by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 29, 2013 | Leadership, Life Thoughts
Many times in life things goes awry, causing you to lose something of value or assumed potential opportunity. You may at first experience sadness, anger, want to retaliate, feel resentment and want to otherwise lash out or bash the person or situation.
Take a step back.
Breathe.
Review the circumstances. Reflect on the situation as a whole.
- Did it always resonate and serve you?
- Did it bring you contentment and joy?
- What daily thoughts ran through your mind during general interactions?
- Were you satisfied or did you have lingering questions?
- What were your contributions to the scenario?
- Was it all that you had hoped it would be?
Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful. Margaret J. Wheatley
If much of the discourse surrounding the events did not support your thinking, values, mission or ideals, then let it go.
The lessons may seem hidden at first, but there is always an opportunity for internal growth and a time for you to spread your own wings.
Take flight!!
Is it really a lost opportunity or just a motivator for change?
If you can, ask for feedback. It is another tool to help you grow and better perform the next time. What can you revise? Is there something in your thought processes and actions that require a little more fine-tuning?
Find your wrench and start tweaking.
Instigating change is an adventure as you are able to discover more about yourself, your company and how you relate to others. Don’t take the fall as something completely personal, especially if there were signs or signals that you just weren’t sure about. It may have nothing to really do with you at all. It could be their misconceptions or misinterpretations or lack of communication that was the impetus for the dissolution. There are always three sides to a story, yours, theirs and what is found in the middle, holding more facts than miscommunications or unheard words. Some things just aren’t meant to be and you are given signs to interpret and set in motion.
When you lose a contract, a client or even a friend, it seems like a kick in the pants, but what can you learn from it? Each and every “failure” is about improvement. Empower yourself to step up and mull over the whole situation, the entire experience. The past time invested doesn’t matter – it is the journey to enlightenment and change that creates the force within you to better yourself.
Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. Joseph Campbell
The more you are able to truly understand the internal workings of what transpired, you will appreciate the opportunity to flourish from this mishap. Even more so if you were apprehensive about the success in the first place. Follow your intuition as your gut seems to speak more loudly than your heart or your brain matter.
Celebrate the change.
The dynamics are just beginning.
It isn’t a missed opportunity at all!
It is an open door to greater abundance when you are able to let go of what no longer serves you.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s OK to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing. H. Stanley Judd
Author: Brian Tracy
What changes will YOU make?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 27, 2013 | Communication, Small Business
Communication is an essential human need as well as a right in order to exchange ideas, thoughts, opinions and meanings. It is the foundation for all types of relationships, whether professional or personal. It is a major player in our active lives, social activities and business networks.
Your voice needs to be heard and understood from a place of safety and consideration. Effective communication builds trust and creates an environment conducive to greater success and prosperity.
“Don`t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.” Dr John Lund.
How and what you communicate will not only set the tone for your associations but afford you the opportunity to either nurture or hinder the growth. Both your verbal AND non-verbal sentiments clearly express your perspective. Many times what isn’t said speaks volumes because your “actions speak louder than words,” and if the two don’t match, your message screams indifference.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” Peter Drucker
Everyone has separate ideas or feelings about the depth of communications during the initial building phase, but unquestionably, openness, honesty and accountability should be at the bottom of the pyramid as your cement.
Unless you begin building from a place of strength with direct communication, you can bet that confusion or misinterpretations will take hold, potentially collapsing your architecture. Structuring your beams should be so simple: just common everyday courtesies out of respect, honor and value for another human being.
Contribute what you expect in return and you will reap the rewards of a successful partnership. Honest communications begin with you.
“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” Paul J. Meyer
Active listening is significant component of communications. If you are only listening to reply, then you aren’t hearing the other party. If you aren’t truly mindful and present at all, then you aren’t hearing the other party.
- Listen and hear what is being said.
- Understand their viewpoints.
- Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they are expressing and take a few minutes before you respond.
- Allow the speaker to maintain an uninterrupted voice.
- Do not communicate from a place of anger. Whether you are in person or attempting to respond through technology, step back, breathe and let the emotions slide until you are more centered.
Create deeper connections: avoid potential conflicts and frustration with clear communication, active listening, compassion and understanding. If you are to create long-lasting partnerships, avoid the common pitfalls of closed lips, closed minds and deaf ears.
“It’s not just hearing the words that are being said but also understanding and connecting with what the person is saying.” Syed Balkhi
Image credit: nitpickersnook.com
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 25, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Small Business, Social Media
Can you just imagine the explosion of growth of your online world since its inception? Even reading all of the facts and figures, it is probably much greater than we can even comprehend. Millions and millions of people are online every day, searching, communicating, connecting and networking.
Jeff Bullas recently published a post 46 Amazing Social Media Facts in 2013 stating:
- There are over 10 million Facebook “apps”
- Twitter’s fastest growing demographic is 55-64 year olds
- 60% of Twitter users access it from their mobile
- There are over 343 million active users on Google+
- The +1 button is served 5 billion times per day
- 67% of Google+ users are male
- There are over 3 million LinkedIn company pages
- More than 16 billion photos have been uploaded to Instagram
- Food is the top category discussed on Pinterest at 57%
- There are over 1 billion unique monthly visitors on YouTube
Just mindboggling numbers!!
Keeping all of this in mind, your social media efforts have the potential to reach your infinite target audience almost painlessly. Almost being the operative word.
Social media does require time, planning, tools and energy. You don’t become an overnight sensation just because you created a few accounts and maintain a website. Quality lead generation, customer acquisition, partnership development or your other social media goals are all attainable. You need to actively engage with your audience. Know where they hang out. What they want. What drives them.
Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet. Kevin Stirtz
People devour news and content like it is their last meal. If you want to satiate their hunger pangs, then serve them remarkable content, authenticity, real connections and top quality service. The same that you expect from your network and vendors. There are no short cuts to creating long lasting relationships.
“Social Media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you.” -Matt Goulart
Define your goals and strategy for your varied social media platforms. You will need to revisit and refine as time goes on, but your initial foundation is a starting point.
Stay current on trends, customer needs and pain points. Interests change and expand every day. Be informed. Give them what they want.
Be able to immediately address and troubleshoot any problems or issues that arise. Word travels fast in social media; don’t simply ignore or delete a negative comment. Step up and resolve it.
Investigate how you can expand your reach. If you are using only one or two platforms, consider where your audience may be spending more of their time. Are they on Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare or YouTube? There are many options to choose from, however; if you are going to jump in, then you must play in the sandbox. Don’t just build a castle and walk away.
Be social, don’t just do social. Share valuable content and don’t spam. Keep it in the can. While self-promotion is acceptable, if you are doing it all of the time, it becomes obnoxious. Sorry, but yes. Share the content of other industry thought leaders, current topics of interest, news and some of your content.
Respond to comments, posts and RTs. Don’t ignore anyone. You chose to be out there and have a presence so engage. It is not only courteous, but it helps you to develop a rapport toward a long lasting relationship.
Create your community, your network of “real” people. They are invaluable in both personal and professional roles.
Whether you are B2B or B2C, social media is your prime opportunity to meet and greet. Open your arms, welcome your customer, your neighbor, your partner as this playground is here to stay and it will only continue to intensify your growth potential.
If you would like a little more insight, please click on the links below.
The Etiquette of Social Media
Should Your Business Blog
13 Tips to Humanize Your Brand
5 Sources for Social Media Content [list]
Content Marketing | Don’t Make it a Fatal Attraction
Free Social Media Tools | Analyze and Measure
Selling Value | 14 Common Sense Tips
Honest Communication | 30 Tips to Build Trust
Social media isn’t really that much of a mystery even though there are constant changes and updates to many of the perimeters. Simply put, be you. Genuine and authentic. Don’t be pushy and spammy. No one likes me me me. Post consistently. Listen, engage and respond. Yes, this is so basic but why over analyze and critique it down to a crazy science?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 23, 2013 | Goals, Life Thoughts
Success and innovation require a proactive approach with goals and action steps to clear your path toward accomplishment. On the road of life, you are bound to encounter obstacles and roadblocks, but these aren’t meant to stop you. They are presented as challenges to overcome.
Jumping the hurdles isn’t always easy and may seem like huge setbacks, but use each as an opportunity, as a learning tool for growth and changes for the next round. Don’t sit back and stagnate or simply wish things were different.
- MAKE an effort to evolve
- Brainstorm changes
- Visualize your goals
- Design a vision board
Mastering or overcoming these challenges is what creates a great sense of accomplishment and joy in your life. Sure, it may be easier just to give up or retreat at times, but what will you have to show for it? What opportunities or people will you have discounted?
You will have to begin once again. This time with a new plan. There is no need to continually start over. Refine your path. Your tools. Your knowledge, but don’t quit. Every time you walk away from a situation or a goal, you will be left with unfinished business and who knows how close you were to succeeding. Get to the finish line no matter how difficult you think it is.
Challenges can make life much more interesting and meaningful. Remember the road less traveled?
If you recoil at any small change or difficulty that does not fit into your scheme of things, take a step back and ask yourself why? What are you afraid of? What don’t you want to face? How will it affect you five years from now? Does it really matter?
If you are dealing with another individual or a group, seek to listen, understand and communicate WITH, not AT them. Don’t make assumptions based upon your perception of the situation as that can only exacerbate the issues.
Assess the concerns and disputes after everyone has had a fair and open opportunity to speak.
Keep an open mind.
Accept responsibility for your part in creating any problems or discrepancies.
Seek to make changes as well as plans to offset any future worries.
Life doesn’t have to be so difficult. It is what you make it. It is what you want it to be. It will be as you perceive it, but ensure accuracy.
Face your hurdles head on! Don’t retract – you are meant to achieve and master your life – your business.
“Don’t take the casual approach to life. Casualness leads to casualties.” — Jim Rohn
What a powerful quotation. Whether in your business or personal life, a blasé sense of indifference gets you nowhere. If you want something, you must go after it.
Benchwarmers do not get to score.
Now let’s get ready to cheer on the Red Sox in Game 1 of the World Series!! #fearthebeard
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 16, 2013 | Social Media
Social media has given us the opportunity to connect and network on so many levels and at a deeper capacity. We no longer depend upon traditional mediums for advertising, collaborating, creating partnerships or interacting. Opening the doors to communication, social media and the Internet has widened our reach and sent us global connectedness.
Along with this comes the inherent changes or erosion to our privacy. How many times per week does Facebook change their policies and search options? What about Google? Your Face May Appear in a Google Ad Soon
“Bradley Shear, a lawyer who specializes in Internet privacy and social media, said it’s a bad move on Facebook’s part. “Facebook has over a billion users,” he told ABC News. “Even though only a small number of users used this privacy option, that can still mean millions of users.” Facebook did not specify what percentage of users opted to use this privacy option, but confirmed with ABC News that it was a small percentage, within the single digits.” ABC News
Most of us arduously attempt to keep some things are little more private or at least away from the lurkers and stalkers. It isn’t always easy to maintain or stay up to date with the most current changes. Upon setting up our social platforms, we carefully click here and there to designate our wishes, but unfortunately, we need to monitor the news and adjust our perimeters accordingly.
WARNING: Facebook’s Graph Search Changes the Meaning of a “Like”
The Always Up-to-Date Guide to Managing Your Facebook Privacy
Reminder: Finishing the Removal of an Old Search Setting
Job-hunting? Time to scrub your Facebook page
Facebook privacy: Users should check these settings as new changes roll out
The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have With Facebook Privacy Settings
We use our platforms for a variety of reasons and on the business level, most of the changes will not affect us, but it is still important to be prudent about our right to privacy.
Image credit: http://geeksongrand.com
