Brand You - be a winner

When you go to the supermarket do you always buy the same items or do you vary your selection?  Are there brands that you trust and you never stray to another?  Ketchup, baked beans, tea, coffee you know the ones you like and you always choose them.  Or maybe shampoo or cosmetics perhaps you’ve got your favourites there too.

So how would you feel if one day your favourite brand of tea changed their packaging to a rather tatty, unclear, badly presented design?  Would you still feel the same about it?  Would you still buy it?

What about a brand of car, would you still stick with the same brand if it didn’t keep up with the times or used the most up to date technology?  Would you still stay valiantly with the same brand of clothes if they didn’t change with the times and with fashion? I don’t think you would.

Whether you’re looking for new clients, for a new job or a promotion.  You are a brand.  How you appear to others, the quality of work you deliver, your appearance, your behaviour, they all count to make up Brand You.  Back in 1997, Tom Peters wrote a lengthy and insightful article entitled ‘The Brand Called You’.  I read it long ago and having reread it now I am pleased to see that it still stands the test of time.  In fact in today’s economy it’s even more vital to follow the Tom’s principles.

Start looking for ways to set yourself above your competition.  Accept new challenges, attend trainings, read more, develop your interpersonal skills, dress the part.  Ask yourself why do you do what you do, is it useful doing what you do?  Does it serve your long term goals and aspirations.  You may have to work hard at it, but by being the best you can be, you will put yourself ahead of your competition.  And in the long term this will pay off and you will put yourself in the path of success.

A word of warning.  One thing that has changed since 1997 is social media, we can all be tracked more easily. So next time you think to put that cavalier comment on Facebook, or fire off that inflammatory tweet.  Ask yourself, does this serve brand you?

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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Find a way of developing resilience

How many times do you have to hear ‘no’ before you give up?  Do you get a knock-back, someone says ‘no’ and that’s it, it’s over.

1.  You apply for a job, you have all the skills, they say no, you give up.

2.  You ask for a promotion, you are the perfect candidate, they say no, you give up.

3.  You set up a business, you have a great product, you ask for sales, they say no, you give up.

Recognise yourself in any of these patterns?

Remember when you were small and you wanted something.  You asked for it.  And you didn’t get it.  You asked for it again. You still didn’t get it.  So you asked in a different way.  Still no joy.  So you asked someone else. Maybe that worked.  If it didn’t, you found another way and kept on trying.

What is resilience?

If you look at the strategies of successful people, you will find they have developed a method of becoming so resilient, they won’t stop until they reach their goal.  They keep trying, time after time.  Some will even tell you that they like hearing the “no’s” because it means they’re closer to that highly-prized “yes!”

My top resilience tips:

1. Define your goal, be clear on what you want.
2. Be creative, think of many different ways you can reach your goal.
3. Ask for help, others may be able to provide you exactly what you need to get a step closer.
4. Stop taking everything personally, just because you didn’t get it this time doesn’t mean you are a bad person or your product is no good.
5. Take a tip from former US President Bill Clinton who said “If you voluntarily quit in the face of adversity, you’ll wonder about it for the rest of your life.”

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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It’s been a strange start to 2010, don’t you think?  New Year’s Day was a beautiful sunny day, inspiring new thoughts, perfect for setting goals and making New Years resolutions.  Then it snowed and then it snowed some more.  Did you fall into the ‘oh well no need to start my resolutions till the snow’s gone club’?  If you did you’re not alone.  I spoke to someone last week who had put on 7lbs ‘because of the snow’.   It’s time to forgive yourself, get started and move on.

What does 2010 hold for you? More importantly, what do you want it to hold for you?  This year as you write down your goals, ask youself what’s stopped you from achieving this goal before?   An easy way to check is to reread your goals or resolutions, read them out load.  I wonder if when you reread your goal you hear yourself adding an imaginary ’but’ to the end of the sentence.  If you do, that could be because you’re limiting youself.   We stop ourselves from doing what we want to do with all kinds of reasons.  “I’m too tall”, “I’m too old”, “I’m too busy”,  the list goes on.  So revisit your goals and have a look at your “buts”.  Ask yourself if these “buts” are true or just false reasons.   Once you understand yourself more you’ll get better results.  Let me know how it goes.

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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Some of you will know I’ve just returned from a trip to the US.  While I was there Barack Obama was inauguarated.  Whatever your political leanings or indeed your interest in things across the Atlantic; this is a perfect example of focus and determination.  Barack Obama set about his goal with a clear picture and now he has achieved his aim  and is the 44th President of the United States  I wish him every success to continue to achieve his new goals.  His arrival as President has given great hope to many and it is refreshing to see a nation excited by new possibilities.  Just think what you could achieve if you applied this focus and determination to new things in your life.

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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I know what you’re thinking ‘here we go, another one of these New Year, New You articles’.  Please stick with me here!

New Year is an inspiring time, chance to start afresh, make changes and focus on new things.  It’s a time full of hope, but how long do you let that hope last?  Think back – how long did it take you to give up on last year’s resolutions?  How long before hope dwindled, old patterns returned together with the frustration of not achieving what you want to achieve.

Why set goals?
In order for us to achieve something, however small, we need a focus.  Even if it’s to tie our shoelaces or to do up a button.  You focus on getting your shoelaces tied or your button done up and you do it.  In fact you’ve probably done it so many times it’s second nature to you.   There was a time when it wasn’t second nature and you had to consciously make an effort to do it.  The same can be said of anything you want to achieve.  You just need to get started, take small steps and soon it becomes familiar and comfortable.

What type of goal setter are you?
Do you set goals or resolutions every year and give up before January is out or sooner?  Or do you purposely not set goals because you don’t want to disappoint yourself?
Both situations result in stress, frustration no focus.  Not having a focus is giving up on what’s important to you and potentially going where others decide to take you.  Would you ever get into a taxi and say ‘Take me anywhere’?  Probably not, but by not setting goals that’s exactly what you are doing.

Some tips for making 2012 your best year yet.

1. Write down 3 areas in your life that are important to you.  This could be home, work, family, money, personal development, health and fitness.
2. Decide how you could make 2012 even better in each area.  Write down an outcome or goal for each area.
3. Now get started in each area, however small, just get going.  (Top tip – if you’re doing this before Christmas, start now!  By January you’ll be ahead of the game)
4. Do something every day towards your goals.
5. Sign up for my free newsletter, packed with tips, interviews and exercises all to help you reach your 2012 goals.

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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Are those toes a bit too cosy?

At the Ladies at 11 2011 conference I suggested that everyone in the room should set a goal that ‘made their toes curl’.  Since that fabulous September day it’s been remarkable how many people have referred to that statement.  It clearly struck a chord with many.   The more I think about it I guess it’s quite visual.  Also, if you concentrate for a moment you can probably create the feeling easily.

Regardless of your favoured goal setting theory, smart goals, realistic goals, action goals. How about getting started by identifying one thing you need to do but just thinking about it makes those little digits on the ends of your feet scrunch up in fear or avoidance?

• Is it making a phone call, maybe to a potential new client or prospect?
• Is it dealing with a fear about technology?
• Is it talking to a partner about a communication issue that is bothering you?
• Is it speaking to your bank or a financial advisor about a money worry?
• Is it addressing a work issue that’s got out of hand?
• Is it facing your time management issues?

Whatever it is, give it a go, by getting started and taking action you’ll create momentum, you’ll feel better about it.  Test those toes!

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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Is perfectionism holding you back?

You’re a perfectionist, you like to make sure everything gets done properly and you won’t stop until you get there.

How to tell if you are a perfectionist?

1. You spend ages making sure everything is done properly.

2. You notice fine detail and are very critical of mistakes.

3. You are your own worst enemy when it comes to self criticism.

4. Your standards are high and there is no grey area.

5. You want to be best at everything you try.  And will probably give up on things that you can’t be good at.

6. You beat yourself up over mistakes that you make.

7. You run things through in your mind wondering ‘what if’ you’d done it another way.

8. You waste time on getting things perfect.

9. You won’t set a goal in case you don’t achieve it and let yourself down.

10. Procrastination is your best friend and worst enemy.

Recognise yourself in some or all of these traits?  If so, I congratulate you on getting here.  The good news is that identification is part of the battle.  You may notice that you’re more of a perfectionist in some areas than others.  For example you may spend ages getting en email worded correctly, yet you’re not such a perfectionist when it comes to taking the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard!

Many solutions to stop being a perfectionist is to set realistic goals or expectations.  Which is great, but when you’re a perfectionist how do you know what realistic is?  That’s part of the problem (or even the whole problem)

My advice/tips to overcome perfectionism are:

Accept that you’re not going to change this pattern overnight.  It’s going to be a gradual shift, so the fact that you are aware is a step in itself.  Next step is to get used to understanding what realistic expectations are. How could you do that? Well observe how others do things, you will notice that everyone’s measure of a job finished or perfect is different – hugely different.

Being a perfectionist will serve you in some areas, but not in others. Recognise the difference in these areas, being aware of when will be part of the growing process. So keep aware and you’ll begin to know when is appropriate.

Repeat the mantra ‘good is good enough’ because it is!

Sometimes you just have to trust and let go!

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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Misty morning - pic courtesy of www.tvftdo.com

It’s week three of my 30 Day Blog Challenge, I have to say it’s turned into a bit more of a challenge than I expected.  Problem is the daily inspirational emails to prod my blogging mind and help me create this electronic tome, have stopped arriving.  Nikki Pilkington, who has been supplying the emails has been having some technical problems with her website and I suspect the problem lies there.  At first it was good because it gave me chance to catch up with a backlog, but now I’m missing them.

So time to go solo, no safety net, here I am!

My blog this week, saw huge amounts of traffic, all created by the interest in my blog.  It’s great but I did have a bit of a shock when I recieved an email to say I’d reached my bandwidth on my website.  So a quick email to my hosting company Anagio soon got that rectified.  Good learning though if you are considering doing something to raise online interest, make sure you can support it!

Weekly Round Up

Keep on running – The Martin sisters complete their challenge
After visiting the London Marathon last Sunday I couldn’t help but blog about the intrepid Martin sisters on the last ‘leg’ of their 3 marathons in 3 weekends challenge.  I spent a very enjoyable day in London inspired by the determination of all the participants and inspired by our beautiful capital city and its people.

Is it possible to make goals too scary?
Inspired by client’s experience this was my first guest blogging gig!  Wow, it felt good to have a blog published on www.BirdsOnTheBlog.com I even got some comments too, have a look and add some comments of your own.  This applies to all blogs by the way, bloggers love to receive comments.

A day in the life – Zoe Brown, B Websites 
Time for my first ever guest blog.  Zoe Brown, business woman and Mum of five children gave an exhausting account of her daily life.  I hope this is the first of many guests to write about how they balance work and life.  If you’d like to write ‘A day in the life’ please contact me.

Where it all began
I’d been asked to write about how I left corporate life and got started. I didn’t think it would interest many but it was surprising the amount of attention this blog post received.  I wanted to highlight that if I can do it anyone can, so stop thinking too much about doing something and just do it.?

Coming up next week, a personal journey, another song, some marketing and hopefully another ‘Day in the life’ guest.

Have a happy week,

Sue Bown

Sue Bown

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

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