How Did You Wake Up this Morning?

Believe it or not, how you woke up this morning and how you wake up tomorrow will rub off on other people. It's contagious folks - all of it. What you do, what you think, and what you say. Often the most important part of what you say is coming from inside your head; those thoughts. Do you have voices in your head? Check them for positivity and accuracy. As my friend Larry Wilson, founder of Wilson Learning says, most of us graduated from MSU (otherwise known as Making Stuff Up). Is what you are whining about really that bad or are you making up a catastrophe that really could be seen as an opportunity? Control those voices and you dramatically impact your confidence!

Lead Your Life and Your Customers with Contagious Confidence

You're in the middle of a conversation with an employee who has traveled outside the bounds of acceptable performance and you are sharing the guidelines yet again. In fact, you are listing those times when this employee has been late, has breeched professional conduct standards or has spread unnecessary gossip and then you hear the words, “Well, what about Suzie? She did the same thing” and you freeze. What do you say? How do you convey credibility and keep the conversation on track?
The words are “that is outside the scope of this conversation.” Simple, poignant and not stifling. The rude response would not gain you any respect and possibly start a conflict; the passive response would not get you forward in the conversation and would stifle progress where you stood; the phrase above simply paints a box around the conversation that you can define and stick within. You may have to repeat it, but a series of repetitions nonetheless would not squash the spirit of the one who hears them. Contagious Confidence means you maintain yours and avoid taking away it away from others. Everything you do rubs off on others, including your confidence and the way you portray it. In disciplinary conversations, the behavior is the issue, theirs and not others’, yet yours does not go unnoticed and must maintain a sense of credibility and professionalism. Stay Contagious!

You Are What You Believe You Are...

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “You are what you think about all day long” Brian Tracy delights us all with “You are the average of the five people you hang out with the most”. That seems to lead us to the fact that the thoughts you and those you hang out with all day long are of paramount importance.
Think about it, you are what you think about. Are your thoughts leading you to greater confidence, stronger momentum, and better performance? If not, whose responsibility do you think it is to change the way you are thinking?
Confidence is not merely a product of thinking, though. It is what you think about. It is what you worry about, fear and focus on. You bring it all to light when you focus on what you are afraid will happen. In fact, maybe we should modify Emerson’s thought to “You are what you worry about.” If you are to be the best leader of your own life, you have to be the best steward of your own thoughts and many of them are from the school of MSU. (Larry Wilson, of Play to Win, tells readers that most of us graduated from MSU with honors.) MSU stands for Making Stuff Up. What are you making up in your mind today and is it hurting your confidence level or helping your ability to have Contagious Confidence?