by Dr. Heléna Kate | Jan 5, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Feeling stressed? Well, its common knowledge that you are not alone. Most of us these days have a high level of stress in our lives which is affecting the way we interact with others. In cases of chronic stress, the frontal lobe of the brain literally shuts down. This makes it virtually impossible for us to do anything besides react.
How do you think this affects your business and your life?
It may seem like that vacation or even day off is more than you can afford but what is the price for not taking time to slow down? We hear a lot about cleansing our bodies to create a healthier happier life but what about our minds and emotions?
How are they continuing to hold us back from what it is that we really want in life because (just like our bodies) they are overfed and under-nurtured?
What I talk to a lot of my clients about are their rhythms. Everyone has a rhythm to the way they live and a part of that needs to be rest and relaxation. For some people that might be on a daily basis. For me, about every 10-12 weeks, I need a chunk of time to myself. When I don’t do this, I am not functioning optimally by week 13 and starting to loose ground by week 15.
Regardless of whether you need time every few hours, every day, every week or every month, finding your rhythm and meeting your need to slow down will ultimately make you more fulfilled as well as more successful.
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Jan 2, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
As a label, the word “entrepreneur” really is fascinating. When my friends and I were starting up our first Virgin businesses in the early ‘70s, no one seemed to understand what we were doing. Some important people called us entrepreneurs, but they used the word in a derogatory way, hinting that we were adventurers, out to upset the order of things, and perhaps not to be trusted. We certainly didn’t describe ourselves as entrepreneurs at that time, because that would have been met with some strange looks.
These days, the number of people who are working as entrepreneurs has increased so much that that this career path almost qualifies as a lifestyle choice. Defining “entrepreneur” has become more difficult because it now means so many different things to so many different people — all of us speak from our own experiences.
The thing is, our critics were partly right: We really were out to disrupt the order of things. Then and now, when we’re starting up a new Virgin business, we don’t just want to carry out a simple moneymaking exercise, but to make a positive change in people’s lives and give consumers a better deal. Whichever product or service we offer, we want it to be a lot better than all the rest.
Our approach, which I would describe as entrepreneurial, has proven to be a real advantage. For instance, all but one of Virgin Atlantic’s original competitors have gone out of business since we entered the market in the ‘90s. This happened for a number of reasons, but probably the most important one was their lack of innovation and bravery. We noticed this first when Virgin’s move into air travel was met with skepticism, and then after we showed the critics that air travelers wanted a different type of experience — flights that included entertainment and terrific service — we saw that most of our competitors were too slow to react.
From my perspective, an entrepreneur isn’t just someone who launches a business; the desire to innovate then prompts that person to keep on striving to make positive changes. Companies need to be flexible: This starts with the people at the top, who must have a real desire to disrupt new markets they enter, and to react nimbly to changing circumstances at established businesses. It’s also probably fair to say that you can be successful in business without being an entrepreneur — keeping the money coming in steadily without looking for the next opportunity to expand and improve.
What makes the difference is fearlessness. The best businesses offer a product or service that has never previously been available. While you can almost always conduct research and test the marketplace before a launch, an entrepreneur will always be, to some extent, jumping into the unknown, as the very nature of a new product means you’re venturing into new territory.
Very young people often have an advantage here, since they can approach business challenges without fear because they have nothing holding them back, no commitments, and in many ways nothing to lose. As a person’s career progresses, considerations such as looking after one’s family and paying the mortgage come into play.
If you think you have a game-changing idea and you too have such responsibilities, you are facing a true test of an entrepreneur. The best way to handle this is to not to let such factors rule your decision-making process, but to integrate them into it. Prepare for failure, protect your downside, and then go right ahead with the launch.
The other part of the equation is resilience. Despite the most careful planning and preparation, the vast majority of startups fail within the first year of business. What does this tell us? That entrepreneurs must not only cope with failure, but welcome it. There’s no shame in admitting that something isn’t working and going back to the drawing board — we’ve done our fair share of that at Virgin. This ability to bounce back will make the difference, allowing you and your team to apply yourselves to new goals wholeheartedly, without looking back. So an entrepreneur is many things: a job creator, a game-changer, a business leader, an innovator, a disruptor. Most importantly, that entrepreneur is you, if you want to be one badly enough.
Let’s hear from readers: Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur, or a businessman or businesswoman? Which label do you prefer?
reblogged from www.entrepreneur.com Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, which consists of more than 400 companies around the world including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America and Virgin Mobile. He is the author of six books including his latest, Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won\’t Teach You at Business School (Portfolio Trade, 2012).
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Dec 31, 2013 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
The new year is approaching and many of us take this as a time to review what happened over the past months and to envision what we would like to have for ourselves in the ones ahead.
Here are some powerful questions to help you get clear on where you are at and what will best serve you in the future. These questions go right to our core beliefs to uncover what foundation we have created to get what we really want out of life.
Are your core beliefs supporting what you most desire? By taking your own personal inventory, you can begin to see yourself with greater clarity and perspective. Remember to be compassionate during this process and not be overly judgmental and critical. Let us always accept ourselves fully for who we are in this moment.
Expect some resistance to doing an inventory like this. Simply bringing awareness to your belief structures will begin to clean out what no longer serves you and like it or not, we all resist change. However, committing to finishing a list like this will have powerful ramifications on what you are able to create for yourself. Commit now to doing a questions or tow a day and you will be surprised and what you learn.
- Have you consciously selected the beliefs you currently hold?
- What beliefs have you inherited from your family, teachers, and upbringing?
- What is in the way of you experiencing the freedom and joy that you truly desire?
- What makes you most angry and is it possible to forgive and let go of judgment in this area?
- What kind of thoughts and feelings do you have when you wake up in the morning?
- What is your body worth to you? Do you treat it well?
- What do you think about sex?
- What do you believe about money and possessing great wealth?
- What influence does your family have in determining your behavior?
- What kind of world do you really want to live in?
- What do you think is possible for you to achieve in this lifetime?
- Do you believe you are truly free?
- What do you believe you deserve from life?
Did you find any questions or obstacles arise when you worked on these questions? We would love for you to send them to us at admin@projectspace.in
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Dec 29, 2013 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
How do those who are deeply passionate about their work balance their lives? I have written a few articles on the topic of balance and could list several ways \”to balance your life\” but that does not seem to answer the deeper part of this question, which is much more complicated than the basics of work/life balance.
I had someone say to me once that part of the root meaning of the word \”passion\” is \”to suffer\”. I suspect that those people who are truly passionate about what they do can relate to this definition of passion — to be passionate about something is to be consumed and driven by it. Where in this experience is the concept of balance? Passion might compel you to write at 3am and work for days without showering, with little sleep, and barely eating. This is not balance — and this is not the work-alcoholism of the typical American that might be remedied by the standard concept of balance.
Anyone who has been passionately connected to his or her work knows that the self is not always maintained in the process. The creative element that is a part of visioning and passionate action requires dissolution of the self. This makes it challenging to deeply understand what balance is all about under these circumstances.
However, if we substitute caring for ourselves in place of balance, we get a bit closer to something that might serve those of us who are so intimately connected with our passion. While balance might imply that we spend a certain amount of time doing separate activities, caring for ourselves implies that we are an essential part of our passionate work. If we are not healthy, then our work is not healthy either.
If we are not healthy then our work is not healthy.
Period and no exceptions.
While the metaphysics of this statement are intriguing, answering the following question will help us to apply it to our lives: How might your approach to work change if you looked at it from the perspective of the above statement?
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Dec 26, 2013 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Sometimes, busy workdays can feel like a marathon with the finish line still miles away. You enter your office early to find a mountain of work waiting for you, a full inbox, and a calendar blocked out with meetings. It’s no wonder so many of us have grown accustomed to working later and later hours.
In a recent study by Accenture, work-life balance — ahead of money, recognition, and autonomy — was the key determinant for more than half of men and women in regards to whether or not they have a successful career. And if you’re regularly working late or not giving yourself days off, your work-life balance is at stake.
I firmly believe in breaking the time clock to do away with the traditional “9-to-5,” but spending every evening knocking out work can be hazardous. Completing your work during designated business hours isn’t just possible, it’s also necessary for staying on top of your career.
Critique yourself
If your 40-hour week has transformed into something a bit closer to a 60-hour week, you owe it to yourself to review the issue. Get to the bottom of where the majority of your time is being spent during your work day to allow for increased time management and productivity. If you find yourself wasting the majority of your time managing your inbox or in meetings, it may be time for some restructuring.
Knockout big tasks first
Rearrange your schedule to ensure you hit the ground running every day by tackling bigger projects as soon as you get to the office. You’re actually at peak performance earlier in the day, so taking on big tasks earlier in the day means you’ll be likely to achieve more. Move your less important tasks to be taken care of after lunch.
Create a schedule
Don’t just put together a half-hearted to-do list, go a step further and establish a schedule for your workday. For example, if you’re planning on working for eight hours, allot an estimated time for each project or task — even the big projects — you’ve got on your to-do list. Avoid falling into the time-wasting trap of replying to emails and returning phone calls. Instead, allot 30 minutes a day to take care of all of your follow-ups instead of regularly staring at your phone and inbox.
Avoid interruptions
Become militant about creating a distraction-free workspace. Close out all unnecessary tabs on your browser, silence your phone, and put your headphones in if it’ll help you work.
Turn off autopilot
Sometimes when you’re racing to finish your to-do list, it’s easy to go into autopilot mode until you complete your work. Taking a few breaks will actually help you work more efficiently and effectively. Once you’ve completed a big task, get up from your desk to stretch, grab something to drink, and just refresh your brain before moving onto the next thing.
Learn the power of saying “no”
You have a busy day ahead of you, and yet you still accepted that conference-call invitation. Sometimes we forget how important it is to say “no” when we’re busy. While it isn’t always possible to turn down every meeting invitation, try your best to make a case when you’re especially busy. For example, you can ask to leave early or have someone share meeting notes with you.
Perspective
Don’t sweat the small stuff and end up turning your to-do list into far more than it really is. Simply focus on meeting the deadlines. If you find yourself anxious about your schedule for the next day or week ahead of you — which may be a reason why you work late — lay out your schedule to take a better look at what needs to be accomplished so you can establish a timeframe.
Know when you’re done
Stop spending your evenings in the office reworking things until they’re perfect. Establish a clear definition of the end result — when you’ve reached it, check out for the day.
Eliminating working late and leaving work at the office often comes down to better time management.
What are your go to tricks for managing your time at work?
Reblogged from thenextweb.com
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