The word Optimism derived from the Latin word optimum meaning ‘best’, this would be the reason behind why an optimist person expects the best possible outcome to any given situation. Optimism is a mental attitude, a tendency to believe and hope that things will turn out for the best. Even if something bad happens an optimist would ‘look on the bright side’ and find that silver lining.

The Benefits of Being an Optimistic

Researchers are finding more evidence on the positive benefits which optimism can have on both your mental health and physical health. Such findings suggest that optimists are less sick and tend to live longer than pessimists. Apparently this is because having an optimistic view on life will help strengthen the immune system and the body’s ability to handle stress, making optimists in general more psychologically and physiologically healthier.

The Difference Between Optimism and Positive Thinking

Positive thinkers focus on the idea that everything for certain will work out, and as a result a positive thinker can struggle when situations prove tough or go wrong due to not being prepared. On the other hand, optimists have a neutral mind-set and they acknowledge that problems can occur and everything won’t automatically work out unless the person is willing to take action. Optimists embrace the possibilities, reflects on situations and looks for solutions.

Start Seeing the Cup as Half Full

It all boils down to the way that you talk to yourself, if you tell yourself you can do something, you’ll start to look for ways to actually make it happen. If times get hard take it in stride, view it as a temporary setback and be sure to not focus on the negatives as it will only limit you. No problem is too big and every problem has a solution, the trick is to be optimistic about the situation and look for a way to solve it!

Think of it as a Work-Life-Harmony not a Work-Life-Balance

It may be a subtle shift in wording but ‘work-life-harmony’ shows the brain that we have positively acquired both sides of work and life. Work-life-harmony knows that life changes and sometimes you may find yourself with a heavier dose of one side or the other depending on the circumstances at that given time.

With this in mind, get rid of your separate work and personal to-do-lists as it may be one of the reasons to why your brain is feeling unbalanced. Create one list where you can see all your work and life tasks in one place. This will eventually lead to you rearranging work life priorities with life home priorities, building the bridge between the two and creating that ‘harmony’ you desire.

If You’re Experiencing a Life Transition Plan Plan Plan!

When you are experiencing a transition in your life, sit down and put together a plan. A transition may be gaining a promotion, having a baby or caring for a sick parent, whatever the transition sit down and bring a plan to the table. Think about how this transition will affect your work and home life. Think about outlining a rough schedule and how/when you can schedule necessary appointments and events.

Once a Week Take a Purposeful Look at Your Life

At the end of each week, sit down and decide if anything is missing from either your personal or working life. Ask yourself “what do I want more or less off?” Take notes, analyse what you find, learn from it and write steps to how you can reach/change these areas of your life.

And Finally..

Most importantly, if you spot a gap in your schedule go shopping, for a walk or make a date with friends and issue some ‘me-time’. Taking these small, actionable steps creates the harmony between your work and life balance. Once you find the harmony you will realise that is isn’t important to make it all work so much as it is to make it work for you!

I am purposely sending this AFTER the weekend because it’s about what happens after not during.

Love is a very important topic in our lives. Love Work? Love Life? Love Self? Love your game? I recently gave a keynote speech to a company in Germany about change and their new strategy and vision. The group were at the back end of a motivating two day conference. I was closing the conference and wanted to leave them with a simple message.

“Anyone can be motivated for a day or two. I am not interested in what we do in this room today. I’m more interested in “Can you be in this mindset a week, a month, a year from now?” I asked.

And it’s the same with the past Valentine’s weekend. Do you do it for a day or is there a way of being consistent? Big question. BIG BIG QUESTION.
More often than not most of the challenges in sports, business and life come down to this one word: RELATIONSHIP. How we relate to ourselves and also how we relate to others.

SPORTS: I have helped a high profile sportsman fall back in love with his game. What was interesting was that it had nothing to do with can he play. Of course he can play football. How the player RELATES to his teammates and the coaching staff and everyone in his world wasn’t consistent.

BUSINESS: A former group of high performing executives were now a dysfunctional team that let something get in the way. Again, HOW they relate to each other.

LIFE: The very place where all emotions are amplified is in the personal life. So I thought I would take the opportunity to look at the very nature of how we RELATE and the language we use.

New York Times Best Selling author & Relationship expert Dr. Gary Chapman says the secret is learning the right language.
Being on the right wavelength. And don’t we all know when we are not on the same page or frequency. Things don’t seem to work the way they once did.

APPLY and ACTION: Ask yourself how does this apply to your world and how can you use it.

There are 5 “Love languages” and they can be used in all areas of life.
WORDS OF AFFIRMATION:
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. The odd compliment can do wanders for you. Hearing the right words at the right time can illuminate you. They don’t have to be the words “I love you,” but they are important. Negative words can leave you scarred and are not so easily left behind. So what’s interesting for me is the way you can see all 5 from the point of view of sports, business and life.

In business this ‘words of affirmation’ can be translated into harsh words or an irate customer leaving you in a bad state. In sports it can be the way that your coach speaks to you or even how you as the coach are communicating with your stakeholders. You cannot get away from the impact words will have on you and others.

QUALITY TIME:
TV off, phones off and press the pause button. You did this on Feb 14th. Or I hope you did. But what we are focused on here is that QT.

I have seen this happen in the workplace where Managers and stakeholders are so busy that they are literally running from meeting to meeting and not stopping or slowing down to be truly present for the team or the people they are working with.

On the personal side WORK, LIFE balance always comes up. Yes, quality time is important and with the need to be making things happen and managing life. Stop and think about the people in your world, your team, the people in your life, the team mates you have. Is this your primary LOVE language? How important is it you have QT with your coach, with your boss or your other half.

RECEIVING GIFTS:
“This is obvious” I hear you say. Well not always. Don’t mistake this love for materialistic. It’s the thought that counts. How in your world can you show, are you shown that you are important because of the gift or the gesture.

For a client in business it might be a dinner or lunch out. For a teammate it might be the loan of your favourite piece of equipment. It’s about expressing that you know they are there.
What does a missed birthday feel like? What’s it like when you hear of a friend who tells you that story they heard of when someone was really thoughtful and totally surprised someone. Deep down you connect with how the recipient would have felt. Make that happen for people who speak this language.

SERVICE:
Can putting the bins out really be an expression of love? Yes, absolutely! “What can I do to help?” are words that humans love to hear. They mean more to some than to others.
Cross this into the sports world. Being there for your teammate. Or as we say “Having your back” both on and off the pitch.

The client who knows you have gone out of your way to do something. Not because of the transaction but because that’s something that you know is important to the relationship. Acts of service in the work place are about being part of a team. Observe how you feel about this language and how the people in your world would respond to you being “of service’ more and more.

PHYSICAL TOUCH:
This isn’t ALL what you think it is. Yes, someone who has this as an area of primary language. They are very touchy. They like to hold hands with their partner. You’d describe as a tactile person.

In sports you see this with celebrations, high fives or in the business arena metaphorically the manager leads by putting the “arm around the shoulder”.

Be aware of the people around you and how important Physical presence is to them. Are you using calls and emails when your presence would make a huge difference? Could you be avoiding this communication because it’s not style?

Simply being aware of the love language that someone is speaking can really have an impact on the relationships you may have in sports, business and life. And if I refer back to the QUARTER SHOT. The small shift in thinking to get the BIG result.

The book by Dr Gary Chapman is well worth a read. You’ll be amazed at how you can transform relationships in all areas with this awareness.

Jamie

Think When Things are Going Well

When we are ill we visit the doctors to get better again.

If we pick up an injury, we get it treated.

In other words it is ingrained in us to seek out help and assistance only when something is wrong.

So when things are going well, we ride the crest of the wave and enjoy it while it lasts.

Until we encounter tougher times again, and then think….I need some help with this.

The problem with this way of thinking is that, in many instances, by the time we look for assistance it is too late! Our performance is ALREADY suffering.

Consider the athlete who has been consistently improving. He has set personal bests, won races and qualified for a major championship for the first time. Everything should be in place for him to leave his mark on the big stage.

Yet, his top form evades him at the critical moment and he fails to meet his expectations.

What will our athlete do now? It is likely that he will analyse what went wrong, why he didn’t perform, and then look for a solution.

But what might have been the outcome had our athlete considered beforehand the possibility of what could go wrong at the major event?

By thinking through ALL eventualities, and planning in advance accordingly, we give ourselves the greatest opportunity to build a winning mindset and achieve consistent success by performing at our very best, especially when the stakes are at the highest.

In sports, business and life, when things are going well it is easy to ignore the need to keep working in your thinking.

Yet, it is during the good times that Training Your Brain is often at it’s most powerful and beneficial.

The Titanic Effect

One of the key themes of the 2010 Trained Brain Business Summit was the danger of relying on old ways of thinking. The mentality of “Business as Usual.”

We all know that change is hard. It can be painful. Yet, change is inevitable if we are to progress in our work-life, or as individuals.

When we fail to adapt to the new, and blindly rely solely on the old, we can find ourselves hopelessly left behind and vulnerable to the future.

A classic example of failing to adjust to new circumstances is the catastrophic story of the Titanic.

Despite the shifting circumstances that led to the sinking of this great liner, Captain Edward Smith and his team of officers continued to rely on the old ways of thinking to maintain business as usual.

They followed rituals : Icebergs were present, they knew that.
They trusted their beliefs : Conditions would give them time.
They were looking out : But only for obviously visible icebergs.
They ignored alternative actions : The Titanic stayed on course and did not reduce speed.
They did all of these things : Because this is how it had always been done.

Amongst many other topics, developing the mental skills and mindset we all need to embrace change, make the most of new opportunities, and break free from the old ways of doing things will feature highly on the agenda for this years Trained Brain Business Summit.

It will all be happenning in London on Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April. I’d like to see you there. Call me for more information on 07773 351 463.

Will the Effort Be Worth It?

When considering whether or not to do something, we often wonder whether going ahead will be worth it or not.

Flying over to the UK from Ireland very early on a Saturday morning to attend last years Trained Brain Business Summit, Jude O’Reilly would certainly have been hoping that the effort he was going to would be worthwhile.

So….Was it?

Have you blocked out Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April in your diary to be free for the 2011 Business Summit in London? It might be worth you doing so.

You Gotta Turn Up

Those of you that have attended any Trained Brain Seminars or been on one of our courses will have heard me say “You Gotta Turn Up!”

In fact, you will have heard me say it more than once because it is so important!

When we turn up, things happen. We learn new skills, make new connections, improve ourselves. We are taking steps forward.

Hearing from one of the delegates from the last Trained Brain Business Summit recently reminded me why simply turning up can be so fruitful.

One of the key messages this guy took from the Business Summit was the importance of investing in self-improvement. So he’s been going along to seminars and events much more regularly than ever before.

At an event he attended last November one of the speakers mentioned that they had been disappointed by the service received from a company in the same line of business as our Business Summit delegate.

Engaging his Trained Brain skills, our friend approached the speaker in question during a break. They had a chat. Follow up emails were exchanged. Chats turned to conversations, and a couple of weeks later our Trained Brain customer had secured himself a nice slice of business.

And what’s more, since the turn of the year more business has been done and the relationship between speaker and delegate is blossoming.

For “Turning Up” just three months ago, our Business Summit attendee has so far bagged over £60k’s worth of sales revenue from his new customer. That’s a pretty good return on investment wouldn’t you agree!

The next Trained Brain Business Summit is in London on Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April. Would be good to see you there. More news to follow.

The Four Quadrants of Time

Each day, all day, we continually make decisions on how we spend our time.

Sometimes we make these decisions consciously, often they are made unconsciously.

One thing is sure. How we spend our time has a profound effect on whether we achieve our goals or not.

Do you ever excuse yourself from completing a task, or put something off, by saying, “I just didn’t have the time.” Remember, excuses are just well rehearsed lies!

If you feel that time is holding you back from getting the things done that you know will take you closer to where you want to be, then consider the Trained Brain Four Quadrants of Time :

1) DISTRACTION

This is when you are using time on anything that is NOT Important and NOT Urgent.

2) DELUSION

What are the things you did but were frustrated that you did them? You may have thought they were Urgent at the time, but you know they were NEVER Important.

3) DEMAND

We cannot avoid spending time in this quadrant. Something is Urgent AND Important. We HAVE to do it RIGHT NOW.

4) DIALLED IN

This is where you want to be as much as possible. It is where you are at your most effective. You are spending time on things that are Important but NOT Urgent. You didn’t have to do it right now, but chose to because it is something that will bring you closer to success.

Peak performers train their brains to stay dialled in. They rarely delude themselves and ignore distractions. Be careful where you spend your time….it is your most valuable asset!

How Ready Are You?

When you go out to play, how do you feel?

As you head for each training session, what thoughts enter your mind?

You need the answers to these questions because the way you think in advance of each practice session or match WILL determine how you perform during them.

To get the most from each performance it is imperative that you start with a winning mentality.

One of the key messages I teach in the Trained Brain Get Ready to Play CD concerns asking yourself the key questions that will engage your mind as you prepare to compete or train.

You warm up your body, it is just as important to warm up your brain!

And in the same way you need to cool down your mind afterwards to prepare your thinking in readiness for your next performance. Again, this is exactly the same principle as the stretching routine you will do after exercise to protect your muscles.

By ensuring that you eradicate any negative thoughts and tag the positive aspects of your performance immediately after you play, you will develop the incredibly powerful ability to recall the feelings and memories of when you have been at your very best the next time you prepare to train or compete.

Discover more about managing your thoughts before and after HERE.

Shelve It

Consider this quotation from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

“Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.”

In my book Mental Ketchup, I devoted a whole chapter to the importance of finding a place to put your thoughts and organise them. If you fail to “shelve” them, you will find that your head will play them over and over again in your mind.

Most coaching focuses on what you do during training or play. If you are a salesperson, you will be taught how to behave during each call. Similarly, sportspeople are mainly only coached how to play or perform during their chosen activity.

The key to improving performance however is to go beyond during. By creating then utlising the four shelves below you will have put in place a key aspect of the mental game needed for you to step up to the next level.

SHELF 1 – BEFORE : What are you thinking about before you step onto the field of play? The thoughts going through your mind will have a defining influence on the outcome of the meeting you are just going into. Often these thoughts can be very damaging, “Oh no, I’m meeting the hard-nosed Manager” or “The course is hilly, I hate hilly courses.” These negative thoughts provide excuses for failure.

SHELF 2 – DURING : Corporate and sports training focuses the majority of time on this area. So you have trained skills now. You have spent plenty of time here already. To improve your performance this is the area you need to spend the least of your time.

SHELF 3 – IN BETWEEN : This is perhaps the most overlooked area of the mental game, yet it is absolutely key. Take golf as an example. During a round, a golfer may well spend as much as 85% of his time in between shots. Developing the ability to switch off whilst in between is a skill which pays enormous dividends across all aspects of life, business and sports. We all have the ability to concentrate and focus when required, so switching on is not the place to focus your attention whilst in between.

SHELF 4 – AFTER : After is frequently overlooked, yet it is the silent assasin of the mind! Create this shelf to allow your thinking to review and process what you do. How did you play today? Was the outcome of your meeting what you were hoping for? Review what was good and bad immediately to give the mind the feedback it needs to correctly assess and identify the key learnings that you should incorporate to add that vital extra dimension to your skill set or game.

Shelving your thoughts is an invaluable tool to add to your winning mindset kit-bag. Read more here about how it can be applied in your work and business life.

Developing Your Brand Equity

Brands all have equity, yet personal branding or marketing in the UK is not promoted like it is in the US, even though we know the difference is not always what you know, but who you know, and not what you say, but how you say it.

A former tabloid editor had interviewed two British Actors in Hollywood and asked them about the difference between the UK and the USA. Both were quick to reply that the British mentality was play down your achievements for not wanting to sound like you are bragging. “It was just a small film,” she continued by adding her belief that if you cannot talk about your own success who will, and that in Hollywood you have to be comfortable with that. What can you learn and how can you apply it to your life?

I call it The Oprah Effect. The US media mogul is world class at promoting others and is not too bad either at communicating what she is good at and what she believes in.

What do you believe in? Are you comfortable with communicating what you do, promote, sell, contribute to? Or do you play the “Small Game”? Is it time for you to stand out or just add even more value to your own brand?

Here are the guidelines you need for you to develop your brand equity. This is a valuable exercise.

1. List two to four products, events, or services you are known for. Now list one or two additional items you plan to be known for by this time next year.
2. List one to three ways in which your current job or project is challenging you.
3. List one to three new facts you have learnt in the last 90 days.
4. Your Visibility Branding Programme : list two to four ways in which you are visible locally, regionally, nationally if it applies to what you do.
5. List two to three names you have added to your address book in the last 90 days. People who are or could be influential in your life or career. These can be from within the industry or outside of the industry you work in.
6. What activists are you going to undertake over the next 60-90 days that will enhance your CV?
7. List three ways in which your CV-Profile today is different from this time last year.

By making these lists you will have a better understanding of where you stand as a brand, and how you can improve as a brand. It is important to realise that in order to be a brand that stands out, to attract business and retain customers, you need to take on relevant projects and challenges, and achieve them.

Developing Your Brand Equity is an extract from Mental Ketchup, the Amazon Best Selling book by Jamie Edwards.

Catch up with more of Jamie’s thoughts and insights on the Mental Game for Sports, Business and Life by visiting his blog.

Think Differently!

Think When Things are Going Well

When we are ill we visit the doctors to get better again.

If we pick up an injury, we get it treated.

In other words it is ingrained in us to seek out help and assistance only when something is wrong.

So when things are going well, we ride the crest of the wave and enjoy it while it lasts.

Until we encounter tougher times again, and then think….I need some help with this.

The problem with this way of thinking is that, in many instances, by the time we look for assistance it is too late! Our performance is ALREADY suffering.

Consider the athlete who has been consistently improving. He has set personal bests, won races and qualified for a major championship for the first time. Everything should be in place for him to leave his mark on the big stage.

Yet, his top form evades him at the critical moment and he fails to meet his expectations.

What will our athlete do now? It is likely that he will analyse what went wrong, why he didn’t perform, and then look for a solution.

But what might have been the outcome had our athlete considered beforehand the possibility of what could go wrong at the major event?

By thinking through ALL eventualities, and planning in advance accordingly, we give ourselves the greatest opportunity to build a winning mindset and achieve consistent success by performing at our very best, especially when the stakes are at the highest.

In sports, business and life, when things are going well it is easy to ignore the need to keep working in your thinking.

Yet, it is during the good times that Training Your Brain is often at it’s most powerful and beneficial.

The Titanic Effect

One of the key themes of the 2010 Trained Brain Business Summit was the danger of relying on old ways of thinking. The mentality of “Business as Usual.”

We all know that change is hard. It can be painful. Yet, change is inevitable if we are to progress in our work-life, or as individuals.

When we fail to adapt to the new, and blindly rely solely on the old, we can find ourselves hopelessly left behind and vulnerable to the future.

A classic example of failing to adjust to new circumstances is the catastrophic story of the Titanic.

Despite the shifting circumstances that led to the sinking of this great liner, Captain Edward Smith and his team of officers continued to rely on the old ways of thinking to maintain business as usual.

They followed rituals : Icebergs were present, they knew that.
They trusted their beliefs : Conditions would give them time.
They were looking out : But only for obviously visible icebergs.
They ignored alternative actions : The Titanic stayed on course and did not reduce speed.
They did all of these things : Because this is how it had always been done.

Amongst many other topics, developing the mental skills and mindset we all need to embrace change, make the most of new opportunities, and break free from the old ways of doing things will feature highly on the agenda for this years Trained Brain Business Summit.

It will all be happenning in London on Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April. I’d like to see you there. Call me for more information on 07773 351 463.

Will the Effort Be Worth It?

When considering whether or not to do something, we often wonder whether going ahead will be worth it or not.

Flying over to the UK from Ireland very early on a Saturday morning to attend last years Trained Brain Business Summit, Jude O’Reilly would certainly have been hoping that the effort he was going to would be worthwhile.

So….Was it?

Have you blocked out Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April in your diary to be free for the 2011 Business Summit in London? It might be worth you doing so.

You Gotta Turn Up

Those of you that have attended any Trained Brain Seminars or been on one of our courses will have heard me say “You Gotta Turn Up!”

In fact, you will have heard me say it more than once because it is so important!

When we turn up, things happen. We learn new skills, make new connections, improve ourselves. We are taking steps forward.

Hearing from one of the delegates from the last Trained Brain Business Summit recently reminded me why simply turning up can be so fruitful.

One of the key messages this guy took from the Business Summit was the importance of investing in self-improvement. So he’s been going along to seminars and events much more regularly than ever before.

At an event he attended last November one of the speakers mentioned that they had been disappointed by the service received from a company in the same line of business as our Business Summit delegate.

Engaging his Trained Brain skills, our friend approached the speaker in question during a break. They had a chat. Follow up emails were exchanged. Chats turned to conversations, and a couple of weeks later our Trained Brain customer had secured himself a nice slice of business.

And what’s more, since the turn of the year more business has been done and the relationship between speaker and delegate is blossoming.

For “Turning Up” just three months ago, our Business Summit attendee has so far bagged over £60k’s worth of sales revenue from his new customer. That’s a pretty good return on investment wouldn’t you agree!

The next Trained Brain Business Summit is in London on Thursday 31 March and Friday 01 April. Would be good to see you there. More news to follow.

The Four Quadrants of Time

Each day, all day, we continually make decisions on how we spend our time.

Sometimes we make these decisions consciously, often they are made unconsciously.

One thing is sure. How we spend our time has a profound effect on whether we achieve our goals or not.

Do you ever excuse yourself from completing a task, or put something off, by saying, “I just didn’t have the time.” Remember, excuses are just well rehearsed lies!

If you feel that time is holding you back from getting the things done that you know will take you closer to where you want to be, then consider the Trained Brain Four Quadrants of Time :

1) DISTRACTION

This is when you are using time on anything that is NOT Important and NOT Urgent.

2) DELUSION

What are the things you did but were frustrated that you did them? You may have thought they were Urgent at the time, but you know they were NEVER Important.

3) DEMAND

We cannot avoid spending time in this quadrant. Something is Urgent AND Important. We HAVE to do it RIGHT NOW.

4) DIALLED IN

This is where you want to be as much as possible. It is where you are at your most effective. You are spending time on things that are Important but NOT Urgent. You didn’t have to do it right now, but chose to because it is something that will bring you closer to success.

Peak performers train their brains to stay dialled in. They rarely delude themselves and ignore distractions. Be careful where you spend your time….it is your most valuable asset!

How Ready Are You?

When you go out to play, how do you feel?

As you head for each training session, what thoughts enter your mind?

You need the answers to these questions because the way you think in advance of each practice session or match WILL determine how you perform during them.

To get the most from each performance it is imperative that you start with a winning mentality.

One of the key messages I teach in the Trained Brain Get Ready to Play CD concerns asking yourself the key questions that will engage your mind as you prepare to compete or train.

You warm up your body, it is just as important to warm up your brain!

And in the same way you need to cool down your mind afterwards to prepare your thinking in readiness for your next performance. Again, this is exactly the same principle as the stretching routine you will do after exercise to protect your muscles.

By ensuring that you eradicate any negative thoughts and tag the positive aspects of your performance immediately after you play, you will develop the incredibly powerful ability to recall the feelings and memories of when you have been at your very best the next time you prepare to train or compete.

Discover more about managing your thoughts before and after HERE.

Shelve It

Consider this quotation from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

“Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.”

In my book Mental Ketchup, I devoted a whole chapter to the importance of finding a place to put your thoughts and organise them. If you fail to “shelve” them, you will find that your head will play them over and over again in your mind.

Most coaching focuses on what you do during training or play. If you are a salesperson, you will be taught how to behave during each call. Similarly, sportspeople are mainly only coached how to play or perform during their chosen activity.

The key to improving performance however is to go beyond during. By creating then utlising the four shelves below you will have put in place a key aspect of the mental game needed for you to step up to the next level.

SHELF 1 – BEFORE : What are you thinking about before you step onto the field of play? The thoughts going through your mind will have a defining influence on the outcome of the meeting you are just going into. Often these thoughts can be very damaging, “Oh no, I’m meeting the hard-nosed Manager” or “The course is hilly, I hate hilly courses.” These negative thoughts provide excuses for failure.

SHELF 2 – DURING : Corporate and sports training focuses the majority of time on this area. So you have trained skills now. You have spent plenty of time here already. To improve your performance this is the area you need to spend the least of your time.

SHELF 3 – IN BETWEEN : This is perhaps the most overlooked area of the mental game, yet it is absolutely key. Take golf as an example. During a round, a golfer may well spend as much as 85% of his time in between shots. Developing the ability to switch off whilst in between is a skill which pays enormous dividends across all aspects of life, business and sports. We all have the ability to concentrate and focus when required, so switching on is not the place to focus your attention whilst in between.

SHELF 4 – AFTER : After is frequently overlooked, yet it is the silent assasin of the mind! Create this shelf to allow your thinking to review and process what you do. How did you play today? Was the outcome of your meeting what you were hoping for? Review what was good and bad immediately to give the mind the feedback it needs to correctly assess and identify the key learnings that you should incorporate to add that vital extra dimension to your skill set or game.

Shelving your thoughts is an invaluable tool to add to your winning mindset kit-bag. Read more here about how it can be applied in your work and business life.

Developing Your Brand Equity

Brands all have equity, yet personal branding or marketing in the UK is not promoted like it is in the US, even though we know the difference is not always what you know, but who you know, and not what you say, but how you say it.

A former tabloid editor had interviewed two British Actors in Hollywood and asked them about the difference between the UK and the USA. Both were quick to reply that the British mentality was play down your achievements for not wanting to sound like you are bragging. “It was just a small film,” she continued by adding her belief that if you cannot talk about your own success who will, and that in Hollywood you have to be comfortable with that. What can you learn and how can you apply it to your life?

I call it The Oprah Effect. The US media mogul is world class at promoting others and is not too bad either at communicating what she is good at and what she believes in.

What do you believe in? Are you comfortable with communicating what you do, promote, sell, contribute to? Or do you play the “Small Game”? Is it time for you to stand out or just add even more value to your own brand?

Here are the guidelines you need for you to develop your brand equity. This is a valuable exercise.

1. List two to four products, events, or services you are known for. Now list one or two additional items you plan to be known for by this time next year.
2. List one to three ways in which your current job or project is challenging you.
3. List one to three new facts you have learnt in the last 90 days.
4. Your Visibility Branding Programme : list two to four ways in which you are visible locally, regionally, nationally if it applies to what you do.
5. List two to three names you have added to your address book in the last 90 days. People who are or could be influential in your life or career. These can be from within the industry or outside of the industry you work in.
6. What activists are you going to undertake over the next 60-90 days that will enhance your CV?
7. List three ways in which your CV-Profile today is different from this time last year.

By making these lists you will have a better understanding of where you stand as a brand, and how you can improve as a brand. It is important to realise that in order to be a brand that stands out, to attract business and retain customers, you need to take on relevant projects and challenges, and achieve them.

Developing Your Brand Equity is an extract from Mental Ketchup, the Amazon Best Selling book by Jamie Edwards.

Catch up with more of Jamie’s thoughts and insights on the Mental Game for Sports, Business and Life by visiting his blog.

Think Differently!