November 2011 Blog Posts (16)

Volunteering mean jumping in to do work without the prospect of pay. Why bother? The answer varies, but for retirees, two responses come to mind: to make a contribution to a cause bigger than yourself, and to give back while using time productively.

Young people often volunteer to test out careers or to prove their worth to get paying jobs. When Boomers do it, the time to prove yourself has usually passed. It's time to do! Even when retirees need to do some paid work to supplement…

When a mid-year review of your bottom line reveals you must cut costs and increase sales right now or face losses this fiscal year, what do you do to salvage your year? On paper, the choices look easy. You must either sell more or decrease the cost of sales.

Selling more can be tough when the economy is challenging, yet there are always people ready to buy if the pricing and timing are right. You can achieve increase sales volume by…

Kathmandu, Nepal

This was a new stop on the tour for me and I was excited. I got to take a small Twin Otter plane and visit Mount Everest – Wow! It was a clear, sunny, perfect day for the flight and while life below was crazy chaotic and crowded, up in the air – it was BLISS! We were on Buddha Air – and had the best mountain flight in the world. The stewardess went out of her way to explain each mountain peak, help us take photos and ensure the flight was…

If you are wondering what you can contribute to invigorate society, just look around you. Whether you want to impact politics, social causes, your church, culture, the environment, arts and culture, animal rights, youth, your profession, or anything else, there are plenty of opportunities for you to help causes you are passionate about that suit your availability, skills, money, and circumstances. In your working years, you may have had less time to dedicate to worthy…

Whether you think that leaders are born or made, you can position yourself to be ready to take on leadership opportunities that may come your way. Planning for a leadership role does not mean you aspire to run the company, but if you look ahead to see where you might like to be, you will usually find that getting there requires some preparation. Even if you don't know exactly how much responsibility you want to have, your preparation will not go to…

Whether you are rich or poor, you will enrich yourself by making a contribution to life and giving back. The happiest people are not bystanders who hoard the good things that come to them in life, but those who share of themselves. As you head into retirement, you may not have an abundance of money to give, but finding an answer to the question "How can I give back to society" deserves consideration.

Why? Many studies have shown that doing good for…

When it come to leaders, does one size fit all? Some management theorists list five or ten qualities that make a good leader, but does every situation require the same type of approach and the same skills?

Broadly defined, a leader is someone who takes a group of people from Point A to Point B. Will a person who defines the vision for the company be the best one to get them out of a burning building? Not necessarily! Leaders with…

Not since the Great Depression have so many fledgling adults moved into the empty nest with mom and dad. This cyclical trend has accelerated along with the economic crisis. Faced with school loans, debts or no job, it makes sense to head for home - with its emotional security and financial safety net. If you're a member of the Sandwich Generation, caring for parents growing older as well as kids growing up, adding a boomerang kid to that mix can increase your stress level.

Recently…

Within coaching circles, a lot of ink has been spilt laying out the differences between managers and leaders. According to some, managers are higher-level worker bees who get the job done, while leaders are the movers and shakers. Where managers oversee the day-to-day work, leaders see the big picture.

If you read enough, you may conclude that it is better to aspire to be a leader than a manager. However, though leaders and managers are not…

You can't ask yourself the question"Where should I invest my time and energy?"without asking a series of related questions. What do I want to do? Where does my passion lie? What changes would I have to make in my life to pursue this direction? Do I have the time or money to do it? How would my involvement…

2011 Has Gone By Fast...

Just a few quick updates...

2 Year Mark as Core Health and Heart Forgiveness Facilitator

We are completing our second full year of Core Health and Heart Forgiveness Workshops and what an exciting and joyful experience that has been. Changing peoples' live through…

I remember when I interviewed for the very last job I ever had in Corporate America, I was asked where I saw myself in 10 years. Being in my early 40s, I told the employer I hoped to be growing with the Company.

But now here it is more than 10 years later and I find myself growing in a different direction. I am among a growing number of baby boomers who have joined the ranks of the self-employed. According to the AARP, nearly half of the self-employment population is over 50, and…

You already have many skills that you've learned through life, education and work experience. Any business, just like any job requires certain basic skills to perform well. What skills do you have now? Make a list of them. Here are some skills to help you get started:

Starting a business can be an exciting and overwhelming endeavor but if you make the right choices you'll never regret it. In order to make the right choices it is important to evaluate those choices each step of the way. The first thing that you must assess is why start a business. Knowing your "why" will go far in keeping you going when the going gets tough.

What are your personal goals?

It's important…

Does speaking in public scare the pants off you? Well, then, you are in the majority. Most people have a fear of public speaking and so, they don’t do it.

When (notice I did NOT say ‘if’!!!) you are serious about growing your business and getting your message out there in a big way, then you must get out and speak on stages. There are some simple strategies that I have developed over the past 20+ years and I want to share them with you.

WAYS TO FIND SPEAKING…

When you retire from work, you gain more free time, but lose the structure that work builds into your life. At first, you might say "At last!", put up your feet, and get into a nice routine of watching daytime TV, going to lunch, and playing golf. There may go a time when you feel that unstructured days leave you feeling the same as if you ate nothing but donuts and junk food. You might enjoy the guilty pleasure for a while and even technically feel full, but not feel…