Educate Archives - Sharon M Weinstein

August 27, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

SCORE!

And I scored! All 5s, that is, on a scale of 1-5 during 8 presentations in a two-week period! I knocked it out of the park, meeting and exceeding the expectations of my hosts, sponsors, and audiences. WOW – it felt great!

The thrill of the game
The drama of the goal
The sound of the bat
The thrill of the crowd
The standing ovation

Perhaps you have been there, when the Cubs won the World Series, when Simone Biles took home Olympic Gold, and when Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James have scored.

“To me, form is not about scoring runs but how you feel about your game. Sometimes the runs are not there, but you know you are batting well, and that is good form for me.” Gautam Gambhir

As an adult soccer player, I scored a magnificent goal that won the game and the trophy. In the process, I broke the metatarsals of my left foot, but I continued to play. When I learned to play golf 8 years ago, I scored a trophy as most-improved player in the 18-hole women’s league!

As speakers, trainers, facilitators, consultants – we are expected to SCORE a win for those who engaged us! We customize programs, give it our all, exceed expectations, excite the audience, offer a call to action, and get great reviews. To those who attend our sessions, embrace our content, employ our techniques, and follow us – thank you! As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), I share your commitment to the process and the outcome!

We are professional speakers! Our goal (no pun-intended) is to score for you every time, at every event, and at any venue! I scored, and I enjoyed the thrill, the drama, the sound, and the standing ovation. WOW – it felt great; let me SCORE for your organization or event!

The win will be yours, simply for asking!

July 24, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

What are your strengths?

What are your strengths? Within the workplace, you identify your strengths as communication skills, technology, people management, writing, leadership and more. What about within your life – how would you identify your strengths? When you update your LinkedIn profile, what changes do you make? Perhaps those changes address your workplace, your functions, your responsibilities. Think beyond your professional profile; think about yourself.

I encourage you to consider the following areas: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and intellectual.

The physical you requires good nutrition, appropriate weight, beneficial exercise and adequate rest.

The emotional you needs to give and receive forgiveness, love and compassion; needs to laugh and experience happiness; needs joyful relationships with yourself and others.

The mental you needs self-supportive attitudes, positive thoughts and viewpoints and a positive self-image.

The spiritual you requires inner calmness, openness to your creativity, and trust in your inner knowing.

The intellectual you requires fulfillment, personal development, and satisfying relationships.

It is mid-year, and perhaps it is time to realize your strengths and reach your potential.

Resolve to be the captain of your ship – your body/mind/spirit. A comfortable, healthy balance between your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects doesn’t happen accidentally. Someone has to be in charge, and that someone is always you. Sit back, recognize your strengths, and prepare to launch anew in mid-2017!

April 5, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Use Your Words…starting with “A”

How often have you told your kids to ‘use your words?’ When we were raising our now adult offspring, we really did not use that term. We noticed it when our kids became parents themselves, or when we watched the movie entitled, Parental Guidance with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal.

Whether we are raising kids, engaging employees, or collaborating with partners – we want to emphasize positive words. In comparison with good words, “angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes,” write Newberg and Waldman in the book Words Can Change Your Brain.

So, I started with the letter “A” and I discovered these positive A words: ‘able, acceptance, accepting, action, activate, active, add, addition, adorable, advantage, affirm, ageless, agree, agreeable, aid, aim, abundance, accountability, accomplished, achieve, acknowledgement, adaptability, adventurous, agility, alertness, ambition, anticipation, appreciative, authentic, awesome, admirable, accommodating, ample, appreciative joy, actability, affable, alacrity, amiable, astounding, attractive, alive, achievable, acts of kindness, adaptable, adaptive, adequate, admirably, admiration, admired, adored, adoring, adoringly, advanced, advantageous, advantageously, affability, affably, affinity, affirmation, affirmative, affluence, affluent, afford, affordable, agile, agilely, agreeableness, agreeably, aligned, alluring, alluringly, altruistically, amaze, amazement, amazes, amazingly, amiability, amicability, amicable, amicably, amusing, appeal, appealing, applaud, appreciable, appreciated, appreciates, appreciation of beauty, appreciatively, appropriate, approval, approve, ardor, art of appreciation, art of stillness, art of well-being, assurance, a reason for being, accommodative, amiably, accolade, acumen, adjustable, admirer, admiring, admiringly, adorer, adroit, adroitly, adulated, adventuresome, and ambitious.’

Think about the words that you use on a daily basis. Are they positive or negative? How do you make others feel with your words?

Whether it is Parental Guidance or Words Can Change Your Brain…give positive words a chance. Use your words to reflect your attitude in parenting, in business, and in life!

January 25, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Endorse me for public speaking…

With thousands of LinkedIn connections, I typically see at least 10 popups a day suggesting that I endorse my connections for Public Speaking.

We are not all public speakers; many of us speak as a part of our career responsibilities, or introduce ourselves at networking events, but that alone does not make one a speaker. Many of these self-professed public speakers simply list multiple skill sets on their profiles, but they have no idea that Speaking is itself a true Profession and one that requires talent, training and a commitment to continuous learning. Much of that learning takes place through the National Speakers Association (NSA), the premier professional society for public speakers or aspiring public speakers. Visit the NSA site to explore the strict requirements for membership and the paths toward this goal.

How many ‘skills’ do you list on your own LinkedIn profile? Are you truly skilled in those areas, or are they skills in which you have dabbled? Public speaking, like coaching, seems to be a ‘skill’ that everyone has, but requires a unique ability to engage, empower, and educate audiences. Are you still seeking that endorsement? Are you really a Public Speaker; if your answer is yes, then apply for membership in NSA.

If you have sat in audiences watching the keynote deliver a strong message and thought, “I could do that,” perhaps the timing is right. If you have spoken before small community or work groups and liked the experience, perhaps this the time for a deep dive. And, if you are the kind of person who lights up a room with your presence, connect to NSA now. We are waiting for you!

http://www.nsaspeaker.org/attend/winter-conference/

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Sharon Weinstein, CSP, is a Certified Speaking Professional and one of only 22 nurses in the world with this credential. She is President-Elect of the NSA-DC Chapter and Dean of the Academy. Yes, she does offer public speaker coaching.

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?

To start the process: