You are browsing the archive for February 2010.
You vs. The Corporation
If you’re like me, you’re sick of corporate America! I have a really hard time with unrealistic expectations put on people. Here’s an example.
A person I know is a manager for a smaller entity of a very large corporation. He is allotted only so many hours to schedule his employees. He is a man down, meaning he is one employee shy to run the business properly. He’s not allowed to pay any overtime to his people & he himself is not allowed to work more than 48 hours per week. There is a hiring/wage freeze. The place is allowed only one employee at a time, who is responsible for keeping the inside up as well as the outside, the restroom too, which is accessible only from the outside, as well as stay on the register to care for the customers. Might I add, there are lots of customers since the place is very busy with not much “down time”. The secret shopper shows up during the busy time and is expecting a picture perfect environment. A percentage of the score is lowered for EVERY infraction and don’t think for a moment that the manager’s boss isn’t all over him for every one of them. Corporate institutions make more and more impossible expectations from their “people”. Those who “do” meet all the criterion are either lying on their reports or breaking some company policies. It’s impossible to meet the expectations and not! I think you get the picture. It may even sound familiar.
Can anyone wonder why there are so many stress related illnesses when most folks work this way? …when the bottom line is MORE important than those who are actually doing the work and creating profits?…when the worker is constantly in fear of loosing his job for no real reason other than getting someone else to the same job for less pay? I have worked for companies where they wanted higher turnover so they wouldn’t have to increase wages for loyal employees. It was actually cheaper in the quick fix, to constantly train new people.
I would much rather work for myself, take responsibility for my own actions (or inactions), be responsible only to me and those I choose to. If I’m going to have stress, I’d rather it be self imposed instead of have it imposed upon me.
After a couple of years of learning, experimenting, testing, I now make a living online. Even during my learning days when hardly any income was flowing my way,, I felt so much better about my life. I was creating my own reality, not allowing someone else the power over me. I developed respect for myself and others who do not fit into the expected, working a J.O.B. (Just Over Broke). Don’t get me wrong, I work, and sometimes long hours, but it’s something I create, enjoy and desire to share the new found freedom.
What do I do? I teach people how to make money apart from having a job. I teach how to make money with your own business. It doesn’t matter what that business is or if there is no business yet.
Sound interesting? Check out this video my friend Frank made. He explains it all very well.
http://MoneyMakingSystem7707.com
I can get back to you after you fill out that short form giving me permission to do so.
“A Piece of Blarney Stone”
The Blarney Stone is a historical stone, or actually part of the Blarney Castle in Ireland where it was believed that kissing the stone can grant you the gift of gab. Yeah, it seems strange in this day and age, but who are we to question tradition? It’s not like I’m saying that Santa Claus doesn’t exist (OOPS!).
There is so much to know about conversation that anyone, even I, could ever realize. You can go though watching talk shows; radio programs; clubs dedicated to public speaking; ordinary conversations; certain rules still apply when it comes to interaction through words. It may sound tedious, I know, but even though it’s your mouth that’s doing the work, your brain works twice as hard to churn out a lot of things you know. So what better way to start learning to be an effective communication is to know the very person closest to you: yourself.
1. What you know.
Education is all about learning the basics, but to be an effective speaker is to practice what you’ve learned. My stint as guest at every Toastmasters’ meeting I go to taught me that we all have our limitations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to keep up and share what we know.
2. Listening.
It’s just as important as asking questions. Sometimes listening to the sound of our own voice can teach us to be a little bit confident with ourselves and to say the things we believe in with conviction. I find that it is better to learn listening skills so that when you do respond, you know how to answer what is actually being asked. Most of us are so concerned with sharing our own ideas, we miss out on how to help others effectively.
3. Humility
We all make mistakes, and sometimes we tend to slur our words, stutter, and probably mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means, but rarely use it only to impress listeners. So in a group, don’t be afraid to ask if you’re saying the right word properly and if they’re unsure about it then make a joke out of it. I promise you it’ll make everyone laugh and you can get away with it as well.
4. Eye Contact
There’s a lot to say when it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze. It’s important that you keep your focus when talking to a large group in a meeting or a gathering, even though he or she may be gorgeous.
5. Kidding around
A little bit of humor can do wonders to lift the tension, or worse boredom when making your speech. That way, you’ll get the attention of the majority of the crowd and they’ll feel that you’re just as approachable, and as human to those who listen.
6. Be like the rest of them
Interaction is all about mingling with other people. You’ll get a lot of ideas, as well as knowing what people make them as they are.
7. Me, Myself, and I
Admit it, there are times you sing to yourself in the shower. I know I do! Listening to the sound of your own voice while you practice your speech in front of a mirror can help correct the stress areas of your pitch. And while you’re at it you can spruce up as well.
8. With a smile
A smile says it all much like eye contact. There’s no point on grimacing or frowning in a meeting or a gathering, unless it’s a wake. You can better express what you’re saying when you smile. I used to be in radio and did you know that people know if you’re smiling or not even when they don’t see you? It’s true!
9. A Role Model
There must be at least one or two people in your life you have listened to when they’re at a public gathering or maybe at church. Sure they read their lines, but taking a mental note of how they emphasize what they say can help you once you take center stage.
10. Preparation
Make the best out of preparation rather than just scribbling notes and often in a hurried panic. Some people like to write things down on index cards, while other resort to being a little more silly as they look at their notes written on the palm of their hand (not for clammy hands, please). Just be comfortable with what you know since you enjoy your work.
And that about wraps it up. These suggestions are rather amateurish in edgewise, but I’ve learned to empower myself when it comes to public or private speaking and it never hurts to be with people to listen how they make conversations and meetings far more enjoyable as well as educational.
Oh, One more thing. I guess this makes it 11 Ways…When you do speak publically, something I keep in mind is not the size of the crowd…I’m speaking to only One person. There’s a couple of reasons for this: The first one is the fear factor. Some of us are terrified to get up and speak to a large gathering. Just look at it as speaking to a friend and some of the fear goes away. The other reason is that those listening feel a more intimate connection with you and relate to what you’re saying much more than just listening to a lecture. (I used this technique both publically and on the radio.)
Have you had that experience when all of a sudden you just had this huge hunch that something is about to happen, and to your surprise, that intuition was eventually translated to reality?
When you feel strongly about something without logical basis to it, that’s called intuition. It comes in three impressions: clairvoyance or “the third eye”, sensing clearly and feeling through listening.
Clairvoyance is when your eye goes beyond what it can see. This is when you know what is happening somewhere.
Sensing clearly is basically what we refer to as “hunch” or “gut feel.” This is the time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling and you can’t explain it and all you can say is “I just know.”
On the other hand, feeling through listening or clairaudience is being able to “listen” between the lines. Intuition also happens at times when a certain sound, whatever it is – be it a car’s honk or a bird’s twitting – ushers in an intense feeling.
They say only a number of people are gifted with intuition. Astrologers even insist that people born under the Scorpio or Pisces signs are naturally intuitive it almost borders on E.S.P. But studies have been sprouting left and right that proclaim that anyone can develop intuition.
Why the need to develop intuition, you ask? Why not let your emotional and psychological state as it is? First and foremost, intuition promotes good communication. It makes you more sensitive to the people around you; it often keeps you from hurting those you love because you are intuitive enough to understand them. Intuition also makes you far more creative than ever. Intuition means releasing more creative juices for any means of expression. Lastly, intuition has a healing power. This healing power is not in the physical sense, but in delving deep into your soul to eradicate some negative energy buried in it.
With that being said, are you ready to develop your intuition? Here are some ways to unlock this gift:
1. Hypnosis
Oh yes, get yourself hypnotized. Hypnosis is not limited to watching a pendulum move back and forth. Perform self-hypnosis or you can avail of hypnotic programs that can strengthen your intuition. A form of hypnosis and meditation I’ve experimented with is audio entrainment. Entrainment is defined as the synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. The purpose is to synchronize your conscious and subconscious mind (to become single-minded). The program I used was Manifestation Meditation. (I am not an affiliate)
2. Meditation
Meditating means finding peace in yourself. If your mind and heart are cluttered with too many baggage and hurt, you wouldn’t be able to quiet down that part of you that could eventually initiate intuition. There are so many ways to meditate: take a yoga class, or just simply practice some breathing that could bring you straight to Zen.
3. Think positive!
A worry-free, fear-free state could do so much to improve your intuitive ability. By staying positive, you attract good energy that would be able to easily recognize imminent feelings and events.
4. Just let go.
What does this mean? If you are on the brink of making a huge decision, let go of all the inhibitions and head to a quiet place where you could find out where the letting go has brought you. Sometimes you just have to listen to the voice within you, and that voice wouldn’t come out unless you let go.
5. Never expect OR expect a miracle
After letting go of the inhibitions and all those things that stop you from thinking and feeling clearly, never expect for an answer right away. Never expect that the “hunch” would fall on your lap immediately. Give it a little time then you’d just get surprised that — wham! — now you have your answer. OR The other line of thought on this is to expect it to happen. No good thing does God (or the universe) with-hold. You’ll have to see which method works well for you.
6. Believe in your first impressions.
When you see someone for the first time and think that he is a bit too arrogant for your taste, chances are that impression actually holds true. Most of the time, first impressions are brought by intuition.
7. Stay happy!
See? All you need to be intuitive is to stay happy! Happiness attracts immense power and such power includes intuition. In tapping your intuition, your motivation must be happiness and contentment. Given that premise, intuition will fall to you easily.
Intuition is helpful, because sometimes it leads you to something that cannot be achieved otherwise. A lot of lives have been saved by intuition alone. Decisions are easier done if armed by this gift. Develop intuition now and reap benefits you have never imagined.
As a side note, I’ve found that this is where I connect with God (the Universe). I just got back into using my intuition after not even considering it for several years. I always considered myself to be too busy! What a lie!
You can either Make Money OR Make Excuses. You can't do both.