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Joy Strategies
 
 
For Your Success in the Business of Life


 
   
In This Issue:



Joy Strategies: Five Tools to Help You Enjoy the Holidays

Ask the Coach

Save the Date: Boston Public Library Event 1/7/14

Participate in Our Spread the Joy Challenge

Recently Published In...

Save the Date!
Author Talk at the
Boston Public Library

Join us for an
inspirational discussion of
The Joy of Strategy;
A Business Plan for Life

And hear from Allison about finding your passion and purpose in life and putting your vision into action. 


Tuesday, January 7, 2014
6:00-7:00pm
Central Library
Copley Square
Conference Room 05/06

Participate in Our Spread the Joy Challenge

What are you hoping to achieve in 2014 and why is it important to you? Tell us how you plan to use some of these tools to turn your resolution into a plan. A lucky winner will be chosen to receive a complimentary copy of The Joy of Strategy and a one hour coaching session to make a plan to go from dreaming to doing. But it doesn’t end there. Because creating accountability is so vital, find a friend and commit to helping each other to put your vision into action. Submit the winning description and your friend will receive a book and session too! Send submissions to response@allisonrimm.com by January 31st, 2014.  

Recently
Published In...


HBR.org: Tips for Energizing Your Exhausted Employees

Even though the people in your unit are overstretched, scarred by the budget ax, and sick to death of change, you’re about to present them with a wrenching new challenge. Read More.


Consultant Allison Rimm Plans for Joy

Bella English of The Boston Globe interviews Allison on life after the corporate world and her new book. 
Read More.

How to Develop Your Own Strategic Career Plan

Dan Schawbel of Intuit Quickbase interviews Allison on the steps you need to create your own strategic plan. Read more.


Find Joy in Your Work By Creating a Business Plan for Your Life

For Brazen Careerist, Allison invites readers to use her eight-step program to create a strategic plan for a balanced life and joyful career. Read more. 

Mini-Workshops and Keynote Addresses

Contact us at info@allisonrimm.com to arrange a complimentary keynote address or mini-workshop for your organization with a bulk purchase of The Joy of Strategy

Ask the Coach

Have questions in business and in life to pose to Allison? Send questions to info@allisonrimm.com with subject line: Ask the Coach. 

Dear Friends of Allison Rimm and Associates,

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for all my blessings – especially the love and support of wonderful family, friends, clients and colleagues.  It’s been a full year with all sorts of ups and downs, but the one constant has been these cherished relationships.  Thanks to all of you, the joys have been more joyous and the challenges have been mostly manageable.  I’m deeply grateful to you all.  You make this wild, uncharted journey worthwhile and an amazing adventure.

Five Tools to Build a Joyful
and Fulfilling New Year 

How do you feel as we officially enter the holiday season this week?  This time can be full of all sorts of emotions depending on what’s happening in our lives – excitement, sadness, loneliness, joy – to name a few.  Some of us enter the holiday season buoyed by the hopefulness of a new year and a fresh start.  But for many of us, that hope is quickly dimmed by the memory of promises we’ve made to ourselves and promptly broken in years past.
 
A common definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  Make this the year to end the madness and get the results you’ve always wanted.


Don’t Leave Your Dreams to Chance

We all want to be joyful, don’t we? We want to cherish our loved ones.  We want to do our work well and we want to realize our potential.  These very basic goals are so fundamental and yet can be so hard to achieve.
 
You don’t have to leave your dreams to chance.  You DO need to know what your dreams are.  You need a mission and you need a plan.  Successful companies don’t leave their business results to chance. And there is no more essential business than the business of your life.
 
So why isn’t everyone living out their dreams?

After decades of managing, coaching, teaching and mentoring hundreds of people, I’ve seen several issues and patterns emerge.  Here are five things you can do to boost your chances of making 2014 the year that your dreams come true.
 

1.     Define Your Mission

I love author Matthew Kelly’s definition of what our purpose is.  He says, “Mission is where your talents and passions collide with the needs of others and the world.” What do you love doing? What are you really good at doing?  How can you put your talents and passions to work to address a need in the world? 
 
Imagine what the world would be like if everyone used their gifts to meet the needs of others.
 

2.     Conquer The Fears That Stand In Your Way 

Sometimes, even if we know what our mission is, we don’t pursue the very things that would fulfill us.  Over the years, I’ve noticed common behavioral patterns that put a cork on our enthusiasm.  At the root of those patterns: fear. Fear that we’re not good enough. That we are not worthy, that someone else might not approve… and on and on.
 
Those fears wear all sorts of masks and they stand in the way of us naming our deepest desires and going for them whole-heartedly.  My wise mother used to say, “If you go for something, you might be disappointed.  But if you don’t even try, you are guaranteed to be disappointed.”
 
What would you do if you weren’t afraid? I invite you to face your fear head on and go for it with all you’ve got.         
 

3.     Create A Vision Of What Success Looks Like For You

As the wise sage, Yogi Berra, said "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
 
Your vision is your own definition of success – what life looks like when you’re joyfully working toward fulfilling your mission.  But setting a goal and working toward it isn’t enough. Your vision needs to include daily pleasures while you’re headed toward your destination.  It’s so important to build those joy notes into every day – they keep us fueled for the journey and they help make it feel worthwhile.
 
If you can clearly envision what a successful day, year, life looks like, you will be better able to set goals and take actions that move you toward that vision.
 

4.     Develop A Plan To Guide You Toward Your Vision

There is a wonderful Japanese proverb that says, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”  It’s great to have a vision, but just wishing isn’t going to make it so.  You need to set goals, that when achieved, will advance you toward fulfilling your mission and vision. And then get to work to accomplish them.  Business types suggest that your goals be SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
 

5.     Make Yourself Accountable To Someone Else

A few years ago, I started assigning “buddies” to participants in my Business of Life workshops at the end of the course. At the last class, each person committed to taking at least one action toward achieving a goal within the week and shared it with their buddy.  They exchanged email addresses and made an appointment to check on their partners’ progress in a week’s time.  These students reported a very high level of success implementing their ideas.  Some even told me they stayed in touch with their buddies for years after the course ended and continued to support and encourage one another.  When someone is looking, you are much more likely to follow through on your commitments and less apt to push them to the back burner when other demands pour in and compete for your attention.
 

This Year, Don’t Just Make a Resolution…Make a Plan

Did you make a New Year’s resolution last year?  Did you follow through on your promise to yourself? Lots of us make a resolution to lose weight every year, for one example.  We sometimes even believe that this will be the year we actually do it. And then, you know what usually happens. 
 
You are much more likely to succeed if you make a specific plan for how you’re going to achieve your goal. Instead of saying, “I’m going to lose weight”, you’ll have a much greater chance of actually doing it if you say, “I am going to lose ten pounds by March 31 by cutting out desserts and going to the gym three days a week before work.”  That way, you know exactly how you are going to achieve your goal and you have clear ways to monitor your progress between January 1 and the end of March, and do some course correction if you go off track.  That plan is SMART.
 
This year, set yourself up for success.  Choose a goal that excites you.  Imagine what your life will be like when you achieve it.  Face any fears that stand in your way, make a plan, tell a friend, and then go for it.  And remember to celebrate your triumphs!
 

Ask the Coach 

Q: I have been out of work for almost a year. Every day, I apply for at least three jobs, but have only been contacted once for an interview. What can I do to get a better response?

A:  You are in good company with so many talented professionals vying for a very limited number of opportunities. But while it’s nice to know you’re not alone, that also means that you have a lot of competition and you’ll have to do more to stand out from the crowd. The first thing you need to do is to write an outstanding cover letter that will compel the recipient to want to think, “This is someone I want to meet!”  Always remember there are likely to be hundreds of resumes submitted for every opening.  Have compassion for the person who is on the receiving end of that pile and give them something truly interesting to read. Show the hiring manager that you are passionate, committed, and someone who would be a joy to work with.
 
One lesson I’ve learned from writing and promoting my book is the importance of developing your online presence and establishing yourself as a thought leader in that space.
 
As I work with my coaching clients, I see a huge opportunity for people to establish themselves as thought leaders in their own disciplines.  Consider writing a blog on topics you are passionate about that will be of interest to potential employers. Including a link to a relevant article you’ve written in your cover letter will help it jump out of the stack and command attention.
 
Blogging is also a great networking tool.  You can reach out to other people you admire in your field and invite them to provide a guest post on your blog. This will help you build meaningful relationships with people in your field.
 
Choose topics and colleagues you enjoy. It’s important to bring pleasure into the long days of job searching.  Those joy notes will keep you fueled and optimistic.


 

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