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Have you made up your mind to be happy?
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happyas

Abraham Lincoln once said, “most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” Those words ring as true today as they were when he said it. Mindset is an integral part of success. Whether you believe in Law of Attraction or not, your attitude makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the outcome of any human relationship (business, romantic, platonic or otherwise). When you drag yourself down with negative self-talk, second guessing yourself or continuously compromising – you chip away at that happiness. Try this instead, reframe the situation! You may be going into a negotiation. Make up your mind that the outcome will be happy, a win-win. By framing the negotiation as a collaborative versus combative affair, you can disarm a potentially contentious discussion.

Today’s Exercise: Do you have something important to bring up? Make up your mind to be happy and have a happy outcome before the discussion starts. Maybe you have to bring something up to a business partner or even your spouse. Take a moment. Take a breath. Visualize the outcome you want.

How did it go? Did you walk into the situation calmer? Did calming yourself down beforehand and resetting your mind toward a happy outcome produce different results than if you would have walked in with anxiety?

Get some free coaching on it by commenting below.

Need more help? Contact us!

Is your little voice a genius?
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journalkudrow

What Works clients are often found scribbling madly in their Genius Books. That’s what we call that little journal you keep by your bed. You never know when that little voice will deliver inspiration. In the case of my dad, Wayne, his genius time hit in restaurants. He would be sitting there having a meal and BOOM… IDEA! As a result, his pockets, the center console of his truck, crammed into books, were hundreds of ideas about what could be built and how he would build it.

That little voice resulted in a motel, some apartments, more than a few city contracts and a lot of toys bought as a result of the material rewards they brought. But writing it down isn’t enough – you have to take action. Stare at those little notes all you want, checks won’t show up in your mailbox unless you do something to make them show up.

Today’s Exercise: Locate your scribbling, your great ideas. If you don’t write them down, START! It doesn’t have to look pretty. Scribble every time that little voice speaks, on whatever you can grab at the time. Collect them over a week’s time and next Friday, look at them. REALLY look at them. What can you take action on? What would make a good short, mid-term and long-term goal? Pick ONE thing and start taking action.

That little voice can work for or against you, friend. It can also talk you down. It can tell you that the government shutdown makes it impossible. It can tell you that you don’t have enough capital, you aren’t smart enough, you don’t have enough education or experience. As much as those ideas pop and give you that adrenaline rush we all crave so much, it can stop you before you start.

Need some help prioritizing those scribbles or want more ideas on how to make that little voice work for you instead of against you?

Reach out to us! We’re here to help.

Don’t you dare think of quitting!
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This is one of my favorite motivational poems. Rather than fill you with fluff, it allows you to address your situation and correct your mindset before proceeding toward a solution.

– Diane Dye Hansen, What Works Lead Coach

MustNotQuit

Give a Man a Fish
What costs less, learning to do it or having it done?
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GiveaManaFish

If you’ve read the story about What Works, you know that our firm used to be all about taking over the reins – being an installed executive, doing your email programs, web sites, marketing plans and marketing campaigns for you. Can we still refer you to people who can do it for you if you need it? Absolutely! We do that every day. But what we really prefer to do is coach you on HOW to do it. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” That old Chinese Proverb is actually very true.

Think about it. If we teach you What Works for your unique situation, than you have the power, the knowledge, to continue forward and repeat that process if your issue should ever recur again. However, if we say – “here, let’s just do that for you, charge you this nifty one time fee and its done,” what’s the result? Sure, its done for you. The issue has been handled – THIS TIME. However, the next time you need something done, you are stuck in the mud. At that point you look for a new solution, a new vendor,  or a new whatever.  Why look for something new over and over again when you can participate in the development of your own trusted, tried and true tools? At What Works, we give you the tools to be unstuck.

Today’s exercise: Think of past situation where something “stuck” in your business. How did it get there? Where did you shift things to unstick it? What guidance would you give yourself now that it’s unstuck? Did your solution teach you how to fish or was it a Band-Aid to get past temporary pain?

When you see an issue, you need to fish for lasting solutions or rush for a quick fix?

Tell us all about it in the comments below and, if we can help, contact us.