Networking….It’s a necessity these days in the job market. Whether you are self-employed, working for someone else or  unemployed – we all need to be getting out there meeting colleagues and spreading the word about our services and our skills. However, most people shy away from attending such functions because it can be very anxiety provoking.

Check out my business networking tips in my interview with Nanci Theoret from Florida Weekly here

Get out there and make it happen!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS   Executive Coach  – Coaching 4 Success, Inc. www.LeadMeToSucceed.com

What do you wear around your partner? When we are in a relationship long-term, we tend to get, well, let’s say we get comfortable…often way too comfortable. Is your underwear sagging? T-shirts yellowing? How about those nice comfy baggy pants? We tend to get so comfortable around our partner, we forget how unbecoming it can look. While there is nothing wrong with being comfortable, you cross the line when you look sloppy or frumpy. Would you really wear those old unflattering pants if you were just dating your partner? Dress as if you are dating when you go out with your significant other – even if you’ve been together for a very long time.

When is the last time you surprised your partner? One of the problems in longer term relationships is it can get routine once the newness of a relationship wears off. However, if you each take turns planning “date night” you can get creative and add some newness to your relationship. It doesn’t have to be extravagant to be a surprise either. Whether it is taking her to a new restaurant or taking him to his favorite theater, you are making the time to plan a special night that is catered to the interest of your partner. A simple picnic in the park or bringing home her favorite dessert are small simple ways to keep your relationship interesting.

You can also check out this article I tweeted the other day from Psych Central that details other tips to enhance your relationship for the New year (click here.)

Keep it exciting!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards

President / Executive Coach  Coaching 4 Success, Inc.

Symptoms of boredom include feeling antsy, fidgety, having a lack of energy and/or motivation and lacking focus. You may have difficulty sleeping or wanting to sleep too much. Your eating habits may include craving carbohydrates and chocolate. You also may notice you are drinking alcohol more frequently. A recent study in the UK found office workers who are bored with their work often turn to these types of foods to self-soothe (Read article here.) The study found that one of the culprits of office boredom is the lack of a demanding workload.

This makes me realize it could be the same culprit for overall boredom in life. If there aren’t enough challenges to keep you engaged in life, you may be more susceptible to boredom. As I said earlier, it is difficult to find that healthy balance though without feeling overwhelmed with too many things going on at once.

It’s important that we each find the balance that works for us – afterall, each of us has our own level of tolerance. Taking classes to learn a new language or a new skill can off-set some of the doldrums of daily life while keeping you from feeling too over-worked. Adding social activities to the calendar is another way to add some fun without necessarily adding too much effort. Really, the key is adding something new to experience or to learn to keep yourself interested and engaged. If it is a social activity, try to do something you have never tried before – or haven’t done in a long time. When you do this, you will experience life with a fresh perspective opening yourself up to new opportunities. You will not only learn something new, you may attract others in the process because they in turn, may learn something from you.

Make it fun!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS

www.LeadMeToSucceed.com rke@leadmetosucceed.com    239.948.8080

This is an important time to evaluate where you are with the goals you set out for yourself for the New Year. Are you on track?

If you have fallen behind on your goals, no worries. If you catch yourself now, you still have time to get back on track and get focused for the next quarter. The point is to not give up or get discouraged.

Please read the article below to get more ideas on strategically moving ahead with your goals and your life:

Are You About Quality or Quantity?

Happy New Year to all of you!

Please watch my video (approximately 2 minutes) to make sure you are on track in creating successful resolutions this year. More specific information will be sent through my newsletter in the week to come.

Click Here for Video

All the best to you in 2012!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS

Coaching 4 Success, Inc.      www.LeadMeToSucceed.com   239-948-8080

Here we are, another year closing while a new one offers us a fresh start. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? If you have, good for you! *You are among the 48% of Americans who are doing the same thing. Here is the Top 10 list of Resolutions for the New Year. Is yours on the list?

10. Spend more time with family – Average time spent with family is 60 minutes per day

9.   Fall in love – You must first love yourself before you can love another

8.   Help others to reach their dreams – Focusing on others (to a healthy degree) promotes positivity for them and for you

7.   Quit smoking – Aside from the rising cost to smoke, smokers are dying 14 years earlier than their non-smoking counterparts

6.   Learn something exciting – People spend approximately 1000 hrs watching TV per year

5.   Stay fit and healthy – Being healthy combats disease, improves your mood, heightens your energy and helps you sleep better

4.  Enjoy life to the fullest – Staying in your comfort zone or secluded from others won’t help you feel fulfilled. Stretching yourself, trying new

things and enjoying a social support network help you to grow yourself and help you to experience a robust life.

3.   Spend less, save more – Watch out for emotional spending. Money doesn’t buy happiness or confidence.

2.  Get organized – Get proactive versus reactive with your life and surroundings. Knowing where you have placed items can save you valuable

time and will prevent you from feeling scattered.

1.   Lose weight – 1 in 3 people in the U.S. are overweight. The time is now to live a healthy lifestyle. Dieting is temporary and short-term.

Living a healthy lifestyle is the overall goal.

Remember when formulating your resolutions for the year, to keep it positive and motivating. Some people frame their goals to sound negative and depriving. If your goal is to be healthy and you want to lose weight, you want to say, “I will eat fish 3 times per day and work out 3 days a week for 30 minutes to promote my healthy lifestyle.” You can include a target weight if you want but the main thing to remember is to frame your thoughts into a positive way of being instead of a punishment (“I won’t eat candy, cookies or cake for 3 months straight.”)

Here is to a New Year! May yours be fulfilling and motivating every step of the way!

-Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS

*Journal of Clinical Psychology, University of Scranton

Do you find yourself wanting something more from your life? I would imagine there are many people who would agree to this question. It’s good to strive for something better, whether it is something within yourself or something more outside of yourself.This is what keeps us motivated to work harder, be stronger and do our best. This is what also keeps life exciting by setting goals and challenges to keep ourselves focused and inspired.

Yet, there is another side to this process of wanting. You may find yourself stuck or stalled. We often know what we want but our actions can fail to make it happen. This can be called, procrastination, laziness, unfocused, or unmotivated. We’ve all been at this stage before. For whatever reason, we spin our wheels trying to make things happen but quickly burn out in the process. Other times, we are all excited with our idea to improve but then we get scattered and fail to follow through.

It finally reaches a point when you have to stare at yourself in the mirror and say, “What the heck?” (or some other choice of words) You realize you only have yourself to blame – and there is only so many excuses you can give yourself before you simply run out. I’ve experienced this recently with a book I had been wanting to write. I kept on saying, “I’ll write tomorrow” but somehow, I’d end up having an excuse. Finally, I woke up one day and had run out of excuses and I literally looked at myself in the mirror in disgust thinking I have no where to run. I knew I’d have sit with the feeling of not following through with my goal and feeling like a flop unless I took some action – immediately (before I found another excuse.)

My point to all of you is this: It is great to have goals and to want something more. But that is only the first in a series of steps towards achieving it. The next step is planning it out. While the third step is to me, the hardest of all. It is here where you begin working towards your goal. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to get to this point. When you have reached this stage, there is really no turning back. You either finish or you don’t. That is a hard pill to swallow if you are afraid of failure.

So, what are you waiting for in achieving your goals? Are you following through with what you say you want? Whether your goal is to lose weight, find a better job, eat healthier or learn a new skill – It’s never to late to get back on track and to make it happen!

To your success!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS Executive Coach/President

COACHING 4 SUCCESS, INC      www.Coaching4SuccessInc.com

Have you ever participated in a real obstacle course where you are faced with challenges that just seem impossible to conquer? I haven’t had the pleasure of actually being involved in one but I’ve seen the courses on TV and it always amazes me how the contestants stay persistent and refuse to give up – even if they screw up a ton of times.

It’s a lot like Life where Life is the obstacle course and you are the player. Yet, all too often, the player tends to become their own obstacle by allowing negative self-talk to get in the way of their success.

Our minds are so powerful, we can literally make or break an opportunity simply in how we approach it in our heads. Think of how you approach Life these days. Do you have negative thoughts and messages in that head of yours?

Every time you think or say something negative like, “I hate this” or “I can’t do it” or “Why does it have to be so hard?”, you are becoming an obstacle in your own path. This negative energy that you produce stays with you and essentially surrounds you like a gray cloud. It hovers over you and causes everything else in your path to be viewed as negative.

Let’s face it. We have enough negative things around us. The last thing we need is to produce more of it. Life is challenging enough without us adding to it with our negative perceptions and attitude.

The Take-Away: Listen to what is going on in your own mind. Catch the negative thoughts and re-frame them into positive ones like, “I can do this” or “I can make a difference”, etc. By changing this one factor, you will start seeing and feeling a difference in your attitude and most importantly, in your Life.

Positive thoughts to all of you!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS
Personal & Executive Coach
www.LeadMeToSucceed.com
Coaching 4 Success, Inc.

Anyone who has ever planted something and waited for it to grow understands that growth is a slow, methodical process. While water and sunlight are necessary, too much or too little can be deadly. It takes just the right amount at the right time for growth to occur.

Our lives are the same way. In order for us to grow, we need just the right amount of factors at a certain time and under appropriate conditions. The person who is open to change and open to trying new things will create the best condition for growth to occur. Those that remain closed-minded to opportunities will stunt their own growth and progress.

The factors necessary for individual growth include the appropriate balance of time. Too often, people believe if they work 24/7 they will be more successful. This is similar to thinking if you give sunlight to a plant 24/7, it will grow faster. The opposite holds true in either case. Too much of anything is detrimental to your health. It’s all about the balance, my friends.

Taking time out to just relax and vegetate increases growth potential IF it is balanced among the other main goals, such as work. We are challenged with this type of thinking whether we are in a “good” economy or a “bad” one. Even if there isn’t a lot of work right now, it still is important to balance the goals.

Mental well-being takes priority because it is essential to growing and stabilizing. In these times more than ever, it’s important to take time to nurture yourself so that you are 100% focused on your goals. In doing so, you will be more productive in your work and home life.

Keep it positive!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards
Personal & Business Coach
COACHING 4 SUCCESS, INC.
www.LeadMeToSucceed.com

As I sit here staring at my pc screen wondering why this software is taking so long to download, I realize I need to just take it easy. We are accustomed to getting immediate results these days. Think about it. We have fast food drive-thru’s, bank drive-thru’s, drycleaning and grocery drive -thru’s. We have speed dating, express car washes and express toll lanes. We are spoiled with faster speeds on the computer and internet that continue to improve at lightning pace every year.

So, it is only fitting that we should expect everything to move just as quickly. Our goals in becoming famous, rich, happy, healthy, fit, and in love are expected to happen quickly – since we all have limited time here. It’s no wonder we, in our society, have become more and more frustrated and irritable waiting for all of these great things to come to fruition.

People become depressed because they can’t seem to make it. They work hard for a short amount of time expecting to “hit the jackpot” and then quickly fade out when they see it isn’t “working”.

How many of you out there have given up too quickly on something simply because you grew too impatient? Perhaps we can all take a deep breath and realize there is something to be said about “the journey” in getting to our destination. Often, we learn valuable things and meet interesting and beneficial people along the way – important steps to achieving our goal that will not happen if we give up too soon.

Remember to give yourself some time to achieve your goals. It will eventually happen if we just stay on the course and not get so discouraged along the way that we give up too soon. There will be bumps along the way – that’s inevitable. The point is to move passed the bumps and stay persistent and above all, patient.

After writing this blog, I can tell you my download still isn’t done yet, but that’s okay. It gives me more time to think, relax and enjoy the present time.