To get started, let's check in with what you have to work with.

Do you have an idea of what you want to achieve or your vision set?

Check!

How about the bigger goals in between the details and the vision to create a bridge?

Check!

And have you identified all the steps - or as many as you can - that are necessary to bring this idea to reality?

Check!

Excellent! You’re ready to go reach your goals and turn a vision into a reality, but there’s one small thing… you feel overwhelmed where to begin.

The goals you’ve set are big.

The steps you’ve figured out are good, but they also feel big. It’s almost like the steps you wrote down are smaller goals versus actionable steps. So, you take more time and break the steps down even further. After you’ve done this one more time, you’re pleased that you were able to figure out a map of sorts, but that feeling of overwhelm starts to creep up and make you wonder how you’re gonna really achieve...

As you lead your business or organization, it can get noisy and overwhelm can start to creep in.

Lots of information come in from different sources, and you must decipher which ones require your attention to move your vision forward.

Sometimes it can feel like there’s so much happening.

So much information you’re receiving that it’s hard to hear that still small voice inside that’s ultimately guiding you.

Sometimes the information is more noise and not helpful or necessary.

Other times, it’s needed for your business to succeed, but even in those cases, too much data can cause overwhelm.

This doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself or at that very moment, but it does mean that you must decide if it’s important to do or not do and take action accordingly.

So how do you ignore the noise and focus on what matters?

Simply stop, get quiet and get back to basics.

By stopping and taking a moment to calm your mind and block out all the...

 You’ve brainstormed and dreamed about new goals and new opportunities you want to achieve.

You’ve written them down and created a plan that you can’t wait to start.

Then slowly but surely, life starts to get in the way.

The actions you mapped out on your plan seem to be getting pushed out versus getting done. The momentum you had for making your goals happen has dwindled. Your schedule that was once one of your favorite tools has become a reminder that you are not doing everything you set out to do.

So what do you do?

It can be easy to beat ourselves up for what we haven’t gotten done or getting off track, but that won’t help. It will only add to the frustration, not make it better.

Instead, consider these seven tips to get back on track:

1. Take some time to regroup and assess where you are
2. Recognize what was done. Remember - you did accomplish some things, even if they weren’t all of the items you initially thought were going to happen.
3. ...

 I had a college professor who explained during a lecture that there wasn't just one way to get somewhere. He said there was "the" way like there were many paths you could take to reach your vision or end goal and there was "thuh" way - meaning that there was only one way that would work and all the others were subpar or would even fail to achieve the desired goal.

And as I reflected on that lecture, I realized that this could apply to many things. For instance, in math there are a few ways to get to 10. Such as 5+5, 2+8, and 1+9.

And in business, there's no right way to achieve a vision or goal.

We would all love the direct route, but what typically happens is the curvy, zig-zag path.

You might have one way that you think it ought to be handled, but if you're working with a team and not fully leveraging what they are individually and collectively bringing to the table, then the vision will not be as full and impactful as it could be. By allowing your team the opportunity to...

It’s another day at the office, and it seems like everything that can go wrong has, and you are frustrated. Maybe it seems as though each time you complete an item on your action list, three new items are added. Or perhaps you can see delays in schedule or cost over runs and no sign of improvement. Or perhaps you are short-staffed and do not have a new employee starting anytime soon to help with the workload.

I know I’ve had each of these situations happen before, and I definitely felt frustrated and overwhelmed. It can be easy to let the things that aren’t going well to be all that we see. And when we focus on those frustrations, we tend to see even more of them.

Soon enough, it feels like a continual spiral of overwhelm and frustrations that can be challenging to stop. When that happens, how do you go about changing your perspective?

The answer is easy, but it takes effort and practice.

When you look for the positive, you will start to feel a shift. Not only...

The technology we have is amazing because we can use it to bridge time zones and footprints. With that in mind, here are six quick tips to help step up your efforts when connecting and engaging with remote team members or clients:

#1 Video

When you're able to see the other person and engage as close to face to face without physically being in the same room, you'll get so much more out of the communication. You'll connect better and when you do meet in person, it will feel more comfortable because of the face to face chats you've already had.

#2 Share your screen

When you've got a document or web page to review, video can help here, too. Whether you share your screen during the face to face video or record a separate video going through the document or web page, you're able to connect your message more specifically and efficiently for the recipient.

#3 Access with instant messenger or voice messenger

This is the same idea as number one, but ideally it can supplement video, not...

 There are so many ways we receive and send information.

Sometimes it can feel like information overload.

Like we talk “at” each other, not with.

I think we’re all guilty of that at times.

Like being on the phone, but still scrolling through the computer while you’re in the conversation.

Or allowing texts and calls that really aren’t important to interrupt a face-to-face conversation – virtual or in-person.

Or saying something without realizing that it could be received completely wrong and not because of what we said, but how we said it.

Each time distractions like that happen, they are communicating a message to the recipient. They are apparent to the other person and convey that you don’t care, no matter how much you really do.

Take a minute and think about how you’ve felt when that’s happened to you?

I know I don’t like it, and I’m guessing you don’t either.

This skill - communication - is so important...

So let's talk about something that seems almost contradicting to anyone pursuing their goals, leading their organization or running their business - the fear of success.

Yep.

That’s a thing.

The fear of success.

And if you’re like me, you’ve had to face this fear before, and sometimes it comes back up when you least likely expect it.

If you aren’t sure what this looks like, consider the following:

• Are you playing small?
• Are you not really putting yourself out there?
• Are you lacking confidence when sharing your ideas?
• Are you scared or reluctant to take on that high visibility, challenging project that you know is a great fit for you and will shine a lot of light on you and your work?

If you answered “Yes” to any one of these, the fear of success is a likely culprit.

So, how do you turn it around? How do you deal with the fear of success?

It’s super simple – recognize that it’s there and keep going anyway.

It doesn’t mean...

When we’ve made decisions that didn’t work out, it can start to chip away at our confidence. When that happens, you start to doubt your abilities and instincts and spend more time second guessing new decisions versus making them confidently and moving forward with clear action.

Take out a piece of paper and spend 15 minutes max to write down the times you made decisions that resulted in successful outcomes.

Write down how you felt before you made that decision and after.

Did you feel a deep knowing on the inside that this decision was right for you?

Did you feel excited because you KNEW it was right and you were so full of joy that you were proud of yourself?

Did you feel a sense of peace when making that decision? Or after? Even when the decision you made caused you to step out of your comfort zone? Or when you were saying no?

Sometimes it’s easier to see the successful decisions when you feel excited or good about them, but those decisions where you said no and...

To be a positive, strong and influential leader, you have to develop and strengthen a leadership practice that is authentic to you. Whether you’re running your own business or leading teams or projects in the corporate world, your leadership practice is built by consistently honing your skills, gifts, and abilities.

It’s a choice you make day in and day out, regardless of title. And to honor that choice to be the leader you know you’re meant to be will require changes from you.

Such as your habits.

Those little things that we do every day, and many times, on autopilot are important to change. Yet when your habits change, you’ll see the results and they will become your new norm. So, here are five habits for you to evaluate and adjust as appropriate for where you are and where you want to go:

Number 1 - Positive leaders are continually learning

They are looking to expand their knowledge and strengthen their skills.

For instance, reading or listening to a few...