Washing Machines, Dryers and Relationships

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Steve

Washing machines help us clean dirty clothes. Some of the clothes come out perfectly clean. Others may still have the remnants of a stain that is now barely visible. And then there are some clothes where the machine, no matter how you well it cleans, cannot remove the stain. The stain remains visible to where you will decide to discard that piece of clothing.

Washing machines are also a great metaphor for relationships. All of us are imperfect. We have dirt and stains that need to be cleaned up. As with washing clothes, our relationships need repeated washings to keep them looking good to where they can perform as we need them to. In my personal business coaching practice in The Woodlands business and personal relationships are very often dominate over the topics of sales, operations and profitability.

Slow Down to Speed Up

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Steve

There is a song by musical group Alabama. Its title is “I’m in a Hurry to Get Things Done”. The song begins with the following:

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh, I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
Even I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.

The Relational Elevator

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Steve

Self-improvement is your own personal elevator. As you rise to the top you will have to let some people off. When you focus on self-improvement you are always in transition. As you rise, you must let go of those relationships that no longer serve you and the new person you are becoming.

If you don’t, you will end up feeling stuck which eventually robs you of energy and happiness. Look at your relationships. Ask yourself, “Who do they have me becoming?” And then ask yourself, “Is this acceptable?”

What Restores Reason?

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Steve

All of us use our reasoning abilities to justify what we think and what we do. We use our reasoning to solve problems and to embrace opportunities. We use our reasoning in hundreds of areas.

Yet, when we are in relationships and we give our reasons for doing something and the other party questions or disagrees with our reasoning, things can become very heated.

Tugboats and Trains

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Steve

Tugboats and trains perform distinct and separate functions in real life. Tugboats operate on water. Their mission is to push, nudge and help direct the barges and large vessels that cannot turn very precisely in the confined areas of a harbor. Trains are designed to pull and transport heavy loads over steel rails to a specific destination.

In business, to be successful, you must have both the tugboat and train. You need people who are tugboats. And you need people who are trains. As a personal business coach in Houston and The Woodlands, I have seen successful businesses. the necessity for both over a forty-year career in business.

I’m in a Hurry. Where is it Taking Me?

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Steve

There is a song by the musical group, Alabama, “I’m in a Hurry.”

All of us appear to be in a hurry. Is that something that benefits us? At times we are in a season of hurriedness. That is understandable. But, if your whole life is that way I suggest that you are missing many things.

The first verse of the song states:

“I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.”

To Keep Your Networking Working: What Do You Say When You Talk to Yourself: Part 2

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Steve

Your self-talk, what you say when you talk to yourself, is a key to keeping your networking working. In the previous post, we looked at ways to improve your self-talk, which in turn, will enhance the possibilities of building deeper relationships through networking.

What I find interesting is what very successful people say to themselves in order to overcome significant challenges. Regardless of where their inspiration comes from which could be a situation, a person or a goal most truly successful people are happy. That doesn’t mean that they don’t get down or have doubts. All of us do. But their self-talk causes them to overcome what is challenging them and in the process of moving beyond the challenge they create happiness.

To Keep Your Networking Working: What Do You Say When You Talk to Yourself: Part 1

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Steve

In the previous posts we looked at several factors that can keep your networking working. In the last post we looked at the culture you bring into every encounter. A large part of your culture revolves around what do you say when you talk to yourself.

Your self-talk is critical to your success, let alone happiness. Why is this important? What you are saying to yourself on the inside will manifest itself in your words and actions on the outside. Obviously, this will be a key determinant in achieving the goal of networking, to build deeper relationships.

What Causes Networking to Become Not Working- Part 1

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Steve

Let’s assume that you are out and about and networking regularly. What that means is that you consistently attend the same meetings. That is good. It is not possible to build deeper relationships without being consistent in your networking.

Yet, things aren’t coming together. You are spending the time, but you are not getting to have deeper relationships. As a business coach in Houston and The Woodlands I have had clients who get frustrated. In fact, over my career I have become frustrated, too. I join a group and believe that good things are going to happen, and they don’t.

Networking Is One Letter Away From Not Working Part 2 What Is Your Goal in “Networking”

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Steve

As we saw in the previous post, the word “network” was first used in England in the 1550’s to describe a finished product, a fish net. A fish net was a piece of network.

When you think about it, a nice piece of network is about catching more fish, and as time went on, bigger fish. In personal business coaching in The Woodlands and in personal business coaching in Houston, I collaborate with many different business owners and types of businesses. They are all casting their nets to market their business, and in many cases, to expand it. Read more →