Face the facts: about 90% of the people you’re going to meet at work or in a social environment are going to have a preconceived notion of what type of person you are. We as humans tend to stereotype and judge people based on what they’re wearing, who they’re around, or what they do for a living before we ever talk to them.This isn’t fair and we all remember the adage, Don’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s a hard truth.

Attracting like-minded people into your world means being honest with yourself as well as with those you’re meeting for the first time. If you’re scared of heights, don’t pretend that you’ve gone rock climbing. Just be honest! After all, your deceit will surely be uncovered and any trust you’ve built up goes straight out the window.

Tips for a Great First Impression

To help make sure you’re always putting your best foot forward in any situation, here are a few tips to follow:

1. When you’re meeting someone new, act as if you’re simply meeting up with a good friend. You’re more likely to be who you really are if you look at a new person as if they’re someone you’re already comfortable with. There’s no advantage in trying to impress someone by being anyone other than yourself.

2. Avoid correcting people’s mistakes when in a casual conversation. Helping a coworker avoid a big mistake on a project at work is admirable but don’t become the office know-it-all during your lunch hour.

3. Make sure that your body language is open and welcoming. Avoid crossing your legs or arms. Stand with your body facing the person with whom you’re speaking. Make eye contact with them, but don’t stare at them. Open body language makes you appear friendly and more people will want to talk to you.

4. Stand up straight. You don’t need to stand as if you have a wrought iron pole in your spine, but don’t slouch. Good posture always provides a much better first

impression than slouching over like you’re trying to hide from the world.

5. Keep a positive attitude and outlook. Being pessimistic or the voice of doom and gloom will repel people away from you rather than attract them; however, you don’t want to be overly positive, which could give people the impression that you’re unrealistic or living in a fantasy world.

6. Focus on the people around you and not what’s going on in your head. Be interested in what people are saying and doing around you to avoid appearing

egotistical or self-centered. If you are in a networking event imagine that you are the host of the meeting and make the effort to introduce others and to be attentive to the needs of your ‘guests’.

7. Smile.

We are automatically attracted to people who smile. Using your full smile is an asset to breaking the ice and to making a great first impression. It’s been scientifically proven that when one person smiles other person will ‘catch’ their happy energy and smile back. So keep a grin on your dial !

The bottom line to making a good first impression is to relax and be yourself. You may not be able to win over the world, but you’ll certainly be able to attract like-minded people.

A few years back, Disney released an animated movie called Meet the Robinsons that had such a deep impact and meaning. The point of the story is to celebrate each failure you have because it gives you the opportunity to try again.

Most people make the mistake in thinking that, just because they failed at something, they should just move on. Or, if they failed it meant they were never meant to succeed at it. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

When you’re trying to accomplish something, failure is actually the best thing that can happen to you. Seriously! Do you think the light bulb was invented the first time around? No! In fact, Thomas Edison took thousands of tries to get it just right! What about the first wheel or the telephone? Of course it takes multiple tries by multiple people to reach success, but the key point to remember is that you have to fail in order to know that you’ve succeeded.

Real Life Examples of Failure

•  Think of a toddler learning how to walk. Although they give a fair share of tantrums during the learning stages, they pull themselves up after each fall and try to walk again. Instinctively they’re teaching themselves how to perfect the movement all based on their past mistakes or failures. It’s a trial and error process!

•  People struggling with weight loss often feel like failures when they gain weight while dieting. Keeping a weight loss journal can help them track their progress and learn to recognize what triggers them to fail. Perhaps there are emotional or physical triggers that can be prevented. Learning from these mistakes will teach them how to combat those same problems in the future.

There is another benefit to failing: failure opens doors that will allow you to find out what you’re really destined to do. This happens at university all the time.

How You Found Yourself Through Experience

Certainly you know at least one person who went to university with the intent of getting one degree and as they went through their course work, having their successes and failures, they discovered a new career interest and changed their major.

Think of a student who went to uni to become a nurse but soon realized what they really enjoy teaching. The whole reason they were going into nursing was to help educate people to improve their lives and they found the best way to do that is not as a nurse, but as a teacher. There’s nothing wrong with that!

As long as you’re able to learn from your mistakes, then they’re not mistakes at all they are opportunities for success! There’s always something to learn from each and every situation and once you understand the lesson, it will make you a better person.

Become Stronger and Wiser

Failure makes you a stronger person. Imagine what it would be like if everything you did always went your way. Imagine that you were successful at everything you attempted your whole life and then one day it happened… you failed! You failed so badly that it caused you to lose everything. How in the world would you deal with that failure if you’ve never had to overcome an obstacle before?

Failing allows you to become more resilient so you can always figure out a way to move forward. The first wheel may have been square and it moved, but it was wobbly and eventually fell over, but the inventors never gave up! They began to figure out how to make it rounder so it would roll smoothly. You can do the same in your life! You can’t give up, you have to pick yourself up and figure out a way to roll forward, stronger than ever!

In this day and age, we all just seem to get busier and busier. How many times have you said to yourself, I wish there were more hours in the day?  Is there some magic formula that can help you get more done each day? No, of course not!  But there are specific things you can do that will help you become more organized and efficient. In return, you’ll get more time to do the things you always wish you had time for.

Not everyone has the natural ability to get organized and, for some of us, it takes a serious amount of effort and a lot of trial and error to develop organizational skills. If you’re one of those who weren’t born with the instinctive sense of organization and time management, here are some tips to help you find more time in your day. If one doesn’t work, simply try another until you find the ones that fit best with your personality and lifestyle.

# 1 :  Plan & Schedule Your Day

This seems rather simple, but seeing everything on paper can help you feel in control. Instead of letting an entire day get away from you and feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing, planning will put some order and structure into your day.

• Use a family calendar or personal planner to organize your errands and

appointments.

# 2 :  Write a Daily To-Do List

Put the most important tasks at the top of your list and get them done first, that way there’s no last minute rushing around. The majority of your time and energy should be spent on accomplishing these important tasks.

• Keep your lists a reasonable length so you’ll feel productive crossing off

completed tasks.

# 3 : Don’t Waste Time on Nonessential Tasks

As humans, our tendency is to do the easy jobs first, but these quick and simple jobs may

not be as necessary as you once thought. Before setting your mind to do something, ask

yourself Will this help me reach my ultimate goals or will it keep me from them?

• Cut down your time on unimportant tasks and use those minutes to do

something fun for yourself.

# 4 : Delegate Tasks

Delegation isn’t about passing the buck, it’s realizing that you can’t do everything by yourself. There is nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it.

• Delegate chores to your family or hire professionals.

# 5 : Break Large Tasks Down into Smaller Jobs

This will prevent you from getting overwhelmed. Just focus on each small job, one at a time, instead of trying to paint the whole canvas at once.

• Need to reorganize your kitchen or basement? Start in one little corner and focus your attention there until it’s clean and organized.

# 6 : Limit Distractions

I know this can be hard, but if at all possible turn off the phone and close your email program. Simply focus on the task at hand without constant interruptions.

• Schedule your most important tasks at a time that offers the fewest

disruptions.

# 7: Live a Healthy Lifestyle

This may seem out of place in this list, but studies show that people who eat right, exercise and get plenty of sleep have more energy to accomplish more during the day. The quality of your work will also improve when you feel healthy.

• You don’t need to start a strict training regimen to regain your energy. You’ll see changes quickly by just making simple dietary changes and walking everyday.

# 8 : Take 10min  Breaks as much as you can

When you start to feel too stressed out, get up and take a little walk or do some stretches. When you’re stressed about something your energy isn’t being used on productive work. Instead you become scattered and un-focused.

• A well-timed break can actually help you do more in a shorter amount of

time.

#9 : Keep a diary of how you spend your time for several days.

By simply writing down how you spend the minutes in your day, you can re-evaluate the way you do things. Maybe there’s a way you can cut some minutes here and there to allow more flexibility in your schedule.

• Effective time management is a key principle to a less stressful life.

#10 :  Preplan your holidays

Not only is it important to take breaks during the day but another essential step is to take longer periods off from work and have ‘quality’ rest. Quality rest is not just five minutes of distraction it is a period of at least 5-7 days off from work and life pressures. It involves not keeping in touch with your emails or phone and having very little to do but sleep, read a trashy book or be in an environment that is completely different to your normal day. Both the period before you go on holidays and straight after are incredibly productive times – the first because you know you have a deadline to keep and you are looking forward to the break, the second because you are fresh and ready to see with new eyes when you return.

• Schedule well in advance when you will take holidays in the next 12 months and lock them in.

Making some simple changes in the way you manage your time can have a huge impact on your overall well-being. So go get started!

Check out Angela Pollicino’s coaching and personal development webiste www.leadinglife.com.au

You would have to be living in a bubble is you haven’t heard the terrible news – we’re about to head into a world recession like none other. Yes it’s very distressing – it’s all the media wants to talk about. But let’s face the facts: life is full of both good and bad surprises. Recession or not – you can’t live your life worried about bad news and possible future economic repercussions, otherwise you’ll paralyze yourself in fear. Instead, you need to become more resilient and learn how to expect the unexpected. It’s those individuals and companies that embrace the unknown and prepare themselves mentally for dealing with uncertainty that will prosper in the future, regardless of economic conditions.

Let’s look then at how you can learn to cope with unexpected news and become a stronger, more confident person in times of pressure.

Step # 1: Expect the Unexpected

Have you ever gotten a call from a friend who cancels a get-together you were looking forward to? This is an extremely trivial example of unexpected news, but it represents what we all deal with on a daily basis. You may feel disappointed or frustrated, especially if you spent time preparing for the event, but you have two choices: move on and make the best of the day, or allow it to sour

your mood and hold you back. Ask yourself: what do you typically do when you encounter the unexpected ?

Well, instead of allowing the change of plans to ruin your day, try to get your mind busy onto something else. Is there a fun activity that you can do at home? Is there something you can do for yourself or your family? You can make the best of things by turning the unexpected into a new opportunity.

Step # 2 : Build a Solid Support System

Another way to deal with unexpected news is to turn to your support system. Bad news can come with great pain. If you get the news that someone has passed away, for example, this is something that is going to cause you deep pain and suffering. Of course, it’s normal to feel these very real emotions.

In these times it is important for you to turn to those around you for support. You may need someone to talk to, someone to cry with, or even a helping hand. It’s crucial that surround yourself with positive influences instead of isolating yourself.

Step #3 : Use Mind Power to Cope with Bad News

Reframing is a method that performance coaches use frequently to turn around a negative thought. For example, a golfer may be thinking the worst when they say to themselves “I’m probably going to miss this putt because I’m too far from the hole”. A neutral or even positive thought would be more like “I’m about to see how much my long-putting game has improved when I sink this ball “.  By shifting the meaning we place on things we change perspective and this changes our focus. What we focus on is what we get, so always train your thoughts to be optimistic.

Positive affirmations are another way that you can reinforce positive focus when confronted with unexpected news. Affirmations are concise statements that you can use to help you think in a more positive manner. When bad news is overwhelming you and you don’t know how to cope, you can stop and say:

• In times of crisis, I am safe because I have a well thought out recovery plan

   waiting to be launched.

• I challenge myself to be calm in order to release daily pressures.

When you say these phrases aloud as you fall to sleep and as you are waking up, you’re reaffirming the statement in your subconscious mind and you’re re-focusing your energy on solutions, instead of worries. Whether you believe it or not, words have power. Repeating these affirmations may console you and remind you about your strength during difficult situations.

When you use positive affirmations, reframing and the other coping techniques mentioned, you will find that you are more confident to deal with whatever life throws your way. Remember, it’s okay to be afraid of uncertainty, but you can equip yourself with the tools, techniques, and support system to overcome any obstacle, challenge, or situation.

Angela Pollicino is the director of a coaching business called Leading Life. She runs tele-coaching seminars, courses and events, and offers private coaching to individuals around the world. A motivational speaker and author check out her services and books at www.leadinglife.com.au