Success Breeds Success – Tip #1

Success breeds Success Tip #1: Carpe Diem… and DREAM™

Continuing with my “Success Breeds Success” blog series, remember there are 7 Obsessions that Super Successful People have, whether they are super successful in business, sport or life. They are:

Sense of Purpose
Self Belief
Serving Others
Supreme Excellence
Self Discipline
Sacrosanct Priorities (there are 5 of them)
Self Improvement

The first of the 7 Obsessions to consider is Sense of Purpose.

All over the world, many people have a dream, a deep feeling that they are meant to make a difference somewhere and to someone, whether that be at a macro level (around the world) or more modestly, at the micro level – closer to home base. That dream represents our desires for our life.

But what happens to the dream? Life gets full. Often the dream gets forgotten in the busy-ness of everyday life. And with that, often those dreams are not achieved. They are shelved for another time.

So what does having a ‘sense of purpose’ actually means? Sense of purpose means having complete clarity of and ownership towards what it is we want to be and have in life. It is about having such a strong emotional connection to our sense of purpose that we can’t let it go. It is being unafraid to envision what our life might look like; what we might achieve in it; who we might serve; how wealthy we might be; our level of health, wellbeing and fitness; our community connections and more. It is about having a yearning so strong that it is personally captivating and distracting – that we can’t think of anything else but to realise that sense of purpose. In action a sense of purpose is about having a laser like focus on achieving the vision for life.

It is about having a DREAM™. DREAM™ for me means: our Destiny Represented Evocatively, Actively and Magnetically™. TO DREAM™ is to visualise what we want out of life – personally and professionally, regardless of how silly and grandiose those thoughts and ideas might feel in the moment.

The world is filled with very successful people. Think about those whom you know or know of. It didn’t just happen that they were successful; they created their DREAM™, and notwithstanding the challenges, uncertainties and failures, they went for it; they became laser focused and created massive action, massive momentum towards the achievement of their DREAM™.

Robert Schuller said, “If it is going to be, it is up to me”. In the first instance, it is our personal responsibility to decide what it is we want in life. It is our responsibility to create the DREAM™ that matters to us. Later, it takes a community and collaboration to make the DREAM™ a reality.

Our DREAM™ only becomes our reality if we have total emotional connection to it; if we understand WHY we want to achieve it. Will we move heaven and earth to achieve our DREAM? Will we keep going when the going gets tough? Will we stand up again when we fall? Will we push through the hard times, the failures, knowing that in doing so, we are a step closer to achieving our DREAM™?

What’s your DREAM™? Do you have one? If you haven’t, take time out to DREAM™. Imagine something BIG, an insanely big one. Achieving your DREAM™ is not your focus yet. Just create it. Are you delirious with excitement about it? If not, I can almost guarantee that you won’t achieve it. I like to use these headings when creating and updating my DREAM™. Perhaps they are helpful for you too.

Business/Career
Personal Financial Freedom
Health, Fitness, Wellbeing
Relationships – love, family and friends
Spirituality – whatever that means for you
Community – contributing to others
Recreation and ‘Reckless Abandon’ – the things you want to have and do.

Carpe Diem and DREAM™... dream big and beautiful. Make your DREAM™ matter to you. Have fun and laughter. Be joyful and excited. Be brave and grateful. The work on achieving your DREAM™ starts tomorrow.

Success Breeds Success! Focus on achieving your own success and along the way, pay it forward and help someone else create and achieve their DREAM™. Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful thing to do?

Would you like to be part of my success community? Each week I interview successful people and ‘subject matter experts’ on topics related to success. Join us and be inspired towards achieving your own successful life. Here’s the link to join us. I look forward to welcoming you to my community of people who are creating success in their lives – as they define it!

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to book a meeting. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success!
Success Secrets of Successful People
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!
The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?

Success Breeds Success!

Does success breed success? That is a question that many have tried to answer for time immemorial. There many psychology articles that will argue both ways… I’ll leave it to you to hunt them out and contemplate some of the arguments.

I believe if we teach someone how to be successful, hopefully they will become successful and, in a ‘pay it back’ or ‘pay it forward’ kind of way, will teach others to become successful. Therefore with my definition, there is merit in the argument that Success Breeds Success.

As a Mega Performance Coach for Entrepreneurs, my goal is to help entrepreneurs to achieve the success they are seeking in their business and life. In doing that, I hope that they will become successful and in turn will help others to succeed, therefore creating a better world, a nicer, kinder world in which everyone who has the drive to success, whether they be a child or a grandparent, gets the opportunity to succeed as they define it.

What creates success in the first instance? I have studied successful people for almost 30 years and as a result have come to the conclusion that there are 7 Obsessions that Super Successful People have, whether that super success is in business, sport or life. Briefly, they are:

1. Sense of Purpose
Successful people have a big dream. They have a clear vision and direction in which they want the whole of their life to go, and they focus on achieving it.

2. Self Belief
Successful people have unwavering self belief, even when life is difficult. Success is not a straight road. It is filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, successes and failures. Successful people remain resolute throughout the journey, as with each step, they are getting closer to realising their sense of purpose, their dream.

3. Serve Others
Successful people believe that it is important to focus on serving others – in their professional and personal lives. As Eleanor Roosevelt said: “If you cease to make a contribution you begin to die”. I like to say, “To Give Is To Live”. Successful people understand that they can only be successful by serving others.

4. Supreme Excellence
Successful people strive to achieve excellence in all that they do. They focus on self mastery. They persist. They practise their developing skills. There are many who believe that we only achieve excellence and mastery with +10,000 hours of practise in our desired area of pursuit. Successful people accept they have to work hard on achieving supreme excellence. As well, they always expect the best, and in expecting it, that outcome is achieved in all that they do and all that they are in life.

5. Self-Disciplined
Successful people are incredibly self-disciplined and determined. They have the stamina to go the distance. They also recognise that failure is part of the journey, and is a gift, a learning experience on the path to mastery and success.

6. Sacrosanct Priorities
Successful people have sacrosanct priorities in their life. There are 5 of these.
a. Phenomenal time management – they recognise the value of time.
b. Intense focus on their health and wellbeing, as they need a strong body and good health to carry them along.
c. Relationships are key – their life partner, their children and wider family, friends and business associates.
d. Community connection – giving to the communities of which they are a part.
e. Exuding a ‘zest for life’ – joy; love; happiness.

7. Self Improvement
Successful people recognise that life is about ongoing learning. They seek wisdom. They reflect. They develop a spiritual connection. The only way in which they will achieve Supreme Excellence is if they constantly focus on self improvement, learning and mastery.

So, how about going on the journey of Success Breeds Success? Achieve your own success in life and pay it forward. Help someone else to achieve success too. Wouldn’t that feel great!?!

This is the first in a series of articles on the topic of Success Breeds Success. Check out the others as I write them in my weekly blog.

Would you like to be part of my success community? Each week I interview successful people, and ‘subject matter experts’ on topics related to success. Join us and be inspired towards achieving your own successful life. Here’s the link to join us. I look forward to welcoming you to my community of people who are creating success in their lives – as they define it!

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success – Tip #1
Success Secrets of Successful People
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!
The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?

Business Success Tips : Meet Lucy Czakan

Lucy Czakan
Branding and communications expert

Is your business branded? Are you as a business owner/entrepreneur/key person of influence/employee branded?

In all instances, you must be. Branding is not just for big business, tea, beer and celebrities.

Branding is for all. Branding is what takes tea and turns it into PG Tips, or Lipton Tea Bags. Branding is what takes beer and turns it into Stella Artois or Budweisser.

Branding is what turns Jamie Oliver from a chef to a worldwide icon… or David Beckham into another sporting icon… or Oprah into a media icon, even though there are loads of other TV show hosts who do what she did/does.

Branding is what separates you as an authority in your market from other people who are working in your industry regardless of whether you are an employee or business entrepreneur.

Branding is what separates your business from all the others you compete with.

Branded products and services get noticed! My 13 year old daughter ‘gets’ branding. She is very clear about what brands she MUST have (otherwise life wouldn’t be worth living), – Converse, Superdry, Zoella, New Look, Baby Lips, Top Shop to name a few….

Let me introduce you to my dear friend and business colleague, Lucy Czakan. Lucy is a branding and communications expert based in the UK. During her career, she has worked on many major and internationally recognisable brands (including Flora Margarine, Magnum Ice Cream, PJ Tips, Lipton Tea, and Oxo). These days, Lucy works with small and medium sized businesses, helping them to get branded so they stand out in their market.

I am delighted that Lucy agreed to talk to me about branding and communications, and its importance to small businesses around the world.

Enjoy the interview. I hope you learn a lot about how you can brand your business.

Equally importantly, you will learn how you can brand yourself as an authority in your field, regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or employee. Stand out from the crowd. Get noticed!

You can listen to the original Interview with Lucy Czakan here:

To connect with Lucy Czakan:
W: www.neovitae.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be art of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Entrepreneurial Success without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
Millionaire Mindset
NZ Entrepreneurship Success

Success Secrets of Successful People

What are the success secrets of successful people? Have you ever wondered?

I have. In fact, I have spent most of my adult life exploring this topic. What makes some people successful in all areas of their life and others not? For me, it is a fascinating topic of study. As Tony Robbins says: “Success leaves clues.”

Some people achieve great success in business, where they have millions in the bank, but they are empty and alone in their lives. Is that success? I think not.

Others seem to have a successful life, filled with lots of people and joy, but they don’t have the financial freedom to enable them to have the complete success that they want. Is that success?

Then there are the people I study. The people who appear to have it all. Financial freedom – for some, they have more money and business/career success than most; they have an enviable lifestyle; they have great relationships; they have excellent health, well-being and spirituality; and importantly, they are generous. Those are the people I study and model in my own life.

I have distilled all the knowledge and experience I have gained from my life of study in this area into the 7 Success Secrets of Successful People.

In brief, they are:

1) Sense of Purpose
Successful people have a clear vision about, and direction in which they want the whole of their life to go, and they focus on achieving it.

2) Self Belief
They have unwavering self belief, regardless of how difficult life gets for them….and it does. Life is not plain sailing for anyone.

3) Serve Others
In all that they do, successful people believe they are here to serve others – in their professional and personal lives. As Eleanor Roosevelt said: “If you cease to make a contribution you begin to die”. That sums up how successful people feel.

4) Supreme Excellence
Successful people strive to achieve excellence in what they do. They persist. They practice their skill. Plus they always expect the best, and in expecting it, that outcome is achieved in all that they do, and all that they are in life.

5) Self-Disciplined
Successful people are incredibly self-disciplined. They have the stamina to go the distance. They also recognise that failure is a seed towards success; that it is part of the journey, the process towards success.

6) Sacrosanct Priorities
Successful people have sacrosanct priorities in their life. There are 5 of them.

a) Fantastic time management.
b) Focus on their health and well-being.
c) Recognising the importance of their relationships – their life partner, their children and wider family, friends and business associates.
d) Community connection – giving to the communities of which they are a part.
e) Exuding a ‘zest for life’ – joy; love; happiness.

7) Self Improvement
Successful people recognise that life is about ongoing learning. They seek wisdom. They reflect. They develop a spiritual connection.

So that’s it in summary: the 7 Success Secrets of Successful People.

Do you emulate the 7 Success Secrets of Successful People? If not, what can you focus on now? Where can you make changes in your life to support the success you would like to achieve? Perhaps start with developing clarity, clarity over how you want your life to be!

Dream big! Set bold and beautiful goals. Get clear on your personal values system. Perhaps create a vision board so it brings your life vision to life.

Then get moving… start creating your successful life.

Would you like to be part of my success community? Each week I interview successful people, and ‘subject matter experts’ on topics related to success. Join us and be inspired towards achieving your own successful life. Here’s the link to join us. I look forward to welcoming you to my community of people who are creating success in their lives – as they define it!

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success – Tip #1
Success Breeds Success!
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!
The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?

Goal Setting Tips #3

Salutation to the Dawn

Look to this day.
For it is life, and the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The slender of beauty.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And tomorrow, a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.
Such is the salutation to the dawn.

By Kālidāsa – a classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. Approx 5th century AD.

To support you with goal setting tips, I have created the BRAZEN Goals System™. If you would like to know more about how to set goals that are BRAZEN, meaning Bold, Ranked, Accountable, Zealous, Expedient and Nurturing, then please click here to receive my FREE BRAZEN Goals System™ and BRAZEN Goal Action™ template.

Other articles on Goal Setting:

Successful Goal Setting Tips
Goal Setting Tips #1
Goal Setting Tips #2

Goal Setting Tips #2

Recently, I was reading through some very old motivational files I had, and I found this article, which I thought was a great read and motivation for goal setting, so I have reproduced it as Goal Setting Tips #2. Enjoy. Ax

The Best Advice I Ever Had

by Arthur Gordon

A simple, ten-word sentence has the power to transform your life.

Once when I faced a decision that involved considerable risk, I went to a friend much older and wiser than myself. “I’d go ahead,” I said unhappily, “if I were sure I could swing it. But…”

He looked at me for a moment, then scribbled 10 words on a piece of paper. That single sentence contained the best advice I’ve ever had: Be bold – and mighty forces will come to your aid.

The words my friend had written were, I discovered later a quotation from The Conquest of Fear by Basil King. They made me see clearly that when I had fallen short in the past, it was seldom because I had tried and failed. It was usually because I had let fear of failure stop me from trying at all. Fear is the most paralysing of all emotions. It can stiffen the muscles and stupefy the mind and the will.

On the other hand, whenever I had plunged into deep water, impelled by a flash of courage or just plain pushed by the rude hand of circumstance, I had always been able to swim until I got my feet on the ground again.

Be bold – that is no exhortation to be reckless or foolhardy. Boldness means a deliberate decision, from time to time, to bite off more than you are sure you can chew. And there is nothing mysterious about the mighty forces referred to. They are the latent powers that all of us possess: energy, skill, sound judgment, creative ideas – yes, even physical strength and endurance in far greater measure than most of us realise.

In other words, boldness can create a state of emergency to which the organism responds. I once heard a famous mountaineer say that occasionally a climber will get himself into a position where he can’t back down; he can only go up. He added that sometimes he put himself into such a spot on purpose. “When there’s nowhere to go but up,” he said, “you jolly well go up!”

The same principle works just as surely in something as commonplace as accepting the chairmanship of a civic committee or seeking a more responsible job. In either case, you know you’ll have to deliver – or else. And, unless you’re hopefully unqualified, you will deliver. Your pride, competitive instinct and sense of obligation will see to it that you do.

Admittedly, those particular mighty forces are spiritual ones. But they are more important than physical ones. While it was a hurtling pebble’s centrifugal force that killed Goliath, courage enabled David to face the Philistine giant in the first place.

It’s curious how spiritual forces often have their counterparts in the physical world. A fellow student of mine was a star footballer, noted particularly for his fierce tackling even though he weighed much less than the average player. “It goes back to something I discovered when I was a timid youngster,” he said. “In one game I suddenly found myself confronting the opposing fullback, who had nothing but me between him and our goal line. He looked absolutely gigantic! I was so frightened that I closed my eyes and went for him like a panicky bullet – and stopped him cold. Right there I learned that the harder you tackle a big player, the less likely you are to be hurt. The reason is simple: momentum equals weight times velocity.”

This trait – a willingness to extend yourself to the utmost – is not one that can be acquired overnight. But it can be taught to children and developed in adults. Confidence is a cumulative thing. Sure, there will be setbacks and disappointments in any program of expanded living; boldness in itself is no guarantee of success. But the person who tried to do something and fails is a lot better off than the person who tries to do nothing and succeeds.

Bold self-confidence and decisiveness often mark leaders in the business world. The most successful executive I have ever worked for made almost instantaneous decisions. “At least,” he used to say wryly, “I make my mistakes quickly.” On one occasion someone asked this man if he didn’t believe in the adage, “Look before you leap.”

“No,” he said cheerfully. “The trouble with that axiom is if you look too long, or too often, you never leap at all.”

Some people claim that our preoccupation with security is weakening our willingness to take chances. Initiative, they say, is the instinctive response to the lack of material comfort.

I disagree; people, I believe, will always seek new and more challenging worlds to conquer. When I was a boy, a man visited our class and was invited to say a few words. I don’t remember who he was, but I have never forgotten what he said: “Love life. Be grateful for it always. And show your gratitude by not shying away from its challenges. Always try to live a little bit beyond your capacities – and you’ll find your capacities are greater than you ever dreamed.”

Condensed from Guideposts (October 1985) by Guideposts Associates Inc. Carmel, N.Y.

I have created the BRAZEN Goals System™. If you would like to know more about how to set goals that are BRAZEN, meaning Bold, Ranked, Accountable, Zealous, Expedient and Nurturing, then please click here to receive my FREE BRAZEN Goals System™ and BRAZEN Goal Action™ template.

Other articles on Goal Setting:

Successful Goal Setting Tips
Goal Setting Tips #1
Goal Setting Tips #3

Goal Setting Tips #1

I am constantly on the lookout for goal setting tips. Are you? Here is a poem I discovered about goal setting. It was written by Peter J Daniels, a well known Australian entrepreneur and life coach.

Goals

If you are uncertain, timid or vague,
If you are not sure which is the way,

If you are concerned what the future will bring,
If you are dissatisfied with any old thing.

If you are fearful of what tomorrow may be,
If you are willing to forever be free.

Then you need to take hold of our life from this day,
And you must plan a far better way.

It’s goals that you need to straighten you out,
To smooth out the paths and to get you about.

For goals set a sight that is clear and is bright,
And goals give you purpose to strive and to fight.

Your life is of value and the world is your home,
So stop now and think of where you should roam.

Just make a new start, to win and to claim,
A fresh firm new goal with a definite aim.

Then chase after your goal with a desperate desire,
With passion and excellence, as if you were on fire.

Do not be timid or reluctant or slow,
Just move into top gear and let all systems go.

Copyright – Peter J Daniels, Australia
I have created the BRAZEN Goals System™. If you would like to know more about how to set goals that are BRAZEN, meaning Bold, Ranked, Accountable, Zealous, Expedient and Nurturing, then please click here to receive my FREE BRAZEN Goals System™ and BRAZEN Goal Action™ template.

Other articles on Goal Setting:

Successful Goal Setting Tips
Goal Setting Tips #2
Goal Setting Tips #3

Successful Goal Setting Tips

...Why SMART Goals aren’t…. and BRAZEN Goals™ are!

It’s that time of year again where many of us are returning to work after a leisurely couple of weeks (or months) of festivities and then holidays. Are you ready to hit the year running, both personally and in your business?

Many of us have been seeking successful goals setting tips in the lead up to the end of December, so that we can begin anew in January.
Have you set your New Year’s Resolutions? I hope not. We all know that they don’t work.

When I was a teenager, I used to set New Year’s Resolutions, being revved up for a couple of weeks to lose weight or make more money. But soon the momentum was lost, as really, the resolutions were just words in my head, or occasionally on a bit of paper. By month end (at worst) or several months later at best, I had completely forgotten about my resolutions, having moved onto other things that were in my mind’s eye at that point in time.

Have you set SMART goals? You know, goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound? Again, I hope not.

After giving up on New Year’s Resolutions, I turned to SMART goals, and while they often worked, in recent years, as I have learnt more about goal setting, I have come to realise that SMART goals are potentially and often, limiting. When goals are immediately attainable or realistic, in my opinion, something is missing.

For me, goals need to be big and bold. They must induce some passion. They must be heart stoppingly exciting. They have to make me want to punch the air, saying: ‘Yes, I want to achieve that goal. I have no idea how yet, but it is really important to me that I do’. That’s what goals setting should feel like for me.

I want a ‘magical happening’ life, and I clearly understand, to achieve that, I have to create my own life, my way. I have a vision of sitting in my rocking chair aged 101 years and reflecting on the wonderful and eventful life I have had and continue to have – even at 101 year! There will be no stopping me.

What type of life are you creating for yourself?

So, I created the BRAZEN Goals System™, and that works much better for me. I love the word ‘brazen’ as defined in the Oxford Dictionary to mean: bold, shameless, unabashed, defiant, barefaced, cheeky.

BRAZEN Goals™ are:

B = Bold (and very big).
R = Ranked (for importance).
A = Accountable (specific, measurable, time-bound).
Z = Zealous (personally/professionally important).
E = Expedient (planned and actioned).
N = Nurturing (and empowering).

BRAZEN Goals™ in a nutshell:

B = Bold and Big

Think about a time when you achieved something that was initially out of your reach; out of your comfort zone. How did it feel to achieve the goal? On top of the world? Like you could conquer anything? Certainly that is how I feel when I achieve goals ─ both personal and professional ones ─ that are important to me.

Why settle for little or easily achievable goals? In my experience when we don’t have a tight emotional connection to the goal, we don’t achieve it. Make the goal matter. Make it bold and big.

At the start you won’t have a clue how you will achieve it, but don’t let that stop you, for if it is important enough, you will find a way!

R = Ranked for Importance

I believe we need to take time out to dream and to create a long list of goals we want to achieve. However, all goals are not equal. Some are more important than others. If we focus on achieving easier or lesser important goals, then at year-end we are likely to be disappointed. As well, often in achieving a big and bold goal, a number of smaller ones are easily achieved. So after the dreaming is done, then comes the task of ranking and ordering goals into priorities.

A = Accountable (Specific, Measurable, Time-bound)

After ranking the goals so that my top goals are the key ones I will focus on, I then get accountable with myself. I ensure each goal is specific, measureable and time-bound. If they are not, then it is unlikely I will achieve them as they are just ideas in my head until I start getting accountable.

Z= Zealous (Personally/Professionally Important)

I just love the word ‘zealous’ as it reflects me: someone who has great energy, enthusiasm and commitment. Therefore, my goals had better be zealous too, otherwise I know I will lose interest as time passes, and not focus on them.

So I ask myself various questions, including: Why am I focusing on achieving these goals? Why am I going to move heaven and earth, make big changes in my world and take massive action to achieve them? What happens if I don’t achieve them?

E = Expedient (Planned and Actioned)

Without planning for the achievement of the goals, accompanied by a set of actions, it is unlikely that much will happen. Meticulous planning and self accountability is important.

N = Nurturing and Empowering

Finally my BRAZEN Goals™ are in place, and I am on the path towards achieving them. It will not be a straight line towards their achievement. There will be bumps and bruises. There will be mistakes and failures along the way. BUT, as the achievement of these goals is important, it is equally important that I have a Nurture and Empowerment Plan to support my journey.

How will I continue to remind myself of the zealous nature of these goals along the way?

When I achieve milestones along the way, how will I nurture and pat myself on the back to acknowledge the interim achievement? That is important too.

When the going gets tough and I want to give up, how will I nurture and empower myself to remain focused?

What Next?

That’s it. I am ready to brazenly achieve in 2015. Are you?

If you would like to know more to help you set BRAZEN Goals™ in 2015 too, then please click here to receive my BRAZEN Goal System™, BRAZEN Goals Action™ template and other supporting resources. It’s all free – my New Year’s gift to you.

I hope my BRAZEN Goals System™ provides you with successful goal setting tips to ensure you have a magical 2015.

Other articles on Goal Setting:

Goal Setting Tips #1
Goal Setting Tips #2
Goal Setting Tips #3

Business Success Tips : Meet Dr Jane Cox

Dr Jane Cox
Internationally renowned wealth psychologist and business growth expert

Do you have money on your mind in a good or bad way? What are your thoughts on money? Do you fear it? Many people do.

Why is it that some entrepreneurs make a pile of money in their careers, and others just get by? If you are an entrepreneur, what is your mindset with money? The psychology of money and why some entrepreneurs don’t make much of it is a fascinating topic.

Are you in employment? Are you earning the money you know you are worth? Are you afraid to ask for more money? Is so, why? If it is related to a discomfort you have around talking about money in a proactive way with your boss, then maybe you have money fears too.

Let me introduce you to my dear friend and business colleague, Dr Jane Cox. I am delighted that Jane is the first interviewee in my Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews… series. I will be undertaking fortnightly interviews with other business experts, who will offer their experience and wisdom and business success tips to support you and your success.

Dr Jane Cox is an internationally-renowned wealth psychology and business growth expert in constant demand as a speaker & presenter around the world on this fascinating subject for both private and corporate clients. Her workshops are always fully booked and have received universal “rave reviews” from thousands of delegates.

Jane is the author of the books: “The Fast Forward Framework” and “Eleven Letters to Change Your Life”, and is a regular contributor to MoneyMaker Magazine, UK newspapers: Financial Times and Metro, as well as several publications in Africa and the Middle East.

Jane is passionate about business growth and success, and the fears people have with money – whether they be self employed or in employment.

It was delightful to recently interview Jane on this challenging topic of money, and I invite you to listen to the interview. I hope you learn a lot and are inspired to think about any issues you may have with money, especially if you do not have as much of it as you would like.

You can listen to the original Interview with Dr Jane Cox here:

To connect with Dr Jane Cox:
W: www.drjanecox.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Reflect, Smile and Smell the Christmas Lilies!

Whew, it’s nearly the end of the year for 2014. And what a year it was! How was it for you? For me it ended up being a year where the theme was ‘change’, both personally and professionally. That certainly wasn’t how I expected the year to be when planning for it a year ago. Were there any themes to your year?

It’s really easy to look back on the year and ‘kick myself’ over all the things I didn’t achieve. You know, beating myself up for not ticking all the ’achieved’ or ‘completed’ boxes in my business plan or in my personal goal sheet.

Are you doing this? Reflecting on what you didn’t achieve in business or in life? If you are someone who sets New Year’s Resolutions, are you looking at the list you created on New Year’s Eve 2013 and beating yourself up for not achieving them in 2014?

If you are beating yourself up, how are you feeling? Grumpy? Disappointed? Probably! Certainly, that is normally how I feel if I miss a goal on my never ending list of things I want to do and achieve.

It is also really easy to reflect on all the things that went wrong in 2014, rather than those things that went well.

So I’m reviewing 2014 differently. I am not reviewing Q4 of my 2014 business plan right now, nor am I looking at my 2014 personal goal sheet. I want to end the year on a high. I’m reflecting on the good things; the lovely things – big and small – that happened this year. I am grateful for all that I have in my life, and all those people in my life whom I care about. It’s a much better feeling. It brings joy and happiness.

Don’t get me wrong. Soon I will be finishing off my 2015 business plan, personal goal sheet and accompanying vision board; that is important, as I do like to achieve things, and I have plenty I will be working on achieving in 2015. But for now, that can wait.

I’m feeling reflective. I’m feeling grateful. I’m feeling joyful. I’m feeling thankful. Life is not perfect. It never is. But life is good. Why? Because it just is. And life is short.

Right now, life is good because:

In early 2014, London was alive with Spring colour and floral aromas – daffodils and other intoxicating flowers. It was glorious.
We periodically played Bridge (card game) with close friends in 2014 and it was such fun (and competitive).
The British Summer was fabulously warm, enabling our daughter and her friends to play outside in the garden – just as kids should do in Summer – for a change there was little use of technology as ‘fun’.
We had loads of family BBQ dinners at our home, where friends congregated to catch up, and all the children ran wild outside.
Visitors from overseas came to stay for periods of time so they could also experience our beloved London.
I continued reinventing ‘me’ and my career for the next +51 years of life (I plan to live and work until I am 101 years old)… very exciting. 🙂
I have met loads of new and interesting people from around the world.
Our daughter was able to have several weeks in New Zealand in April, creating memories with her extended family, and particularly with my mother, her grandmother.
We got home to New Zealand in time to be with my mother before she passed over in October, and I was able to sit with mum through the night that she passed; I have unforgettable memories of that moment in time.
We now have both our children living with us…. and it is great fun being a family with an adult son (27 years) and daughter (12 years) all living together.
As a family we play lots of board and card games and table tennis together, plus we go on family ‘outings’.
I power walked around my local village most days for the last half of this year, swinging my arm weights with reckless abandon…. I even managed a couple of runs too.
In December, I celebrated being married for 14 years to David, the man of my dreams.
We enjoyed the company of a number of ‘elderly’ people who are in our lives, like my 100 year old relative in Scotland, and others who are a little lonely.
On 25 December, we are having a family Christmas at home; the first time in many years as a complete ‘nuclear family.

There is a lot more that I am happy about and grateful for. What are you grateful for? What puts the ‘smile on your dial’ as you reflect on 2014?

I’m loving the time where I am reflecting, smiling and smelling the Christmas lilies. And in smelling the Christmas Lilies, wonderful memories are flooding back. Christmas lilies (or Lilium Candidum) are one of my favourite flowers and will forever remind me of our wedding day as they were ‘our’ flowers on our special day.

Go on. Reflect. Smile. Smell the Christmas Lilies. Life is too short not to. Tomorrow is another day. 2015 will soon be another year where we can set more goals that we plan to achieve.

Other articles on What Creates Success in Business and Life:

Success Breeds Success!
Success Secrets of Successful People
Adèle in a Nutshell – ‘To Give is to Live’
The Beauty of the Last Hours in Life
Success Breeds Success – Tip #1
What’s Stopping You? FEAR?
Savour the Journey
What’s all this Gratitude ‘stuff’?
The 7 Traits of High Achievers
What’s Your Excuse? No Arms? No Legs?