Are you midway through your career and wondering what direction to take it next? Or is some other looming decision driving you nuts because making difficult choices just seems too overwhelming?

Me, too! And I’m no stranger to making big changes. After an exciting, demanding and lucrative deal-making career I switched to a coaching career – teaching people how to master their own thinking in order to generate more success in their lives. Now I am expanding into speaking, writing and teaching online. I have so many irons in the fire and ideas swirl so fast that they actually clog my thinking and hold me back. Not helpful, brain!

In order to clear my own muddled mind, I like to use this framework to “test” each new idea that pops into my head and either pursue it, or trash it, quickly and without regret.

Here are my top 5 criteria for what to spend time pursuing:

1. People - I know that if I enjoy the people, I’ll enjoy the work. So I pursue ideas that place me with people who are thoughtful, creative, kind, prepared to take action, emotionally stable, interested in changing something, take responsibility, have a forward outlook, share truthfully, and want to make a difference in someone else’s life besides their own. What kind of people are your favorites? Focus on directions that place you amongst them.

2. Personal Power – Certain activities feed my creativity and ingenuity, two primary sources of my personal power. Where does your personal power come from? This is not about your power or authority over others, but your inner drive and fire. Pursue directions that provide energy, not those that sap it.

3. Profit - Profit takes many forms. Pursue directions that are lucrative, yes. But also those that bring you the profits of pleasure, intellectual stimulation, and outright joy. Jettison any thinking about directions that do not deliver an ample return on your investment – they are literally not worth it.

4. Passion – Following your passion is perhaps an overused phrase, but it does not necessarily mean drop everything and pursue your dreams of becoming an actress. I used to love creating deal spreadsheets – not because of the mental girations necessary to put the monster together, in fact I disliked that part! I loved it because it provided a tool to help solve a problem, to test and maneuver and reveal different angles and results. I love figuring out a solution that no one else has thought of – that’s a passion! And I still do that today – create new ways of thinking that help people find solutions to their own roadblocks, take charge of their future and learn to generate amazing new outcomes for themselves. What’s your passion? Pursue opportunities that allow you to experience it often.

5. Peace – Let’s face it: Everything involves some angst from time to time. But if something is troubling enough to keep you up at night however, you have two choices – either get more involved and fix it, or move away from it. Pursue directions that bring you peace, at least most of the time.

There you have it – 5 simple tests to guide your choices and clear a muddled mind about what directions to pursue. Try them for yourself!

photo credit Gustavo Facci

Want to rekindle your interest in your job? Try one of these tips:

1. Reconnect with why you started this job in the first place.
2. Recall the company’s values and in what ways you align.
3. Think of at least 5 ways the job supports and improves your strengths.
4. Think of 5 ways to demonstrate your strengths at work more often.
5. Think of 3 ways to have more fun at work every single day.
6. Let go of any personal grudges.
7. Make new friends.
8. Find a mentor or create a mastermind group.
9. Volunteer for a project or committee, increasing visibility and leadership profile.
10. Quit a committee (preferably by grooming someone else for the role).
11. Form a professional or leadership association in your profession but outside your company.
12. Form a mastermind or dreamers group inside your company.
13. Ask for a personal development or a non-work-related workshop for yourself and a group of co-workers.
14. Expand your network – attend talks, workshops, conferences, professional association meetings.
15. Each morning, think of one thing you’re looking forward to, rather than dwell on the drudgery of going to work.
16. Place something in your workspace that makes you smile (or even better, that makes you laugh!)
17. Decide what you would do differently if you were the boss, and see if you can influence any changes.
18. Avoid water cooler gossip and start a different kind of conversation.
19. Broaden your skills – get the training you need to move up.
20. Revisit your accomplishments by updating your resume (just in case!)

Not sure you’ll ever love the job you’re in? If it’s time for a change, visit www.successmindset.co/change to get started in a new direction. Life’s too short to be unhappy in your work. Love it or leave it!

Lately I’ve had a lot of calls from people who need help expanding their businesses. Whether they are small business owners or working in a firm of some sort, their request is the same: “I need to get our name out there. I want to bring in more business. I wish I could get more recognition.”

And then come the downside concerns.  ”I’m not sure how long I can keep this thing going. Maybe I should be thinking about alternatives. I’m losing confidence in myself.”

And then finally the question: “What should I be doing?”

And after working with so many on solving this problem, I realized it’s not a matter of DOING. It’s a matter of BEING.

What people in business really need to succeed is this:

Transform from being “you” into “You, Inc.”™

You, Inc. means:

• You see yourself, and present yourself, as a distinct business entity.
• You know and control your brand, whether for your business or personally (even better, for both!).
• You know what products and services to offer.
• You’re attractive to potential partners, clients, and customers.
• You’re confident in your pricing.
• You’re comfortable closing the sale.
• You’re able to expand your reach into profitable new arenas.

Imagine what could happen in your business world if you grew from “you” to “You, Inc.”

Would you show up more confidently in meetings or when networking?

Would you master the words to wrap around your unique brand?

Would you claim your place in your industry, proudly standing up to the competition?

Would you draw customers and partners and investors to you, as a business/business person they want to affiliate with?

Would you treat your business like a “real” business?

Would you communicate to your employer your true talents and expectations?

Would you go after that big promotion, that big sale, that incredible opportunity?

Be You, Inc. instead of just you, and discover how “being” instead of “doing” leads to more business, without all that busy-ness! It’s the shortcut to success, without having to try so hard.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to survey over 100 business leaders across numerous industries. I asked one question: “As a leader, what is your greatest leadership challenge?”

How would you answer this question? There are so many possibilities. Organizational leaders have responsibilities that extend well beyond simply getting their own job done. Leaders must motivate, problem-solve, inspire, reward, deliver bad news, oversee results yet delegate control, handle conflicts, and much more. All in addition to managing their own problems and emotions!

Three key findings emerged from the survey:

1. Employees are a huge challenge. Managing employees came in as the #1 leadership challenge, with over 1/3 of the responses related to handling employee situations. Motivational challenges topped this list with 15% of the responses. Handling conflicts and problem employees earned 11%. Delegation and control concerns received 8%. Clearly, leaders could use more help learning to deal with employees.

2. Personal Lack of Confidence is #2. A distinct personal challenge was actually the largest singular issue at 21% -  a concern about confidence, style, courage, poise, self-assurance and self-acceptance. Is it disconcerting that a fifth of our leaders lack confidence in themselves as leaders? I thought so. Attention leaders out there: You need to understand how good you truly are! Attention organizations out there: your leaders need to understand how good they truly are!

3. The Dysfunctional Organization is a problem. The third largest category of responses involved the organization itself, with over 10% of respondents indicating that working with the executive team is their major challenge. Managing “up,” communicating effectively across organizational lines, and getting the entire management team aligned were all indicated as problem areas.

Put these all together, and we have a hesitant leader uncomfortably handling employee issues within an unsteady, uncommunicative organization. Yikes!

Don’t we want our leaders focused on vision, strategy, customers, new product development and other profitable pursuits? What can be done?

As distressing as these survey results are, there are solutions.

The Employee Solution: Get Skills Training. Handling employees is a learned talent, comprised mostly of “people skills.” Effective communication skills, some basic psychology, and a method for setting expectations and accountability are tools that can be learned and applied to make dealing with employees a lot easier.

The Leadership Solution: Get Personal Development. Individual self confidence building involves more than learning typical presentation or “meet and greet” skills. While a Dale Carnegie course will absolutely improve your exterior presence, it may not address your inner uncertainty. For that, leaders need absolute self-trust in their own strengths as well as the ability to be comfortably authentic. This emotional intelligence comes from developing the right mindset, one that supports continual forward momentum and thwarts self-doubt.

The Executive Team Solution: Get On With It! Leaders at the executive level need to stay focused on the future. Discussions need to be visionary and high-minded. People need to commit to move in the same direction and be held accountable for progress or lack thereof. There really is no excuse for a bunch of leaders working together but not actually leading anything anywhere.

What are the greatest leadership challenges you face? No matter what they are, solutions are available. Just don’t “do nothing.”

For a complete detailed breakdown of all of the survey responses, click here.

photo credit: www.lumaxart.com

Do you sometimes get so caught up in the process of achieving and succeeding that you forget to step back and take stock of your entire life? Are you at the top of your game in some areas of your life, but less successful or even unhappy with other areas?

Follow these three simple steps to become the CEO of your life:

C is for Clarity. Work on developing complete clarity about where you want to end up, because having complete clarity provides you freedom. When you know you are on the right path and headed in the right direction, choices simply become easier and more comfortable, without all that second-guessing and hesitation.

Complete and total clarity goes beyond understanding what you want to DO. Ask yourself this question instead: What do I want to feel everyday? The answers to this question will help you understand where you want to end up.

E is for the ability to Execute your plan. When there is a gap between where you are and where you would like to be, you know you need a plan. The problem with plans is that most people don’t actually take the actions required to achieve the plan, usually due to some form of fear: fear of looking foolish, fear of failure, fear of speaking up, even fear of becoming too successful!

A great question to ask yourself is: “Which of my fears is costing me my dreams?” The #1 best way to immediately remove fear from the picture is to decide, here and now, that your fear is simply too expensive and you are no longer going to let it stop you in your tracks.

O is for having an Organization that supports you. Successful people already know how to organize their calendars and offices and staff. But did you know that you also already have a knowledgeable and powerful supportive team that any CEO would envy?

Meet your “Internal Advisory Board.” It consists of all of the wisdom you have compiled inside yourself. All you need to do is tap into it. Ask yourself: “What would change if I absolutely believed in myself?” Learn to listen to the advice of your internal wisdom to develop self-trust and you can change everything.

Find Clarity, develop the ability to fearlessly Execute, and build a supportive Organization. Take these steps and you will become the CEO of your entire life. Start today!