Find Out What Scares You and Do It Twice!

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Rich Lewis

Rich Lewis

Post written by Richard Lewis, Vice President, Staffing Services 

Do you ever have that “thing” rattling around in the back of your mind and you think to yourself, “No, I can’t do that! That is something I will never do!”

I think it’s a safe bet we all have a fear…or ten.

Some of us fear failure, flying, large social settings, and a host of other things we avoid in our daily lives.

As for me, after graduating college, I had numerous fears, including public speaking, sales and writing. (P.S. – This is my 2nd blog post ever BTW.)

Other fears of mine include snakes, heights, spiders, and flying. One of my boys fears horse flies and June Bugs. (Sorry, June Bugs?  Must be their sticky feet. lol)

But let’s be honest. Fear isn’t a laughing matter. June Bugs might be funny to me because I don’t fear them, but to my son, they’re a cause for anxiety. For each of us, our perception is our reality.

After graduating college, I invested in myself (big fear) and bought a distributorship with a direct marketing company. I had many successes and failures. Ultimately, the company faced tough times and I lost my business. However, I was fortunate to learn from several mentors and they taught me lessons I still use today.

On one memorable occasion, I was spending some one-on-one time with one of my mentors. After I’d won a contest at work, he asked me why I wasn’t conducting training at the office. I tried to make an excuse such as “I’m not interested in being in the front of the room, in the spotlight, etc.” but he knew.

He knew I was afraid of putting myself out there, exposing a perceived weakness. I was afraid of public speaking.

scaresMy mentor said…

“Richard, in life you have to find out what scares you and do it twice. You have to embrace your fear to overcome it.”

Honestly, I thought he was nuts, but the next Saturday there I was, in front of the room, scared to death!  I conducted the training and covered all of the material in 28 minutes. (The training was normally about 75 minutes.)

I ended up doing local and regional training weekly for the next three years. I was amazed at the confidence it gave me in both my personal and business life.

Ironically, even to this day, I still get butterflies before a big meeting or speaking engagement.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being nervous or scared. They key is learning how to deal with that fear.

You can even use that fear/nervousness to keep you on your toes…to keep your focus as you master your fear.

If public speaking is a fear of yours, embrace it! Do it twice…and change your situation.

Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

We all need to continue to learn, change things up and do something different once in awhile…something that scares us.

My challenge to you: Make a list of fears you have about your job, your relationships, your hobbies, your church, etc. and then volunteer to lead a committee or a training, etc. even if you’re scared to death. And then commit to it and watch where it takes you.

Do what scares you and do it twice! Turn your fears into a strength!

A Few Thoughts on Work-Life Balance

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Mike Bollinger

Mike Bollinger

Post written by Mike Bollinger, Operations and Business Development

Take a moment and think about the following scenario…

You’re on a road trip halfway across the country. What would make more sense?

  1. Drive your car as fast as it goes until you run out of gas and then hoof it to the nearest gas station.
  2. Drive at a consistent speed and stop along the way to refuel, and then pick up right where you left off.

I think we can all agree that option #2 is far more efficient. The same can be said about life, and specifically, work-life balance. There are a lot of people who believe that 100-hour work weeks are what will get them ahead in life.

I’m not saying that putting in the time and grinding it out isn’t often necessary. In fact, I’m one of those people myself.

In addition, I’m not taking anything away from those who work a lot. I just want to highlight the importance of also making time for yourself…away from work. No matter the title on your business card, this rule still benefits everyone.

The majority of adults have been at a point in their professional lives when the amount of time put in at work has actually had a negative impact. We’ve all sent an email that in one way or another ended with a big, fat embarrassing apology or explanation. Minor mistakes like this can be completely avoidable if we just pump the brakes and take a little time to recharge the batteries.

work life balanceHere are just a few of the major benefits of finding a balance between work and life:

  • A healthier mental state
  • Less mistakes
  • Higher level of motivation
  • The ability to actually enjoy the fruits of our labor

This list can go on and on and will differ among individuals. When you’re done reading this post, make your own list of benefits and post them somewhere in or around your office or home.

From my own personal experiences as a manager, I know that there often isn’t enough time in one day to do everything.

I’ve never looked at people who work for me as my employees, but rather as valued teammates.

I will be the first to admit that I push my team to the limits, but I NEVER fail to not only recognize all of their efforts and sacrifice, but to also reward them.

As an example, I’ve sent people home early for going above and beyond. The result? Much higher results and productivity. I’ve found that between all the incentives I’ve thrown out (bonuses, team outings, meals, time off, etc.), time off has proven to be most effective.

So the next time you or your team are struggling, consider taking a little time away from the daily grind.

Sometimes a little break to refuel is all it takes to get that well-oiled machine back on track!

How Bad Do You Want It?

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Michelle NapierPost written by Michelle Napier, Senior Recruiter

There will always be opposition, delays, and discouragement in the workplace.

However, these hurdles are often a sign that you may be onto something significant.

They can often bring you to a place of a certain pressure that creates a test of your passion for the job.

When that happens, I recommend facing the opposition with the expectation of moving past it. Minimize your reactions and refocus on the big picture. There can be great growth and progress if you know how to deal with it the right way.

Look beyond your current situation.

Learn to have a mindset of abundance and prosperity.

Imagine that you’re in the next stage of success in your life and focus on how that makes you feel.

Discover how increasing your expectations actually enlarges your capacity to receive.

Get ready to walk through doors you never thought would open.

How bad do you want it

Focus on making relentless progress and find ways to get inspired…through education, books in your field, coming in early and staying late, thinking globally for your company.

Don’t miss your destiny.

Do what others aren’t willing to do.

Your will is one of the most powerful things you have. Life is part journey and part race.

We all have goals that create that passion in our lives to drive us to continue on. We have to find encouragement inside ourselves and focus our minds on success, abundance and prosperity in our future.

There will always be competition and opposition in our lives. We have to be willing to want it bad enough.

I know I do.

What about you?

The Power of a Positive Attitude

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Greg DabbsPost written by Greg Dabbs, Business Development Manager

Has life not always gone the way you want it to?

Have you had challenges that were difficult to overcome?

Of course you have. All of us have from time to time.  Whether it be at work or in our personal lives, we’ve all had, and will continue to have, challenges to face.

One of the best remedies for times like these is having a positive attitude. Maintaining this mindset isn’t always easy.  I’ve often thought it would be nice if we could fill up a syringe with positive attitude and confidence and shoot it into our bloodstream whenever we need it.  But, since that isn’t currently an option, we just have to get it in other ways.

I can tell you, from years of experience with life and the challenges it brings, that maintaining a positive attitude and confidence can get you through the worst of times and help you succeed in life.

A positive attitude has helped me get through a divorce, career changes and many other challenges big and small. That attitude also helps keep me on my path to be who I want to be at work and home.

There are many celebrities who can also attest to the power of a positive mindset. Jennifer Lopez says that she commits at least 15 minutes every day to affirmations.   Steven King kept rejection letters spiked on his wall and received 60 of them before his first short story was published. Oprah Winfrey went from poverty to the richest woman in the world.

positive thinking

How do you maintain a positive attitude?

First,  you can’t listen to the negative voice in your head.

Sometimes I find myself thinking: “I should have done this or I should have done that”.  I then quickly shut off the negativity of the past and focus on the present and the future.

What can I do or what should I do now, and moving forward, that will make a difference?

The second thing is that you have to remind yourself of all of the good things in your life.

Replace every negative thing that happens to you with something good that is happening or has happened, such as a memory that was a “feel good” moment in your life.

A few other suggestions:

  1. Affirmations
  2. Visualize what you want to do and the success you want to achieve
  3. Be mindful of the people you hang out with in your life

Affirmations come from within your mind and soul. You repeat them to yourself over and over again. They remind you what kind of person you want to be in your life and/or what you want to do.

There are a couple things you have to do without fail.

Visualizing your success is huge! I do this at work with daily tasks and meetings and envision how I want the outcome to be. I also like to visualize when I play sports. As a former baseball pitcher, I would focus on seeing the pitches in my head I was going to throw to each batter and visualize them striking out or hitting into a double play.

Finally, the people you surround yourself with might be one of the biggest influencers to your successful positive attitude. If you’re around people who are genuinely positive all the time, who laugh and who always have good things to say, then that will undoubtedly rub off on you.

What do you think? What other techniques do you use to keep a positive attitude? Leave a comment below. I’m always open for suggestions!