Inspired Life:

All too often we are overwhelmed with the challenges of the day.  We hear nothing but negative news and soon we become negative too.

But stop for a short moment and consider just how blessed you are.  You have a life full of interesting people.  You are talented beyond the measure that you likely consider.  Each day brings new opportunities and experiences.  Simply put, you live a blessed life!

Often in the hustle and bustle of the day we fail to plan for the things that really matter.  We get our kids to soccer practice, our reports for work in on time, and the oil changed in our cars.  But what about a scheduled attitude change?

Each day should begin with time to reflect on your life, your loves, your relationships, and your day.  Consider prayer and meditation as the essentials your mind and spirit need to successfully function.  Each day they should be tuned up, changed, and filtered.

Try setting aside the first five minutes every day to pray, read, meditate, or reflect.  Do this every day for thirty days and you’ll see your attitude improve.  You are what you think, so think about how blessed you are!

BELOW IS AN UNSOLICITED, “REAL- WORLD”, TESTIMONIAL FROM A PARTICIPANT IN A RECENT WORKSHOP.  WE MAKE THE POINT THAT FOR OUR TRAINING TO BE REALIZED, IT MUST BE UTILIZED!  THESE ARE SKILLS THAT ARE NOW PERMANENT.

Hello,

Just wanted to give you all some “real-world” feedback after our first

Professional Development session recently.

I had a GA Restaurant Association function which we were sponsoring.  The

function was called “On the Menu” Best Practices Forum and it was the first event of it’s kind being tailored for restaurant members of the GRA and

hosted by a successful, local chef.  As Chair of the GRA’s Membership

Committee, I am often asked to present “a slide or two” from a powerpoint

presentation that either the GRA and/or myself put together for the

Quarterly membership meetings.  What that means is that I usually stand up

in front of 100 to 150 people and read bullet points off the screen – not

much of a challenge, and the powerpoint is an easy crutch, but pretty good

experience none the less.

The “On the Menu” event was much smaller and there was no projector or

Powerpoint presentation to read from.  I knew ahead of time as one of the

event sponsors that I would be asked to present a minute or two about Royal

Cup and what we do.  What I did not know was that I had also been put on the

agenda as Membership Chair to give a testimonial about the GRA to the group

(about 40 people.)  I found this out about (30) minutes or so before I had

to deliver the testimonial while I happened to be rushing around the

restaurant brewing coffee and setting up our display as meeting sponsors.

In addition, the added stress of having to give two talks with no supporting

notes made keeping my nerves at bay a bit more challenging.

I did not have too much trouble coming up with my testimonial thoughts on

the fly, but the thought of having no prep-time to organize my thoughts was

a bit disconcerting and in the past might have translated into nerves before

and during my talk.

I immediately thought back to Moe and Nancy’s session

and told myself to try and remember just a few things from it:

- the spontaneous and “no prep time” manner in which Moe and Nancy asked us

to come up with our one minute talks during the sessions gave me the

confidence to relax and do it in this situation with relative ease.

-  holding eye contact with individuals around the room for five seconds at

a time, controlling my hand movements, posture, and speaking so that

everyone could hear me (we had no microphone.)

I can tell you that focusing on these simple things kept me from being

nervous (or at least greatly reduced my nerves) and greatly improved my

overall delivery.  I was focused on the topic and effectively delivering the

message and I believe that thanks to the session on “Effective

Presentations” I was able to do so.

Looking forward to more good stuff in

future sessions.  Thanks!

Jason

Jason Howell

Atlanta District Manager

Royal Cup Coffee, Inc.

TO SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION, PLEASE CONTACT US.  WE WILL CUSTOMIZE A PROGRAM FOR YOUR NEEDS AND BUDGET.

COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS OF OUR LATEST “In House Customized Workshop“.

THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS WERE SENT TO THE TRAINING MANAGER OF A NATIONAL COMPANY  BY THE PARTICIPANTS WHEN HE ASK THEM FOR FEEDBACK ABOUT OUR PROGRAM.  HE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO FORWARD THE COMMENTS TO US.  RESPONSES LIKE THIS MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE!

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I really enjoyed the session on Public speaking as I have had many

occasions to speak in front of crowds and always want to improve.

This is an area that can really help us with the professional perception of our company.

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The Presentation session with Moe and Nancy Davis was excellent. I think it

had everyone step out of their comfort zone, I know I did.

This was something that I have never had in all of my leadership classes. I

find myself practicing at home or at work when I have multiple people around

me. I can see this helping me out tremendously when I have large coffee

proposal or speaking at my District meeting.

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The Presentation portion was my biggest challenge. At first I was not

overly excited about speaking and having someone critique me, but as the

class went on, I found it to be easier and realized that we all had things

that we could work on. No one in the room started out perfect, but I can

say that as the day went on, I realized that we have some very

effective speakers in the class.

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The speakers/trainers in this class were great. They made you feel at ease,

yet could really explain things in a way that didn’t make you feel

incompetent.

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The final session with Moe and Nancy was quite an adventure. In this day an

age with new business, communication with customers and vendors, and our

personal life public speaking is paramount.

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Moe and Nancy Davis provide good training on ways to polish an individuals

professional appearance. In sales and business appearance can mean the

difference between success and failure.

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I found the “Effective Presentations” session to be of great value as well.

That was exactly the type of session I was looking for when I saw it on the

agenda. The fact that there was an element of surprise was beneficial

because it really made me think on my feet.  Also, the fact that our

presentations were videotaped and that we had three or four separate

presentations to give that required us to use what we had learned from the

previous presentations and subsequent evaluations made it a great learning

experience. Lastly, I really think that the immediate feedback from the

instructors and our peers was very impactful. I look forward to applying

the techniques that I learned in this session as I am very confident that I

will able to improve my presentation skills as a result.

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This was definitely the most enjoyable session for me. It was very

enlightening to see yourself on video and how you appear to others when you

speak. EVERYONE stayed involved with this class. We were all out of our

“comfort zone”, which is a good thing. You could see the progress that many

of the participants had made during those few hours on
Thursday morning.

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The intimate setting of the room made it even more challenging, because you

work with these folks. I have spoken in front of 10,000 people before at

the BJCC, and was nowhere near as nervous as I was to start the day Thursday.

I personally feel that Thursdays class with Moe and Nancy Davis will be the

most beneficial to me at this point. The keys to giving an effective

presentation and capturing the audience that you’re speaking to are vital

tools that I can put to use very often when speaking to tours, or even to TM

classes that may come through.

———————————-

Yesterday’s session on public speaking was outstanding. I wish I would’ve

had this training 15 years ago. I learned several techniques that have

practical application.

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Effective Presentation (Moe Davis) – At the end of class Thursday, I felt

much more confident and

aware regarding speaking in public.

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Moe and Nancy helped me identify what I needed to work on, and by the end of class I could honestly see an

improvement. I will continue to practice what I learned to improve my presentation skills and my confidence

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If you want to know more about the workshop these folks participated in please contact us!

This is not a rare book at all. I had rested it on the bookshelf just yesterday and was so upset when I couldn’t find it last night for my late reading. Have you ever misplaced one of your most recent books and picked up an old friend to pass the time until the new shows up? Today I will read from the newest and tomorrow I will capture from the rare temporary book/friend. The book for today is hot off the press and so far a book that might make me call in sick because I love the way it reads. The page I will be quoting is so fitting for today’s world I am so glad I thought of a small page number. I hope you enjoy the passage enough to run out and purchase this one!

HOPE ( When Everything Seems Hopeless) by: Dr. Tom Dooley, PH.D. ( pg:1 )

This book was written especially for hurting individuals, those who are buried under the snowdrift of hopelessness and left there as half-dead. May this book breathe a measure of hope, which is the bedrock upon which genuine faith is established. Without hope there can be no faith. And without faith, one cannot please God.

Dr. Tom Dooley

“How sweet is that?” I am so glad that this book found it’s way into our home. No, it was not from my friends rare collection but I could not resist.

Thanks for blogging today with Nancy @ Davis Executive Training.  If you find this information helpful please let me know. I always welcome suggestions, comments and new subscribers.
(To subscribe use the subscription button in the lower right of this page.)

 

 

My hands landed on the ( book ) friend:  blink -by the author of The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell -The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

A few sentences from page 23 ( You will need to read this wonderful book if you haven’t already )

But Gotman, it turns out, can teach us a great deal about a critical part of rapid cognition known as thin-slicing.  “Thin-slicing” refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience.

Go to www.gladwell.com to find out more about this author and book form of communication.

Tomorrow we will meet another friend off  the book shelf. It might be a book dating back well into the years of great classic’s. You will have to wait and see.

Thanks for blogging today with Nancy @ Davis Executive Training.  If you find this information helpful please let me know. I always welcome suggestions, comments and new subscribers.
(To subscribe use the subscription button in the lower right of this page.)

We all get e-mails with list of things.  I got this one today and it just “Rang True”.  Its a little long, but good.  Hope I can practice most of the items on this list.

HAVE A GREAT YEAR IN 2009!

40 Tips for a Better Life – 2009

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’

5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

7. Make time to  practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of six .

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10.  Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants. Eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, or issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime .

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. REMEMBER GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change

30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)

37. Each night before  you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride.. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass.. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. I just did.

May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!