Monthly Archives: March 2011

by | March 7, 2011 · 10:00 am

An Awesome Attitude Can Make a BIG Difference

by Deborah Shane

How important is attitude?

There is an expression that “when you look at challenge differently, it starts looking different to you”. There are a few people lately that are amazing examples to me of “attitude in action” in dealing with their own life altering situations. They are going through personal and professional crisis that really can try a person’s faith and belief, but they persevere with grace and poise. Some days they are just not ok and good, but they share that with their support team anyway.

All around us there are people we know in crisis and change, from jobs to homes, to health, family and finances.Which people in your sphere’s have that “awesome attitude” and how can that make a BIG difference not only to them but to others?

I know for me, the past four years has been a relentless series of changes on all the areas I mentioned above and yet I am choosing to stay positive, keep evolving, growing and moving forward. There are many things that are NOT the same, but I still have love, health, family, friends, opportunity and fun in my life.

So what is attitude?

A-action
T-time management
T-tenacity
I-inspiration
T-temperance
U-unafraid
D-daring
E-empathy

What defines your attitude? Never underestimate how it can help someone you don’t know or haven’t met yet!

Coming Early 2011-


Career Transition-make the shift
The 5 Steps for Successful Career Reinvention

Deborah Shane, is an author, entrepreneur, speaker and expert. She is the founder and Chief Motivator, Educator and Catalyst at Train With Shane, which delivers business education and professional development through speaking, events and training in the career, sales, social marketing, and motivation fields. Deborah is also founder of the Women’s Empowerment Series Conferences and The Career Transition Series Intensives. Her new book Career Transition Make the Shift-The 5 Steps to Successful Career Transition comes out early in 2011. Reach Deborah through www.deborahshane.com, TrainWithShane.com, her blog deborahshanetoolbox.com on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at Deborah Shane, and at Blogtalkradio.com/trainwithshane.

You can listen to the audio from when Deborah was a guest of Blog Host, Gail Z. Martin’s Shared Dreams podcast here: https://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WyNtfW3X

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by | March 3, 2011 · 6:12 pm

Timid or Careful?

by Sheryl Eldene, MA, MBA, PCC

A forty five year old software engineer finally found employment after being laid off for 18 months. Her boss asks her to alter the financial reporting programs in a way that feels unethical to her. She’s been on the job for only two months, and doesn’t know the hierarchy in her new company and if what she is being asked to do is consistent with company policy, or is being done on the Q-T. She decides to work slower than usual on the project while she does some canvassing to find out what the legitimacy of this request really is. Is she being timid or careful?

A seventy year old woman with osteoporosis is walking across the street in the rain. She feels unsure of her footing, and is walking slowly, and more stiffly than usual in an attempt to protect herself from falling. Unfortunately, walking with this kind of tenseness increases her chances of losing her footing. Would you say she’s being timid and/or careful?

An entrepreneur whose business has flat lined over the last 24 months is both pleased that she is weathering the recession and nervous that neither her profits nor her market share are growing. She is contemplating a new social media marketing campaign the includes a new blog site, a new branding and new messaging to reach a more specific target market. The cost of creating this move represents about 25% of her current profits. She has had the proposal on her desk for three months now. Is she being timid or careful?

A two year old intently leaves the security of her hold on the end table and teeters toward her mother, slowly and carefully. Falls down, and tries again, holding onto that table for a little longer this time. Is she timid or careful? And clearly determined and focused!

Interestingly,TIMID, CAREFUL, and STUCK can all look the same. How are you doing in your business this quarter? Timid, Careful, Stuck or determined and moving slowly?

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Filed under Business Planning, Intentions, Sheryl Eldene

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by | March 2, 2011 · 10:01 am

Anger and the lizard brain.

<div class=\"postavatar\">Anger and the lizard brain.</div>

by Gail Z. Martin

I’ve told the story about the two warring wolves inside each of us—the light one that is brave and true and the dark one that is dangerous.  The wolf that wins is the wolf we feed.

I tackled my own “wolf problem” when it came to feeling angry.  Now I’ve already shared my reaction to the over-hyped, over-dramatized TV news.  But once I realized how much the doom-and-gloom drumbeat of the news affected my mood, I went looking for other culprits in order to take back my wolf.
A friend of mine who is a psychologist told me that the oldest part of the brain is focused on survival.  It’s programmed to fight, reproduce and grab all the resources for itself, because that’s how wild animals survive.  Interestingly enough, this old part of the brain is what lights up when we’re angry.  And even more interesting, when we’re angry, the body redirects blood from the more advanced parts of the brain (that control logic, reasoning and decision-making) to fuel the fight-or-flight old brain.

Do you realize what that means?  When we’re angry, we’re using our lizard brain, not the new improved frontal lobe reasoning brain.  In other words—and this is important—anger turns off the ability to think.

Now consider how angry our society has become.  Road rage. Politicians who barely avoid fist fights and call each other names. Flamers and trolls on the Internet who post nasty comments.  School bullying that makes kids commit suicide.  Talk radio. Anger turns off the ability to think.
What would happen if you pulled the plug on the anger-makers?  Skip the morning drive talk radio show that leaves you with an upset stomach and a bad mood.  Stop reading the Letters to the Editor and the comments on news blogs.  Look for a non-partisan source for news that tries its best to provide the facts and let you decide.  Take time to breathe.

Anger turns off the ability to think—and it also drowns out your intuition.  When you’re angry, there are too many survival chemicals flooding your system for you to hear the soft whisper of intuition and opportunity.

Make just one change this week to pull the plug on the anger-makers and let me know how it changes your life and awakens your intuition.

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Filed under Balance, Gail Z. Martin, Image & Identity, Inspiration, Passion & Potential, Personal Transitions

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