Goals and Dreams: Don’t Be Afraid to Show Your Warts

Great Article written by Michele Corey.  Michele Corey, partners with women to build their courage muscle and learn to say no to others more often so they can have more and more of what they want every day in their personal and professional life.  Discover her musings on Smart Goal Setting from the Inside Out.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

When it comes to your goals and dreams it’s important that you are not afraid of your warts because they can be your dream makers to the career and work that you find perfect. Your warts are  the real you, with all your uniqueness that clearly comes through when you are in sync with your true self.  Warts are the, “here I am just like I intended” no matter what everyone else thinks.

People tend to think of warts as a bad thing.  When it comes to smart goal setting that helps you discover the perfect career or business opportunity, warts are an easy to remember analogy.  They are your unique wants and needs that you may be afraid to stand on the mountain top and yell from your lungs and fully claim.

If you don’t fully express and claim what you want more and more of everyday, you won’t get it.  You’ll also notice that your tolerance level for others having what you are really wanting drops.  You may find yourself being less patient, spending more time on the internet and avoiding the work that is right in front of you.

5 Ways You Can Tell You are not Expressing and Claiming Your Dreams and Goals?

1. You find yourself more concerned about what others are thinking about your individual dreams and goals for your career and life.  Do they “fit” what others deem good? You may notice you create or re-arrange your dream and goals based upon this information.
2. You have an opportunity to share your big dream with a group of people, but when it comes time you go mute, because you’re hearing a voice tell you that “it’s not enough” or some other version of these words.
3. You create an amazing story for what you really want deep down inside, but when it comes to telling others you find you keep “editing” your story and notice that you really are not THAT interested in the new version.
4. You build up your courage muscle to share a piece of your dream with a good friend. Instead of them nodding and encouraging you they have turned into a “nay sayer” and are telling you it’s too big, too different, you’ll never be able to do it in this life time. So you stuff deep down inside what you really want and feel your inner passion drying up.
5. When the alarm rings in the morning you find yourself thinking about the snooze button more often.

These are some common “reasons” I hear that make “warts” look scary.

It’s time for you to stop playing small and play to win – you want wear your warts proudly.  Your warts could be bright red leather boots that make you feel like a million dollars when everyone else is wearing the current shades of brown and black with their skinny pants.  It could by you choosing to quit your job that drains you for one that fills you with passion when everyone tells you this is not the right economic time and you’re lucky to be working in a well paid field.

When you play big your life is suddenly bigger and more interesting and filled with more and more passion and energy.

YOU + YOUR UNIQUE EXPRESSION = WARTS (what makes you different and amazingly wonderful)

How can you get clear on what you really want and build up your courage muscle to say yes to yourself more often?

Step 1: Foundational Clarity

You’ll want to start with gaining foundational clarity. What do you really value? How do you get more of this in your life every day?

Step 2: Tell Your Big Picture Story and Dream

Tell your story like you really mean it. What does it look like? How do you feel? What are some of the bigger goals you’d want to  happen to start making this story true?

Step 3: What Makes you Unstoppable?

A story is a story and a dream is a dream until you write down your strategy and first steps to help you gain momentum

Step 4: Daily Inspired Action

Did you hear that daily!

Step 5: Rinse and Repeat

It’s as easy as washing your hair. This isn’t just a one hit wonder, it’s about leveraging you and your amazing uniqueness – your warts that once seemed scary or out of reach.

4 Questions to set you in motion

1. What do your “warts” look and feel like?
2. What’s stopping you?
3. What’s one step you could take to help you wear your warts more proudly?
4. What is the date you are willing to take this step?

 

via Goals and Dreams: Don’t Be Afraid to Show Your Warts – Money Wise Women – – Forbes.

Women Entrepreneur and Women in Business – Upgrade Your Public Speaking Skills | Women News Magazine

by Marilyn Angelena

Women Entrepreneur and Women in Business – Strengthening your public speaking skills can help you advance your career and increase your confidence in social situations. Follow these tips on how to prepare and deliver memorable presentations that will make you a hit with your audience.

Preparing for an Effective Presentation

1.      Know your topic. Pick a topic that you already know and love. If you need to present a new subject, perform thorough research. Gather facts, statistics, interesting anecdotes and quotes from experts.

2.      Know your audience. If possible, identify the background and size of the group you’ll be addressing. Find out how well informed they are about the material you’ll be presenting. You don’t want to talk over their heads, but you don’t want to talk down to them either. It’s also helpful to know their average age and other characteristics.

3.      Keep your purpose in mind. Most presentations seek to persuade, educate or entertain so focus on what you want to achieve. For example, you may want to motivate clients to sign up for a new service your company is offering or you may want to help your employees understand changes to your company health insurance plan.

4.      Organize your presentation. Construct a powerful opening and closing. Have a checklist for all the main points you want to cover. Tailor your content to your time limit so you can address everything without feeling rushed.

5.      Prepare visual aids. Liven up your speech with visual aids. Use them to reinforce your main message. Simple designs created in large type with bullet points work well for most audiences.

6.      Practice. Your public speaking skills will improve with practice. Rehearse your speeches aloud. Take advantage of opportunities at work to get more experience or join an organization like your local chapter of Toastmasters. They’re a nonprofit entity specifically designed for members to give each other friendly advice and support on public speaking.

Delivering a Compelling Presentation

1.      Engage your audience. Make a connection by greeting people you know or introducing yourself to early arrivals. Establish eye contact and ask for volunteers. If the size of the group and time permits, encourage questions and dialogue.

2.      Vary your tone of voice. Adjust your tone of voice to the emotional content of your words. Repeat key points or emphasize them by speaking louder or more softly. Vary your pace as you speak and use pauses strategically.

3.      Tell stories. Interesting stories make any topic more entertaining and memorable. Cite your personal experience or anecdotes about others. Vivid examples work wonders in bringing your message to life.

4.      Move around. Get from behind the podium. Use a hand-held microphone and a remote control with your PowerPoint slides so you can circle the room freely. Well-timed hand gestures can also help you appear more dynamic.

5.      Use appropriate humor. Work on your timing to deliver funny lines effectively. Play it safe and avoid anything that could be considered offensive.

6.      Relax. Impress your audience with your competence and confidence. Conquer any nervousness with relaxation techniques like deep breathing or visualization. Focus on serving your audience rather than being distracted by your fears. Remind yourself that every presentation is an opportunity to learn and grow.

7.      Solicit feedback and network. Get the full value out of your speaking engagement by asking for feedback. Have evaluation forms ready for audience members and review them for constructive criticism that you can use to sharpen your performance. Use a visual aid to display your contact information and website, and include that information on any handouts.

Public speaking is a valuable tool for many business and social gatherings. Improve your presentation skills so you can effectively share the benefits of your experience and knowledge with your audience.

Thank you, Women Entrepreneur and Women in Business – Upgrade Your Public Speaking Skills | Women News Magazine.