Fear, COVID and Death

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Steve

One of the biggest challenges I have seen in my personal business coaching practice and in life over the past year is how to meet the challenge that fear, surrounding COVID represents. If there were a perfect answer, I would give it to you, and we could all happily move forward. But there is not.

The ultimate goal in business and life is to first survive and then thrive. Many businesses and individuals have gone from thriving to surviving. And some have experienced the most feared outcome, death.

For myself and my clients, we have fears. The fears are valid. Yet how we choose to act on them is our choice. Once again, if there was the perfect answer on how to react to our fears, I would be happy to provide it. Unfortunately, there is not.

Fear

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Steve

With the advent of COVID 19, almost a year ago in the United States, there has been a transformation in how we look at ourselves, our relationships, work, and as a society in general. Where pre-COVID we trafficked in a currency of confidence and a “can-do” attitude we now use the currency of fear. Fear shuts down connections. Fear shuts down conversations. Fear shuts down moving forward. Fear isolates us. As social human beings this last one, isolation, is the one that has wreaked the most mental and emotional damage.

Fear causes us to grieve. We grieve because we have lost our sense of normal. We may have lost loved ones, our jobs, or our homes. Grief is the death of something. And fear triggers grief because we have lost our sense of normal and at the same time, as we move forward day by day, we have no sense of certainty about the future. In a way we are afraid to step out and move forward.

How To Connect In A Crisis

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Steve

One of the biggest aspects of the COVID 19 experience is the loss of connection with others. As a business coach, I have witnessed first-hand the challenges and some of the benefits that have come to the various businesses I collaborate with.

Obviously, COVID 19 has disrupted the way we do business and as a result, we now look at how we do business differently. One of the biggest changes is the increased number of people working remotely from home. In some cases, this has increased productivity which is good. Is it sustainable? It all depends on the position, the business, and the industry. I believe it is safe to say that in the future many companies are going to reduce their office footprint and have more people working remotely.

Timidity: The Fifth Enemy from Within

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Steve

In the previous four posts we have looked at the fears that is based on indifference, indecision, doubt and worry. In this post we will look at timidity. And, like the other fears, timidity at times can certainly be appropriate. Yet, when you are overcome with timidity it will keep you from advancing.

As a business coach in The Woodlands and as a business coach in Houston I have seen and experienced timidity. What is timidity? Quite simply, timidity is overly cautious. Timidity or over caution, will keep people on the sidelines when they need to be in the game of business and life. Read more →

Doubt: The Third Enemy from Within

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Steve

In the previous two posts we have looked at the fear that is based on indifference and indecision. In this post we will look at doubt. And, like the other fears, doubt has a valid time and place. Yet, if you let doubt rule you, your circle of accomplishment and your feelings of self-worth will be very small.

As a personal development business coach in The Woodlands and as a personal development business coach in Houston I have seen doubt sabotage talented people. When I had businesses of my own, some as large as eighty people, I let doubt creep in and keep me from greater accomplishment. Read more →

Self-Improvement Tips For Success

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Steve

Any person who is interested in self-improvement welcomes hearing any self-improvement tips for success. When I hear a tip I may say, “Wow, that is great! I can apply that immediately.” Or, “That’s good but it really doesn’t resonate with me.” Whatever resonates with you at the time are self-improvement tips for success that reflect where you are mentally and emotionally at that particular moment.

What are some truths when it comes to self-improvement tips for success?

Seldom will whatever you want in life exceed your personal development. Choose to self-improve and you will enlarge yourself to where more and better opportunities will be attracted to you.
I must be the best “me” in order to be the best for others. I used to say, “If you will be good to me, I will be good to you.” I had that all wrong. I was leaving my self-improvement up to a reaction to others. I was letting them control my self-improvement. To me, this is one of the most important self-improvement tips to success. To grow myself and the opportunities in business and life I must promise myself to do what I can to be the best “me” in order to be the best for others.
Motivation alone is not enough. I heard years ago that if you have an idiot and motivate him, you now have a motivated idiot. All of us have our motivated idiocy. That is part of our humanity. Yet, we have a choice. We can choose to overcome it.
Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune. I love this one than if for no other reason that self-improvement is self-education. Your fortune comes from living in alignment with who you are with more peace and happiness. More often than not when you do that, your finances will improve, too.

When I think of self-improvement tips for success, these are ones that immediately come to mind. There are hundreds of others. Find three or four that resonate with you. Incorporate them into your life.

And then start executing and implementing them in your thinking, attitude, and behavior. You will learn a great deal in the process and when you do you will be implementing my favorite of all the self-improvement tips for success.

Learning with an application is nothing. It is okay to learn for the sake of learning. But when you are learning for your own self-improvement you must apply it. Learning with an application is the miracle process that will take you from who you are today to who you can be and a whole new world tomorrow.

Personal Development and Growth

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Steve

You will become what you think about most. This is a powerful statement when it comes to your personal development and growth. What you think about most becomes the foundation for building your confidence and self-esteem. And, what you think about most can help to improve your self-confidence or it can diminish it. So, what are you thinking about most?

As a business coach, who also plays the role of a personal development coach, it is not necessarily easy to answer the question, “What do you think about most?”

I find a way to get something complex and deep started is to simplify it. It is important to break it down into manageable pieces. Let’s take a look at what I like to call the 5 Areas of Life.

Spiritual-The spiritual is about how much you are conducting your life in alignment with your gifts and talents, who you are. If you are not, don’t panic or beat up on yourself. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have a good life. You probably do. What it means is, that when you are living your life using your gifts and talents that you and your life will be happier and more fulfilling. That definitely builds your confidence and self-esteem.
Family-How is your relationship with your family? This is critical. Poor relationships will drain you of energy, focus and the desire to expand yourself and your world. It is important to get this as right as possible. It is hard to have build confidence and self-esteem in a constant cauldron of negative relationships.
Business-This is what you do to earn a living. Or, what you do to exist. The goal here is to be doing things that not only let you survive, but thrive. An environment where you thrive will accelerate your personal development and growth.
Financial-This is pretty straight forward. Have your income exceed your expenses. Be a good steward of your money. And, if you aren’t earning enough money, even if you have good financial habits, you can embark on personal development and growth, which will increase your value and put the odds in your favor of finding something where you will be paid more. Actually, in the United States, this is the easiest area to change.
Personal-This has three sub areas: The Mental. The Emotional. The Physical. This is the area where you recharge yourself. When you recharge yourself by focusing your mind on good things and progress, by feeling good about yourself and what you are doing then you are much more likely to create new pathways for your successful personal development and growth and ultimately your successful performance. The last area, the Physical, is very important to supporting the mental and emotional. When you feel good about yourself physically it is because you are doing good things for yourself. The physical serves as an impetus to build your confidence and self-esteem in your thoughts and emotions. The physical acts as a reservoir that the mental and emotional can draw on. Take care of the reservoir of the physical and you will have the energy to become all that you can be.

These are five areas that you can focus on to take your personal development and growth to the next level. Let them guide you to what you think about most. After all, you do become what you think about most.

Self-Improvement Tips For Success from Personal Development Coach

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Steve

“I must be the best me in order to be the best for everyone else.”-Steve Scott

I like this quotation, not because it is mine, but because it underscores a fundamental truth to self-improvement. When looking at self-improvement tips for success, which means building your confidence and self-esteem you have to start with yourself.

You have to be the best you in order to be the best for everyone else. If you are not the best you, or striving for it, what are you giving to others? You are giving them something average or below average. No one gets excited about the word “average.”

If people asked you the following questions with these answers ask yourself how motivated you would be to connect, partner or do anything with them.

How’s your life? Average
How’s your business? Average
How was your upbringing? Average
How are you doing? Average
How are your relationships? Average
How are your children? Average

I think you get the point. There is nothing exciting about “average.” There isn’t anything there that brings, energy, excitement, and most importantly, momentum to ignite the power of creativity, excitement and forward progress. Here is what is critical. There is nothing in “average” to attract people who are “above average” into your life.

Life is not a one-man band. It is about creating partnerships, sharing thinking and exploring new opportunities. That’s what can make it above average when people see you, not as average, but as someone unique and exceptional.

So, start with yourself and be committed, not involved, committed to being the best you. How do you do that? You must be selfish. You say, “Oh, people will think bad of me if I am selfish.” They may and if they do, when you are being selfish in the process of being the best you, then they do not need to be a major part of your life.

Selfishness is, first and foremost, about self-preservation. It’s meaning has been corrupted over time to mean something negative when someone wants something from you and when they don’t get it they tell you that you are selfish.

Sometimes, I am accused of being selfish. When I am, I thank the person who says that. “Thank you. Yes, I am into self-preservation.” Most people don’t get it let alone know how to handle it.

In my personal development coaching as a personal development coach I encourage all my clients to be selfish in order to be the best version of themselves. In turn, they will be the best for others. That is one of the most important self-improvement tips for success.

How to Build Confidence and Self-Esteem?

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Steve

How to build confidence and self-esteem? Very often, this question comes up when you feel that you have reached a ceiling in your personal development and growth. You have reached a point where you are asking is there more to my business and life? To move your business and life to the next level you have to become more. Only when you enlarge yourself will new opportunities find you.

How do you build confidence and self-esteem? Confidence is your ability and belief to take new action. As you know, taking the same actions will yield similar results to what you are achieving now. When it comes to confidence, motivation will get you started but it is the new habit or discipline to that will take you to the next level and keep you going.

Picture yourself driving on an unpaved road where you have to follow the ruts that have been created when the ground is soft. Wherever the ruts take you is where you will have to go. The same is true with your business and life. To experience greater satisfaction and fulfillment you must be willing to create new ruts. Confidence is the ability to create new ruts. New ruts will lead you to new opportunities for personal development and growth.
We have looked at confidence. Now let’s look at self-esteem. Self-esteem is how you believe about yourself. When it comes to trying something new it is very simple. You either believe you can, or you can’t. What you believe you can do is a measurement of your self-esteem. And, your self-esteem will rise as you take new actions and encounter success and failure.

You say, “Wait a minute?” “Failure cannot raise my self-esteem.” If you look at your failures as the necessary stepping stones to learn to be successful on another level then your perspective changes. Without failure we cannot know success. Very successful people fail often and reduce the cycle time it takes to experience success.

The fear of failure may be holding you back. But, something else may be holding you back, the fear of success. The fear that you cannot become the person you must become to have the level of success you desire. You can start today to build confidence and self-esteem. How? Take action. Action cures fear. Action shows you the possibilities. Continued purposeful action will show you the path to success.

Act today and you will build your confidence and self-esteem.

Definitions: Part 2-What a Personal Business Coach May Look at for Your Self-Improvement

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Steve

In the previous post, I have shared some of the definitions to bring a better understanding as to what a personal business coach does, or as they are also called, personal development business coaches. Self-Improvement business coaching which is truly what a personal business coach or personal development business coach does can, like any coaching, have tangible and intangible results. Whether I am business coaching in Houston or outside the area my goal is to collaborate with my clients to see real benefits as well as discovering others that are not so readily seen.

When you have an understanding of the terms and their definitions that coaches use, you will gain insight into how a personal development business coach or a personal business coach may benefit you.

Self-improvement does not happen in a vacuum. The greatest strides in self-improvement are intentional. They are intentional in that they require us to reach out and beyond ourselves to obtain the feedback and education to create our personal path to greater growth, satisfaction and happiness. With that in mind, let’s continue our voyage of self-discovery and understanding with some more definitions.

Needs: To me, as a personal business coach, the understanding of needs is central to connecting with a person you are coaching. And, if you aren’t a personal development business coach, your ability to understand your needs will provide an essential key as to what drives you and what path you must take to self-improvement.

Needs are the emotional aspects that drive individuals. The driving force behind needs is based in a human yearning for wholeness. Often, needs direct major life decisions until they are met. Needs can also sit on top of, or get in the way of, a person’s clearly identifying their values and living life based on those values.

The kinds of needs I am discussing here go beyond the basic needs for food, air, water, and shelter to the things that person feels they must have. Notice the word “feels.” What you feel is emotional and defines your needs and drives you to satisfy them. For example, one person may feel the need to be accepted. Another has to accomplish. Needs take many forms such as acknowledgement, to be loved, to be right, or to be cared for.

People have multiple needs. Yet, to be a successful personal development business coach you must be able to identify two or three key needs of your client. If you create pathways to meet these needs, you have provided great value on a person’s path of self-improvement.

Wants: All of us can get our needs confused with our wants. What’s the difference between a want and a need. Wants, unlike needs, are flexible and/or optional; if you get it, great, if not, you are still okay. When your needs are met, and your life is oriented to your values, your wants tend to proportionately decrease. For example, a person may want to succeed in business, have a great body, or have a big house. Since these are flexible, they can change over time.

Goals: A lot is written about goals and rightfully so. Goals allow us to create a future and a pathway for our self-improvement. With a goal, once the future is finished in your mind, then what you need to do in the present becomes absolutely clear.

A goal is the objective of a strategy. Or, I like this definition. A goal is a dream with a deadline. A goal can be very simple or extremely complex. It is the result or achievement, toward which effort is directed: the aim or end of something. A goal implies that work (or effort) is involved to achieve it.

Priorities: If you are to accomplish your goals, meet your needs and satisfy some of your wants, you must have priorities. A priority is something that takes precedence over something else: something given special attention. In general, priorities are a set of ideals (physical, spiritual, or emotional), that when grouped together compose the items most important to an individual. They are considered to be at the top of any list of things to achieve in any area of life. As an aside, there are many self-improvement tips, self-improvement tips and ideas or tips on self-improvement or however you wish to phrase it. Yet, without priorities, most people will not take the first step, which is taking action, to enhance their self-improvement.

Moving forward on your path of self-improvement take a moment to write down your needs, your wants and your goals. Then decide what your priorities are to achieve in each of these areas. When you do, you will start creating pathways to accelerated the process of your successful performance.