-esteem will be affected for years to come, or maybe for their whole life.

You can easily change this by simply adopting the 3 following rules:

1. Use as many positive words as you can and reward good behaviours (that’s very good, I am so pleased that you…, I didn’t know you could do something like this…)

2. Always talk about someone’s actions instead of talking about the person (”When you do this, I feel annoyed” instead of “You annoy me”)

3. Say what you want to say instead of saying what you don’t want (”Walk and take your time” instead of “Don’t run!”)

As soon as you start thinking about these three important rules, you’ll quickly notice how people react differently and positively to what you are saying. In the next weeks and months, you are going to use these three rules without thinking about them and they are simply going to become an entire part of the way you communicate with others.

Enjoy!

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01/06/2010 by Marketing Team.

“Do you know what is the most important for you”

How often do wonder if you made the right decision?
How long does it take sometimes to take the decision?
How much do you know what is important so you can make the right decision?

You can easily remember times where you felt unsure about making a decision, or simply doing the right thing for you. In most cases, this happens because you are not aware of what really matters to you, what are the most important things for you?

You can have a better understanding of these important things in your life by asking yourself 4 questions:

1. If you had all the money / time / freedom in the world, what would you be doing? And why is that important?

2. If you had 3 months to live, what about the people? What would you do with your day? And why is that important?

3. If you could think of 3 happy people, who would they be? And why did you chose these people?

4. If you could think of 2 happy moments, what would they be? And what is so special about these moments?

Then what do you do?

You simply find the three common threads in these four questions and check their importance using one of many situations where it was difficult to make a decision. If you can easily and happily make the decision, they are the 3 most important things for you. If not, check the answers to the questions and discover if you have forgotten something even more important.

 As you begin to use the 3 important elements of your life, you will be pleasantly surprised how easy and simple it is to make the right decision. And over the next weeks and months, you will be happy to notice that you are making the right decisions and you are also living your life enjoying the most important things for you.

Enjoy!

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