First, the difference between reputation and character
Perhaps the best way to distinguish between the two is to think of your reputation as what people think of you and your character as who you are, what you believe and what you do. Your reputation is created by others and can be fleeting, but the true character you build for yourself exists inside you and can last a lifetime.

Character requires action
Someone with character follows through with their promises. Good intentions and rhetoric are not enough. They stick to their word and they are active in the pursuit of helping others. People depend on them not only for their contribution, but as a positive example and role model. Character also involves proper ethics and values. People of character always seem to do the right thing, often for the benefit of others, not themselves. They have a compass in life that leads them down the right path and they are interested in their inner growth, they make it a point to continue to grow as a person and help others do the same.

You develop character partly by knowing and accepting your limitations and those of others.
Character is a combination of believing anything is possible yet remaining realistic at the same time. Sometimes that means putting your dreams aside and focusing on being the best you can be with what you have at the moment—a lesson that will last you a lifetime no matter what your circumstances. And try to understand that others are probably trying to do the same by making the best of what they have and who they are. That kind of realization and acceptance is a true character builder.

But don’t give in to the things you can change.
If you tell yourself that you will never be happy or find a great job, you are engaging in self-defeating behavior. This worn out phrase still holds a great deal of truth. Do not let simple words (and they are only words) have a negative effect on either the present or the future. Working hard at changing the negative thoughts that enter your mind not only builds character but a life of success and happiness.

Remember, true character begins with an inner dialogue that leads to a life of proper ethics, values, honesty and self respect.

Step one is to have a true purpose.
Just wanting to acquire wealth or make a great deal of money for money’s sake is not enough. There can be many reasons that you want to put some serious dollars in your coffers including supporting your family, having more freedom in life and ensuring a strong financial future. Or you may want to help your community or start a foundation that offers college scholarships to underprivileged students. Whatever your reason, make sure you are clear about it and it serves a real purpose.

Change the way you think about money and its role in your life.
When we see someone who is rich and successful, we tend to first be in awe of them. Then we see their level of wealth as simply out of our reach—such success seems only for the chosen few. So how can you change that limiting attitude? Like other accomplishments, it can be very helpful to visualize the end result. Seeing yourself as a person of wealth may be the most important step of all. Tell yourself it’s OK to have money!

Associate with the wealthy.
This does not mean that you have to move to New York and try to hang around with Donald Trump all day. There are a number of organizations with the sole focus of acquiring wealth and they all have an accessible website in which you can get involved. There are a number of books, videos and seminars that focus on the subject. Keep in mind that the wealthy are quite often very generous with tips and strategies and most of them are willing to talk in depth about their journey to financial success. Even if you live in a small town, it may not be too difficult to find a way to arrange a face to face meeting with successful people in your profession or areas of interest.

A word of caution: There are tons of people professing to teach you how to become rich beyond your dreams. Stay with the golden rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, if someone’s method requires a lot of hard work, a great deal of study and a hard-won change in your mindset, it may be worth taking a look.

Take action.
When you have completed the steps above it is time to get to work. Wealthy people do not procrastinate. They know the importance of hard work, determination and persistence; as well as not being shy when a golden opportunity comes their way.

A healthy mix of the proper mindset, a true purpose, a bit of courage and a lot of hard work can lead to a wealthy future. And it is OK to be wealthy!

A survivor is always fully aware of the situation they are in
Having a full understanding of the current situation is key in making the best of it and coming out a survivor in the end. How long will this particular challenge last? What are your options? What needs to be done first? What kind of help do you need and who can provide that help? These are all important questions to ask yourself. Breaking things down into simple steps can help you from feeling overwhelmed.

Rely on facts rather than emotions
It might be crushing to be laid off, especially if it’s unexpected. But doing your best to set your emotions aside and focus on what has to be done can be a key to your survival. The fact of the matter is no longer have a job. And prospects seem pretty slim. But your options are facts as well. How about hiring someone to help you through the transition or asking a friend to help you with your job search? You could do back to school or consider starting your own business.

Be prepared for anything that may come your way
This does not mean that a true survivor only thinks of the worst. On the contrary, they focus on the positive side of life and so should you. Yet, having played out a few worst scenarios in your mind is a great way to prepare for the unexpected. Ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen and build from there. Being prepared also means having important resources at hand such as your business network, a rainy day savings account or emergency fund and a list of professionals you can turn to for help.
Reach out and ask for help Survivors aren’t shy! They ask for help without hesitation when they truly need it. When things are tough, you sometimes have to put aside a little bit of pride and focus on what needs to be done. You’ll find that most people are incredibly helpful and understanding. Why? Because they’re been in your shoes! And they can truly empathize with you.

Choose to survive no matter what
A strong will and your own stubborn determination are your best friends. If you keep a steady eye on resolving your difficulties (including visualizing what it will be like once the storm has passed), you will get there.

If you understand your situation, rely on the facts, tap your resources and ask for help, you’ll not only become a true survivor, you’ll be prepared for anything life sends your way!

Don’t go it alone
Don’t go through your time of transition alone, even at the outset. Ask for help! It’s very important to have someone who can look at your situation objectively. You may find that the greater your fear, the tighter your grip on the past and that’s where a life coach can be of great help to help you sort through and identify your biggest fears. Hint: They’re never as bad as you think they are! To make an effective and positive transition, it’s important to have a working plan. And the first step in devising that plan is to gather as much information as you can. Want to open a flower shop in your town? Make an honest assessment of the competition. If you’d like to become a tutor, find out what it takes to become accredited. If you want to pursue a new career path, learn as much as you can about what’s involved. Long hours? Travel? Will the salary meet your financial obligations? Will your new job be able to weather another economic storm?

Endless possibilities
But what if you don’t really know what you want to do next? Work with someone to identify your strengths and weakness and likes and dislikes. A coach can help you identify what you really want from your life and career and identify hidden talents and abilities (that’s the fun part!). More importantly, they can present you with a number of options you’ve never considered. Your dream job might be out there waiting—you just don’t know that it exists!

Make the most of your moments of doubt
A time of transition can be riddled with doubt. The key is to use those doubts, with the help of your coach, to help fashion your future. And keep in mind that even the most successful people carry doubts with them—they simply know how to make the most of them. A time of transition can be one of the most exciting times in your life. It’s a chance to put your dreams into practice!

Although it’s a bit cliché, one of the best bits of advice in life is “surround yourself with positive people.” Why? Because their positivity is infectious and can cause you to think like they do. Things happen for positive people. They lose a job only to have a better one come along. They have a happy marriage when others are filing for divorce. And these kinds of things happen to them all the time. There is tremendous value in being a truly positive person.

Being a positive person is a choice
Is it really that easy? All you have to do is choose to be a positive person? In essence, yes. But there is some work involved. First up is to examine your inner (and outer) dialog. What do you say to yourself and others?

Words are powerful things
Although we don’t usually do it out loud (except when we hit our thumb with a hammer!), we talk to ourselves all the time. And the more you tell yourself something, the more it becomes reality—even if that reality doesn’t truly exist. For example, if you tell yourself, “I’ll never find a great job” or “I’ll never find someone to spend my life with,” that is your reality, at least for the moment. But how can you possibly know that will be the case? You really don’t know what the future will bring. You’ll change, your circumstances will change, and what you choose to do with your life may change. The beauty in being a positive person is you have a say in what will happens in your life and how your future unfolds.

Take an inventory of how many times you say “I can’t.” Do you tell yourself “I can’t lose weight,” or “I can’t be happy.” The same goes for “I’ll never” such as “I’ll never own my own home” or “I’ll never being able to play the guitar.” Again, unless you have a crystal ball, you really don’t know. Try to avoid setting up negative patterns as they more often than not bring about negative results. And the pattern continues.

Positive people don’t worry (well, at least not very much)
Mark Twain once said this about the topic: “I’ve had a lot of troubles in my day – most of which never happened.” When you worry, you train your mind to expect bad things. And the unfortunate fact is even though the dreaded event never occurs, worry takes a toll on your body causing great discomfort and stress, perpetuating even more worry in the process. In contrast, someone in a positive frame of mind expects the best from every situation and it’s very noticeable in the way they carry themselves.

Can you really change?
Yes! The power of negativity can indeed be a strong one. But so can the power of positive thinking. We are creatures of habit and that includes the way we look at the world and ourselves. Make the simple choice to be positive in attitude, purpose and in deed.

If you are like most Americans, you’ve seriously considered starting your own business. It can be very rewarding and a good way to secure a strong financial future.

If you haven’t taken the plunge, ask yourself why. Are you afraid of failing? Do you feel that you just simply don’t have what it takes to succeed? Don’t know where to begin? Maybe you don’t know what kind of business you’d like to start. Answering these kinds of questions is the first step to making your own mark in the business world.

The next step is to learn all you can about starting a new business. Talk to friends, do your own research, buy the best books on the subject and ask for help from others. Writing a business plan is imperative no matter what kind of business you are starting. It not only provides a blueprint for putting things together, it’s a great exercise in defining your image, message and brand.

Today, there are more new business opportunities than ever before. You can even run a very successful business in the comfort of your own home. And all the advice you could possibly need can be found online including how to write an effective business plan, how to start an advertising campaign, paying taxes, and tips on carrying out the day to day tasks of running a successful business. It’s a daunting task, but millions just like you have already found a way to make it work.

A new you
One of the reasons people start their own business is they want to make a new life for themselves and create a new self image. No matter what your current occupation or how deeply involved you are in what you do, your self-image and the way others see you is partly defined by the work you do. If you feel out of place, starting a new business may be just what you need to find the real you.

For example, you might be the best lawyer in town but you can’t stop dreaming about opening your own restaurant. You see yourself greeting customers, tending to their needs, offering fine foods and becoming an integrated part of your community—not spending hours going over legal documents. Or why sit in an office all day when you’d love to be outside building houses or teaching others how to kayak?

Starting a new business takes a great deal of courage and for most, long hours for the first couple years. But you may very well find that all the hard work is worth it. And you may feel right at home in your new role as a business owner.
 

One of the basic human needs involves feeling connected to other people.

So why do we find it so difficult to maintain healthy, loving relationships?

I’m not only talking about romantic relationships, but all relationships, including your relationship with yourself.

Ideal relationships encourage emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth (whether they are in your career or personal life). Look at the relationships in your life objectively and ask yourself how those relationships can be better nourished and improved, because all relationships are fragile and need to be nourished. What is involved with nourishing a relationship?

Does your relationship include these key elements respect, kindness, consideration, compassion, understanding, communication, honesty, honor and loyalty?

Let’s focus on RESPECT.

Respect is a willingness to show appreciation, and to honor. Why is respect so critical? Let me answer that by demonstrating at what happens when respect is not present. Without respect, we focus on faults. Without respect, there is no compassion. Without respect, there is no understanding. Without respect, there is no loyalty.

Let’s apply this to your career. Without respect for your boss, you will not give your best to your work. After all, why give your best to someone who’s a pedantic, domineering jerk, right? Ah, but back up a moment. What if you were to see your boss in a respectful light? Respect emphasizes the positive: your boss may be pedantic and domineering, but he/she has a talent for staying focused and on task. When you see her with respect, you may see that her abrasiveness is due to deep insecurity. When you see her with respect, you may see that she is doing her best to be efficient… and this may inspire loyalty in you. Think about what this can do for your career. Not only will you further your career because you give your best effort to your work, but your work environment will become more pleasant and cooperative.

Do you see how important this shift in perception is?

If there is someone in your life who drives you absolutely crazy and makes your blood boil, take some time to think deeply about that person and find the inherent good in him or her; acknowledge the strengths and downplay the faults, and honor their essence, who they are as a human being.

This shift in thinking can dramatically change the direction of your life.

Please contact me for more on how to foster respect for others and greatly improve the quality of your relationships.

Joy Leggett
joy@joyleggett.com
 

I’ll come out and ask this point-blank: are you happy? Do you feel fulfilled and purposeful? Or is there a nagging voice deep within you urging you to reconsider the path you’re on and find the courage to strike out on a path that is uniquely yours?

You may already be aware of intuitive guidance telling you that it’s time for a transition. You may sense a vague discontent and a desire for something else, something more, yet you’re afraid to act on it…

… or you may be in transition already, like it or not, ready or not – chin-deep in upheaval such as loss of your job, a relationship ending, relocation, financial troubles or illness.

Typically such upheavals are catalysts for transition. It’s as if your soul says to you, “okay, I’ve tried giving you subtle hints and you didn’t get it, so let’s knock down this house of cards, throw all of them up in the air and start over!”

Whether you are feeling that you should be in transition or wondering IF you should be, ask yourself that very same question I asked you: “Am I happy?” You can break it down into the various components of your life:
Am I happy with my career – am I fulfilled, doing my “life’s work”, or is this just a paycheck?
Am I happy with my relationships?
Am I happy with my health?
Am I happy with my financial situation?
Am I happy with my spiritual growth?

A key component of happiness is related to your life’s purpose: “Am I happy with my career?”

When you are doing your life’s work, the work that you were born to do, you KNOW, this is who you are meant to be, and what you are meant to be doing. With this comes a profound sense of peace and happiness, and that happiness transcends to the other areas of your life.

Have you had that “aha moment”, where it all clicks and you say “yeah, this is IT, this is what I am meant to do!”? If not, contact me. I can give you the tools to find your true purpose, and the steps to take to make the transition to an authentic you.

Joy Leggett
joy@joyleggett.com
 

The current economic downturn has no doubt caused you to take a good hard look at you current job. First, to determine whether or not it will be there tomorrow and second, if it still meets your basic financial needs. Beyond that, the same old questions reappear: Am I really happy in my job? Am I doing what I love? Unfortunately, and sadly perhaps, you might answer no to these questions.

If the distance between “just a job” and doing what you love seems too far to travel, it’s time to take a fresh look at new possibilities. One of the first steps, of course, to doing what you love is to discover exactly what that is!

Once you decide to take on the challenge of finding a more fulfilling career and you make a concerted effort to do so, finding your perfect job or your true calling in life will not be as difficult as it seems. It’s a step by step process that requires equal parts research and imagination.

What are good at? Maybe you like to plan meals but hate to cook. Or you love working in the garden but don’t see that as a way to make a living. Perhaps you’d like to be an auto mechanic but only like working on certain types of vehicles. These kinds of insights can be very helpful in discovering what you truly love to do. And with a little hard work and creativity, all of the above can lead to well-paid occupations.

It’s quite possible that you are not aware that your perfect job even exists! The are thousands of people that create their own little niche in the world. They make their living as a specialist in a number of different fields (or start a new field entirely!). How about starting a business providing healthy lunches for busy teachers who don’t have time to get away from the classroom? Or starting an online interior design business? Maybe you’d love to repair old violins or start your own local newspaper.

When you truly use your imagination, the possibilities can be endless. And with a little bit of patience and perseverance, you’ll find your calling and truly love what you do.
 

The desire to become an entrepreneur and take on the world in a new and unique way is often fueled by a great idea. The allure of the rewards, financial and otherwise, that a great idea could bring is a key motivating factor. Entrepreneurs dream big and have a great imagination. But interestingly, most have a very realistic view of their chances for success and have a clear understanding of the dedication, focus and hard work their new endeavor will require. They know that many new businesses fail in the first year. So why the leap of faith?

Many entrepreneurs strike out on their own because their current job is unfulfilling, particularly in that they do not feel actively involved in the growth of the company in which they work. They want to share their ideas and play a major role in the decision making process, not sit in the background and watch the world go by. Many become disillusioned about the world of business in general and feel strongly that there has to be a better way of doing things. Others tire of office politics playing such a huge role in the day to day routine of doing business.

In essence, entrepreneurs want to put themselves on the line and are perfectly willing to take on a new challenge with no real guarantee for success. As the years go by, the desire to succeed or fail on their own terms becomes stronger and stronger. That is why you find many entrepreneurs in their 40s or 50s. They realize that living with the regret of not trying to make it on their own will be harder for them than having a business that failed.

Most entrepreneurs find new levels of energy, focus and commitment the moment they decide to make their own unique mark in the world. Working without the constraints of their past employers creates a new sense of freedom and endless possibilities.

Even if there is no guarantee of them succeeding, to the entrepreneur, the excitement of creating an enterprise on their own terms and in their own way is more than enough motivation to take that leap of faith.