Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you a blessed 

and prosperous New Year!

Being Grateful

I wish all of my U.S. readers a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day!

I wish all of my readers a continuous attitude of gratitude.

We must not wait until special occasions or holidays to truly appreciate everyone and everything in life. The tendency to wait until it is too late must be the exception and not the norm.

I blog because I love to impart knowledge and empower people with the simplest ways to take that knowledge and make their lives better and brighter. Without you, there would be no need. I am grateful to all of you who keep me doing what I absolutely love to do.

Remember that every moment is a gift and you have the power to choose how you will use that gift. Choose wisely!

To lead is to serve,

Entrepreneur Failure or Faith?

“The only time you don't fail is the last time you try anything - and it works.” ~ William Strong

Two New York Westchester County 13-year-old boys had an idea. They would sell baked goods in a neighborhood park on the weekends and in a few years earn enough money to open a restaurant. Great idea, right? The boys, Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff, who are students at Chappaqua’s Seven Bridges Middle School, set up shop and made $120 on their first day.

Being the innovative entrepreneurs they are, the boys took half of their earnings and invested in a cart and water and Gatorade to add to their offerings. On their second day, the police arrived to shut them down. Their offense? Operating without a license. A town councilman named Michael Wolfensohn came upon the sale and called the cops on the boys for operating without a license.

What was a frightening experience for those two boys and an outrage to the parents is a lesson in failure for all of us. Did those boys fail? No, and why? Although their plan was flawed – they neglected to check about permits and licenses – they did not fail. They had faith in their plan and in their dreams.

If you are 13 years old and your dreams get the attention of a town councilman, then you know you are on to something big!

To Andrew and Kevin – never stop believing in the power of your dreams. Keep the faith and in ten years or so, I want to stop by your restaurant and say well done!

To lead is to serve,

A Leader's Inner Circle

Article Excerpt by Dr. John C. Maxwell

A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him or her.

Five questions to ask when forming your inner circle:

1. Do they display exemplary character in everything they do?
Deception eats away at a leadership team like cancer. Dishonesty on the part of one member of an inner circle can bring shame and disaster to all. Entire organizations have toppled from the misbehavior of one bad apple.

2. Do they bring complementary gifts to the table?
Imbalance within an inner circle can attune a leader's ear to only one side of an argument. When putting together an inner circle, prioritize diversity of personality and perspective. By doing so, you widen the range of your vision and the breadth of your influence.

3. Do they hold a strategic position and have influence within the organization?
Members of the inner circle must have the platform and influence to implement a leader's decisions. If they cannot be relied upon to execute a chosen strategy, then they shouldn't be entrusted with a spot on the leadership team. In addition, inviting uninfluential advisers into the inner circle disrupts the political balance of an organization. High performers suffer a motivational blow when they see a less deserving colleague granted special access to top leadership.

4. Do they add value to the organization and to the leader?
When considering someone for the inner circle, you should be able to articulate clearly the value they will bring. Ask yourself the following questions: What will they infuse into discussion? Where do they have expertise? What unique skills can they be counted on to bring to the table?

5. Do they positively impact other members of the inner circle?
If you've ever inhabited a house with a feuding husband and wife, then you can understand the need for leaders in close proximity to get along. Infighting saps energy and focus from a senior leader, forcing him or her to mediate conflicts with time that could be better spent elsewhere. Differences of opinion signal healthy debate, but personal animosities destroy a leadership team. Make sure members of your inner circle have the emotional intelligence to keep arguments from becoming too personal.

Read the entire article at Giant Impact.

To lead is to serve,
Coach Carolyn

Three Principles for Great Success

Sharing a wonderful article by author and speaker Brian Tracy.

Get Better Results than Ever Before

There are several principles of military strategy that you can apply to your business, every single day. These can help you to think better and get better results than ever before.

Do the Unexpected

One really helpful military principle that can be applied to business is the Principle of Surprise. The principle of surprise says, "do the unexpected!" In sales and marketing, this means to be continually seeking ways to out-flank or upset your competition.

Do the Opposite of Before

Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up till now can turn out to be the perfect solution. The natural tendency for a person, when they find themselves in a hole, is to dig deeper. In many cases, the solution is to go and dig somewhere else. Remember, the first law of holes is, "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."

Follow-up and Follow-Through

A second military principle that applies to business is the Principle of Exploitation. The principle of exploitation emphasizes the importance of follow-up and follow-through. In business, this means that, when you get an opportunity, you exploit it to the fullest extent possible. If you have a great promotional idea or product or service, you sell all you can. You take advantage of your idea or breakthrough and use every opportunity to capitalize on it.

Work Harmoniously With Others

The third principle of military strategy that applies to personal and corporate thinking is the Principle of Cooperation. In business, this is often called the principle of synergy. In military terms, this is often called the principle of "concerted action." In business terms, your ability to work effectively and harmoniously with other individuals and groups is more responsible for your success than any other quality.

Win the Cooperation of Key People

A key part of strategic thinking is for you to identify the individuals, groups and organizations whose cooperation you will require to achieve your goals. Make a list of them and then organize the list in order of importance. Then ask yourself, "How am I going to win their cooperation?"

Answer Everyone's Favorite Question

Everybody wants to know, "what's in it for me?" The effective executive is always looking for ways to help or assist others knowing that this is the only sure way to create within them a desire to help you to achieve your goals.

By doing the unexpected, by following up and following through, and by constantly looking for ways to get other people to cooperate with you, you will accomplish more in a shorter time than you might ever have imagined.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to apply these ideas in your business and in your work:

First, look at your job, especially the areas where you are experiencing frustration, and question whether or not there is a completely different way of approaching your problem or situation. Do the unexpected. Perhaps you should be doing exactly the opposite of what you are doing today. All success in business comes from surprising the competition in some way.

Second, identify the people, groups and organizations whose assistance you will need to achieve your goal. Continually look for ways to earn their support and cooperation by thinking in terms of what is in it for them. 

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

Think About What You Think About

“A person’s way of doing things is the direct result of the way they think about things.” ~ Wallace Wattles from The Science of Getting Rich

It wasn’t until I became aware of my thinking that life got clear for me. Before I became aware, it was as if I was wading through muddy waters. Like the Apostle Paul mentions in one of his letters, it was like I was “seeing through a glass darkly.” And because I was seeing so murky, I was not aware that I was living a life of insanity. We know that Einstein said that insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, we do the same thing over and over and over and wonder why we get the same results. This is because in our heads, we know what we want to happen; we know what we want the outcome to look like – but for some reason, it’s not happening.

This can be extremely confusing, especially since we know what we want. But do we really? Perhaps we do, but I know that what we say we want and what we think about wanting are usually two very different things. So what shows up in our life? The thing we don’t want! Why? Because that was our dominant thought and it was the thought we put the most energy into – whether we did it consciously or not. Even if the energy we expended was negative energy, it’s still energy. The universe does not know the difference, nor care.

If we plant sweet corn or if we plant a deadly poison, the earth will give us the fruits of our labor – either the sweet corn or the deadly poison. The earth neither knows the difference nor discriminates between the two. It is the same with our thoughts. I know that it can be very difficult to become aware of what you are thinking about most of the time, as it was for me. But you know, once you do become aware, and make the decision to focus on what you think about, life will begin to fall into place.

I now saturate my mind with positive images, messages, and sounds. From the time I get up in the morning to the time I go to bed in the evening, I am listening to positive audio books, audio lessons, I read books that speak peace and prosperity and I do not allow negativity to enter in. I stopped watching the news and reading newspapers about twelve years ago because they were so negative and violent. I mainly stopped because they upset me psychically and shook my senses. But this practice has served me in more ways than this. I do know what is going on in the world – at least what I am interested in knowing. I really don’t care who sleeps with whom and which celebrity got a nip and tuck. This does not serve me nor help me to create a life on purpose.

Think about what you think about. We think approximately 60,000 thought a day and about 40,000 of them are repetitive and very likely self-abusive. Wake up to your life. It is time to stop sleepwalking and take responsibility for your own life. Get off the treadmill of insanity.

I suggest you read Wallace Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich. You can download the free e-book or get the audio. I listen to it every night as I am drifting off to sleep. I also read a passage or two every day. It has helped me tremendously with my thinking. Now, I think more consciously and more deliberately. My productivity, focus, and concentration have also improved. I no longer wander aimlessly. It’s time to get your life back on track. Yes, you may have derailed, but you don’t have to stay there. Remember, it’s your choice.

To lead is to serve,
Coach Carolyn

If those 40,000 thoughts are fear-based, then why not join my Transcending Fear Mentoring Program. It’s quick and easy to join and you can do it from the comfort of your home or office.

Younger Leaders Need Mentors

In some of the circles I travel, I am pleased to see more younger people in leadership roles, for church ministries, school activities, and even when needed in the family and home. I love when this is the norm and not merely the exception. Young people are the future; they are the ones who will lead in a bigger way in years to come. What I would love to see is more mentoring to the young.

One of the easiest ways to mentor a young person is through storytelling. Stories bond us as a people, and they are easily remembered. Stories create images and help the young one continue to use their imagination. I know that when we become adults, we seem to lose the use of that particular faculty.

When I was growing up, I took on leadership roles in my church – because church is where I had to be on Sunday, so I had to be doing something. My responsibilities were lightened tremendously by the sharing of stories. It was easy to begin with more common stories about what goes on within the families, but then it branched out to stories centered around the sabbath; and Jesus' new testament and salvation stories. This delighted me and gave me great hope. I found that this was also a great way to build community, though at the time I didn’t really understand the concept. Today, it’s one of the principles I wholly embody. I believe community building is cornerstone to creating great leaders and even great followers.

A wonderful way to contribute to the future of the young and your future as well is to devote some time mentoring a young leader in the making. Just share time and a story. You would be amazed at how you both benefit from the experience.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

Happy 2010!

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” ~ Oprah Winfrey


Wishing you the most purposeful and prosperous New Year!


Coach Carolyn