Great Minds | Blog

Greater Self-Confidence in 5 Steps

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:54:33 GMT

Are there times when you doubt yourself and your abilities? Have you missed out on opportunities because you felt you were not talented enough, lacked education or felt unattractive?

Time and time again, I coach people who have lots of talent and wonderful ability, yet for various reasons they are filled with self-doubt. They give up on their dreams, settle for less and become stuck in a rut due to lack of self-confidence. It is no wonder that those who lack self-confidence are less adventurous, get less out of life and always underachieve.

Having self-confidence is crucial to living a fulfilling life. It influences your success at work, your relationships with others and your performance in everything you do. Confident people have faith in themselves and their abilities and they believe that that they can have the best in life.

The good news is that confidence is a skill, it can be learned, and just like driving a car, it can become a habit. As you know, we don't even have to think about our habits as they are part of us.

Apply the following 5 steps to greater self-confidence and you'll soon notice positive changes:

Step 1 - Decide to Become Self-Confident
Write out the answer to the following two questions:

- What would your life be like if you were confident?
- What would self-confidence mean to you?

Based on your answer make a decision today to invest your time, effort and money in becoming self-confident. Read books about self-confidence, listen to confidence building audios, attend confidence building workshops and consult with a coach who specialises in confidence coaching.

Step 2 -Become More Self-Aware
Learn to develop an awareness of your unique individuality. When you know and understand yourself at a deeper level, you will have greater control over your thoughts, feelings and attitudes which in turn will help you build greater self-confidence.

Step 3 -Act with Confidence
If you want to feel confident; act with confidence. When you think confidently, walk confidently and talk confidently, it will easily and effortlessly become natural for you to be confident.

Step 4 -Use your Imagination
When you use your imagination to visualise yourself being confident, you are impressing very powerful images onto your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind stores images and the more you visualise yourself being confident the more it becomes part of our life. Whenever your subconscious mind accepts an idea, it immediately begins to execute it.

Step 5 - Belief in Yourself
It is not your actual abilities that determine what you can achieve but your belief in them. It is essential that you let go of limiting beliefs that hinder your progress and develop empowering ones that assist your development. Often we are like the fish that does not even realise it is in water. When you work with a coach you will identify and eliminate those limiting beliefs that hinder your progress.

In order to achieve what you want in life, you must develop your self-confidence. Begin today to create a new and confident you, that uses and values your talents and creates the life you want. Break free from self-doubt and learn to trust in yourself and your abilities. With greater self-confidence, you will feel inner strength, greater happiness and much more fulfilled. Begin today to sow the seeds of confidence and you will be amazed with the results and positive effects that ripple through all areas of your life.

6 Things We Can Learn from Alice in Wonderland

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:29:41 GMT

It is easy to think that Alice in Wonderland is a dreamland fairy tale for children. On the surface it appears to be just that. However, if you look closer, you will realise that Alice's world translates into much more than a children's fairytale.

The story has been studied and analysed by psychoanalysts since the early 1900's and although it is filled with chaos there is lots to learn from its underlying messages.

1. Manage your Personal Growth
The most important metaphor in the story is one of growth. We see Alice grow from tall to short and from big to small. Growing up is about changing body size, dealing with ups and downs, feeling confident or insecure about oneself. When Alice eats she grows, when she drinks she shrinks. She soon learns to use the resources in her world to control her personal growth.

We spend our lives 'growing up' in one way or another. What are you doing to manage your personal growth?

2. Be Specific about What You Want to Achieve
Alice learns about the importance of knowing what she wants. We can learn a great deal about the importance of goals from her conversation with the Cheshire Cat.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
“'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to”' said the Cat.
“'I don't much care where” said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Think about what you will achieve over the next 90 days! Write it down together with the steps that you will take to achieve that. Imagine specifically what you will see and hear as you achieve your goal. Think about it until you can run a mental movie of what you want over and over again. In particular think about how achieving your goal will make you feel, and build the intensity of that emotion in your mind.

3. Develop your Identity
The characters in wonderland continually ask Alice who she is. As a result, she questions her identity. When we have doubts about who we are and what we stand for it affects our entire life. Consider the roles you have in your life, for example; a parent, a spouse, a son or a daughter, a colleague, a leader or a friend. Write out the qualities you believe you have in those roles. E.g. "I am a caring father" or "I am a creative business person". Remember that you will assume different behaviours in each role. As you learn more about yourself in each role, you will reinforce your self-belief and learn to develop your capabilities within each role.

4. Say What you Really Mean
Alice is continually told to say what she means. How often do you really say what you mean? When did you last have a conversation really meaningful conversation? When you connect with people who share similar values, you will find that you share more meaningful conversations.

5. Challenge your Creativity
In the latest movie Alice's father, a successful entrepreneur, tells her that he thinks of 6 impossible things before breakfast every day. Imagine if you just thought of 1 impossible thing per day. You could find ways to solve problems or create something that was never invented before. Get your creative juices flowing by thinking of 1 impossible thing everyday.

6. Follow the Advice you Give Yourself
"Alice generally gave herself good advice (though she very seldom followed it)."
Do you give yourself good advice and do you follow it? Or are we better at giving others advice and expecting them to follow it?

Time Management - Why Traditional Techniques Don't Work for Everyone

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:43:21 GMT

Do you find yourself continually running out of time or not getting everything done that you had hoped to? Do the phrases "I can't believe that's the time" or "I didn't get that finished today" seem all too familiar. In order optimise your time it is essential that you manage yourself effectively.

Whether you have lost focus and motivation or have found yourself overwhelmed with activity, step back and analyse yourself, prioritise your effort and organise your daily actions.

From my experience in training and coaching leaders, managers and entrepreneurs to be their best, I understand that people think about and process time differently. For example, you probably know some one who never wears a watch, yet they always know the time or indeed the opposite – someone who checks their watch every few minutes because they are not sure of the time.

How you relate to time depends on what you focus on. Perhaps you spend your time thinking about the future or maybe you tend to live in the moment.

If you are future orientated you tend to be very aware of time and always wondering what you are going to do next. Planning and prioritising techniques work well for you keeping you goal focused and on time for appointments. In addition to that use the following tips to make most of your time:

Resiliency and Self-Belief

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:18:14 GMT

For many it has been a tough and challenging year and some have experienced all kinds of difficulty in their lives. While it's natural to feel distressed and distraught, there is a stronger urge within all of us to bounce back and recover.

Change is a Certainty

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:44:07 GMT

Change is taking place at an ever increasing rate. The business world is quickly responding to changing market trends and new customer habits. But what about personal change?

Do you embrace change readily and easily or have you been slow to respond or somewhat hesitant? Perhaps you been waiting for the right time, a better opportunity or a push in the right direction?

Crowned with Confidence

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:48:34 GMT

As I write this article the word 'confidence' returns 124 million results on Google. It's no wonder as confidence is surprisingly difficult to tie down precisely and regardless of how much we have, we crave more.

Relight Your Fire

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:51:43 GMT

Recent research suggests that compared to last year Irish people are working an extra 6-10 hours per week with only 32% stopping to take a full lunch. Despite countless articles written each year aimed at helping create balance and quality in life, we are still overworking and expecting to achieve more. We all know that when we burn the candle at both ends, productivity decreases and we are left overwhelmed, overworked, overstressed and overcommitted.

Yes, it’s the holiday season and of course a break from the norm will recharge your energies, however in terms of yielding sustainable improvements in productivity the benefits may only short lived.

In order to enhance productivity in the long term, you need to maintain and develop the greatest asset that you have – yourself. It’s essential that you take time to refresh your skills, enhance your knowledge and develop your mental capabilities. Take time to tap into the potential you always knew you had. Read a book, listen to a great speaker on audio or attend a programme focused on developing your potential.

Ensure that you are sharp enough to deal with all the obstacles that the recession is throwing at you. Invest in yourself so that you are physically charged and mentally alert. You will then be able to step back and work effectively on your business and not in your business. Assess if your fire is burning out and add some spark to it again. Recharge, reignite and reenergise and be the best you can be.

The Importance of Attitude

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:55:56 GMT

One of the most important factors in determining our success in life is our attitude.

William James an American psychologist and philosopher captured the fundamental significance of attitude in his profound words; "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."

Attitude is a mental state relative to what we believe and affect our entire live. We express our attitude in our words and actions. It is an habitual way of thinking that can either lean towards an optimistic or pessimistic viewpoint. Whether your thinking is “full-glass” or “empty-glass” in nature, you have the ability to choose your own attitude.

Attitudes are greatly influenced by association which means they are contagious. The best way to develop a positive mental attitude is to surround yourself with optimists. Positive people have a magnetic influence which attracts help and support that assist them in achieving their goals. They have developed a ‘can do’ attitude and a resilient nature that propels them forward.

Once you begin to condition your thinking, you will develop a positive mental attitude that will greatly accelerate your future success.

The P's that Get Results

Fri, 01 May 2009 15:04:52 GMT

When it comes to getting results there are two qualities that you must possess.

What could you do in 100 days?

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:58:54 GMT

Today marks Barack Obama’s 100th day in office with his achievements measuring up to our expectations. He has planted and nourished seeds of optimism and already he is reaping “green shoots of growth” and “glimmers of hope”.

Focus on the Solution

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 2:09:59 GMT

When we find ourselves in difficulty we often get out minds completely caught up in the problem – we think in circles and can’t find answers to any of our questions.

The Power of Goals

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 2:54:54 GMT

Stephen had always been a hard worker – through school and college he’d put his whole heart and soul into getting what needed to be done exactly when it was needed. His diligent nature meant that he was always on top of his work and had plenty of time to enjoy his social life as well as getting the most out of class-time; always working towards getting the exam results and qualifications he needed as well as making the friends that brought happiness and excitement to his life.

We Rise to a Challenge

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 2:55:19 GMT

Often, it takes being backed into a corner to bring out the greatest weapon in the arsenal of our minds – our resourcefulness. Last week I was driving home from Dublin with my mother. It was only after we’d made our way onto the motorway (a stressful experience at the best of times) that I looked down and saw, to my horror, that in the middle of my fuel gauge a little red light was lit – I was about to run out of petrol and we were maybe as much as an hour from the next filling station. Panic began to set in: the cars around me seemed that little bit louder than before and the crash-barrier seemed to be speeding by that bit faster. I told my mother what was happening and right away she had ideas dancing off the tip of her tongue as to what we could do. She suddenly remembered where there hard-shoulders further ahead, thought of places where we could leave the motor-way and was able to suggest all kinds of places we were likely to find filling stations nearby.

We are at our creative best when challenged. In order to unleash the full potential of our ingenuity we must set ourselves challenges, make ourselves approach each problem on its own and solve it.

Do you Procrastinate?

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:53:47 GMT

Well if you do, you may want to read this article at another time!

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” is a familiar proverb that advises us to complete the tasks at hand, yet time and time again we fall victim to procrastination. Despite detailed plans, clear objectives and digital accessories that beep at us, we still defer what needs to be done until a later date and often fail to do at all.

Unfortunately, the consequences of missing deadlines are similar to having a credit card - we do not realise how much damage we have done until we get the bill! Procrastination not only affects our work, but it also gives us feelings of guilt, regret, stress and inadequacy.

When you begin to understand the personal and emotional reasons behind procrastination you will realise why you put off your plans and goals.

One of the major reasons we avoid tasks is fear of failure. Interestingly, those who avoid failure can even avoid success. Either way, they are often too concerned about what others think of them. They would rather show that they lack time and not ability. The fear of failure, can also disguise itself in the form of perfectionism - waiting until everything is perfect before the task can be considered complete. There are also those who procrastinate because of indecision. By not making decisions, they free themselves from the responsibility of a poor outcome. Some procrastinate because they enjoy the last minute rush and thrill of striving to reach the deadline within limited time constraints.

Whether you actively look for distractions, put things off entirely or are just not happy with the quality of your work, then you are procrastinating. Identify why you procrastinate so that you understand how you can overcome it.

Why be Led when you can Lead

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:08:32 GMT

Your growth as a leader can start now. Leadership is not about just running large organisation or coaching a team. Being a leader is all about setting a clear vision, nurturing growth and developing others as well as yourself.

Capture Opportunities

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:00:17 GMT

Last year brought changes we didn’t expect. The media’s coverage of the economic climate has had its influence, leaving some of us feeling anxious, uneasy and uncertain. Many businesses are confused about how to progress and develop within these uncertain times.
But the truth is that there will always be something. People have got through tough times in the past; they did this by having the right mindset. We all have done things before that seemed impossible at the time. The mind is a powerful instrument. It can deliver literally anything that we want but right now it is focusing on what we don’t want, closures, failures, and crashes.

We need to turn our attention to what we do want because, when you begin think differently about what lies ahead, you will begin to organise yourself and resources so that you accelerate your achievement this year and beyond.

The first thing we have to do is learn to deal with change. We are used to so much change today. Change is everywhere. But we are slow to respond. Why? Because one of our greatest fears come from not knowing what lies ahead. Nobody knows what’s going to happen! Every economist is paid to have a different opinion about the future, but it’s not what happens that matters; it’s how we respond to it that counts.

Don't be Swamped by your Beliefs

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:31:17 GMT

Not long ago, I returned to a place I’d often visited in my youth. As with all things, the place had changed over time, but there was one detail in particular that struck me. A swamp, once a muddy mess, to wet to walk over, to plant anything in or to be anything more than an eyesore in the minds of the people familiar with the area, including myself, had been drained and in its place now stands the most beautiful playground: swings and roundabouts, goal-posts and high-jumps. The delight and laughter of the children in what had once been seen as a useless waste-ground were enchanting.

With a change of perspective, we can see opportunities that had always been there but just out of sight. So often, all that holds us back is our beliefs, our views and our perspective.