Friday Quote
The biggest disappointments come with the greatest awakenings.
Month: August 2015
One More Move: Solidify Your Top 5 Values
Knowing what values we hold dearly saves us a lot of time in decision making. Take a moment one day to set your top five values that motivate you towards your chosen success. One exercise I like a lot was one shared by Warren Buffet. Here are some tweaks to his prioritization system, which focuses on goals versus values.
Check out this list of values, that I found on a great blog post. Choose your top 25, then choose your top 5. It’s a simple exercise, but you will build character strength upon completion.
So what are your top five values?
I ended up choosing: Beauty, Connection, Creativity, Abundance, and Wisdom.
Your Values Become You
Great post and a wonderful addition to my article!
This post is part of The Awakened Heart Project
Week 29, 30, and 31: Your Values Becomes You
“To be nobody but yourself
in a world which is doing its best,
night and day,
to make you like everybody else
means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight,
and never stop fighting.”
~ E.E. Cummings
Life Lesson 29: The Value of Values
Defining your values in life is an important part of growth and development for many reasons. I think Kevin Daum puts it well when he explains, “Our personal core values are there to guide behavior and choice. Get them right and you’ll be swift and focused in your decision-making, with clear direction. Get them wrong or leave them ambiguous, and you’ll constantly wonder how you got into this mess. ”
Life constantly pushes and pulls us in different directions. In order for us…
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Take 1 Hour To Automate Your Social Media
I manage the social media as a part of my role. It is a small percentage of my day so to stay consistent with my schedule I set aside 2 hours a month to plan and organize posts I like on Hootsuite. 
With the ups and downs of working in higher education, it can be easy to forget to reach out on a daily basis. Using a social media management system can help you to share your own content and build your brand by displaying what interests you value. Here’s how I would split up the time.
10:00 Review my annual social media plan – Make any adjustments and add in any new creative ideas around the events happening in my local area.
10:05 Scan through Feedly and look for articles that match the month’s theme and my brand’s values. I right click through the ones I like and write relevant reviews with a short link going back to the original post. Read through the articles, write a short summary, and find a relevant picture to represent it. Sometimes there will not be a picture that represents well enough, so I will often find a better article or create the picture myself using Canva or find one on Photopin.
10:35 It averages about a minute per post to get the month scheduled for one post per day. Doing this grew the social media page by 300% over the past three years. It’s small, but steady, growth, and engagement averages around 27% percent of organic views, where organic reach for a page my size benchmarks at around 11%. So once I’m done I check to make sure every day is posted and review for typos.
10:40 For the rest of my time, I scan my social media feeds on Hootsuite and share relevant content from my community, specifically from other social media contributors within our organization, such as what’s happening in the Facebook groups, on our Listservs, or other events emailed to me.
10:50 Finally, I will add in a few posts supporting initiatives I have in my department.
When it comes to social media marketing, what you share from others should balance to four times of what you self-promote. Linking together is key to building a strong voice and vision with your social media brand.Finding time to consistently post is a matter of scheduling and automation. There are plenty of tools to use but Hootsuite is definitely tech I pay to have.
What are your biggest social media management challenges?
3 Ways to Attract Your Audience Online
Do you own a shop in a local town? Where I’m from in Northeast Ohio there are a ton of local shops popping up in mid-size towns around me. I am happy to see small business owners serving and providing the community with a diverse set of offerings. The shops all have their own unique style, yet the ones that see the most action are the ones inviting to the customer to linger and offering a quality product. Like shops, our websites play an important role in inviting our customers, clients, or members to seek more from us.
Attract Customers With Open Doors
photo credit: Sainsbury’s – High Street, Longbridge Town Centre – entrance via photopin (license)
How do customers feel when they approach your website? Are they turned off by the design? Your competitors are using better strategies to ensure the user experience is as exceptional as would be in real life. Here are three ways to keep your site on par.
Improve your display
Your website is a window to your products or services. Like in local business marketing all parts of your business- from a menu to a bar of soap- must be displayed as if it is in a Macy’s window in the middle of New York. Keep your aesthetics clean and related to your brand. Make your colors appealing to the eye, yet let them represent the values of your brand.
Here’s Inspiration
95 Inspiring Websites of Web Design Agencies
Form, Function and Beauty on Brand Websites
Simplify your navigation
Your site might be too complicated If a customer has to ask: how do I make a reservation or get to the checkout? Users are used to making their next move quickly. If your customers can not simply find what they are looking for then they will leave for a site that is easier to navigate. While designing navigation avoid having the level of navigation go beyond three. If you are having trouble getting rid of levels, consider: What can be consolidated or removed? Links help connect people to infinite amounts of content, rely on proper linking over a cluttered navigation menu.
Optimize for Mobile
Web sites must be mobile friendly. 50% percent of shoppers are browsing on their phones. Google, the most-used search engine so far, also rewards websites in search engines if they are optimized for mobile viewing. Test your website today using google’s mobile-friendly test. In addition, to the design of your site being optimized for mobile, your content should also offer users quick and easily scannable information. Here’s results from my mobile friendly test!
How does your site measure up on the mobile-friendly test?
One More Move: Drink a Bright Green Smoothie
photo credit: ~ Green Goddess Smoothie ~ via photopin (license)
There’s something I love about the color green. Perhaps it is how it represents growth, wealth, and health or because it can symbolize balance. One thing is for sure, leafy green vegetables contribute to many positive attributes, including the potential to keep our mental capacities sharper over time or contribute to the health of our gut instinct. Sharp faculties and a strong gut instinct all us entrepreneurs must maintain to persevere. One of my favorite ways to get my daily dose of green goodness is through a refreshing smoothie. Since it is summer now I could drink one two three times a day. Here are some of my favorite recipes. Here are my top three
Pre-Workout Smoothie
Simple Green Smoothies pre-workout smoothie is a great way to gain energy and nutrients before getting an intense workout. It also provides a basis for a good smoothie where you can get creative and mix and match your own fruits and juices.
Pineapple Chia Smoothie from Jelly Toast Blog
When I want a cup of delicious energy, I got for my pineapple chia green smoothie. The mixture of pineapple and chia seeds gives me a boost that outweighs coffee exponentially and without a crushing caffeine crash.
Ginger green smoothie from Love and Olive Oil
Finally, when I am feeling the need to detox, I reach for my ginger. This recipe for ginger spinach smoothies covers what I like, but I would include some extra honey for a more immunity-boosting drink.
Comment below! Do you drink green smoothies? What is a recipe you like?
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Want Success? Wield the Tool of Time!
photo credit: 12 sec via photopin (license)
Do you want to move forward in your career, manage multiple projects with ease, drastically reduce stress levels?
You may be wondering how can I take control of my time?
What we know about time do know about time? Scientifically we are still inconclusive. Early theories related time to the breakdown of things; the collapse into chaos. The theory behind the relationship between time and energy show that with time dormant energy will move velocity and acceleration at a constant rate. Although what time is exactly is still fuzzy to definitions science agrees it plays an important role in the things that happen and perhaps even the creation of the universe.
Yet, with all the studies surrounding time Carrol claims it is “not the be found in the underlying laws of physics” Time does not take up space and does not have a mass. Which in a sense means time is a imaginary. It’s not a real part of our physical world, but one created by us humans. It is hard to pin down this tool we created. Major philosophical theorist divide into three parties: Presentists, Growing-past philosophers, and eternalists. Presentists believe on the present is real. Growing-past philosophers believe the past and the future are real and eternalists believe in the existence and reality of past, present, and future. I lean towards the eternalist camp. I think most entrepreneurs do, since the future is the substance of our dreams.
Which is why “time is money” is the mantra of any wealth warrior. Recorded in The Free-Thinker in 1719, the phrase time is money relates the idea that time is a valuable resource as one of the purest measures of human value since our time is finite on this earth and we must produce what we best can and seize opportunity. Are you leveraging your time to maximize your return? Wasted time is wasted money and it moves you further away from the feeling of success. As though you are not maximizing the opportunities available in your life. How can we escape the subtle sense of chaos that comes with time?
We have to focus on what is really at play. You have a desire to effectively seize the opportunities you have before you. Time-management needs to be re-named to Self-management. Self-management is “the process of evaluation [sic], prioritizing, and organizing one’s tasks” . Time is the imaginary tool we use to measure the movement and completion of tasks. We watch a flower grow and a forgotten yogurt die. When we use the tool of time right we realize the steps we are taking towards our goals. When we use the tool incorrectly, we can dwell in non-present aspects of time like stressing over the future or reminiscing in the sweet past.
How do you manage yourself wisely? The first step is to put yourself first. Self-management is a continuous process of a commitment to developing yourself. It took me ten years to get a comfortable grip on time, and I’m still striving for greater discipline. What major roadblock in my way, was the belief that if I just gave my mind, body, and spirit up to other things I would somehow feel fulfilled with the time I was spending. So I worried unnecessarily, ate indulgently, and felt all types of ways without making any real traction in my goals. It was only when I focused on myself: being my healthiest; cultivating my thoughts for pro-action; and rewarding my behavior with gratitude and respect that I suddenly began to take leaps towards achieving the life I desired.
Practice items
Here are some reflection exercises for self-management:
- What do your value? How do you rank your values?
- What are your top 20 priorities? Drop it down to 5.
- What does it take for you to perform at your best?
Sign up for the free e-Mail course! 5 days to Confidence with Time Series releasing August 17th
References
Time and Energy – Millennium Relativity.” 2002. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.mrelativity.net/TimeEnergy/TimeEnergy.htm>
What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory …” 2014. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.wired.com/2010/02/what-is-time/>
“Time | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” 2009. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.iep.utm.edu/time/>
“What is the idea behind the quote “time is money”? – Quora.” 2014. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-idea-behind-the-quote-time-is-money>
“Time = Money | SUCCESS Magazine | What Achievers Read.” 2013. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.success.com/article/time-money>
“Time Management – Exploratory Studies at Purdue.” 2014. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.purdue.edu/exploratory/academic-support-new/time-management.html>
Management: Developing Self-Management Skills … – SQA.” 2007. 5 Aug. 2015 <http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/CB3496_self_management.pdf>
One Move Monday: Give a Good Hug
It’s Monday and it’s time for One More Move that will bring you closer to your authentic success. This week I challenge you to hug someone for five minutes. Yes, five minutes! In this digital world we’re constantly seeking to connect with more information; more friendships; and more experiences, but sometimes the rush to go from one activity to the next causes us to miss the authentic human to human connection that comes from physical contact. Hugging, holding a hand, or giving a pat on the back are always to physically and spiritually connect and be a touch point in someone’s life. As a #mompreneur I am always struggling to find quality time with my husband and daughter, yet when I take the time to hug them beyond the quick embrace on my way to work, I find I feel refreshed and fulfilled.
There may be some science behind the method! When we connect in a hug, we generate an oxytocin flow that helps us feel less anxious; get better sleep and boosts our sense of belonging.
Interested in learning more about oxytocin? Here is a great Ted Talk discussing how oxytocin may build our morality, which builds trust and eventually stable authentic success.
When is the last time you had a good hug? If you take this challenge let me know how it was on twitter @NzingaHart.
photo credit: We Are Family via photopin (license)
Zinga Hart 
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