National Nurses Week is May 6-12th.  It is a time to reflect and appreciate the hard-working nurses who are taking care of our friends and loved ones everyday.

They are working long hours and tending to the special needs of the patients everyday.  The following article will increase your awareness of nurses and give you motivation tips to help them keep going during difficult times:

Have You Appreciated Someone Today? Subtle Motivation that Gets High Impact Results

I invested some time with Mother recently and drove her to the hospital to visit with her sick sister-in-law, my aunt. While I was standing in the doorway, a nurse came by and introduced herself as Ruth and said “hello” to us and said “hello” to my aunt. This put a smile on my aunt’s face. The nurse then introduced me to the other nurses working at the nurses’ station. She let me know that these nurses are hard working and good at their jobs.

I couldn’t agree with her more. Theirs is a very difficult job with no margin for error. In many situations they know and understand the patients better than the doctors.

Realizing this, and noticing that some of the nurses looked a little tired, I asked Ruth to bring out all the nurses she had introduced me to at the nurses’ station. I reintroduced myself and explained that my aunt was the patient in room 518. Then I said the following:

“I would like to thank you for taking care of my aunt. I personally appreciate the way you make her comfortable during this difficult time, and I know that my aunt is in good hands. My family, and especially my uncle, appreciates the hard work and care you put into making her better. Thank you again and keep doing what you are doing to make a difference with not only my family, but other families.”

Well, you should have seen the looks on the nurses’ faces. First, they had a look of surprise. Then they were all smiling from ear to ear. Several faces turned red. But all of them had a look of appreciation as they said, “Thank you.”

Why did they have a surprised look on their faces? Was this the first time someone other than another nurse had acknowledged them? When was the last time someone showed appreciation to them?

It only took fifteen seconds to put a smile on their faces and have them feel good about themselves. Take the time every day to appreciate your employees, your family, and other people that are doing a good job. It might be the only appreciation they receive and will make a difference in their day.

Read my article, Appreciate to Motivate, to find out how to make your appreciation count every time. You will also feel good doing it.

Happy National Nurses Week!

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” - Nelson Mandela

The following leadership article shares the secrets to becoming an effective leader:

Leadership Article: Eight Leadership Techniques for Outstanding Teams

By Ed Sykes

Apply the following eight leadership techniques to create highly motivated, self-directed, and extremely productive employees and teams:

1. Provide Clear Expectations - Winning organizations know where they are going and what is required to get there. Employees constantly need to know what they need to accomplish. Communicating expectations in a clear, concise manner is important. It’s also important to communicate your expectations on an individual, department, and organizational level. Continue communicating your expectations on an ongoing basis. Whether one-on-one, through memos, or in a team meeting, keep communicating your expectations.
2. Give Your Employees the Tools for Success - New computers are acquired, but no training is provided for the computers; or worse, the training doesn’t meet the need of the employees to be successful. The policies are not implemented or followed, so employees are hindered by barriers. Time and time again I hear from employees in my workshops that management doesn’t give them the necessary tools for success. Here’s the secret: Ask your employees what they need, and then give it to them.
3. Recognize Good Work - Take the time to recognize good work. Recognize employees for finding solutions, failing less, learning more, taking initiative, working with others, creating outstanding customer service solutions, sharing ideas; and the list goes on. You get the idea. Take time to give a sincere compliment for work well done and you, your organization, and your employees will reap the rewards.
4. Get Interested in Your Employees - Take the time to find out what interests your employees. Find out what their passions are in life. Is it their families? Is it a sport or hobby? Is it a vintage car or boat? Is it that they want to accomplish the next level in their education? Is it a career goal? Whatever it is, the great leaders take the time to find out how to help their employees accomplish their goals. Leaders know that by helping their employees succeed in life, the employees will have more passion about helping their leaders accomplish their goals. (Read the rest at Effective Leader)

Had a great time this weekend speaking at the District 66 Toastmasters conference. Friday night with a Social Media Bootcamp and Saturday morning about leadership. Great group of people focused on improving their leadership and communication skills.

Many people ask me why do I also speak about social media.  Well, social media is another powerful communication tool that leaders need to master to be more successful in their careers, their organizations, and in their lives.  I find that many leaders are “behind the curve” when it comes to communicating with social media.  They are losing an opportunity to reach their followers.

The following are two resources that can help you become a better communicator and leader:

Seven Leadership Secrets to Being the Outstanding Leader Everyone Wants to Follow

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.” -  William Arthur

Why don’t more managers, owners, and employees give appreciation? Some people state they don’t know how to give appreciation. Others don’t know what to give appreciation for in the work environment. Yet others say they are too busy to give appreciation.

I think this is the biggest sin of managers, being too busy to motivate their employees and give appreciation for a good job well done. Remember what the old transmission commercials used to say, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” Well, that is what giving appreciation is about. You can invest in your employees now and “pay” them with sincere appreciation and achieve even better performance. Or you will “pay” later by seeing your team’s performance sink, corrective actions and coachings increase, and overall morale decrease.

The following are five motivation tips to giving sincere appreciation that will motivate your team to soar to a higher level and achieve more:

1. Be Specific - In order to get the same behavior or action again, you need to let the employee know exactly what action(s) you are appreciating. For example, the typical appreciation attempt sounds like this:

Manager:  ”Mike, you did a great job earlier today. Keep up the good work!”

Mike:  ”Thanks.” (Mike is thinking what is he complimenting me on?)

 The correct way:

Manager:   “Mike, you did a great job on the report earlier today. I can see you invested a lot of time on the report by the detail you put in it. I really appreciate the effort. Thank you.”

Mike:  ”I appreciate you noticed the time I put into the report. Thanks.”  (Mike is thinking the manager really did read it and appreciates his effort. I will be glad to do it again.)

As you can see, the employee has a clear understanding of what action the manager is showing appreciation for and he is motivated to take on the project again.

To read the rest the the appreciate to motivate article, go to Appreciate to Motivate.

The April 2012 OnPoint success newsletter is available now!  You will learn how to take advantage of career opportunities, stay motivated during challenging times, and how to present yourself so that your audience wants to act on your message.

Read your copy of the OnPoint newsletter at OnPoint success newsletter!

Enjoy!

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Follow these tips to exhibit confidence with your body language:

1. Stand up straight -  Your posture can tell people a lot about you before you ever speak a word!  Confident people stand straight and tall, whereas people who lack confidence shrink down.
2. Be relaxed and open - Even though you’re standing up straight, keep your muscles relaxed.  Tense muscles exhibit tension, fear, or insecurity to others. Open body language shows self confidence and trust.
3. Walk quickly - Busy, successful people usually walk quickly. ?ey have places to go, things to do, and people to see. When you walk quickly, you join the ranks of these accomplished people, and others will automatically look at you as if you must be successful, too.
4. Hold your head up –  Show your confidence by holding your head up high. Insecure people look down far too often.
5. Smile and the world smiles with you! – Smiles are contagious. ?ey make everyone feel good, including you! Studies show that putting a smile on your face can actually activate pleasant emotions, including confidence.
6. Smile at yourself in the mirror every morning as you begin your day. It will put a spring in your step and give you confidence to meet the challenges of the day.

Now apply these confidence techniques and achieve more success in your life!

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

Success is the ability to overcome challenges and achieve outrageous success time after time.  The following article shares the secrets to staying motivated during challenging times:

Ten Action Steps to Motivate Yourself to Success in Life

By Ed Sykes

The following are ten motivation action steps you can take to motivate yourself in work, business, and life:

1. Positive Affirmations for Success - Our subconscious mind is a wonderful tool for success or failure. It will do what we tell it to do. It all depends on what thoughts we feed it. So why not feed your inner mind with only positive thoughts. Go to Stay Motivated to find the secrets to breaking through to success.

“Focus on the good today and make it great tomorrow. Focus on the challenges you had today and work to make them opportunities tomorrow!” - Ed Sykes

 Sometime the difference between long term success and failure is concentrating on what you did well today and making it great tomorrow and embracing your challenges and making them opportunities tomorrow.

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.” - David Starr Jordan

We gain wisdom in our life when you are “tested by the fires” that challenge us throughout life.  We develop our success skills by knowing what to do next, knowing how to do it, and just doing it.  This comes with experience, experience you can only gain by facing up to challenges.  The key to success is embracing our challenges and becoming stronger and better by these experiences.

The following story is how one person faced challenge after challenge and had the wisdom to be successful:

From our first day on earth until our last, we face different levels of adversity. Adversity may be sickness, a property loss, or the loss of a family member. It may be a lost career promotion or a business setback. How we handle these adversities defines how we achieve greatness in our lives.

Let me share the story of James Blake, who overcame multiple adversities — more than most of us would ever experience in a lifetime — and yet achieved greatness. James Blake is a world class professional tennis player enjoying fame and making a six-figure income. However, in his childhood, he developed a rare disease that required him to wear a body brace for years. Other kids teased him, calling him “Iron Man” from the Marvel Comic Books, and he felt left out. During this time, he concentrated on his academics, read a wide variety of books, and developed himself as a well-rounded person. He also developed a heightened awareness for others who are going through difficult times.

Once he had the brace removed, he learned to play tennis with an intense passion not exhibited by many other tennis players, because he appreciated the opportunity to finally play tennis. He didn’t take this opportunity for granted. He attended Harvard and became the #1 player on their tennis team.

As a promising professional player, adversity struck again. In 2004, while practicing for a major tournament, he slipped and fell forward striking his neck against the metal pole that holds the tennis net. James’s doctor said that had James not slightly turned his head, James would have broken his vertebra and become paralyzed from the neck down. Instead, he was hospitalized with a fractured vertebra, blurred vision, and dizziness.

While in the hospital, James did much soul searching. Many family members and friends came by to offer encouragement, advice, and support. His coach was a constant bedside companion and finally asked James, “Do you want to play tennis again?” James said “yes,” and they developed a plan to start his comeback.

With the support of family, friends, and his coach, James started his comeback step by painful step. At first when he tried to play tennis, he still had to overcome his blurred vision and dizziness. He had doubts whether he would ever handle the 125 mph plus serves of his opponents.

Then he suffered another setback. During his rehabilitation, his father, with whom he had a very close relationship, developed cancer and passed away. During his father’s sickness, James was by his side. After his father passed away, James was devastated. However, he regrouped and carried on with the support of his mother, family, friends, and coach.

He returned to playing professional tennis, and there were many more losses than wins. But he stayed focused and determined and progressively improved. He began playing the top professional players competitively, and he began winning against the top players. Then he once again started winning tournaments. After this long journey, James became one of the top players in the world.

What can we learn from James Blake’s journey through adversity to greatness? The following are three keys to making adversity work for you:

1. If it Doesn’t Kill You, It Makes you Stronger - Many times we face adversities and say, “If only I can make it through this.” It may be a sickness, loss of a loved one, job loss, etc. By remaining focused, determined, and concentrating on the positive, many times you can become stronger. (Read the rest of the article at Success)

“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something.  Not even me.  You got a dream, you gotta protect it.  When people can’t do something themselves, they are gonna tell you that you cannot do it.  You want something, go get it.  Period!” – Will Smith (From film The Pursuit of Happiness)

Success and achievement in life happens when you believe in something regardless of what others say.  The following article will show you the secrets to realizing your dreams and be more successful in your life:

The Secret to Living Your Dreams: Five Success Techniques to Achieving More Success in Your Life!

By Ed Sykes

How many times in our lives have we said the following?

If I had more time, I would have acted on my dream…

If I didn’t need this job, I would have pursued my dream of…

If only I had (you fill in the blank) ten years ago, I would have achieved my dream of…

I am sure you can add a dozen more “If I” dream statements. There are people going through life everyday working at jobs they hate, in situations they tolerate, and living a life that they disown because they settled for an “If I” mindset.

What is the secret between the person who is achieving his/her dream life and the person who is just wishing for a dream life? The following are five techniques for living your dream and achieving more in life:

1. Understand Your Options and Live Your Dreams - We have options in our life. Do we follow the road everyone else is taking or do we travel the road less traveled to achieve our dreams? We have the option to look at life’s challenges as a way to find creative solutions or to look at challenges as a negative barrier to achieving one’s dreams. Take the positive option to develop yourself and achieve your dreams.
2. Fight Your Fears and Live Your Dreams - Most fears we constantly think about and which sometimes paralyze us never happen. Yet we will spend 75-90% of our thoughts on our fears. F-E-A-R is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real. Get the facts and act accordingly. Let’s “flip our mental script” and concentrate on the upside of any situation so that we can concentrate on achieving our dreams. Fight though your fears and build your courage to live your dreams. (Create Success)