You know body language can affect personal relationships, but have you stopped to consider how it and other non-verbal communication can affect your sales results and your relationships with clients? People respond on a primal level to how you say and do things, says Sharon Sayler, author of the new book What Your Body Says,(and how to master the message) so it's important you do things that draw people to you, not push them away.

"I think the number one thing people don't think about in conversations is their breathing. If we're breathing high and very nervous in a situation, people will wonder why. They'll think, 'Are we in danger and nobody has told me? Should I be cautious?' So if we're breathing anxiously or nervously when we first meet someone, they're set up to be on guard."

Listen as Sharon talks about the other big non-verbal mistake people make, gives examples in which negative body language affected business interactions, and outlines how to use non-verbal communication to make people feel good about you and want to do business with you.

Click here to listen to this 20 minute podcast:  Rain Today's Interview with Sharon Sayler

Did you happen to catch the 20/20 feature called “Super Humans” last week? It was eye-opening. They profiled several people with amazing skills such as being able to survive very low temperatures or run 50 marathons in 50 days or a young man with a gift for numbers and languages. He was able to learn the complex Icelandic language in less than a week! Each one said what they did wasn’t all that special, although they admitted their talents were unique. Most of them stated that they thought others could do what they did if someone would just decide to do it. It was clear it took time, dedication and motivation, but they agreed it all began in their mind.

It got me to thinking about all the prep and backend work it takes to do anything right (including a book-launch) that the rest of the world never sees. And all the thoughts, ideas, plans, goals, help, implementation, actions… it takes no matter what BOLD endeavor we are doing.

What Gifts Do YOU Have?

Maybe you can’t survive a polar swim wearing only shorts or quickly learn complex languages, yet your gifts matter. Maybe you just stood at the edge of an animated discussion with ideas running through your mind like crazy, yet you never spoke up? Maybe you told yourself you didn’t have the nerve. Or you didn’t think what you had to say mattered. Or you were too shy. Or they were too smart. Or… whatever excuses you gave yourself for not contributing in the moment. Then stop that! What you have to say is important. You wouldn’t have the ideas/thoughts if it didn’t have value.

We each come into this world with specific gifts and talents. Because they have been with us since birth,  often we place little to no value on them – we think “everybody can do this,” or “everyone must think like that”. Not true! We each have specific skills and talents that benefit the group. If we allow our limiting beliefs to go unchallenged they soon take over and limit our potential. We are each an integral part and your part is just as important and vital as the next guys.

As a business coach and author, I often hear about the risk (fear) of sharing views and beliefs; “maybe I’ll lose business,” “maybe someone won’t like me….” Get over it, there will always be someone that isn’t your client for some reason, yet there are many others you are meant to serve. There is only one you – one wonderful mix of origin, upbringing, thought processes, friends, experiences, beliefs, understanding, and outlook. No one will see or do things exactly the way you do. That’s why it’s so important that you get up, speak up and do it.

Now go have a great day whatever your adventure

To Success! To Life!

Sharon

P.S -My book What Your Body Says (and how to master the message) is due in bookstores on August 2! Pre-order it today at on the major online retailers

My new book is almost here!

Early Bird Bonus: Pre-order three books and I’ll ship you a free copy of my Life’s Short Live Passionately book AND my Beyond Marketing – Building Relationships Action Guide.   Great reading for designing the business and life you want while waiting for your own copy of What Your Body Says (and how master the message).   Shipping of the bonus books will be paid for and handled by me too – what could be sweeter!! Send your receipts to preorder@whatyourbodysays.com Preorder the book from these great retailers

Why NAMING Your Systems, Services, Programs and Procedures Can Increase Your Profits.

Why name what you do?  Because if done right, it will make you more money.

Tell me, what would you rather have?

— A cup of coffee or a Tall, Grande or Vente?  Frappucino?

— A hamburger or a Big Mac?

— A glass of water or l’eau mineral?  How about H2OM?

— Running shoes or Nike Zoom Mawlers?

— Mascara or Volumizer? (Note how the transformation is contained in the 2nd name.)

— A cell phone or an iphone? (Note how the ultra-cool brand is contained in the 2nd name.)

— Would you rather “do research” or Google?

— Join a membership site or a Diamond Mastermind?

9 Reasons To Name Your Products, Systems, Products And Procedures.

1. A name creates contrast – an Old Brain tool that makes decisions easy.
2. A name creates exclusivity (I have it, you don’t.)
3. A name creates a community – (Want to hang with the In crowd”)
4. A name creates a seductive gap between you and others – essential for creating desire.  (If you had this you’d be happier/richer/healthier/smarter/etc.)
5. A good name should be either exotic or simple street language – another Old Brain favorite.  (Makes you feel comfortable – or – chic, cool, savvy)
6. A great name is visual – most brains process visually.
7. A great name contains the transformation that occurs. (Volumizer, Pampers)
8. A name is proprietary – name it and you claim it.  Forever!  (ask Steve Jobs)
9. A great name stimulates “gotta have it” emotion – essential!

Notice how many ultra-successful entrepreneurs NAME their systems and programs.

— 6-Figure Teleseminar Secrets – Lisa Sasevich
— Big Mission, Big Sales – Lisa Sasevich
— The Millionaire Protégé Club – Ali Brown
— The Invisible Close – Lisa Sasevich
— How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It – Kendall Summerhawk
— Life on Your Terms – Anthony (Tony) Robbins
— The Ultimate Edge – Anthony (Tony) Robbins
— Ring of Fire Coaching Club – Howie Jacobson
— Simplifying and Demystifying New Media So You Can Profit from It – Sherman Hu
— Instant Wealth-Wake Up Rich! — Christopher Howard
— Chicken Soup for the Soul – Mark Victor Hansen

Why create a powerful, emotion-driven, trigger word, high-contrast name?  So more people will want what you have, urgently.  And you can charge more for it.
 

Thanks Ann, you are so right about the names we select.

Have a great day whatever your adventure

Sharon

——-

About Ann: Ann Convery’s clients generate up to thousands of dollars in business within weeks with her popular program “You’re So Brilliant!  Why Don’t They Buy?”  Ann is an international speaker, trainer and author who has delivered trainings in Barcelona, Madrid, Mexico City, and across the  U.S.  She has been interviewed in The Los Angeles Times, Elle, ABC-TV, Woman's Day, Entrepreneur and other media.  For more information, see www.youresobrilliant.com and  www.annconvery.com

Q:

I continue to struggle with defining my target market in a way that makes a lot of sense, but your feedback last week was most helpful and I have a meeting scheduled next week to meet with the director at one of the local colleges.  She is excited about my thoughts, so I am hopeful that I will come out of the meeting with some clear ideas about needs and how to approach those I can help. Thanks for your support.

A:

Wonderful news about the meeting, even without a target market completely defined keep moving forward —  as a small business owner we most often don't have the luxury of waiting until everything works.

Remember, one way to stand out from the rest to your target is to specialize, really specialize. Most small business people are good at a lot of things, so you may have to choose THE ONE that JAZZES you most – this will make you stronger and do not fear you are omitting something your clients need. If they love you they will always say "Oh, by the way…." and you say "Of course, I can….

If you don't think you have a specialty, then it's probably your natural gifts and those come so naturally to you that you just assume "If I can do it, so can everyone else." Ask friends what your gifts are to them, what are others always asking you to do are a couple of ways to uncover your gifts.

Sometimes what makes us the most special is hiding in plain sight!

Now go forth and conquer!

Strategy number 1: Be realistic about change. Change will happen. Create ways to work with intention. Always be scanning for new, better ways to work and create new understandings.

Strategy number 2: Be open to feedback and create the place for dialogue. We've all heard misery loves company, but staying around those with that mindset can bring us down. You are who you hang out with! Seek feedback from those that have been down your road. those on the same journey and those that will always love ya! (Make sure those that will always love ya will be those that give you honest feedback, all to often close friends or family give you a pat on the back without offering new perspectives or a view from "the outside looking in."

Strategy number 3: Don't wrap your heart around one central idea. Be flexible, is the key to overcome challenges and know that all roads to success never run smooth, especially if you allow those brain pathways to become ruts.

Listen in to Laura and I – it was a great half-hour on how to adapt to the ever-changing world.

Have a great day whatever your adventure

Sharon 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ssayler

About Laura: At On Impact we are dedicated to bringing products to the marketplace that help organizations successfully maneuver the wild road of change. 

Laura Goodrich is an expert in workplace dynamics and change. Greg Stiever is an Emmy award winning producer and director. The core of their work is storytelling.  On one side of the house, they produce professional video stories that are internationally distributed.  The videos are incorporated into training programs or are used to kick off or close important meetings.  Their successful video Seeing Red Cars is internationally distributed.  The book Seeing Red Cars – Driving People, Teams and Organizations to a Positive Future (Berrett-Koehler) will release January 2011.  On Impact will release their next video in 2010; Shifting Years: Leverage The Power of Generations.  On the other side of the house, On Impact, and Laura Goodrich brings to the marketplace products dedicated to creating positive change and to help organizations define the Future world of Work. 

Dr Clint's communication secret is "Get in the same circle with the person you are talking with."  Ever heard the term, walk in their shoes? That's what Dr Clint means…. learn to be flexible in the way you communicate.

Dr Clint shared with us today the first four steps in his 8 step Mental Toughness Paradigm

First, create a clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish.
Second, make a decision.
Third, engineer and develop the belief that will accomplish your goals.
Fourth, develop the commitment – know you are not going to quit.

Dr. Clint and I expand of these four plus so much more…. did you know that it doesn't take 21 days to change a habit. Listen in for the 30 minute interview and find out how to obtain mental toughness and how long it really takes to change your brain.

Dr. Pearman's book The Gift is available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. Watch for the release soon of his next book Copenology -The New Science of Success. Visit www.clintpearman.com

About Dr Pearman:
Dr. Clint Pearman served more than 31 years in the world’s premier leadership and mental toughness training and development organization — the United States Marine Corps.

While in the Marines, he developed the Mental Toughness Paradigm – applying cutting edge brain science research to teach people how to get their minds and brains to help them accomplish extraordinary things.

So, it's understandable why most of us choose to use them in our marketing. Yet, too many unsavory types have spoiled the testimonial so the "BIG BOYS" aka the FTC has some new guidelines that took effect in December (2909) and they are confusing at best.

Now, I'm not a lawyer and I don't even play one online. If you use testimonials or endorsements in any way in your business… then these new FTC rules may apply to you. We have a great white paper report on using testimonials that I just updated with how I understand the guidelines to work (remember, this isn't legal advice nor is the report legal advice.) Go get the report now: it's at http://www.impressionengineers.com/testimonials-work/

Almost forgot… can you believe it is the first of February already, where did January go? (I know, I was holed away writing a book.) But that just means I have to speed up to catch up with the rest of my 2010 goals. How are your 2010 goals going? I recently gave a talk on getting your goals done called "A Human Being or a Human Doing." The notes are up on the website too, when you pop-over there to get the report of Getting and Using Testimonials to Get and Keep Clients you can download the notes too if you are interested….As always have a great day whatever your adventure.

To Success! To Life!

Sharon

p.s. The FTC has new guidelines if you sell your products through affiliates or you sell other people's products as an affiliate, too. Our latest report doesn't address affiliates, if you need help complying for your affiliates or affiliate products please contact us. OR read all the new FTC guidelines for both testimonials and affiliates at the FTC website:
http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy the ramblings and rants of Best Impressions would you encourage others to join? I am trying to grow our community and the best way is to ask those that know and like you to ask their friends… hopefully they hang out with like-minded people right? Ways to join the community are on the left hand side of my blog
http://www.sharonsayler.com/blog where I always post these notes to you as well.

Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes the Coach Davender Gupta for a great disucussion titled In Case Of Emergency: How To Avoid A Project Disaster. If your project or your business is heading towards disaster, what can you do to get it back on track? In this discussion, Coach Davender Gupta will show you a simple process to take control of the situation and steer it back onto the path to progress.Davender Gupta is a business leadership coach and Certified "Book Yourself Solid" Coach whose mission is to guide passion-driven solopreneurs, professionals and people with Big Ideas to accelerate their Vision from Passion to Profit. Join the discussion on his blog http://www.frompassiontoprofit.com and his main site http://www.coachdavender.com. He welcomes your questions by e-mail at coach@davender.com or by phone, toll-free, at 1-888-788-8844.

Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice

Pam's communication secret is to "Tailor Your Message." Communication happens regardless of whether we think about it or not—why not tailor the kind of information they want. An example Pam uses is if your boss says "Just the facts," then honor that request with giving them just the facts.

Whether your objective is to be a more effective as a leader, gain a promotion, or secure a new position, your ability to communicate credibly with others is a key factor in achieving a successful outcome, so listen in to this informative 30 minute interview. Pamela S. Harper, founder and president of Business Advancement Inc., professional speaker, and author of the critically acclaimed book Preventing Strategic Gridlock®, discusses “The Keys to Credible Communication,” with communication coach Sharon Sayler.

For over 20 years, Pam Harper has helped companies going through gut wrenching change to accelerate progress toward their objectives. She has been featured in a variety of popular media outlets, including Business Week, Entrepreneur, and Investor’s Business Daily, and her articles have been published in a wide range of trade and professional journals. In addition to writing, Pam is a professional speaker. She is an honors graduate from Northwestern University, and is featured in Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in America.

http://www.businessadvance.com — website

http://www.pamharper.com — blog

Author: Preventing Strategic Gridlock: Leading Over, Under & Around Organizational Jams To Achieve High Performance Results (Cameo Publications) Available through online outlets and neighborhood bookstores

On Beyond Lip Service we focus on taking Action in your life. Go beyond just giving lip service to what you want to do! Every Tuesday at 10am Pacific join Sharon Sayler as we go beyond lip service.

Great leaders —

-Take risks. No guts, no glory. Be willing to CHALLENGE the status quo.
-Have a PASSION for what you do.
-Share your passion – Let them see, hear and FEEL your vision.
-Be transparent. SHARE your reality with those you lead.
-Empower others with the tools and COURAGE to create it.
-Walk the walk. LEAD by example.
-Share the glory. There will be enough SUCCESS to go around!

A manager tells others what to do. A LEADER shows that it can be done.

• a custom URL
• a email address with your URL e.g., jane(at)customurl.com and a custom email signature
  create a unique page title for each page
• search engine optimization (SEO.) You can learn more at http://www.impressionengineers.com/p77
• promote using article writing, social media and discussion forums
• create an opt-in box to develop leads. Most sites provide an incentive such as a free chapter of your book or a free report to gather the contact information for leads.

To get Impression Engineers free report of the 5 Key To Great Websites + several other great resources go to www.impressionengineers.com and opt-in at the bottom of the page.

2. Create agreements for cross promotions. Sometimes these are called joint ventures, but that term isn’t really accurate term. This is a way to stretch your advertising and promotion dollars. Find complementary companies to what you offer with the same target market and develop a promotion that will be mutually beneficial.

You could add:

• bonuses to each others offers
• bundle your classes, products or promotions
• pool your marketing dollars to create a campaign….

This works best when written agreements are in place and expectations are managed. A common agreement would have details on:

• Specifications of project including promotion and advertising
• Each person’s or business’ set of duties for each specifiation
• Timelines and how you would know when there is service completion

3. Develop online free and paid teleseminars and webinars. They are cheaper than doing in-person workshops. Record these events and add the audio and/or video to your website or even turn them into products or home study courses…. Create publicity and press releases for your events to promote your events on social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin to create free publicity and drive people to your website.

Most important though no matter what technique you choose is know who your target market is, develop a who you are and what you do statement along with messages that resonate with that audience—then IMPLEMENT. The best marketing advice we can give you is IMPLEMENT.

Have a great day whatever your adventure
To Success! To Life!

p.s. I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy the ramblings and rants of Best Impressions would you encourage others to join? I am trying to grow our community and the best way is to ask those that know and like you to ask their friends… hopefully they hang out with like-minded people right? Ways to join the community are on the left hand side of my blog
http://www.sharonsayler.com/blog where I always post these notes to you as well.

Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes the unstoppable Frankie Picasso this coming Tuesday December 8th. The Unstoppable Frankie Picasso is a Professional Certified Life, Business and Master Coach Trainer and member of the International Coach Federation, and the Canadian Association of Journalists. Frankie is a full time Radio Host, Author, Solution specialist and Social Justice Activist whose specializes in the Impossible. She is Mission Unstoppable and is leading the charge as a Champion for Change. —it’s going to be a great interview.

Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice

Isn’t it time to make the right impression online too?
Twitter, Facebook, Google, HTML, SEO… confused yet? With so much technology available today it can be overwhelming for you and your customers. We focus on website makeovers that make your website more profitable and simple to use. Let us show you how easy it can be by signing up for our free website makeover introduction. Your success is, our success.

Contact us today at support@impressionengineers.com to learn how quick, inexpensive and easy it is to get an impressive website and blog to market and monetize your passion.

I had a friend say the other day they have been trying to go through just 24 hours without making a judgment. He said he had not been successful. I told him he had to define judgment… before he could have success at it and maybe that not making a judgment over the course of a day is not truly doable.

That got me to thinking is it doable and if it is, do I want to do it? I looked up the definition of judgment and found—the ability to make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely. Since the word opinion is in the judgment definition I looked it up too— a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Curious, with the above as a framework, why does common usage define judgment as a negative?

I suppose, if others are of the mindset that judgment and opinion must be negative to discuss, then one just has to come to terms with the fact that it is their own insecurities and not whether I or others have shortcomings or not.

Judgment or Opinion — Criticism or Evaluation

I can free myself of the need to be part of negative judgments. Yet, sorry, guys, I know this isn’t “PC” but for me, I’ll fine having judgments. I’ll always have an opinion and I’m comfortable with the fact that I don’t want to be judgment free.

I can acknowledge the right for others to behave however one chooses (we won’t go into all the judgments/opinions of legal, safe, sane…) AND know that acknowledgement is not the same as acceptance.

Share your thoughts on can you or even do you want to….
—————-

Just a little rant first:

Can we just get rid of just….

"Just" is just one of those words that just annoys me.  It is just so misused these days. It’s just used way to often. I was just writing a quick email to someone today—as I was re-reading before sending I noticed I had unconsciously just added the word “just,” and it just hit me!  How demeaning, no, just demeaning doesn’t quite describe it, condescending, well maybe not just condescending, patronizing maybe, well, really it is just so limiting. 

The actual word "JUST" doesn’t mean any of those ways I just used it. As an adjective it means to be guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness and as an adverb it can mean within a brief preceding time, by a narrow margin or exactly.  So exactly why do we just misuse the word so often?  As a communicator it is incumbent on us to speak what we mean, without qualifiers. Wouldn’t life just be so much simpler if we just vanquished about 90% of the times we use the word “just?”

Okay – whew – glad that is off my chest.

Some of what we have been up to since my last note…we have a great Get More Clients through Social Media MasterMind group *f*r*ee to all of you every Monday at 10 to 11am Pacific. Come join us, share with us what is working for you and learn from others. To join in register at: http://sharonsayler.com/zyv. You only have to register one time, it’s good through the end of the year.

And this "just" in…exciting news! My new book was picked up by the publisher John Wiley and Sons. Due out in June 2010, What Your Body Says (And How to Change the Message) Inspire, Influence, Build Trust, and Create Lasting Business Relationships, is about we can communicate are message with congruence, confidence and clarity.

Popular today is the phrase "leading from influence," this leading from influence primarily assumes influence from verbal communication. As we all know communication is about more than words. You can say one thing with your mouth, yet your body may contradict you— so let’s have our body match what our mouth says… To get to the next level in your career, you must communicate with your entire self.

It has the straight-up "how-to" on unifying what you say with what you do with your body, allowing you to connect with others on a whole new level and reach your full leadership potential. Watch here for more about new book and workshops (and the process of writing a book under a tight deadline!)

Have a great day whatever your adventure

To Success! To Life!

Sharon

Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes Pamela Harper this Tuesday November 10th.  Pamela Harper is founder and president of Business Advancement Inc., a professional speaker, and author of the critically acclaimed book Preventing Strategic Gridlock®. We will discuss “The Keys to Credible Communication.” For over 20 years, Pam has helped companies going through gut wrenching change to accelerate progress toward their objectives. She has been featured in a variety of popular media outlets, including Business Week, Entrepreneur, and Investor’s Business Daily, and her articles have been published in a wide range of trade and professional journals—it’s going to be a great interview. 

Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice

Isn’t it time to make the right impression online too?

Twitter, Facebook, Google, HTML, SEO… confused yet? With so much technology available today it can be overwhelming for you and your customers. We focus on website makeovers that make your website more profitable and simple to use. Let us show you how easy it can be by signing up for our free website makeover introduction. Your success is, our success.

Contact us today at support@impressionengineers.com to learn how quick, inexpensive and easy it is to get an impressive website and blog to market and monetize your passion.

So… let me replay a recent snip of a conversation…

Have you seen the marketing of ‘X’ company?” (That concept) looks like it could be adaptable and transferable to your market…”

“But, I don’t do what he does…”

“Yes, I know, it’s about ‘the how’ of the delivery not the ‘what,’ let’s look at the structure; it could be a way to speak with your market that is new and relevant.”

“I’m not resisting you, but as I said I don’t do what he does….”  

Here’s the thing:

Let’s be honest, we all have “blind spots” – things that we do day in and day out without really thinking about how it could be done smarter, quicker, faster, better….

As the label “blind spots” suggests these are actions, behaviors and beliefs that are not working to get us what we say we want and yet we can’t (or won’t) see for our selves they are not working. Most of the time our blind spots are all to obvious to others – isn’t that the old saying – can’t see the forest for all the trees….

Do friends, family or co-workers mention or tease you about the same thing over and over… Example…. I have a dear friend, no matter how many latest loves she introduces me to, it’s the same man, different body (syndrome)…. I ask myself “So why is she expecting different results?”

Come on folks, let’s get over ourselves. What are those things we continue to do — day in and day out — because that is “how it is done.” Or what about the ones we refuse to see or don’t see?  I think back to a couple of my own that I refused to see… my reply was “You just don’t understand.” Funny thing was friends understood all too well, if I had only entertained the notion that there was another way to look at it.

If you’re having the same problems and frustrations over and over in your business (or your love life) then what’s important is NOT the beliefs about the messed up economy or the competition, or there are no good men or women left….

What’s important is you getting to the bottom of YOUR PART in these situations that are keeping you from creating what you want!  (hint: YOUR BLIND SPOTS.)   STOP and really take a look at what isn’t working, than try something else.

Share your comments please

Have a great day whatever your adventure

To Success! To Life!

 Sharon

p.s. I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy the ramblings and rants of Best Impressions would you encourage others to join?  I am trying to grow our community and the best way is to ask those that know and like you to ask their friends… hopefully they hang out with like-minded people right?  Ways to join the community are right there on the right hand side of my blog —– that’s right see the twitter, facebook and Book Yourself Solid e course???

p.s. Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes Pat Mussieux.  Pat is Founder of the company “Steps2Happiness”, and Creator of the “Steps2Happiness Home Study System”. She specializes in helping female baby-boomers add more happiness into their daily lives by way of teaching mindset and goal-setting techniques. (www.steps2happiness.com) ARE YOU ATTRACTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS INTO YOUR LIFE?

Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice

Isn’t it time to make the right impression online too?

Twitter, Facebook, Google, HTML, SEO… confused yet? With so much technology available today it can be overwhelming for you and your customers. We focus on website makeovers that make your website more profitable and simple to use. Let us show you how easy it can be by signing up for our free website makeover introduction. Your success is, our success.

Join in Sharon’s Social Media Mastermind Call every Monday at 10am Pacific. run over to my contact me page if you would like to join us and l’ll send you all the great details!

To find out more about Lorrie and Red Hot Copy go to www.redhotcopy.com and her newest project "The She Factor."

The Google Alert service helps you to retrieve information based on your chosen keywords.

You can set up alerts for news about your favorite topics, target market, even you own company name. (You can also set up Video alerts directly from within Google Video search.) Google alerts save you time because your results are automatically delivered to your inbox. If you have a Google Account go to: www.google.com/alerts  If you don’t yet have an account, visit the Google Accounts home page to create one. http://www.google.com/accounts

Simply visit the Google Alerts home page, enter your search, the type of alert you’d like (News, Web, Video etc.), how often you’d like Google to check for results, and your email address. When you’re done, click the ‘Create Alert’ button. They’ll send you a confirmation email; clicking the link in the email will activate your Alert. You can create and confirm your Alert in one visit on your "Manage Yours Alerts" page. To access this page, you’ll need to sign in to your Google Account.

Step 1 Go to the Google Alerts page. Enter the keyword(s) for the alert that you want to setup. Use words that are of interest to your target market, your area of expertise and even your company and your name (so you can follow what people are saying about you…;-))

Step 2 Select the type of Alert you want to receive. The comprehensive Alert retrieves news from blogs, news sources, Google Groups messages and websites.

Step 3 Choose how often Google will send the Alerts to you. Google can send your alerts as soon as it finds a match to your keyword, once daily or only once a week.

Step 4 Enter the email address that you will use for your Alerts. If you don’t have a Google email account, you will need to register for one.

Step 5 Click "Create Alert" when you are finished entering your keywords, choices of sources and frequency for messages.

Step 6 Review and revise your Alerts if you receive too much or too little information. Log in on the Google Accounts page. Choose "Manage Alerts" to see your saved Alerts. Delete alerts that you no longer need.

Have you ever noticed there is really little one can control except how we choose to react…. I wrote this while winging my way back from Philly the other day. It really was an uneventful flight, yet after watching 100+ people board the plane; I can only assume that "control" is not something everybody understands, yet. 

I don’t think they even realize they are behaving from a place of overwhelm, thus the reason I titled this "Autopilot." To be fair, overwhelm isn’t just an emotional response, it’s a physical response. You can just see it in their faces and the way they move…. The feeling of overwhelm is part of the physical response stress, together these two are commonly called the fight or flight response (no pun intended.)

Fight or flight is the rapid surge of high levels of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol released in our body. These hormones affect reasoning and thinking. They are not bad guys though, at low levels, cortisol actually facilitates our mental functions.

Since I’m on a plane, I’ll steal a flying analogy– Did you know when you fly, if you start out just one degree off course you end up in a totally different part of the world? It’s the law of exponential growth. You start at Airport X, you fly one degree off course, soon it becomes two degrees, than four, than eight off course…. Same idea holds true for emotions, they can infect an entire group.  A study by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis titled Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership states that "destructive emotions infects an entire group and inhibits its performance. Leaders are themselves not immune to the contagion of stress. All the more reason they should take the time to understand the biology of their emotions."

Train yourself to control your emotions instead of being controlled by them, notice when you begin to feel overwhelmed and take action to calm yourself so you can maintain clear thinking when it is needed most. Being able to think clearly under stress will increase your effectiveness as a leader. Awareness is key, many notice the physical sensation first, some call it a gut response, a knot in the stomach… my favorite "turtleing," that sensation of shoulders so high that your ears disappear.

Under stress the typical first response is to revert back to old habits, no matter how unsuitable they are for addressing the new challenge. As they just told me, "put your mask on first, then help others…." To be a true leader one must have an awareness of and control over the autopilot button. 

To Success! To Life!

Sharon

Well, what to do when surrounded by quicksand, alligators and swamped…. First, researchers from the University of Amsterdam have concluded that "a person trapped in quicksand is not in any danger of being sucked-under completely, that is, as long as they don’t flail around…."

Flail around?

So, that would mean movements without forethought cause the "trapped" to sink deeper. That would suggest it best to stop struggling before the "quicksand" pulls you deeper and ask, "How did I find myself knee-deep, right here, right now?"

Once you remember what got you knee-deep… determine a firm bottom-line for what you will and will not accept. Often times, that involves setting and maintaining boundaries with people.

Stay focused on this bottom-line. It is all too easy to be re-sucked into those old defeating attitudes and behaviors. This isn’t always easy. The quicksand research states that the "required force to pull a foot out of quicksand is about the force needed to lift a medium-sized car." Sometimes it feels that way when you are trying to change long-held habits too. Stay strong! When looking for that new bottom-line consider:

• What am I demanding or not demanding of myself?
• What will I accept and no longer accept in my life?
• What do I aspire to be?

Not desire, ASPIRE
Accept where you are now (No fantasy thinking allowed.)
Stop the momentum
Prepare for new direction
Innovate and integrate
Review all possibilities
Envision, Enact and Enjoy

Have a great day whatever your adventure!

To Success! To Life!

Sharon

Coach Sharon Sayler’s Beyond Lip Service is sponsored by www.impressionengineers. com, today we welcomed Anjuelle Floyd is author of Keeper of Secrets…Translations of an Incident, a collection of interconnected short stories, and a novel, The House, due for publication in Fall 2009. She is a wife of twenty-seven years, mother of three, licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in dream work. Her number one communication tip is Listening (not hearing.) Listening is active, noticing the tone and the speaker’s body language, even looking for what they are not saying… What they are not saying can tell you as much about the "issue" as what they are saying. When we respond, we want to choose the right words, being careful to let the other person work through or solve it for themselves. We want to stay out of the trap of "Let me take care of that for you." We can acknowledge that we heard, have empathy for what was said and still not have to accept what was said. Being from North Carolina, Anjuelle shared a great metaphor for watching for patterns. "Stick a pin in it," meaning place a mental marker and then each time it comes up again, you place another mental marker. After awhile you being to see a pattern of how the person chooses to communicate with you. Perhaps they are requesting many things and you feel compelled to say yes… that’s where her other secret to communication is beneficial. Knowing when to say "no." Good listening involves boundaries too… To learn more about Anjuelle visit her blog http://anjuellefloyd.com She also is the host of her own weekly blog talk radio show, Book Talk, Creativity and Family Matters http://www.blogtalkradio.com/anjuellefloyd What is your best communication "secret?"

Anjuelle is a wife of twenty-seven years, mother of three, licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in dream work.

A graduate of Duke University, she received her MA in Counseling Psychology from The California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, she has attended the Dominican Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, California.  Anjuelle received her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, Port Townsend, Washington. She has also received certificates of participation from The Hurston-Wright Writers’ Week and The Voices of Our Nations Writing Workshops. She teaches online fiction classes at Perelandra College.

A student of Process Painting for the last decade, Anjuelle has participated in The Art of Living Black Exhibitions 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 held at the Richmond Art Center, Richmond, California.

Anjuelle facilitates writing groups and provides individual consultation of fiction projects. She also gives talks on The Need for Family, The Writing Process as a Path Toward Self-discovery and Healing.

Anjuelle hosts the weekly blog talk radio show, Book Talk, Creativity and Family Matters
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/anjuellefloyd

Read Anjuelle’s blog and more about her @ http://anjuellefloyd.com

You can’t just use any image you find and like in blog posts, on your web site or in printed material. The law automatically grants full “copyright” over any creative work a person makes. This includes any creative work such as drawings, photos and text. Copyrights are applied to all intellectual property such as books, websites, blogs, photographs, audio and video recordings, e.g. songs, music and YouTube videos too. When choosing a creative work to use, make sure that it has a creative common license, a full-usage, licensed or granted usage, or is royalty-free.  All have limitations and except for full-usage, rarely grant complete usage rights. Ask for a copy of the usage license rights and restrictions before purchasing or using an image. Many places like www.fotosearch.com and www.photodisc.com have the licenses they use posted on their sites.

Images marked as “All Rights Reserved” are copyrighted and require permission from their creator. Images marked as “Some Rights Reserved” have a creative commons license applied.  There are several types of creative commons licenses. Each license imposes different restrictions on how you use the images. There are four main types of creative common licenses, “Attribution,” “Share Alike,” “Noncommercial,” “No Derivative Works.” Each of the four categories has a variety of license types for different usages, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ to learn more.

Creative Commons is an organization that provides free content licenses that the person developing the creative piece can apply to their work. (http://creativecommons.org/license/) The artists that choose to use this license are giving people permission to use the licensed piece without having to ask permission, provided they use it in the manner stated in the Creative Common License. Read each Creative Common License carefully as they do vary.

When using an image with a creative commons license, it is important to note the attribution with the image; e.g., Photo by John Smith licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic. Check with the creator of the image or the website that you get the image from, e.g. Flickr, for guidelines. This will ensure you are compliant with copyright requirements and give credit where credit is due.

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