9 Ways to Connect!

9 Tips to Connect! Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: 9 Tips to Connect Dear Friend, "The successful networkers I know, the ones receiving tons of referrals and feeling truly happy about themselves, continually put the other person's needs ahead of their own." ~Bob Burg Are you looking for a job? Looking for clients? Looking for friends? Then perhaps you can use these nine networking tips to your benefit! Have you ever walked into a room and not known a single person? I sure have! It is a scary feeling! Here are some creative ways for you to meet people when you arrive at a function and you don't know a single person in the crowd! Use these 10 tips to make connections and expand your network - personally and professionally! Listen-Listen before jumping into a conversation. Don't rush to change the topic. Make Eye Contact-Make eye contact with at least one person in the group, smile and listen until they include you. Match your posture to theirs. Introduce Yourself-Don't interrupt! Do wait for a pause in the conversation. Initiate Conversation-To do so, you can start by talking about the situation, by talking about the other person or as a last resort by talking about yourself. Engage-If you have something relevant to add to a group's conversation, jump in, and then you can then introduce yourself. Really engage in what people are saying - be perceptive and attentive. Try to find a connection between you and the other person or relate to their conversation Move Around-If you goal is to network - then do it! Move your way through the room. In general terms, try to spend less than 10 minutes with each person or group. Always Close a Conversation-Remember to make eye contact and if appropriate, give a firm handshake hands when you depart. Follow Up-The best networkers are sure to follow up within 48 hours of the event. 24 hours if they are really on their A game! Follow up with a phone call or email. If you discussed something in your conversation that Connect-After the event use social media to your benefit. See if any of your new "connections" are on Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter. Friend or follow them if you have a genuine interest. Don't waste their time or yours if you don't. Make It Happen The next time you know you will be in a networking environment - use these tips to connect with new faces! Don't be afraid...make it fun! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.

Rethink Your Routines

Rethink Your Routines Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit theARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: Rethink Your Routines Dear Friend, "Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!" ~Og Mandino This week I want to discuss creating new routines. If you are in a rut, this week's discussion is just for you. Your goal will be two fold - first to create new routines and second to reexamine those routines that have you in a rut and spice them up! When we can develop a set of routines that nourish us they have the ability to help us: Improve our focus Increases ability to perform activities that may have eluded us in the past Saves us time Allows us to save energy - mental and physical Places to Begin Routines: Sleep Food Emailing Work - structuring your day Exercise Home chores For example, a client of mine found she was spending way too much time each day on her email. She developed a routine to shut down her email for two - two hour blocks during the day to help her be more efficient and focus on some of the larger projects that kept getting pushed out of the way by small requests via email. For her, this was helped her to make her time at the office more effective and more efficient. Make It Happen This week I ask you to reexamine your routines and see where you can add to your life by creating a routine to simplify! Have fun with this process...reexamine ways of doing your daily routines and activities that you take for granted! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved.www.MargaretFortner.com.

Let's Reduce Your Stress - 6 Ideas for You!

Let's Reduce Your Stress! 6 Ideas for You Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: Let's Reduce Your Stress - 6 Ideas for you...! Dear Friend, "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. " ~Chinese Proverb Research is showing a growing number of us are suffering the effects of being overloaded. Many are experiencing feelings of stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. Our personal and work lives keep getting busier and busier with each passing year and every new (Iphone) ap that keeps us connected to everyone every minute of the day. Every self-help guru has suggestions on what you can do to deal with stress and when I read through many of their "lists" I find I'm more stressed out thinking about the twenty-two things they've added to my to do list. This week I'm going to propose five simple, yet not easy, ways for you to reduce the stress in your life: 1. Take Control This will look different for each of us. For some, it may be saying setting personal limits of what you can and cannot do and consequently saying "no" to the variety of request at your door. For others it will take the shape in the form of a project plan if you will for your many to dos. And yet for others, taking control will be an acknowledgement that you need to bring in reinforcements to back you up and help you. 2. Put yourself on your "list" When we value ourselves we give ourselves the time and space we need. Let's be realistic at various points in your life - you may need an entire day to yourself, but the reality is that you can only schedule one hour or perhaps even ten minutes! So the question for you to consider is, "How can I maximize my ME time?" In other words, "what activities leave me feeling the most nourished...?" 3. Get enough sleep Recent research has found that even a single night of insufficient sleep causes a spike in stress hormones which consequently means that when you actually want to and can sleep it is more difficult to do so. Your best bet is to try to go to bed and wake up at a similar time each day. Creating a constant routine helps your body know what to anticipate and when. If you really cannot sleep - get help from a professional. Sleep is a vital way to recharge you. 4. Meditate The evidence is resounding that even ten minutes of meditation can have a huge impact on your mood, stress level and ability to deal with everyday challenges. There are numerous articles out there on how to begin meditating. Here are my no-frills thoughts on how to begin: · Select a ten minute window free of interruptions · Find a quite spot free of noise and distractions · Choose a comfortable seat or lie down (when I lie down I always fall asleep!), ensure you don't have on anything tight - including shoes · Close your eyes · Focus on your breath - as thoughts come to your mind let go of them by returning to your breath, visualize the oxygen filling your lungs, work on taking deep diaphragmatic breaths from your belly · If it helps you to stay focused picture your breath flowing through your body - fingers, arms, elbows, shoulders, etc. 5. Connect with friends and family Social relationships help us to reduce our stress. Friends have the ability to make us laugh and lighten up our life. Studies show the more family and friends you have - the wider your net so to speak - the longer and happier your life. Connect with your friends and family in meaningful ways. 6. Connect with God Renew your spiritual life. This part of your life has the potential to be the bedrock of your entire life. Talk to friends and family about their spiritual life - find creative ways to reconnect to this piece of your life. Turn your worries, fears and stresses over to God. Allow him to be with you and in your concerns. Have faith and trust in him that whatever you are dealing with will pass and is within your realm to face - or else he wouldn't have put it in your path. Make It Happen This week review these six strategies for reducing and managing the stress in your life. Select one way that you think will be most beneficial for you to mitigate the stress in your life. Remember these strategies are intended to help you feel better, not worse! We are each unique creatures and what works for one will not work for another. So do what works best for you! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.

How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track!

How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track! Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track! Dear Friend, "The past does not define you, the present does." ~Jillian Michaels Wow! Can you believe it? We are halfway through 2010. For those of you who are goal setters - we are at the halfway mark. Now is a perfect time to take stock of where you've come and acknowledge where you would still like to travel in the duration of the year. So, how is 2010 going? Are you reaching the goals you set? Are the goals you set even important today? Take some time this week to examine where you are on your 2010 journey! Here are six coaching questions to help you examine how 2010 is going: What have done this year that you are proud of? This is the time to pat your back, even if no one else is! Have you learned something new, opened a new business, transformed your love life, dared to communicate openly and honestly or branched out and made new friends? I know you've done something...likely lots this year, now is the time to write it down and praise yourself for it!!! Where have you slipped up? We are human, not computers. We all have slipped up in one area of our life or another. In order to recalibrate and get back on track we need to acknowledge precisely where we didn't live up to our expectations. Be honest with yourself...this exercise is for you alone. Why haven't you met these goals? Look at everything you wrote down for #2 and answer the question "Why?" Be honest with yourself. Perhaps some goals weren't really authentic or important to you. That's okay...drop them from your list now. If you don't they will drag you down...and there's not much worse than being bogged down by goals you don't really want to achieve. Where would you like to change course? List at least three specific things you would like to add to, remove from or alter in your life. What can you do right now - today - to change course? Review the list of items you wrote down for #4 and spend five minutes brainstorming about exactly what you need to do to change course. Next, create some action steps beginning today, not tomorrow. Finally, take at least one step today to get back on course. How will you feel at the end of the year when you have achieved these goals? Write down five adjectives that describe how you will feel as you review 2010 and the successes you've created. Make It Happen Use these six questions to examine 2010 thus far. Where are you having success and where do you both want and need to make adjustments. Take this week to work through these questions and see how you want to make tweaks to change your outcome for 2010. Remember, this is only a portion of your journey so be patient with yourself if you haven't yet achieved all that you desire to...have faith that with the appropriate commitment on your part you will ultimately end up where you desire to be. May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.

What do you really want to change in your life?

What do you really want to change in your life? Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: What do you really want to change in your life? Dear Friend, "Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one, your life is what you're making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities." ~John C. Maxwell This month we are focused on transforming your life. During the first week of May we discussed Byron Katie's four questions and the turnaround, last week we looked at professional advice from Chris Gardner whose real life story inspired The Pursuit of Happyness. Last week we focused on making small, deliberate changes to your daily routine. This week I want to implore you to put our lessons this month into action! Regardless of what you need I'd like you to take a few minutes over this holiday weekend and think about what if any changes you'd really like to make in your life. If your not sure, return to our discussion last week, "When clients are stuck in a rut, one of the first things I ask them to do is change some of their daily routines. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. When we make small changes in our life, it acts as a catalyst for larger changes in our life - and in the course of doing the same things differently (i.e. driving to work, brushing your teeth, exercising) we see and experience new things." I rarely meet anyone who when being completely honest thinks everything should stay exactly the same in their life. Begin to ask yourself this holiday weekend as you play in the pool with family and friends, "What would I really like to change in my life?" Make It Happen Three thoughts to leave you with this holiday weekend: First, have fun! Let go and relax! Second, take time this weekend to ask yourself privately and honestly, "What would I really like to change in my life?" Spend some time inside of your life savoring what is fabulous and thinking about what you would really like to change! Third, when you nab what you really want to change. Ask yourself, "What priorities in my life will need to shift to make this change?" We will return to this last question next week! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.

Spice Up Life...Change Your Routine

Spice Up Life...Change Your Routine Links Website Blog Life & Business Coaching Young Adult Coaching Past Newsletters Press Purchase a Copy During the month of May, we are focused on moving past what holds us back from living our most full life! As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: Spice Up Life...Change Your Routine Dear Friend, "There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ~Anais Nin This month we are focused on transforming your life. During the first week of May we discuss Byron Katie's four questions and the turnaround, last week we looked at work advice from Chris Gardner whose real life story inspired The Pursuit of Happyness. This week I want to focus on making small, deliberate changes to your daily routine. When clients are stuck in a rut, one of the first things I ask them to do is change some of their daily routines. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. When we make small changes in our life, it acts as a catalyst for larger changes in our life - and in the course of doing the same things differently (i.e. driving to work, brushing your teeth, exercising) we see and experience new things. As we have these "new" experiences our brain goes from auto pilot to "on" ... it can't rely on habit and as such new connections or synapses form in our brain. So literally by doing the exact same things differently you cause your brain to work "harder" and new chemical reactions occur within you! On a basic biological level even the tiniest of changes in your life quite literally cause internal changes which in turn can have much larger and most impactful changes in your life. Make It Happen If you are in need of some big changes in your life, this week I'd like you to consider what small changes you can make in your life. Use this list as a point of departure to decide what changes you want to make: Change your breakfast Brush your teeth with the opposite hand Drive to work a new way Exercise at a different time of day Watch different television shows Part your hair on the opposite side Spend time with different people Have different conversations in the break room at work Park in different locations during your regular errands Change the time you get up and go to bed (if you don't suffer from sleeping issues) In sum find as many ways as possible to do the same things in your life differently and even consider adding in some new things to spice up your life! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.