From Rohit: During my time as a Retail Field Trainer with Microsoft, I had the pleasure to meet a friendly, compassionate, and bold woman who worked for Hewlett Packard (HP). With her humor, energy, and transparency, Kristina Fulps could easily capture an audience. She has now volunteered to share her insights on motivation with us. I consider Kristina not only a positive influence in my life, but a dear friend as well.

Author: Kristina Fulps

What motivates you? There must be a reason you get up out of bed and head to work each day. Do you know why? Is it to accomplish a dream, pay the bills, because you have to, or that you aren’t sure but you just do it?

Some have started out in the workforce to accomplish a life goal or dream. Others had one but got lost in the needs of everyday life.

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

It is time to motivate your life and get you into doing something that you enjoy. Your assignment is to write down what simple incentives would motivate you. These could be a number of things: getting your hair done, close barber shave, a new shirt, favorite food/drink, massage, video game, anything.

Now that you have the incentives written down it is time to write down some short term goals that you would like to accomplish. Now remember these are short term goals and should be obtainable within a month. You want to build your motivation and be successful at it. This could be finally filing paperwork in alphabetical order, sending out thank you notes to businesses you have been working with on projects, getting those books that are stacked up in the corner on a bookshelf, and so on. Next to each short term goal write down a different incentive. Each time you complete a short term goal you will reward yourself with the incentive you wrote next to it. This will help keep you motivated in completing the other short term goals.

When you finish your list of short term goals it is time to find new goals for you to accomplish. These may be short term goals that have more meaning. You may even start working on long term goals, using short term goals as tasks to help you reach your main objective. Keep yourself motivated in being happy and successful moving forward by choosing new and interesting incentives for motivation.

KRISTINA FULPS is a District Manager in marketing, covering the Pacific Northwest. She studied Leadership/Management/Education at Charter Oak State & Pierce College. She has experience in educating and training on business relationships, growth and technology through personal, classroom and large-scale events. To contact her, please feel free to email her at: kristinafulps@gmail.com

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Related posts:

1. 3 Reasons You Don’t Set Goals
2. Guest Post: What is Mentorship?
3. Guest Post: Noonetime Charities

Are you like Dwight's Bobblehead?

Today while at the waiting room at the dentist’s office, I looked around to see what people were doing. I often like to people watch because it’s when people don’t know that others are observing them, that they show their real traits. If you see many people acting the same way, you can make a generalization that it is the behavior of the average person.

When I looked around, I saw many people engaged in conversation. I wanted to pay extra attention to how people were listening. Mainly, were they using the SOFTNER Listening Technique? To my amazement, almost all of the people who were listening were just nodding their head up and down, in agreement with what the person speaking was saying. Even the receptionist was nodding her head. It felt as if I was at a baseball game during Bobble Head giveaway night. Many weren’t even looking at each other, and were instead busied by their phones or magazines.

While the person who was listening may have felt that they were giving off the message that they were actively listening, this was not the message that the person speaking received. The truth is that the person who was listening could have indeed actively listened and soaked in everything that the person who was speaking was saying, but listening is also about making the other person feel as if you are listening to them, like they are the most important person in the world.

Next time you are engaged in a conversation with someone, pay attention to how you are showing that person that you are listening. Are you just nodding your head like a bobble head, or are you using the SOFTNER Listening Technique and are fully engaged. This could be the difference between an average relationship, and an exceptional one.

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From Rohit: In January 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing, bold, powerful woman at an Advanced Leadership Seminar. After a life altering trip to Kenya, Meghan Noone established Noonetime Charities in an effort to spread awareness and raise money to help empower women and children in Africa struggling with HIV/AIDS and Malaria. Meghan (actress/model/producer/author) was kind enough to share her story with us. Also, please join me in helping Meghan’s charity by making a small donation

Meghan Noone, founder Noonetime Charities

Hello friends of Rohit! My name is Meghan Noone and it’s an honor for me to share with you a little bit about my journey through this wonderful and challenging thing we call life!! I am a creative, passionate, driven, loyal, compassionate lover of life. Traveling, skydiving, exploring new places and meditating are some of my favorite things! I believe in taking risks and following my heart. I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not taken some huge risks. With risk comes reward. Without taking chances one remains stagnant. I definitely march to the beat of my own drum. I’m a little ‘out there’ but I’m perfectly ok with that.

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and have a wonderful family. After graduating from college I needed a change. I needed sunshine and freedom. I packed up my belongings and headed to the land of aloha! Hawaii was my home for the next 2 years. I taught special needs children and got involved in the entertainment industry doing print and commercial work. I eventually made my way to Los Angeles where I’ve been for 10 years.

After a profound and life altering trip to Kenya Africa in 2008 to film a documentary, my path completely shifted. It became clear to me that service was one of my callings. I spent time at an Aids orphanage in Kunya Village called Mama Na Dada and it was here I learned girls were considered too slow and too weak to play sports. I was in disbelief. I have played soccer since the age of 5 and would not be the woman I am today had I not had that opportunity. I knew I had to do something to empower these women so I asked if I could start the first girls’ soccer team there. The owners said yes if I could raise the money and spread awareness. So when I returned to LA I was on a mission!!! I prayed every day for guidance. I knew God would see me through.

5 months after my return to LA I had a near death experience. This is actually what ignited the passion and drive deep within my soul to do whatever it took to make that soccer team in Kenya a reality. After a 2 week depression I finally snapped out of it and realized I have a chance to make my dreams come true. I was not dying without doing something good for mankind. I was on a mission. I wrote to some of the producers of a show Ryan Seacrest was executive producer of and told them about my journey in Kenya. I told them my vision. I showed them footage from the documentary I had been working on. I was called in for an audition and booked it! I became a contestant on “Bank of Hollywood” and won $22,000 for the girls’ soccer team and Circle of Hope Daycare to help fund the center for the orphaned children.

With persistence, prayer, and a strong will, I made this dream come to fruition. I created a nonprofit called Noonetime Charities in June of 2011 so that I can continue to help Mama Na Dada and other organizations in desperate need of funding. I realize they can’t play soccer if their daily needs are not being met. One of those needs is clean water. The goal of Noonetime Charities is to raise $50,000 by June to present Mama Na Dada with a check to fund the Kunya Water and Sanitation Project.

I also wrote and published a book on my journey through Africa and beyond! My book is called Where Faith Led Me. What I want to share with everyone reading this is ANYTHING is possible! If you believe in yourself you can do whatever you put your mind to. I also know I am nothing without God. I am on a spiritual journey and with God on my side, magical things happen! We are all connected. We are all in this together! We need to remember that it’s not every man for himself… It’s we all rise to the top together!!!!

Check out my website: www.noonetimecharities.org
Thanks for reading and God bless all of you!
Meghan Noone

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1. Guest Post: What is Mentorship?

From Rohit: Below you will find a fantastic post from Tom Haupt, America’s #1 Leadership Trainer and Mentor in Personal Development. I have had the great fortune to attend two of Tom’s weekend long seminars, and his dedication to my success has always set him apart from other mentors.

Tom Haupt: America's #1 Leadership Trainer and Mentor in Personal Development

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person is a trusted adviser who trains and offers counsel to support a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The person in receipt of mentorship is a mentee.

“Mentoring” someone is a process that involves communication, openness and trust. It’s an informal transfer of knowledge, insight and wisdom relevant to ones work, career or professional experience. Mentorship also involves patience, time and a willingness to serve another. This interaction usually takes place face-to-face and during a sustained period of time.

Having the opportunity to be mentored is a gift and it can be an extraordinary experience. Just think, what would you as a mentee pay in time and money if you knew the mentor/mentee relationship cut years off the proverbial learning curve? I’d say it would be priceless! In my lifetime, I’m up to five mentors to this point, and I’m guessing I’ll have a few more before I leave this earth.

So I have a Take a Risk Action Challenge (tm) for you. First, find a mentor who is willing to work with you and secondly, find someone to mentor to pass down your talents, insights and experience you’ve learned in your life. It will be an experience of a lifetime!

Embrace Risk, Embrace Success in 2011! – Tom Haupt

Go to www.tomhaupt.com for more information and to join my Leadership Mentoring Program. I look forward to mentoring YOU in achieving all your goals and dreams!

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Dr Seuss

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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Driving my car

We all need some time to soul search, those moments of freedom when we are alone with out thoughts.  Once a month or so I get in my car, grab a camera (right now I am using the #1 camera on Amazon Canon PowerShot SX230HS) or journal, turn off the GPS and radio, and drive with no destination in mind. Sometimes I’ll only take left turns, or stay on a road until it ends. Amazing destinations aside, my road adventures always lead to a memorable time because it allows me to spend some quality time with someone that I don’t get enough time with, me.

Between a home life, family, work, and projects, we get less and less time with ourselves to relax and enjoy our own company, and start to define ourselves by our job titles. How many times have you met someone new and asked about them and the first response is where they work and their job title. Few people ever spend time with themselves, or if they do, they have the music going the entire time and rob themselves of the experience of getting lost in their own thoughts.

These drives have gone from something I was very nervous about doing (where do I go, what do I do, how much time will it take, do I have enough gas, etc.), to something that I enjoy doing. Right now I am typing this at a Starbucks I randomly found after driving around for 45 minutes, I don’t even know what city I am in right now, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

I encourage you to do the same. Learn to love yourself. Drive, get lost. Journal in a strange town, write a letter to a friend from a new found park, take a picture of an amazing nature scape, but mostly, spend some quality time with you.

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Getting Your LIfe Back On Track

Sometimes in life you have to stop what you are doing, take a step back, and take an objective look at your life. It sounds easier than it really is. Most people will not like the direction their life is heading in, but get either too overwhelmed or just ignore the seriousness of their circumstances.

The problem is that most people just don’t know what to do differently? All of their decisions in life, the choices that they felt were right, lead them to these circumstances. It’s all that they know, and it’s not only difficult to admit that you have been wrong, but what to do to fix things? The truth is that we have a natural tendency to surround ourselves with people who are either at the same level in life as we are, or less, in other words, people who  are in the exact same situations, if not worse. It is no wonder so many people are confused and feel helpless on improving their lives.
There are three steps that a person can to do start objectively seeing their lives, but one major life change that a person must do.

1. Put your life on Paper:I like to purchase a big white poster board and make a giant mind map of my life. I start with my name in themiddle, and then branch off with the categories bellow. After I’ve got the categories, I dive in deeper, and then dive in deeper again, as far down as I can possibly go. When people are concerned, for example Family, I break it down into positive and negative.
   • Spiritual & Health: Not religion, but your personal habits and philosophies. Your body and how you take care of it.
   • Professional: Your occupation, investments, financial goals, expenses, etc.
   • Personal: Family, friends, circle of influence, co-workers, physically (ex where you keep all your stuff- Car, house, work, etc.)
2. Find patterns: Now that you have your life on paper, try to find patterns that emerge. For example, if you have a lot of close friends, but they are all negative, maybe it’s time to make new friends? If you have little money saved up, but more material stuff than you know what to do with, you should cut back spending and try to sell your stuff. The deeper you go, the easier it will be to see the patterns.
3. Write down and Implement Changes: This is a crucial step. You have to write down on paper the patters you saw and what you must do to change. Don’t just think about it and keep it in your head, you must write it down. And then most importantly, implement those changes. If you have two jobs but spend little time for family, look for another job. If you don’t implement the changes, nothing in your life will change, everything will stay the same. Implement!

I like to do this process once a year and see how I’ve moved forward. The most difficult pattern that emerged for me was how negative my “friends” were. Now don’t get me wrong, these are all amazing people, but they lived in the past and never worked on creating their futures. It was easy for me to do the same because all of my friends were doing it. But when I did this exercise, I realized I wanted to take charge and create my future, and not let it happen to me. Good luck with this powerful exercise and I encourage you to do this once every 3 months at first so you can easily see your progress.

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Two people in deep conversation

I have the great fortune to be able to talk to The Most Important Person in the World every day. Who might it be? Some amazing philanthropist? A powerful politician? The most important person in the world is… whomever I am speaking to at the time!

A valuable lesson I learned a long time ago is that people love talking… especially about themselves. I realized something though, if everyone loves talking about themselves, then who listens? I started eavesdropping on some conversations and always noticed one thing most conversations were people who were battling with each other on who would get to talk more. They would interrupt, tune out, and start formulating what they would say as soon as the other person stopped talking.

So I started listening. I listened to the stories, the complaints, the hopes and dreams, the stresses of work, I just sat there listening using the SOFTENER technique. I listened like I was listening to the most important person in the world talking. I even listened for 2 hours while on a plane where the only thing I said was, “How are you today?”  A funny thing started happening though, people started to compliment me on how fascinating I was, how I had the most interesting views on life, and how much they enjoyed conversing with me, even though I would hardly say a few word.

I started attracting people into my life. At parties people would ask me if I was “the one that everyone says listens.” This often led to a long walk and an emotional breakdown by the person. But the more I would listen, the more people would respect me and take to heart my desire to support them. I started sharing lessons that I had learned from all of the books, audio CDs, and seminars I went to. I started asking what they wanted out of life, and where they would be in 5 years if they stayed on their current paths.

By treating people like they are the most important person in the world, you will be amazed at how valuable you will become in people’s lives.

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1. 1 Person CAN Make A Difference!

About 4 years ago I began to invest heavily into my own personal development. Books, audio CDs, blogs, magazines, movies, I’ve done it all. The one thing that I’ve always made a point to do though is to be open to new concepts and ideas. When I first watched The Secret, some of the stories were very extreme, but I still opened my mind, and accepted everything into my life. Had I not, I never would have gained so much from the life altering book, CD, and Movie.
One powerful night 3 years ago, I watched The Secret with a few of my friends. Not only did they laugh through the entire movie, outright rejecting it, but then afterwords they turned to me and called me a nut to believe it.  I take a look at my life now, 3 years later, and if the only consequence of having the success that I am having over everyone else is being called a “nut”, I welcome it with open arms.
That got me thinking about the 3 types of the people who read Personal Development, such as this site:

1. Those who will read this, and not do anything about it: This is going to be the majority of the people out there. Concepts are found to be powerful, but some people are just too lazy to do anything about it. They will take notes, see how the concepts could apply to their lives, and just leave it at that.
2. Those who will read this, and are too stubborn to do anything: There are some people who feel like their way of doing everything is the right way of doing it, and anything to the contrary is immediately rejected. Whereas some people will be open to all ideas or pick and chose which concepts will help them the best, some people will read 100 concepts, find 1 that goes against their personal philosophies, and reject the other 99.
3. Those who will read this, and practice it: Finally we have those few people who will think about each concept with an open mind, and then apply it to their lives.

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1. Personal Development Wherever You Go

A goal of mine in 2008 was to write my first book by the end of the year. Well the date went from 12/31/08 to 1/1/09 and I still had not written my book yet. Then today I received a text message from one of my friends whom I had not had the chance to spend time with for a good while now. He invited me to spend the day with him at Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA.

Now normally I would have jumped at that opportunity and we would have had a great time, but then I think about the unfinished book, and I had to turn him down.

You see I could have gone, and put my book aside one more day, and had a lot of fun instead, but it is that kind of thinking that lead to the book not being finished in the first place. One of my most important goals in my eyes went unfinished because I would not sacrifice for it in the past, and that is a mistake that I will not make again.

We all have goals, and for the majority of the people, they are set around the new year and then not thought of again. One of the major reasons why so few people are able to accomplish their dreams is because they never sacrifice one part of their lives for the goal. Here are some examples of sacrifices in terms of goals:

• GOAL: Lose Weight
• SACRIFICE: Exercise and change diet
  
• GOAL: Make more money
• SACRIFICE: Spend less, create a plan
  
• GOAL: Fall in love
• SACRIFICE: Stop watching TV and leave the house

Do you see where I am going with this? If you want to change something in your life, you need to make room for it. Most people will say that they want to lose weight, yet their habits show otherwise. People want to make more money, yet continue to spend $5 a day at Starbucks.

So next time you have a goal that you want to accomplish, know that it will take a small sacrifice. But then again, if it’s not worth a little sacrifice, is it worth doing it in the first place?

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1. Is Your Passion Preventing Your Dreams???