Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Focusing on What People DO Instead of What They SAY

Don’t know what the Presidential candidates stand for? With all the rhetoric– and misrepresentations and omissions of fact that you’re hearing from both candidates, it’s tough to tell what their real beliefs are. Not to mention the fact that the press/media is being accused of being on Obama’s side. You can also see this in your daily life. The coworker filled with empty promises. The “friend” who is constantly cancelling lunch. Your local representative who did not vote the way they said when on the stump. (more…)

Does Market Collapse Mean the End of the World?

fearful.jpgNo WAY!

Though you might believe otherwise from the news coverage and mass hysteria, the world is not coming to an end. The Financial “Crisis” will make it more difficult for those with not so perfect credit to get loans, but it really shouldn’t affect your day to day life.

What it should do is make you realize that this will impact only a tiny fraction of your existence…and there are so many other areas of your life that you have complete control over. Why not work on them, and secure your future?

What’s the worst that could happen?

Ask any economist, and the only response you will get is their opinion or theory. The markets are responding to the hysteria and the uncertainty of our past mistakes and future fears. Do not be swayed! Stay strong! Eventually when the government allows our markets to stabilize (by stabilizing THEMSELVES) we will return to our bullish times. Until then, realize that this period will be over at some point. Just make sure that YOUR house is in order.

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Chicken Little

chicken.jpgby David Bohl

Remember when you were a kid, and your mom and dad read you that story about Chicken Little?

Chicken Little feels an acorn drop on her head and assumes the sky is falling. She goes on to spread such misinformation to her animal friends. The chaos that ensues enables “Foxy Loxy” to come along and make a meal out of some of Chicken Little’s friends.

The story of Chicken Little is meant to show what happens when you pass along information that isn’t true. It leaves you vulnerable to attack because no one is paying attention to what’s really happening.

Lately, the mass hysteria that the media and the internet have contributed to is reminding me of that story. No, we’re not all running around squawking that the sky is falling, exactly. But we might as well be, with the election rumors flying around, the bailout backlash, and everything else that’s going on.

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Fatten Up Your EQ: 6 Exercises to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

angry.jpgfrom Life Coach David Bohl

Have you ever felt out of touch with your own emotions? Do you wish you could emphathize more with the way others feel? Try these six exercises to improve your emotional intelligence and become an emotional Einstein!

Take an Emotional Inventory

During a typical day, you probably feel dozens of emotions, and these emotions influence your actions. It is easy to go about your business without examining why you do the things you do, but for one day, attempt to track your feelings. When you notice you are conducting an activity on autopilot, take a moment to analyze your thoughts and the way you feel and write them down in a journal. When you develop an ability to identify the emotional motivation behind your actions, you will grow a much better understanding of yourself and the ways you feel.

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Are You Focusing on the Message? (What the 2008 Presidential Election Can Teach Us About Living on the Offense)

personal coachby David Bohl, Lifestyle Redesign Expert

As I watch the U.S. Presidential campaigns — complete with polls, interviews, focus groups, and pundits — it occurs to me that each candidate’s basic message has been lost.

When you’re starting out in business, or in sales, you’re taught to focus on one solid message, and to share this message time and time again… often for a year or more before moving onto anything else.

The Presidential candidates haven’t done this. Each may have started off strong, but with the field day that the media is having, they’ve since been diverted by other peoples’ expectations.

They hear that one group of people is affected, and they tailor a TV add to try to sway that group. One candidate attacks the other, so the attacked candidate films a rebuttal. This goes on in a never-ending digression until the candidate’s message: his/her values, beliefs, and visions — are totally lost and covered up by all the extraneous bull.

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Lifestyle Coach Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is – Offers FR.EE Teleseminar: How the Average American Can Weather the Financial Crisis Without Becoming Emotionally Overwhelmed

WEBCAST REPLAY NOW AVAILABLE – Sign up below.

Down Economy Got You Way Down? It doesn’t have to!

Join me for a FR.EE teleseminar THIS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2008 – 7:00 PM Central.

We all see what’s going on in the world.  It sure isn’t pretty.

The markets and economy are in the tank. Foreclosures, hiring freezes, salary cuts, and layoffs are a given.

We’re hunkered down in our bunkers waiting for the storm to blow over.  Is that the right approach?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Think about this:  When businesses feel the heat of the bad economy and decreasing sales, do they hunker down?  No!  They get very proactive.  They look for ways to cut costs and increase efficiencies.

AS INDIVIDUALS, WE SHOULD DO THE SAME THING.

  • Take this time to engage in some self-assessment instead of using all your energy for self-preservation.
  • Build some self-confidence, self-equity, and a foundation for your future – so that you can handle good times and bad.

Now is the best time to engage in a concentrated period of personal evaluation.

1.   Figure out where you are and where you want to go.
2.   Add things to your life that are important to you.
3.   Get rid of the things that just aren’t working anymore.

You don’t have to take it on the chin and allow the bad economy to control every aspect of your life.

Come out of the basement.  Take control.  Empower yourself!

Join me for a FR.EE teleseminar THIS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2008 at 7:00 PM Central.

WEBCAST REPLAY NOW AVAILABLE – Sign up below.

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Friend or Foe: How to Determine Who’s Really on Your Team

football.jpgby David Bohl

Did you ever hold someone in high regard as a friend, confidant, and/or advisor, only to have that person turn out to be nothing like who you thought they were? No doubt, a break in trust like this can be devastating.

Unfortunately, once we’ve been “burned,” it can be tough to start over with a clean slate and a fresh pair of rose colored glasses. And yet, that’s exactly what we need to do if we plan on living a happy and successful life!

The truth is, as much as we’d like to say that we’re independent, people need other people. We need them for comfort, we need them for connection (between each other, and as a bridge to other great minds who might be able to enrich us in some way)… we need them for inspiration. And quite simply, we need other people to help us get where we want to be in life.

Knowing this, when is the last time you asked yourself: Who’s on my team? Who can I count on when the going gets tough… who accepts me for who I am? Who opens up their mind and heart to my thoughts and feelings… who is willing to share their dreams with me?

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How to Get the Attention of People Whom You Want to Emulate

personal coachby David Bohl, Lifestyle Redesign Expert

Maybe it’s a famous wedding planner, talk show host, or a local business man or woman. Whoever it is you admire, and want to be like, has qualities that you want to possess. You may already have these qualities but just haven’t freed them from within yourself yet. Selecting someone who you look up to, who can serve as a mentor or even just a connection who might be able to open doors of opportunity for you, is something worth investigating.

Now comes the question: how do you get Extremely Successful and Busy People to notice you?

Get over the fear.

Before you do anything: let go of the fear. Humans have a habit of putting other humans upon a pedestal, perhaps falsely perceiving that they are somehow unworthy of said successful person’s attention?

So what if they’re famous? They’re still human like you. Whoever they may be “to the public,” they’ve still got a mother and a father, a family to care for, bills to pay and a little child inside of their own head who pipes up every now and again wanting attention and recognition in the most basic of ways.

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Become the Change You Want to See

lamp.jpgby David Bohl, Personal Coach and Lifestyle Designer

All of the major changes in life and society, like the Civil Rights Movement, the call to save the environment, and even women obtaining the right to vote, did not just happen on their own.

People didn’t just sit back and say, “Man, that isn’t how it should be. I’m just going to stand back and see what happens.” These changes came about because someone stood up and said, “I am going to make a change and this is what I am going to do.”

You, too, have visions of a changed world for you, your family, and your children. You want to see a safer, more environmentally friendly, and peaceful world to live in. You want to see all of these changes, but you really want and need is to become the change that you want to see. You have to do your part to implement the change and influence others to create the change as well. No matter what the change is that you want to see occur, there are ways that you can become the change instead of just being a spectator. Change is not a spectator sport.

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What if the President Had a Life Coach?

lincoln.jpgHow would Americans react to a presidential candidate who has a life coach?

Are you surprised to learn that political leaders hire personal coaches to help them deal with the pressures of being a public figurehead?

If you Google the terms “political leadership coach” or “political coach” in quotation marks, you’ll see a decent 500-800 page list of results that come up. Most of it is from organizations that offer leadership grooming and personal coaching for politicians and those who are on the path to a political career.

Even though coaching is for the most part an emerging field, there are enough types of coaches to say that the trend is continuing to grow. Coaching has been big in the corporate world for some time. Companies bring in motivational consultants to groom their future leaders, work on emotional intelligence and team dynamics, and empower both individuals and groups. When done right, this works to improve sales performance by fueling the organization to achieve more in less time and using less resources.

(I recently launched a group coaching program that is currently being delivered to professionals, in both online and in-person workshop formats. Check out The Intensive Empowerment System and tell me what you think!)

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