C-Suite Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Sharon M Weinstein

December 28, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

Focus…why it matters!

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” –Oprah Winfrey

Our chaotic lives can easily distract us from our focus. How many times in a day do you find yourself in a room, knowing you were there for a reason, but unable to remember the reason you went there? Or, at the end of the day with a heavy sigh, looking over your to-do list from that morning, realizing you barely made a dent in your list? We joke and attribute it to old age—even the young do this—but more likely it is a difficulty in maintaining focus.

Focus: What it is and why that’s important

Focus is the thing that keeps us on track. It’s what we do when we have a goal to achieve. We keep focused on doing what we need to do to accomplish the tasks that cumulatively make up the goal. Focus is also an ability to remain undistracted. It is what we use to intently pursue a goal like running the Boston Marathon, studying for exams, writing a paper, or creating artwork. It is this kind of focus that is the source of the “Aha” moment we hope for when seeking solutions and setting goals. Getting to it, to that Aha moment of achievement or recognition, includes the knowledge of how to define your path and work your plan. Forbes Magazine published an informal study on Aha Moments; this is my favorite: “No one – not your mother, your clients or the vendors you’re working with – wants to tell you ‘No’ when you ask for something; most people want to find a way to tell you ‘Yes’. My “aha” moment was when I realized this and started asking for what I wanted in life.” I truly believe in asking for what you want in life. That became reality when I proposed to my husband on our 5^th date, and we were married on the 10^th day since we had met. What closed the deal for me? The very first phone call, which lasted 3 hours, in which he described his amazing family. Although he was an only child, and his dad had passed when he (my husband was just 14), he depicted a family of which I wanted to be a part. And, so, I asked by simply focusing, and stating, “I’m not working on Wednesday, would you like to get married?” The rest is history!

Are you focused on what the New Year may bring?

December 16, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

Your Environment…your choice

Your environment is your space…it is your body, and the settings in which you live, work, and play. Your body probably started out on an even playing field 25 or more years ago. And, your home and work settings have influenced your body’s ability to adapt – to thrive and survive today and forever. Think about where you live, work and play, and think about the sources of stress that present on an almost daily basis and influence your ability to be well and to stay well.

Let’s begin with choice! The choices that you make, about what you put into your body and that with which you surround yourself, impact your outcomes – how well you feel, how productive you are, and how good you look. Are the choices that you are making healthy, or will they impair function? For example, is a can of soda on your desktop – eager to turn your body into an acidic environment that will slow you down, swell you up, and put you to sleep? I hope not!

The work-life connection

A crisis exists today. Millions of people are unwell, suffering from the stresses that are part of modern living: lack of sleep, poor nutrition (and obesity), exposure to dangerous pollutants, no exercise, and time pressures. And people — millions of people — are looking for solutions.

Workplace wellness programs are beginning to earn their place among necessities within the environment. Model programs for disease management are decreasing days lost from work, enhancing lifestyle, and increasing performance. As workweeks are expanding and stress levels are rising, more hours are spent at the workplace, and health takes a toll.

One of the greatest sources of stress for workers, regardless of professional role, is work-related. We all have the same requisite number of hours in a day – only 24. And yet, we try to extend those hours and make them equal 36 or more. It is virtually impossible, and our productivity demonstrates our failure to adhere to the ‘work day’ as a somewhat normal work day.

A workplace is only as good as how it treats its workers. Today’s employers are constantly seeking ways to assist their workers in managing their job responsibilities and their personal responsibilities and needs. Strategies for work/life balance help create supportive, healthy work environments; strengthen employee commitment and loyalty; and result in more productive workplaces and improved customer satisfaction.

As professionals, we have expectations from our work environment, from those with whom we work, and our future. Oprah Winfrey suggests that, “right now you are one choice away from a new beginning—one that leads you toward becoming the fullest human being you can be.”

If your path is paved with good intentions, but your work is unrewarding and your time is not your own, negotiate. Think things over and make a change. Negotiate for change in the workplace; work with your employer to improve the environment, your outcomes, and the company’s success.

As workweeks are expanding and stress levels are rising, more hours are spent at the workplace, and health takes a toll. Initiatives aimed at producing a healthy workforce, enhancing recruitment and retention, decreasing overall healthcare costs, and enhancing productivity and bottom line are evolving. Workplace Wellness Programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many individuals need in order to make lifestyle changes. Embark on the journey to workplace wellness…and begin by treating your staff well!

It’s your choice! It’s your business! It’s your future! Make it a healthy one…

Life Balance…it is what I do and who I am! I work with organizations that want to learn how life balance can drive safety, satisfaction, and success!

Sharon is an energetic, motivating and highly skilled professional speaker and author specializing in work/life balance. After all, she wrote the book. She is the founder of SharonMWeinstein, an LLC and two not-for-profits.

She holds the coveted Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned international recognition for professional speakers. This makes her one of only 12% of all speakers to hold this designation and one of only 22 nurses in the world with this credential. www.sharonmweinstein.com

Are you ready to embrace a life in balance in 2017 and beyond?

December 11, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

How many times have you failed?

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

Think about it! Long before Walt Disney built Disneyland, he was told he lacked creativity. Before Arianna Huffington launched Huffington Post, 36 publishers rejected her second book. Consider Bill Gates, whose first company was a disaster, with a product that barely worked.

Nobody wants to fail, but even the brightest and most successful people have faced this challenge at some point in their careers. Life is a constant seesaw. Most of us teeter between our achievements and our mistakes.

Some mistakes are greater than others. Have you ever made a mistake? Have you missed your sales target, blown a presentation, or lost an opportunity?

How does failure affect us? What is one career or life failure that has taught you something about yourself? – Failure happens – whether we want to admit it or not. But we can turn our failures into learning experiences that enable us to do better next time.

What about your job history? Did you ever accept a position that was a huge mistake – and you just knew that you were not in the right place at the right time? I certainly did – I did not vet the future employer; I did not do my homework. I did not realize that there were 5 people in my position in the previous 3 years and that the fact that I needed to fire my predecessor was a message not to be missed. Mistake – yes? Failure – no!

Take action and move on. How do you get things back on track? Deal with your mistake head on, and then advance to the next thing. Start your next project, look at new ventures or consider a new task at hand. Remember your hard-learned lessons as you keep moving forward, and you’ll emerge stronger and more resilient than before. Join the ranks of Huffington, Disney, and Gates…who overcame failure and achieved success!

November 27, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

What’s in a name?

Is your name more famous than you are? What’s in a name? I once had a neighbor named John Carson; when he made a hotel or airline reservation, he used the name ‘Johnny Carson.’ Don’t you think that he got a great seat, or an upgrade to first class or a suite? Names can also be a detriment. What if your name is that of a misdirected politician (think John Edwards), or a serial killer? Does your website reflect your actual name? Does you brand reflect who and what you are? Have you ever been mistaken for someone else, or had someone pull back when you introduced yourself by your ‘real name?’

The world is filled with John Carsons, Michael Jacksons, Chris Browns, Elizabeth Taylors and Brad Pitts forced to field comments about their more famous namesakes. Many people share their names with famous people, including:

Justin Bieber from Jacksonville
Beyoncé from New York
Matt LeBlanc from Canada
Bill Gates from Chicago
Sandra Bullock from Connecticut
Kate Middleton from Brisbane
John Carson from Denton

Is your name an icebreaker, or a nuisance? Is your name more famous than you?

September 29, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

Preferment…the new retirement

Today I spoke to a speaker colleague who told me that she ‘retired’ from accounting to begin her speaking career. Yesterday, it was a nurse who told me that she ‘retired’ from clinical practice to begin her coaching career. And last week, it was a corporate executive who told me that he ‘retired’ from manufacturing to pursue his consulting career.

Were they retired, still working, working part-time, or picking and choosing those projects with which they wanted to align themselves? Nearly all of the responses addressed the concept of ‘picking and choosing’ or preferring one project over another and one subset of professionals with whom to work over another. Did each of these professionals actually retire…to begin the next phase of their lives? Or, did they extend into the arena known as “PREFERMENT” meaning that they now get to do what they want, with whom they want, and when they want?

My own professional colleagues vary in age group from millennials to the C-suite and from sometime work to full-time plus work. Having worked full-time plus in the past, logging over 100 hours per week, 3 countries per week for over 10 years, I fully understand the idea of ‘picking and choosing’ one’s activities and potential partners.

Still intrigued, I researched the word and discovered the concept of prefermented dough to improve quality naturally and traditionally. Great concept, but being a non-bread maker, the term did not meet my immediate needs. Preferment is also the name of a champion horse; a non-equestrian, I continued my search for the right description. I was seeking information on what happens post-official retirement – in the healthy, seasoned professional population.

I can easily relate to the idea of retirement as a significant milestone and adjustment for my peers. Healthy, financially secure and energetic, they are revisioning postretirement life and moving from the comfortable rocking chair to a state of preferment, with an opportunity to refocus on new structure and purpose, including time for leisure, continuous learning, new pursuits, and perhaps encore careers.

It’s not retirement, it’s preferment, because this phase of one’s life provides the opportunity to do the things you prefer and are most meaningful to you. Only you can determine what those things are. Only you can identify where you want to spend your time and with whom. Only you can decide whose lives you want to impact and in what ways. As professionals, those of us in the clinical arena or in academia have been blessed with extensive careers during which we have done meaningful work. We are the seasoned professionals!

The word preferment is perfect for the new retirement. Regardless of their past positions, my colleagues are adopting this term as one of endearment and creating their own next Act…the one that will ignite their passion, bring fulfillment, and be preferred. Speaker – Coach – Consultant…they are excited about what the future will bring!

About Sharon:

Life Balance…it is what I do and who I am! I work with organizations that want to learn how life balance can drive safety, satisfaction, and success!

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