Self-Improvement Companies In Houston

When looking for self-improvement companies in Houston, the area I live and work in, you will find many options.  Many of them focus strictly on the individual.  And, that is an excellent place to start.  Some are focused more on the business side of things with the result being that you will experience self-improvement as your business grows.

Others focus more on self-improvement business coaching.  They look at what the individual has to become in order to achieve the desired results.  In some shape or form, all of them offer the opportunity for self-improvement.

The first type of self-improvement company or coach I described will focus almost strictly on the individual.  Very often you will find people who are life coaches.  A life coach is someone who can support you in overcoming situations in your life that could definitely be impeding your progress in other areas.

When looking at self-improvement companies in Houston, the second type will initially focus on business challenges where you may feel stuck or overwhelmed or just need a trusted sounding board and migrate into the personal side.

There are many life coaches and self-improvement companies in Houston.  The challenging part for the prospect is that there are so many different approaches that it can be a challenge to know what you may be receiving if you were to hire a life coach or a self-improvement company.  That is why you must take the time and interview prospective coaches and self-improvement companies.

When interviewing potential coaches or self-improvement companies in Houston, look for those where you not only see the logic of what they want you to engage in but where you also feel in alignment with what is being proposed.  There are many choices and options when it comes to self-improvement companies in Houston.

In the end, and this is important to remember, all business or life coaching or working with a self-improvement company is personal.  Select the one you feel most comfortable with personally.  That is a good place to start.  You may change later on.  That happens.

The important thing is that if you are considering self-improvement companies in Houston or life coaches is to get started on the process.  One of the key things in self-improvement is to get started.

It is the start that stops most people in many things in business and life.  Get started.  That is the first step to your future success.

Business Coaching In Houston

Today there are a multitude of options when it comes to business coaching in Houston.  And, at the very least, that can bring confusion for those who are seeking out business coaching in Houston. The real problem, if you are looking for business coaching in Houston is:  Who do I hire and partner with?

To find the best business coach ask yourself one question:

  1. What is the real problem that I have?
  2. What are the consequences of not solving the problem?
  3. And, if I am presented with a solution, will I be open to utilizing it?

Mentally and emotionally you must be in the right mindset for coaching to work.  Depending on who you hire and what you wish to accomplish plan to carve out anywhere from 2 to 8 hours a month.  You will have to be committed to fitting coaching into your schedule.  Also, you are very likely going to have assignments for which you will be held accountable.

So, once you are clear on the above you are ready to pursue finding a business coach.  Fortunately, in Houston there are many options.  How well you interview your prospects for a business coach and how well they interview you will determine whether or not you decide to collaborate together.

When it comes to business coaching in Houston you have two broad areas to choose from.  You have the “program” business coaches who espouse and support programs with which they are affiliated.  Some examples are the John Maxwell coaches, Action Coach, Growth Coach and Focal Point Coaching.  They offer great value for those where it is the right fit.

The second area of business coaching in Houston are the independent business coaches.  They may be able to more specifically cater to a particular area of need.  For example, you may have an independent business coach that specializes in start-ups.  Or another may have great marketing expertise.  Once again, they offer great value if they are the right fit.

In my practice, as an independent business coach, I end up collaborating with 2 of every 10 people I interview.  Everyone I interview is fascinating in their own way.  Yet, even if there is an immediate connection, I am always looking strategically to see if there is a long-term fit.  Why?  I have discovered over the last 14 years that the best results for the client come over a period of time and not in one or two meetings.

I am not the business coach for everyone.  As you interview business coaches and you get the feeling that they see themselves as the business coach for everyone I would definitely hit the pause button and ask more questions.  Connection is important.  Yet the ability to collaborate over a period of time will increase the odds of success.

As you look at business coaching in Houston, know that the right coach for you is out there.  Interview your business coaching candidates. Reflect on what you hear, what you see and what you feel.  When you do, you will more than likely make the right decision in hiring a business coach.

Definitions: Part 5-What a Personal Business Coach May Look at for Your Self-Improvement

In the last post we looked at the terms shifts, leaps, strengths and their definitions. In this post, we will look at symptom, motivation, and vision. Looking at how these four terms are defined will give us greater insight into what a personal business coach or a personal development coach may need to know to better coach his or her client. These four terms, symptom, motivation, vision and tolerations are key to understanding what is going on your business and life as well as those you may coach.

Symptom:When you think of a symptom very often it is in relationship to health. For example, if someone has a fever it may be a symptom of the flu. Very often symptoms give us a clue to something bigger that we can’t see, yet encourages us to ask more questions and to explore.

What is a symptom? The visible expression of a condition or situation; something that indicates the presences of something else. For example, if my client is speaking very quickly, he or she may be upset or not sure of what to say.

Yes, symptoms are clues. And in self-improvement business coaching, being able to recognize symptoms and to dig deeper to discover what they may be covering is essential to supporting my clients.
Like a good detective, the personal development business coach must see the symptoms, the clues, and then piece things together to solve the puzzle.

Motivation: An incentive or inducement to action. An example may be a client who is working hard at improving his or her communication skills because he or she wants to be promoted.

Notice that motivation is an incentive or inducement. Once the incentive or inducement is no longer available then what? A big part of continuous self-improvement is to always have an incentive or inducement to be your best.
Yet, to have success, motivation alone is not enough. If your intuition and discernment are off and you are not employing your strengths, you could set the wrong goals and priorities. When this happens, you start hurdling down the wrong path.

When you realize that your motivation has taken you down the wrong path what must you do to turn yourself around? You need more education. You must become educated about what brought you to going down this path that is taking you away from your goal of self-improvement. Secondly, you must get more education, or at the least re-educate yourself, so you can create a new pathway to turn yourself around.

Vision: A vision is simply something you see. A personal vision is something seen for the future. It involves anticipation, foresight, perception conception, and desire. It is a scene you create that is your vision of the future.

A personal or business vision is based on wants, needs, values, and goals. A vision may be singular in nature or involve many facets. The greatest value of creating a common vision that you and your client can share is that you both have a clear focus on where you want to be in the future.

With a common vision of the future it becomes much easier to co-create the mind maps that will be needed to take the client to the future he desires. Finally, the power of a vision, the future, is an awesome force. The vision of the future encourages us to become more. Also, it brings purpose to the present. With a clear vision of the future what you need to do in the present becomes absolutely clear.

Take a close look at these three terms, symptom, motivation and vision. Understand what they can do for you and your client. Symptoms can help uncover the true challenges. Motivation will create positive momentum for you and your client to achieve his or her vision. And lastly, but not least important is vision. With a clear vision of the future you will uncover the symptoms to problems that may be holding you back while creating the motivation to accomplish the vision.

How to Build Confidence and Self-Esteem?

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.

Aim High

A college professor prepared a test for his soon to be graduating seniors.  The test questions were divided into three categories and the students were instructed to choose questions from only one of the categories.  The first category of questions was the hardest and worth fifty points.  The second, which was easier, was worth forty points.  The third, the simplest, was worth thirty points.

Upon completion of the test, students who had chosen the hardest fifty-point questions were given As.  The students who had chosen the forty-point questions received Bs.  Those who settled for the easiest thirty-pointers were given Cs.

The students were frustrated with the grading of their papers and asked the professor what he was looking for.  The professor leaned over the podium, smiled, and explained, “I wasn’t testing your book knowledge.  I was testing your aim.”

An anonymous writer once commented, “Make no small plans for they have no power to stir your soul.”  Robert Kriegel put it this way, “The key is to have a dream that inspires us to go beyond our limits.”  Not only are people short on dreams but even those with dreams often set their sights low enough to protect themselves from failure.

To stay on your course for continuous self-improvement and the benefits that will be attracted to you and your business—AIM HIGH!

Proven Use of Team Roles

Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as “a tendency to behave, contribute an interrelate with others in aparticular way.”

He named nine such team roles that underlie team success. It is important to emphasize that these are not set instone behavioral patterns of individuals, rather these are preferences and attitudes team members will assume in agiven team situation.

Therefore a certain individual might perform a certain role within one team and accomplish a different role within another team. Often however individuals do have a tendency to fill a certain rolewithin all the teams that they are a part of or at least strive to fill this preferred role.

Remember: Belbin asserts that when a team is performing at its best, one finds that each team member has clear responsibilities. Also noticeable is that every Belbin role needed to achieve the team’s goalis being performed fully and well. However it is likely that a team will fall short of its full potential not because skillsare lacking but because the Belbin roles aren’t harmonized across the team.

Balanced Teams

Teams become unbalanced when all team members carry out the same behavioral team role. When team members have similar strengths and weaknesses this can create problems. If the strengths arethe same they may compete instead of collaborate.

With this information in mind, the team leader together with the team can implement the model and investigatethe team members preferred roles as well as explore the roles which are missing.

By understanding your role within a particular team, you can develop your strengths and manage yourweaknesses as a team member, and so improve your contribution to the team.

Belbin’s Team Roles Model

Belbin identified nine team roles and he categorized those roles into three groups:

  • Action Oriented
  • People Oriented
  • Thought Oriented

The nine team roles divided into the three groups are:

Action Oriented Roles:

Shaper (SH)

Shapers are people who challenge the team to improve. The Shaper is the one who shakes thingsup to make sure that all possibilities are considered and that the team does not become complacent.

Implementer (IMP)

Implementers are the people who get things done. They turn the team’s ideas and concepts into practical actions and plans.

Completer-Finisher (CF)

Completer-Finishers are the people who see that projects are completed thoroughly.

People Oriented Roles:

Coordinator (CO)

Coordinators are the ones who take on the traditional team-leader role and have also been referred to asthe delegate.

Team Worker (TW)

Team Workers are the people who provide support and make sure that people within the team are working togethereffectively.

Resource Investigator (RI)

Resource Investigators are innovative and curious. They explore available options; develop contacts, and negotiate for resources on behalf of the team.

Thought Oriented Roles:

Plant (PL)

The Plant is the creative innovator who comes up with new ideas and approaches. They thriveon praise but criticism is especially hard for them to deal with.

Monitor-Evaluator (ME)

Monitor-Evaluators are best at analyzing and evaluating ideas that other people (oftenPlants) come up with. These people are shrewd and objective and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all theoptions before coming to a decision.

Specialist (SP)

Specialists are people who have specialized knowledge that is needed to get the job done. Theypride themselves on their skills and abilities, and they work to maintain their professional status.
In finding roles for actual or potential team members keep the above in mind. When a person has guidance on what role or roles (you can play more than one at a time) he or she can play for a team they will have clarity. With clarity they can take steps and provide thinking to fulfill their role, thus helping the team. They now have purpose.

And with purpose, it is much easier for a team member to contribute to achieving the team’s goals. Also, I have found this process to be liberating. You have a specific role or roles and you understand, instead of worrying, how you can make a positive contribution to achieving what the team is tasked to accomplish.

Process Determines Outcome | Self improvement Tips

It says that work decides the Destiny. If you want to achieve the goal there should be intention for completing that work. You have to finish your work totally whether circumstances are not according to your.

In my early twenties I became involved in a business to import balsa wood from the jungles of Ecuador and Peru to the United States. At the time, my Spanish speaking skills were quite good and the company I was working for asked me and another fellow, who spoke Spanish very well, to go to Ecuador and Peru and to get agreements from mill owners in those countries to supply balsa wood and ship it to Houston, Texas.

The process for doing this involved a great deal of preparation. There was no internet in 1975. Letters went back and forth for six months and ultimately we set up two meetings in Guayaquil, Ecuador and one in Lima, Peru. Our first meeting in Guayaquil was very scary and went badly.

German expatriates, former Nazis, who fled Germany after World War II, controlled most of the balsa wood business. My business associate and I met them in their offices on the docks of Guayaquil.

After a short and nice introduction, the tone changed. They told us that there was no way they would let us export balsa wood from Ecuador to the United States because that threatened their semi-monopoly at the time and their U. S. office in Miami. At this point, a door at the back of the office opened and two large men came out and proceeded to hit us, kick us while the owner told us that if we valued our lives we would not stay in the balsa wood business.
They literally kicked us out the door and let us go. Scared does not even begin to describe the multitude of emotions. Yes, we were scared. We were angry. Worst of all we understood that they could have killed us without any repercussions.

Obviously, this was not a good process and the result for us, was a very bad outcome. If we had understood the true nature of the process, we would have avoided the outcome. The tricky part in business and life is that at times we may think, as my business associate and I did, that we are in a good process. Sadly, it masks, when you are dealing with people who think “I win” “You lose” in terms of outcome.

Too often in business and life we look at outcome and wonder why something failed or, on the other hand, we marvel at how something succeeded. To find the answer always look at process. Process determines outcome.

Simplify and Apply

Change, in most instances, is not easy. Why? It presents a whole new set of challenges to the people who have to learn to master it, not to mention, the other who work with them who can be directly or indirectly in the performance of their work be affected by the change.

As we know when we throw a stone in the middle of a calm pond, the waves it creates will wash up on the shore in ways that we cannot see.

To increase the odds of successful change we must simplify it to help those who are going to apply it. To simplify change we must make it something that people can remember and recall how to do it. When change can be remembered and recalled it can be applied. Read more

Keys To Self Improvement

Hope’s power energizes us with excitement and anticipation as we look toward the future.

Self Improvement Tips is one of your most valuable possessions.

It’s been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope.

If you want to help yourself win, build great relationships, build great teams then become a purveyor of hope & Improve Self Confidence.

Self-Improvement Tips.com is for you to discover a starting place for your own journey of self-improvement & personal development.

Self Improvement Tips has a variety of offerings to get you thinking and to start you on your way to creating pathways to having the life you desire.

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Stop Drinking The Poison

love yourself“When you truly love yourself, you don’t have enemies. They may hate you but you’re too big to hate them back.” — Tony Gaskins. When you love yourself, you understand that hate is self-destructive. Hate is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies.

There is a huge opportunity for self improvement in truly understanding that you must love yourself first. When you do, hate starts to fade away. How do you go about doing this?

Self improvement, or personal development, is about how to change your habits to become the person you wish to be. When you start loving yourself more the consequence is that there is less room for hate. You love yourself more by finding the good in every person or situation, no matter how distasteful.

Practice being a “good finder.” When you do, you will be practicing gratitude. And gratitude is the first step in the path of how to change your life for the better. Hate cannot flourish in an atmosphere of love and gratitude. Read more