What means more to you? Your career or your life?

Recently I had lunch with a friend who is very successful. He is in a senior leadership role with a fortune 500 company. We were talking about retirement, IF and when we will ever be able to get there! We talked about how as we get older, our desires change. Desires around our careers, our life, how much money we need to make and how we spend our time. Could we make more money, probably, but at what cost? Is it really worth what we would have to give up? We all continually need to evaluate if we are "winning". Winning to me right now is more about helping my clients be successful and having the balance in my life to be there for my family and friends. At the end of the day, nobody ever says they wished they worked more, they say they wished they spent more time with loved ones. Many do not figure this out until it's too late. They work 70 hours a week right up until retirement, then they have nobody to share their free time with. It's the "Cat's and the Cradle" scenario of life. Are you making sacrifices right now? If so, are they the right ones? Ones you won't regret? Think about what's most important in life and make sure your time is allocated appropriately.

Hang with a gang that gets it!

In my book, there is a chapter "Hang with a gang that gets it".

You remember when your parents used to tell you the lesson of "guilt by association"? What this meant was if your friends did bad things, others would assume you are doing those bad things as well. Well, unfortunately, this lesson is not far off in the business world! When leadership sees you hanging around a crowd that may be the "gossip group" or "negative nellies" or the "slackers" they may assume you are the same way, which would NOT be a good thing for your career. Trust me, I can pretty much guarantee those folks are not on the "high-potential" list! Rather, Hang with a gang that gets it, meaning find the ones that are successful and steal shamelessly from what they do! Emmulate good behavior! And shoot for the behavior that is recognized in your culture! Whatever it is, you learn best from people you aspire to be. Look for your role model today and start working towards success!

How important is happiness to you?

Ask yourself the question, How important is happiness to me? I am thinking there are not many of you out there that won't answer this question with a "Not very!". Rather, you would answer with "Maybe the most important thing in my life is being happy". Like anything that is important to you, getting better at a sport, becoming a VP at work, achieving more spiritual growth in your life, etc., takes hard work, focus and dedication to achieve. So, the next question is....What are you doing to achieve happiness in your life? How are you focusing on it? Have you even defined it? What does happiness mean to you? What if I could tell you, I can help you achieve happiness at not only work, but also at home. Powered by Happy if filled with PRACTICAL, APPLICABLE and PROVEN strategies on helping you get there. This is really not a plug on my book, but the information in the book is the top ten tips on achieving happiness. What else in your life deserves your attention more than focusing on achieving happiness?

Blog about the book...

I randomly find out great people out there who are reading POWERED BY HAPPY...see the notes of the latest and greatest review...

http://mlinspace.com/thoughts/book-powered-by-happy/

Where's Beth?

April 20, 1 p.m.: Cornerstone Webinar, Retaining Top Talent
April 27, 11:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.: FX Conference Webinar, Succession Planning
April 27, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Business First Author Expo, OCLC
May 18, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m., Change Management Webinar
June 9: Ohio Ambulance & Medical Transportation Association Conference Speaker, Newark, OH
June 26: BEMA Keynote Speaker, Santa Barbara, CA

Fox News in the morning

Watch Fox News in the morning in Columbus Wed., March 15th. I will be on speaking about How to love your job, even though you hate your boss!

Happiness as a Habit....

Have you ever realized the more fried foods you eat, the more you crave them? How about the more you exercise, the more you want to? Statistics say that doing something for 2 weeks create habits. It's focusing on the behaviors you want to achieve, whether it is eating better, exercising more, or being a better person by doing good for others. Well, take that to the next level. How can you create happiness as a habit. Honestly, happiness is one thing that has proven to enhance life, better your careers and make you a more successful and fulfilled person. So, why not focus on it and have it become a habit? How, you ask? Cognitive bahavior therapy, by "practicing" being happy. Think about it. What makes you most happy? Helping others? Well make it a goal for two weeks to help someone each day. Being fit? Exercise and eat right every day for two weeks. Having positive relationships. Focus on building better relationships every day for two weeks. See the habits that come out of it and also the new found desire to focus on being a happier person. What could be better?

A Quick and FREE way to start your day off right

I am always looking for ways to improve my health and my happiness! Whether it's a better diet, more (or for that matter, ANY) exercise, etc. I stumbled across something that I believe will truly help my day improve. It may even SAVE you money! It's simple. It's starting off the day on the right foot. I thought I already did this well, fixed my daughter's breakfast, kissed her good-bye, read my daily devotional and ran off to work to start my day. I was always in a hurry to work, don't ask me why. I do love my job, but really, who wants to run to work? I would think sometimes, how I would love to just stay home today and relax, watch TV, etc.. So, I figured out a solution. I decided to get up a bit earlier - maybe 15 or 30 minutes, start my coffee, make my daughter breakfast and then after she left, I sat. Yes, I relaxed, drank my coffee and caught some of the early morning news. WOW - it's amazing how that made me feel like I had a bit more control over my day and was starting it out the way I wanted to. I still make it to work by 8 - but I enjoy myself even before I get there. And for me, who used to drive through Tim Horton's to grab a coffee, I'm actually saving money by making it myself! Ahhh...the simple things in life. Figure out what they are for you, and make them happen!